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Now departing: Bermuda's youth

If opportunity leaves our island, our most capable youth will follow.

New Onion has a very important post describing that if jobs leave the island, there is a high likelihood that the best and brightest of Bermuda's youth will go with them. 

New Onion is 100% correct that there are young Bermudians who are considering leaving the island. The reality is that Bermuda is becoming less and less of an attractive place to be and it is relatively easy for young Bermudians to pick up and leave because we have very little invested here.

Jobs are slowly being migrated off island.  Not executive level jobs but the entry and mid level jobs Bermudians rely on.  These are the very jobs that people like "young Johnny" are hoping to apply for that will slowly disappear and give young Johnny less reason to return home after school.

Even if departments are only downgraded in size, less people means less opportunities for advancement.  It means less exposure to the experience needed to reach for those management and executive positions.  The irony is that the very things our government hopes to achieve with their policies are going to the things most likely to be destroyed.

As New Onion correctly points out "If you’re good enough at your job to be a standout in Bermuda then in most cases you’re good enough to be solid anywhere."  Our youth have options and there is a big world out there with a great deal to offer.

Why should our best and brightest young Bermudians stay? 

Politics.bm 4 year anniversary

Whether you love him or hate him, Christian Dunleavey's ongoing dedication to Bermuda should not go unnoticed. 

As a fellow blogger who has followed in the footsteps of those like Christian, I have gained first hand appreciation for the time and energy that goes into not only regularly voicing one's thoughts day in and day out but also attaching your name to every one of them.  This, on top of life's daily struggles, can prove an arduous and draining task and truly shows the dedication that an individual can have for seeing a better future for Bermuda.

I have tremendous respect for Christian for having sustained his efforts for 4 years as of today.  It truly takes having a blog, writing regularly and facing criticism to even gain a mild understanding of what Christian has achieved over the past 4 years.

With that I'd like to offer Christian my congratulations on achieving the 4 year mark.

Looking a gift horse in the mouth

Suddenly putting Southland's on hold is a confusing move by the government and developers.  Why the sudden consideration of a change in location?  What are the benefits of Morgan's point over Southland's?  What will happen to Southland's itself?  There are a great many unanswered questions.

Former Premier Alex Scott suggests:

"After the second hotel to the east of Southland's, (Grand Atlantic Resort and Residences), was given the SDO, my constituents, and the residents in Dunscombe Road in particular, started to express grave concerns," said Mr. Scott.

"I asked Mr. Hunt whether he and his group might consider this development on another site."

After all the protests over almost a year from a great many in the electorate.  Even asking for opinions and then ignoring them.  Suddenly Mr. Scott's constituents voice concern and that's enough to persuade him that perhaps the developers should be looking at other sites?  It doesn't add up.

So, what questions should we be asking ourselves?

Mr. Scott told The Royal Gazette: "Sustainable development does not mean 'no development', it means you manage it and work with developers. So we talked about a hotel, housing and a golf course at Morgan's Point. We wondered if the Southland's group would be interested in such a swap, and the answer came back as 'yes'.

Morgan's point?  Doesn't the government own Morgan's point?  Will it be sold for fair value?  

Any development of Morgan's Point would require a major clean-up operation. The peninsula was a US Naval base until the mid-1990s and contains much oil pollution.

That's quite a massive cleanup.  Who's going to conduct it and who's going to pay for it?

"I asked Mr. Hunt whether they would be prepared to put in housing as part of their plan and the answer also came back as 'yes'."

Housing?  What kind of housing?  Millionaire condos; affordable housing; apartment buildings?  Does housing = condos = a lot more profit and is that part of the interest in a different site or is this a chance to improve living for Bermudians?  Could it be some combination of the two and if so, how much?

Mr. Scott said: "If they are prepared to consider another site, I think we have a win-win situation. Morgan's Point would also give them the possibility of an 18-hole golf course, and with the Port Royal course on the other side this offers the possibility of a 36-hole facility on the Island. This would enable us to hold major PGA competitions here.

A 36-hole golf facility?  Who will own the Morgan's Point golf course?  Is there a suggestion of selling the government owned Port Royal golf course alongside Morgan's point to create that 36-hole facility, or simply a partnership between the two in order to hold PGA competitions?

"I also think Bermudians would be far more supportive of the development. I put it to the owners that this site would not only match Southland's, but is perhaps a better site for them."

No doubt, but there needs to be a clear picture of what will happen to Southland's itself.  Bermuda Environmental Sustainability Taskforce Chairman Stuart Hayward suggests Southland's should be bought back and turned into a nature reserve and public park for the enjoyment of the Bermudian people.

"A value-for-value trade of Southland's for land at Morgan's Point would get our endorsement. We recognize that talks are still underway and that details have yet to be worked out. With that in mind, and responding only to the initial glimpse into the concept given by former Premier Alex Scott, we are cautiously optimistic.

Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, for a prime hotel and golf course at Morgan's point could be a good thing for Bermuda but, but there indeed are many unanswered questions.  Did the location change because of the opinion of a single constituency yet when hundreds, if not thousands, of the electorate were opposed to the Southland's development it didn't matter?  Who's going to handle the cleanup and who's going to own what?  What will happen to Southland's itself?

There are far too many unanswered questions but knowing that the project is on hold gives us time to start looking for answers.

Fighting the system

    Recap of unposted pieces continues: unpublished in September 2007

Some people come into regiment and do little more than 3 years and 2 months fighting the system. They learn little and unfortunately are doomed to spend a lifetime fighting life.

One such individual is up in regiment today. He wonders why noone respects him and yet he has little concept that respect is something to be earned, not given freely. Unfortunately it is of litle doubt that he actually understands this, the only problem is that the only way he knows how to earn respect is on the street by being tough. Sadly he knows little of how respect is earned in the bigger world and really one could doubt that he'd even know where to begin.

Undoubtedly, many of the elder generation would condemn him. A bad youth they would think. Yet they have little understanding of todays youth nor of the society that they've created.

No comment?

A very concerning report about the strength of our primary industry is presented and our Premier takes a pass on commenting?  Does this contradict the great reputation he's been raving about?  Should we be worried about government policies and their long term impacts?  Are we in for a rude awakening and are dire straits ahead?

