What does this pin do?

If Senator Burch is a 'PR train wreck in slow motion' surely Darius Tucker must be a 'PR kid playing with a hand grenade'.  In an interview with Mr. Tucker regarding whether he'd try to join the breakaway UBP group The Royal Gazette suggests "Mr. Tucker said he would wait to see more details before deciding whether he wanted to join them".  Mr. Tucker seems to be thinking that he would be welcome amongst any party.  This while his performance during his nonsensical actions during and post the no confidence vote makes it hard to believe.  From the perspective of many Mr. Tucker's days in politics are numbered and it would be political suicide for any group to accept an individual into their midst who could so badly botch his public image in such a short span of time.

Yet it continues.  What is Mr. Tucker talking about with regards to the UBP?

"As I have said before, the United Bermuda Party has served the Country well, they have brought the Country this far, but the Country does not want a white Government. That's just the way the Country is right now. They don't want a white Government so the United Bermuda Party can't be Government any more. People interested in politics need to make themselves viable to serve."

What is Mr. Tucker implying?  That the UBP as the party representative of the white vote has no chance?  That the UBP with white members has no chance?  That the UBP with white MPs has no chance?  Or is it that in Bermuda today the color of your skin dictates whether you have a place in poltics?  What do white people interested in politics do to make themselves viable?  Paint themselves black?  He is simply unclear and confusing.  Perhaps people want a government they can trust and it has less to do with skin color?  

"The Country doesn't want the United Bermuda Party to be the Government. The reports that the UBP has commissioned has told them that. They have paid money for reports but they are not listening to the reports. They haven't even given it a good opportunity to reshape and rebrand and give it one good shot because they didn't get committed to change."

What in the world is Mr. Tucker saying?  First it was that the people don't want a white government, now it's that the UBP can't be government then he turns around and says that the UBP didn't take the opportunity to rebrand and isn't commited to change.  Rebrand how?  A new name doesn't change white support for the UBP, nor does it change the white members or MPs.  If the people don't want a white government, what does a new name do?  Alternatively we've recieved accounts that these reports suggested the UBP needed more black surrogates.  Is this what Mr. Tucker is advocating?  More black MPs to to act as puppets to white string pullers?  Should it be all black faces in the forefront of a party with largely white support?  Does that make for a non-white government that would make the UBP something the people would want as government?  What is it?

The issue is that Mr. Tucker makes about as much sense now a he did when he resigned: none.  Words are coming out of his mouth but they aren't adding up to anything coherent.  Mr. Tucker seems to claim the country doesn't want the the UBP in government because they'd be a white government but still thinks they should be rebranding and giving it a shot without clarifying what kind of rebranding will solve the problem.  It would seem Mr. Tucker agrees with the need for more puppets but who really knows.  Sure it'd put white [typo] black faces up front but it would make the UBP trusted even less.  Indeed, it wasn't race that got the UBP into this predicament, it was trust and the nacent abuse of it.  Mr. Tucker's rather odd and confusing quasi pondering about race aside.

Would someone please bang the gong already and get him off the stage?

Comparing apples to apples

The following was submitted to the Sun for publication earlier this week but I haven’t heard if it will be published so I’m posting it here anyway.

The Bermuda Sun recently reported a number of rather startling statistics on income disparities between the races.  Quoting data from the Statistic Department’s 2009 Employment Brief they suggest that “White Bermudian 'clerks', for example, make $8,000 a year more than black Bermudian clerks.”  Undoubtedly this statistic is shocking and dismaying and only more startling than the statistic itself is the realization that it isn’t painting a fair picture.

To be clear there is no argument on the part of this writer that racism does not play a factor and that there is likely a disparity in pay between the races, however that does not justify misinterpretations of statistics that skew the perception of the problem in favor of one side or another.

Let us start our examination of the above statistic by taking a look at the earnings range of clerks.  According to table 20 on page 16 of the 2008 Employment Brief Tabulations data there were 5763 individuals considered under the ‘Clerks’ major occupation group.  Of these individuals, 78 were listed as earning an annual salary of under $6000 and 3 were listed as earning between $235,000 and $349,000 with the remainder falling in between.  Just to get the true scope of the distribution, let’s look at it in chart form.

Note the rather wide distribution in salaries.  The question you may be asking yourself is how one clerk can make so little while another can make so much.  The answer lies in the definition of ‘clerk’ which represents a major occupational group of unskilled clerks all the way to highly skilled clerks who perform advanced research in complex topics.   Indeed, the 2000 Census even classifies ‘Government Executive Officials’ and ‘Cashiers ‘ in the clerical role. Thus comparing one random clerk to another is not a simple apples to apples comparison. 

Now, another question to ask yourself, how likely is a cashier to have a doctorate degree?  If you agree that it is quite unlikely then you may also agree that education level plays a factor in what kind of job you end up with and the subsequent range of pay you can expect to receive.  Indeed we can look to the 2000 Census to confirm that the higher your education level, the more you can expect to earn on a median basis.

We can now see clear evidence that education level matters greatly in terms of earnings potential so now let us examine data available from the 2000 census on academic attainment by race.  To make the data easier to interpret let us simply compare percentage distributions from the data compiled for Bermudian population aged 16 years and over by highest academic qualification by race, which is available via table 2 on page 50 of the 2000 Census.

We can note via this chart that a much higher percentage of white Bermudians in the year 2000 had degrees than black Bermudians, who had the highest percentage of no qualifications.  While the classifications unfortunately do not exactly match the detailed breakdowns above, this was the best picture available by Bermudian status.  If considering non Bermudian status we can see the full breakdown via data from figure 4.3 on page 129 of the 2000 Census.

The sad reality that we face is that white Bermudians are more likely to hold a higher level of education and thus are more likely to earn more.  This subsequently explains why they would outpace black Bermudians in the ‘clerks’ occupational category along with many other wide reaching major occupational group.  While indeed racism is a factor that should be considered and examined we unfortunately do not have the statistical depth to get a true picture of the problem.  Indeed, to truly compare apples to apples we need to break down jobs by Bermudian status, race, academic qualification, field of qualification, pay, experience level and even institutions attended.  Even then we are forced to make approximations to make comparisons as no two people are exactly alike.  Regardless it is important that we take the time to fully understand the statistics we’re dealing with so we can fully appreciate the problem and hopefully determine its true cause.

Salvaging the UBP

While I’ve made it quite clear that in my belief the best thing for Bermuda’s future would be for the UBP to disband into independents there are likely still things I believe the UBP could do to salvage itself.  Besides, there are many PLP supporters out there who are now rooting for a maintained weak opposition that can keep their own party unaccountable and we certainly can’t disappoint them.

The UBP needs to pursue the fundamental change that the community has been calling for.  No, not a name change and definitely not more token puppets.  Number one the UBP needs to be the change it talks about.  Number two the UBP needs to stop hiring clueless consultants. 

At its core people have an issue with trust and the suggestion that blacks are pushed to the forefront as puppets is a huge issue of contention for people.  Why would it make any sense to hire and listen to people who would produce a report suggesting that you need to get more puppets, the exact thing people don’t trust you for?

[Senator Dunkley] admits the party had employed tokenism in the past, and the UBP has long faced allegations of fielding black candidates and hiding the fact the string-pullers behind the scenes are white.

This label refuses to go away, and a review by consultants carried out after the election defeat was published this week on ZBM, in which advisers told the party they needed more "black surrogates". (via the RG)

Here’s a suggestion:  solve this problem.  How do you do so?  By doing the very thing you’ve been saying the government needs to do more of: being transparent.  The UBP needs to make itself as open as possible.  It needs to make candidate and party executive selection as open and transparent as possible.  It needs to make meetings as transparent as possible.  It should be the people who choose the candidates and party executives and it should be made obvious by making it an open election process that chooses the best candidates based on numerous factors.  Anything that clearly shows the people chose these candidates and not some clique of white powerbrokers will improve things. 

Want to counter ‘puppet’ ads?  Create an ad where the individuals in question come out to claim “I’m a puppet” only to zoom the camera out to show a wide range of their constituents and suggest “and it’s my constituents who pull my strings” depicting constituents pulling strings attached to the chosen representative.  Creatively target this negative stigma and fight it.  Earn the people’s trust by making it clear that a white clique aren’t the ones behind the scenes pulling strings and you’re truly there serving the community.

The biggest problem the UBP has is that few trust them.  Few trust the PLP either it is just that we trust the UBP less.  The PLP once talked about good governance and all the great things they were going to do when they finally made it to power and once they did, whoops, all of that disappeared.  Thus, why would anyone trust the UBP saying the same things?  What happens when you’re elected?  What stops you from up and deciding that maybe good governance is about as important as the PLP thinks it is.  The UBP needs to be the change it preaches.

Be the change.  If the UBP wants to talk about good governance, transparency and decency then it has to do more than preach about how things could be.  The UBP needs to take a hard look at the change it wants to see in government and make that change happen within itself.  It needs to make absolutely everything it possibly can transparent and open to the public.  It needs to prove that the public can have more of a say by giving the public more of a say.  It needs to be more democratic, it needs to embrace direct democratic processes and empower the people.  It needs to regain the trust of the people.  It needs to be the change so people can see the change before we can accept that the UBP is the kind of change we’ve been waiting for.

Be the change.  That or disband into independents.  Your choice. (I vote independents)

Wanted: radically different

A large thus far unanswered question that lingers and will likely make or break this initiative is how does this new group intend to differentiate themselves in a way that they can be defined as different from the incumbent and its foe?  Indeed a “manifesto of equal opportunity, social justice, security and fiscal conservatism” is little different from the line these individuals toed amongst their former colleagues. 

Bermuda needs something radically different.  It needs a new party that won’t just preach transparency and good governance only to whistle a different tune once they get a taste of power.  The very principles that a party intends to run our island by need to reverberate in the very foundation of the party itself. 

Fickle opinion

The announcement that six individuals have resigned from the UBP with the intention of forming their own party doesn’t thus far show great evidence of this having been a well planned and calculated action.  From what this commentator has witnessed public opinion and support can be very fickle which could serve as a thorn in the side of these individuals of change. 

Undoubtedly the prospect of a new party will rally a great many who are desperate for change but if the height of excitement and momentum is not maintained the movement can fizzle quite rapidly as it has in the past for the likes of the All Bermuda Congress, the National Liberal and the Bermuda Democratic Party.  These individuals risk following in the footsteps of those who tried a similar course before them and failed.

It is the belief of this writer that the root of any successful initiative towards a new party in Bermuda requires intricate planning and careful calculation of every move long before it is made.  The reason being that in undertaking such an initiative you face the greatest force of uncertainty ever known and charging ahead blindly is rarely a useful course of action when faced with uncertainty.

Indeed, many questions arise as to what we shall face in the coming months, questions these individuals will need to have considered and adequately prepared for.  The speculation already rises that Premier Brown will call a snap election to capitalize on this rift and strengthen his own position.  For a party suggested to form in the new year how does it propose to stand up to challenges that come before then?  What other potential scenarios could arise between now and then and how will they answer?

Interesting times

The Royal Gazette is reporting the fragmentation of the UBP in the form of 6 prominent members, 3 being Members of Parliament, quitting to form a new party.  What will come of this no one can know but what is for certain is that it will be interesting times indeed.

The split of the UBP at this time poses interesting possibilities.  For one, we could see Premier Brown move to call a snap election to capitalize on the situation.  This is an action some have considered a possibility regardless considering the upcoming Progressive Labour Party constitutional conference at which the Premier’s opponents are due to make their objections known.  This however would require Premier Brown to wield a considerable position of strength as such a move could backfire.

