Wishful Thinking

Human Rights In Bermuda

2011-05-17T18:59:00.000-03:00

I have written before about discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, but today I write not to make any particular argument, but to urge those who may be reading and who share a commitment to universal human rights without concern for who you love to come and show your support on the 25th of May from 13:00 - 14:00.

The organizer gives a bit of background:

"On Tuesday May 1, within two days of returning home from school, I was given 15 minutes to leave Windsong Guest Apartments after its owner canceled my reservation, refused to accept my money, and attempted to slam the door in my face. She told me I could go "stay with my girlfriend." I ended up outside of the apartments with my two suitcases, angry and in tears.

Regardless of how you feel about homosexuality, respect is respect and fair is fair. I am organizing Home is Where the Hatred Is in order to raise awareness about discrimination against gay people on the island. From 1:00-2:00pm, we will stand in front of City Hall asking for our lawmakers to take complaints of discrimination seriously and to move towards an amendment of the Human Rights Act quickly.

I have contacted the Human Rights Comission to lodge a complaint, but because sexual orientation is NOT a protected ground under the Human Rights Act, the Human Rights Commission can't do anything about it. With sexual orientation in the HRA, people who have been discriminated against on the basis of their sexual preference - gay or straight - would be able to file a complaint against offenders and have justice done.

Thanks for your committment to equality and non-discrimination. Let Bermuda's decision makers that we won't be bullied out of our beautiful home by hateful, hurtful people. See you at City Hall."

Lets send a message that we've waited long enough and leave no doubt in the minds of our parliamentarians that we expect action now.

Someone Get This Man A Spine!

2011-02-12T12:52:00.000-04:00

It seems that Ms. Cox's lack of spine as Finance Minister has spread (or perhaps jumped) to our Transport Minister Terry Liste. Despite a good portion seemingly in favour of Government standing up to the BIU they have backed down, reinstated the man who's firing caused the whole thing AND agreed to pay the drivers for the shift they missed on strike on Thursday. It is absolutely ridiculous!

The only thing more ridiculous is Mr. Lister's attempt to explain himself.

On why the legal avenue was not taken he said:

“The decision was on us. We were in the position where we would have started taking bus drivers and putting them in front of the courts. An individual was wrong but a 100 people in front of a judge? Sometimes you have to think for yourself and sometimes you have to think about other people.”

Which amounts to as much as saying that he didn't want to inconvenience the bus drivers who had just walked out on strike for no good reason. Lets be honest here, the BIU is PLP constituency and he didn't want to piss off his party's die hard voters, he might as well admit it.

On whether this sets a worrying precedent he said:

“That precedent is a risk and something Cabinet will have to make a decision on, when we go forward.”

Well ladies and gentlemen there you have it, prime 100% politrick. Talk a lot and say a little. I'll answer the question for him, yes and no. It didn't set the precedent because that was already there, he has simply added to it.

On why Government had done exactly the opposite of what the people wanted (Democracy at work right?):

“valid to ask, and a question that must be put to the Government as a whole”

Translated: We have no excuse, please don't ever ask us this question again.

And finally:

“For us to have to endure a full frontal assault and win, we would only have won against a strike. We would not have won the hearts and minds. Right now is not the time to have a disgruntled team.”

A disgruntled team? What team is that exactly? Is it perhaps the PLP base that he is talking about? It certainly seems that way to me. So what we have here is nothing more than putting shameless politics ahead of principles and what is actually good for the country. Letting the BIU have/do whatever it wants is not good for Bermuda, we need a government that will knock them down a few levels.

I'm no anti-union man, all labour has the right to organize itself and fight for its rights and better conditions, but there is such thing as a union that is too powerful. The BIU is one such union and until its deflated a bit I have a feeling that this with happen again and again.

In What World?

2011-02-10T19:13:00.000-04:00

In case any one is wondering, private school students do actually ride the bus. Contrary to popular belief (and the apparent belief of Decosta in the afternoon) they're not all born with silver spoon's in their mouth and not all have a chauffeur to take them to and from school every day.

This has been a public information announcement paid for by Common Sense

If Only The World Had More Of This

2011-02-03T18:55:00.000-04:00

It's images like this that give me hope for humanity.

Protesters Are Awesome: Look at This Beautiful Photo of Christians Protecting Praying Muslims in Egypt

Depicted in this photo, an image from an anonymous source on the ground in Egypt, is a team of Egyptian Christians forming a massive human shield to protect their Muslim countrymen as they prayed during the violent protests yesterday. Beauty amid the chaos.

The Right Move

2011-01-29T12:10:00.000-04:00

While not officially confirmed by the two parties, sources from the BDA and UBP have apparently reported to the Royal Gazette that there is a merge in their future.

A number of things would be necessary if such a merge were to be successful: A new leader who is both well respected and well spoken, the new post-merge party would require such a leader to allow it to define itself and not be defined as the New-BP by the PLP as the BDA was; A new structure, somewhere in between the openness of the BDA and the traditional structure of the UBP; A clear statement (or re-statement) of the political views of the party, to avoid the disaster that was the launch of the BDA; And finally (as much as I hate to admit it) potentially a new name, I'm completely opposed in principle to a change in name, but if that's what it would take to make the new party a viable choice for future government then that's what needs to be done.

It will be very interesting to get more information as this situation develops, but I think that it is certainly a positive development.

I Just Don't Understand

2011-01-26T21:40:00.000-04:00

How can this:

"Commodities broker Seaboard Overseas Ltd is to close its Bermuda office with loss of 12 jobs.

The Royal Gazette understands that the operation will be relocated to the Isle of Man, following the closure of the Bermuda office on April 30.

The posts to go are held by seven Bermudians and five expatriates. The company, which is based in Schroders House, on Front Street, has had a presence on the Island for some three decades... A source with knowledge of the situation said the decision to relocate was taken for a number of reasons, including the rising cost of doing business, the restrictions imposed by work permit time limits and the comparative advantages of the Isle of Man",

and this:

"The Progressive Labour Party now has more support than at any time since winning the 2007 general election, according to a new poll"

be in the newspaper on the exact same day?

I have written previously that I'm completely in favour of giving Paula Cox a chance to prove herself as Premier, but the Progressive Labour Party has been in power for over a decade now. When does Bermuda put its foot down and say they've had long enough to prove themselves?

Reform? Ha!

2011-01-24T18:30:00.000-04:00

Straight from the horse's mouth:

"Out of a commitment to putting Teaching and Learning at the forefront of the Ministry of Education's mission, Minister Dame Jennifer Smith announced more education reform on Friday

Dame Jennifer reassigned Mrs. Wendy McDonnell, former Commissioner of Education. Mrs. McDonnell will no longer focus on day to day operations. She will now lead the transformation of the Bermuda Public School System"

Are you as underwhelmed as I am?

One day there will be meaningful education reform

I hope.

More On Defamation

2011-01-18T19:09:00.000-04:00

It is incredible to me that there is a pervasive inability to distinguish between the open and frank discussion necessary in a properly functioning democracy and the abuse of the right to freedom of speech.

In general an abuse of a right involves using the right in such a way as it infringes on the rights of others. The simplest way to illustrate this point is the example: “Your right to swing your fist stops where my face begins”. This is what laws restricting rights are for: protecting others.

In terms of freedom of speech you have to add one exception to the principle: whether the action is in the public interest (i.e. all political discussions), but even then there are many times when that particular restriction on freedom of speech can be applied legitimately.

In Bermuda such legitimate restrictions do exist in our Criminal Code, with numerous safeguards. The Royal Gazette has registered their opinion that “Only dictators determined to quell all dissent can have a use for a law like this” but let’s have a look at the law and see if that assessment really holds water.

"211 (1) It is lawful to publish a fair comment respecting—

(a) any of the matters with respect to which the publication of a fair report in

(b) good faith for the information of the public is by section 210 declared to be lawful;

(c) the public conduct of any person who takes part in public affairs,(i.e. Politicians) or respecting the character of any such person, so far as his character appears in that conduct; the conduct of any public officer or public servant in the discharge of his public functions, or respecting the character of any such person, so far as his character appears in that conduct;

(d) the merits of any case, civil or criminal, which has been decided by any court of justice, or respecting the conduct of any person as a judge, party, witness, counsel or officer of the court, in any such case, or respecting the character of any such person, so far as his character appears in that conduct;

(e) any published book or other literary production, or respecting the character of the author, so far as his character appears by such book or production;

(f) any composition or work of art, or performance publicly exhibited, or respecting the character of the author or performer or exhibitor, so far as his character appears from the matter exhibited;

(g) any public entertainment or sports, or respecting the character of any person conducting or taking part therein, so far as his character appears from the matter of the entertainment or sports, or the manner of conducting the same; or

(h) any communication made to the public on any subject.

212 It is lawful to publish defamatory matter if the matter is true, and if it is for the

public benefit that the publication complained of should be made."

So here we have a law that protects, among other things, all political discussion and truths that are in the public’s best interest to be shared. Doesn’t it really seem like the Royal Gazette and I are talking about the same law does it?

For the benefit of truly understanding the implications of the argument being made by the Royal Gazette let’s assume that they are correct and that it is wrong to restrict freedom of speech in this way. Wording this argument in a different way: We should have the right to make “Any imputation concerning any person, or any member of his family, whether living or dead, by which the reputation of that person is likely to be injured, or by which he is likely to be injured in his profession, occupation or trade, or by which other persons are likely to be induced to shun, or avoid, or ridicule, or despise him” regardless of whether or not what we are saying is true or if it is in the public interest to say it because to remove such a right is an unacceptable restriction of freedom of speech. What does that actually mean?

Well it seems as though not even the one making that argument (i.e. the RG) knows what it actually means. While with their right hand they defend that right, with their left they suggest that it isn’t really a right at all. In fact they explicitly say “He [The alleged “victim”] can still bring a civil action. That was the right course at the beginning and it is the right course now.” Indicating clearly that they believe one should be punished if one is guilty of defamation and that it therefore isn’t a right (since one is not punished for exercising a right). So what is it that they really think? Does it really come down to a disagreement with the word crime?

I think partly yes. The other part seems to come from a disagreement with the punishment (the possibility of imprisonment rather than a monetary punishment) which, in itself, is no reason to declare the law unconstitutional or wrong. Coming back to the issue with the “c word” I find it difficult to understand why civil action is preferred in this case over criminal. In both cases the idea is to prevent defamation by providing a punishment, in both cases lawyers are involved and in both cases the test for guilt is pretty much the same from what I understand. The only difference is that one path requires the alleged victim to understand the law and to have the money or guts to take their defamer on, the other doesn't.

We need to decide, as a country, what we believe is right. This does not come down to freedom of opinion as the Royal Gazette sought to portray it. It is about protecting people from unrestricted abuse of a right. Let’s accept it, there is no such thing as a right that remains a right no matter what extreme we wish to take it to, there is always a line. That line is at the point where we begin to infringe on the rights of others. That is what this issue is really about. Do we believe that it is wrong to defame someone? Do we believe it is right that someone is punished for defaming someone? If the answer to both questions is yes then it’s the punishment that we must debate, not whether it is a crime or not since the answer to that question is clear if prejudice is put aside.

It would be a terrible shame if the Supreme Court were to declare this law unconstitutional.

That's The Spirit!

2011-01-17T18:37:00.001-04:00

What does one do when charged with a crime which one is almost certainly guilty of?

Challenge the constitutionality of the law making crime illegal obviously... Or so the lawyer of Charles Richardson (charged with defamation) thinks.

Never mind that even many states in the country with arguably the most intense obsession with freedom of speech (the USA) accepts defamation as an illegal abuse of that freedom, apparently this lawyer has uncovered a fundamental kernel of truth that we have all missed. I can't wait to watch this one play out.

For what it's worth, I welcome this new challenge to the ridiculous and tyrannical idea that our rights don't extend to the point at which they allow us to harm others. It's about time that I have the right to make

"any imputation concerning any person, or any member of his family, whether living or dead, by which the reputation of that person is likely to be injured, or by which he is likely to be injured in his profession, occupation or trade, or by which other persons are likely to be induced to shun, or avoid, or ridicule, or despise him." - Criminal Code 1907 Section 205 (2)

Without that right this country is no better than a authoritarian dictatorship!

Next target for this crusading protector of justice?

The right to shout fire in a crowded theatre.

Dr. Eva Hodgson Speaks About Race

2010-12-01T20:58:00.001-04:00

Some people really are stuck in the past.

Every community has a men and women who insist on framing the modern world in the thinking of a time now passed. In Bermuda one such a person is Dr. Eva Hodgson. I intend no criticism of her personally, but I must admit there was palm-to-face action as I read her recent two part opinion piece in the Royal Gazette.

As far I can tell her point was twofold. Firstly that more needs to be done to combat the racism that she believes still exists in Bermuda and secondly that Bermuda needs to abandon the party system. On both counts I disagree..

On the first suggestion, that not enough is being done to combat racism Dr. Hodgson has a number of arguments which she unfortunately begins with the suggestion that:

"All whites benefited from the system even if they were neither employers nor politicians."

Which unfortunately is neither true, nor helpful in combating the racial divisions in our society.

Let us take as an example to illustrate why that statement is not true whites who have immigrated from Eastern Europe since the end of slavery, they certainly weren't benefiting from the racist system of the 60s were they? Nor were the Irish, many of whom were only just getting out of poverty themselves after centuries of subjugation under the English.

Sentiments like that, which stereotype on the basis of race (i.e. are examples of racism), simply make it easier for certain people to adopt a "whites are bad" or "whites are out to get me" kind of mentality which, in turn, make it harder to tackle the disparities between the races and stoke racial tensions. It is through no malice that Dr. Hodgson makes that statement though, that I am sure. Her intentions are undoubtedly good, the problem is that she seems unable to widen her focus from anything, but race.

Let us examine the various examples of seeming preoccupation with race in the piece:

She says of the situation following universal suffrage:

"it was logical that the black Community would now wish to ensure that they had a majority of those who would represent their majority status and their interest among the decision makers."

Which is an understandable sentiment of that time.

Dr. Hodgson further comments on the racial make up of our legislature in lamenting the split in the PLP which:

"Reduced the number of blacks in Parliament."

In both these statements we see one suggestion that is constant: that the colour of a politician trumps all, even looking back from today.Had this been presented in a "this was what the thinking was like then" way there would be no disagreement from me, but Dr. Hodgson seems to suggest she holds that view even now. I am sure it is self evident that basing a political decision on race is a bad idea, so I will simply leave it at that as an example of her unfailing focus on race.

It doesn't stop at politicians though. Dr. Hodgson also says:

"It also meant that as well intentioned blacks set their mind on positive social goals those goals became integration with whites and not justice for all blacks.

The general idea, that justice is more important than integration, is an interesting one. On the surface it seems reasonable, but when one actually considers what integration means it becomes significantly less rational sounding. Integration means, essentially, that race is irrelevant (because everyone lives and works together regardless) and that one is judged on the content of one's character, rather than on the colour of one's skin. If that isn't justice then I don't know what is. Leading civil rights activists have dreamed of such a world throughout the struggle, how strange now that Dr. Hodgson should decide that apparently it shouldn't be our priority. Apparently wide spread racial discrimination is still possible, even when race is no longer relevant in the decision making process of the majority of people! Go figure! When we remember Dr. Hodgson's borderline obsession with race it is no surprise that this argument is made, but once again the intentions are good. The only problem is that her obsession blinds her to reality.

As I have argued before, the disparities in income between the races now have little or nothing to do with race any more. If we imagined that everyone in Bermuda woke up tomorrow and found themselves coloured purple what would change? Would the next generation of purple people porn to those on or near the poverty line (many of whom were previously black) have it any easier than their parents? Or would the poverty trap prove itself just as inescapable in Bermuda as in other countries? I would hazard a guess that the poverty trap would be just as strong and the poor would stay poor, while the rich stayed rich. I.e. it is socioeconomic status, not race that causes the continuing disparity. Of course the origin of the problem is indeed race, but that is no longer what perpetuates it. We have two options:

Large scale re-distribution of wealth from the wealthy to the poor so that everyone ends up equal
Improving education/support for our youth so as to ensure that anyone who has the skills and the drive will succeed.

I know which one I prefer. What about Ms. Hodgson?

Neither! In fact there is only one thing that needs to be said about this topic according to Ms. Hodgson:

"Many of us have been angered by both the resistance and the dishonesty of the white community over the issue of the Equity Bill and the disparity between black and white salaries"

Ahh.. of course.. The implication that those who oppose it, oppose it because they're white, while any true black would support it.. That's constructive and, as usual, shows her inability to move beyond race.

In case we needed another example:

"even be occasions when some of those who are now white UBPers would agree with some of those who are now black PLPers"

Goodness gracious I don't believe my eyes! A UBP supporter agreeing with a PLP supporter! Surely no!