Only a week ago, Premier Brown was hyping up the success of the PLP government and Bermuda's grand reputation:

"Bermuda is earning rave reviews in Wall Street, major players are bullish. That would not happen if they did not think the Bermuda Government was a blue chip Government.

"Strong as our reputation is around the world, I will continue to build the brand."

Yet, today's Royal Gazette paints a very different picture where it suggests that the reinsurance community could relocate "at the drop of a hat".   Yet, despite these frightening revelations, Premier Brown apparently does not deem them important enough to comment on.

Another article suggests further insights from the report:

The pro-independence and anti-expat rhetoric is scary, the work-permit situation chaotic and the power of instant deportation over any non-Bermudian (including troublesome journalists) is genuinely frightening.

For those in the know, the work-permit situation on island is indeed chaotic for many businesses.  Durations for a response take many months and leave many businesses having severe difficulties keeping candidates interested that long waiting for an answer.   There are rumors abound within the international business community that many companies have been planning to relocate jobs off island and the reinsurance article reaffirms those rumors.

Most concerning are the remarks made concerning independence:

"However, the recent appeal to London's Privy council over media reporting of leaked police files in an infamous construction-related corruption case has reminded outsiders that as long as Bermuda isn't independent, the ultimate checks and balances still reside elsewhere."

For anyone who holds the view that independence could in no way cause a flight of international business, the above remarks should come as a serious wake-up call.  Perhaps young Johnny shouldn't be as concerned about the Sven's from Sweden and a little more concerned as to whether there will be any jobs left for young Johnny at all? 

Should we be concerned that our Premier can "pass" on commenting on these troubling remarks about the state of our most important industry?   Do we really have as great of a reputation as he is contending?  Could a "mass exodus" actually be a reality where one day Bermudians like you and I will wake up to find we have no jobs and no future?

Silence from our Premier is not what I expect at a time like this.

Cherry Picking Crime Statistics

I'd like to point out an excellent letter to the editor by Guilden Gilbert Jr. who notes how the UBP have cherry picked crime statistics from the last 8 years rather than the 10 years of data that have been available.

Mr. Dunkley seems to arbitrarily choose to compare the 2006 crime numbers to those of 1999, instead of going back as far as the statistics go on the Bermuda Police Service web site (www.bermudapolice.bm) which go back to 1996, the PLP did not become the Government until 1998.

In 1996 there were 350 total crimes of violence and within that number were six murders and six attempted murders. In 2006 the total crimes of violence was 305 with three murders and two attempted murders. Between 1997 and 2006 the total number of violent crimes did not exceed 336, which means that the highest annual number of violent crimes occurred under the UBP watch. Mr. Dunkley says that the burglary rate seem to be at the highest ever, yet in 1996 there were 223 burglaries and in 2006 there were 37. In fact in 1997, still under the UBP watch, there were 299 burglaries, which is the highest recorded. Also 1997 saw the highest total break-in offences with 1,241 compared to 2006 with 1,142.

Mr. Dunkley states that robberies are at their highest rate in 10 years, again he is incorrect as according the Bermuda Police statistics 10 years ago, 1997, there were 429 total crimes of stealing and in 2006 there were 263. The highest recorded number is 512 in 1999, which means that robbery/theft has actually declined overall in the last 10 years.

Nice work Guilden.  Glad to see others using statistics to back up their arguments and point out cases of cherry picking the numbers.  While evaluating the number of police officers he notes:

there are currently about 450 police officers in Bermuda or one police officer for every 149 people. If the number of police officers Bermuda has on a per capita basis existed in any other jurisdiction that jurisdiction would be labeled a police state. New York City has a population of approximately 8.2 million and a police force of nearly 39,000 officers or one officer for every 210 people. The United Kingdom has a population of 60.7 million and a police force of 139,000 officers or 1 officer for every 437 people.

Interesting information, to which Guilden asks "Is it not the job of the Commissioner of Police to make sure the officers under his charge are properly deployed to actively prevent crime?"  Given the number of police officers in comparison to other jurisdictions, this is a question that should be explored in greater detail.

However, Guilden also asks "Has the PLP Government not given the Police Service a healthy budget?", to which I have dedicated some time researching into what various individuals have said and the conclusion presented was that many believe the Police service is short on overall resources.  Beyond this there was also the detail that he pay contract for Police Officers expired in 2004 and has yet to be negotiated.

So, while I agree with Guilden with regards to the UBP cherry picking the numbers and the questions of whether there may already be enough police officers, I still have my doubts with regards to healthy funding.

Revolution in Education: Game consoles in the classroom?

Continuing my case for greater use of technology to assist schools, I interestingly picked up on this article from the PhysOrg.com blog that notes how schools in Tokyo are successfully using portable game consoles assist children in learning.

In a growing number of cities, teachers hoping to engage children born in the fast-moving digital age are using game machines such as the Nintendo DS, the hugely popular double-screen handheld console, to draw in and hold students.

The strategy seems to be working in one Tokyo classroom, where students come for extra-curricular maths lessons each Saturday morning.
...

"With the game console, you can feel the fast speed and tempo. I think it matches today's children," he said, adding the board had received no complaints from parents.

At just one-fifteenth of the cost of a personal computer -- around 17,000 yen (150 dollars) each -- the DS is an economical teaching tool, he said, adding that results in an initial trial showed the English vocabulary of junior high school students using the DS had soared by 40 percent.

The private Otemon Gakuin Elementary School in the western metropolis of Osaka used Sony's PlayStation Portable (PSP) from last September to March this year in a class of 38 fourth-graders, aged nine or 10.
Teacher Toyokazu Takeuchi did not need to print out or check tests. Instead, his own console received real-time data showing which students were making mistakes and what mistakes they were making.

Incredible.

"This is e-learning made in Japan -- traditional efforts in reading, writing and calculating coupled with the power of information technology and game machines," he said.

People around the world are dealing with the same issues we do here.  What we need to do is start thinking out of the box by looking around the world to see what kind of solutions are out there that we can adopt to solve our similar problems.

