#check with BDS for an official list of companies to pressure

[himbimhohum]

Yall I don't know about you but I'm still fucking with the boycotts

I will not stop boycotting the companies and brand complicit in genocide but honestly? I have no desire for them anymore. I get grossed out thinking about eat mcds or drinking coke, but on top of that I'm eating more locally, I'm drinking so much water, and I haven't spent money on shitty vapes in a long time.

[what-shitfuckery-is-this-ew]

BOYCOTTING FOR PALESTINE

The Official BDS Boycott Targets

Campaigns

Block the boat: End maritime arms transfer to Israel

Ban Apartheid Israel from Sports (FIFA, Olympics)

CAF get off Israel's train: Boycott CAF

Greenwashing Apartheid

Israeli Spyware

Military Embargo

Farming Injustice

Consumer Boycotts - a complete boycott of these brands

Cisco

Axa

Puma

Carrefour

HP

Siemens

Chevron

Intel

Caltex

Israeli produce

Re/max

Ahava

Texaco

Sodastream

Intel

Organic Boycott Targets - boycotts not initiated by BDS but still complete boycott of these brands

Disney

Macdonald's

Dominos

Papa Johns

Burger King

Pizza Hut

Wix

Divestments and exclusion - pressure governments, institutions, investment funds, city councils, etc. to exclude from procurement contracts and investments and to divest from these

Elbit Systems

CAF

Volvo

CAT

Barclays

JCB

HD Hyundai

TKH Security

HikVision

Pressure - boycotts when reasonable alternatives exist, as well as lobbying, peaceful disruptions, and social media pressure.

Google

Amazon

AirBnb

Booking.Com

Expedia

Teva

Here are some companies that strongly support Israel (but are not Boycott targets). There is no ethical consumption under capitalism and boycotting is a political strategy - not a moral one. If you did try to boycott every supporter of Israel you would struggle to survive because every major company supports Israel (as a result of attempting to keep the US economy afloat), that being said, the ones that are being boycotted by masses and not already on the organic boycott list are coloured red.

5 Star Chocolate

7Days

7Up

Apple

Arsenal FC

ALDO

Arket

Axe

Accenture

Ariel

Adidas

ActionIQ

Aquafina

Amika

AccuWeather

Activia

Adobe

Aesop

Azrieli Group

American Eagle

Amway Corp

Axel Springer

American Airlines

American Express

Atlassian

AdeS

Aquarius

Ayataka

Audi

Barqs

Bain & Company

Bayer

Bank Leumi

Bank Hapoalim

BCG (Boston Consulting Group)

Biotherm

Bershka

Bloomberg

BMW

Boeing

Booz Allen Hamilton

Burberry

Bath & Body Works

Bosch

Bristol Myers Squibb

Capri Holdings

Costa

Carita Paris

CareTrust REIT

Caterpillar

Coach

Cappy

Caudalie

CeraVe

Check Point Software Technologies

Cerelac

Chanel

Chapman and Cutler

Channel

Cheerios

Cheetos

Chevron

Chips Ahoy!

Christina Aguilera

Citi Bank

Codral

Cosco

Canada Dry

Citi

Clal Insurance Enterprises

Clean & Clear

Clearblue

Clinique

Champion

Club Social

Coca Cola

Coffee Mate

Colgate

Comcast

Compass

Caesars

Conde Nast

Cooley LLP

Costco

Côte d’Or

Crest

CV Starr

CyberArk Software

Cytokinetics

Crayola

Cra Z Art

Daimler

Dr Pepper

Del Valle

Daim

Doctor Pepper

Dasani

Doritos

Daz

Dior

Dell

Deloitte

Delta Air Lines

Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Telekom

DHL Group

David Off

Disney

DLA Piper

Domestos

Domino’s

Douglas Elliman

Downy

Duane Morris LLP

Dreft Baby Detergent & Laundry Products

Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream

eBay

Edelman

Eli Lilly

Evian

Empyrean

Ericsson

Endeavor

EPAM Systems

Estee Lauder

Elbit Systems

EY

Forbes

Facebook

Fairlife

Fanta

First International Bank of Israel

Fiverr

Funyuns

Fuze

Fox News

Fritos

Fox Corp

Gatorade

Gamida Cell

GE

Glamglow

General Catalyst

General Motors

Georgia

Gold Peak

Genesys

Goldman Sachs

Grandma’s Cookies

Garnier

Guess

Greenberg Traurig

Guerlain

Givenchy

H&M

Hadiklaim

Huggies

Hanes

HSBC

Head & Shoulders

Hersheys

Herbert Smith Freehills

Hewlett Packard

Hasbro

Hyundai

Henkel

Harel Insurance Investment & Financial Services

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

HubSpot

Huntsman Corp

IBM

Innocent

Insight Partners

Inditex Group

IT Cosmetics

Instacart

Intermedia

Interpublic Group

Instagram

ICL Group

Intuit

Jazwares

Jefferies

John Lewis

JP Morgan Chase

Jaguar

Johnson & Johnson

JPMorgan

Kenon Holdings

Kate Spade

Kirks’

Kinley Water

KKR

KFC

KKW Cosmetics

Kurkure

Keebler

Kolynos

Kaufland

Kevita

Knorr

KPMG

Lemonade

Lidl

Loblaws

Levi Strauss

Louis Vuitton

Life Water

Levi’s

Levi’s Strauss

LinkedIn

Land Rover

L’Oréal

Lego

Levissima

Live Nation Entertainment

Lufthansa

La Roche-Posay

Lipton

Major League Baseball

Manpower Group

Marriott

Marsh McLennan

Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Mastercard

Mattel

Minute Maid

Monster

Monki

Mainz FC

Mellow Yellow

Mountain Dew

Migdal Insurance

Marks & Spencer

Mirinda

McDermott Will & Emery

Motorola

McKinsey

Merck

Michael Kors

Mizrahi Tefahot Bank

Merck KGaA

Micheal Kors

Milkybar

Maybelline

Mount Franklin

Meta

MeUndies

Mattle

Microsoft

Munchies

Miranda

Morgan Lewis

Moroccanoil

Morgan Stanley

MRC

Nasdaq

Naughty Dog

Nivea

Next

NOS

Nabisco

Nutter Butter

No Frills

National Basketball Association

National Geographic

Nintendo

New Balance

Nutella

Newtons

NVIDIA

Netflix

Nescafe

Nestle

Nesquick

Nike

Nussbeisser

Oreo

Oral B

Old spice

Oysho

Omeprazole

Oceanspray

Opodo

P&G (Procter and Gamble)

