First Steps – Following the ‘Dignified and Efficient’ British Model

Posted on January 19, 2018 in Government, Implementation

Go Lean Commentary

Of the 30 member-states that constitute the Caribbean, the highest count of the 4 language groups is English – 18 territories. The British eco-system assimilated these 18 lands with the English language, culture, commerce and systems of governance.

This commentary is Part 2 of a 6-part series from the movement behind the book Go Lean … Caribbean in consideration of the First Steps for instituting a new regime in governance for the Caribbean homeland. The other commentaries in the series are cataloged as follows:

  1.  First Steps: EU – Free European Money – To Start at Top
  2.  First Steps: UK – Dignified and Efficient
  3.  First Steps: US – Congressional Interstate Compacts – No Vote; No Voice 
  4.  First Steps: CariCom – One-Man-One-Vote Defects 
  5.  First Steps: Deputize ‘Me’! 
  6.  First Steps: A Powerful C.P.U.

All of these commentaries relate to “how” the Caribbean can finally get started with adapting the organizational structures to optimize the region’s societal engines. This is the consideration of leading from the Top. This would apply to the Anglophone Caribbean, who all operate on constitutional structures based on the English Constitution or Westminster. But there are lessons for all the Caribbean, as we can glean how the Go Lean roadmap can reform and transform the Caribbean member-states so that they can be better places to live, work and play.

So looking at the British model for governance – where Queen Elizabeth II is the Head of State – means considering the concepts of “the Dignified and the Efficient”, as defined in the book The English Constitution by Walter Bagehot:

What was crucial, he [(Bagehot)] insisted, was to understand the difference between the ‘dignified parts’ of the constitution and the ‘efficient parts’ (admitting that they were not ‘separable with microscopic accuracy’). The former ‘excite and preserve the reverence of the population’, the latter are ‘those by which it, in fact, works and rules’.

England had a ‘double set’ of institutions – the dignified ones ‘impress the many’ while the efficient ones ‘govern the many’. The dignified or ‘theatrical’ parts of the system played the essential role of winning and sustaining the loyalty and confidence of the mass of ordinary people whose political capacities were minimal or non-existent they helped the state to gain authority and legitimacy, which the efficient institutions could then use. Bagehot was an unashamed elitist who believed bleakly that the ‘lower orders’ and the ‘middle orders’ were ‘narrow-minded, unintelligent, incurious’. Throughout The English Constitution, there are references to ‘the coarse, dull, contracted multitude’, ‘the poor and stupid’, ‘the vacant many’, ‘the clownish mass’.

The dignified parts of the constitution were complicated, imposing, old and venerable; but the efficient parts were simple and modern. The ‘efficient secret’ at the heart of it all was ‘the close union’ and ‘nearly complete fusion’ of executive and legislative powers in the Cabinet – the ‘board of control’ which rules the nation. ‘The use of the Queen, in a dignified capacity, is incalculable’, opened the chapters of the book dealing with the monarchy. It acted as a ‘disguise’ and strengthened the government through its combination of mystique and pageantry. He famously summed up the monarch’s role as involving ‘the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, the right to warn’. – Source.

Under the British system, there is a lot of pomp-and-pageantry – theatrics. This is the sphere of the monarchy, as the Royal Family performs all the ceremonial functionality – think: launching ships, grand openings, receiving ambassadors, etc.. The government – Cabinet, Prime Minister’s Office, etc. – on the other hand perform the governing efficiency – there is a separation-of-powers between “the Dignified and the Efficient”. There is advantage to a structure of delivery specialization; it allows for laser-focus and minimal distractions. This is the beauty of a technocracy.

The book Go Lean…Caribbean – available to download for free – serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states. The book (Page 64) cited the model of monarchies in the design of this Trade Federation:

Model of Constitutional Monarchy
Despite hundreds of years of government evolutions with the Republic system, there are still many modern democracies that maintain constitutional monarchies (i.e. UK, Netherlands, Spain & Canada). Their preference is justified in the logic where a President may only be respected by his party. Rather, a technocratic monarch (King or Queen) must transcend party politics and rule for the betterment of all subjects. (Queen Elizabeth II has ruled for 60 years out of a sense of duty).