The education review board and government should be getting in contact with these individuals in Japanese schools to gain insights from this study and launch a similar program here.

With the pilot programme wrapped up, Takeuchi plans to expand the use of PSPs to second graders from April next year. If the project is extended, it would cover some 800 students in Osaka.

Kenichi Fukunaga, vice president for external relations at Sony Computer Entertainment, said he believed the educational uses would spread further, as game consoles were easy-to-use, high-performance machines.
There was still some tough opposition to game machines, he said, but added: "In every era parents have worried over a new medium they cannot understand but their children are absorbed in."  

"This is a revolution in education"

Indeed, a revolution in education is exactly what we need.

Non-mariner's revisited

Back in early August I wrote about and posted pictures of the Non-mariner's raft up which was definitely the best event of the summer.  Even though I found a great photo, it really didn't do the event justice in describing how huge and wild of a party it really was.  So, for all of my friends abroad who were wondering what I was raving about, I'm pleased that a copy of the LookTV coverage has been posted on YouTube.

Don't miss next year's....

Banking on people

Microlending is a concept that puts the power of banking in the hands of everyday people allowing any individual with some money to spare to invest in the poor.  Whether to support developing nations or even those around them, microlending is a tool that if well utilized, has the power to be world changing.  Could microlending change the way we approach financing in Bermuda?

Microlending is developed around the principal of dividing up loans to individuals into very small denominations allowing many people to split the risk of lending to the poor and those with bad credit.  As the theory goes, if you have $500 to invest and you divvy it up into 20 microloans of $25 apiece, you can diversify your risks that any one loan of a handful will default, much like regular banks do with much larger sums.

Kiva.org is just one example of microlending at work.  Using the power of the Internet, Kiva.org allows individuals from around the world to view the profiles of entrepreneurs in developing nations and decide whether they'd like to contribute to their goals.  Kiva.org provides the service of profiling entrepreneurs, their plans and their finances and providing a portal through which individuals can loan as little as $25 towards any individual's borrowing goal.  Once that individual has gathered enough funding through various $25 "microloans" from numerous individuals, the loan is fulfilled.  The people behind Kiva.org then manage the loan for the stated term and when the loan is repaid, you get your money returned to you.  While interest payments go towards funding operations, Kiva.org has proven an effective means to help those in need by giving when you may not have allot to give.

Prosper, is another very different example of microlending at work.  Prosper allows Americans to lend money to other Americans by taking the concept of a bank open source.  Essentially, prosper profiles individuals in need of a loan similar to how Kiva does.  However, in Prosper's case, it is possible to not only view further info such as credit ratings and endorsements but also to bid on the interest rate that you're willing to offer. 

Similar to Kiva.org, Prosper utilizes the concept of microlending to allow you to diversify your loans across multiple individuals so that you can reduce your risks against loan defaults and thus make it less likely you'll lose money.  In the case of a default, Prosper sells the debt to collection agencies just as a regular bank would and gives you the proceeds.  As an added fascinating feature, Prosper provides statistics on each category of credit and the number of defaults associated with each so that you know your approximate risks when lending.  Amazingly, when you consider defaults and fees, all levels of credit on average provide returns of approximately 10% annually, which is better than you'll get from the average stock market index.  Sadly, Prosper doesn't accept funding from non-Americans.

Could microlending be used to in Bermuda?  What if one Bermudian had the opportunity to fund another Bermudian entrepreneur?  What if local and international businesses could look up the profiles of local entrepreneurs and local charitable organizations and choose to partially donate to or fund their cause based upon their stated need?  Could Bermudian entrepreneurs, those in poor financial straights and charitable organizations benefit from an open-source approach to acquiring financing? 

Microlending puts the power of banking in the hands of everyday people and has the power to change the way we look at entrepreneurship here in Bermuda.  It's been used successfully to empower individuals in developing nations and is continuing to offer success to those in developed nations.  It's a world changing concept that could well have great potential benefits to empower Bermuda.

Reading more into the new study on black males

Reading the recent Royal Gazette piece on Dr. Ronald Mincy, the individual commissioned for the latest study on black males, has turned some interesting remarks on his part, particularly with regards to marriage, affordability and potential causes of fatherless homes:

His studies have made him keenly interested in the decline of marriages and its effect on children. Differences in earnings between men and women are a factor. "The situation shaping up in Bermuda really does conspire against people taking up marriage in the first place and then it being sustained, at least among blacks where among younger women are much more successful at landing jobs and sustaining jobs than young men.

"If men are not able to support a family the likelihood they will want to get married or someone will choose them is very slim. That's an important part of it."

...

He said studies showed men wanted and needed to get attached to their children — but the cycle of fatherlessness continued.

"A common theme that many of the young men have is 'I grew up without a father and that created a lot of pain for me.' They say to themselves 'I will never do to my children what my father did to me — desert me.'

...

"But if you are not clear and determined to see these things through and you feel at fault for not holding up your end then we, as human beings, seek rewards and we flee from trouble and I think that tends to push away the dissonance of 'I am not going to do this and then doing exactly that.'

"It means from one generation to another this cycle of fatherlessness continues."

The upshot was increased crime and violent behaviour. "You are less likely to find that with young men who have fathers in their homes to set boundaries. Children want boundaries. They want to say 'Mom, dad, set me straight on this'."

Some of this was interestingly witnessed within regiment.  There were a small handful of trouble-making individuals who seemed to not only yearn for, but thrive on discipline while the rest of us were largely the ones punished for their misgivings.  It's always funny to hear people say that they joined the Corporals Cadre (extra time committed to gain rank) to get away from the troublemakers.  For, in my year, it was the troublemakers who joined and thus there were those who avoided it simply to avoid them and thus being just a Private has been a much better experience than it ever was in recruit camp.

Anyway, back to the study:

His study will question whether children raised in single parent homes have better employment and graduation rates than those in a nuclear family. Prof Mincy is teaming up with Statistics and is planning several trips to meet educators, business leaders and MPs.

Somehow it has to be highly doubtful that he study won't show that single parent homes are part of the problem.   The real question that should be answered is how do we avoid or improve single parent homes to address problems today?