Pampers

Pull & Bear

Pepsi

Pfizer

Popeyes

Parker Pens

Philadelphia Cream Cheese

Pizza Hut

Powerade

Purina

Phoenix Holdings

Propel

Ponds

Pure Leaf Green Tea

Power Action Wipes

PwC

Prada

Perry Ellis

Prada Eyewear

Pringles

Payoneer

Procter & Gamble

Purelife

Pureology

Quaker Oats

Reddit

Royal Bank of Canada

Ruffles

Revlon

Ralph Lauren

Ritz

Rolls Royce

Royal

S.Pellegrino

Sabra Hummus

Sabre

Sony

SAP

Simply

Smart Water

Sprite

Schwabe

Shell

Soda Stream

Siemens

StreamElements

Schweppes

Sunsilk

Signal

Skittles

Smart Food

Sobe

Smarties

Sephora

Sam’s Club

Superbus

Samsung

Sodastream

Sunkist

Scotiabank

Sour Patch Kids

Starbucks

Sadaf

Stride

Subway

Tang

Tate’s Bake Shop

The Body Shop

Tesco

Twitch

The Ordinary

Tim Hortons

Tostitos

Timberland

Topo Chico

Tapestry

Tropicana

Tommy Hilfiger

Tommy Hilfiger Toiletries

Turbos

Tom Ford

Taco Bell

Triscuit

TUC

Twix

Tottenham Hotspurs

Twisties

Tripadvisor

Uber

Uber Eats

Urban Decay

Upfield

Unilever

Vicks

Victoria’s Secret

V8

Vaseline

Vitaminwater

Volkswagen

Volvo

Walmart

Wegmans

WhatsApp

Waitrose

Woolworths

Wheat Thins

Walkers

Warner Brothers

Warner Chilcot

Warner Music

Wells Fargo

Winston & Strawn

WingStreet

Wissotzky Tea

WWE

Wheel Washing Powder

Wrigley Company

YouTube

Yvel

Yum Brands

Ziyad

Zara

Zim Shipping

Ziff Davis

[marzipanandminutiae]

I keep seeing posts about boycotting Starbucks that make it abundantly clear that some people have no clue what's going on with that situation

Starbucks is not on the official BDS list of companies to boycott

Starbucks is not "funding a genocide." They don't have material ties to the Israeli government that I'm aware of- they don't even have franchises in Israel. Some people chose to boycott them because they sued their union for using their logo in a pro-Palestine post on October 9th, 2023, on the grounds that the logo was being applied to a political message without their permission. That's the whole reason, as far as I can tell. (source)

if that's a reason for you to not want to give them money, totally fair. people have to make their own calls on such things. but in the sense of "consumer action to pressure a company to do or stop doing a specific thing," there is no reason to boycott Starbucks re: the situation in Palestine

now, I'm not here to weep for Starbucks- they're a multibillion-dollar company that I only patronize when I'm not near any of my favorite local cafes. and they have a history of unsavory business practices. what does worry me is the number of people who are apparently just...not looking any further into political issues or calls to action than a snappy post they see online

misinformation spreads fast. please, please fact-check- before it's something with more potential to cause harm than a pointless Starbucks boycott

[andoutofharm]

Hi! I just want to bring up a concern of mine is that Fall Out Boy will be playing at Download Fest in June and one of the partners of Download is Barclays (an official BDS target specifically an exclusion and divestment boycott). I got reminded to check because another festival in the UK (Great Escape) happening in May has a lot of their lineup pull out when Barclays remains as a partner and/or signed a petition encouraging it to drop them (Check BDS’s Instagram). I just want to give a heads up and perhaps encourage to use our voices to make the band aware! Like with the whole Gabe situation, we should be able to hold them accountable/let them be informed/make it clear about our feelings.

I wanted to say something now, rather than have it be a whole thing blow up last minute or afterwards especially since nobody else has noticed yet or said anything. At least unlike what happened in March, we have two months ahead of time to tell them. Please anybody who plans on saying something, please don’t harass people! Obviously FOB are not the organizers of this festival, they don’t make the partnerships, I doubt they check who are funding these events, they are simply invited/paid to show, but they as a band should be aware of the fact one of the bigger partners of this festival is profiting and funding genocide and is considered a big enough target to be put on said boycott lists. Pressure and encourage FOB to drop their appearance and/or make a statement. Not only should this be about informing people we look up to and encouraging them to make moral choices, but also informing others about the cause and how many companies profit from Palestinian genocide!

FOB tends to respond to backlash and pressure pretty quickly ie: Pretending you know who was never on stage, never doing that whole NFTs thing, and pulling offensive merch. IK people will go to Meredith, but please remember don’t harass and act like she controls the band. She is an entirely separate person from the band. I get it, Meredith is the easiest person to get noticed from when it comes to being close to the band, but hold that responsibility over FOB’s head, not one of their wives. Anyways so sorry for this long wall of text, or if this ask of mine seems ridiculous and it’s not really a fun ask, I just wanted to say what I had in mind and be able to properly address concerns and hopefully see a change. Thank you. ❤️❤️❤️

Thanks for bringing this to my attention! Here and here are the posts on BDS’s instagram talking about the other festival this anon is referring to.

I don’t know what the best course of action is here/what the best way to contact them is/how to bring this to their attention so if anyone has any thoughts or input please weigh in!

[book--brackets]

Hi everyone. So I've been considering doing this for a while because I post a lot about it on my main blog but there are almost 2,000 of you following me here so I feel like this will have more impact.

As I'm sure you all know, there's some absolutely awful stuff going on in Palestine right now. To put it frankly, we are watching a genocide happen right now. Palestine has been colonized by Zionists for almost a century now, forced out of their homes, killed for no reason, had their basic rights denied, and now the Israeli government is actively trying to wipe them out. I want to make something abundantly clear. I am not here to debate this issue with you. I am firmly pro-Palestine, and there is no reason that homes, hospitals, and evacuation routes need to be bombed. No. Reason. If you are pro-Israel, maybe this isn't the competition for you.

Instead, I am here to tell you what we can do to support Palestine! Right now, it might seem like a pretty hopeless situation, but we are capable of affecting change. Currently, while donating is always good, it's very hard to get resources into Palestine. Also, donating isn't always feasible for everyone. Instead, here's what's recommended:

Boycotting. Right now, there are boycotts going on against pro-Israel companies. Now, to boycott every company supporting the Zionist movement would be very difficult, so there is a specific list of companies to target. There's the big three, Starbucks, McDonald's, and Disney+, and then the BDS has a list of the more minor companies to focus on boycotting. By focusing our efforts on these specific companies, it'll be a lot more effective.

If you're in a country where this is a viable route of action for you, contact your government officials! Tell them to call for a ceasefire! In the US, that means Congress, in the UK, that means Parliament. Even if it doesn't seem like it, this does have an impact. In the US particularly I know that representatives are so out of line with what their constituents want that their staffers have started pressuring them to avoid being so pro-Israel.

Finally, keep talking about this! There are a lot of issues in the world that have a surge of activism around them only for it to fall out of the public eye. Keep reblogging information and Palestinian testimony, keep posting resources, and keep the pressure on for a ceasefire!

Also, I want to make it extremely clear that the actions of Zionists do not speak for the many Jewish people of the world. Zionism does not mean Judaism. There are so many Jewish people out there standing with Palestine, and I won't tolerate any antisemitic or nazi ideology as a result of supporting Palestine.