Well firstly don't call me Surely (R.I.P.) and secondly don't overstate the level of racism in society. The UBP has been shown to have around a 50-50 black-white support base and from what I can tell the majority disagree with the PLP not because it has a lot of black people in it, but because they seriously believe it is taking the country in the wrong direction.

There was a time when race was the defining characteristic of a person and when it was necessary to take it into account when making decisions on how to better the country because that was how society worked and the only way to correct for society's obsession with race was to push back equally hard. However that time has passed, the majority of us no longer think in terms of black and white and I genuinely believe that the majority of employers in IB are no different. To continue to think in terms of black and white puts us at risk of ignoring the realities and problems of today in favour or assuming they are the same as yesterday. Dr. Hodgson correctly suggests that economic disparity and the existence of an underclass is a major problem in our society, but she illustrates my point in that the only cause she can conceive of is race. As good as her intentions are she is no better than the racists of old, both shared the same obsession with race. The legal guarantees of equality have all been won an it is now time to put race to bed. Our future, as much as even its mention causes anger in some sectors of the community, is colour blindness. I believe it's possible.

But perhaps thats just wishful thinking?

Reefer Madness 2.0

2010-11-24T21:10:00.000-04:00

Walton Brown has made his opposition to in any way loosening Bermuda's Marijuana laws quite clear in his opinion post published today in the Royal Gazette. But do his arguments hold up under scrutiny?

Let's identify what his arguments actually were:

"My objection in this respect has little to do with moral outrage and everything to do with health: smoking anything is simply not good for you. No government that cares about its people should want to validate the use of something that is so clearly destructive." A.K.A. The government has a right and a duty to stop you from doing anything that is unhealthy.
"It is far more important to think about the example being set for impressionable young people, some of whom already consider it normal to get high on ganja, influenced as they are by the power of parental practice" A.K.A. When something is legal it is obviously encouraged.
"I am unmoved by the juvenile juxtaposition of alcohol's legality and marijuana's illegality. The research is clear: moderate amounts of alcohol consumption can actually enhance one's health, notwithstanding the conclusions just reached by the UK Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs." A.K.A. Apart from the studies that show it is more harmful than Marijuana, Alcohol is less harmful than Marijuana

On the first argument, it comes down to whether or not you have the right to make your own decisions regarding health or not. The government gives you the right to drink yourself stupid, eat yourself to death and smoke (Tobacco) until your lungs curl up and die. Why then should it prevent you from smoking a relatively harmless (compared to Alcohol according to a study that Mr. Brown would have you ignore) drug which is generally believed to be impossible to overdose on (unlike Alcohol)?

Oh dear, there I go being "juvenile". How dare I make logical comparisons that don't support Mr. Brown's argument! Ah well, the damage is done, I might as well come out and say it: How can you justify the illegality of Marijuana considering legality of Alcohol?

Concerning Mr. Brown's third point (which basically says: Alcohol isn't harmful, except that it is), one must wonder why we should put the conclusions of UK Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs aside. Considering it is the only study Mr. Brown actually referenced it seems strange that we are then told to ignore it... But lets refresh ourselves on what this study actually says, in the hopes that we may be reminded why it is to be ignored.

It says: Alcohol is the most harmful drug when its effects on the user are combined with the effects on those around them (beating out Heroin by 17 points) and is the most harmful drug when effects on those around users are considered alone (beating Heroin again by 25 points). In total Alcohol scores over 70 while Cannabis scores just over 20 according to the BBC article on the study.

Ah... I remember why we were supposed to put it aside now, because it basically disproves the core argument of Mr. Brown's case. Oops!

Now lets get back to that second argument. That the legalization of something equates to an encouragement to commit that act. Well that doesn't really makes sense does it? There is a basic presumption of legality in all things and a need to prove there is a clear benefit from making something illegal that outweighs any potential costs before doing so. Legality is no encouragement and is in fact the natural state of things, any argument otherwise simply cannot be justified. Consuming large amounts of alcohol to the point where one is in danger of alcohol poisoning is legal, but not encouraged. Committing suicide is legal, but not encouraged. Smoking is legal, but not encouraged etc. The world simply does not work as Mr. Brown suggests.

The reality is clear. Unfortunately it seems to have a bias that leaves Mr. Brown's arguments without a leg to stand on. Getting beyond Reefer Madness... Ha!

Try Reefer Madness 2.0.

It's time to accept that society is not going to collapse if Marijuana is legalized, time to accept that legalization doesn't mean that suddenly the island's youth are replaced by an army of stoner zombies and time to accept that the social costs of Marijuana are simply too low to justify an outright ban. If we can trust an adult with Alcohol, we can trust an adult with Marijuana. Either way they hurt no one but themselves. You and I may turn our nose up at it and fear the negative effects it could have on our lives, but we have no right to impose those fears on others in the form of a ban.

A Step Forward And More Of The Same

2010-11-23T12:51:00.000-04:00

Our new Premier just won a a little bit more respect from me.

Ms. Cox has announced that she has terminated the bodyguards that her Predecessor insisted on through some strange mix of egotism and paranoid. She rightly points out that no other leader in the Caribbean (except that criminal Misick) had bodyguards before Dr. Brown and has not only saved us the money previously wasted on protecting something that wasn't in danger, but also removed a symbolic barrier between the Premier and the people she is supposed to represent. For both of those reasons she is to be applauded.

On a less positive note, it seems like the hope that Rolfe Commissiong would get the boot from his high paid consultancy, considering that his main achievement thus far has been to create racial tension and infuriate large portions of the population., was only wishful thinking. He has been kept on to implement the recommendations of the Mincy Report despite the fact that, as far as I can see, he has no relevant qualifications or experience.

It is completely possible that there is a legitimate reason for his continued employment, but good luck ever finding out either way. Ms. Cox's commitment to transparency apparently ends as soon as anything involving Mr. Commissiong begins since she has refused to even release what his actual responsibilities are (something that one would assume the public has a right to know). Let's hope that this is an exception to how she will conduct herself as Premier, but exception or not it is unacceptable that our money is being spent on something we are apparently not allowed to know about. When will the Government realize that the money they're spending isn't theirs? It's ours and we deserve it to be spent well and to be spent openly, I won't hold my breath though. That's nothing more than wishful thinking.

A Little Redesign

2010-11-21T18:25:00.000-04:00

Thanks to some changes in the interface that I've been playing around with I've finally been able to figure out how to make the blog a little bit easier on the eyes.

I do apologize for the way it was before but, it was the best I could manage with my blog-illiterate ways.

The Senate

2010-11-21T16:35:00.001-04:00

A re-post from a topic on BIAW found here

Should the Senate be an Elected house?

The issue really comes down to 2 questions as I see it:

What is the senate's purpose?
How can it best fulfill that purpose?

In answer to the first question I believe its purpose should be to advise and to balance the highly political nature of the House of Assembly. If we lived in a world where the electorate made purely rational choices it is my belief that we wouldn't need two chambers and that the only reason we have two right now is to attempt to mitigate some of the failings of democracy in reality. Ideally it would retain the restrictions it has now on its ability to delay legislation and specifically those relating to money bills.

The answer to the second question is a little more complicated. To me it seems that it is obvious that it must be a non-political entity (something that we come close to achieving by giving the Government the same number of senators as everyone else) comprised of highly educated professionals like lawyers, doctors and economists (people who can truly consider the implications and rationale behind legislation). On whether it is elected or not I find myself torn between conflicting ideas. On one hand the will of the people is the primary source of power in a democracy. On the other however, the whole purpose of the senate should be to avoid politics and emotion while focusing purely on the legal, financial, rational etc. basis for legislation which would be impossible if its very composition was based on the often emotional responses of the voting public. Thus I cannot decide between two possible options for a reformed senate:

Firstly, a purely appointed body. Appointed either by the governor or by a commission which was appointed by the governor in which members would sit for long terms (7-10 years perhaps) after which they could be appointed again but, would be an equal footing in the commissions considerations as all other potential candidates selected from the pool of professionals in the country.

Secondly, a body where 50% + 1 were appointed in the same manner as the first and the rest were elected through proportional representation.

I think I lean towards the first option because we already have a chamber that is completely elected but, I think either could work as well as the other.

A Glimmer Of Sense?

2010-11-09T19:41:00.000-04:00

We could soon see Bermuda take a step into the 21st Century when it comes to Human Rights.

The new Youth, Families and Community Development Minister Mr. Blakeney has announced that the government hopes to be in a position to move forward on guaranteeing protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation before the end of this session. A step forward that is long overdue.

I am slightly concerned about what Mr. Blakeney meant when he said: "without compromising the integrity or the moral fibre for some who might be concerned with regard to their particular spiritual and/or religious beliefs," despite my wish to give them the benefit of the doubt. Especially now that Laverne Furbert, who on record as saying "... show me where I ever said I was against equal rights for gays. What I have said consistently is that I would have a problem renting one of my apartments to an openly gay couple." and who has argued consistently that there should be protections for those who wish to make decisions based on the sexual preferences of others when it comes to things like renting apartments, has been appointed Senator, I worry that what we will get is not a firm enshrinement of a fundamental human right within the law but, rather a wishy washy half-arsed change, watered down in an attempt to pander to the Church. Of course I might be being unnecessarily cynical but, I think there is reason for being that way.

Perhaps hoping that they will do this right isn't just wishful thinking. Only time will tell.

What's The Plan Mrs. Premier

2010-11-07T19:44:00.000-04:00

No mention of Education in the Throne Speech on Friday although I'm going to give Ms. Cox the benefit of the doubt and assume that it was because she wants to give the new Education Minister Jennifer Smith time to run her own department.

All the same though, someone from Government needs to lay out their plan soon. This recent talk about school closures and now redefining what a school is (Yeah I don't understand that one either) is causing a lot of uncertainty and also quite a bit of worry too. Closing schools is the last thing they should be doing right now, if the education system is failing even with the current class sizes how could anyone think it's not going to get a lot worse by increasing the class sizes?

If the options are increasing education funding or raising class sizes the government should fork out the extra money. Cuts need to be made, we all know that, but education is the complete wrong place to be looking for them. It is simply too important for that.

There may well be efficiency savings that can be made in the Ministry but, we must be very careful to make sure that they have no effect on the already below standard education that public school students are receiving and closing schools is a perfect example of a cut that will have an effect on that education.

Start teaching Bermuda's youth properly, then we can talk about saving money.

Edumacation 2

2010-10-29T15:50:00.001-03:00

Expanding on the theme of education, new research discovers something most people already know.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11646978

'Pushy parents' help children make the grade at school

Parents who push their children to work hard at school have a bigger impact on their child's academic success than their teachers, research suggests.

The effort a parent puts into ensuring their child buckles down to schoolwork has a greater impact than that put in by the child or the school, it says.

Researchers at Leicester and Leeds universities found parents put less effort in the more children they had.

They looked at how much they read to a child and attended school meetings.
And also at teachers' perceptions of their involvement.

The academics used data from the National Child Development Study for pupils born in 1958.
And to judge how much was down to parental influences and how much was down to pupils being self-starting individuals, the researchers also studied the children's attitudes, such as whether, at the age of 16, they thought school was a waste of time.

Family backgroundSchools were assessed on how they tried to involve parents, what disciplinary methods they used and and whether 16-year-olds were offered careers advice.
The findings suggest that there is something of a perfect circle. Parents encourage their children to make more of an effort, and then when their child tries harder, the parents put in even more effort.

The background of a family affects the schools' effort, the study found.

Professor Gianni De Fraja, head of economics at Leicester University, said: "The main channel through which parental socio-economic background affects achievement is via effort.
"Parents from a more advantaged environment exert more effort, and this influences positively the educational attainment of their children.

"The parents' background also increases the school's effort, which increases the school achievement. Why schools work harder where parents are from a more privileged background we do not know. It might be because middle class parents are more vocal in demanding that the school works hard."

The researchers found children were more likely to put more effort into their schooling if their parents showed that commitment too.

Professor De Fraja added: "We found that children work harder whose parents put more effort into their education."

Big families The report says parents put less effort into their children's education the more offspring they have.

"There is a trade-off between quantity and quality of children: a child's number of siblings influences negatively the effort exerted by that child's parents toward that child's education," it says.

The researchers suggest policies aimed at improving parental effort - such as parenting classes - might help to boost children's achievements.
The research is published in the latest issue of Review of Economics and Statistics.

I've thrown out a few of my ideas about how to overhaul the public education system but, the question now becomes, how are we to increase the involvement of parent's in their child's education?

On this one I must admit that I am stumped. How does one change the culture of parenting in Bermuda? My first thought is through education but, if success in education is dependent on the culture of parenting changing how is that possible? I really have no idea.

Maybe Ms. Cox our new Premier and her new Education minister will know the answer but, I won't hold my breath on that one.

I've run out of wishful thinking when it comes to Education.

Edumacation

2010-10-28T17:14:00.003-03:00

Tonight is a big night for Bermuda. We are about to discover at last who is to follow the illustrious Dr. Brown as Premier of Bermuda. What better night than tonight then to discuss Education, one of the most important issues as Bermuda goes forward. perhaps our new Premier will be more inclined to take discussion in the community on board than the outgoing one and actually arrive at a satisfactory solution or perhaps we're in for more of the same. Who knows?

Either way, here's my wish list for reform:

Firstly, employ the best teachers available, Bermudian or Non-Bermudian. Education is not the place to play immigration politics.

Secondly, introduce British GCSE (or IGCSE), A Level and BTEC external examinations for all students.

Thirdly, ensure that any student who is unable to pass an end of year exam in both Math and English every year is made to repeat the year and provided with extra support so they won't fail it twice.

Fourthly, stream students beginning at GCSE level into 3 groups: Top, Middle and Bottom. Call the streams what you like but, make it happen whether it be internal to schools or a situation where each level is at a different school. Ensure that the ability to move between the streams exists for students that show an improvement (or decline).

Fifthly, consider offering vouchers to parents who wish to send their children to private/boarding schools for an amount equal to the spending per student within the public education system (with the rest of any costs to be funded by the parent).

Sixthly, eventually remove all Government involvement in education beyond paying for it.

Seventhly, ensure that all students public or private participate in a Critical Thinking and a Citizenship class. The first to teach rudimentary logic, the construction of arguments, the difference between fact and assertion, the ability to infer information and identify assumptions behind a text etc. and the second to teach the political system in Bermuda and other major countries in the world as well as to discuss alternatives that have been suggested/tried in the past.

Those are the things that I would like to see as part of any meaningful reform of Bermuda's education system.

If wanting that kind of reform isn't Wishful Thinking (given the PLP's past record) I really don't know what is.

Some Good News?

2010-10-22T13:00:00.003-03:00

For once it seems I can write about something positive. How refreshing.

It would seem as though we are actually going to get a Park Hyatt Hotel up in St. Georges unless planning manages to turn the developers away even at this late stage. The need to redevelop our tourism product is well recognized by all people regardless of political belief and I'm sure everyone will see this as a positive step when/if it happens. You can't blame people for people being cynical about it though. We've been disappointed quite a few times before.

It's just a shame that this is the exception to business as usual with Dr. Brown.

The Worst Kind Of Pathetic

2010-09-28T18:36:00.002-03:00

Let's start with one question.

Can one expect fair judicial proceedings Bermuda if accused of a crime?

I would be inclined to say yes. Especially because we can't even convict people who are guilty never mind those who are innocent.

Have established that I think it's fair to say that were I to be falsely accused of a crime I would be eager to demonstrate the charges as false as soon as possible. I think that's something we all share.

Now consider Jahmel Blakeney.

Were I to want to give him the benefit of the doubt when he fled the country he's as good as extinguished that desire by challenging the extradition request filed by the Bermudian Government.

Here now we have nothing more than an obvious, pathetic attempt to keep himself out of jail and shirk all responsibility for his actions. He has been transformed before our very eyes from a full grown man into a pathetic coward running from what's coming to him.

He claims the Bermuda government hasn't presented enough evidence to prove him guilty. Although if that's true it's strange to me that he refuses to come before Bermuda courts. If the prosecutions case is so weak that it can't justify his transportation to Bermuda to face trial then surely there's no hope in hell of it securing a conviction. Clearly someone is counting on a sympathetic American judge.

Ignoring completely the unjust practice of allowing one country to decide whether or not another country should have the right to try someone accused in that country of breaking that country's laws (assuming a fair judicial process) just the fact that he is fighting the extradition comes across to me as proof of his guilt.

I look forward to when Bermuda get its chance to try this pathetic excuse for a man and lose the case on a technicality or out of incompetence. Or perhaps I'm being too harsh. Although we can be sure that in the event of a conviction the judge definitely won't.