Asked about the affect of naked racism on the plight of the young black male he said: "But plain old racism can't explain 'why girls?'. So in other words it's not plain old racism.

"It may be nuanced racism because girls are black as well. They may not be as threatening or off-putting because there is a male culture they are less affected by. But that means it is not plain old racism.

"But it could be that young black women earn a lot less than white women earn for the same set of skills. But so far the most sensational aspects of these problems, the 'on the wall', the crime, the drugs, the arrest rates, all of that is distressing and is a manifestation of male behaviour but I am also interested if there are differentials between white girls and black girls in Bermuda."

A good point and argument against plain old racism as the sole cause of Bermuda's problems.  It will be interesting to hear the "differentials between white girls and black girls" as compared against "the same set of skills" as it should give us a good gauge as to a truer picture of racism in our community.

Overall, there are still questions as to why we need another study and what is going to be done now to address the problems of youth in our community.  However, after having read Dr. Mincy's remarks it can at least be comforting to know that the $200,000 earmarked for this particular study doesn't sound like it will be a complete waste of our money.

Tourism: an update

Back near the end of June, I provided an example of what a fair and honest review of the state of our tourism industry should look like as seen from the perspective of this writer.  Political spin not included.

It was noted that

"Due to new US passport regulations introduced in January, seasonal tourism numbers for April took a slight decline and we expect this decline to continue in the following months as Americans adjust to the new requirements.  Thankfully, the US immigration office has recently reconsidered their passport policy and opted to delay the requirement until October, only requiring travelers to have photo ID and proof of a passport application."

For those in the know, this US passport regulation change is not new as it was originally introduced in the early part of this year.  The delay in October and less restricted requirements may have helped salvage our summer with regards to tourism.  However, when noting a recent Royal Gazette article, it is interesting to note a couple things.

A warning from Premier Brown with regards to the impact of the new restrictions.

New restrictions requiring US citizens must travel with passports could damage tourism, Premier Ewart Brown has warned.

Oddly, while hotel occupancy isn't as high as it was touted in may, it is up 6 percent while arrivals are down.  What this means is up for debate.

Tourism in Bermuda has had mixed results in the second quarter with hotel occupancy levels up to 84 percent, an increase of six percent compared to last year. However air arrivals for the second quarter were down by 1.5 percent to 99,594.

Here's a gem worth noting.

Cruise passengers are still exempt from the new laws until 2009.

For those eager for more info-porn, feel welcome to read the Caribbean Tourism Organization's Latest 2007 Tourism Statistics Tables (Sept. 17, 2007), for the full picture of tourism throughout the caribbean.    Here are some exerpts with relation to Bermuda.

 

Air arrivals

During Jan-Jul, overall arrivals were 182,892, an increase of 2.4% over last year.  Thus far, the winter yielded an increase of 8.7% while the summer is down 1.3%.

Arrivals for April were -3.9%, May -0.4%, June -0.8% and July -2.7

Cruise arrivals

Up 10.7% to 205,732

 

Questions which arise are whether the discount airlines have truly had the desired impact in comparison to the unknown amount of subsidizing which may have occurred.

Overall, things appear to have stuck along the earlier predicted trend and it shall be interesting to note the impacts that the full introduction of the US passport requirements in October have on air passengers as we progress into the off-season.

Questions

Are petty remarks about the Opposition Leader characteristic of what we want in the leader of our country?

"I'll tell you this, when Patrice is finished with Mr. Dunkley in the election, not all the King's horses and all the King's men will be able to put Humpty Dunkley together again," said Premier Brown.

Is this a world leading country or pre-school?  It's not even funny.  Premier Brown should have taken the hint that he's not much of a comedian the first time he was boo'd off stage. 

Stick to solving the real issues of Bermuda, Mr. Premier, and start by paying attention to who is really sitting on the wall ready to fall to pieces:  our youth. 

Dr. Ewart Brown: "When you see what we have planned for healthcare it will bring tears to your eyes. No longer will you have to worry about what will happen to you after you retire at 65. This Government will take care of it."

Why not actually just announce the plan?  We don't need to cry further over the pathetic state of our senior care and some are anxious to read through a well thought out plan that clearly addresses a great many issues.

"Visitor satisfaction is up to 95 per cent."

Last time I checked, 3.5 out of 5 is not 95%. Is it not important to gauge satisfaction by a variety of sources to ensure we get the fullest picture of the state of our tourism industry?

"This is performance, this is not a Government sleeping at the wheel."

Perhaps not, but it seems allot like trying to navigate without a map.  Where do I go to read up on the long term vision for our future?  How do the many projects and initiatives planned fit into a larger development plan and how do we know we're on the right path?  Where are the plans for how we address the approximately 3000 people to be added to our population over the next 3 years? 

"It continues to be a puzzle as to why our opponents continue to object to Jumeirah. It is the most coveted hotel brand in the world."

Who's objecting to Jumeirah?  By last check, people are objecting to the destruction of some of last real examples of what Bermuda was like before it was trashed by humanity and turned into a concrete jungle, not Jumeriah. 

"These are premium brands and they all want a piece of the action. This means Bermuda has won the respect of the premium brands in tourism," he said. "Bermuda is earning rave reviews in Wall Street, major players are bullish. That would not happen if they did not think the Bermuda Government was a blue chip Government.

"Strong as our reputation is around the world, I will continue to build the brand."

Google "Bermuda reputation" for a sobering look at what's out there.  4 of the top 5 are about the corruption scandal with the 3rd being the Crockwell murder.  The 6th states "Bermuda's reputation as a safe place for tourists is being eroded by a small number of criminals stealing from visitors on the beach, snatching bags from the baskets on the back of tourist mopeds or actually ..."  Is this a reputation to be raved out? 

He added that although Bermuda was enjoying a "boom time" in tourism and construction, crime was casting a shadow on the Island's success.

Many booms end in busts.  Again, what plans are in place for where all of these people are going to live and come from?  Is all of this construction only going to bring in more foreigners and further stretch our already horribly stretched infrastructure?

"The darkest cloud is crime. The Governor has apologized for this and this was encouraging to hear this coming from the source of control over the Police," said the Premier, but he made no further comment.