I know this isn't exactly what you expected from a competition about childhood books, but this is an issue that all of us should be worried about. I'm not an expert on this, and I highly recommend checking out other sources on how to help, but I hope I can help get the word out.

From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!

[gothhabiba]

Hi, do you have any tips or ideas how to effectively contact eurovision broadcast stations and ask them to pressure ebu to drop israel from the competition? I'm about to try to organize a call campaign, but I'm stuck at the reasons why they should care. Because it stands in opposition with the 'european' values and could damage their image? I doubt they're going to care or believe that. Because otherwise we're going to boycott them? At best around 100 people will participate and the broadcast station knows most of the annual audience in my country is going to tune in anyway. I've seen you answer asks about how to organize things before and I've found your answers to be very helpful and insightful. I guess if we have no other threats or arguments, the threat is that we're going to keep pestering them about it lol, but maybe you or someone you know has any other ideas. Thanks in advance!

I'm sorry I haven't answered this ask; I don't have a good enough idea of how Eurovision features in people's routines to suggest ways of disrupting it from that end.

I'd suggest taking a look at this post listing things that artists and broadcasters have already been doing (and also looking through the notes, where people have added a couple more actions from different countries).

Broadcasters are certainly a good target for pressuring campaigns (and you say you're already planning a call campaign--also look into faxing if they have a fax number, since that disrupts day-to-day business as well). If you can get people to sign an open letter threatening a boycott (canvas grocery stores, cafes, anywhere with a reputedly liberal clientele), the threat might seem more credible.

Nations' selected artists are also potential targets. Artists or their teams might actually care about how people talk about them on social media.

Boycotts of Eurovisions' sponsors (Bailey's, MoroccanOil [an Israeli company], and Royal Caribbean Cruises) have also been called for [though note they're not on the BDS official shortlist], so all of the methods of encouraging consumer boycotts of goods also apply here.

Also check if BDS has a chapter in your country--it's very possible that people are already organising and strategising around this.

[ladychlo]

hi i am so sorry for bothering you with this and feel free to tell me to fuck off, but i checked the boycott list put by the bds and starbucks isn’t on it? i don’t know if i’m looking at the right place, but regardless it definitely doesn’t justify louis’ silence

Hello love, you don't have to apologize and ofc I'll never say fuck off, I have seen all te quotes to those pictures and I have seen some mind pieces about it. And I cant believe people's solidarity to cut off consuming products are called twitter trends, and encouraging people to mind where they spend their money is called useless. BDS relies on strategic targeting to maximise its impact, the list of BDS is clear and that is not arguable, put your energy on the official list. Boycott is also regional, there are products originating from Israel, While many of these items are not readily available in the Arab region, activists in the West are increasingly discussing them and advocating for their boycott... there are products facilitating the Occupation, companies like Carrefour engage in real estate ventures within the settlements, HP provides technologies and software systems used for monitoring and suppressing Palestinians both inside and outside of prisons, CATerpillar manufactures bulldozers specifically for the occupation, which are used to demolish Palestinian infrastructure and homes, and Puma serves as the official sponsor of the Israeli national football team AND brands endorsing the Israeli State so this category holds significant importance for us as consumers since these products directly impact our daily lives. This includes food, beverages, skincare products, perfumes, and more. Avoiding these items holds a substantial influence. And the BDS list is essential and top priority of boycott, follow the demands, keep your main energy for boycott there but also you have the full right to organise and boycott other products without it trimming away from the main focus on BDS

Starbucks may not be listed officially by BDS, but since they sued a labour union of Starbucks workers who expressed pro-Palestine views on social media in October, choosing to boycott Starbucks becomes an act of class solidarity that deserves recognition and respect, unions are important for the global struggle for liberation, you cant fail recognizing how all system of exploitations are interconnected, the Starbucks boycott is something we are seeing is because its a pro-union move and union are important for global strikes and organized solidarities.

The organic boycott targets as listed by BDS are essential because we are pressuring companies whose founders support the occupation and directly decreasing their profits. Solidarities between movements are essential as we plant fear within any new companies from considering future partnerships with occupation, thus losing their credibility as a natural entity that can create successful economic relations. And we provide opportunities for local products to develop and increase their production. So people not feeling comfortable that a celebrity is holding a Starbucks cups is not an invitation for people to make justification and to discredit people's goals from boycotting a product, and call it a trend and aimless.

[volfoss]

[ID: a graphic of the boycotts as of December 15, 2023 that are from the BDS boycott list. It has a red background and there are four columns. The header above the columns reads: "Why are people boycotting certain products?" and has text below that reads "The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement has identified numerous companies with a role in Israel's crimes against Palestinians. Their campaign is divided into four categories:" The four columns are these four categories: Consumer Products, Divestments, Pressure, and Organic Boycotts.

The Consumer Products column has a description that reads "Complete boycott of brands that have a proven record of complicity in Israeli apartheid". The companies listed are: Ahava, AXA, Carrefour, HP, Puma, Re/Max, Siemens and SodaStream.

The Divestments column has a description that reads "Pressuring governments and institutions to stop doing business with companies that enable Israeli occupation". The companies listed are: Barclays, CAF, Chevron, Elbit Systems, HD (listed as HD Hyundai on the official site), HikVision, JCB, TKH, and Volvo.

The Pressure column has a description that reads "BDS calls for people and institutions to pressure brands and services to end their complicity in Israeli apartheid". The companies listed are: Airbnb, Amazon, Booking.com, Disney, Expedia, and Google.

The Organic Boycotts column has a description that reads "BDS supports grassroots boycotts of brands that openly support Israel's violence against Palestinians". The companies listed are: Burger King, Domino's Pizza, McDonalds, Papa Johns, Pizza Hut, and Wix. /end ID]

For an up to date list on the BDS boycotts, their official site has a list (and reasoning for each company) here. The original graphic didn't include Chevron under the Consumer Products list (as it was under the Divestments list at the time the graphic was made, it seems), Intel under the Divestments list, Teva Pharmaceutical under the Pressure list. It was last updated on January 5 of 2024, so checking regularly can be beneficial.

hi friends

as we boycott in support of palestine, here is a little reminder of the companies that specifically supported israel in their crimes against palestine (taken from the al jazeera website)

do as much as you are able to during the boycott, but if you need essentials or need to go to work to support yourself, that is okay! anything helps and boycotting these companies specifically is great because of their direct role in the violence against people in gaza

free palestine

[xtruss]

UN List of Companies Exploiting Occupation of Palestine Hides Key Profiteers

The United States and Israel not only delayed the UN's list of companies exploiting Palestinian occupation for three years, but omitted the most egregious profiteers, concealing activity that could be a war crime under the Geneva Conventions.

— March 12, 2020 | therealnews.com | Dr. Norman Gary Finkelstein

Story Transcript

Marc Steiner: Welcome to The Real News. I’m Marc Steiner. Good to have you with us.