Something worth considering is the knowledge that the Official Opposition’s strength has now been reduced to 9 Members of Parliament.  This number happens to be less than half of the PLP’s 22 seats in parliament and raises some interesting possibilities to ponder.  One example is that PLP rebels would only need to control the majority of PLP seats to be the governing party if a split occurred.  Whether that is a likely possibility is certainly up for debate.

Disappointing double standard

The announcement that the expat with a cannabis conviction has been granted a work permit because of his importance to the international business community is disappointing.  It simply does not send the right message as it continues along the lines we have increasingly seen lately that if you’re important enough the laws don’t apply to you.  That isn’t a good direction for us to be headed in.

Now, not to be seen as hypocritical it should be noted that this blog has numerous times called out against our rather ridiculous policies that ensure individuals caught with small amounts of cannabis are handed punishments that brand them for life and restrict their ability to travel.  In this case it would make more sense to change the law for all than to let one individual slide simply because he’s important. 

Making special exceptions just leads to distrust of the system as a whole and raises further questions of why anyone should bother following the law if those at the top have no respect for it?  It is something you see increasing evidence of as more and more people are more inclined to commit small infractions they wouldn’t have done in the past.  A great example is the incredible rise in the number of people who run stoplights.

Floating ideas

It is encouraging to see Education Minister El James floating ideas of what could be done to improve the education system.  It opens the door to more discussion and debate such that we can hopefully end up with a stronger result in the end.  The suggestion of a longer school year was discussed previously in our review of the KIPP system and is certainly something worth larger consideration.  The suggestion that combating gang behavior is the reasoning behind shortening breaks makes the argument less compelling as it is unclear how the two correlate.  We’ll see where the discussion takes us but in the least we can be thankful that discussion is being had.

No confidence?

Does the United Bermuda Party realize how ridiculous they make themselves look when Opposition Leader Kim Swan is suggested to have made comments like the low voter turnout was a vote of no confidence in Premier Ewart Brown's Government?  If low voter turnout is a benchmark of confidence then perhaps the opposition leader should more carefully examine the numbers and take a long hard look in the mirror.  Indeed the percentage of those who did turn out to support the UBP declined in comparison to the last election and if anything is a vote of no confidence in the UBP and its present leader.

What is a minority government?

Rummy helped me realize in my comments that I may take for granted my understanding of minority governments due to having seen it in the Canadian political system so I thought I’d present a simple explanation.

Put simply a minority government is one where the incumbent governing party does not control the majority of the overall number of seats in parliament.

To illustrate this let us examine what we have today, which could be considered a majority government.

At present we have 36 MPs. 22 are PLP, 12 UBP and 2 independent. This means the PLP have the majority and thus can pass anything they like in Parliament assuming PLP members toe the party line.

A minority government would be a government where the PLP for example would still be the incumbent but would not control the majority of seats.  Let us suggest that a new party had arisen last election and the results came out as 17 PLP, 13 UBP, and 6 for party X. This would mean that the PLP does not control the majority of the seats and thus would have to win support of either UBP members or members of party X to pass any law in parliament.

This kind of restriction means that the incumbent is now held accountable as they are unable to pass laws they cannot get support from either of the two oppositions.  Subsequently they are at risk of being called back to an election if the two oppositions agree on a vote of no confidence.

This kind of government promotes compromise and reduces the arrogance seen of majority governments because in order to succeed they must earn their support rather than assume it and take it forgranted.  It means we would see a return of issues being properly debated and fairer stances being undertaken.  Thus we end up with a stronger government because it is forced to be accountable and transparent.

We have already seen examples of a minority government in action when rebel MPs in the PLP stood against Premier Brown’s ridiculous attempt to pass his gambling law.  Since he did not control the majority of MPs he was unsuccessful and has subsequently had to reign in his overt ways in favor of greater compromise or he shall be held at a stalemate unable to accomplish anything.  It is this that we need to see continue and could likely shall if we saw a new party arise with the goal of pursuing a minority government.

Disbanding defined

With Jonathan’s latest response over at Catch A Fire with regards to our back and forth I’m left wondering if we have different definitions of what it would mean for the UBP to ‘disband’.  In my view I see the hypothetical UBP’s dissolution as conforming to one of 3 scenarios.

• Scenario A:  The UBP disbands completely, all present and former representatives go off into the blue yonder to leave their seats up for grabs never again to set foot in the Bermudian political arena.  I give the likelihood of Scenario A occurring a resounding 0%.
• Scenario B:  The UBP disbands into independent candidates representing themselves and not affiliated to any party.  The UBP as an organization disappears into the blue yonder.  This happens to be my favored scenario and the one I feel is most likely as whether the party does it all at once or slowly and painstakingly loses members one by one I have yet to see any indication that the party will be able to reinvigorate itself with new talent.  Thus I give this scenario the likelihood of 50%
• Scenario C:  The UBP disbands and former members work together to form a new party or parties.  This scenario I suspect may be closest to Jonathan’s definition though I also suspect that if it were to occur it would have already.  The rebel/reform faction within the UBP had ample opportunity to split off and form a new party and it seems that since they have not done so those individuals are slowly going independent.  While it is still possible to occur any new movement will have trouble gaining credibility and will likely maintain the UBP branding with whatever new name they produce.  I’d stake this one at a 40% likelihood
• Scenario D:  The UBP doesn’t disband, manages to reinvigorate themselves, gain new talent and challenge well in the next election.  Similar to scenario B only instead of reaching an untimely demise through slowly bleeding out they achieve the impossible and heal like they’re wolverine.  Sorry UBP, I just don’t put a lot of faith in this scenario so I peg it at 10% likelihood.

Ok, so now that we’ve defined things let’s go back to Jonathan’s assertions.  As suggested, I suspect his expectation is that scenario C has the highest likelihood.  In that case I would tend to agree with him that we would likely find ourselves with a reformed (UBP’s new clothes) UBP and possibly a new upstart which either together would end up fighting over the UBP support base or one would suffer the UBP stigma while the other has the potential to flourish by attracting support from both sides.  My thought would rest on the composition of those parties and their ties to the UBP.  If the upstart had no ties to the UBP, wide representation and represented those things neither party will actually pursue (direct democracy?) it may have a fighting chance, especially if it pursued the strategy I outlined in my Minority Governance post.

So now that we’ve covered scenario C, lets look at the others.  Scenario D is very similar and could be considered the same only the UBP doesn’t try to play peek-a-boo with the public hiding behind a new name.

Scenario A is absolute absurd and does a disservice to those people who have worked very hard to try to make a difference in our community through public service.  The individual contributions of people should not be so readily forgotten.

Finally we get to Scenario B which I see as happening in one of two forms.  Either the UBP disbands into independents as a collective decision or they do so piecemeal.  If they do so as a collective decision it could be leveraged as a strength for Bermuda’s future.  It would free each MP to represent themselves and eliminate the party line.  While the collective group could still be cast under the UBP shadow it would be tougher for some than others like it has been for Wayne Furbert, who now votes purely on conscience and it’s been readily apparent.  It would subsequently free new individuals to stand given that the UBP would not collectively work to try to fill every constituency with a candidate and would allow for greater competition.  Multiple independents including possibly a new non-UBP linked party challenging PLP marginal's with no UBP candidate contesting could change the game as anti-UBP voters would no longer be voting against the UBP and would be presented with multiple options which may encourage them to vote based upon the issues. 

It is ultimately hard to say which way things would go nor how things would truly play out as it is all speculation.  Despite this, regardless of whether the UBP disbands or doesn’t disband it is my belief that the strongest case that could be made by individuals looking to form an alternative would be to do so as one that severely limits involvement of individuals with heavy ties to the UBP or PLP and pursues the route I’ve suggested in my piece on Minority Governance.  Regardless of the scenario it is my belief that such a group would have the best case to change our political landscape for the better.

Minority governance

Jonathan over at Catch A Fire has responded to my earlier post suggesting that it would be difficult for a new party to form without essentially becoming a relabeled UBP if the UBP were to disband.  I cannot say I agree with him in this regard.  In my belief the primary reason for the UBP to disband would be to cause a rift within the PLP.  With ‘glue’ that holds the PLP together gone, the various factions within the PLP would no longer be held together on the premise of ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’.  This would likely cause a split as these factions now unopposed begin to turn on each other and likely would divide into two parties.  The NLP is not an adequate guide simply because that was a split from the opposition, not the leading party.  Had the NLP been formed out of the incumbent UBP of the time, things may have turned out very differently.  A split in the PLP with an extinct UBP would leave the good elements of the PLP the ability to leverage off of the former UBP support base.  In truth however it is obvious that the UBP won’t disband and is far more likely to die a very slow death as as sitting MPs break off to be independent and they fail to rejuvenate themselves into being able to attract strong new talent.

Jonathan’s musings suggest that for new parties to be successful they need to have a platform that radically departs from what exists today.  In a way I agree but in another I disagree.  I believe a new party only needs to be successful enough to cause a minority government and needs to champion that cause while appealing to hope.  A minority government is what Bermuda needs most, whether it comes from the PLP dividing into two parties and allowing new parties to form, a new party forming in our present political climate or a group of strong independent candidates rising up.

In the case of our present climate a new party or independents would need to set itself apart as not being the UBP’s or PLP’s puppet by doing what the present parties refuse to do.  It would need to pledge to take the power of government out of the hands of the politicians and place it in the hands of the people.  It would need to appeal to the youth who are presently very disillusioned and marginalized by the present parties composed of relics from an aged passed and it would need to offer hope to the middle class swing voters that both present parties rely on to win. 

In order to have a fighting chance it would need to convince those swing voters that both the UBP and PLP have proven ineffective in solving our economic and social issues.  Neither have successfully solved both issues together.  Thus, it would need to be championed that regardless whether you vote for the UBP or PLP your vote will be wasted as the status quo will not change.  Whomever gets elected to power will remain unaccountable, corrupt and put the interests of the party before that of the people.  That is the product of a majority government and could even be the result if a new party were to win the majority.  Indeed power corrupts just as they say and only the ignorant believe that they cannot be corrupted when given power absolute.

A party rising to this challenge would need a strong, charismatic and empowering leadership that could rally people behind this message and convince enough that voting for a new party is the best way to send a message to our present relics that their time is up.  The party would subsequently need to focus heavily on marginals and aim to pick up enough seats to control the balance of power.  It may even be best minded to not challenge UBP or PLP strongholds and only the marginals on the premise that it’s intention is to win a minority government and not necessarily be the ones holding a majority.  It would not need to be the incumbent nor would it need to be the opposition and this would buy credibility against claims of a lack of experience.  It would simply have to hold enough seats that the incumbent did not hold a majority government.  A minority government is what Bermuda needs most and we’re seeing elements of it with the disillusioned MPs of the PLP forcing Premier Brown to smarten up.

Few would disagree that the biggest problem facing Bermuda is not one party or another but our political system.  It was designed for a different era and a different style of politics, one which has not proven to work here.  What we need is transparency, accountability, good governance and most importantly a stick which can be used to beat politicans who step out of line.  A minority government would be that stick.  It would force the incumbent to be accountable, to debate their cause and prove their reasoning.  It would empower both the incumbent and the opposition to do their jobs, to truly work together rather than against each other in the interests of a better Bermuda.  Best of all, it would not require experience on the part of a new party and instead only enough wisdom and sound reasoning to be able to side with the interests of Bermuda and its people before all else.

Should the UBP disband?

Disbanding the UBP to create a new party would have little impact, however, what of disbanding to yield independent representatives? Would it end this historical battle of Us vs. Them and free our people to focus on real issues? Should the UBP give the PLP what they've always wanted and disband for the betterment of Bermuda's future?

Regardless of any new form the UBP takes, it is likely existing UBP members or those who have ties to the UBP will still be painted with a UBP brush. Just as any new individuals who run as a part of the UBP or as part of a party created out of former UBP members would also be. Thus would creating a new party of any name composed of former UBP members be fruitless?