The Cannabis Debate

2010-09-11T13:16:00.002-03:00

Over the past few months we've had quite the back and forth (mostly between members of the PLP) in the news over the issue of whether there should be a new debate drug control. Whatever your views on this subject I think we can all accept that debating the issue is exactly what we need to do. When everything is on the table (as it always is after a full and robust debate) we can begin to make informed decisions about the future of drug control on the island, whether it be strengthening them, weakening them or adopting a completely different approach.

More recently the leader of the BDA has come out and spoken out against having such s debate and shared a heart wrenching story about what he and his family went through because of his fathers addiction to drug but, while that may provide a reason to argue against weakening controls it is irrelevant in the immediate question: Whether a debate should be held. While his views are understandable given his past he cannot let his personal feelings or even the feelings of the members of his party prevent a wider public debate.

If Only He Had A Chance

2010-08-30T15:12:00.003-03:00

While Kim Swan's statements regarding the PLP leadership campaign will have no real impact on the race they do provide two positives in my opinion.

Firstly they help in some small way to fight the idea that some in the PLP seem to have that this campaign should be fought completely internally without the sunlight of wider public scrutiny. It promotes discussion on the points made both within the PLP (even if it is simply to slam down the points made and insult the point maker) and within the community as a whole. Since eventually the winner is going to be the premier of the entire country it can't hurt to discuss the candidates even if we have no actual voice in the selection process.

Secondly they give us an opportunity to gauge the way the candidates would interact with political opponents as Premier. We all know how Dr. Brown dealt with criticism from the opposition in the past and I think most people agree that the kind of petty fighting that it encouraged were bad for Bermuda as a whole. While we have yet to see Lister or Cox make any break from that style I found it very interesting that Butler responded to today's reported statement in this way: "As an astute Bermudian, we will take your wide ranging views into consideration as we reflect on action that is needed after all is said and done". That's something more than the usual Shut Up response that we have gotten used to and I can't help but respect Butler more for it.

With the incredibly divisive political landscape in Bermuda perhaps a Premier that can bring people closer together and promote cooperation is exactly what we need and Butler seems to be that kind of person. Unfortunately it seems Butler is a distant third with no chance which is a shame. Perhaps he could do some good as Deputy Premier?

The Summer Comes To An End

2010-08-28T17:55:00.003-03:00

Summer is now unfortunately drawing to a close and so are all the distractions that have drawn me away from the often frustrating world of Bermudian news and politics. As Dr. Brown's departure from the Premiership draws ever nearer I feel things will get more and more interesting. Perhaps a new page will be turned and Bermuda will take a turn for the better (or possibly even the worse).

Only time will tell and I look forward to spouting more opinions as the events unfold.

How Pathetic

2010-07-03T17:46:00.002-03:00

Part of Dr. Brown's statement in the house yesterday:

"However, we must be cautious with our Parliamentary privilege — we must speak the truth, and we must be careful not to stereotype what people can or cannot do based on their ethnicity or size."

Pot, Kettle, Black.

Woops, there I go playing the race card again.

PLP Attack Dog

2010-06-17T21:01:00.002-03:00

Seems the PLP has released Burch upon the world for another edition of "Lunatic Rants From the Hilll", this time to slam perfectly legitimate criticisms of a rather poorly thought out law as driven by greed.

It really makes me wonder why we bother playing Parliament at all on this little island when clearly our supposedly Democratic Government takes criticism more like Kim Jong-il than Barack Obama. Which leads me on to another unrelated point that falls well under this title.

It seems they've unleashed their Blog to link the UBP and BDA with the American Republican party who opposed the stimulus because they criticized the government's repeated fiscal failure, completely missing the fact that much of the waste that contributes to our deficit has absolutely no benefits as far as our economy is concerned. A good portion of it heads off to foreign consultants and minister's hotel rooms. How they can argue that is helping Bermudians is beyond me.

This country needs a change and only the electorate can give it that. The only question is what state Bermuda will be in by the time the next election is called.

Something Different

2010-05-23T00:44:00.002-03:00

As this is a blog about Bermuda I try to avoid things that aren't really relevant to Bermuda. I'll leave it to you to decide if I've broken that rule with this post.

I first heard of this story a week ago and have been following it since (in attempt to make myself feel better about the direction Bermuda is headed):

Texas schools to get controversial syllabus

Education officials in the US state of Texas have adopted new guidelines to the school curriculum, which critics say will politicise teaching... Critics say the changes are ideological and distort history. However, proponents argue they are redressing a liberal bias in education... But during the discussions some of the most controversial ideas were dropped - including a proposal to refer to the slave trade as the "Atlantic triangular trade"... Opponents of the changes worry that textbooks sold in other states will be written to comply with the new Texas standards, meaning that the alterations could have an impact on curriculums nationwide.

The full list of originally proposed changes were as follows:

Referring to the slave trade as the "Atlantic triangular trade".
Diminishing the role Thomas Jefferson and the idea of the Separation of State and Church
Casting the United Nations in a critical light as a threat to sovereignty
Promoting American ideals as beneficial for the world
Emphasizing the role of religion in America's founding
Promoting the superiority of the capitalist system
Toning down criticism of McCarthyism

Now can anyone think of something more ironic than the nation that is supposed to be the shining light of democracy so obviously going down the road of the conservative indoctrination of children? I can't. Sure history is up to interpretation but... there's only so far you can take it and still preserve at least a semblance of objectivity.

The rest of the world is laughing at how absolutely ridiculous this is and the hypocrisy is incredible. In any other country it would have been laughed off as a complete joke, no one would have expected it to be serious and yet... America is another world too.

I wonder who else may want to rewrite history? Surely no one in Bermuda... that would be silly.

It Hits The Fan

2010-05-19T23:03:00.003-03:00

It seems that it's really hit the fan over this Media Council Bill (Dubbed the Media Suppression Bill by Vexed), its gotten to the point where I'm losing track of the number of international organizations that have released damning condemnations of the bill. Those of us in the online community seem united in opposition as well.

To restate the reasons for the strong opposition to this bill is by now redundant and a waste of time and I hadn't intended to post again on the subject but, when unnamed government spokesmen clutter our newspapers with the absolute drivel that they've seen fit to grace us with this time it's hard not to address their attempt at a counter-argument.

First of all I must point out (as many others have) the irony of the use of unnamed spokesmen to defend a bill that seems set to be debated on the same day as the PATI legislation. Go figure. Then of course there's the question as to why the government use an unnamed spokesman in the first place. For a government that claims to have no intention but to protect the public interest and promote a free and fair media one would think they'd take reasonable steps to avoid creating the suspicion that the choice of spokesperson create but then again... It is Dr. Brown.

Unfortunately things only get more ridiculous from that point. Step one of the Government counterattack seems to be to discredit the international organizations that have expressed their concern (Hmm.. Where have I heard of governments doing that before?). What's most interesting is their strategy. They dismiss all but one of the organizations of having an inherent American slant which makes their concerns invalid because we're not America. The one they don't paint with that brush, The International Press Institute, which isn't based in America is dismissed with a suggestion that their spokesperson may be American. Yeah that's right. He may be American. Now if you live in the same Bermuda I live in then you will remember the various battles the Government has had with the Governor and the way Dr. Brown repeatedly takes shots at our "Colonial Masters" you wouldn't have dreamed that suddenly the Government would take a U-turn and begin extolling the correctness of the Governor's views (he believes that the Council would, in fact, be independent in its current form). Such is the political times we live in though. As soon as it becomes convenient the Government drops the attempts to portray us as closer to America with the UK and their representatives as our evil masters and turns around to dismiss experienced international press freedom organizations for being too American and begins using the UK appointed Governor's statements as proof of their point. Apparently it is completely acceptable for the Government to ignore not only the skills and reputations of some of the organizations but, to mislead the public as well because two of the organizations in question are actually related to the UK and have little/no ties to America (those two being the Commonwealth Press Union and the Press Complaints Commission which is the corresponding council in the UK). Lets have a look at some of the big names:

The IPI

60 years of defending press freedom:
The International Press Institute is a global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists. We are dedicated to the furtherance and safeguarding of press freedom, the protection of freedom of opinion and expression, the promotion of the free flow of news and information, and the improvement of the practices of journalism.

Commonwealth Press Union

The CPU Media Trust has been established to defend the interests of the Commonwealth media.
The Trust is committed to a professional, ethical and effective media across the Commonwealth. Its primary concerns are supporting media freedom and media rights, the training of journalists in the skills necessary for them to enable their work and a thorough understanding of media law and the establishment and support of self-regulatory bodies throughout the Commonwealth.

Groups with a purely American slant that don't understand the way things work in Bermuda? Or dedicated press freedom organizations expressing concern at the direction a reasonably developed democracy is going? You decide.

Next we have this issue of whether or not it is right to have Government appointees sitting on the council. The spokesman attempts to justify it by pointing to the presence of "lay members" on councils in England and Ireland. Lets be clear on that point right off the bat. Government appointees are in no way lay members of the council, they are Government representatives with the forseable power to vote to suppress embarrassing stories. Were it to be 5 representatives of the Media, a Governor appointed chairman and 6 independent members of the public agreed upon by the Media and Governor then it would be a different story but, these 6 members are appointed on the advice of the Premier who shall have consulted the Opposition Leader as it currently stands and that is a risk no one should be willing to take. I previously stated that I understand the arguments for including government representatives on the council but, would rather see 6 Media reps and 5 Government reps rather than the current opposite situation because then the Government would require the support of the Governor's rep which creates a presumption to err on the side of the media as it would require the Governor's rep to actively vote against the media. That being said however, I would prefer to see no government involvement at all much like the UK council which proves that self-regulation not only works, but works well.

In defense of the independence of the Governor's appointees the spokesman points to the Public Service Commission and the Ombudsman and this is a good point but, unfortunately it's not good enough for me. In any political system there are two parties in almost constant conflict, the People and the Government. In a Democracy the weapons of choice are (theoretically) facts and the arms dealer (to both sides) is the Media. Such a basic pillar of our system cannot be put anywhere near the danger of control by the Government. As well intentioned and incorruptible as any current or future leader may be it would only take one with ambition to abuse the system and that is a risk we cannot afford to take. For the PSC and the Ombudsman we have no choice but, to deal with the imperfect system but, the same risk should not be taken with the Media. If the Government was really committed to ensuring a fair and open Media they would adopt the successful policy adopted by the UK government and let the local Media attempt to create their own self regulating council before rushing in with the big guns and taking what could be a dangerous step in the wrong direction.

Then there are the power to effectively gag the press that the council would have under the legislation., keep in mind that the UK commission acts without any statutory powers at all and yet functions perfectly well. This has created one of the biggest bones of contention regarding this act. The defense from the spokesman?...

They can only gag it for a limited time.

Clearly they missed the point. It should have no power to gag at all!

We can only hope that this will not go through on the nod under the PLP whip. It would be a travesty for local democracy. The UBP opposes it, the Alliance is almost certain to express similar views, now its time for the PLP backbenches to take action in the interests of the Bermudian people rather than following the agenda of a clearly confused cabinet which seems unable even to figure out the name of the spokesman in charge of dealing with this bill.

Wishful Thinking

More On The Media Council

2010-05-14T23:40:00.003-03:00

Vexed has posted a copy of the proposed Media Council bill on his website here and looking through it there are a number of interesting things that caught my eye.

Section 2 lays out the purpose of the act and subsection (a) specifies that it should be an "independent" entity and yet the government will effectively appoint half of the members. That gives a party with a vested interest in keeping the media subdued (what government wouldn't want the media not to report embarrassing things?) a lot of power to control it. Granted it seems that it's not as unbalanced as I previously indicated it may have been since Chairman appointed by the Governor exercises both a normal vote and an extra casting vote in the case of a tie. This balances it up although I must still question why the choice was made to give the council a bias towards the government when international practice often allows the media to police themselves with much success. There must always be a certain level of inherent distrust of the government in a democracy, with the media supposed to be the counterbalancing force. While the council has great potential to do good I'd rather have 6 elected by the media and 5 appointed by the government and since the balance would remain the same (the governor's appointee still with the casting vote) I would hope that the government would be receptive to the worries of cynics such as myself and make this slight change so that if Dr. Brown truly does wish to do good with this council it is not hidden behind the suspicion and distrust that his actions so often evoke from many within the community (and rightly so).

The act also seems to give a lot of power to the Minister to decide who the Council has jurisdiction over and who it doesn't. I'd rather see specific definitions that all media outlets could be tested against than this power be given to a politician who could potentially have vested interests in deciding one way or the other.

Finally it is interesting that the Media Council is to be funded purely by the media. It just seems a bit wrong to me, I doubt the profit margins are high (especially considering that a newspaper was forced to close due to costs recently) and if the Government wishes to regulate the media it is only fair that the Government pays for it. If however the council is adapted to consist purely of members of the media then the case could certainly be made for them paying for it but, in its current form it is wrong.

It Gave Unto Them Spines

2010-05-11T21:22:00.003-03:00

It would seem that the PLP parliamentary group has at last found its voice... and its spine at last. In a thus far unprecedented move an overwhelming majority of PLP MP's spoke out against a key piece of their Leader's agenda, gambling.

I have a number of theories as to why this may have happened (or more specifically why it happened NOW). Here are a few:

Dr. Brown is now a lame duck Premier on the way out so they aren't worried about upsetting him anymore.
Paula Cox's leadership early in the debate gave backbench MP's the courage to speak their minds
Gambling is an issue that arouses such strong opposition within the church community (traditionally a strong PLP support base) that the MP's are terrified of upsetting them by supporting it.

Theory 1 is the pessimist in me, it is what so many years of complete lack of backbench scrutiny of Dr. Brown has done to me. It seems to be a theory that is widely shared and it certainly isn't a good indication of the health of Bermudian democracy. With such a small parliament it is simply impossible for our system to function when the backbench is willing to stick their head in the sand and ignore the failures of their party leadership. This needs to change.

Theory 2 is a more moderate approach that also seems to be rather popular. Not much to say about it except that it seems clear that Paula Cox is set to become our next premier. Ms. Cog the Jellyfish hasn't had much in the way of backbone until now and its a worrying prospect that she won't have developed one in time for the serious changes that need to come under our next Premier if our Island is to continue to prosper. Better late then never though I suppose but, then again her backbone may well have only materialized due to theory 1. In which case it is no backbone at all.

Theory 3 is the hope that this incident is actually democracy in action. Whether or not you agree with the church lobby you can't deny that they represent the views of a large portion of Bermudian society and if this was really a reaction to their opposition then it just goes to show that the MP's actually listened. That would be a very positive sign and would suggest that the onus is on us to keep our politicians working for us. I have argued in the past that our system is what we made/continue to make it. If only every issue got people as interested and active as gambling did. Then we'd have the healthy, thriving democracy that we all want. But.. there I go with the wishful thinking again.

In the end I think it comes down to a mixture of all three. A little bit of positive in there, a little bit of negative, a little bit of "Yawn, Bermuda really is another world". It will be interesting to see where this new phase of politics in Bermuda will take us, if it even lasts beyond October that is.

Wishful Thinking

Media Council

2010-05-08T23:27:00.002-03:00

The PLP is no friend of the Royal Gazette. This is more than obvious to anyone who has watched the Government kill the Mid Ocean Newspaper by withdrawing advertisiment, attempt to gag the RG on major stories and repeatedly criticize the Royal Gazette for reporting on anything negative relating to the Government. But I certainly didn't expect it to go as far as it seems to be going.

Dr. Brown has announced his draft plans for a Media Watchdog which he's been speaking about for a while now. At first glance it seems reasonable enough (although personally the thought of any government controls on a free media is worrying) but, as usual the devil is in the details. It is proposed that the council have 12 members, 6 of which are appointed on the advice of the Premier (i.e. appointed by him in non-political speak). One of the remaining 6 is to be the chairmen appointed by the Governor (presumably with only a tie-breaking vote) and the other 5 are supposed to be members of the media. If my assumption regarding the chairman is true that leaves the Premier with a majority representation on the council. As far as I'm concerned that gives a dangerous amount of power to the people who have the most to fear from a free media. Especially if our next premier is as openly hostile towards the Royal Gazette as the current one.

Unfortunately I expect this bill to go through parliament on a purely partisan vote without much in the way of public opposition, except for those who are already suspicious of or dissatisfied with the PLP. I look eagerly for when the bill itself is released, perhaps my fears are unfounded but... I doubt it. So much for..

Wishful Thinking

Thank You Mr. DeVent

2010-05-03T18:42:00.002-03:00

PLP MP Ashfield DeVent has at last hit back at Rolfe Commissiong's comments that Bermuda's drug problem is purely an issue of structural racism and good for him! I think he says it all when he accuses Commissiong of "Tunnel Vision" on the issue of race. When it comes to Comissiong's opinions it seems that we can link everything from crime to support of the BDA back to race somehow and it seems that Mr. DeVent believes, as I do, that this is doing more harm than good.