In February, the United Nations Human Rights Committee published a list of 112 companies that profit from the Israeli occupation on Palestinian and Syrian land. Now the colonization of occupied territory, and the exploitation of property and people in that territory, is prohibited by the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention. It’s interesting to note that that convention was prompted, these international rules were prompted, because of the Nazi theft and exploitation of Jewish land and property, in large part. The companies listed by the UN are all involved in activity benefiting from this illegal occupation and colonization of Palestinian land. That makes them complicit in a war crime. What will all that mean? We’re going to talk about.

The original list of companies was researched and completed three years ago, but it wasn’t published because of pressure from the United States and Israel to prevent the UN from releasing the original findings and data. Now the list has finally been published, but many companies known for their role in assisting the occupation, and destroying and exploiting Palestinian land, are missing from this list. Rupert Colville is a spokesperson for the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and tried to understate the importance of this list. Let’s have a listen.Rupert Colville: We’re fully aware of the sensitivity of this report for people on all sides of the debate and for of course, the companies themselves, and for this reason, we’ve taken particular care not to go beyond the remit set down for us by the Human Rights Council. It’s important to note that it is not, as some claim, a blacklist, nor does it qualify any company’s activities as illegal.Marc Steiner: As we verge on the abyss of a new Israeli government that is hell bent on officially annexing Palestinian land into Israel, this becomes more than just a list to be boycotted and protested, and we’re joined by Real News correspondent Shir Hever, who is based in Heidelberg, Germany. His latest book is The Privatization of Israeli Security, published by Pluto Press. And Shir good to see you here as a guest.

Shir Hever: Thank you Marc.

Marc Steiner: So let’s talk a bit about this original list. The original list was suppressed by Israel and US, and they tried to stop it’s publication. Now it’s been published, but much revised. So what do we know about the struggle around the publication of this list and about why and who was left off?

Shir Hever: Well, I was a little bit involved in compiling that list among many, many other activists in Israel and Palestine and elsewhere. There’s already organizations that are creating databases like this. Most notable of them is Who Profits and which belongs to the Coalition of Women for Peace, and anyone can just go and browse their website and see more, see hundreds of companies listed there. So the UN originally had a list of 400 companies. The thing is that whenever they want to put on the agenda of the Human Rights Committee, that they want to talk about their findings and present them and effectively publish their list, Israel and the U S send their delegates to try to sabotage this and prevent it from being published. And even though both Israel and the United States have actually, stepped down from the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations, they still continue to wield influence and prevent that list from being, or prevented that list from being published until now.

So now we only have 112 companies on the list. The reason that so few companies stayed on the list is because the UN, was very tryinG to play it as safe as possible. They were terrified of repression by the United States and Israel. So what they did is they first of all, only put companies on the list where they were absolutely sure and had all the information on that company, and that they could cross reference it and prove it. But then they talked to the companies and asked them, “Do you have anything to say? If you say that you are no longer active in the illegally occupied colonies or in the occupied West Bank of Gaza, then we’re going to just take you out without checking.”So of course hundreds of companies and just used that option and said, “Oh well, we’ve stopped.”, regardless of whether they have or haven’t. And so they were taken off the list and now we only have 112.

Marc Steiner: But so now companies like Airbnb and booking.com are there because they’re promoting accommodation in settlements across the West Bank. And there’s groups in there like Alstom and Motorola because they’re helping build the infrastructure of the occupation. But, and many of the companies on this list are not international companies. They’re actually Israeli companies. And so, you just described what just happened, but then there are groups like Heidelberg Cement and Caterpillar, which were left off the list and Heidelberg Cement in a recent article that I read was part and parcel of taking apart one village entirely, and doing this major excavation, Caterpillar tearing down homes. So how did they get left off the list?

Shir Hever: Right. Well, I think the reason that of the 112 companies that are still on the list, the majority of them are actually Israeli companies, is because the Israeli companies as a rule didn’t bother to answer the Human Rights Committee. And they just didn’t bother to write them back and say, “No, we’re no longer active.” Maybe because they knew it’s going to sound ridiculous if they say they’re no longer active when they still have their address listed in illegal colonies. So they stay on the list. And that creates, I think, a very strong bias because in fact, if you go, if you travel in the West Bank and you look around you, you will see Caterpillar bulldozers everywhere, you will see in East, Occupied East Jerusalem, the tram built by Alstom, you will see a lot of imported machinery and materials from international companies that are fully aware that they’re supporting occupation.

But for these companies, it’s very easy to say, “We have nothing to do with that.”

Marc Steiner: But, I’m sorry, go ahead.

Shir Hever: But getting to Heidelberg Cement, I actually live in Heidelberg. I’ve been to their stock holder meeting once, and it’s a very interesting story. Heidelberg cement is a company that keeps insisting that they’re on their way out, and they’re going to sell their illegal quarries in the West Bank and they’re going to stop providing cement and other materials to the Israeli colonies. But Electronic Intifada, the website has uncovered A document in Hebrew, which I read, that shows that they have extended their license for mining natural resources in the West bank by another year, meaning that they are intended to keep on doing that. So this is very surprising that they are not on the list, actually. We have absolute proof of that. This is a company that is pillaging Palestinian property, the natural resources of Palestine, and pays taxes to the Israeli occupier instead of to the people who actually live on that land.

Marc Steiner: So it was interesting to me, when you take this particular story, of Heidelberg Cement, I think it was a mini story, it was this fascinating article about a Palestinian village, Al Zawia, where they have this huge, open mine pit going on, Heidelberg is running. And so it begs a lot of questions. A, they’re expanding the work, not narrowing the work. There are many other companies involved who are not on these lists doing similar work around in the occupied territories. So, and then you have this new Israeli government coming in, as I said earlier, that is hell bent on annexation. So, so to me, this can be complicates the story in many ways. And [inaudible 00:07:43] what the response is, because you are talking about a companies that are just literally taking away the land, and if they become part of Israel, it changes the nature of what can really happen. So how do you see this playing out? I mean I know BDS is calling for a boycott, but in some ways this might be beyond that and maybe I’m wrong, but talk about that.

Shir Hever: Well, officially the UN is not going as far as calling for a boycott. They even don’t dare to write on the list that what the company’s doing is illegal. They’re even, they’re trembling in fear, and they’re not even writing this very simple fact. So they’re just saying, “This is a list for your information.” Of course, nobody can really see any kind of use for that list except in order to organize boycott, divestment and sanctions against these particular companies. So, of course it has something to do with the BDS movement. The BDS movement is the movement that has now the responsibility to take that list and make use of it. So now it’s up to people, for example, myself living in Heidelberg, to protest against Heidelberg Cement and what this company is doing.

And it is going to play out absolutely as an international action to make these companies accountable for corporate accountability in war crimes. The UN has already published lists like this for Myanmar and for the DRC. And in both cases they were not so timid about writing these are companies doing illegal things and these companies maybe should be put on a black list rather than just mentioned for the information value.