A political climate is simply inescapable, with classic democracies – see the VIDEO on the Queen wielding apolitical power in the Appendix below. The goal of the Go Lean/CU roadmap is simply to govern better, to be …

… Apolitical – Loved by All
Partisan politics can lead to scenarios where politicians refuse to execute their constitutional mandates; just out of spite of each other …. Even worst, when political sides are so polarized, dreaded consequences can ensue, like civil wars (think: US conflict over slavery in 1860). A technocracy seeks a better governing system, one in which the administration is apolitical and therefore the potential to be loved by all; or equally despised by all (think: Greek Austerity in 2012). Thus, technocracies are more patriotic than political.

Considering “Dignified” versus “Efficient”, there is no “dignified” role with the CU structure, just apolitical efficiency. The pomp-and-pageantry remains with the member-states. Overall, this Go Lean/CU roadmap seeks to deliver on just one efficient charter, to elevate Caribbean society; this is expressed as a prime directives, with these 3 statements:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion and create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improvement of Caribbean governance to support these engines, including our own separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies. Any existence of Dignified would be found at member-states; the CU is only efficient.

The book stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be a regional pursuit. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13):

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

xxiii.  Whereas many countries in our region are dependent Overseas Territory of imperial powers, the systems of governance can be instituted on a regional and local basis, rather than requiring oversight or accountability from distant masters far removed from their subjects of administration. The Federation must facilitate success in autonomous rule by sharing tools, systems and teamwork within the geographical region.

xxiv.  Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

Reforming and transforming the Caribbean member-states means including the governing stakeholders for all Anglophone territories. Of the 18, 17 require some interaction with the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office – see Appendix below – to enact new laws; (Trinidad & Tobago is now a Republic). Imagine the challenge of this UK Commonwealth Office … now … and over the last 5 decades. They have had to manage both the “Dignified” and the “Efficient” for all the British territories in the Caribbean and watch one territory after another pursue independence.

Note: Governor Generals in the independent countries, despite the official job descriptions of representing the Head of State – The Queen – do not actually report directly to the Queen, but rather to this UK Commonwealth Office. See this functionality of the UK Commonwealth outreach in this Press Release here:

Press Release: PM to call for revitalised Commonwealth at reception ahead of 2018 Heads of Government Meeting

Posted 19 September 2017 – From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street and The Rt Hon Theresa May MP

The Prime Minister will co-host a reception for Commonwealth leaders tonight in the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York where she will set out the need for a wholesale revitalisation of the Commonwealth if it is to thrive and serve its 2.4 billion citizens into the 21st century.

She will also launch the theme for the 2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting – Towards a Common Future – and set out the four main goals for the summit, due to be held in the UK next spring:

  • prosperity: boosting intra-Commonwealth trade and investment
  • security: increasing cooperation across security challenges including global terrorism, organised crime and cyber attacks
  • fairness: promoting democracy, fundamental freedoms and good governance across the Commonwealth
  • sustainability: building the resilience of small and vulnerable states to deal with the effects of climate change and other global crises

The biggest meeting of Heads of Government the UK has ever hosted, the summit will take place in iconic venues in London and Windsor including Buckingham Palace, St James’s Palace and Windsor Castle from 16-20 April 2018. It will bring together up to 52 Commonwealth leaders, up to 52 Foreign Ministers and thousands of people from across business and civil society, representing the Commonwealth’s vibrant and diverse global network.

Also speaking at the reception will be co-host Prime Minister Muscat of Malta as the current Commonwealth chair, the Commonwealth Secretary-General, and youth representatives drawn from across the Commonwealth who will help to deliver the Commonwealth Youth Forum at next year’s summit.

In her speech, the Prime Minister will outline the need for the Commonwealth to have a clearer purpose, and be better able to address the global challenges we face. With 60% of its population under 30, she will also talk about the need for the Commonwealth to respond to the concerns and priorities of its young people.

Speaking ahead of the reception, the Prime Minister said:

    As the world changes, so must the Commonwealth if it is to rise to the new challenges that the 21st century presents. It is the responsibility of all members to ensure we are working together towards a common future that will meet the needs of all our peoples, particularly our youth. I look forward to this unique organisation coming together at next year’s Heads of Government Meeting to pursue an ambitious agenda for a more prosperous, secure, fair and sustainable future for everyone.

Source: Retrieved January 18, 2018 from: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-to-call-for-revitalised-commonwealth-at-reception-ahead-of-2018-heads-of-government-meeting

While we appreciate London’s efforts, the Caribbean is proposing its own Way Forward with the CU as part of a new regime.