However, should the UBP split into independents and allow each independent to only represent themselves, vote every vote on conscience and not be required to toe any line; could this make it harder to target the opposition as 'them' and open the door to independents in the community who want no ties to either the UBP or PLP and just care about making a difference to step forward with a fighting chance?

Could it also create the ability for PLP dissidents to not have to cross the floor to make a difference? They could instead leave the party, stand as independents and not require allegiances to anyone in order to retain their seat. They could support PLP motions they believe in, and vote against those they don't. Could such a move even break down the PLP's party line? Does this contrasts today's situation where individuals must toe the party line and if they don't cross the floor they are nearly guaranteed to be marginalized by the UBP/PLP divide and lose their seat. Thus, despite how internally divided the PLP may be, as long as the UBP exists will the PLP and it's supporters always be united in opposition to the UBP?

Would independents work? If it worked before the PLP and UBP existed than why not now? Would it be possible for independents to publically, transparently and openly vote on every issue based upon either their own conscience or the believed desires of those they represent? Could they not back PLP proposals they believe in and oppose those they don't? Would they also be more able to propose or sponsor legislation with the potential for PLP members to join in supporting it without marked as traitors?

Could the disbanding of the UBP spell an end to party politics? Would the end of party politics be what we need most in order to achieve true progress away from focusing on Us vs. Them? Would it move our people closer towards unity and closer to a focus on debating real issues as opposed to focusing on who is who?

Does the UBP's very existance make it impossible for this endless historical battle to ever end and thus would disbanding finally cause people to focus on the issues? Would we be better off with an opposition composed of independents? Thus should the UBP give PLP supporters what they've always wanted and disband in the best interests of Bermuda and it's people?

Fool me once...

"There are others such as IT companies that are small anyhow their workforce is non-Bermudian."

This was a comment made by Community and Cultural Affairs Minister Wayne Perinchief in todays royal gazette as for why the proposed workforce equity act is needed; especially to apply to companies under 40 people. Unfortunately Minister Perinchief hasn't been in communication with the immigration department as, if he had, he'd know that the vast majority of advertisements for IT jobs go unanswered by Bermudians. Not only are companies having a hard time finding capable Bermudians for IT positions, they're having a hard time finding non-Bermudians willing to come here.

IT is a perfect example of why this act is ill concieved. Bermudians were generally very late to be exposed to computers and the internet due to their high cost and difficulties of our location and infrastructure. When combined with the sad reality of economic disparities between the races, the likelyhood of blacks generally having the same experience with computers as generally wealthier whites is sadly minimized. Does this mean there are no blacks skilled in IT? Of course not, there are many, however the expectation that there are enough to meet the proposed equality measures is beyond far reaching.

Despite this disparity in exposure, our government has expressed little interest in making IT, computers and strong exposure to internet and technology more accessable for Bermudians of tomorrow. Instead, focusing most on disadvantaged Bermudians of yesterday who are victims of the same lack of foresight we're witnessing today. This lack of foresight and unwillingness to recognize and address the prime causes of disparities between the races is largely what people are up in arms over with regards to the present efforts of our leadership.

It is this blindness that leaves many wondering whether our present leadership truly understands the implications of what they are proposing or if this is simply the latest in racially motivated electioneering tactics designed to fool the electorate into thinking they have our best interests at heart.

As the saying goes. 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me'. Are we again being played the fool?

Milkman short on deliveries?

According to a recent interview with UBP chairman Shawn Crockwell for The Royal Gazette, the UBP has outlined a few more promises to go along with their pandering to the taxi drivers.

     100 new homes a year for 5 years

     Free daycare for single parents

     20% of government contracts will go to small business.

 

100 new homes a year

Only 100?  Surely they can do better.

According to the UBP's own 2004 Budget Reply, the annual additions to the housing stock have been extraordinary low for some time despite steady growth in demand due to international business.

In order to compensate for the lack of new developments in during it's terms in office, the PLP has been introducing housing projects recently at a staggering pace.

According to A piece of de rock: Providing homes for Bermudians, the following developments are planned or partially completed.

12 units at Butterfield lane

16 units at Anchorage lane

38 units at Perimeter lane

100 units at Rockaway for seniors

108 units at Harbour View Village

54 units at Westcott Lane

100 rental units at Ireland Island

96 units at Loughlands

So where the UBP's promise last election was to provide 100 new homes a year for 5 years, the PLP has managed to match and exceed this, at least in principle, by planning and constructing 524 new homes/apartments prior to the next election, many of which may be complete should the election not be called until the full limit of the PLP's present term.

The PLP may have been weak on promises during the campaign in the last election but you can't really argue with results (though tardy) given that they're looking to meet the same benchmark as set by the UBP in their own campaign.

When 500 families are suggested to have put their names on the list for homes at Loughlands alone, may I ask if the 100 new homes a year is lowball offer from the UBP to the electorate?  Can they not do better?

 

Free daycare

Here's a glaring question.  Why free daycare for only single parents?  Is the UBP not willing to promote assistance for stable familes as only broken families needs support?  If a family of two parents still can't make ends meet should they not also be entitled to free day care?  Should all families not be able to apply for free daycare subject to a means test as opposed to only single parents?

Also, what is meant by a "means" test?  Do they mean Black families only?  Or restricted by income level?  Or how about those who are forced to work 3 jobs as a means to be able to provide for their children and thus don't have adequate time to properly raise their children?

 

Government Contracts

So 20% of government contracts will go to small business?  How do you define that?  20% of what exactly?  20% of overall value?  20% of the number of projects? 

Can we not also have a more transparent bidding process that publishes the results of why specific businesses were chosen?  The last thing I want to see is another massive project being assigned to a small business with very little experience in the industry simply because it's a small business. 

What will the UBP be doing to ensure that awarding of government contracts is a fair process that treats all Bermudians as equal and does not favor friends of politicians over those who truly deserve the work?  Also, what kind of transparency will be awared to ensure that a contract isn't given to a middle man simple so that they can cover up the fact that he is sub contracting to friends of politicians?

 

Drop the Zimbabwe references

Oh, and finally, drop the Zimbabwe References Mr. Crockwell.

"But this is not Zimbabwe where you can take property from Tucker's Town and give it to another segment. We have to be pragmatic as we move forward."

Let's remember that pragmatic has multiple meanings and take into consideration Tucker's Town's founding before making such statements.

Via dictionary.com:

prag·mat·ic   (prāg-māt'ĭk)  Pronunciation Key
adj.  

1. Dealing or concerned with facts or actual occurrences; practical.
2. Philosophy Of or relating to pragmatism.
3. Relating to or being the study of cause and effect in historical or political events with emphasis on the practical lessons to be learned from them.
4. Archaic
   1. Active; busy.
   2. Active in an officious or meddlesome way.
   3. Dogmatic; dictatorial.

n.  

1. A pragmatic sanction.
2. Archaic A meddler; a busybody.

Collie Buddz is bigger than Ewart

It is sometimes surprising that people forget that Bermuda is the equivalent of a small town, especially our Premier.  Collie Buddz is better known internationally than our Premier.  He isn't just a Bermudian sensation, he's becoming an international sensation with his name and his music being known all over.  The Premier's apparent attempt to jump on his bandwagon by doing a cameo at his show isn't anything that will garner support from the youth.  That kind of publicity works for Presidents who preside over hundreds of millions, but in a small town of 65000 you'd be more likely to see the local mayor buying a ticket and walking around amongst the people enjoying the concert sans bodyguards.

If the Premier wants to garner support from the youth, cameos are not where it's at.  He would have gotten an incredible amount of support had he simply bought a ticket and wandered around, even with a bodyguard.  People would have been talking for days.  "Did you know the Premier like's Collie Buddz?"  "Ya, I saw him walkin around at de concert, people wouldn't even leave him alone to enjoy de show".  Instead, what we're probably going to hear for the next week is "Can you believe the Premier tried to ruin the Collie Buddz concert?"  "What was with the t-shirt?"

That little stunt may well have killed the youth vote.  I just wish Collie Buddz hadn't said "fuck politics".  Just because we've got a poor load of politicians today doesn't mean we shouldn't care about the future we'll soon inherit because for all the Bermudians who don't make it big, it's all we have to look forward to.

Collie Buddz doesn't like your politics either

Just under a couple weeks ago the admin on the Progressive Minds blog bashed the UBP's young united group for having attempted to claim some credit in helping to arrange a local Collie Buddz concert.

"That latest shameful attempt to campaign by the UBP (hop on the back of a Reggae Artist name Collie Buddz) has backfired in such a grand way. Seems that Mr. Colin Harper isn't a fan of those Haterz over there in MilkWorld..."

So how funny is it that Premier Brown turned around to apparently make an appearance at the Collie Buddz concert to the sound of booing.  Did this shameful attempt to campaign by the PLP backfire in such a way that Collie Buddz was able to spin it against the PLP and the shameful nature of Bermuda politics in general?

Why we need young politicians

Onion, of the New Onion blog writes:

"When I see 20 year old candidates, twentysomething Senators who live with their parents… it makes me go “hmm - how, exactly are they supposed to understand life?” (not to mention “how are they representing labour when they have never worked to support themselves?”)"

Personally I fail to see how 60+ year olds, generations removed, can understand what the life of a 20 year old today is like and this is why I believe we should have more young representatives.  Despite their lack of wisdom and experience, what young people do bring to the table is a different perspective, one significantly lacking in people who are more 'set in their ways', often the old ways.

In Bermuda, unless you come from a privelidged background, it is entirely unrealistic to live in a $3000 a month studio apartment and expect to get ahead in Bermuda. It comes at little surprise to me that many youth are forced to live at home up to later ages, especially aspiring politicians.

"There are no 30 year old Statesmen for a good reason. "

Incorrect, many great politicians halved started young and kept going. There have been many successful young politicians who became great statesmen.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy happened to became a member of the U.S. House of Representatives at the age of 30.  William Pitt the Younger became Prime Minister of Britain at the age of 24.  According to USA today, as of 2004 there were more than 800 politicians from city council up to Congress under the age of 35

Of the 20 most recent American presidents, 12 won their first elected office before age 35.  Notably, Theodore Roosevelt was 24 when he won a New York State Assembly seat. Former President Bill Clinton was Arkansas attorney general at 30.

Young politicians think further into the future. They look ahead 20 or 50 years because they will still be alive then, it is their future they are planning for and are more concerned with the long term picture than simply the next election like many older politicians.

"That is at least one major reason why I won’t consider running in an election and also publish this blog generally anonymously - it’s going to be years before I can be sure that I have the integrity and experience necessary to be the most effective I can be in a world of conflicting opinions, different viewpoints, personality conflicts, and a generally shared long-term aim to do the best for Bermuda (with notable exceptions)."

Nothing personal Onion, but integrity is not speaking while hiding behind the curtain. Integrity is standing in front of the crowd willing to speak for and stand behind what you believe in. Experience is learning from the mistakes you make along the way.

Oscar Wilde may have once said it best "I'm not young enough to know everything".  Allow me to continue his words by suggesting that we should not let the ignorance of our youth be a deterrent to changing our island for the better for we're still young enough to believe that we can always do better.

If anything, we don't have enough politicians under the age of 30.

UBP catering to the Taxi industry, not the electorate

The UBP's pledges to the taxi industry are intriguing to say the least.  By no means do I think that the taxi industry shouldn't get it's fair shake, but I hold little support for an industry who, as a whole, offers terrible service to my constituency.

It is bad enough that many taxi drivers balk at me when I tell them I'd like a ride to St. David's, let alone the costs of nearly $30 or more to catch a taxi home after a night in town.  The prospect of a 5% increase, a review of "shared rides" and premium rates for late night hours just make it worse.