Is it fair to place the blame squarely on the governor?  Is this simply a cheap diversion of responsibility tactic?  Does government not control the purse strings that have been pulled so tight that the police force is vastly under resourced?

Hmm...

We don't need another study!

The last thing we need is another study to waste more time and more money.  We need focus on education, positive role models and providing hope.  Many of those in the older generations just don't get it and the greatest thing that needs to be done is to listen to the youth in order to understand how to address the youth's problems.  We need to afford every Bermudian the opportunity to study abroad.  We need positive role models and we need to put hope in the youth that they can have a great future.

The Royal Gazette has a number of gems with regards to understanding the crisis of young black males and this isn't one of them:

37 year old Gladwin Johnson, suggested "I think a lot of them need more structure and a path, maybe they should drop the Bermuda Regiment age from 18 to 16 and make it mandatory.

"Because right now they get a bike at 16 and that's it, they're gone. There is no control over them. But if they were in the Regiment it could give them some options and ideas about what to do."

Absolutely not.  Far too many in the community hold this delusion that the Regiment is a fix-all to our youth's problems.  In reality, many youth enter the Regiment, struggle the whole way fighting the system and enter having gained little insight into life aside from that the system will always break you.  Regiment does not have the time nor the resources to educate the youth on the reasons why the lessons taught are useful and thus Regiment is viewed with contempt and lacks respect from a great many youth who enter it, myself included.

However, if you listen to the youth, they explain exactly what the problem is and they indirectly describe the solutions that are needed.

17-year-old student Mikkail, said a lot of them felt they had no opportunities or real future.

He said :"What's the point in staying in school? As a young black guy if I finish school I still don't have anywhere to go other than to sit on the wall."

The youth have no vision of what they can attain by working hard.  Paint a picture of what they can achieve through hard work.  Provide real opportunities for housing and a good life in Bermuda.  Provide hope.

24-year-old Omar said many young black men felt there were road blocks preventing them from succeeding.

"We hear that the education system is a mess," he said. "And we're expected to go on to Bermuda College, why bother?

BINGO!  Our youth need opportunity and exposure to the world.  We need to be selling further education abroad not simply for the future in it but some of the really great experiences one walks away with.  Namely parties and women.  Generally the youth haven't lived long enough to understand why they should care so much about their future, they need to live to understand why.  Persuade them by giving them the opportunities to live and better their future.  We do not need another study, what we need is to ensure every single young Bermudian is provided the opportunity to pursue education abroad.

"And there is all this money in Bermuda but we aren't getting it. So we go to construction sites but there wasn't any technical training at schools so we didn't do it.

"And you see people from away with the training being paid twice what you are. It's just real frustrating and it doesn't look like it's changing."

Is there an echo in here?

Mr. W, 61, echoed Omar's comments and said more technical education was needed in the public schools.

"We need to find a way to engage them, and we need more technical options in the schools. I read that there will be 3,000 more jobs in the next three years and a lot of them will be for construction. We need to engage the young men and show them how to get involved. "

Forget Regiment, increase technical training to provide real opportunities for those who want to take hold of them.

36-year-old Mistry said "They don't have many role models on this Island, and the people they are holding as role models are not going down the right path.

Start a campaign that promotes successful Bermudians.  Focus on providing real positive role models.  Profile the lives of successful Bermudians tell their stories and spread their message throughout the island.  Provide hope that you actually can achieve things if you work hard.  Put posters on benches and in bus shelters, on walls and in places where they're visible.  Spread the message that there are successful Bermudians, especially black Bermudian males, who have made their dreams come true.  Whether it's a great family, a high profile career, having the boat they always dreamed of, anything and everything that is positive that youth can look at and say "I could see myself being that guy".  Role models!

Mistry continues: "They seem to have this glorified outlook on life that they can get money without getting an education, but they need to realize that they need to go down traditional paths."

That's because the only role models many youth see are from the gangsta lifestyle and they think, "maybe if I deal drugs, act tough, be violent and live the life of a gangsta one day I'll be rich and have everything."  It's a delusion because 99.9% of people who attempt to make it in such a lifestyle don't.  The very simple reason why women don't share the same problem is because there are far less women who serve up that persona that being a gangsta is the way to be.

Meanwhile lawyer Charles Richardson, who famously rehabilitated himself after being jailed for a nightclub shooting, said he hoped this study would actually be completed.

This is exactly who I'm talking about.  Profile him and other people who have turned their lives around.  Profile those who stayed the course.  Target the youth by providing real world role models that they can relate to from every situation and spread the message like a virus.

Earlier in the week Dr. Brown said:

"If this one is going to be completed then I think it's a good idea to do it," he said. "There is a problem and this study is long overdue.

We don't need another study!  It will do little more than waste more time, more money and pay little more than lip service to the real issues.  Listen to the youth.  Provide real opportunities for all Bermudians to study abroad, start a campaign of promoting positive role models and provide hope to the youth that a great future is within their grasp.

Quick mention on jobs.

1000 jobs added a year?  That's the claim of a new report that will apparently be released tomorrow.  Of particular concern are mentions in the article such as:

In 2006, 75 percent of new jobs were filled by non-Bermudians and that trend looks likely to continue.

553 according the the job market report.

Surprisingly it is not international business that is creating the largest portion of the new jobs, but the booming construction industry.

How many more are to come with all the hotel projects in scope?  Too many projects at once causes a shortage which means more workers and potentially higher costs if you cannot attract and house them easily.

However, perhaps we can take comfort that everything will be balanced out by the exodus of mid level workers, though those Bermudians who work in the mid level positions may need to begin fearing that they'll lose their jobs.

We seriously need to consider slowing down our development for we are seriously overheating our economy.  A soft close and other tactics to evaluate and work with our overall industry.  Things are moving much too quickly and we are overstretching the abilities of our infrastructure to keep up.

Equipping our youth with tools for success

If Bermudians are to survive in the digital age it is imperative that we make the early jump to equip every child in school with a laptop.  Such a trend is increasingly happening around the world as countries are discovering the need to expose their youth to the benefits of technology so they can ensure no child is left behind in tomorrow's future.  We should be looking to take the best ideas from around the world and utilizing our wealth to properly invest in our youth to provide tangible opportunity for the future and the best education system possible.