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions for a Way Forward, a guide on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society. One advocacy in the book is entitled “10 Ways to Impact British Territories“; this allows for the delivery of best practices to introduce the new CU regime. London would be considered an “overseas master” for Caribbean stewardship. While the UK is one of the biggest (richest) economies in the world, British economic prosperity has not always extended to these islands. Though they do not need the CU to impact the United Kingdom – notwithstanding the Diaspora living there – there is the need for this CU treaty to impact efficiency of all the Anglophone nations and Overseas Territories.

The Go Lean/CU roadmap does not override the sovereignty of the 30 member-states. So this foregoing Dignified role continues. The CU is simply a deputized agency for delivering the apolitical efficiency of the Social Contract.

According to the Go Lean book (Page 96), the roadmap calls for the functionality of “assembling” all the regional stakeholders in the Caribbean into the Trade Federation, including the “overseas masters” during the first year of the confederation plan. We cannot just consider Europe as a singularity. No, for the United Kingdom has voted to divorce themselves from the European Union construct.

So we want to make our homeland a better place to live, work and play, and our “overseas masters” want our Caribbean nations to be elevated, all we need now is the “will and the way”. We urge all to lean-in to this roadmap for change and empowerment. 🙂

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

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Appendix – UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), commonly called the Foreign Office, is a department – [agency to exercise executive authority] – of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for protecting and promoting British interests worldwide. It was created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.

The head of the FCO is the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly abbreviated to “Foreign Secretary” (currently Boris Johnson, who took office on 13 July 2016). This is regarded as one of the four most prestigious positions in the Cabinet– the Great Offices of State – alongside those of Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary.

The FCO is managed from day to day by a civil servant, the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, who also acts as the Head of Her Majesty’s Diplomatic Service. This position is held by Sir Simon McDonald, who took office on 1 September 2015.

Source: Wikipedia Online Reference retrieved January 18, 2018 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_government_departments

 

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Appendix VIDEO – What Powers Does the Queen of England Actually Have? – https://youtu.be/wiDCwqpupj8

Today I Found Out

Published on Jul 21, 2017 – A short while ago we wrote about the fact Queen Elizabeth II needs neither a passport nor driving license thanks to a quirk of British law. But what other powers does the Queen of many titles have and what could she theoretically do if she decided to flex the full might of the authority she wields? As it turns out, thanks to the Royal Prerogative, a terrifying amount if she really felt like it, or, at least, assuming parliament went by the letter of the law and they and the people didn’t decide to stage a little revolt.

  • Category: Education
  • License: Standard YouTube License
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First Steps – Free European Money – To Start at Top

Posted on January 18, 2018 in Ethos, Government, Implementation

Go Lean Commentary

Do I look like I have a plan? – Sarcasm by ‘The Joker’, the villain advocating for anarchy in the 2008 movie Batman: The Dark Knight

Most definitely, yes we do!

Despite the reality of a regional crisis, there is a plan to stop the bad trend of Caribbean people abandoning their homeland and emigrating away to North American and European destinations. Consider these thoughts:

  1. Do you know the Golden Rule; it’s he who has the gold that makes the rules.
  2. In the best control conditions of time, temperature and pressure, people will do … as they damn well please.

This is the conundrum of forging change in Caribbean society; where do we start, the Top (leaders) or the Bottom (people)?

The book Go Lean…Caribbean – available to download for free – declares: Both!

The fact that both approaches must be engaged at the same time depicts both a Top-Down plan plus a Bottoms-Up plan. The quest is that Caribbean society must change – if it is to survive – so either and both approaches are pursued.

Yes, we can …

The book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion and create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

This commentary is the first of a 6-part series from the movement behind the book Go Lean … Caribbean in consideration of the First Steps for instituting this new regime for the Caribbean homeland. The other commentaries in the series are cataloged as follows:

  1.     First Steps: EU – Free European Money – To Start at Top
  2.     First Steps: UK – Dignified and Efficient
  3.     First Steps: US – Congressional Interstate Compacts – No Vote; No Voice
  4.     First Steps: CariCom – One-Man-One-Vote Defects
  5.     First Steps: Deputize ‘Me’!
  6.     First Steps: A Powerful C.P.U.

All of these commentaries relate to “how” the Caribbean can finally get started with adapting the organizational structures to optimize the region’s societal engines. This is the consideration of leading from the Top. This conforms with the Go Lean quest to reform and transform the Caribbean member-states so that they can be better places to live, work and play. Then, only then, can we stop the bad trend of our people emigrating away to North American and European destinations.

