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**Karl** · November 7, 2007, 04:20 AM

Have to agree with Bruce here.
That is how you deal with managers who are arrogant and make serious errors - slap them down!

Firstly: Henry's outbursts (choice of words) is a challenge to who is incharge of the government.

He needed to have his briches -wacked! Bruce wacked them!

Secondly: His actions made it difficult for him to continue working with Richard Branston and Virgin....and, you must negotiate...sit and talk...and, persuade to seeing the light your way. Henry had lost any sense of being mature, rational, sensible and civil that one must present to an adversary to have any hope of being able to persuade that adversary to come around to one's position...to give-in.

Henry made it easy for Bruce. He supplied all the reason why his position as negotiator on Jamaica's, the JLP and Bruce's behalf was untenable.

Thirdly: In one sense Bruce is saying Henry from himself. Henry would look the ass...having to compromise his already publicly stated positions. Bruce has allowed him the gift of making the decision to appearing to have stuck to his 'guns' through being silent from here on on this matter.

...ofcourse Henry can throw away the life-line Bruce has given him by continuing with his intemperate remarks...thus making challenging Bruce, making it difficult politically...and making difficult the matter of negotiating in manner in Jamaica's best interest - i.e. compromising the negotiations.
Bruce would then have no choice but to remove him as a Minister of Government.

Fourthly: Henry has given Bruce the perfect way to inform without saying a word to his other Ministers...that when given a portfolio and or task you can do just about anything...except not do the job well. If you have doubts...do not make the/a mistake/so not screw up...come to me/bring your thoughts on the matter and or ask for that crucial second opinion from me/the boss! ...Managers must manage but - DO NOT SCREW UP!

**Willi** · November 7, 2007, 05:43 AM

I think its a good cop, bad cop play.

**Willi** · November 7, 2007, 06:01 AM

Branson sweetens the pot????

Branson pledges to help Ja develop clean fuel
BY INGRID BROWN Sunday Observer staff reporter browni@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, November 04, 2007

Virgin Atlantic boss Richard Branson has pledged to assist Jamaica develop a 'clean fuel' which would not only be environmentally friendly but could drastically reduce the country's heavy fuel bill.
Branson. wants to help Jamaica become self-sufficient in fuel
This he said was communicated to Prime Minister Bruce Golding at a meeting last Wednesday in Kingston, and that a report outlining the details will soon be made available.
"We will be preparing a report to show Jamaica how to become self-sufficient in fuel and not have to rely on imported fuel and the expense of that," Branson told the Sunday Observer.
Last year, Branson pledged to invest $3 billion over 10 years - including a hundred per cent of any proceeds from Virgin's airlines and train companies - into developing clean fuels, renewable energy and environmental technologies.
Branson, who transformed Virgin from a fledgling record label created in the 1970s into a conglomerate dabbling in everything from the airline business to cell phones to record stores, said plans are in the very advanced stage for the development of this clean fuel.
He said the fuel should be ready by the middle of next year when one of the 747 aircraft in the Virgin fleet will begin flying on a mixture of clean and dirty fuel. "If we can make this clean fuel it will bring our bill down significantly," he said.
Branson said there is no reason why Jamaica should not be efficient in clean fuel since it has wind, sun and wave power, the three critical combinations.
"Jamaica has all the potential of becoming self-sufficient in fuel," he said.
Branson, who owns an island in the British Virgin Islands, said in six months it will be completely carbon neutral.
He said they will be willing to do a study for the Jamaican Government showing the country how to utilise wind and sun.
"Since I am here today, the electricity went out seven to eight times and that needn't happen because the sugar plantations can be brought back to life," he said.
Branson announced that his firm will be funding sugar and corn-based ethanol plants in Brazil to develop all kinds of fuels using sugar-based crops. "We are also in talks with the British Government about replacing fuels from the Middle East with those from Caribbean clean fuel," he said.
.set to go on space flight in 19 months
Known for his daredevil adventures such as crossing the Atlantic ocean in a boat and flying over the Pacific Ocean in a hot air balloon, Richard Branson says he will be off on another adventure within the next 18 months.
This time it will be aboard the inaugural commercial Virgin Galactic flight set to launch as soon as the company's private spacecraft is deemed ready.
He said he will be accompanied by his children and parents on the Virgin spaceship designed to carry six passengers and two pilots to an altitude of about 140km on a sub-orbital space flight.
Tickets on a Virgin Galactic flight are expected to cost £100,000 ($190,000).
Virgin Galactic will own and operate at least five spaceships and two mother ships.
According to Branson, the passenger flights will take off from a facility called Spaceport America in the New Mexico desert.
Virgin Galactic is one of several private firms vying to open up public access to outer space.
Branson told the Sunday Observer that his first trip will be to a frontier which has not been properly explored.
"I believe that one day we will populate other planets, and so I am looking at plans to put a hotel in space quite close to the moon," he said.
Branson said he may even consider having the Jamaican-born Barrington Irving, of whom he spoke highly, trained at his space facility in New Mexico and being sent into space. Irving set two world records earlier this year as the first black person and the youngest ever to fly solo around the globe.
Branson also told the Sunday Observer that the secret to his success is that he is good at surrounding himself with wonderful people. "I like to say yes rather than no and I love to challenge myself," he said, adding "if something is impossible, then I say let's go for it."
He said he loves to create things he can be proud of.
The name Virgin came about when Branson initially started his mail order record business, and wanted a name that would be eye-catching, could stand alone and not appeal only to students, his target market at the time.
One member of his small team suggested Virgin because they were complete virgins at business.