Where are the changes to the taxi industry that benefit the electorate?  I'm tired of having to call up a taxi company and give directions on where to go.  I've been to places like Toronto and London and taxi drivers there either know the city inside and out or they count on "real" GPS solutions.  It is absolutely ridiculous that one should have to give directions on a 21 square mile island.  I'm also tired of being told that I can't be served because I live way out in the country, which here in Bermuda is not all that far.

What guarantees will the UBP give the people that the taxi service will improve?  Will they commit to doing random spot checks to ensure that taxi's do pickups within a reasonable amount of time and serve all destinations?  Will there be fines and penalties implemented for those who refuse service?

According to the article in the Bermuda Sun: 

The "range of measures" that the Opposition UBP says it will bring in if elected comes two months after Mr. Dunkley held an open meeting with taxi drivers and a day after the Bermuda Sun reported that disgruntled taxi drivers are vowing not to drive PLP supporters to polling stations to vote as they did in the 1998 election.

This sounds allot like the UBP is pandering to the disgruntled taxi drivers to buy votes at a convenient time without providing a well thought out plan that will also assist the electorate.  Is it becomming increasingly apparent that it's election season and suddenly politicians are waking up to realize they need to serve the voting community?

Mr. Dunkley, what will you be doing for St. David's islanders and the rest of the electorate who are fed up with poor service?

No class or professionalism.

Jamahl Simmons displays no class or professionalism in his switch back into the PLP.   Months ago when he left the UBP he launched scathing attacks and criticism on the party claiming that racism is the reasoning for why Erwin Adderley was chosen over him for his Pembroke West branch.  As I don't recall him ever naming names many of the attacks came off as personal and unsubstantiated, though they could not be dismissed easily as there may have been truth to his words.

So now after a few months of being an independent he has spun around the rejoin the PLP all while launching scathing personal attacks on UBP chairman Shawn Crockwell.  Noone could claim Shawn Crockwell as perfect, however one should recognize that having paid his debt to society and worked hard to find means to rise above his faults to become an upstanding member of his society, he deserves respect without the resurrection of his past every time someone wants to take a cheap shot.  Apparently it is Jamahl's implication that all criminals are forever guilty regardless of the time they spend in jail.  If that's the case than perhaps he should take a look at the party he's joining, for clearly it is not without it's own rehabilitated individuals who deserve that same respect.

The only thing Jamahl's latest attacks bring into question is the validity of his claims with regards to the UBP.  What he has done is made it ever more clear that he is more interested in personal vendettas than setting things right.  If Shawn Crockwell had truly proclaimed him lazy than the best rebuttal would have been to prove him wrong through action, not petty retorts lacking real substance.

10% extra, same great price

Christian Dunleavey over at Politics.bm has a really great quote when it comes to blogging and how timid our local media is at asking hard questions and getting real answers.

Thaao may be playing a character, but I'm not. I don't make money from this, I have no corporate boss to tell me what to do, and no advertisers to please. I say what I say because it needs to be said, and our timid media is missing a huge swath of political coverage, may the chips fall where they may.

The issues I write about (accountability, racial tolerance, good governance, modernizing Parliament) are ones that are fundamental to a properly functioning democracy. I make no apologies for that, whether Thaao thinks it's sincere or not.

Well said.

Bruce Gordon's accountability ladder

Through the magic of youtube I got to watching a number of clips of this years American State of the Black Union from back in February.  One particularly compelling clip was that of Bruce Gordon, former President and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), as he described the distinction between personality led organizations and process led organizations and their inherent success.

His words on this speak for themselves and are a key indication of the predicament we find ourselves within in our own country.  We rely far too heavily on personality led politics when we should be striving for process and proper planning.

One other thing I picked up on from this clip was in the comments where there was a plea for a link to his other comments regarding an accountability ladder.  Though I've been unable to find a copy of the video, I was able to find a breakdown of this concept recorded on a blog post:

Bruce Gordon, President of the NAACP and a true Black leader, elaborated on what he called an “accountability ladder.” Dr. Gordon described the ladder as an eight rung progression of accountability. The lower four rungs are where those with a “victim mentality” reside; the top four are occupied by “Accountable” or “Empowered” people.

-Victim Mentality-

8. Unconscious/unaware of their situation or problem.

7. Blaming others for their current state.

6. Can’t do anything about it, so why try?

5. Wait and hope the problem is taken care by itself or others.

-Accountable People-

4. “I messed up.” (Admit mistakes)

3. Find a solution.

2. Ask for help, but be willing to go it alone.

1. Make it happen.

From a young age my father used to tell me, "the only person who can stop you from achieving what you truly want is yourself".  For a man who went from being a poor St. David's bye that people laughed at for proclaiming he'd become a pilot to one who is recognized by the United Nations as one of a handful of international experts in aviation, I am incredibly thankful to have been taught to live in the upper rungs of the accountability ladder.  I just wish there were more Bermudians willing to as well.

Empty promises no longer

In 1998 the PLP promised to update our antiquated corruption laws.  Some 9 years and a few scandals later, that promise has gone unfulfilled.  In 2003, the UBP also promised to update our antiquated corruption laws.  For 30 years they never deemed it necessary and only believed so when the PLP got into power. 

As Lord Acton once said, absolute power corrupts absolutely.  What is clear of these past decades is that neither party is able to withstand the draw of power and the belief that they can somehow be absolved of corruption.  They will promise to end and prevent corruption only amongst their foes for they themselves are righteous and without fault.

Here we find ourselves approaching another election and once again our people will hear empty promises from both parties of fixing our corruption laws.  Regardless of what occurred in the past, the greatest tragedy is that Bermudians may well be deceived again because we will sooner divide against one another one party lines before we will unify to demand what is right.

Regardless of who you intend or don't intend to support this election, every Bermudian should be demanding today that we see the necessary changes to our corruption laws to ensure that no government is again allowed to take advantage of our people. 

We need to stand together to demand that our government fixes our corruption laws before the next election.

Pot calling the kettle black?

Ask any heavy PLP supporter about the BHC allegations and they'll use the old, "but they were exonerated".  Investigations were carried out, noone was arrested and the best that people could come up with was that no illegal crime was committed.  Of course, some actions could be deemed unethical and due to our antiquated laws, they could have been deemed illegal, but weren't.  So that's it. Wipe your hands, sweep it under the rug, clear your mind.  Forget that BHC ever happened.  It wasn't illegal, unethical maybe, but that doesn't matter.  Only things that are illegal are worth pursuing.  Only things that are illegal deserve admissions of guilt.  Only things that are illegal deserve reparations.  There's no need to update our laws to make these things illegal now because they weren't illegal before.

This is where I draw the very striking line between BHC and another "not illegal, but unethical" practice.  Go back and reread the above paragraph replacing PLP with UBP and BHC with Slavery.

It wasn't illegal, only unethical.  Does that make it right?

ProgressiveMinds.bm = Biased?

To my surprise, neither of the two comments I've posted on the www.progressiveminds.bm blog site over the past couple days have been approved.

How come I'm good enough to be syndicated when writing from a pro-PLP stance, but when asking the hard questions, I get silenced?

Below are comments I posted earlier today (though others timestamped after mine have been approved) on the post Press Release - Tourism numbers SOAR!  Are these the kind of comments that shouldn't be allowed?

----

 

 

I've said it before, I'll say it again.

"I'll believe it's been a banner quarter when you can tell me in statistics that include non-bermudian, bermudian, resident, non-resident, business, pleasure and hopefully how much is approximated to have been contributed to the economy by each group. Until then, these numbers mean nothing to me."

I've asked it in multiple places, even the PLP blog to zero response.

"What are the numbers in reference to "Tourists" in the breakdowns I suggested?

Suggesting simply 'arrivals' is ambiguous and potentially very misleading and I do not believe it is a fair statistic that truly represents the state of our Tourism industry.

While perhaps arrivals does mean tourists, I would like this clarification as if it does not then we may well be setting ourselves up for failure as the only true measure of our success is how much money we make from Tourism, not the number of people who visit."

Also, I'd like to see a comparison of the increase/decrease in the numbers over the last 10-20 years to give a fair estimate to how we're performing now when compared to pre-Fabian (total available rooms) and pre-9/11

Open Sesame

Speaking with people about the days when the PLP were first elected, many suggest that one of the worst tactics that the UBP, or at least their supporters, used in the run up to elections was the boogeyman defense.  That being that rather than base their election campaigns on the merits of being able to manage the country better than their opponents, the UBP, or at least many UBP supporters, resorted to the tactic of suggesting that the election of the PLP would result in the mass exodus of international business and the collapse of the Bermudian economy, otherwise known as the 'boogeyman'.

Some 9 years later, with a PLP government no less, there has been no collapse and no exodus.  The Bermudian economy has not only remained strong, in some ways it may be too strong as we have witnessed rampant growth that has introduced other problems.  While the PLP government has not been a perfect one, no government can be and the supposed 'boogeyman' of pre-1998 has not materialized.  This is why it was incredibly surprising to read in today's paper that the Premier has suggested that he is wary of the Opposition's intentions and their election could mean a return to the days of the "40 thieves". 

Only months ago, had you asked any random person on the street what you thought the prospects were for the next election they likely would have told you that the PLP was a heavy favorite.  My how things have changed since then.  We've seen many revelations over the past weeks including damning allegations against specific members of the PLP including Premier Brown himself being accused of corruption and abuse of power which amount to theft from the public purse.  While it has not become clear whether the allegations are founded in any form of truth, Premier Brown's actions over the past few weeks have raised the suspicions of many who otherwise wouldn't even have noticed.

What of these "40 thieves"?  What should we watch out for?  Will they do such dastardly things as steal cedar beams from government buildings?  How about swindle the foundation responsible for housing Bermuda's misfortunate?  Certainly we've developed too much of a culture of entitlement to deserve affordable housing?  Are the 40 thieves going to do even worse deeds?

Perhaps we should recollect the story of Ali Baba, the origin of the "40 thieves" reference.  Was it not Cassim, Ali Baba's rich brother, who went into the cave of the "40 Thieves" to take some of the treasure for himself?  Who, in the height of his greed and excitement, forgot the magic words to get back out?  No matter how many attempts, phrases like "gag order" and "exonerated" just didn't seem to work.

So now the PLP have gone from being the clear leader in the next election to being questionably ahead (yet to be confirmed by recent polls).  Premier Brown has resorted to bringing out the same boogeyman tactic that the UBP is supposed to have used as a means to sway support away from the UBP.  Here we have it.  History is repeating itself.  What a sad sight it is that the PLP has to reduce themselves to such tactics which adds credence to the suggestion that the PLP is little different than the UBP when they were in power.

Citizens beware.  The boogeyman is back. 

BHC scandal gets crazier

Things I don't get while reading "Premier attacks justice system":

1. It's ‘It’s demeaning, embarrassing and insulting’ for the Premier to be accused of corruption tied to the BHC Scandal but it's not demeaning in the slightest for the Premier to accuse the Opposition of electioneering  and scandalization with absolutely no evidence to support it?
   
   
2. If Premier Brown was 'exonerated' by the investigation, than would that fact not be clearly demonstrated by the evidence contained in the unreleased portions of the BHC investigation?  If so, why is the Premier unwilling to release these portions to the public to prove his innocence?
   
   
3. Why is it a “disappointing day for all Bermuda’s innocent citizens" when "confidential documents related to Police investigations are fit to print" but it is not disappointing when any individual can be arrested and detained without being charged?
   
   
4. "The ruling seems grossly unfair and is a devastating blow to public confidence in the Police." 
   
   Wait, the potential of being arrested at any time without charge isn't a devastating blow to public confidence in the Police?
   