Where there is no vision, the people perish. – The Bible Proverbs 29:18.

In a previous Go Lean commentary, it related:

Yes, the societal defects of the Caribbean can be fixed – remediated and mitigated – but “if it is going to be, it starts with me”; it is necessary for all stakeholders to engage in the effort to turn-around the Caribbean. To forge change, the region must consider top-down and bottoms-up approaches, so we need the multitude of Caribbean people (bottoms-up) and politicians and community leaders (top-down) to lean-in to this quest to turn-around the community. Yes, it starts with “me”, as in everyone.

The people of the Caribbean are more ordinary than they are extraordinary, they just want what everyone else wants: opportunities, peace & security, good stewardship, and the fulfillment of the Social Contract (implication that people will surrender their natural rights to the State in exchange for protection of other human and civil rights).

People deserve this and demand this – they will petition their leaders, cry-and-complain, and even take to streets if necessary. But once these Social Contract deliverables are delivered, Caribbean people will do what people everywhere do: comply with any new regime. This is the plan to lead from the Bottom – demand change – this is the easy part, leading from the Top on the other hand is the mystery.

This is easier said than done…

The Go Lean book stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be a regional pursuit. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13):

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

xxiv. Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society. (One implementation is the assembly of all regional organizations and “overseas masters”: French, Dutch and British authorities, separately and in concert with the European Union).

This all sounds good, but what do “we” do next … or first, since the CU Trade Federation is not currently in force?

Accordingly, the strong urging here is to “follow the money”! There are available grants from organizations like the EU to conform, comply and “confederate as a regional entity to bring about change”. Yes, the EU provides Aid for Trade between the Caribbean and the EU. To strengthen the competitiveness of economic operators as well as the integration process of our countries in the global economy, the EU provides development cooperation in the region.

Note: The Caribbean region following the EU’s lead automatically includes the EU’s Caribbean jurisdictions: Dutch and French sovereign territories (17 lands). CARIFORUM – see below – includes 15 other nations. So these efforts are intended to be Caribbean-universal.

See a sample reference here, with excerpts from the European Union Commission website – and a related Pro-Con discussion VIDEO:

Title: European Commission Trade Policy for the Caribbean
The EU’s trade and development partnership with the Caribbean stretches back over more than 30 years. In October 2008 Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Surinam, Trinidad, Tobago, and the Dominican Republic signed with the EU the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement. Haiti signed the agreement in December 2009, but is not yet applying it pending ratification.

The agreement also comes with substantial EU aid for trade.

The purpose of the agreement is to make it easier for people and businesses from the two regions to invest in and trade with each other and thus to help Caribbean countries grow their economies and create jobs.

The EU-CARIFORUM Economic Partnership in Practice

Trade picture
The EU is CARIFORUM’s second largest trading partner, after the US. CARIFORUM runs a trade deficit with the EU. In other words, CARIFORUM countries export less in goods and services to the EU than they import from the EU.

The main exports from the Caribbean to the EU are in:

  • fuel and mining products, notably petroleum gas and oils;
  • bananas, sugar and rum;
  • minerals, notably gold, corundum, aluminium oxide and hydroxide, and iron ore products;
  • fertilisers.

The main imports into the Caribbean from the EU are in:

  • boats and ships, cars, constructions vehicles and engine parts;
  • phone equipment;
  • milk and cream;
  • spirit drinks.

EU and Caribbean
Economic Partnership Agreements set out to help African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries to improve their trade. The Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and the 15 Caribbean countries provides predictability in the market access into the EU for these countries. The agreement will lead to a general opening of the EU market beyond WTO commitments in the services sectors, including creative and entertainment industries. It ensures duty-free-quota-free market access into the EU for all products. With regard to EU exports to the region, EU exports of sensitive products will gradually be liberalised over a period of 25 years. The Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU will make it possible for CARIFORUM companies to set up a commercial presence in the EU.

The Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and the 15 Caribbean countries  is in part a free trade agreement, or FTA. And like any FTA, it opens up trade in goods between the two regions. But unlike other FTAs, the EU-Caribbean Economic Partnership Agreement goes further. In fact, it’s a wide-ranging partnership putting trade at the service of development.

That is because the agreement:

  • also opens up trade in services and investment;
  • makes it easier to do business in the Caribbean – governments there have made commitments in many areas directly affecting trade, like rules to ensure fair competition;
  • comes with financial support from the EU to help Caribbean:
    • governments implement the accord; and
    • businesses to use the EPA to export more and attract more outside investment.