As much as we'd all like to say there was no racism in Bermuda we all know there is but, it does a disservice to us all when we freely allow people to shirk responsibility for their actions in favour of blaming racism when in fact it comes down to personal choice. But, I've said all that before; most of all it's just good to know that there are those in the PLP who will stand to Mr. Commissiong and his race based tunnel vision. Perhaps there is some hope to be had for the future after all.

Marry Your Own Kind

2010-04-19T19:11:00.003-03:00

Its interesting how the Government seems to actively discourage Bermudians marrying non-Bermudians. If one were a cynic one would read something sinister in the apparent attempts to encourage Bermudians to marry amongst themselves rather than leaving the island for love but, naturally to do such a thing would be the opposite of wishful thinking and thus it must be avoided. So I will simply say that it's interesting. Whether it be suggestions that certain foreign spouses are prostitutes, calls for Bermudians to be allowed only one foreign spouse in their life or the requirement for married couples to purchase a land license like any other expat owning property, it would seem that the Government has something against the deepening of Bermuda's Gene paddle pool.

On the issue of land licenses, although not something new, I would have to agree with those who say that it seems to create two classes of Bermudian marriages: Bermuda-Bermuda and Bermuda-Other, which doesn't seem right. I of course understand the need to ensure that Bermuda is owned by Bermudians but, the way the Government has gone about it feels all wrong. Perhaps at some point in the future the law will be reexamined. I certainly hope so.

Wishful Thinking

They Say The Cutest Things Don't They

2010-03-24T18:45:00.002-03:00

Senator Burch has a habit of making the news for saying some pretty out there things and, for the most part, Bermuda accepts it as just being the way he is. He often says what needs to be said and often hits the nail right on the head when others would rather skirt around the issue but today I couldn't help but look at his comments regarding marrying foreigners with a rather strange mixture of amusement and worry.

He suggested that Bermudians should be only allowed to marry one foreigner and if that doesn't work out then they have to stick to Bermudians for the rest of their days. In any other western country I would laugh and forget but, the worrying comes in when I think that it might actually be possible.

First of all I find it amusing simply because of the fact that Burch is suggesting that Bermudians should stick to only marrying other Bermudians.. Potential genetic troubles aside, this should appall anyone who values their personal liberty. We all recognize (for the most part) that the world we live in involves compromise, we give up certain liberties so that the rest of them may be protected by the government however I believe that any proposal to tell people who they can or cannot marry is going too far.

Secondly although he is of course entitled to speak his mind this comment is extremely divisive bordering on xenophobic. Bermuda already has a strained attitude towards expats, this (were it to go any further) would just make it worse. Sure there may be a few who use marriage simply to get in on Bermudian status but, to paint all expats with this brush does a disservice to the many people who come to work here, bringing their money, talent and time to grow Bermuda's economy and bolster Bermuda's charities.

Normally I wouldn't feel the need to comment but, I'm in a cynical mood and unfortunately I can just imagine such a thing happening.. So much for

Wishful Thinking

Budget Debacle

2010-03-10T21:45:00.003-04:00

So I've had the opportunity to listen to the budget "debates" on Monday and Today and I must say that I'm ashamed of what this country has come to. Blatant filibustering, petty bickering and overall low standard of debate.

Both on Monday and today I have had the misfortune of hearing exceptionally long, irrelevant and quite frankly unnecessary speeches from ministers that stretch a simple analysis of budgetary figures into ridiculously long thank you speeches to departmental cleaners and in depth discussion of hospital cleaning utensils. Twice debate on important issues has been cut short, once most certainly deliberately, the other quite obviously deliberately but, I'm sure its possible to argue the other side if you try hard enough.

In case you're wondering the debates I'm referring to are the debates of the Cabinet Office and Future Care (part of the Ministry of Health debate) respectively.

I've had a number of things to say over on BIAW about the budget this year and if your interested I invite you to go and have a look Here and Here.

Anyway there I is one thing I think needs to be done to "fix" the issues with debate in the house. As of right now the Opposition chooses the schedule but, the Minister responsible always gets the chance to give an opening statement and breakdown of the figures. I think this needs to be changed to allow the Opposition to begin by highlighting their concerns (perhaps this could be done in advance of the actual debate) which would then be dealt with by the minister and the debate could move on from there. That would stop the complete waste of time that is so much of the budget debate these days.

Also, although not really something you can fix with rules or changes in system, MP's really need to get their act together and debate rather than just making speeches at each other. Too often there is so little "clash" as it is called in debating as a competitive activity and it doesn't allow them to get to the bottom of whatever issue is at hand. All we have currently is MP's repeating the party line with different words over and over again and no rebuttal of the opposing view. That's the only way to really flesh out an idea. As it is now that doesn't really happen.

Wishful Thinking

Cog Is The New Black

2010-03-02T19:19:00.004-04:00

In today's Royal Gazette Finance Minister and Deputy Premier The Hon. Paula "Cog" Cox JP MP reiterated her position that she is just "a cog in the wheel" of government.

What then does the Department of Finance actually do?

Lets begin this search for the meaning of the only department actually specifically mentioned in the Bermuda Constitution by looking at what the word Finance means.

Webster's Dictionary defines it as: "the science or study of the management of funds" and " the obtaining of funds or capital" but, in this context I think most can agree that it means simply money management.

So now that we know what the word Finance actually means let us play with the definition and imagine that the Department is instead called the Department of Money Management and not the Department of Stand By And Let Them Spend What They Want Regardless Of How Much Money We Have as one may have expected. What does the Department of Money Management therefore have responsibility for? Well.. Money Management right?. Both in the regulating the flow of money in the economy and in regulating the incomes and expenditures of government funds right? That would seem logical to me anyway.

So why does Ms. Cog seem to have a different idea? How can she or anyone justify completely ignoring the management part of her portfolio? What if we applied her team idea to her management of the economy? No one would be paying taxes! Every company would do what was profitable, not what was legal! Does that sound like a good thing?

It's about time that she stops this strange attempt to shirk all responsibility for her failures and just admit that either she is incompetent or doesn't have the testicular fortitude to stand up to Ewart Brown and the other members of the cabinet. We need expenditure cuts, reductions in government waste, better management of capital projects and economic stimulus. Not a 10% increase in spending, a 2% rise in payroll tax and a reduction in the tax rates on TVs.

So enough with this cog in the wheel nonsense. Bermuda has been mismanaged financially over the last few years Ms. Cox was the one asleep at the wheel while it happened but, if there was ever a time to turn things around it is now. So lets see some proof that she has the testicular fortitude she is so fond of talking about. For the past few years good financial management has seemed like wishful thinking but, perhaps with a bit of a backbone that can change.

Wishful Thinking

2010 Bermuda Budget

2010-02-27T14:11:00.002-04:00

Now I'm no economist but, still the 2010 Budget raises some interesting questions in my mind.

1) Where are the spending cuts promised?

We were promised 10% cuts in departmental spending. Instead we've seen a 9% rise in total. With the Department of Education being one of the few that takes a cut.

The government blew through the good times with a spend spend spend attitude, putting very little aside for when times turned bad and now that we are in those bad times they seem completely unable to deal with it. The country's debt is going through the roof, passing this government's fiscal problems off to my generation to fix, and the Bermudian people are facing hard economic times to which the response of government is to raise taxes. That being said however we do see an increase in the amount of money being put towards financial assistance for lower income families which is commendable however how much can the government do when the very people they are trying to help are being forced out of their jobs by the taxes paying for the government's thrifty attitude.

On the point of the Department of Education's budget cuts it may not be as shocking as it may seem to be on the surface. While we do face major issues with the public educations system on the island one must take account of the fact that the number of students enrolled in the system has constantly decreased over the years (undoubtedly a symptom of the failures of the system). It will remain to be seen if the spending cuts are in line with the reduction in students and if the budgeted amount is enough to turn the failing system around but, for now I believe they deserve the benefit of the doubt.

2) Why tax employment when we already have a problem of unemployment?

Perhaps someone can explain it to me but, I always thought that the more someone has to pay for something, the less of it they will want. Since the budget includes a 1% rise in the amount of money employers will have to pay for every worker won't that actually discourage employing more workers? Or even force small businesses to lay off workers or close down? Perhaps I'm missing something, or our Government knows something about the economy that the rest of us are missing.

3) Why are they still claiming that no one saw this coming?

Again Ms. Paula "cog" C0x claims that this is something that no one saw coming, stating that it was a once in a 100 years event so they couldn't have been expected to prepare for this. As Shadow Minister of Finance Bob Richards retorted post-budget, apparently his name is No One. 3 years ago he warned that something was coming and was shouted down as a scaremonger... Oops.

As I have already mentioned there is also the question as to why the Government wasn't putting money away when the economy was booming to deal with even unexpected downturns? Save while you can, spend when you must should have been the motto of Ms. Cox's department but, then again, how can the head of the department tasked with managing the government's finances and spending do anything? It's not like it's her job or anything. She's just a cog in the wheel.

4) How much more of this kind of fiscal management can Bermuda take?

Who knows.. On this one there's not a lot of room for..

Wishful Thinking

Hmm.. Now Thats An Idea

2010-02-24T19:28:00.003-04:00

An interesting article I found on the BBC:

MPs to be watched on local issues

Web-based democracy activists have kicked off the first round of a project to see if MPs keep their promises.

Meetings are being arranged up and down the country to draw up lists of issues important to locals.

Once compiled, prospective MPs will be quizzed on their views about the issues and the responses recorded.

After the election, the voting behaviour of MPs will be monitored to see if the policies they back or vote against match their words.

Better democracy

The meetings are being organised by volunteers involved with the Democracy Club, a non-partisan online group that aims to ensure people are better informed about their political representatives.

Seb Bacon, the co-ordinator of Democracy Club, said it was set up to become the place people could turn to for neutral information about MPs.

"It gives people an insight into the people they are voting for rather than them just getting information from the party machine," he said.

Volunteers who sign up to help get given weekly tasks, said Mr Bacon.

"It's about giving people small bite-sized tasks to further transparency and improve democracy," he said. "It's about doing something small to achieve that bigger goal."

Democracy Club now has about 3000 volunteers spread across 98% of the UK's constituencies. The task they have been given this week involves setting up meetings to brainstorm a list of important local issues.

Mr Bacon said he only expected a few meetings to be held but, so far, about 40 are being arranged. An indicator, said Mr Bacon, of the desire among the electorate in the wake of the expenses scandal to ensure politics becomes more transparent.

"The next phase is going to be turning those local issues into questions we can put to candidates," he said.

"The questions must be answerable yes or no so at a glance they can compare what the candidates are saying," said Mr Bacon.

"Exactly how it is going to be useful, we'll have to see," he added.

Democracy Club has grown out of volunteers involved with the TheyWorkForYou website which monitors the activities and voting records of MPs. Information gathered by Democracy Club will appear on the TheyWorkForYou site.

Tom Steinberg, founder of MySociety which created TheyWorkForYou, said gathering the information would act as an incentive for MPs.

"If you have an opaque regime where people can get away with things they will try to get away with them," he said.

"This will give them the incentive to do right in the first place," he said.

In October 2009, Mr Steinberg started advising the Conservative Party on ways to make government more open and efficient. At the time, Mr Steinberg said he would be doing the advising and MySociety would remain "strictly non-partisan".

It would be interesting to see such a thing implemented in Bermuda, it would certainly improve accountability although it would still depend on the electorate caring... I wonder if even with that system in place in Bermuda race and petty party politics would still be the orders of the day though. As long as they are, no amount of accountability is going improve Bermuda politics.

Busy busy life > Blogging but, my posting should become more regular again soon.

Wishful Thinking

How Do You Run A Country When You Can't Balance A Budget?

2010-01-30T00:45:00.002-04:00

With Paula Cox touted as the most likely successor to Premier Ewart Brown come October it is not without good reason that I am worried that she seems either unable to control the spending of the Bermuda Government, which is exactly what Bermuda needs.

Under her watch we have seen:

Heavy spending in the good times leading to the accumulation of massive debt in the bad
Multiple projects running over budget
Qualified Audits 2 years in a row
$800 million going missing from the Consolidated fund

We have seen a finance minister who again and again has shown she has the backbone of a jellyfish. Unable (or Unwilling) to stand up to Dr. Brown and her cabinet colleagues she has appeared, and even claimed to be, politically neutered. Is that what we want in a future premier?

We have seen a Finance Minister who's best response to 20% yearly budget overspending is to pass the blame and play the part of the politically (or perhaps financially) neutered victim:

"I can indicate support or objection. However the sponsoring Minister(s) knows that I cannot overrule their request unless I have others who join with me to support and uphold my position."

We have seen a Finance Minister who has attempted to mislead the public using Bermuda's strangely large GDP (thanks to International Business) to mask the fact that our debt really is going through the roof (around 50% per year increase over the past 3 years).

We have seen a Finance Minister who can't even release the budget on time. Sure, according to law it's within their right but, one does not break with parliamentary tradition unless something is wrong. Maneuverability is a pathetic excuse.

Is it wrong of me to expect better from our probable future Premier? I guess in today's Bermuda it is.

The public's silence is deafening.

Expecting better would simply be...

Wishful Thinking

Here's Johnny!

2010-01-20T19:34:00.002-04:00

Sorry about the recent lack of posts (to anyone who may read this) but, life got in the way for a while and life > politics/current affairs.

Just to ease myself back into it I'd like to make a few comments on an article that I was unfortunately not surprised to find myself reading. One regarding Dale Butler's hope of becoming Premier when Dr. Brown steps down in October.

An article that actually used the words "gay rights agenda" as if it were a subversive organization set out to destroy our country and repeatedly focused on the fact that any attempt to bring equality to our country will go against all that the PLP's religious supporters stand for and (here's the big argument) lose them votes.

That's right I'm talking about the article reporting Rolfe Commissiong's comments on the subject of Dale Butler and after a little reading around I'm happy to have found that Rolfe's views don't appear to be the actual party line but all the same the sheer ignorance of his comments left my head spinning. In the last century the very comments he is making would have been used to justify the inequality of blacks compared to whites and to justify the prevention of female suffrage and to even go into explaining why in so many ways his comments are unworthy of a first world multicultural country like Bermuda would be to simply waste my time because its common sense. It all boils down to equality.

He also seems to forget (as a very good LttE pointed out) that the current Premier and other PLP big names have previously voted for this "gay rights agenda" in passing the Stubbs Bill. Didn't seem to affect their popularity much did it?

Perhaps if PLP (And UBP and BDA) members were to simply vote conscious and forget about politics for just one second they would see just how important amending the HRA is. It's a matter of principle, of equality and of rights. Not Politrics.

And to all who may be reading I encourage you to go out and see what you can do for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. I can't stress enough how important even a few dollars can be but, I'm not going to go on and on about it. It's all been said already but, the people of Haiti need our help.

Wishful Thinking

A Happy New Year To All

2010-01-09T17:47:00.002-04:00

Well the new year has begun and I'm sure we've all just about settled back into the daily grunge of regular life after a season of festivities but, there are storm clouds on the horizon. Violence is becoming worryingly common in Bermuda. Not even just gun violence but, violence in general. Without this culture of violence and disrespect that is now rearing its ugly head we would not now be dealing with what is just another extension of a long existing problem. Crime in Bermuda has become almost a joke, a dark, dark joke at that. Whether it be a comedy of errors in the courts, a lack of manpower on the streets or the inability to solve the crimes there always seems to be something. But, perhaps this is changing. Things are happening now, cooperation throughout the community and and between Government and Governor have always been key and now we really seem to be moving in the right direction. Unfortunately it took the shock of such unnecessary loss of life to get us to this point and we still have a long way to go. I'm hopeful but, part of me believes its going to get worse before it gets better and I don't know if Bermuda can handle that. We depend too much on image for both IB and tourism. Both of which have already taken major blows.

If I didn't listen to the talk in town I might have been able to fool myself and say that we're experiencing the platinum period of tourism that we've been told about all last year but, the numbers don't lie and spending is down. Its part of a trend that I can only assume won't reverse itself unless something is done and given the Government's record on tourism over these past few years I can't deny that I'm worried.

Bermuda has a lot to deal with in the coming year(s) but, I think we'll be able to handle them. Bermuda used to be another world but, we can't claim that any longer. We face the same troubles as all the rest of the world. At this point we can do two things: Pretend the ships not sinking Or get out there and start bailing. There's no reason we can't return to some semblance of the country we used to be. All it's going to take is a lot of work and this is the crucial year. As we weather out the aftereffects of the recession, deal with crime we will also experience a change in leadership. Dr. Brown has always been a controversial leader but, undoubtedly he's made his mark. In the past he's been a close candidate to take my title as the King of Wishful Thinking but, he has the power to do a lot of good this year and turn the country around.

We can only hope.

Wishful Thinking

Enough is Enough

2009-12-16T22:32:00.003-04:00

Violence in Bermuda is getting out of hand. 3 Shootings in 12 hours.

