posted on May 6, 2004 10:09:36 PM new
What is going on with our country?!? We seem to be making one mistake after another, alienating other nations. Arrogance, blundering, whatever. We need to get our act together, somehow before we embarrass ourselves entirely.
The US has apologised to Barbados for wrongly portraying the Caribbean state as suffering from rising violent crime and an inept police force.
The state department said the remarks published were wrong and had been removed from its website.
Barbadian Attorney General Mia Mottley said she accepted the apology but felt "disappointment and disgust".
However, there are fears the economic damage has already been done to a state which depends largely on tourism.
One newspaper, The Barbados Advocate, asked in an editorial how the inaccurate description had been allowed to sit on the US website for four months unchallenged.
The state department has now revised its travel notes for Barbados, deleting its earlier reference to a rise in crime and poor policing but retaining a plea for vigilance, particularly on the beaches at night.
'Deepest regret'
The state department said the offending material had been intended for another, unspecified country.
"It was inaccurate and has been removed from our website and replaced," said Stuart Patt, a spokesman for its Bureau of Consular Affairs.
US Consul General Robert Fretz also apologised in the Barbadian capital Bridgetown, telling reporters the embassy looked forward to continuing the "co-operative and productive relationship" it had always had with the police there.
Daniel Becker, the embassy's security officer, expressed his "deepest regret" about the possible impact on the police's reputation in a letter to the Barbados Advocate.
"It saddens me that the reputations and personal sacrifices of these men and women may have been diminished by our mistake," he wrote.
posted on May 6, 2004 11:08:54 PM new
It's a conspiracy Bunni! They are hopig that tourists will stay away from Florida and instead go to Disneyland giving more tax dollars to Florida so that Jeb can claim credit for economic recovery
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on May 7, 2004 04:03:22 AM new
It's worrisome, for sure, when our government cannot get their facts straight. It appears to the rest of the world that our country is run by a bunch of bumblin idiots.
posted on May 7, 2004 05:37:29 AM new
no cheryl,
the rest of the world hates the US right now, they see lunatics and pyschos running the US now....World War 3 is coming because of america, is the chant...but all this is a plan for banks to make more money, it's all about money.....create confusion through war, and the war merchants are right now drooling, for these profits, example look at gas prices right now where you live......too bad...America used to stand for something , in the eyes of many, but now it is looked upon with disgust, and can't figure out why the american people put up with this sh$t......that is what most people in the world feel....don't believe me...research and you will see........
I'm very well aware of what is going on in this country today. It disgusts me. I'm glad my grandfather who fought in WWII isn't alive to see it. He was a staunch Republican, but even he would be disgusted over our government's actions. Bush's foreign policy is the worse in this country's history and there are still those who think he's the best thing since sliced bread. The people of the UK are just as disgusted by their government's actions, particularly those of Blair. Both countries are toilet bound. We have taken a portion of the world that already saw us through suspicious eyes and made them even more distrustful and suspicious. We've won no hearts. Although I cannot blame the entire US miliary on the actions of a few, the rest of the world can and probably will. You are a reflection of those who serve under you. To put it in simplier terms: If you are a supervisor and your staff F*@$s up, it reflects on you. You are ultimately to blame because it was YOUR responsibility to see that things were done right. Rumsfeld needed to be fired by Bush and his determination to keep him on his staff just makes him look worse. Now if only the rest of this country could see what the rest of the world does. . . .
posted on May 7, 2004 02:08:16 PM new
i agree with you Cheryl
it is a sad state of affairs when a country's own leaders are determined to destroy it's own people and country, very very sad, i just hope THE PEOPLE of the USA will see this before it's too late...
do you know what history books will say about America in the future, if there is a future...." America was the cause of World War 3 " ....that will be the legacy left by America.....
posted on May 7, 2004 02:24:44 PM new
The U.S. is disliked because of what Bush has done to the country. To top ot off, to say he's guided by God is sad at best. Cheney predicted the war would last for decades. That might be the only REAL truth that's come out of the White House so far.
posted on May 7, 2004 02:45:28 PM new
I can forgive a man who can admit he's lied. I can forgive a man who admits to mistakes. That does not show weakness, but rather a deep understanding of human nature and our ability to forgive. It shows that the concerns and feelings of others are important and have substance. However, I cannot forgive a man who consistantly denies he's done anything wrong and who walks around making claims that he does it in the name of God. Whoever his God may be, I'm glad he's not mine. The only reference in the bible to a bush (as far as I know - and that's limited to say the least) is the one that burns.