In the case of Israel, Palestine, there is a lot more pressure and to keep the UN quiet, but the activists are not going to keep quiet. And I think the companies should be aware that there’s going to be a heavy economic price to pay when these companies become the pariahs, the companies that cross a red line, violate international law. Some companies have already been severely burned, like Veolia the French infrastructure company that lost billions of dollars worth of contract all around the world because of their involvement in illegal activity in Occupied East Jerusalem. And now these companies, on that list is 112 companies are facing a similar fate. And I think beyond that we have other companies that didn’t get to the list like for example, Heidelberg Cement that are also going to be held accountable.

Marc Steiner: So as we close this out Shir, one quick question here. A sidebar interested me about this. When I read about Heidelberg’s, well Heidelberg said about their work in certain villages in the West Bank and in Palestine. And when I read about General Mills’ statement which said, “Look, we hire Israeli and Palestinian workers at the same rate, for the same pay, the same benefits.”, the same thing Heidelberg said, and it reminded me of what goes on in many indigenous reservations and territories in the United States like Peabody Coal on the Navajo and the Hopi where they are exploiting the land, and a story we’re working on here for Real News, they’re exploiting the land and destroying the land, but at the same time they’re giving Navajo and Hopi men and women work, that’s paying them more than they’ve ever been paid before. The same thing is happening with Heidelberg and General Mills. So how does that fit into the mix? I mean that doesn’t, I mean because that’s also a reality about how people have to survive.

Shir Hever: Right. Thank you for asking that, because I think there is a difference. The difference is that the companies are outright lying. They are not just providing jobs for Palestinians because officially according to the Israeli law, Palestinian workers working in the illegal colonies, working for international or Israeli companies are supposed to receive the same conditions and the same pay as Israeli workers. They are supposed to be protected by Israeli labor laws. The problem is that no employer actually enforces that. And the courts don’t enforce that either, when it gets to the court, and it gets to the court frequently, there is an organization called [inaudible 00:11:57], Workers Hotline, which specializes in representing Palestinian workers in court. And when Palestinians don’t receive the minimum wage, don’t receive health benefits, don’t receive the basic insurance that they’re supposed to receive, then they can go to court. And the court usually, and then the company would argue, “Oh, but you’re actually subject to Jordanian labor laws, not to Israeli labor law.”

And even though the court has repeatedly said this is not acceptable, and the Israeli laws should be in effect, there is no sanction, and the companies can continue to violate again and again, and nothing really happens to them. So that’s a structural problem with the way that Palestinians are treated in these companies. And the amount of money that they have lost because of that over the years is tremendous. Starting from 2008 the Israeli government even imposes a special Palestinian only tax in order to discourage Palestinians from working for Israeli companies. They take a an almost 50% tax on their income in order, and then they give that money to the Palestinian Authority. They give it to the government, so that the workers will not see the money and then they say, “Well, it’s not a real tax because we didn’t take the money for ourselves.” But the result is to try to create a segregated workforce or Jewish only workforce, and to keep Palestinians as second rate workers wherever they go. And unfortunately that is working. That is something that these companies are complicit in when they allow this system to work, and when they agree to pay this racist tax, a Palestinian only tax. But I want to say one last thing about this.

Marc Steiner: Okay.

Shir Hever: Because companies have often said, “If you sanction us, if you boycott us, we will fire the Palestinian workers. We’re providing work for Palestinians, and they need that work. So you’re actually harming Palestinians. Don’t boycott us.” This is an argument that is essentially taking the Palestinian workers hostage. It’s telling about the same workers, if we are human rights activists, we care about international law. We see a company, that is violating their rights and we say, “Oh, but we don’t want to boycott that company because they’re providing jobs for Palestinians.” What we’re actually saying, “Oh, you Palestinians, you don’t know what’s good for you. We know better than you do what is good for you.”

Because even though all labor unions in Palestine support the BDS movement, support the boycott, we’re going to ignore all that and just decide for ourselves what is your interest. It’s an extremely patronizing and racist approach and of course I do not support it.

Marc Steiner: Well, Shir Hever, there’s so much more to talk about here and there’s a larger piece of their story that we have to continue talking about because the annexation and more that could be taking place, and how this fits in, but we’ll be doing that together. Shir Hever, thanks for your work and thanks for joining us once again. Talk to you very soon.

Shir Hever: Thank you Marc.

Marc Steiner: Thank you.

And I’m Marc Steiner here for the Real News Network. I want to thank you all for joining us. Let us know what you think. Take care.

Speaker 4: Thanks a lot for watching. Appreciate it. But do us one more solid favorite. Hit the subscribe button below. You know you want to. Stay up on the videos.

[stephaniefchase]

Bajan Newscap 1/12/2016

Good Morning #realdreamchasers! Here is your daily newscap  for Thursday 12th January 2017 . Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today (BT) or by purchasing a Daily Nation Newspaper (DN).

NOT BUDGING - Despite getting more up-to-date information on the Barbados economy, international credit rating agency, Standard & Poor’s (S), is sticking to the downgrade it issued five months ago. It is also maintaining its negative outlook through to next year. In September, S had downgraded Barbados’ long-term sovereign credit ratings from ‘B’ to ‘B-’, and in a report released Tuesday, which it said supplemented its September review, it felt the “differences have been determined not to be sufficiently significant to affect the rating and our main conclusions”. S insisted that the negative outlook reflected the potential for a downgrade if Government failed to make additional progress on lowering its high fiscal deficit, if growth resulting from key investment projects failed to materialise, or if external pressures worsened because of persistent and large current account deficits (CADS). (DN)

EXCHANG RATE WORRY – The threat of a dollar revaluation could be looming on the horizon for Barbados following another downgrade. That’s according to a Caribbean Information and Credit Rating Services Limited (CariCRIS) report, which listed the threat of revaluation due to the printing of money and persistent external account deficits. Yesterday, CariCRIS downgraded Barbados’ $300 million debt by one notch from a CariBBB+ to a CariBBB, and also downgraded the island’s currency rating from CariA- to CariBBB+. Analysing the country’s strengths and weaknesses, the Trinidad-based agency noted the Government’s commitment to continuing its 41-year-long BDS$2 to US$1 exchange rate. (DN)

SLIPPERY SLOPE - The latest downgrade of the Barbados economy is an indication the country is approaching crisis levels, according to Chief Executive Officer of the Small Business Association (SBA) Lynette Holder. Holder blamed the recent downgrades on the failure of Government’s fiscal policies, and she called on the Freundel Stuart administration to “come back to the table, engage the public, engage the citizenry and look at what strategies we need to put in place to correct those failures”.She said it was no longer good enough for the Prime Minister and members of his Cabinet to address important national issues such as the state of the economy at Democratic Labour Party meetings, insisting the entire country ought to be part of the efforts at a solution. While the latest downgrade was troubling to business leaders and economists, it did not come as a surprise to any of them. Among those who saw it coming was President of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) Eddy Abed who saw the deficit as a huge weight dragging down the economy. In fact, Abed said unless Barbadians demand a reduction in Government spending the country would continue “on this slippery slope”. However, he warned that any cuts could lead to “further hardship to those who depend on Government’s welfare and entitlement programmes” in the short term, but Barbadians had to understand that the social programmes were costly and would have to be paid for by user fees, or drastically scaled back. (BT)