In recent years CARIFORUM countries have been integrating more closely with each other. This is part of their strategy to play a fuller role in global trade, and to offer the economies of scale and simpler rules which are vital to attract more foreign investment.

The EU-Caribbean Economic Partnership Agreement helps to consolidate this process, by making it easier to export goods and services between:

  • the fourteen countries of the Caribbean Community, or CARICOM, and the Dominican Republic, which together make up CARIFORUM;
  • these fifteen CARIFORUM countries (CARICOM plus the Dominican Republic) and seventeen territories in the Caribbean with direct links to EU countries (four French ‘outermost regions’ and thirteen ‘overseas territories’ – six British, six Dutch and one French)

…
Trading with Caribbean

This can include support for building new transport, energy or telecommunications infrastructure, investments in agriculture, fisheries and services.

  • Help for exporters from developing countries
    • The EU’s Trade Helpdesk supports small traders in developing countries by helping them access the EU market, and provides information on EU rules and regulations.
    • The International Trade Center (ITC) supports several development projects across the world.
    • The ITC’s Standards Map provides information on standards, codes of conduct and audit protocols for international trade.
    • The Small Traders Capacity Building program supports developing countries in administration, training, and information on tariffs, trade flows, standards, etc.

Source: Retrieved January 16, 2018 from: http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/regions/caribbean/</a

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VIDEO – DISCUSSION | E.U – A.C.P Economic Partnership Agreement – https://youtu.be/la-ZQRfnUrY

Strong Body and Mind

Published on Jun 7, 2016 – E.U – A.C.P Economic Partnership Agreement Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) are trade and development agreements negotiated between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) partners engaged in regional economic integration processes. Take a look at the various arguments, do some research then let me know your thoughts on the subject. European Commission – Economic partnerships: http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/coun…

This foregoing reference is not just a document of talking points; it is an actual Action Plan. In fact, the Actions have already manifested in the region, as related in this previous Go Lean blog-commentary describing the EU’s sponsor of Green Energy initiatives in the country of Barbados; they gave 1.12 million Euros (US$1.37 million) towards the advancement of energy self-sufficiency from renewable resources. This is the first payment of a total contribution of 3 million Euros.

Needless to say, EU money comes with strings attached – see the foregoing VIDEO. They are leading the leaders of the Caribbean. This constitutes a Top-Down approach for forging change in society.

Top-Down and Bottoms-Up – this is the First Step! The Go Lean roadmap (Page 96) calls for this functionality – “assembling” all the regional stakeholders in the Caribbean, including the “overseas masters” – for the first year of the confederacy plan. (Since this book was published in 2013, the United Kingdom has divorced themselves from the EU).

Forging change is a common theme by this Go Lean movement. Consider these previous 10 blog-commentaries that detailed approaches for forging change, in reverse chronological order:

  1. Forging Change – Collective Bargaining (April 28, 2017)
  2. Forging Change – Addicted to Home (April 14, 2017)
  3. Forging Change – Arts & Artists (December 1, 2016)
  4. Forging Change – Panem et Circenses (November 15, 2016)
  5. Forging Change – Herd Mentality (October 11, 2016)
  6. Forging Change – ‘Something To Lose’ (November 18, 2015)
  7. Forging Change – ‘Food’ for Thought (April 29, 2015)
  8. Forging Change – Music Moves People (December 30, 2014)
  9. Forging Change – The Sales Process (December 22, 2014)
  10. Forging Change – The Fun Theory (September 9, 2014)

As related in these commentaries, forging change is how the Go Lean roadmap will make our Caribbean homeland a better place to live, work and play. We urge every Caribbean stakeholder to lean-in to this roadmap to elevate the societal engines of the region. 🙂

Download the free e-book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

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EU Assists Barbados in Renewable Energy Self-Sufficiency

Posted on January 17, 2018 in Government, Industries, Locations

Go Lean Commentary

The dream of transforming to 100% renewable energy in the Caribbean can be realized. There is hope for this reality.

If only we can get the people behind it.

Our people …

So far other people are doing it for us. Thank you, European Union (EU), for talking the talk for us, and opening your wallets and walking the walk.

If only now we can step-in, step-up and step out ourselves … to do a better job of delivering basic needs, including energy.