I encourage anyone who can to come out and get involved in:

Rally for Peace:
Friday December 18th
Par-la-ville Park
6:00-7:30

The rally isn't going to solve the problem obviously but, its at least a start and anything is better than nothing at this point.

Brown seems lost in the Woods

2009-12-14T19:26:00.003-04:00

Our dear leader just can't miss an opportunity to be in the spotlight can he?

Apparently Brown is the resident expert on the entire Woods affair and his words of encouragement are bound to help turn his life around. Brown is confident that Woods will win a major after all, what else could anyone want? The confidence of Bermuda's Premier is bound to have a profound and meaningful impact on his life for sure.

Bermuda is going to hell in a hand-basket and what we get from our glorious leader Dr. The Hon. Ewart F. Brown JP MP is a comment on the weekly gossip papers!

Then again what are we supposed to expect?

After all this is the same leader who took the opportunity to make a face and shout "I TOLD YOU SO" about the whole "This too shall pass" affair. He even had the nerve to liken the situation to the loss of his parents! As tragic as that may be it has no place as an excuse for an exercise in supreme arrogance that would be more at home in the realm of African strong men than a supposedly free democracy.

And wait! There's more.

I recently posted on the apparent contradictions presented by the joint Government/Governor announcement and the Premier's own announcement a little bit later. But apparently I had it all wrong! You see the Premier had his release drafted before he and the Governor wrote theirs. So that makes it all OK because he was there first so he's therefore allowed to say whatever he wants. Even if it is a complete contradiction of everything the previous statement stood for.

From the RG Article:

This morning when asked about the conflicting statements Dr. Brown said: “We are closer in terms of working in unison than we have ever been.”

A non-answer if ever I've seen one. Has little relevance to seeming two face approach that is yet to be explained.

Then again it is Dr. Brown. He's shown his colours before and they say a Tiger doesn't change its stripes. October 2010 here we come although given the apparent character of the man I won't allow myself too much,

Wishful Thinking

And Two Steps Back Step Back

2009-12-09T19:45:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I attempted to take a joint statement of Government and Government House in good faith. I took it as an important step forward towards cooperation between our elected politicians and our impartial governor on a topic that effects us all. It seemed as though the rhetoric was going to at least be put on the back burner for the challenging weeks ahead as Bermuda recovers from another tragic loss of life due to gang related gun crime.

It would seem I've had a fool made of me and the reasons for this blog's name has become apparent yet again.

Just when I was allowing myself to be positive about a Government that, on the whole, I am generally critical of it turns out that my Wishful Thinking was misplaced. Curtesy of today's Royal Gazette:-

Premier repeats demand for control of Police

As one might imagine head-desk action followed a quick skim of the article this morning with sighs of disbelief to follow. Not only was I dismayed that the whole situation was turning into another political excuse to attack "our colonial masters" but, I was shocked that our Premier would have the gall to turn around an hour after a joint statement with the governor and go off, guns blazing, in an oh so characteristic anti-colonial statement that comes across as nothing more than an attempt to pander to the PLP party faithful.

The first statement contained some very promising language including:

"We are both anxious to do all that we can to help and to encourage the Bermuda Police Service to combat the shocking rise in gun crime. In fact, we discuss policing in Bermuda together, frequently and intensively."

And even a bit of Government back-patting where our Government was praised for its amendments to Police and Criminal Evidence Act and its strong budgetary support for the Police.

The second on the other hand was a whole other story. It contained some absolutely delightful comments, my favourite being:

"Unfortunately, despite being in Government we are hamstrung in our abilities to act. In spite of the fact that the Bermudian taxpayer pays for our Police service, an unelected Governor has full control over operational policing."

So lets break that down just a bit. We, the tax payer, pay taxes to the Government, distributes a portion of those taxes to the Police Service, which uses those funds to investigate crime on the streets, in the office and up on the hill. We depend on this Police Force to remain impartial and fair in its investigations, we depend on it to investigate any crime regardless of the position held by the suspect and we depend on it to let us to sleep safe at night. Call my a cynic but, I wouldn't trust a politician (regardless of political party or ideology) with those jobs and why? Because lives depends on it being done well.

Division of labour makes efficient work and division of powers makes for accountable government. Who watches the government if the watchers are run by those who are committing the (hypothetical) crimes?

Call me colonial but, there is a measure of trust that comes with the position of Governor of Bermuda. Gone are the days where Governor was synonymous with white oligarchy (as much as some would like to suggest it still is). The Governor has little power these days and even operational control of the Police is delegated down the line to the Police Commissioner. The office of Governor is the best place for power over the Police to lie just because it's not democratic! I don't want policing to be decided by votes and political bickering. I want responsibility for policing to exist on a plane above petty political squabbles. It's pure Wishful Thinking to expect such a thing from a politicized police service and while democratic principles may seem so at odds with the current system we cannot afford to allow ourselves the luxury of idealism especially with crime in Bermuda going the way it's going. There are certain things where we must go with what works best and putting the Police Force in the Government's hands is not the best.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Politicizing the police force is one ambitious politician away from a Banana republic. Hyperbole? Perhaps. But, I'd rather not take chances with something so important. It's one situation where we can't afford to blindly move forward with nothing more to hold onto than some airy fairy,

Wishful Thinking

One Small Step

2009-12-08T19:09:00.002-04:00

Operational control of the police is one of those back and forth issues that just about everyone must has their opinions on and these opinions are almost inextricably linked to support for independence. As the majority of the population does not support independence (for now) can we assume that they don't support Government control of the police either? Kind of.

But, that's the issue right there! We don't know what the people think, there has been no referendum and no public meetings to discuss the issue. All we have is a pro-independence governing party that at times seems unable to keep Independence and crime as separate issues. Whenever crime comes up it's the Governor's fault and this has never helped anyone.

Recently we've been given notice that Dr. Brown will be pressing for control of the Police at the OTCC meeting in London and I can't help but agree with the Opposition statements in today's Royal Gazette calling for a full debate on the topic. If anything it gives the PLP a chance to present their case and convince the public, it would add legitimacy to the whole affair and make sure all the facts are on the table.

But! Enough of that. There is some good news as well!

As reported by the PLP blog and the Royal Gazette a joint statement from Government and Government House was released today. Cutting out the political back batting and general uselessness it says:

"Some U.S. police officers experienced in anti-drug gang and anti-gun crime will be coming to Bermuda to help the Police and to lend the Bermuda Police Service the benefit of their experience and expertise."

The Government has been pushing for that for a long time it would seem and now at last we have their US experts. The ball is in their court. It's their opportunity to prove their critics wrong.

Petty Petty Petty

2009-12-07T20:30:00.002-04:00

I'm sure most Bermudians have heard of the recent little scandal upon the hill regarding the invites to the Queen's dinner reception when she visited Bermuda and whether one roles their eyes or gasps in horror I believe common ground can be found when a little disagreement like this takes a turn for the worst.

No we're not talking shouting matches, flying fists and general ridicululity of that nature but, comments from last Friday reported by the Royal Gazette during the motion to adjourn caught my attention as I skimmed through the article:

"In response to jeers from the Opposition that the dinner had not been inclusive Mr. [Walter] Lister said: "When the Queen came in 1953 people that looked like me did not get to see her, so let's not go there.""

Racism is an issue in the Bermuda of today no one can deny and of course one must accept the past in order to move forward but, comments like this help no one and may even do more harm than good. I suppose some might say it's simply characteristic of PLP tactics, dismiss every attack because "The UBP did it too", but I think it's something deeper in this case. Racism has become a method of deflection, a way to avoid responsibility and detract from the actual issue at hand. In this situation the issue at hand was nothing more than a little political squabble but, nevertheless it still left a sour taste in my mouth and I hope I will not be reading any similar backward looking deflective comments anytime soon but, given the racial-political climate perhaps that's too much,

Wishful Thinking.

The Five Year Plan

2009-12-05T22:16:00.004-04:00

All flashbacks to the Soviet Russia segment of my GCSE History aside Elvin James' announcement that we can expect the Government education plan for the next five years in March is very good news.

After two major reports and years of passing the blame it looks like we're finally moving forward in education. The adoption of the Cambridge curriculum this year is a promising step and I'm hopeful we'll hear of a number of other initiatives when the full plan is announced. As for raising the school leaving age that's a completely different story. All it will do is prove the old adage: "You can lead a horse to water but, you can't make it drink". The proposal has it's heart in the right place but, it's going to take a lot more than just legislating it in order for it to actually make a difference.

Of course there is only so much that the government can do to fix the public education system. The Hopkins report was quite clear in it's criticisms and since then the government has moved forward on a number of its suggestions. The recent Mincy report's issues however are a little big harder to deal with. Of course it does offer some suggested initiatives that could help but, in the end those particular problems are societal and there's little hope of them being solved without a lot of community input. Given Bermuda's record when it comes to wide spread community involvement I'm going to let the cynic in me rule for now but, I live in hope that I'll soon be proved wrong.

Obviously since the plan hasn't been released yet it's impossible to comment on the proposals but, all the seem even this news is good news. At this point what needs to be done should be reasonably clear, while we may not know how to fix the whole problem we can at least fix part of it. Given the past record on education it's easy to dismiss the plan before it's even been announced but, perhaps since I'm in a good I'll permit myself a little bit of,

Wishful Thinking

Just Do It!

2009-11-28T11:39:00.002-04:00

When Dr. Mincy released his report on young Bermudian black males he commented that he'd done the report it was not up to us to do something with it. It presented some interesting insights into what is driving the high drop-out rates, the differences in educational attainment and even the differences in pay between black males and white males or even in a lot of cases black females.

Looking through the findings and proposals they seem very reasonable and there is nothing shocking. The beauty of the study was in pointing out exactly what the problems (as they see it) are. Before then there were lots of things it could be but, no one agreed on problem.

Well now we have a 200 something page report telling us exactly what they found the problems to be and how to fix them. Surely the next step is as clear as day?

Apparently not. At a Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda (CURB) forum the report was criticized because the "sample group was too small to provide a true picture." Yes indeed it's not a perfect report but, criticize it's findings and propose alternatives! Don't just attack the method and me done with it, what is the point? What findings and proposals do you not agree with? What should the report have found?

No one claimed the report was the be all and end all of dealing with the issues that face Bermuda's young black males but, it was a start and as Dr. Mincy said it's up to us now to use his report. We can't just keep commissioning reports until we get one that we like and no action is going to be successful without community support.

Constructive criticism should be encouraged but, a simple attack on the method does nothing but undermine confidence in the report and without that confidence it makes it hard for our Government do what they know needs to be done. When the report came out it gave us an opportunity to move forward lets not waste it.

Futurecare? Or Futurecareless?

2009-11-22T18:16:00.002-04:00

On Saturday it was reported that the amendment to the Health Insurance Act has been passed by the house of assembly after a heated debate in which Louise Jackson in her usual manner ripped the Government to pieces on the subject of Future Care.

The main issue of the night was the question of funding. Was this amendment a step back taken because of the realization that the funds necessary simply aren't there? Or was it as the Government claims a reaction to the predatory practices of private insurers which left so many without access to any form of insurance.

To me it seems a bit of both but, the government should have anticipated it. Private companies exist to make a profit and despite our ruling party being a Labour party they cannot simply ignore this fact. They are going to react to any government intervention in the marketplace in a way that suits them best and it is the Government's responsibility to investigate and anticipate what effects they will have.

Healthcare for our seniors is a noble idea but, if it's going to be done it needs to be done right. The Government has bought some time now, in time hopefully they can get it right and prove that faith in them is not just,

Wishful Thinking

Pass De Blame On The Left Hand Side!

2009-11-18T19:13:00.002-04:00

Following 3 shootings that have rocked Bermuda and should have shaken the Government, the Police and the Populace into full awareness of the sheer size of the problem that Bermuda faces we hear from a member of parliament, yet again, that it's the Governors fault.

In the House on Friday Mr. Butler (Former Culture Minister) made the statement:
"If our problems (with crime) continue to get worse we need to ask for a recall. If that is the Governor's main responsibility and he is unable to meet that requirement we need to get recourse. Our safety depends on it."

And later elaborated by saying:

"This is the second time I have made (this statement) and Bermudians have to look at accountability if in fact (the Governor) continues to refuse the Government's request to bring in a New York group to help."

"Things have gotten worse and the Police are trying their best, but need more expert support as recommended by the Government. But he continues to reject it. Hence my request for a recall of the Governor because he has failed to get on top of the problem as the person responsible for the police."

"We all like our Governor but with specific regard to his job, he is not providing the type of safety we need."

Just before we delve a little into the specifics of what he said I'd like to highlight the rather wonderful irony of the final section of his statement. More specifically the words "We all like our Governor" because I think it's been quite obvious to the majority of the populace that the PLP has (at least in recent times) always had a rather anti-Governor leaning. Probably due to their stance on independence which naturally makes them anti-colonial authority but, the reasoning behind it is irrelevant at this point. What matters is that the blame game needs to stop and something needs to be done.

Beginning his statement in the house Mr. Butler seemed to place the blame for crime solely on the shoulders of our Governor. A ludicrous assertion at best, down right crazy at worst. The police, first and foremost, are responsible for catching criminals once they've committed the crime. They can't do that when Bermudian society operates with some strange aversion to talking to the police about incidents. Do we blame the Governor for that state of mind? No! Nor do we blame the Government. It is a societal problem and one that the Government and Governor need to work together on fixing, the Government taking any opportunity it can to fire a shot at the Governor gets us nowhere. We need the two to sit down at a table and discuss what is wrong and how to fix it. We recently heard that the Government has refused the Governor's offer to have such a sit down regularly and I would hope, for all of our sakes, that they change their minds on this issue rather than placing blame and achieving nothing.

The second part of his statement refers New York based consultants that the Government wishes the Police force to bring in and utilize. The Governor retorted with this statement:

"The Bermuda Police Service already draws on the experience of overseas jurisdictions and has obtained much help from them. More is being lined up."

Its easy to say we need a consultant and then consider your hands washed of the whole affair but, it's not going to work that way. Like the author of the report on the plight of Bermudian young black males said, at a certain point you have to stop commissioning reports and start doing something. I doubt a report will tell us anything we don't know already. Crime is being fueled by gangs, gangs are being fueled by drugs, drugs are being fueled by the socio-economic situation some people find themselves and then that can in many ways be linked to education. So lets fix education, lets combat gangs and lets have a look at the way our Judicial system works so we can actually convict the guilty people once they're caught.

It is time for the Government to accept that we have what we have and so we must work with it. Regardless of their beliefs on independence the Governor is here and a working relationship is more than necessary. The Throne Speech this year was filled with promise and we can only hope that we will see the necessary changes need to be made.

Enough with the blame game.

Wishful Thinking

Censorship?

2009-11-16T19:24:00.002-04:00

Part of Opposition's Throne Speech reply struck from official record

Does such a headline worry anyone but, me?

The Offending Section: "We get million dollar contracts that go directly to friends untendered and massive cost overruns with no one held to account."

Yes to a certain extent the section was not completely founded on fact however the offending section was little more than a word. The word "friends". Do contracts go directly? Yes there is no bidding process. Is anyone held to account? Not in the slightest.

In my opinion this action by Government MP's is nothing more than pathetic. Anyone who listened to the debate on the motion of no confidence before the summer will remember distinctly Dr. Brown's speech on that night. Filled with divisive claims and general attacks on the UBP branding them again as racist etc. Was that struck from the record? No. Did Mr. Barrit attempt to ask for a point of order due to the Dr. impugning improper motives? Yes. Was it recognized by the speaker? No. And yet... a statement that as far as I'm concerned has never been adequately disproved was removed simply because the PLP felt it was being insulted. We have a Government unwilling to simply respond to and discredit the offending statement but rather have it struck from the record. That as well raises very interesting questions.

Perhaps it isn't true. I accept the possibility that there is no wrong doing other than stupidity at play in the awarding at contracts but, still we must all agree that there is something wrong. We see costs skyrocket on what seems like every single project. It's time to institute open bidding for government projects. Let the government do that to deal with the criticisms. Enough dodging, do something about it.

Open bidding should be common sense as far as I'm concerned but, then again it could be,

Wishful Thinking.

The Jury's Out On This One

2009-11-12T22:27:00.002-04:00

Attorney General Kim Wilson announced today a number of government suggestions on widening the pool of jurors available for jury. Included were ideas of increasing the age for jurors beyond 65 and (my personal favorite) bring ex-pats into Bermuda's juries.

That's right. Ex-pats. People who posses no right (and never will posses it) to Bermudian status. People who are liable to be kicked off the island every time their work permit comes up for renewal and people who have no attachment to this island other than the fact that its their temporary home.

The Bermuda government has no right to force an Ex-pat into a jury just as it has no right to force one into the regiment.