CNN has an interesting article on how the government minister for technology in Macedonia, one of Europe's poorest countries, has decided to improve the country's educational system by outfitting schools with a slew of new computers using thin-client technology.

What is particularly fascinating about the article is the discussion of whether Macedonia should be investing in the One Laptop Per Child initiative instead:

Walter Bender, One Laptop Per Child's director of software and content, derides the traditional model, in which children get to use PCs only in computer labs for a few hours a day, as "antiquated" and "ineffectual."

"It's such a backward way of actually educating people in computing," Bender said. "It's better than nothing, but it's not going to touch the families, it's not going to be used as engine for entrepreneurship, creativity, exploration. ... Maybe it's economical from the dollars and cents perspective, but not from the learning perspective."

Ivo Ivanovski, Macedonia's minister of information society, defends his decision to equip schools with thin-client computers as the One Laptop Per Child route would be unrealistic for a country where educational resources are stretched so thin that half the children attend school in the morning and the other half in the afternoon.  He contends that his plan will better equip all of Macedonia's 420,000 students even with their limited resources.

However, Bermuda is not limited like Macedonia.  Indeed, being one of the richest countries in the world we are far from it.  With our own situation of a poorly performing education system and questions arising of how to revolutionize it, should we be leaving ourselves to be left behind when third world nations around the world are preparing to equip every student with a laptop?

Bermuda could be in the position to lead the way if we were to embrace truly progressive forward thinking and begin strategizing how we could equip our own students with the tools for success.  Ideally, we could be taking the best of both worlds by equipping our students with laptops that act as thin-clients supported by a high speed wireless network with benefits such as being able to host centrally managed virtual machines for youth to connect in to which would remove a great many of the maintenance hurdles while still affording youth the abilities to explore, create and entrepreneur their way into a digital future.

Bermudians need to encourage and embrace a future that will provide the best possible opportunities for our youth.  We need to take heed of the changes happening worldwide and rather than being left behind, take the lead by being one of the first to empower our youth.  We should be taking the best ideas from around the world and investing in the best possible education system to provide the most opportunity we can manage.  Every Bermudian child should be equipped with a laptop.

First past the post?

What are the benefits and drawbacks of a first-past-the-post style democracy like what we have today?

In an earlier post I brought some attention to the upcoming decision of whether to change parliamentary system of Ontario, Canada from a first-past-the-post system to that of a "mixed member proportional" system.  This consideration raises some questions of why the change and is the first-past-the-post system effective?  To answer this question, lets turn to a BBC News article evaluating the UK's own first-past-the-post system from which Bermuda's is modeled. 

 

What's good about the first past the post system?

Factors in favour of the first past the post system include:

Simplicity: Voters have a simple task - mark a cross in a single box which means less confusion over other systems.

Speed:  The result in each constituency - and therefore the national result - is known quickly.

Clear link between representatives and candidates:  Each MP represents a precise geographical area and thus constituents easily know who represents them.

Decisive results:  First past the post elections usually - though not always - produce clear majorities for one party or another.  This means few coalitions, which can give minority parties excessive influence compared with their support.

What's not so good?

No electoral system is perfect and those opposed to first past the post point out the following weaknesses:

Second-place blues:  Parties which come second or third consistently tend to win large numbers of votes but few seats, meaning smaller parties are stifled and under-represented.

No government mandate: It is possible for a party to win most seats but lose the popular vote.

Wasted votes & Safe seats:  Because of their electoral make-up, some seats are so "safe" for one party that supporters of any other group have only a meaningless vote.

Forgotten Constituencies:  Constituencies who elect a candidate that is not a member of the winning party are far more likely to be neglected given that their representatives have little power and limited resources.

 

Sources:

First past the post
BBC NEWS
Sourced: Sept 11th, 2007 @ 1pm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/vote2001/hi/english/voting_system/newsid_1173000/1173697.stm

A run on the bank

This can't be a good sign for the overall markets.  CNN reports that savers at Northern Rock, one of the UK's top five lending banks, have lined up for two days thus far attempting to empty their accounts after the Bank of England bailed them out due to issues with the credit crunch.

Perks of the Regiment

Those who hold the belief that the regiment is all bad would be mistaken.  While it does have it's quirks, it also has it's perks, namely providing much needed opportunities for worldly travel to young Bermudians who might otherwise never have the opportunity.

During last night's drill night, it was announced that there is the opportunity for Regimental soldiers to sign up for extra training.  While typically any sort of opportunities for 'extra duties' would sent conscripts running for the hills, this opportunity happens to include the ability to spend 6 weeks in Morocco with 4 weeks of training and 2 weeks of free time with pay at a rate of $1000 a week. 

These are exactly the kinds of opportunities that are things you could look forward to as a member of the regiment and might just be enough to encourage you to show up prepared when you're supposed to and not be too much trouble.  While personally I am not in the position to take leave from my job for such an extended period, if I were, it'd definately be a trip I'd be keen on even despite the 4 weeks of training.  Africa is an incredible, eye-opening place to see that many young Bermudians should have the opportunity to be exposed to and I encourage those in the position to go to give it much consideration.  I highly doubt you'd regret it.

In the army now

Sometimes people ask me what it is like to be in Regiment.  Last thursday's return from summer break serves as a perfect example.  We're required to turn up, marched around and inspected as per usual.  Then we're instructed to go to assigned barracks to sit on the floor and examine two sheets of paper. 

One of the sheets is a printout of our details that we are to confirm if correct and if not, make the necessary corrections.  The other is a list of the different companies or specializations you can choose within your service, of which your choice likely won't matter as Regiment will place you where they see fit anyway.  You pass on the second sheet to the next person as there isn't the budget to photocopy the sheet and we won't be making the actual decision for 2 months anyway.

This of course is followed up by about an hour and a half of sitting on the floor, which we've adequately deemed 'wait training', the most frequent Regimental training exercise.  Then we're hearded out to stand on 'the square' for a while and do some more waiting before being marched around, barked at because not everybody turned up which is somehow half our fault and then dismissed to go home.