SOL IT IS – It’s almost a done deal. Nine months after Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler announced the sale of this island’s lone oil terminal to a private entity, the name of the potential buyer has been formally announced. In a statement today, the state-owned Barbados National Oil Company Ltd. (BNOCL) revealed that it had signed an agreement with the SOL Group for the sale of its subsidiary, the Barbados National Terminal Company Limited (BNTCL). Under the agreement, BNOCL will continue to source, import, own and distribute gasoline, diesel and fuel oil to all local marketers, and it is assuring local consumers that they will be able to access their products as before. “Prices at the pumps will only change in accordance with the price of imported products as is currently done,” the oil company’s added in its statement. However, the deal is still awaiting regulatory approval, and is therefore not due to be completed before the first quarter of 2017. (BT)

AGREEMENT ON TRANSPORT PLAN - The Transport Board, the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) and the Ministry of Transport and Works (MTW) are all on the same page when it comes to the bus issue. Their united position came after a meeting yesterday, which was led by Minister of Transport Michael Lashley, to come up with a plan to move hundreds of passengers stranded in the bus terminals at peak time because of a shortage of buses. The meeting was held at the ministry’s headquarters in The Pine, St Michael, to address a special project that would see private transport integrated into the public system, including picking up passengers from Transport Board terminals. Following the meeting, which included officials from the Transport Board and the BWU led by general secretary Toni Moore, it was announced that an agreement on the way forward was reached. (DN)

EMERGENCY POTHOLE PATCH HITS A BUMP - THE GOVERNMENT’S emergency pothole patching programme hit a major bump yesterday. Project manager at the Ministry of Transport and Works (MTW), Roland Daisley, told the DAILY NATION operations were halted when the asphalt manufacturing plant at C.O. Williams Construction in Lears, St Michael, broke down. As a result, he said the four trucks that were dispatched in St Michael districts could not source a second load of asphalt to complete their work. The trucks could transport between three to six tonnes of asphalt, he said. “The plant broke down before midday for sure. It affected the operation because each truck was trying to get another load of mix. We were supposed to go back after lunch to get another load to continue patching.”(DN)

IMPORT SQUEEZE - Importers are concealing data on foreign produce, distorting the market and threatening the future of local farmers, it was claimed yesterday. James Paul, chief executive officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society, made the charge after Constant Plantation in St George reported being saddled with hundreds of tonnes of unsold pumpkins that a spokesperson blamed on imports during October and November, when the orange-yellow fruit was in great demand for conkies. Paul wants more transparency in the importation process and a readily available database of commodities landing here. “Before, we had a way of checking to ensure what commodities were actually coming into the country,” he told the DAILY NATION, “but it seems to me that people have resorted now to hiding this information or the information comes in after the fact. (DN)

DEADLY DIETS - Every day at least one Barbadian suffers a heart attack, while two suffer strokes, according to a leading pharmacist, who described the situation as a crisis. Speaking yesterday at a lunchtime lecture organized by the National Council on Substance Abuse on the topic Prescription Drugs and You, pharmacist Paul Gibson said the island was on a “bullet train to poor health”. While not revealing the number of deaths from these conditions, Gibson attributed the situation to Barbadians’ eating habits –consuming foods high in salt and sugar –which lead to hypertension and diabetes, the two main chronic non communicable diseases (NCDs) affecting Barbadians. He focused his presentation primarily on these two conditions, and mentioned that hypertensive patients often showed no symptoms, although in some cases shortness of breath, headaches and nosebleeds could be alarming signs. The PAHO official said then 84 per cent of total deaths in Barbados were attributed to diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and cancer. He also referred to World Health Organization figures which revealed that Barbadians had a 14 per cent probability of dying between the ages of 30 and 70 years from one of these diseases. (BT)

TOP COP NOT ON POLICE PROMOTIONS LIST - Acting Commissioner of Police Tyrone Griffith has not been included in a list of close to 60 police promotions, which were announced by the Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF) today. However, Griffith, who has been acting as the island’s top cop for the past three years, having taken over the role from Darwin Dottin who was sent on leave and only officially retired last year, still presided over today’s official ceremony at Police Headquarters at which 56 elevated officers were issued with their letters of appointment. So far no official explanation has been given for the move. However, leading the list of promotions was former Senior Superintendent of Police Erwin Boyce, who has been confirmed in the position of Assistant Commissioner of Police. (BT)

GOLLOP UPSET CLIENT NOT BROUGHT TO COURT –Queen ’s Counsel Hal Gollop has raised concern about “the protection of rights and the misuse of power by people who hold authority” in the court system. His comments came after his client, who was on remand, was not brought to court yesterday, the adjourned date for his case. The client was reportedly not brought down because the magistrate was absent.  Gollop’s client, Ricky Kenneth Yearwood, (right) 45, of 3rd Avenue, Grazettes, St Michael, pleaded not guilty to unlawfully and maliciously wounding Jameelia Wahid on October 8. He also denied that he damaged her car and entered her house as a trespasser with intent to inflict serious bodily harm on her that same day. (DN)

ARTHUR REMANDED ON SEX CHARGE - A 24-year-old man was today remanded to prison after he was unable to secure a bail surety. Reuben Benjamin Arthur of Spooner’s Alley, Mason Hall Street, St Michael was not required to plead to the charge of having sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old. The offence allegedly occurred sometime between November 1, 2016 and January 9 this year. Police prosecutor Sergeant Neville Watson had no objections to Arthur’s release. The case was heard by Magistrate Douglas Frederick who also presided over the matter involving 42-year-old Anderson Ryan Ince of Bridge Field, St Thomas. Ince, a clerical officer, is accused of sending, by means of a telecommunications network, the threatening message: “You want shooting and chopping up. . . . All I got for you is some bullets” to Cranston Crichlow on December 12, 2016. He denied the charge and was granted $2,500 bail with one surety and ordered to return to court on June 12. Ince was represented by attorney-at-law Steve Gollop. (BT)

LABOURER ON BAIL FOR RAPE – A St Michael labourer was granted $10, 000 bail after appearing in court today on three serious charges. Shane Leemar Hoyte, a 30-year-old resident of Mount Friendship, appeared before Magistrate Douglas Frederick this afternoon charged with unlawfully and maliciously inflicting serious bodily harm on Ethone Jones. He told the court he was not guilty of the offence that allegedly occurred on July 27, 2016. However, he was not required to plead to the charge of having sexual intercourse with a woman without her consent on January 5 this year, and stealing a $500 cellular phone belonging to her and $20 in cash. The police prosecutor Sergeant Neville Watson did not object to bail. Hoyte, who was represented by attorney Verla Depeiza, returns to court on June 23.  (BT)