The Government is going to have to work with the status holders it has. Or perhaps create a few more. There are a few thousand long term residents out there who are being wrongly denied their right to status. They're already here, they're not going anywhere, granting them status isn't putting any further strain on Bermuda's resources. But of course lets not turn this into a rant about why PRC holders should be granted status.

Ahem.

Another possible idea is one that was floated a little while back. Professional jurors drawn from various countries in the Caribbean area and shared amongst the Caribbean nations. Granted it has some problems of its own but, it's certainly an idea that should be discussed because it's quite clear that while Bermuda's legal system needs an overhaul, it would all be for nothing if they can't even put a jury together.

Wishful Thinking

Vaugue? Check. Meaningless? Check. Hypocrisy? Check.

2009-11-09T19:15:00.002-04:00

Culture Minister Neletha Butterfield reported today that the possibility of banning discrimination based on sexual orientation under the Human Rights Act was rejected by cabinet earlier this year but, is "still being actively investigated”

Being "actively investigated"?

Does one need to actively investigate whether racism is wrong? Whether sexism is wrong? Whether discrimination based on religion is wrong? The Government's powers of deflection are astounding. It takes real skill, willfully applied to come up with such a meaningless and incredibly vague statement. This year's Throne Speech provides some hope for the cause and yet one cannot ignore the worrying prospect that this announcement raises the possibility of. Inaction.

For a government that champions the fight against discrimination on racial grounds it is once again the epitome of hypocrisy to attempt to stand in the way of the protection of the most basic human rights of all people regardless of their sexual orientation. One can only hope that sense and justice prevails but, Bermuda has an uncanny ability to ensure that hoping for the best ends up as nothing more than...

Wishful Thinking

Young Black Bermudian Males

2009-11-08T22:54:00.003-04:00

The 200+ long report on the plight of Bermuda's young black males is a damning indictment of a school system that leaves 50% of BBM's "on the wall".

While recognizing a purely racial gap in employment pay (given the monetary value of $1,600 dollars) the report clearly highlights the differences in chosen industries and the differences in educational achievements (degrees etc.) as major factors in the disparity in that area.

The report also cites the idea that BBM's are better suited to the trades (i.e. working with their hands) as another major issue.

Finally the lack of proper information on college applications and guidance in that area are also adversely affecting the prospects of BBM's according to the study.

All in all one must take the report in the spirit it is intended. Not as another weapon to be thrown in the argument on race relations in Bermuda but, rather as a guide to making a change for the betterment of all of Bermuda. It highlights a number of possible solutions to Bermuda's problems which centre around the idea of paying closer attention to the at risk students and ensuring they make it through their education and therefore open up so many more opportunities to themselves then they would have otherwise. The author of the report commented on the topic of whether he would do another report at a later date that he has done his study, it is now up to us to make the changes.

The youth are the future of society, the future movers and shakers that will form the Bermuda of the future. Prime examples of these youth leaders can already be seen in sport, Youth Parliament and various initiatives that take place through the year including the UN Youth Conference but, what is the point if a significant section of our society is left to fall by the wayside? The key to any functioning democracy is an educated populace. It's about time our Government sped up the long promised reforms that have been expected ever since the Hopkins report in 2007. The mention of education in this years throne speech is promising but, as always we must try not to get our hopes up and end up with only another years worth of...

Wishful Thinking.

They Just Keep Coming and Coming!

2009-11-03T19:07:00.002-04:00

Two reports in so many days!

The report on Young Bermudian Black Males and the Bermuda First Report released today are both key reports that will dictate much of the policy as Bermuda moves forward.

I hope to give my own opinions on the two reports in the coming days, it certainly is a lot to read.

The important thing is that these reports are actually acted upon. There is no good commissioning report after report, coming to profound conclusions about the issues that affect our country and then letting the recommendations go unheeded. The head of the team that wrote the report said it best when he said:

"I am a researcher and I enjoy what I do but I want to see what you do with my study."

"Do you need another study and another study? Do something with it. Act."

Hopefully that is exactly what our government will do.

Wishful Thinking

The Kids Are All Right

2009-11-01T20:22:00.003-04:00

A Times Online article found here:

The kids are all right in a chamber with attitude

Funmi Abari, who put the case against tuition fees with force and grace, standing at the dispatch box yesterday

Ann Treneman: Parliamentary Sketch

For a brief moment yesterday the Prime Minister of Britain appeared to be young, black and female. And, you know what, if I shut my eyes and suspended real life, it was almost believable. Her name was Funmi Abari and she is 16 and from Haringey. As I watched her argue the case against free tuition with grace and not a little force, I couldn’t help thinking that she could teach a thing or two to Gordon Brown, 58, from Fife.

“Tuition fees should not be abolished. It’s unrealistic, unsustainable and not for the best interest of all young people and those yet to come,” she cried to shouts of “hear hear”. “But lowering the fees — hell, yes, that is fair.”

“Whooooooo,” cried the chamber of 300 MYPs (Members of the Youth Parliament), who then broke into riotious applause.

What a hoot it was when the MYPs came to Westminster yesterday. And what a shock to see the chamber actually reflecting real life. There was more ethnic diversity in one half of one row on what would be the government benches than in our entire Parliament of 646 MPs. I found it quite moving to just look down and see such tremendous variety.

It is the first time in the history of Parliament that anyone other than MPs have been allowed to use the chamber. Actually I can see why the previous Speaker was so loath to allow this. For the kids were all right yesterday, despite the mad outfits (flip-flops in the chamber — and that was a teacher) and even madder hairdos. (At one point the Leader of the Opposition was a young woman with wild red hair and a pearl tiara headband.) The entire event was a triumph for the current Speaker, John Bercow, who was levitating with happiness in the chair. Sadly, I must also report that he was, at times, patronising in the extreme. At one point he explained democracy by telling them what happens if you don’t like your MP: “You can change your choice. That’s the beauty of our system.” But the kids didn’t even roll their eyes. They are probably used to being told irritating things by adults which they mostly then ignore.

A few MPs came to watch proceedings from the visitors’ gallery. There was Richard Shepherd, who, at 66, has lived four times longer than many below. The Commons official photographer was there, his lenses trained. (There are no photographs allowed in the chamber normally.) Harriet Harman was beetling around. It was amazing how, when surrounded by all that youth, the real politicians quickly began to look rather unreal.

It is the best debate on tuition fees I have heard. “Why should the people who get up at 6 o’clock in the morning to work as a dustman or my father, who didn’t go to university and works as a builder, pay for my education?” said one young man. “I should be the one to incur the debts and the pleasures afterwards.”

But, argued a young woman from Scotland: “Education is the only way out of poverty.” When she was interrupted, she bit right back: “Excuse me, I’m speaking.” This got yet more whoops.

One young woman asked what was the point of “busting your hump” to get good A levels if you couldn’t afford to go on to university? The Hansard scribes, trained by MI5 never to react, didn’t move a facial muscle. Still, I think “busting your hump” is an absolute first here. For one day only this was a chamber with attitude.

---------------------------------------------------------

The Youth are an important part of every society. They are it's future, the movers and shakers of tomorrow. They stand to benefit from the successes and suffer for the failures of governments for much of their lives and often they will be the ones tasked with fixing the problems.

And do you want to know a secret? They're not as stoopid as some people might like to believe. The youth are too often judged by the actions of the minority and viewed as unsuitable for involvement in the discussion and policy making of government. Thankfully Bermuda has for a good many years offered the youth, in some small way, an opportunity to break down those views of them and make their voices heard through Youth Parliament Bermuda.

There's still a long way to go for the youth and in many ways the youth are let down or let themselves down but, times are changing. Education is one of the major obstacles that even today holds the youth back and threatens their future success. Until that is fixed our Government fails the youth each and every day. I don't have the answers and I'm sure as hell not an expert but, I'd say taking further action as suggested by the Hopkins report is a start and I think implementing the Cambridge curriculum is a good start but, it is just that. A start. I am confident of Elvin James to make the necessary changes if the will power can be found which I hope that it can.

But then again... this blog is called...

Wishful Thinking

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T00:46:00.002-03:00

Happy Halloween everyone!

Remember you're never too old to have a good time,

Be safe and enjoy yourselves!

Wishful Thinking

What A Wonderful World

2009-10-29T23:40:00.002-03:00

Directly from the horse's mouth:

Mega Yacht Marina Aims to Attract Discerning Tourists

Submitted by PLP on 29 October 2009 - 3:02pm.

The PLP Government is committed to enhancing our tourism product and attracting guests with plenty of disposable income to our island. To that end, the PLP Government announced that a mega yacht marina is coming to Dockyard.

The marina development is a public-private partnership designed to attract discerning visitors to our shores. The first class facility will feature around 200 slips designed to accommodate vessels of all sizes, including mega-yachts.

The mega yacht marina is part of the PLP Government's continued commitment to Platinum Period upgrades to our tourism product.

Is it just me or does the PLP seem to be living in some lovely fantasy land where Bermuda's tourism industry isn't going down the tube? I swear if I hear about our Platinum Period one more time I will write a strongly worded letter to our Government asking where my dividend got lost.

We as a country don't have the money right now to be spending on this kind of fanciful idea that may... or may not pay dividends far in the future. I would rather see healthcare provided to our seniors than money thrown into a project that I can see being yet another complete waste of public funds.

Perhaps our Government should concentrate on fixing our failing industry as it is rather than grasping at straws in the hope that something will save their record in the tourism department.
It seems like they, like me, are indulging in just a little bit too much,

Wishful Thinking

Bermuda Public Transportation

2009-10-28T22:15:00.002-03:00

I depend on buses to get around and understandably its therefore important for me to be know the bus schedule.

Knowing the bus schedule is no use though if buses leave when they please!!

Today I had a reasonably important appointment I needed to make in town so I arranged to be at the bus stop waiting 10 minutes early to ensure that I didn't miss it. Needless to say I was informed by a friend of mine that she had been on that bus and it was already in town by the time I got to the bus stop! Thankfully I managed to scrounge a ride off of another friend of mine but, the fact remains that such an occurrence is completely unacceptable. I understand variations in times due to traffic but, this bus I later found out left its starting point 15 minutes early. Leaving me stranded. I managed to get around it this time but, the schedule is the schedule and I for one need those buses.

[/rant]

Wishful Thinking

When In Doubt Back Out On A Technicality - Walter Shapiro

2009-10-27T22:19:00.003-03:00

“TECHNICALITY, n. In an English court a man named Home was tried for slander in having accused his neighbor of murder. His exact words were: "Sir Thomas Holt hath taken a cleaver and stricken his cook upon the head, so that one side of the head fell upon one shoulder and the other side upon the other shoulder." The defendant was acquitted by instruction of the court, the learned judges holding that the words did not charge murder, for they did not affirm the death of the cook, that being only an inference.”

-Ambrose Bierce

Oh technicalities how our courts do love them so but, don't get me wrong I'm not here to criticize our court system. It is the prosecutors who deserve the blame for the latest in the comedy of errors that is our court system.

Bowen cleared in road death

It would seem to me that the issue revolves around the breathalyzer test that determined whether Bowen was in fact drunk or not. Somehow the prosecution managed to have their case thrown out because of some lack of paper work or some other legal technicality that would probably go straight over my head if explained to me.

I don't mean to suggest that the prosecutors don't have an extremely difficult but, we need to step up a bit here Bermuda. We can't leave these important cases in the hands of people who are making mistakes like this.

I am hoping that when further information becomes available this will become less of a shock to me and perhaps it will even become understandable but... You know about me and...

*Ahem*

Wishful Thinking

Links On The Main Page

2009-10-27T19:08:00.002-03:00

I apologize for the link colours on the main page of the blog. I am working on having them changed but, technology as usual is not being very cooperative.

Bear with me as I try to sort it out.

Homophobia/Racism/Sexism - Spot The Odd One Out

2009-10-26T23:08:00.004-03:00

I'll give you a hint. It's a trick question because they're all the same.

British group highlights homophobia in Bermuda

It's disgusting that Bermuda has a mindset that would be more appropriate in centuries past.

No where does this homophobia manifest itself more obviously than in the youth of today and it disgusts me. It seems so hard for so many to draw the connection between homophobia and gay-bashing to other equally as unacceptable forms of discrimination such as racism and sexism.

The first two have been recognized and we have seen a change in the way people view such forms of discrimination as well as seeing an implementation of legal safeguards to combat them, sadly Bermuda falls far behind in both legal action and even social mindset when it comes to homosexuality.

I'd like to think that by the time my life is over Bermuda will have changed but historically Bermuda has always been slow to move forward... So that may just be some more...

Wishful Thinking

Some People Just Don't Get it Do They?

2009-10-22T19:01:00.003-03:00

Democracy...

I'd say we're rather fond of it here in the West and personally I'd be a tad upset if we lost it. But, I think we need to recognize one of the greatest protectors of freedom of our time. An advocate of freedom of the press, of open and frank discussion and most of all government transparency.

Yes you've guessed it! It's Dr. The Honorable Ewart F. Brown Jr. JP. MP.!

He's attempted to gag the press

He's shouts down opposition with cries of racism and appeals for party unity

He has shown himself to have an autocratic style, keeping his cards close to his chest far from the sunshine of public scrutiny.

He's even responsible for the oh so famous "We had to deceive you" comment.

Now on the eve of his announcement of PATI legislation in his speech to the nation (which has now turned out to contain some major, potentially fatal flaws) he has again blessed us with a true insight into the way a democracy should work.

"But it is not over. I wish I could stand here tonight and tell you that the departure of the Mid-Ocean News — may it rest in peace — I wish I could tell you that — someone sent me an e-mail when the announcement was made about the Mid Ocean, and I can't remember who it was, but it said: 'One down, one to go.'"

Laughing, he continued: "I have no idea what that meant, but let me say this to you that every day the citizens of this country still awaken to something negative about either the leadership or something that's designed to be divisive about the party.

"And I want to thank you for having the intelligence and the fortitude to resist that and to make sure that the PLP remains the Government and forever the strongest political party in Bermuda."

-From this Royal Gazette Article

At first I thought that perhaps the loss of a newspaper on this island, which doesn't have very many sources of information as it is, was a blow to democratic principles. But, our Premier has set me right yet again! The Mid-Ocean news through its reporting of stories that could potentially shine a negative light on our glorious leader and his government has committed an atrocity that should never be forgiven nor forgotten. The sunshine of public scrutiny causes sunburn and no one likes to be burnt. Especially not politicians. Therefore this is a great step forward! One down, one to go! Amen!

Now we just need to get rid of that pesky Bill Zuill and his meddling reporters and poor Dr. Brown will at last be free of those vicious factual attacks that are destroying our democracy! Until then we can only hope.

Hope and devote ourselves to that wonderful habit of...

Wishful Thinking

We Hold These Truths To Be Self Evident

2009-10-21T22:45:00.003-03:00

This is a piece I have been toying with writing even since I set up this blog and story in yesterday's gazette has finally given me this opportunity to bring forward my views. It's a controversial topic and one that divides along some of the deepest divisions of our world today. No not race but, rather another division as old as humanity itself. Religion.

Bermuda has the ability to join the global leaders on this topic, taking an important step forward and righting a wrong that has existed for millennium or show itself to be no better than the Bermuda and the world of old.

In the words of HRC Chairman the lack of a solution to this issue "is a violation of all human rights laws and the right to human dignity."

And:

Supported by the Amnesty International Bermuda;

Backed by the Bermuda Bar Council;

And with such political figures like Renee Webb and Dale Butler behind it;

This issue could be nothing other than the glaring absence from our Human Rights Act of what some activists have called simply two words and a comma. "Sexual Orientation,".

So what exactly does it mean that this two words and a comma is nowhere to be found within the legislation that outlines the legal basis for the Human Rights possessed by all people. Well put simply it means that those self evident truths, those unalienable. natural rights possessed by all men and women by birthright are curtailed for no reason other than archaic homophobic bigotry.

It is time we move beyond the ignorant ideas that the campaign against protection under the human rights act has based their arguments upon throughout the world. One cannot claim Homosexuality is a choice in a world where such a choice makes one vunerable to the worst kinds of vicious attacks, one cannot claim it is a hedonistic activity engaged in only by the immoral without exposing an argument based solely upon bias and hate and in this day and age one cannot claim it's illegality based on a verse in a religious text written two millennium ago which is almost completely disregarded in most other walks of life. It's time for this to end! We live in the time of secularism, of the rights of man, of freedom, of justice and of equality. Or do we?

That is the question that Bermuda will answer as the outcome of this struggle becomes apparent. We have some major legislation coming forward as parliament reconvenes the session, including the discussion and implementation of the crucial PATI legislation but, those two words and a comma; those simple symbols which mean so much; which can garuntee freedom, liberty and equality; which separate the modern from the archaic, the just from the unjust and open minded from the bigots cannot be allowed to fall by the wayside. The gauntlet has been dropped Bermuda. Assume your place as a leader on the world stage. Or prove to me that I am condemned forever to expect too much, to hope for what is not and to engage again and again in that age old curse of...