   
5. "The court was asked to adjudicate on the prevention of public access to stolen official documents in a despicable political plot in which lies, half truth and innuendoes had been thoroughly investigated." 
   
   Remember the Public Access to Information Legislation promised by the PLP?   Where is it?  Shouldn't we have had public access to the conclusions of this four year old investigation of a public entity?
   
   
6. “The Chief Justice’s ruling and the ruling today legitimates the publication of any and all allegations lodged with law enforcement agencies, whether factual or not, whether in execution of conspiracies to commit public mischief or not.” 
   
   Does it not also legitimize the publication of their conclusions or dare I say 'exonerations' to such allegations?
   
   
7. The Premier’s spokesman said in his statement yesterday: “As Premier Brown has stated publicly, he is not overly concerned with protecting the information relating to him because he has been exhaustively investigated and fully exonerated in a probe conducted by the Bermuda Police Service, Scotland Yard and US Homeland Security.
   
   Put your money where your mouth is.  If the information exonerates Premier Brown publish it so we can all see that the allegations are false and untrue.  If they indeed are, there is nothing to lose and everything to gain, unless indeed someone is guilty and being protected by taking the time required to modify the documents.
   
   
8. John Barritt states “The United Bermuda Party would like the people to take note of the extraordinary lengths Government is going to in this matter, at extraordinary costs. Whose interests are they advancing now?” he asked, estimating the legal fees will head into hundreds of thousands of dollars.
   
   Who exactly is paying for all this?  How much more money is being taken from the public purse than already has?

'They' who?

I found this exerpt of a recent article in the gazette quite interesting.

During the radio interview, Dr. Brown told Mr. Dill investigators never questioned him over allegations against him: “Therefore I was exonerated and to call on me now to answer each and every allegation, I think is a bit preposterous,” he said, adding later: “In most civilised societies, we just don’t expose the contents of Police files. Having said that, I want to repeat — they can reveal anything they have in the file about me personally. I know that we are totally in the clear and have been exonerated after an investigation that apparently included Scotland Yard, the FBI and Homeland Security, so there was no issue there.”

Personally, I would like to know what the police file says specifically the conclusions made with regards to the alleged allegations including evidence to support or deny such claims.

Who does Premier Brown mean by "they"?  Who do I need to talk to in order to attain such data so that we can determine the truth?  Clearly the paper is not allowed to publish it so is this a suggestion by Premier Brown that the police themselves are now free to release these details to the public?  If so, where can I attain them?  Hopefully their release will put this matter behind us and we can get back to putting our country on the right track.

Questioning the bigger picture

As Bermudians we are so caught up in our own issues that many often forget that there is a larger world out there.  If you were to ask any random Bermudian on the street what our most critical issues are you would likely hear mostly internal ones: racism, housing, high cost of living, corrupt leadership, overpopulation; the list goes on.  Do we have a tendency to become so caught up in life on our little rock that many fail to consider the bigger picture?

The US Federal Reserve is rushing to slow their fast growing economy and clamp down on a swift rise in cost of living called inflation.  The US Congress and Senate are in the middle of debating energy policy yet are seemingly unable to put together anything with teeth that will shield the US from the looming energy crisis as global consumption of oil increases and production diminishes.

One core issue that is not addressed in Bermuda politics is how do we survive the long term?  Bermuda is heavily oil dependant and yet few realise how dependant we really are.  Our electricity is generated from diesel fuel and while we have pipe dreams of creating underwater turbines, it is largely an unproven technology.  We are a mass importer and at present would be severely unable to sustain ourselves if we encountered any disruption of imports.  We rely on oil powered container lines and airplanes to keep our economy going, our vehicles are oil based as is most of our way of life.

The US faces similar issues on a larger scale and are largely throwing money behind the wrong horses.  Heavy investment in corn based ethanol is having severe implications for a variety of reasons.  Corn prices have been driven up forcing prices of all foods reliant on corn to rise with them.  Farmers have been so quick to jump on the high prices of corn that they've jumped off of other crops like wheat (Wheat prices hit 11-year high), cotton (Cotton Extends Rally to Three-Year High)  and soybeans (Corn, Soybeans Rise).  Corn is a volatile and unreliable crop in comparison to others, requiring a longer growing cycle and better weather.  It also requires more fertilizer and better farm equipment which requires more fuel to power.  If the ethanol gamble doesn't play out very well we could see oil (Oil Rises to Nine-Month High) and food (Cost of Gas and Food Rose Sharply Last Month) prices skyrocket here in Bermuda in the coming months/years because we are so heavily tied to the US economy.

How do we ensure that Bermudian cost of living does not spiral out of control as the growing energy crisis impacts various staples of the Bermudian economy?  Is this even on the books and do our politicians even have the capacity to understand the bigger picture?

The glaring question

There is one key glaring point that stands out about the Son of the Soil email that makes me skeptical:

If the Bermuda Housing Corporation report named multiple people, specifically members of parliament and prominant citizens, as having been the target of allegations, why then is it that every single one of the 22 points made in the Son of the Soil email are specifically targeted at Premier Brown?

This stands out and makes me wonder.

The people have a voice

Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one.

                                  -- Abbott Joseph Liebling, 1904-1963

The internet has changed society as we know it.  In today's world every and any individual has become a publisher.  Today any individual has the power to say anything they want and be heard by the entire world.  Freedom of speech has reached the masses.

The internet is having an incredible impact on the spread of information.  Just as the introduction of the printing press changed the scope of how information is shared by allowing ideas of science, religion and classical arts to spread, the internet is also changing the way information propogates, on a much more global and impactful level.

Today knowledge spreads like a virus.  The internet has enabled any individual to share their thoughts to the rest of the world.  Today's example of the mass emailing of the letter outlining allegations regarding the Bermuda Housing Corporation scandal and subsequent posting on sites like www.bermudasucks.com and www.facebook.com are simply acts that demonstrate how true freedom of speech and freedom of press have reached the people.

Whether or not the allegations are true, they have taken on a life of their own.  Whether we like it or not, the future will never be the same.   Googleability, "The ease with which information about a person can be found on an Internet search engine, particularly Google", is upon us.  The participatory panopticon is coming, the age where any individual with a camera phone can take snapshot evidence of human existance at any moment of time, published on the internet for the rest of time. 

The future will undoubtedly bring a whole new world, for there is no putting the genie back in the bottle on this one.  The face of politics is rapidly changing.  Today's youth have access and ability to ask the Premier questions in an open forum on the www.facebook.com website, something never dreamed of in the past. 

Citizens are gaining more access to information and they desire it.  The people want to know more just as they want to contribute more.  They want to ask questions, they want to know facts and they want a hand in the decision making process, even if it is a small one.

The future shall bring a revolution in the way we approach governance of ourselves.  Participatory democracy is coming.  The people have a voice and they are beginning to embrace it.

"Stem cell research commercial makes Bush look dumb"

Courtesy of ScienceBlog.com I've picked up on a commercial developed by Jerry Zucker, director of My Best Friend's Wedding, Naked Gun, Airplane and many others, which advocates support for the funding for further stem cell research which President Bush promised to veto.  Quite a good watch so I thought I'd share it here. 

Through the looking glass

Bermuda has held a good reputation for quite some time. We are recognized as a stable island of few problems and limited risks. Crime has been quite low, people feel safe, it's a comfortable relaxed living and there is very little political strife. At least, that's what Bermuda used to be recognized for.

The difference today is that the world has changed. Even I, an unknown 26 year old from quiet beginnings, have a voice.   Though my readership may be little more than a handful, my words have reach to all continents.   If the reach of the one voice can touch the globe, what could the reach of international newspapers be? Ask yourself, has the Internet changed our world so differently that any voice can be loud enough to be heard around the world?  If so, how does that impact how we're perceived from the outside looking in?

When prospective tourists think 'Bermuda', they look it up on the internet.  It's not as difficult as it used to be.  How about prospective business partners for our industries?  Do they too?  How about those we hope to attract?  The internet is a powerful medium because it shares both the best and the worst of Bermudian life and culture.  It shares our celebrations of life like Bermuda day, and those of death like the mourning of a hero.  Just as it shares our good times, it also shares our bad.  Reports of muggings.  Break-ins and the robbing of tourists at gunpoint in their rooms.  On top of this our Premier talks of ending negotiations with the UK in an abrupt manner and demands of control of police which result in Bermuda being described as facing revolt. What is our picture to the world at this stage? What do the people on the outside see when looking in on our tiny island paradise?

This is what concerns me.  Those accused in the Bermuda Housing Corporation allegations may or may not be guilty of the accusations, however rather than taking the time to justify them, an attack is waged that ends up affecting our global reputation.  One can understand and accept that the actions may have been character damaging, however to take an eye for an eye approach with the UK is one that isn't just character damaging for the UK, it's also damaging for Bermuda.

Petition for a Royal Commission

For those interested, All Bermuda Congress has started petition to be given to the governor to request a Royal Commission Inquiry on the BHC scandal.  Hopefully so we can get the real answers on the allegations

View & Sign it here:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/405277752

Bermuda is beginning to make international press

Is this a good thing for our reputation as a stable political environment?

 

In Austria:

Bermuda's top safety official calls for Britain to give up control over police

«This ridiculous arrangement has outlived its usefulness,»

 

In Jamaica:

Bermudan Governor stripped of constitutional powers

Bermuda's Public Safety Minister David Burch Wednesday called on Governor Sir John Vereker to relinquish his constitutional powers over the police and delegate them to the Bermuda government.

Premier Dr. Ewart Brown has threatened to suspend all dealings with Sir John if he failed to fully investigate who leaked the confidential documents to the Mid-Ocean News and the Bermuda Broadcasting Company, whose offices were raided by police on Monday.

The documents reportedly revealed that Mr. Brown, former premier Jennifer Smith and former ministers Nelson Bascome, Reneé Webb and Arthur Hodgson were all investigated by fraud squad officers probing the BHC allegations.

 

Caribbean News:

CEO says police raid is a "threat to freedom of information"

The chief executive of Bermuda's main broadcasting company has said he views a raid earlier this week by police as unacceptable and a threat to journalists and the principle of freedom of information.

 

London:

Bermuda's top safety official calls for Britain to give up control over police

HAMILTON, Bermuda: Bermuda's top public safety official formally requested that the British territory's London-appointed governor relinquish power over the police department to the local government.

Speaking in the Senate on Wednesday, Public Safety Minister David Burch said he wrote to Gov. John Vereker asking him to give up oversight of the Bermuda Police Service on the tiny island of 66,000 people.

"This ridiculous arrangement has outlived its usefulness," Burch was quoted as saying in the Royal Gazette newspaper, adding he was unable to put more officers on patrol or ensure that crimes were investigated promptly under the arrangement.

 

Britain's oldest colony in crisis as government threatens to suspend relations with UK

Britain’s oldest colony was in the grip of a constitutional crisis after the Government of Bermuda threatened to suspend all dealings with the island’s London-appointed Governor and demanded he delegate his police powers to local ministers.

Premier Ewart Brown - who, like Gordon Brown, was elected leader of his governing party but has not yet received a popular mandate as the island's leader - threatened on Friday to halt co-operation with Sir John Vereker, the Governor appointed by the Queen.

 

Governor faces revolt on paradise isle

“I take this opportunity to again call upon the Governor to discharge the responsibility of his office, by taking swift and meaningful action against the perpetrators of this nefarious scheme,” Dr Brown said in a statement read out on Bermu-dan television and radio. “He must see this as his obligation. Should he fail to do this, the constitutionally elected Government of Bermuda will lose confidence in the current Governor. In that event, we will have no choice but to suspend further business with him.”

The Premier... on facebook???