ALLEGED HAM THEIF DENIED BAIL – A man who has a “multiplicity of convictions” attached to his name will spend the next 28 days at HMP Dodds after he appeared in court for allegedly stealing a ham. Anthony Rudolph Thorpe, 59, of Derricks, St James yesterday denied in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court that he stole the item, valued at $70.17, from Hanschell Inniss Limited last Saturday. Prosecutor Sergeant Rudy Pilgrim objected to bail on the grounds that the unemployed man was currently on bail from two courts. “[He has] a multiplicity of convictions, most of them under the Theft Act,” the prosecutor said, adding that having Thorpe on remand would be for “the protection of society and the accused” as well. In his bail application, Thorpe explained to the magistrate that he was a “very sick man” and suffered with asthma and hypertension. However, Frederick told him that he could not use the same excuse every time he came to court on similar allegations. “I get accused wrongfully,” said Thorpe who will reappear in court on February 6. (BT)

SIBLING RIVALRY - A Bridgetown magistrate has placed a St Lucian man on a bond to keep the peace for the next six months, after he admitted to piercing his brother’s hand with a garden fork during an argument over access to land. Magistrate Douglas Frederick handed down the order on 52-year-old Terrance Demar of Odessa McClean Drive, The Belle, St Michael as punishment for assaulting Junior Demar on December 15. The No.1 District ‘A’ Magistrate made the decision after Demar’s attorneys, Dominique Pinder and Shamar Bovell, strongly argued for his release from prison where he has been on remand since December 28. Pinder told the court that her client had no previous convictions and did not waste the court’s time, as he had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity. She said he had ties in the country, including family, a girlfriend, property and other possessions. The magistrate then asked whether the fact that the accused and complainant are brothers was a mitigating or aggravating factor. Bovell took up the seemingly challenging question. “Brothers have skirmishes with each other, Sir, from time to time . . . from biblical times, Your Worship,” he answered. In pleading for leniency on Terrance’s behalf, the attorneys disclosed that Junior had been contacted to appear in court but had expressed no interest in showing up. They also stressed that the St Lucian was “rooted” in the Barbadian society, “with assets, house and family”. Magistrate Frederick informed the attorneys that the court was not in a position to help the accused with his immigration troubles. He then imposed the bond. If Demar breaches it, he will have to pay a $2,000 fine forthwith or spend three months in prison. “The Immigration will do their part,” the magistrate added. (BT)

PLUMBER CONFESSES TO DESTROYING PIPES - A plumber who declared to being “de best” may not come out on top when he returns to the District ‘A’ Magistrate’ Court this Friday. When Jeffery O’neal Mayers, 42, of Thickets Land, St Philip went before Magistrate Douglas Frederick yesterday, he confessed to destroying a quantity of fittings worth $1,331.79 belonging to Pat Bowen, on August 22, 2016. Mayers was hired by Bowen back in July last year to install pipes in a four-bedroom house under construction. The two had agreed that the job was worth $6,000 and Bowen paid Mayers $1,000 up front to get the job off the ground. However, acting under the advice of a contractor, Bowen informed Mayers on August 22 that the plumbing was not done correctly. Police prosecutor Sergeant Rudy Pilgrim said that comment did not sit well with Mayers who told Bowen that no one could tell him how to do his job. The homeowner later saw Mayers cutting pipes, but she thought he was carrying out adjustments. However, a later check revealed that he was actually destroying the pipes. She confronted him about the matter and Mayers left the site after telling Bowen to find another plumber. “I does good plumbing,” Mayers told the court as he sought to explain what took place with Bowen, whom he described as a friend. He stated that he had been in the field for 22 years. “She agreed with every step made,” said Mayers, who was not happy that Bowen had discussed his work with someone else. “I is de best,” Mayers declared. “He want to tell me how to do my job. . . . There ain’t no building I can’t do.” After telling the court that he cut the pipe as requested by Bowen, Mayers was granted $3,000 bail with one surety to return to court on Friday for sentencing. (BT)

MOTHER FORCED TO PAY UP - He’s out on bail in two courts in Barbados, but Kyle Chad Archer’s luck ran out in Guyana recently. Now the mother of the #59 Bayview Avenue, Bayville, St Michael resident has to pay a hefty price to the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court, and she has only six months to do so. Archer’s attorney Roy Hurley today appeared in court and informed Magistrate Douglas Frederick that the accused was in a Georgetown prison serving a four-year sentence, after he was caught smuggling drugs into Guyana. Hurley said he received a call from a lawyer in that country that Archer had been arrested at the airport with cocaine strapped to his thigh. “I was shocked,” the attorney said. Archer’s mother told the court she was not aware that her son had left the country. “He left home for school at the [Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic]. I didn’t know he was going away. He left dress for school, with school bag and all that, Sir, and that was the last time I saw him . . . October 6,” she said. The mother went on to explain that she did not check her son’s whereabouts when she did not see him, as he has a young child with his girlfriend and usually slept there. “I thought he was with his girlfriend . . . and she thought he was with me,” the mother added.  Hurley said Archer’s action was a “stupid move on his part”, as he had now left his mother to bear the burden. “This mother standing surety and most mothers will do the same, but he took advantage of his mother [as] there is no way she can check on him 24-7,” the lawer said. Archer was out on $10,000 bail, on a charge of having sexual intercourse with an underage girl. His mother has six months to pay the court $5,000 of the total bail amount or she will spend three months in jail. (BT)

GUYANESE JAILED FOR ASSAULTING WOMEN – A Guyanese national will spend three months behind bars for assaulting his former girlfriend and another woman. Magistrate Douglas Frederick imposed the sentence on Kelvin James Weekes, who lived at Lot 10 Hallets Tenantry, Brighton, Black Rock, St Michael, after he informed the court that he was unable to compensate the complaints. Weekes was charged with assaulting former girlfriend Natasha Corbin, as well as assaulting Catherine Smith, occasioning her actual bodily harm. Both incidents took place on December 27. Today, both Corbin and Smith appeared in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court. “I was assisting her [Corbin] in getting some of her things [and an argument started]. I told him things don’t happen like that . . . cause a small argument can lead to a big argument and his head does get hot,” explained Smith who received a laceration during the incident. Asked by Magistrate Fredrick whether he could compensate Smith for her injuries, Weekes replied: “Me don’t have no money, Sir.” “And Corbin?” the magistrate asked. “I ain’t do she nothing. I just touch she,” Weekes replied. The magistrate then sentenced Weekes to three months in prison on each count, to run concurrently. The Immigration Department will also be notified about his sentence and release date. (BT)

CONTONE GETS TIME TO COMPOSE NEXT SONG - Popular calypso singer contone could not sing his way out of court yesterday like he did on the previous occasion. Instead, he left the District “A” Magistrates’ Court bound for Her Majesty’s Prisons Dodds to contemplate the lyrics of his next song. Derrick Anderson Brathwaite, alias Contone, 41, who has no fixed address, was remanded until February 8 after pleading guilty to theft. He was charged with entering Frances Alexander’s home as a trespasser and stealing a camera, laptop, earring and necklace set, a penknife, stainless steel opener, one LG cellphone and charger, a Samsung cellphone and charger, a Motorola cellphone and charger, a handbag, cosmetic bag, charger cable, silver bracelet, gold ring and a silver ring. The items were worth $4 183. (DN)