**Mosiah** · November 7, 2007, 08:45 AM

I wish we could all lose Air Jamaica. The airline is about to lose almost US$300M this year. Somebody do the math and let us know how many Jamaican dollars that is. My adding machine at the office can't handle so many zeros.

And yet we have time to be arguing over 3 5M pound slots out of Heathrow.

Good move by the PM. This is leadership. And a beat down, I might add! It also happened with Horace Chang beating up his gum about the Inner City Housing Project. He was quickly reminded that the NHT falls under the PM's portfolio.

**Willi** · November 7, 2007, 09:11 AM

Originally posted by Mosiah View Post

I wish we could all lose Air Jamaica. The airline is about to lose almost US$300M this year. Somebody do the math and let us know how many Jamaican dollars that is. My adding machine at the office can't handle so many zeros.

And yet we have time to be arguing over 3 5M pound slots out of Heathrow.

Good move by the PM. This is leadership. And a beat down, I might add! It also happened with Horace Chang beating up his gum about the Inner City Housing Project. He was quickly reminded that the NHT falls under the PM's portfolio.

LoL.

I see you happy!!!

IF we are to keep AJ, then Euro access is important and Heathrow is supremely important.

If not, and we decide to save the estim. Jam $21b in losses, then I agree that we are wasting time. That money can be directed to Education and training, crime and infrastructure maintenance. Eventually some can go to inner city redevelopment, so that downtown is rezoned for business and the lane dwellers can be relocated elsewhere (less dysfunctional environment).

Consequences either way. If we give up AJ, then we leave our destiny in the hands of others in terms of seat capacity into Jam. This is what applies to Bdos, Antigua and others. Not necessarily a bad thing, as it will force us to get competitive in order to be more attractive and secure more/better access to Farrin markets.

I must say that at this point I think the best thing is to merge AJ into say a Virgin in return for a equity stake and to work on making MoBay a world class hub. That will staunch the losses, tie us to a secure partner and force us to focus on what we can best control.

I like yuh thinking Mo. Kudos.

**Lazie** · November 7, 2007, 09:28 AM

Originally posted by Mosiah View Post

I wish we could all lose Air Jamaica. The airline is about to lose almost US$300M this year. Somebody do the math and let us know how many Jamaican dollars that is. My adding machine at the office can't handle so many zeros.

And yet we have time to be arguing over 3 5M pound slots out of Heathrow.

Good move by the PM. This is leadership. And a beat down, I might add! It also happened with Horace Chang beating up his gum about the Inner City Housing Project. He was quickly reminded that the NHT falls under the PM's portfolio.

Once again you missed it. We sold either 7 or 8 slots for 5 million quid .. why did British Airways buy 2 slots at 10 million each? Use Microsoft Excel to figure out the point being made.

**Willi** · November 7, 2007, 09:31 AM

Lazie,

Understand it from Mo's point of view...he would have given them awway for free to get rid of AJ and it cash haemorrhaging characteristics! He wants out of the AJ poor show great pretense and I cant say I blame him.

**Mosiah** · November 7, 2007, 09:34 AM

I did and the point remains the same - JA$21 billion dollars is not chicken feed.

**Lazie** · November 7, 2007, 09:36 AM

Originally posted by Willi View Post

Lazie,

Understand it from Mo's point of view...he would have given them awway for free to get rid of AJ and it cash haemorrhaging characteristics! He wants out of the AJ poor show great pretense and I cant say I blame him.

.. but that don't make any sense! Him complaining about how much money the airline is losing.. and rightly so, but who has to cover those losses? Nuh we the taxpayers? Why give them away for nothing instead of getting the most money to offset the losses?

**Mosiah** · November 7, 2007, 09:38 AM

Well, not free, but I would be focused on the big picture, which is a JA$21B loss this year alone.

**Willi** · November 7, 2007, 09:44 AM

I was exaggerating to prove a point. Maybe I should have said cheap instead of free to avoid confusion.

**Sickko** · November 7, 2007, 09:50 AM

Didnt Bruce allude to merging Air jamaica with some other major carrier in the debate with Portia?

he spoke about it I am sure

**Willi** · November 7, 2007, 09:52 AM

Yes he did.

He use the Air Sri Lanka analogy.

**Lazie** · November 7, 2007, 09:52 AM

Originally posted by Sickko View Post

Didnt Bruce allude to merging Air jamaica with some other major carrier in the debate with Portia?

he spoke about it I am sure

Yes he did! Even Mike Henry and Shirley Williams spoke of it. You think it may be Virgin?

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