Quite surprised to find a facebook friend request from, of all people, our Premier.  While I'm not sure whether to take it seriously or not, I'd have to say that if it really is him then I must say bravo Mr. Premier.  If not, then will the real slim shady Dr. Brown, please stand up.

Seriously though, it wouldn't be impossible for Dr. Brown to have setup a facebook profile as it would be a tremendous move for connecting with the disillusioned youth.  Social networking sites for politicial campaigning?  Well, if it's good enough for US Presidential Candidates  Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and for California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, then why not our Premier?

A quick search of other PLP MPs turns up nothing, which adds to the disappointing thought that perhaps Dr. Browns profile isn't legit.  Surprisingly, while a quick search of Michael Dunkley didn't turn up with anything, UBP MP Jon Brunson appears to have been bitten by the facebook bug.

Perhaps, I'm hoping, this is the start of a new era in politics.  One where Bermudian politicians take to the internet to bring better communication and collaboration between our leaders and our people.

Note:  you'll actually have to join facebook to see the profiles of these politicians.

No room for faith alone

Is that an echo I hear?  Oh right, it must be that time of year again for Club Med development and Dr. Brown is once again trumpeting the proposed success of yet another developer.  While I am pleased to hear that something is happening, excuse me if I sit amongst the pessimists who listened to Dr. Brown the last time when we switched developers from Quorum to KJA all while he was trumpeting KJA as the people to get it done.   As the saying goes, "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me".   At last report, Quorum is still waiting to find out why exactly they were turned down at the last minute in favor of KJA.  Why was that again?

“The pessimists among you will say: ‘So what, there have been others who said they were going to build.’ I appreciate and understand your pessimism, but let me tell you I made a commitment: in 2007, construction will begin on the new hotel in St. George’s. I can promise you it will be delivered.

I wouldn't say there have been others who said they were going to build, I would rather say there have been others who were willing and capable, but were replaced by those trumpeted as so but clearly proved otherwise.  One also couldn't bother holding Premier Brown to his promise for very simply it only requires the laying of a couple blocks in a row and calling it a wall to pass for "construction".  Hell, we could have had that the whole time.

Tell you what.  I'll make a promise of my own.  I promise that I'll believe it when I see it.

Upping the ante

Over on fellow Bermudian blog site BravoZulu.bm, the question of whether Bermuda's blogging scene has officially jumped the shark was posed with the entry of the PLP's into the blogging scene.   Personally, I am pleased to see more online media and discussion happening amongst Bermudians as hopefully it will do more to encourage and develop a sense of freedom of speech and growing participation in our political environment.

Adjustah of BravoZulu.bm does have a point with the growing number of blogs that have taken the trend from being something that a small group of dedicated individuals undertook to one that is beginning to reach the masses.  So, as one individual who won't be outdone I've decided that perhaps it is time to up the ante a bit and see how far we can go with online media.  The result?  The beginning of amateur video based commentary along with typical written media.

My first entry?  Taken shortly after purchasing my new camera while off-island on training, let's ask the question of why a free medical clinic creates a "culture of entitlement" when free transportation does not?

Culture of entitlement

Premier Brown recently had some great comments about Bermuda's culture of entitlement and the need to get over it.  His commens have helped me see the perspective he has about Bermuda becoming too dependent on government and it weakening Bermuda overall as it has in the states.  Along these lines, is it not also the role of government to make opportunity most accessible to the people so they have the ability to rise above dependency?

Premier Brown described one Club Med Squatter as follows:

The Premier said: “Minister Burch told me that while we were in Trinidad I should look for a certain individual — a fellow who was living at Club Med.” The crowd began to laugh and the Premier said: “This is a true story. Minister Burch said, ‘the guy locked his door at Club Med, left a note saying when he would be back and told his mother to look out for his two sons because he was on his way to cricket’.

One might be quick to agree with Dr. Brown that it seems pretty rediculus for someone to be living off of the country then pick up and spend money on cricket when clearly he should be spending it on housing?  However, what happens if you take a look from the perspective of this particular individual?

Of course one could not speak for the individual without knowing him, however, what could be deduced by what is suggested of him?  Well, seeing as he left his two sons with his mother, could he be a single father?  Do half of Bermudians not make less then $45,559 a year according to the 2006 Labour Market Indicators?  Let's consider for a moment the scenario of a single father and his two sons.

What kind of housing is available for a man and his two sons in today's Bermuda?  A quick look at a couple places on e-moo suggests that the cheapest 2 bedroom apartment runs for $2,200 a month, the second cheapest, $2,500 a month.  For a single parent with two children on a salary of $3,797 a month, how affordable is a $2,200 a month place assuming he can beat all the competition in today's limited rental market.

Assuming very basic numbers, food for 3 people at $75 a week works out to $900 a month.  Add another $100 a month in electricity and you're up to $1000 in added living expenses.  What of clothing for his children?  A bus pass, furniture, health insurance, little toys so his kids can enjoy christmas.  All that out of $597 a month?  What about savings to one day buy a home'?  How affordable is Bermuda for the single parent who likely is one of those on the bottom half of the income range and likely is working more then one job just to reach that median mark which means less time to raise his children.

With already 583 people on the housing waiting list, how likely is it that he will be quickly chosen for affordable housing?  Could he have been one of the Bermuda Homes for People lottery winners?  Even a 100% mortgage on one of the $695,000 Olive Bank condos would run him a mortgage of almost $2000 more then he's making a month at a 9% interest rate.

Bermuda simply isn't affordable for the single parent and it is becoming less affordable for many Bermudians in general.  One could certainly agree that Bermudians shouldn't feel entitled to government giving them homes or giving them jobs, however one could also disagree that government should be doing as much as it can to help rebalance the supply and demand of our housing market and do more to make the jobs that are out there better known.

Young Bermudians shouldn't expect government to find them a job, however for those away at school finding a job in Bermuda is not very easy.  Every job posting that is taken by an ex-pat is put in the paper of which those postings are not subsequently listed online which is the most accessible means for a student abroad to find out what jobs are available.  Could our government move to make this sort of information more accessible by posting jobs that are sent in to the immigration department for workpermit approval right on the immigration website so that more Bermudians have ready access to apply for the jobs they may well qualify for?

Dr. Brown is right that Bermudians should not feel entitled to be given a free ride for we all must each pull our own weight.  However, I am hopeful that he will also heed my words and recognize that there is more that our government could be doing to make Bermuda more accessible for Bermudians.

Can the milkman deliver?

There's an interesting article in the paper today suggesting a potential bid to replace Wayne Furbert as leader.  While I find Mr. Furbert to be a very honourable, honest and likeable guy, his performance as leader unfortunately hasn't reflected as much hope in the polls as many UBP supporters would have liked.

With an election that's just around the corner it is definitely a make it or break it time for the UBP.  Do they stick it out with Mr. Furbert and his low performance in the polls or do they change horses very late in the race?  Thus far, Premier Brown has had a running start at leadership and many of the plans he's been putting into place are swinging into motion.  While not everyone would agree with all of Dr. Brown's plans, he is proving to be a man of action, something which was much needed in the PLP leadership after the lack of action seen by former Premier Scott.

Given that the opposition has no actual portfolios, it is less easy to judge them on their performance aside from polls of  public perception, which have not climbed in quite some time.  Given the unfortunately poor perception of Mr. Furbert in the leadership seat it would come as little surprise to see a new leader rise to enter the fray.

The question though is who could replace Furbert in leadership?  Though it is unfortunate to say so, does the UBP need a black leader to win the next election?  Could the Bermudian people really be that racially biased?   The color of Wayne's skin ultimately proved to not be a heavy factor in gaining anything but early support in the polls.  Thus it is questionable as to whether or not it is necessary for any leader set to replace him would need to be black in order to win the support of the people.

Who is the next best candidate to lead the UBP should the bid be more then a rumor?  Deputy opposition leader at present is Michael Dunkley and as such he'd be a likely candidate as a successor in the least because of his present standing and no doubt there are other potentials waiting in the wings.  If it were Mr. Dunkley, would the color of his skin matter in his ability to win support of the people?  Would we dive into another racially based election where attacks are made on the UBP because it has a white leader?  Or, by contrast, would the next election be one based purely on the issues?  I suppose if Mr. Dunkley were to be the ultimate successor, the only reasonable question to be asked is: can the milkman deliver?

Another Bermudian Blogger

I'd like to extend my welcome to www.newonion.com, an anonymous blog by another 20 something Bermudian.  I'm very pleased to see more youth making themselves heard and hope you'll visit his site and give him your support.

Succumbing to the tribulations of Bermuda politics

Recently I had the opportunity to have a discussion with a friend of mine who chastised me for my recent criticisms of the PLP and their efforts.  Rightly he pointed out that I should be focusing my efforts on offering constructive ideas and suggestions rather then focusing on negative aspects which originally was my intent and goal when I returned to the island a year and a half ago.  Quite unfortunately, I have succumbed to the same frustration that affects many who truly care about this island and have a hard time seeing the positive change they'd truly like to see.  Sometimes we forget that on both sides of the political spectrum and even the sidelines there are people who are dedicated to seeing that same kind of positive change.

My friend and I concluded that one source of frustration is that communication between the executive branch and the people they represent has always been difficult.  This has been no exception in my own case.  Despite my best attempts to be an informed citizen who is educated on the issues and what is being done to solve them, often times I find myself left in the dark and I feel others share my plight.  The recent issue with the medical clinic was no exception, where I found myself lost and frustrated when Dr. Brown suggested that there is a plan but ultimately I could not find it.  His comments accusing Ms. Jackson of "a campaign rooted in misinformation, skulduggery and outright lies" only frustrated me further for if her's is such a dastardly campaign, where does one go to get the right information and to correctly be informed?

Ultimately it is my greatest wish to see more communication between our government and our people.  I applaud the PLP and their move to setup a youth blog site and hope it is the first step of many.  It would be tremendous to see our government post more information more regularly so that it is easier to understand what our parlimentarians are working so hard to achieve.  Knowing the answers to the question of why something is being done is tremendously helpful in attaining our support for it is very difficult to follow our present government blindly after 30+ years of giving one government free reign which ultimately was abused.

I hope that some members of our government shall read this and be inspired to spread the word more, to make more of an attempt to disseminate information out into the hands of the people.  It would be tremendous to see the plans for our country posted in an accessible location with explanations of why and how we're going to be better off because of them and even further, to be willing to accept constructive comments on how the ideas could be made even strong.  To see such things would be a momentous occasion of pride for our people and in the very least for this writer.

Is a tourism crisis looming on the horizon?

The following was sent in as a letter to the editor that is to have appeared in last friday's edition of The Royal Gazette.  Unfortunately I could not find it online so I cannot provide a link.

Who out there is still reeling from the shock of the Southlands hotel announcement? Does it make sense to destroy some of the last truly historic representations of Bermuda for all generations to come in order to build a nice fancy 5 star hotel? Is it worth the sacrifice of our environment? Is it worth the strain on our infrastructure? Is it worth the extra cars on our roads, the extra people in our streets and extra ex-pats on work permits? Worse, what happens when we start to see the impacts of the new US passport requirements introduced in January?

“We don’t have any unemployment" claims Immigration Minister Derrick Burgess in a Feb 28th Royal Gazette article. If we have no unemployment, how are the hundreds of jobs of this proposed hotel going to be filled?

“If we do not have the capacity as a community to meet the work force demands of the construction ... management and operation of the development ..., we simply place additional stresses on our social infrastructure in the area of affordable housing, increased traffic congestion, additional stress on our already struggling health care system, increased crime and so on” suggested director of professional and career education at Bermuda College, Dr. Euginie Simmons.