PAKISTAN BOARD REFUTES FICA CLAIMS - The PCB has issued a strong rebuttal of the security advice given by the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) over the planned staging of the Pakistan Super League final in Lahore. The report strongly suggested that overseas players should decline to participate due to concerns over safety. Pakistan’s board swiftly and fiercely rejected the FICA assessment via a strongly worded press release. “FICA has done great disservice to the cause of cricket in general and Pakistan cricket in particular by advising players not to play in the PSL final in Lahore next March because of ‘security reasons’,” read a statement. “FICA has cited unnamed expert security consultants for updated security advice that claims Pakistan is at an extremely elevated state of insecurity.” The FICA statement came shortly after the PCB had announced that the final would be played in Lahore on March 5, as planned, whether overseas players take part or not. If they decline to travel, they will be replaced by players from Pakistan or foreign players who are ready to make a trip. Apart from the final the entire tournament will be played in the UAE – as was the 2016 edition. The two finalists will then meet at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium. (BT)

ADAMS CONFIRMED AS CRICKET DIRECTOR - The West Indies Cricket Board Tuesday confirmed the appointment of former West Indies captain, Jimmy Adams, as its new director of cricket. The 49-year-old, who recently stepped down as head coach of English County side, Kent, after four years in charge, has replaced Englishman Richard Pybus who did not seek a renewal of his contract. News of Adams’s appointment had been widely reported earlier this month. The Jamaican, who will be based in Antigua, officially started his new role on Tuesday on a three-year contract and said he was keen to undertake his duties. (BT)

AAB NOT TALKING TO ATHLETES – An independent athlete is contending that the Athletics Association of Barbados (AAB) is in need of a shake-up. The athlete, who requested anonymity, charged that he and some of his colleagues are being prohibited by the association from registering for the current season. “The AAB is preventing unattached athletes from registering with the association for the upcoming season for reasons unknown to us,” he said. “A number of athletes have been going to the AAB office to register for the season, and both athletes and officials are being told that the president wants to meet with the athletes relative to registering for the season.” (DN)

GAMES ON – The National Primary Schools Athletics Championship (NAPSAC) will feature on Barbados’ 2017 sporting calendar after all. New NAPSAC chairman Richmark Cave made this confirmation Wednesday afternoon to Barbados TODAY, assuring that the championship, considered the pinnacle of track and field competition and supremacy for Under-13 athletes, in Barbados was very much on track. It was reported just a few weeks ago that due to insufficient funding NAPSAC was in danger of not being staged this year. Former chairman Wayne Robinson met last month with 50 primary school teachers and coaches to review the 2016 NAPSAC season and it was said that the chances of having NAPSAC this year were slim to none without sponsorship. Robinson had previously indicated that it would cost $200,000 to stage the championship and that the move to the Usain Bolt Complex last year due to the closure of the stands at the National Stadium, had hit their pockets to a point where they had lost about two-thirds of their spectatorship and income. Now, Cave has stated that the athletics meet will be off and running at the Usain Bolt Sports Complex beginning February 13 and that notification letters have already been sent out to all schools. He said that based on responses from sponsors the championship would meet its financing costs. (BT)

MATTHEW’S CUP - Matthew Foster-Estwick’s play was good enough to win him the BTA Invitational, and now a spot among Barbados’ best. The country’s next best tennis talent is set tomake his senior national debut next month after predictably getting named in the Davis Cup squad to Paraguay. Newly appointed captain Damien Applewhaite broke the news yesterday, announcing Foster-Estwick’s inclusion in a team which includes world no.145 Darian King, veteran Davis Cup player Haydn Lewis and Seanon Williams. “His performance during the Invitational was very convincing, so it’s clear that during this time at college he’s been able to catch up to the more seasoned players because he’s definitely earned his place,”said Applewhaite. (DN)

LITERARY CONTEST DOGGED BY PLAGIARISM - Plagiarism has raised its ugly head in Barbados’ premiere creative writing competition, the Frank Collymore Literary Endowment (FCLE), according to chairman of judges Antonio ‘Boo’ Rudder. Speaking at the 2016 awards ceremony, he gave several examples of immaturity in the submissions, while indicating that one or more of the budding authors had copied the writing of another person or persons and entered it as original. “We still see too many pieces that are indicative of hasty preparation and lack of attention to detail, and at times blatant plagiarism that cannot be justified at this level of creative endeavour,” Rudder told a shocked audience in the Grand Salle of the Central Bank on Saturday evening. Plagiarism at the level of FCLE came as a surprise because the endowment is in the name of a Barbadian man of arts, a stage performer, painter, and teacher who had in his classes the likes of George Lamming and the late Austin Tom Clarke. (BT)

LIONS HEADING FOR 100 - Lions Clubs International is striding towards its 100th anniversary of committed service to communities in need around the world. The Lions and Leos, younger members of the Lions Club of Barbados, on Sunday got together to commemorate the start of the significant milestone at the St Matthew’s Church. The Lions Club, initially called Association of Lions Club, was founded by Chicago businessman Melvin Jones on June 7, 1917 and has since grown into the world’s largest service club organization with over 1.3 million members. The first Lions Club in Barbados was founded on September 26, 1961, led by the late Cecil deCaires. (BT)

YOUTH URGED TO GET INVOLVED - The newly elected president of the Barbados Youth Development Council (BYDC) Roshanna Trim wants young people to play a more vibrant role when it comes to decision-making in Barbados. She stressed that it was important for the youth to be aware of the power they wield, “because young people are more or less the deciding demographic”. Trim said the new executive is committed to making sure that youth are empowered and included going forward, and it is excited to get plans off the ground to unite youth organizations across the island and get corporate Barbados invested in young people so that more programmes can be developed. (BT)

THREE RECEIVE TOP AWARDS - IT’S OFFICIAL. Governor General Sir Elliott Belgrave yesterday knighted Sir Geoffrey Cave, Sir John Connell and Dame Selma Jackman during a ceremony at Government House for those receiving Independence honours as well as the Barbados Jubilee Honour. Sir Geoffrey received the honour for outstanding contribution to business, Sir John Connell QC, for law and the protection of the environment, and Dame Selma, a surgeon, for her outstanding contribution to the medical profession. (DN)

MISS UNIVERSE BARBADOS OFF TO PHILIPPINES - Miss Universe Barbados Shannon Harris is off to the Philippines to compete in the Miss Universe 2017 pageant. The Bajan beauty left for Manila this morning to join official pre-pageant activities that will start on January 15. A beaming Harris told Barbados TODAY she was ready to go and urged Barbadians to continue to show their support.Her parents, Kathy and Derek Harris, were equally excited. They are confident that Shannon can bring home the crown. The pageant will take place on the evening of January 29th. (BT)

There are 22 Days until Girlfriends Expo & Arts Festival (February 4th & 5th) and you can purchase your tickets from Ticket Pal.

To all our nation’s teachers who are returning to work today remember we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child. Well that’s all for today folks. There are 353 more days in the year                          ;) Shalom! #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps https://www.facebook.com/TheChaseFilesTVShow/