Ah the regiment.  Can you see why people are so fond of it?   One can only wonder what tonight's experience shall entail.

Constituency #3... Continued

A link to the following has been sent to PLP Candidate for Constituency #3, Lovitta Foggo

If there are reasons why many St. David's islanders likely won't vote for the PLP, one would have to be be the abysmal bus service, another would be the fact that after nine years the simple things still haven't been taken care of.

Leaving work not long after 6, I headed to the bus terminal.  A route #10 bus headed to St. Georges came 5 minutes after I arrived at the terminal.  While all the seats filled, there were only 2 people left standing and it gave me the chance to read some of my latest book on the ride home.  Arriving at the number one gate, however, has proven exactly why the PLP has alot of work still ahead of them.

The play by play:

7:05pm Arrived at the number one gate, expecting a short wait to ride into St. David's

• Two buses marked "training" pass
• Two buses to Hamilton pass
• One bus from Hamilton to St. Georges passes

7:24pm and still no buses to St. David's.   It's at this moment I decide I'm going to record this endeavor.

7:26pm another bus to Hamilton from St. Georges.

7:28pm a bus headed out of St. David's to St. Georges passes, near empty 

7:34pm a route 11 bus from Hamilton to St. Georges passes

Beginning to get impatient, I start examining my surroundings.

• One of the benches is broken and in horrible disrepair

• The board up on the wall is blank with no schedule or map posted to inform

7:38pm A minibus stops to pick up people who walked over to the road.  I ask another individual what it takes to ride it and he informs me that it's $4 to ride the minibus into St. David's on top of the fee you pay to ride the public bus.  Ridiculous

7:39pm Route 11 to Hamilton from St. Georges passes

7:43pm Another training bus passes

7:46pm Training bus again!  And it's driving in to St. David's.

7:48pm The sun has set and streetlight in front of the bus stop turns off. 

I quickly realize it's one that'll be annoyingly going on and off every couple minutes for the rest of the time I'm there.

7:49pm Route 10 to St. Georges passes

7:58pm a Hamilton bound bus passes

8:00pm, a St. David's bound number 6 finally arrives.

8:01pm, I quickly realize that the bus isn't going down St. David's road, where I live closest and is instead headed down Southside

8:05pm, I hit the next stop button and disembark near Southside theater

8:08pm I've walked up behind the laundromat and thankfully see that the hole in the derelict fence is still there, which I pass through to get to St. David's road.

8:18pm, I arrive home.

8:19pm  The sheer comedic irony of life rears it's head as I realize that Constituency #3 (St. David's) candidate Lovita Foggo stopped and left a pamphlet by while I was on my epic journey home.  One of her promises?  Later night bus service but no mention of these issues.

If Ms. Foggo would like to earn the support of St. David's islanders for the coming election, there are things she could do.

1. Get a bus schedule and map put up in the bus stop
2. Get the streetlight outside the bus-stop fixed
3. Get the bench fixed or replaced
4. Get the derelict fence removed or replaced with a proper gate or opening that allows people to walk through to the laundromat
5. Get St. David's bus schedule changed so that there are 2 direct evening routes from Hamilton to St. David's to match the two direct morning routes.

A new democracy

Bermuda needs a new democracy, one which better represents the needs and desires of our people and once and for all ends this Us vs. Them battle that has ensured stagnation in the progression of our nation.  On October 10th, 2007, the Canadian province of Ontario will be holding a referendum alongside a general election to put the question of electoral reform directly to the people.  The choices shall consist of sticking with the existing winner take all system referred to as "First-past-the-post" or adopting a proposed "Mixed member proportional" system.  The decision of which best fits the needs of the people of Ontario will be placed directly in their own hands.  Could such an initiative benefit Bermuda and what could you be doing about it?

In tackling the question of how to improve the electoral process, the Ontario government resolved to create a "Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform" to address the questions of how to improve governance.  The composure and purpose of this assembly are best described on the assembly's own website:

The Assembly was independent of government. It was made up of 103 randomly-selected citizens – one from each of Ontario's electoral districts. With the Chair, 52 of the members were male and 52 were female. At least one member was Aboriginal.

Together, Assembly members examined Ontario’s electoral system – the system that structures how votes get combined to elect Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs).

Members of the assembly met twice a month for 8 months to examine Ontario's existing electoral system.  They learned about systems in place elsewhere and consulted with the public through meetings and written submissions.  Using what they learned they recommended that Ontario adopt a new electoral system and submitted a report to the government.  The government is now putting the assembly's recommendations directly to the voters in the referendum scheduled for October 2007.

What were the recommendations?  The citizens' assembly considered many different electoral systems and compared them to their existing "first-past-the-post" system, which is very similar to our own.  In brevity, the "first-past-the-post" system is a winner take all popular vote of candidates representing Ontario's 107 districts (comparable to our own constituencies) with winning candidates each being allotted a seat in parliament.  The recommendation proposed by the citizens' assembly is that Ontario should adopt a "mixed member proportional" electoral system similar to that which has been used in Germany since 1949, New Zealand since 1993 and Scotland and Wales since 1999. 

What is a "mixed member proportional system"?  A mixed member proportional system is an electoral system where every eligible citizen is provided two votes on election day.  One vote is for a representative of their district and the other vote is a vote for a political party.  Winning representatives of the district votes then make up 90 seats of parliament.  Votes for political parties by contrast would be used to comprise a remaining 39 seats in parliament according to the proportion of votes made for each party with candidates being preselected by each party for this role.

Consider this in comparison to our own island where there has been a growing call for much needed changes to our electoral system.  More and more individuals are losing faith in our colonially inherited system and are desperately seeking change.  Bermuda needs to undertake a similar initiative to that of the people of Ontario by creating a Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform of our own.  One that can independently recommend the changes that will best benefit Bermudians with the question of whether to implement those changes being put to the people. 

The real tides of change rest in the hands of our people.  What can you do?  Write a blog post about it.  Write a letter to the editor.  Write your representative.  Write on facebook.  Call the talk shows.  Call your representative.  Tell your friends.  Convince every single Bermudian that it is time for change and that our leadership needs to embrace and be the catalyst to make it happen.