Where are all of these extra workers going to be housed? A 10 Storey Housing Complex has been proposed as part of the plan. This when there are now more then 583 people on the housing waiting list, do we not have bigger concerns on our hands? If we must use special development orders and build 10 Storey housing complexes, why are we not using them for our people first and foremost? Why are we not solving the crisis at hand rather then taking the piecemeal approach of building housing that is barely affordable for many Bermudians?

"The intention is to take Bermudian staff to Jumeirah hotels overseas as part of their training programme so they can learn and match the high standards of the luxury hotel chain", suggested one Royal Gazette article on the project. Who are these Bermudians? Who will be paying for the travel and training? How are they going to be convinced to live in the desert in 118 degree heat in order to get trained on working here?

Top CEO's know to ask themselves a very simple question whenever they are approached with a new idea of how to do things better. “What problem does it solve?” Ask yourself this same question, what problem does this hotel project solve? Is it possible we're creating a solution for which there is no problem? So much so that it needs to be rushed without following proper planning procedure that could result in a development worse then Berkeley?

Why do we need a new 5 star hotel? Why do we need 300+ new suites when we only have a short peak season and many days out of the year our hotels struggle to fill rooms? Again, are we creating a solution for which there is no problem? Bermuda needs to do more about tourism itself long before it gets more new rooms. It needs to improve the level of service at our present hotels. We need a better nightlife, better daytime entertainment, more activities and events to draw people here. How are we going to improve the attitudes of those working in our service industry? A casino isn't the answer, its nothing new, it's been done before and will only bring more problems.

What happens if the new US requirement for American citizens to have a passport to reenter the country causes a major drop in our tourist figures? According to an August edition of the New York Times, only 27% of Americans are believed to have passports. What happens if the vast majority who would have chosen to take a Bermuda vacation instead opt to travel within the US rather then go through the hassle of getting a passport?

“This is going to have a tremendous negative impact” said Roger Dow, president of the Travel Industry Association, which represents the nation’s largest airlines, hotels, cruise lines and car rental companies. “We’re going to have a chaotic situation upon us.”

Last year, 20 percent to 30 percent of cruise passengers used passports as documentation, with the rest using birth certificates or driver’s licenses, said Brian Major, spokesman for the Cruise Lines International Association.

According to Bermuda4u.com, in 2006, 298,973 visitors arrived by air and 336,299 by cruise ship. What happens if some 70% or 235,000 cruise visitors and 209,000 air visitors decide to travel locally in the US rather then putting up with the hassle of meeting the new passport requirements? If even 30% of our visitors don't show up and tourism represents some 12.6 percent of our $4.857 billion Gross Domestic Product (GDP) like it did in 2005, that represents nearly $175 million that won't flow into our economy this year alone. If as many as 70% opt not to get passports, that is more then $400 million or an 8.4% drop in our overall GDP. That amounts to more then $6000 for each of the estimated 65,000 people on our island that won't be flowing into our economy.

Dr. Brown may be very pleased with his 'banner year' of arrivals (note that the figure is measured in 'visitors' and not tourists), which are up some 23.2% this year. However, one must admit that some things may be out of his control. Let's roll back a year. Do you remember what happened to the Club Med deal? What happens if we have a large downturn in actual tourist arrivals and very suddenly Jumeirah backs out like KJA did?

Will Southlands be as fruitful as the web that is being weaved around it? Does it make sense to destroy some of our last truly historic representation? Is it worth the sacrifice of our environment, the strain on our infrastructure, the extra cars on our roads, extra people in our streets and extra ex-pats on work permits? Will we truly face a tourism crisis when we start to see the impacts of the new US passport requirements introduced in January? Time certainly shall tell.

Brown to Bermudians: Fend for yourselves

Dr. Brown's Comments from the recent parliamentary session

"It's important to understand what happens to people in a welfare state. I have lived in the US and seen what happens when people have their entrepreneurial spirits and ability to self-sustain taken away from them because the state came in to provide for them. We don't want that and we are not going to have that in Bermuda."

Is the PLP sounding less progressive and less like a 'labour party' with each passing day?

Heaven forbid government makes the right strides to provide adequate education, for that would be a vicious attack on our people's ' entrepreneurial spirits' considering how effective of an entrepreneur you can be if you're illiterate.  Why shouldn't we curse those 583 on BHC's housing waiting list, their ' entrepreneurial sprit' should find themselves shack's and shanties to live in shouldn't they?   A box on the street would be more adequate housing, apparently, as they certainly shouldn't be paying illegally to live in club med due to the harsh realities of how bad the housing crisis truly is. 

I'd better break out my Regiment poncho and set up a bivy (for those non-conscripts out there, that's an impromptu tent made out of a poncho) and live under that for certainly it would be too much to expect apartments and housing that Bermudians could actually afford to rent let alone buy.  Wouldn't that be a character building exercise worthy of rejuvenating my ' entrepreneurial spirits' and meeting Dr. Brown's expectations of the state doing nothing for the individual out of fear that they'd lose the ability to help themselves?

What happened to the state taking care of the basic needs of all individuals?  Is the intention of the 'new Bermuda' under the leadership of Dr. Brown to make us even more capitalistic and move us towards an "every man for himself" style of anarchy?  By no means am I suggesting I want to see Bermuda enter a form of communist state but the sheer basic liberties of great (not good, not mediocre, but great) education, good healthcare and adequate housing should be afforded to every Bermudian, not some select few.

[Dr.Brown] accused Shadow Health Minister Louise Jackson of "a campaign rooted in misinformation, skulduggery and outright lies" over the Medical Clinic during a speech in Parliament.

"This Government would never embark on the closure of a medical service to the detriment of the people," he said. "When we are talking about closing this clinic, the ultimate plan — and it will be delivered — is to give people superior healthcare."

Here's Bermuda speaking directly to you Dr. Brown:  put your money where your mouth is.  Give us the 'ultimate plan' in an tangible form that we can see and decide for ourselves.   Show us the evidence and reasoning behind why and how it will provide superior healthcare.  If you can't Ms. Jackson may well be right when she claims that "[Dr. Brown is] making it up as he goes along".  What are the reasons, what is the justification, how will this make things better? 

Back up your arguments with evidence and facts, not hearsay, racial accusations and condemnation of the Opposition for actually opposing something.

Show me the money

Some 22% or 14,300 of our approximate population of 65,000 are ex-pat workers according to bermuda-online.org.  Think about what impact these guest workers truly have on our economy.  Really, do the math.  Customs Duty accounts for some $235 million of our overall budget, just as Payroll tax accounts for $270 million.  If the salary disparities between the low skilled ex-pats, Bermudians and high skilled ex-pats balance out, the contribution of duty and payroll tax alone averages out to more then $115 million, by rough numbers.  That's $115 million of foreign cash poured into our country last year alone, which is like a $2000 cheque for every Bermudian.

You might not see it go directly into your pocket, but that $115 million goes to cover the cost of a great deal of services.  That doesn't even include other taxes and the money ex-pats spend living here.  Attending our restaurants, our shops, living in our homes.  Things may be cramped, but the money they bring in is what gives you and me a living.  We only have ourselves to blame for having to sleep in the bed we've made because we didn't have the foresight to build housing to compensate for the growing number of work permits our government pre-approves each year.

Bermuda-online.org also suggests,

According to the 2000 Census, 11 percent of Bermuda's population is already older than 65, and the Department of Statistics estimates that this will double to 22 percent by 2030.

When the 2006/07 budget pegged pension estimates for the year at $1,103.44 per person per month, at some 7150 people over the age of 65 that amounts to just short of $95 million last year.  Those of you out there who are 42 or older should begin wondering where your $157 million per year  is going to come from as we approach the year 2030 and each of you retires.  Especially those who don't own their own homes.  Are you really ready to be quick to bite the hand that feeds you?

Remember, our MP's pay raises?  Well along with them went fat pensions for those who sit in a position for as long as Alex Scott was our Premier.  Those pensions put a further strain on the already stretched pension fund.  Imagine, 3 years of work for a lifetime of fat pensions.  Just think about it, our leaders have ensured that they'll get theirs.  Will you be getting yours?

Our symbiotic reliance on foreign workers

There is really only one word to describe our present government:  Disappointment.

It is incredibly hypocritical for our Immigration Minister Derrick Burgess to condemn free speech for ex-pats and suggest that in other countries ex-pats would be extradited for getting involved in politics.  All while that is exactly what our very premier is to have done when he acted as a pivotal voice for the black movement at Howard University while an ex-pat student in the US.  

What the PLP may not realize is that they're painting a very unattractive picture on life in Bermuda for potential ex-pats.  Today is a day much different then yesterday, where the Internet has risen to give a voice to nearly anyone who wants one.  The Internet serves as a wealth of incredible information where the ability to sort and organization that information gets better each day.  Search engines have made it easy to enter 'Ewart Brown Howard' into Google and discover information like this Howard University Feature on the successful life of alumnus Ewart Brown. 

Some faculty members thought politics and medicine shouldn’t mix. “There were some professors
who made the case in a faculty meeting once that I should be expelled from medical school
because I was really a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” he recalls.

A wolf in sheep's clothing?  This while Mr. Burgess told the assembled media:

“Any country you go in — you do not get involved in their politics. That is a common sense attitude you should take. I would never do it and I have never done it. I would be afraid to.”

If what Mr. Burgess suggests is true, those professors surely would have succeeded in not only expelling our Premier during his time at Howard but also deporting him from the country?   Certainly he was more involved in politics then some Americans may have liked, especially on such controversial issues as discrimination against blacks.

Or is it more interesting to regard his comment that Mr. Burgess himself would be afraid to do so in another country.  When clearly Dr. Brown was capable of doing so, does it become a question of what he really fears is what he knows his government would do to those who do speak out?

Where the UBP once traded focus on and success in tourism for international business, the PLP is trying to do in reverse.   Are we risking the loss of our International Business community at the cost of regaining tourism?   We were once the revolutionaries of the tourism industry, leading what was known of the destinations due to our keen focus on improving it, just as we are the revolutionaries of the insurance industry today.  However just as tourism once fell, so too can International Business.  Take it for granted all you want, but the foreign money poured into this country daily may slow to a trickle as we cause our economy to dry up.

Sure, we're at the peak of our game and our economy is well spoken of.  Yet again we forget that the Internet places reports of life in Bermuda at the hands of those we wish to attract.  Could condemning letters to the editor, blogs, freedom of expression for expats and even pressuring white Bermudians off the island make us look like we may be collapsing into much less of a free state to those onlookers looking in?  Just as our term limit policy is coming to fruitition we're sending a host of reasons for why you shouldn't come to Bermuda.

Are you ok with us shouting out "Expats! Watch your back!" in a threatening manner?  Is that not what we're suggesting when we deport anyone who says anything critical of Bermuda?  Put yourself in the shoes of someone who knows nothing of Bermuda and can choose from multiple destinations to go work, Cayman, Gibraltar, Isle of Mann.  When tensions have risen because of the continual blame put on expats for our stressed infrastructure when we are truly the ones to blame for our lack of foresight in planning ahead.

Just as tourism once collapsed when mass affordable long distance transit rose to become king, the exact same thing is happening with telecommunications today.   As video conferencing becomes closer to being like an in-person conversation and the Internet enables companies to collaborate better across distances, we have taken a haphazard approach to serving our community.  On top of that we add heavy restrictions on who companies can employ and for how long, which only further encourages companies to slowly migrate off island.  Sure there may be no "mass exodus", but what happens if there is a quiet retreat?  Can we truly afford to see our international business industry dry up just as our tourism industry once did to the point where we have to fight for it back too?