Wishful Thinking

Wait! What Did He Just Say?

2009-10-21T18:54:00.002-03:00

First of all I'd like to begin on a positive note. Our government under the direction of Finance Minister Paula Cox has been pursuing Tax Information Exchange Agreements with different jurisdictions across the world and has managed to ensure that Bermuda is not globally considered a tax haven.

Unfortunately (I suppose its a failing of mine) I can't stay on the positive side for long. Our Premier posed quite a lovely picture to us when he spoke on the topic of International buisness. Reiterating Bermuda's status as a "sterling" option for business and stressing the fact that buisness has left us for Ireland and Switzerland not out of need for a stable political climate and not because they are running away from the policies of his government but, rather because of their predictable tax climate.

And yet...

From TBS's announcement that they are moving to Ireland:
"Ireland offers a stable political and economic environment and sophisticated, well-developed corporate, legal and regulatory environment. "

Seems clear as day to me. Is it not the same for you?

I'm not claiming that the only reason that companies are leaving is because of our Government, the financial crisis has exacted a heavy toll upon many international companies and for a while the tax issue with America was a major issue. However once again Bermuda has emerged unscathed, its necessity to the insurance industry apparent and its hard work to get itself off the gray list rewarded but, the fact remains that at times our government's treatment of international business has bordered on antagonistic (at least publicly, what actually goes on we can't know. Especially considering we don't have PATI yet).

IB is the only pillar of our economy now that tourism has been utterly wrecked by the combined actions of our glorious leader and the global recession. A worrying trend has become apparent in the way IB is going and our government seems completely unable to even recognize it, never mind fix it.

I have a lot of respect for someone who can admit they are wrong and then move forward to correct their mistakes but, clearly hoping for anything of that like in this day and age, under this government is

Yup, you guessed it

Wishful Thinking

We Are Talking About The Same Period Right?

2009-10-16T23:39:00.003-03:00

Dr. Brown began his speech yesterday by telling us that we should take the opportunity of Bermuda's 400th anniversary to do what one would do on their own personal birthdays. Which, going by his example, I assume is being as far from the celebrations as possible.

Then he began to discuss tourism.

He firstly told us that Bermuda is holding its own. (Which apparently therefore means holding our own is DOT talk for "we're falling far behind our competitors every time tourists make their vacation choices")

He stressed that 85% of our visitors come from the US and therefore it's understandable that arrivals are down what with the global financial crisis and all and ensured that he explained exactly why it wasn't his fault that tourism is pretty much on its way out as a pillar of Bermuda's economy (if it hasn't left already).

Dr. Brown also brought us some bad news:

that recovery is likely to be slow
that new hotel developments are likely to be iffy due to the lack of capital.

However not to worry! Because we were assured that the government is working tirelessly to attract visitors, promoting another low cost carrier to fly from the UK, hosting the PGA grand slam, wasting our money with the Music Festival and Red Sox gimic and generally doing everything it can to return us to the platinum period we were apparently in before this recession started.

Worrying that I'd missed some great precious metal time span I immediately did a little research and the thing that first jumped right out at me is this:

Air Arrival's Spending Drops to 1980 Levels

Hmm... "Isn't that a good thing since the 1980's were still good tourism years?"

Well actually no, inflation decreases the value of money as time goes on and while the same amount of money may have been spent in 2008 as 1980 the actual purchasing power of that money has decreased huge amounts. Isn't that what defines a Platinum Period? The Amount of money that it brings to the economy? Or are we talking about something completely different?

Doesn't that actually suggest that we're in a slump if anything? Or does The Good Doctor know something I don't? Numbers are down, revenues are down and tourism is almost down and out. It's not a recent thing, the recession might offer a good short term excuse but, it takes only a short look at the numbers and we can see it's a trend that has been prevalent for a number of years now.

Expecting anything but, spin and rhetoric from our Tourism Minister about our failing industry seems everyday to look more and more like yet another example of

Wishful Thinking

Dr. Brown's Speech

2009-10-15T20:42:00.003-03:00

I attempted to note down all the points made by our Premier Dr. Brown during his speech. Grammar and Spelling might not be right on but, it was done fast so please forgive me for any mistakes.

Number of thoughts and ideas meaningful to all who care about Bermuda

A call to do what we do when we celebrate our personal birthdays

Where are we?

Economy:

Tourism:

· Holding our own

· US 85% of our visitors

· When measure of tourism is lowest we should not be surprised

o At this time last year we knew it would suffer

§ We might experience lower arrivals, sale and occupancy

§ Matching performance of previous years impossible

§ Credit crises make it hard to secure funding for new construction

· We did not cause this economic downturn

o Did not cause or control effects

· Recovery expected to be slow

· Government continuing to implement strategies to attract visitors

· 3^rd pga grand slap -> 300 million US homes and 100 countries

· Music festival -> Awesome talent

o Visitors can’t resist

· Boston red socks giving great exposure

o Should bring more visitors over next few years

· Pushing cause of low cost carrier from here to UK

o Replicate zoom

· Scarcity of capital resulted from credit crunch

o Believes that all projects will come to fruition

§ Realistic:

· We will experience delays

o Hope that we will have financing and break ground Park Hyatt -> Next few months

o Irresponsible to talk about which projects have problems

§ Would not help

o Soon return to platinum period

International Business:

· Continues to value and nurture unique position

· Remarkable achievement of 16 TIAE agreement -> OECD white list

o OECD vice chair -> With Germany and China

§ Powerful illustration of Bermuda’s position in financial world

· Working hard to make sure Bermuda is best possible place

· Constantly attracting new businesses

o 600 new businesses in 2009

o Effective tried and tested regulation model

o Sterling reputation

· Correct falsehood concerning departures to Swiss and Ireland

o Motivated for need to more stable or Government running away

§ Actually they want a more predictable tax environment

· Swiss already has tax treaties and transparent tax system which cannot be changed by US congress unlike us and our competing Oversees Territories

· Companies choosing to take the chance for unchanging tax system

o Government understands and will continue efforts to fight tax legislation

§ Bermuda office

· Step up efforts -> Negative effects US would incur

§ Met with congressional law makers and Attorney General

Other

· Government working on 2 initiatives

· Working with US coast guard -> Training and equipment for drug enforcement on sea

· Morgan’s point opening

· Working on relief for stop list

· Not just written for Bermuda

o We will work to stop people even getting on stop list

· Government commitment to fight crime

o High levels have to stop

o Misdirection of young and drift towards gun crime biggest problems

o Deeply frustrated with current approach

§ Constitutionally we have no say in how fight is managed

· Tell UK government that people of Bermuda need control of BPS

o We need solutions now and we are going to find them

· Tonight we are delivering on our promise for PATI

o Draft PATI bill is in public domain

§ WWW.GOV.BM

§ Fridays official gazette with provide more info

o Will be tabled when parliament reconvenes

o Government considers well being of people equally or more important than anything else

§ Free and subsidised healthcare delivered

§ Numerous enjoying future care

· Will continue to be refined

§ We unveiled Bermuda’s first 24 hours drug treatment facility

§ Committed to providing shelters for homeless -> And support they need to become productive again

§ Encourage entrepreneurial excellence

· Economic empowerment zones

§ More aggressive finding jobs

· Identify companies violating immigration laws and force them to stop

· Cease to be motivated by differences of opinion -> Common love of Bermuda

· Focused as one people for one Bermuda

o We only need to reflect for one minute to know that if not for the unity of those who first arrived we would not be here today

· Everyone looking forward to Royal Visit

o Honour

· Summon strength of Bermudian character

o Help less fortunate

o Make prosperity available to all

o With god as out witness we will move toward uniting to become one people for one Bermuda

I shall hopefully find the time go through the speech a bit at a time over the next couple of days so check back soon for my particular opinions on the points presented.

The full speech has now been made availible on the RG website.

http://www.royalgazette.com/rg/Article/article.jsp?articleId=7d9a7de30030000&sectionId=60

Even Adults Act Like Children Somtimes

2009-10-14T20:00:00.004-03:00

The fun never ends for a blogger in Bermuda. Rarely do I find myself with nothing to say about at least one article in the days news. Today that article was:

There's no going back – UBP rebels
http://www.royalgazette.com/rg/Article/article.jsp?articleId=7d9a72f30030025&sectionId=60

The specific area that caught my attention was this:

"We do not believe that the current political parties can do that. To be absolutely clear, none of the ex-UBPers will be returning to the fold of the UBP, no matter who becomes leader of the UBP and no matter what changes they say they can make."

To me this sounds like nothing more than a "You were mean to us so we're not playing with you anymore, we've got our own game now". It's nothing but, self serving, selfish rhetoric. The six have made their opinion clear regarding what their problems with the UBP that caused their split were. Turning around now and saying that regardless of what improvements the UBP can make they refuse to rejoin will help nothing at all.

It's commendable that the six recognise the baggage the UBP carries and how ineffective as an opposition it is but, if it can at least begin to make important step forwards then by remaining divided it will only weaken the ability to provide a strong opposition to the PLP government. Especially with the prospect of a possible snap election it would be absolutely ridiculous for the UBP and the new party to compete against each other. They share similar values, or they would have never joined the UBP in the first place and two parties representing the same ideals can only split the vote and result in the PLP coming out on top yet again.

Bermuda cannot deal with another 5 years under Dr. Brown and it cannot deal with much longer without a viable opposition. If the six are truly considered only with whats best for Bermuda then I expect them to do what is truly best even if that includes giving up the opportunity for personal glory and coming to a compromise with a duly reformed UBP. Obviously should the UBP fail to reform as it needs to then the six are the only hope for Bermuda politics unless another party is going to pop out of nowhere and I hope they hold their ground and make the changes that our entire system so dearly needs.

Of course even expecting that a reformed, united UBP could be successful in the racially charged climate that is Bermuda politics is probably just

Wishful Thinking

Striking - The Ultimate Bermuda Cliche

2009-10-13T20:40:00.002-03:00

Take these comments with a pinch of salt as there may be parts of the story that are yet to be released but, listening to radio news on the way home I heard of Corporation of Hamilton workers downing tools at lunch today. Expecting some major issue to have caused the work stoppage I listened intently, wondering what the Corporation of Hamilton (facing imminent dissolution by government) had done to drive their workers to take action. Needless to say I was shocked to find out that the explanation was (and I quote) "It's about some issues. Nothing too serious. There are a few little things that we need to sort out."

Come on Bermuda!!

Strikes (Perhaps there is a better word for it other than strikes?) are sometimes necessary, they are, during tough times, a vital tool to ensure workers are not exploited and are given fair consideration and treatment by their employers but, often in Bermuda I find myself completely dumbfounded by the reasoning behind some of the work stoppages.

Union meetings should happen on Union time, NOT on employer time. Is that really a belief that only I hold? Is it really so illogical? Or is it just that expecting such logic to be applied to actual reality is just

Wishful Thinking

An International Affair

2009-10-12T18:12:00.002-03:00

Reading through the Royal Gazette today expecting the usual Bermewjan shenanigans I was quite frankly shocked to see a Dr. Brown worthy opinion being expressed across the pond by none other than a former Law Lord, Lord Goldsmith.

"He told The Independent: "The UK should offer to take more of those detainees... More could be done, as illustrated by the recent row over the US negotiations to transfer some to Bermuda. The Foreign Office was upset that the Americans negotiated directly with the Bermuda Government, bypassing the British.

"However, the real point is that if the Foreign Office and the British Government had been more helpful regarding detainee transfers then the US wouldn't have felt that it had to go direct to the Bermudans (sic).""

Don't be alarmed if you have to read that one a few times just to make sure that you're understanding what's being said correctly. It appears to be a common side effect along with repetitive head to desk contact and weeping.

Although hardly necessary in my opinion I shall now break down this little jewel for anyone who cares to read on.

"The UK should offer to take more of those detainees"

I am more than tired of hearing that any country other than the U.S. should be "accepting more of those detainees". It is absolutely disgraceful that the U.S. can get away with such incredibly hypocritical behavior. Obama seems to pander only to his American voters rather than to the global community as the so called "leader of the free world" should. In this way he is just as bad as his predecessor (although Bush couldn't even please his own people never mind the international community). Until the U.S. will accept responsibility at least part of a problem that THEY created they have no moral ground to stand on when they wish for others to accept these detainees. The U.S. can beat the humanitarian drum as loudly as they like and leaders like Dr. Brown can beat their people over their heads with it until the cows come home but, I for one am sick and tired of this hypocrisy and quite frankly childish behavior. It is unfortunate that these detainees are caught in the middle of this situation but, the U.S. can not be allowed to hold the rest of the world hostage. Two wrongs do not make a right and quite frankly no the ends do not justify the means so do it right and do it, at least partly, yourself.

"More could be done"

Hmm... Duh

Step 1 - America accepts responsibility for at least some of the detainees
Step 2 - After a reasonable amount have been accepted into America further relocation efforts are pursued through the proper channels

Doesn't take a Law Lord to work that plan out.

"The Foreign Office was upset that the Americans negotiated directly with the Bermuda Government, bypassing the British."

Lets see if we can do a bit of word association here:

Law Lord -> Laws -> Constitution

Am I really so naive to think that a Law Lord should understand the importance of a constitution? I really hope that I'm not. Purely to preserve my sanity I'm just going to assume that this Lord Goldsmith spoke without researching the Bermudian constitution. For those of you that have forgotten the Bermuda constitution reserves the responsibility for external affairs for the Governor (presumably with the assistance of the British Foreign Office). Rather than some petty ego issue that Lord Goldsmith seems to suggest is the cause of the row it is in fact a breach of law, yes Law Lord Goldsmith, law! Surely someone involved so closely in Law should be aware of the severity of a breach of the constitution.

"However, the real point is that if the Foreign Office and the British Government had been more helpful regarding detainee transfers then the US wouldn't have felt that it had to go direct to the Bermudans (sic)."

Oh... So it's Britain's fault and there I was blaming Dr. Brown and his American contacts. How could I have been so silly? How could it be the American's fault that they conducted negotiations with someone they knew didn't legally have the right to do so, obviously they were forced to do so because Britain wasn't willing to lie down and let the American government walk all over them and force them to accept more detainees than they felt they should.

What a ridiculous world...

Law Lord used to be a title that carried a certain amount of respect to me much like the Premier in Bermuda. On both instances now I've been shown that to expect that someone who holds such titles to possess certain levels of maturity, reason and goodness is nothing but

Wishful Thinking

China Strikes Back

2009-10-11T19:55:00.002-03:00

Following Bermuda's acceptance of the Uighers and the back and forth from both sides of the house as well as a number of statements from England at last we have a suggestion of the Chinese view.

While some have criticized Cole Simmons decision to meet with the Chinese Ambassador to England I can't say that I believe such criticisms hold any water. He was not negotiating or deciding anything, he was asking questions. He was seeking information, information that until now the public had never received. I respect Mark Pettingill but, his accusations that the act was "constitutionally wrong and candidly not sensible" are quite frankly ridiculous. Cole Simmons says it well when he says "Would Mr. Pettingill not warn people in a building about a fire because he is not a fireman?".

Our government has shown a clear disregard for the constitution in the way they accepted the Uighers but, that situation and the current one are completely different. Perhaps the best way to describe the difference is the describe the first situation as an Act and the second as an Ask. Acting is a power reserved for the governor, Asking on the other hand is the democratic right of each and every Bermudian including our opposition and therefore Cole Simmons.

I wait eagerly for any government response on the issue and hope that it can be resolved without any ill effects on Bermuda's trade with China, thankfully I know that the Governor and the Foreign Office in England will be calling the shots on this one so hopefully it'll all end well. Although the extradition demand could be a problem if China sticks by its guns on that point. I hope that Dr. Brown's actions will soon pass into the history books without any adverse effects for Bermuda but, then again I have a habit for,

Wishful Thinking

Where Does The Time Go?

2009-09-23T18:33:00.001-03:00

I apologize for the lack of posts recently, I have suddenly become far busier than I anticipated.

My regular posts should resume again this time next week.

Sorry!

Wishful Thinking

Kudos To The BPS

2009-09-19T23:56:00.002-03:00

There have been a number of robberies in the Jennings Rd. area recently including an incident at my own house involving gas from a bike and some spare gas for the lawn mower.

Tonight on my way home I came accross a police car with two police officers apparently just keeping an eye on the area. The BPS never seems to have much of a presense across the island but it was good to see them out and about deterring crime.

It's not often I find myself able to say this but: Kudos to the BPS, for being out on patrol and hopefully keeping criminals at bay.