Take action today.

 

 

Further info:

Referendum Ontario

http://yourbigdecision.ca/en_ca/

---

Ontario Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform

http://www.citizensassembly.gov.on.ca/

A revolution in education

What impact would there be if we were able to offer one-on-one tutoring for every single Bermudian child?  Could it revolutionize our education system?  Could it help us achieve the standard of education that we so desperately seek for our children?  What if it were not only possible but also cost effective?

World globalization is making the world a smaller place. While it may make it easier to outsource jobs, it is also making it easier to buy skills from around the world for a much cheaper rate. What if globalization could be used as a means to give our children a better education? What if we could hire tutors from the other side of the world to work one-on-one with every Bermudian child as a means to assist our in-classroom teachers?  A radical idea that just might work.

Online tutoring by the likes of companies like TutorVista is an incredible concept and may well be a tremendous solution for revolutionizing our education system.  It's premise being to take graduate degree level tutors in India and have them tutor children one-on-one over the Internet, unlimited, 24/7 for $100 a month.   Skeptical?  Check out the video clip of it from the Today Show or the articles in the New York Post, CNET News, or the San Francisco Chronicle.

How would we achieve such a thing?  We could begin by taking a hint from the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative and endeavor to equip every child in Bermuda with a laptop capable of communicating with a tutor.  Combine it with island wide high speed wireless networks and change the format of the Bermudian classroom to incorporate assisting with both in-class work and homework with online tutors.  Top it all off with standardized testing across the board to ensure that all students are achieving the levels required for progression.

Could we achieve one on one education for every single Bermudian child?  Could it revolutionize our education system?  Could it help us achieve the standard of education that we so desperately seek for our children?  What if it really is cost effective and if so, whats stopping us?

There's a new blog in town

Uncle Elvis, known for his anonymous postings back on the old A Limey in Bermuda blog, appears to have started his own entitled "The Devil Island".  Congrats Uncle Elvis, I look forward to reading your contributions.

Will the real drama queen please stand up

The quick words of Deputy Opposition Leader Patricia Gordon-Pamplin with regards to her husband's arrest have left her looking like quite the fool and inspired many to question how she would react as a leader of our country if the scenario were changed.

Going on the immediate offensive and throwing the notion of "innocent until proven guilty" out the window, Ms. Gordon-Pamplin launched a preemptive assault on her husband's credibility by referring to him as "worthless" and a "Drama King".  This when he was expressing concern for the embarassment that may be born for her and the UBP.

With charges having now been dropped, Ms. Gordon-Pamplin has been made to look quite the fool in proving to be the real source of embarassment for her party and proving who the real drama queen is in this scenario.  Is this the kind of response we'd want from a leader of our country if the situation were a less personal one?

“What is the best way to empower black Bermuda?”

Silencedogood has written quite a brilliant comment in the discussion for my "token black guy" of the boardroom? piece.  Portions of which I found worth sharing for those who don't follow the comments.

the United States is not Bermuda.   ...  The differences in the economics of the US and Bermuda are some of the most significant. The Bermuda economy is skewed to knowledge worker jobs, i.e. those where the individual needs to be highly educated or trained. Think about it—accountants, lawyers, IT professionals—these are all jobs where you need to go away, study, work, acquire those skills before coming home. This shift has occurred at the same time public education has taken a nosedive in quality. This is why [so many people are] focused on education ... and why quotas won’t work. If you put someone unqualified in a job that requires skills you can only get by going away to study you are never going to see success and it will undermine those who have invested in themselves.

We also can’t ignore the population size and demographics. To expect a population of 60,000 to produce numerous high level executives for companies drawing human resources from around the globe is presumptuous at best regardless of colour. Therefore if we are going to compare colour we need to do so using only Bermudians not Black Bermudians vs. White Bermudians and White Expats. There probably is a disproportionate split there which needs to be addressed, but it will be smaller than a flat black/white split and more representative of the problem.

Which brings us to the original discussion of “What is the best way to empower black Bermuda?”

My personal opinion is that education is the foundation of everything. It gives you options. It gives you self-esteem. It’s something that, once you accomplish it, can never be taken away. To me that IS empowerment and that is what all Bermudians, but especially black Bermudians, need to realize and embrace.

To really address the issues this island faces we need to have higher standards in the public education system, we need to work our butts off as teachers and parents to make sure our kids meet and exceed those standards, we need to have a fully functional student loan program and we need to encourage our kids to go to the best schools they can get into. This will benefit everyone, but will disproportionately benefit black Bermudians who represent the largest demographic of public education customers.

Unless we start valuing education, and believe me we don’t right now, we will always lag behind. Setting up a quota system is the worst possible thing we can do. We are already seeing the outsourcing occurring from the restrictive immigration policies (which act as a quota-lite type system). The more restrictive and artificial the system, the worse it’s side effects will be. Fix the biggest problem first and then we can see what else needs to be done.

Very well said.

A walk-in medical clinic?

Why is it that there are no walk-in clinics on the island?  If you're ill or injured enough to warrant not waiting for an appointment with your doctor, but not so ill that you need to visit the emergency room, what do you do?

While kiteboarding this morning I landed badly on my side while jumping and injured my ribs.  So now I find myself in the predicament of figuring out what to do about it.  I'm uncertain as to whether I broke or dislocated a rib but I'm quite certain that there is pain when I move.  What do I do?

Considering my options I think there are really only two given that it's a Saturday of a long weekend.  Those being to take a trip in to the hospital to get looked at by the emergency room or wait out the weekend and try to get an appointment with my doctor early next week.

Given my last experience with the hospital in a vaguely similar situation left me with a $200 bill, I'm reluctant to go there.  I'm also doubtful that there is much that can really be done aside from ensuring that I didn't do any unseen damage to my spleen so I'm more than likely to just wait out the weekend.  That is unless there are any signs that things get worse.

This leads me to wonder why there isn't a third option.  Why are there no clinics on the island where I can walk-in and be looked at that isn't dedicated to "emergencies" and hopefully won't cost me a fortune?