Just as Dr. Brown suggests in the Howard Alumnus piece,

“I made the connection between racism and the health status of our people and pointed out that it was
no accident that Black people then and now suffer from a disparity that’s painful”

I'm making the connection between discrimination and the safety of or industry to point out that what wealth we do have may soon be squandered if we're not careful.  Ask yourself, does making ex-pats feel unsafe for speaking out and the repercussions of them considering that should they mistakenly say the wrong thing, they'll suddenly have to move back where they came from which could be very costly and difficult? 

Is not the only true believer of equal rights the one who won't accept any form of discrimination?  If we truly believe in equal rights should we not stand against all forms of discrimination especially that which goes against our guest workforce?  Should we not be stopping our government from risking our major source of income? 

Premier Brown: Do the 'honourable' thing

It is really incredible to watch as the tables have turned on our little island.  What the UBP is constantly accused of once doing, the PLP is reenacting.  The recent row over Canadian expatriot worker Curtis Macleod is one of many growing examples of where the PLP has begun to abuse it's power in an unjust way.

In a recent column in The Royal Gazette, the individual responsible for the extradition of Mr. Macleod, MP George Scott is quoted as having said “People should have no fear if they comply with the laws of this country.”  To this I ask, what law did Mr. Macleod break exactly?

Mr. Scott continues, “Every case has its own specific issues and the average person should not be concerned..."  Does anyone else take this comment as an insult?  Mr. Scott seems to have forgotten that his job is to act as a representative of the people acting in our best interests, not acting as a dictator in doing what is clearly in his best interests and not ours.

9 out of 10 people questioned refused to give their names for the aforementioned article.  Does this not imply that the people have become afraid of speaking out out of fear of retributions from our government?  The only one who did only did so because he is old and retired.  Is this kind of fear of speaking out freely not very similar to that which the UBP has been continuously condemned for having done so during their rule?

Mr. Scott proclaims that “Everyone has freedom of speech. The Bermudian Industrial Union fought for it,”.  The article goes on to suggest that "while he felt people needed to exercise 'self control' over what they say, 'people should be able to speak out without fear of the consequences'".

This is one Bermudian who is ready to test Mr. Scott's claims.  Unless it can be proven that Mr. Macleod broke the laws of our country then I call on all Bermudians to stand up for our right to freedom of speech by demanding that our Premier Dr. Brown earns his 'honourable' title by requesting that Mr. Scott tender his resignation for disrespecting the people of Bermuda with his actions.

To do anything but is a guarantee that this present government is surely no better then our last.

Is democracy collapsing?

The following was published as a letter to the editor in today's The Royal Gazette newpaper

Historian Lord Acton once wrote "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Is it not growing clear that our rulers are already corrupted by the power they wield? All while they make calls to independence being the only solution to empowering our people? Is it not growing evidently clear that the only thing our rulers hope to do is further empower themselves?

Lord Acton also wrote “Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end”. The very foundation of democracy is based upon the concepts of liberty, freedom from oppression and the end to such atrocities as slavery. Where all men and women are recognized as created equal and every person is afforded the right of association, freedom of religion, freedom of opinion and most importantly freedom of speech.

Are we witnessing the collapse of democracy on our great island? Has our government become so intoxicated by their own thirst for power that they have not only have forgotten about the basic needs of you and me but have also risen to silence and condemn any who choose to disagree?

Who remembers whistle blower Gabriel Martel? The unsung hero who raised the alarm about the state of the Berkeley school project -- the very project that our government would have sooner sacrificed the welfare of our children then come clean with the truth.

What about Auditor General Larry Dennis, who's office was 'conveniently relocated' when he was critical that $800 million of public funds could not be readily audited? That is our money and if you note our latest budget statement, in many cases it's details for the last years actual numbers are conveniently left out.

We have witnessed the ousting of a Head Chef for an admittedly tasteless joke, a Doctor for speaking out against the closure of a clinic that many believe helped poor Bermudians, and a construction site foreman who failed to give an MP respect when he did not know whom he was addressing and was the target of blatantly racist remarks.

Most recently, we read of the case where CedarBridge Academy educator Ulama Finn-Hendrickson, who has not been paid nor acknowledged by our government and been forced to take off of work due to illness resulting from CedarBridge's mould infestation. The very mould that our government knew about since early summer and was more willing to put our children at risk rather then do the honourable thing. How can our politicians be emblazoned with the title 'honourable' when clearly honour does not come into play.

Have we allowed our government to become so intoxicated with such power that they have stepped beyond the bounds of what is reasonable? How quickly has our government rushed to approve special development orders that sidestep the appropriate planning processes. The very processes that ensure we don't have code violations and mass safety hazards like at Berkeley?

Only months ago 'Sustainable Development' was the grand idea that would save Bermuda. Before this it was 'Empowerment'. Tell me who is empowered now? How about 'Independence' where more then those who voted for the PLP last election were played the fool for signing a petition demanding that the question of independence be rightfully put to the people. Did our current premier not stand next to our previous one when every citizen who signed that petition were insulted? Do you fail to see that we are being denied the right to choose our own destiny?

Despite claims that democracy on our great island is alive in well, in truth it is in tatters. Look around; our people are no more empowered then they were 9 years ago. Our politicians have rushed to take care of their own first and only do what is in our interests when election time is near by throwing money at issues that will buy votes.

It is time we started demanding more from our politicians. There should be accountability for missing funds and laws that empower and protect the people from government abuses not the other way around. It is time our politicians gave us the respect we deserve. We should be demanding true, fair and open democracy not some false façade – a Bermuda where public access to information is a reality, not an idle election promise, where freedom of speech and freedom of choice reign king above any man.

A Bermuda where all Bermudians live in a land of liberty and just government.

Is it time to throw in the towel on a future in Bermuda?

One thing I really don't get is the lack of attention to not only "affordable housing" in terms of Bermudians being able to own their own homes, but also in terms of "affordable rentals".

As a young Bermudian, looking at the real estate section of e-moo is depressing.  $2700 for a one bedroom apartment in Sandys, $2500 for one in smiths, or if really lucky, you can get a $2300 one in St. Georges.  Comparing the 5 available apartments to the list of 20+ who are looking for apartments is even worse.  Unfortunately, demand heavily outstretches supply, it has for some time now.

In all reality, even with a 100% mortgage it is very difficult for young Bermudians to consider purchasing one of the 'affordable homes' that government is working on, assuming you could be lucky enough to get on the list for one.  It just isn't realistic.

Even a $500,000 mortgage at 7% interest over 30 years amounts to over $3,300 a month in payments.  Even a home at $750,000, half the price of the average home is almost $5,000 a month.  On top of that, if you take a 100% loan your taking on the equity risk meaning that if Bermuda's housing market takes a downturn and your $750,000 house is suddenly worth $500,000, if you want to sell it you're going to have to come up with the $250,000 difference.  Thats a heavy gamble that I don't think too many people taking on these 100% mortgages consider.

Taking a range of yearly incomes for youthof $30,000, $50,000 and $70,000 respectively, after removing deductions (payroll tax, pension, social insurance, health etc), that comparatively leaves $2,500, $4,166, and $5,833 in terms of monthly income.

When a one bedroom apartment costs $2000+ a month, it simply isn't possible for anyone on a $30,000 wage to afford.  On $50,000 its a struggle, but you could live, and on $70,000 you could manage to save some.  Trying to cover a $3,300 a month mortgage would be near impossible for those making $30,000-$50,000.

Now, of course, our elders proclaim that youth today are just lazy and unwilling to sacrafice.  That with two decent incomes you can make it.  The big problem is it isn't easy to just meet someone who's also making a good enough wage to make this kind of budget reasonable.  What concerns me even more is that our government is set on removing the used car market as a solution to our traffic woes.  I'll offer this prediction right now that it won't do anything but hurt those in the low income brackets and those doing their best to save as much as they can.

In my own scenario, I live in St. Davids.  This can be a difficult place to live in terms of public transport because the buses stop running shortly after 6 in the evening.  Considering I work until 5:30, it is impossible for me to take the ferry and very difficult for me to make the St. Davids bus transition.  On top of this, I am an unwilling conscript of the Bermuda Regiment which keeps me in Warwick until 9-11pm each Thursday evening.  Transport at this time is very difficult if you don't have a bike or car.

As such, I was very thankful for our used car market when I found the opportunity to purchase a car for cheaper then the cost of most bikes.  It certainly isn't anything fancy and can barely do more then go from A to B, but really, if I expect to afford any kind of future in Bermuda, fancy cars likely will never be a luxury I can afford.  I have little idea how long my car will last and I am very much against the proposed elimination of the used car market as it will force me to either give up owning a car or increase my monthly expenses to cover a loan on something brand new.

With the prospects of how costly homes are it is getting to the point where I'm simply accepting that for many Bermudian youth, we won't have a future here.  By comparison, when you can get a home abroad for $200,000 and you're well educated, it is more worth your while to save all you can and aim for a future off island.

So, while our Premier is planning to visit students studying abroad in order to convince them to return to Bermuda as an attempt to reduce the brain drain of what few well educated youth we do have, I hope he'll consider dedicating time to solving not only the affordable housing crisis, but also the affordable rental crisis. 

I am doubtful that many of those living abroad who have worked hard to attain a good education will like the prospects of living with their parents and on the absolute cheap until they're 40 just so they might have a shot at saving enough money to make Bermuda a realistic long term option.  Especially when those who are better educated have alternatives available off island.

Did you bet on the game?

It's that time of year again, budget season!  Where we get to see how the added taxes and licensing fees we get charged each year gets put to such good use.

We've two pretty big announcements so far this year. The first was a $15 million gamble on taking Bermudian football to the next level.  The payoff?  National Pride, potential future international stars, and encouragement for youth to help them keep to a good path in life.  The second?  Could we be any more proud?  We've got a 60% failure rate!  What an achievement for Bermudians.

For other countries in the world, their youth have little else in their lives then a football.  Football can be their ticket out, their ownly viable opportunity for a better life.  As the richest country in the world, we as Bermudians have some of the best possible opportunities at our fingertips.   Yet this is how we come to our second announcement, while our wealth is an acheivement, along with it has come a 60% failure rate.

By not ensuring that our youth are well educated we have caused what will become major problems for our country if the trend continues.  While as an island we live at great wealth, it lies at the price of great cost due to our small size and location.  The poor are getting poorer as cost of living skyrockets, rent never ceases to rise and it's becoming harder to afford living here for many who have been here for generations. 

Without access to the available opportunity their is on this island, uneducated Bermudians will quickly find themselves falling behind foreigners and those who did get a good education.  This gap causes a disparity between the groups and a situation of haves and alot of have-nots.  We're beginning to see the effects.  More and more youth going into gangs and crime because it's the only clear alternative to success they can see.  Without the right tools, they have few options for success in our ever more competitive society.

With $15 million dedicated to football, the inevitable question of where this money is going to come from does surface.  Last year more then $24 million was spent on Community Affairs and Sport with $14 million going to youth sport according to last years budget estimates.   With the extra $4 million more being dropped on football this year then was put on cricket last year, one has to wonder where that money is going to come from.   Thats nearly $62 per person extra put towards football for the year.

The question on my mind is where is this extra $62 dollars going to come from?  Have earnings gone up and this is how we're going to spend it?  Are we redistributing money away from other ministries?  Is so, which ones and how?  Or worse, is the revenue coming from higher taxes while some come from our economy, many come from Bermudians ourselves.

Beyond this there's been talk of eliminating public transport fees.  That amounts to some $8 million or some $133 per person for the year.  Where will this money come from if they go ahead with it?

For those who care about how money that could be in your pocket is being spent on your behalf, it'll be interesting to see what comes of tomorrows budget announcement.  I just hope our government's new plan for sustainable development isn't for the years from now when most are soo poor all we can afford is a football.  At which point we'll be soo thankful for our government's foresight in betting our future on a game.