_____

Now if only somehow we could control the rising gang violence and gun crime as well. A little gas from a fuel tank is one thing but, a gun and someone being shot is a completly different story. Those are the ones that need to be dealt with, these guns and the people who own them need to be tracked down and brought to justice. Bermuda is heading down a slippery slope when it comes to gun and gang violence and it's up to our Government and the Bermuda Police Service to turn us around. However we as the community have a part to play as well. Bermuda is an extremly tight-nit community. Everyone is everyone's aceboy or acegurl or even family and this undoubtadly leads to issues when it comes to evidence collection. I think it's important that people begin to realise that no matter who it is, they're a criminal and they need to be brought before the law. This is not to say that there isen't a need for initiatives to keep Bermuda's youth on the right path though. Reporting some is punishment, whats more important is prevention. Honestly I don't know how to fix Bermuda's social problems but, I'm sure there are some people out there who have ideas. These ideas need to be brought forward and discussed, initiatives need to be pursued. Mirrors has been a great success, so a Kudos to our Government there too but, more needs to be done but, I think it's well within our powers to do it.

I dearly hope Bermuda can prove that this isen't just another bout of

Wishful Thinking

Look How Important We Are Now!

2009-09-17T20:23:00.003-03:00

Strengthening Bermuda's Ties with Washington
Submitted by PLP on 16 September 2009 - 6:03pm.

Next week, the Government of Bermuda will officially open a new office in Washington, DC. The PLP Government previously opened an office in London. Ensuring strong and productive ties with Washington and London is vital to Bermuda's political and economic interests. Premier Ewart Brown commented on the office opening:
In our 400th anniversary year, the opening of an office in Washington, D.C. is a watershed event for Bermuda. It will immeasurably strengthen the links between our two countries and position Bermuda well on critically important issues.
We look forward to having a permanent presence in Washington to ensure that Bermuda's interests are well represented in the American capital.

____

Oh goody! I'm so excited! Bermuda's very own ego boosting Washington D.C. money waster!

Thank god we'll now have an office in D.C. to do all that important.. uhh.. Washington D.C. stuff!!

Now we can finally exert all that influence we hold over the U.S. and at last we'll be able to get something done without all those travel expenses. God forbid that ministers might have to travel to D.C.! That 1.79 million dollars is so much better spent ensuring that we have dedicated staff within close range of such high importance locations as the "Canadian Embassy, the Federal Trade Commission, the National Archives and the Newseum". What ever would Bermuda do without the National Archives at our finger tips!

So what if we have a consulate in Bermuda, we'd much rather go straight to the big man on the hill right? Bermuda carries a lot of weight up there you know, once we were mentioned by Obama in an offhand remark while he was talking about something completly different! We also accepted four Uighers, Over here! Look at us! We're Bermuda and we're important now!!

I once thought that Bermuda's money would be spent on things Bermuda needed, like education reform and iniatives to fight crime.

I guess that was just another bit of..

Wishful Thinking

America Weighs In - Bermuda Uighers

2009-09-16T21:58:00.004-03:00

Reading through the BBC today and what did I find?

"One of Mr Fried's successes was the deal he struck with Bermuda, which took four Guantanamo prisoners, all of them Chinese Uighurs - an ethnic minority from north-west China. However, Bermuda is a British overseas territory and Britain was not informed until the last minute.
"The British government, it is fair to say, cannot be considered part of the deal," Mr Fried says.
"This was worked out between the Americans and the Bermudans. I will say that I've been admonished by the British government in very clear terms."
'No Plan Bs'
He defended the agreement with Bermuda, however.
"We are very grateful to the Bermudan government and the behaviour of the four Uighurs has been exemplary, which really bolsters our contention that they were not any kind of threat."
"These are four people who are enjoying freedom who would otherwise be in Guantanamo." "

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8260081.stm

In response I present only an exert from the Bermuda Constitution:

"Section 62: Governor's special responsibilities
1. The Governor, acting in his discretion, shall be responsible for the conduct (subject to the provisions of this Constitution and of any other law) of any business of the Government, including the administration of any department of government, with respect to the following matters—
a. external affairs;
b. defence, including armed forces;
c. internal security;
d. the police. "

Important section highlited.

Self explanitory if you ask me.

Never a Dull Day in the Devil's Isles

2009-09-16T19:26:00.003-03:00

Rather than a focused, long blog entry I'm going to give my version of a daily news roundup for all the stories that interested me. Figure it'll be nice to have a variety of posting styles so I guess I'm just experimenting with a few now. So bear with me until I find my niche.

#1

Breaking News: Jailed for empty magazine clip

An American woman was this morning jailed for ten days after bringing an empty magazine clip into Bermuda.
Lori Du-Bell, 61, of Naples, Florida, appeared in Magistrates’ Court earlier this week when she pleaded guilty to bringing in the clip. At the hearing she told the court she had forgotton it was in her bag.
She was arrested last Thursday after one Customs officer found the empty magazine in her carry-on bag at L.F. Wade International Airport and a second officer discovered nine 9 mm rounds in the bathroom trash of the plane she had had arrived on.
This morning she appeared in court for sentencing when she was jailed for ten days.

_____

Now is it just me or does this appear to be nothing more than an honest mistake? I mean come on.. She's a 61 year old who panicked and actually threw the ammunition away before landing in Bermuda. She is guilty of nothing more than a stupid mistake, at most she should have had the magazine confiscated and perhaps a small fine if they really really wanted to make a point out of it. But, prison for 10 days.. a bit much for a tourist. A bit of understanding and compassion could go a long way. No it wouldn't save Bermuda's tourism industry but, word gets around and little things matter. They often become more than the sum of their parts. But.. What with the the recent gun crime and the clamour for harsher penalties it would leave the courts open to critisism if they didn't punish her. Much the same as the Ministry of Immigration came under fire for approving a work-permit for an American convicted of importing drugs.

2#

Barritt ponders political future

http://www.royalgazette.com/rg/Article/article.jsp?articleId=7d9983730030005&sectionId=60

"Yesterday, the veteran MP told The Royal Gazette he would "stay to the last drink" as his soul-searching colleagues continue to explore the need to change following high-profile walkouts from reformers.
However, he said he has grown tired of Bermuda's stagnated party politics and wants to see members on all sides of the House of Assembly working together for the better of the Island — something he may not be able to do from inside the UBP in its current form."

____

I admire both the loyalty and the acceptance that loyalty can only go so far shown by Mr. Barritt in his statement to the Royal Gazette.

Barritt is someone who I see much as I see Michael Dunkley, articulate, intelligent and well meaning but, someone who will no longer have much of a place in the grand scheme of things due simply to his race and status as old guard UBP (I hope I'm wrong). Recently he has spoken out for the need to open up the PAC meetings to the public, a topic I'm fully in agreement on and I think it would be a huge loss to the UBP to lose him.

I am of course taking his statements at face value, I haven't been led to believe he's untrustworthy but, in the end I will accept that it could be argued he doesn't actually have Bermuda at heart but, his own agenda. While I'm sure there must be some element of "I need to set myself up so I can stay in politics if the UBP goes down", I personally believe that that is the farthest his agenda goes, I do believe that other than that he has his constituents at heart.

____

"I don't think it's just about the UBP. We have to discuss how this Country is better served. We need more coalition and alliance with different groups; not just on the UBP team — it may require being on the teams of other people and other groups.

"If that becomes your focus, a lot of this other stuff may change — branding, that follows like night follows day.
"I personally think it's a good thing that people are looking for other things. They don't want the rigidity of party systems any more. In Bermuda, with limited resources and with the number of people prepared to get involved, we have to look how to make the most of what we've got.
"I hope people continue to move the process along."

Agreed. Once again I can't be 100% sure he's not just saying what people want to hear but, if he is really behind it then I am in full agreement. Partisan politics need to end for Bermuda to move forward.

____

"Mr. Crockwell, Mr. Hunt and Mr. Pettingill — like fellow UBP defectors Wayne Furbert and Darius Tucker — will not be resigning their seats and risking by-elections. But Mr. Barritt said: "When you have been around as long as I have, and you go back to people to get their support, if I feel that the Country needs to go in a different direction — and it's a better direction — and I'm unable to take my party with me, I have to go back to the people who voted for me and explain my position to them.
"That might mean resigning my seat and saying to people: do you agree? Telling people I feel very strongly about this, I want you to have an opportunity to say what you want. As Independent or whatever. As I understand the law, there's no requirement to do that, but if I get to that point, where I'm at variance with my party, I would be looking to go back to the people who supported me." "

____

Once again I am in Agreement. I have always supported going back to a by-election if you are to break from your party. Grants the new independant candidate some legitimacy as well as ensuring the wishes of the constituents are adheared to.

#3

Breaking News: Thieves target nursery for second time

A children’s nursery was targeted by thieves this morning — the second time it has been broken into within a week.
Police said that at 7.35 a.m. today they received a report of a burglary at Kiddie Academy on Laffan Street, in Pembroke.
A spokesman said: “Details are unclear at this time, however initial information suggests that a computer and other items were stolen from the premises.”
Last week thieves broke into Kiddie Academy, stealing a laptop, $100 cash, chocolate milk belonging to the children and a bottle of wine from an office party, before starting a fire in the building.

____

Disgusting. Cane them.

#4

Crockwell: Constituents 'relieved' and pledging support
http://www.royalgazette.com/rg/Article/article.jsp?articleId=7d9982f3003002d&sectionId=60

I am glad to hear that Crockwell has the support of his constituents. Of course the best way is to face a by-election but, I am a trusting guy and am willing to take him as innocent of lying unless I am presented with evidence to make be believe the contrary. As good as it is to see a new party, it will be useless if it is founded on a cracked foundation, that is why it is so important to ensure the support of constituents before making such a move.

#5

Big task for new party amid UBP turmoilIt will be tough for the defectors to shake off their UBP baggage and not further divide the country
http://www.bermudasun.org/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=18&ArticleID=42824

"While efforts to bridge the polarization gap are to be encouraged, the party in power has found it can benefit fromdivisiveness. Nothing the UBP or the new-BP can do will dissuade the PLP leadership from pursuing this deviant and divisive path."

I think this extract best sums up the opinion piece by Stuart Hayword. As I pointed out in my last blog post we can see the beginnings to the mudslinging already on the PLP blog. I have little doubt that the PLP will try as hard as they can to ensure the new party (I refuse to call it the NewBP because I feel that is another element of the labeling that is to come) is seen by their loyal voters as just another big bad UBP. Something to be defeated at all costs, solidarity, racial unity etc. blah blah. The usuall bull.

At first I had hopes this party could break through that but, I realise how naive I was being now. It is going to have to fight through it. They have a better position, they have the benifit of not needing to deal with the stigma the UBP had. However on the other hand all of these candidates were members of the UBP and this is only going to hinder them further. It's another sad reality in Bermuda politics that the government will do anything to ensure they can divide the population along racial lines. I had hoped that the new party could over come that..

I guess in the end that was only..

Wishful Thinking

A Comedy of Errors?

2009-09-15T19:05:00.003-03:00

ZBM News today reported on a report commissioned by the UBP to identify failures and necessary changes following the general election loss.

From memory the issues suggested ranged from going out and doing some good in the community and setting up their own radio station to combat the effect of Hott 107.5 which the report stated was having an effect on voters. Of course it also mentioned the ones that we are all common with, name change, image change etc.

I guess now I have my answer as to what changes the UBP should/could have made.

More worryingly however the report suggested that rather than Michael Dunkley being so visible in the lead-up to the last election he should have taken a back seat to a group of black "surrogates". Is it just me or does that seem to be what the UBP has been accused of all along? Using black's as a front for the whites in control? I am very happy to see that the UBP did not take that low road, I have a lot of respect for Michael Dunkley and to see what I believe is an intelligent and well meaning man using such pathetic political strategies would have been the end of that respect.

However it's all irelevant. Dunkley will never again have a place in the forefront of Bermuda politics because of his race and because of the perception of him being from the old guard and this applies to many members of the current UBP (likewise there are many PLP members I'd like to see getting involved who will undoubtedly be asked not to simply because of the stigma they may bring with them). I understand however that the new party must strive to distance itself with the UBP in particular and the labels the PLP will most certainly seek to apply to it. In fact the PLP has already begun it's smearing of the new party on it's blog:

"The Progressive Labour Party is pleased to welcome a third party to Bermuda's political landscape. Led by Shawn Crockwell, the formation of the new party represents the culmination of an internal feud between the powerbrokers that control Bermuda's opposition. The Crockwell Party is a new investment vehicle for the same, old longstanding opponents of the PLP to try and regain power.
We in the PLP look forward to engaging in a lively debate of ideas with the latest member of Bermuda's opposition."

An artfully hidden begin to the name calling I must say. I expect to see attacks like this become far less subtle and far more open and hostile as the new party gets of the ground. And they haven't even had the chance to make any mistakes yet! Just wait until there is one mis-step, one out of line comment or one wrong person joins the party. And then BOOM, it's going to be status quo all over again.

Some suggest that the current new party isen't going to be the one that breaks the PLP but rather that it will lay the groundwork for yet another new party that will emerge with universal support and soar into victory. Unlikely as far as I'm concerned. Others suggest that following the breakup of the UBP the PLP too will split because the only thing holding it together is their common enemy, the UBP. Unlikely as well, as long as Dr. Brown retains his mysterious hold over so many PLP MPs.

Thinking back from the lead-up to the last election all the way to the present day Bermuda politics seems more to be like a comedy of errors every day. A failed opposition, a failed government and an electorate that failed to keep them in line. Why oh why can't Bermuda seem to acheive good governance.

It is beginning to seem that hoping for that is just... Wishful Thinking.

My Raison D'Etre

2009-09-14T22:01:00.002-03:00

While perhaps this should have come first, I'd rather get straight to what this blog is supposed to be about than give an introduction. Now that I've christened the blog however I can get around to introducing my Raison D'Etre.

I have always taken an intrest in current events, most of all in my home country of Bermuda but, it is only recently that I discovered a whole new area of political discussion other than over lunch with a few close friends in the blogging world. I began by reading, absorbing different views and opinions and eventually using them to add to the opinions I had already formed. Hopefully now I can add to that chorus of opinions and help spark a few lively debates

This is a crucial time in Bermuda, and more than ever I find that there is so much to comment on. So much to discuss. So much to debate. I hope I can contribute to those debates and therefore in some small way contribute to Bermuda's future because frank debates are exactly what Bermuda needs at this moment in time.

My Two Cents

2009-09-14T21:07:00.004-03:00

Bermuda has reached a crossroads.

The United Bermuda Party, long lambasted as the white supremacist party of old and recently under renewed fire for being a weak, impotent opposition, has finally begun it's death throes. Six members of the UBP including three MP's and a Senator have tendered their resignations with the intention of forming a new party in the new year. This would appear to be the final nail in the coffin of a long dying political entity.

Or is it?

Many will cite the failures of the NLP which emerged from a split with the current ruling Progressive Labour Party as proof that it is impossible for any newcomer to break the stranglehold that the PLP and UBP hold over politics on this small island. The PLP survived that split, why can't the UBP survive this one?

Well the situations seem astronomically different. Bermuda's political realm has not been so open to the formation of a new party in a long, long time. The UBP is critisised almost daily in the media or in the blogging community and admitidly has done little to dispel those criticisms. Whether because it is a weak opposition (fact) or because it is the old racist party (fiction) these critisims have taken a heavy toll on the party. It's leader Kim Swan has approval levels close to those of our Premier Ewart Brown. Suprising given all that Dr. Brown has done recently, from complete disregard for the constitution to complete disrespect for parliment. Mr. Swan was never the man for the job but, internal politics must have won out because in the end he is the one sitting as Leader of the Opposition.

The six rebels identify a lack of reform as the reasons for their decision to break from the UBP and I think this is a cause that Bermudians can respect which is important if the new party is to move forward. However I have to admit that although reform of the UBP is talked about often I can never seem to figure out what that reform is supposed to entail. Moving away from it's past by changing it's name is one possible reform I can identify, another would be more democratic internal processes but, again it's all very vague to me. Perhaps someone could enlighten me.

The UBP is doomed, thats my honest opinion. UNLESS it can move away from it's past which it has proved it can't. The PLP has grown complacent, corrupt and incompetant during it's long stint in power, the simply fact that Dr. Brown remains Premier illustrates this fact. Bermuda's political system needs a major shake up, I hope this new party can be this shake up. The rebels are quite right that the racial divides need to be broken and this new party is going to have to be very careful to ensure it cannot be labled as the "New UBP".

The PLP has the ability to turn itself around, to step away from the race based politics and campaign purely on it's ideals for a better Bermuda. The new party has the ability to provide a strong opposition and even government when the time comes.
Unfortunatly for the UBP it would seem that their time is nearly over. Public perception is everything and the hurdles the UBP would need to overcome to be viable again are humungous. But, perhaps it's possible, I'd be careful in pronouncing a death sentance on such a long standing political institution just yet. The most important question is not whether the party will survive but rather if it will ever be able to contest the government again. If not then it is in for a very slow, very painful death.