This is the actuality of the latest developments taking place in the Caribbean. See this story here of a Green Energy initiative in Barbados:

Title: EU Assists Barbados in renewable Energy Self-Sufficiency

PRESS RELEASE – Barbados has received 1.12 million Euros (BBD$2.7M) from the European Union towards the advancement of energy self-sufficiency from renewable resources. This is the first payment of a total contribution of 3 million Euros. This activity is in line with the country’s commitment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change of reducing its total and per capita greenhouse gas emissions.

A major objective of the EU’s support is the engagement of the private sector in renewable energy power generation and should result in consumers making increasing use of energy efficiency measures during the 36 month duration of the programme and after.

Some of the guidelines which will be used for performance assessment of the programme include the introduction of a favourable licence regime for independent power producers with generation systems larger than 1 megawatt, by March 2019. Another requirement is that by 2019 at least 30 megawatt of renewable energy will be installed by public and private entities. In addition, it is expected that there will be the establishment and implementation of a renewable energy roadmap according to defined milestones.

EU Ambassador Daniela Tramacere said: “This is another effort by the EU to assist Barbados in transforming its economy which is heavily dependent on fossil fuels, which result in annual drain on its foreign reserves.”

The Barbados government is also expected to adopt and implement energy sector reform measures that are expected to prepare the country for the transition towards renewable energy and energy efficiency on the basis of the national energy policy.
Source: St Lucia Times Daily Newspaper; posted 01/05/2018; retrieved 01/12/2018 from:
https://stluciatimes.com/2018/01/05/eu-assists-barbados-renewable-energy-self-sufficiency/

This is the reality of Caribbean life. We have deliverables that must be delivered and yet we do not. We wait for other people to deliver for us. Time to Grow Up, you people of the Caribbean! It’s time to put on your “Big Boy pants and walk like a man”!

This is the call of the movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean – available to download for free. The book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of all Caribbean society – for all 30 member-. The book explains that the Caribbean is in crisis, people are fleeing day-in and day-out. Their people are “pushed and pulled” to other lands that do a better job of managing basic needs. Energy costs in the Caribbean are among the highest in the world. Therefore the CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion and create 2.2 million jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

Notwithstanding, Barbados is doing more for regional integration and problem-solving …

… the [CARICOM] Secretary-General lauded the significant role Barbados continues to play in the Community with its Prime Minister having responsibility for the regional flagship initiative, the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). – Report

The technology, systems and processes are available right now for Caribbean communities to fulfill the dream of a society consuming renewable energy sources 100%.

We must work harder ourselves to fulfill this dream here in our region. Doing so is win-win as it accomplishes 2 important objectives: environmental (no fossil fuels) and economic (affording conveniences of modern life):

  • Solar – The sun always shines in the Caribbean and its free.
  • Wind – The wind always blows in the Caribbean – i.e. Trade Winds – and its free.
  • Tidal – The tides always rise and fall in the Caribbean and its free – see Appendix VIDEO below.

No doubt, these renewable options bring many benefits in arresting “Climate Change” – there is no scientific doubt that burning fossil fuels contribute to greenhouse houses. (The only doubt is political , not scientific). The Caribbean is in peril because of the actuality of greenhouse gases, think hurricane activities. Consider these recent blog-commentaries:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13391 After Maria: Destruction and Defection for Puerto Rico
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=12996 After Irma, Failed State Indicators: Destruction and Defection
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=12977 After Irma, Barbuda Becomes a ‘Ghost Town’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=12879 Remembering Harvey, Disaster Preparation: ‘Rinse and Repeat’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=12856 Remembering Harvey, Hurricane Flooding – ‘Who Knew?’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9334 Hurricane Categories – The Science
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6189 A Lesson in History – ‘Katrina’ is helping today’s crises
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2119 Cooling Effect – Oceans and the Climate
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1817 Caribbean grapples with intense new cycles of flooding & drought

In addition to science (meteorology), there are economic benefits as well. These too cannot be ignored. There is the example of the US City of Burlington, Vermont where they saved over $20 million in a few years by migrating to renewable energy sources. This meant their local households have not experienced energy costs increases since before the year 2009.

With economics, comes the consideration of “standard of care”. There is a reality to living in the Caribbean heat where air-conditioning is essential otherwise life is unbearable – think: Hotter than July’ – yet most people are not able to afford the excessive costs of this modern comfort.

So the environmental and economic issues must be the primary focus for any Green Energy consideration! The Go Lean book initiates with the pronouncement that our region is in crisis and struggling with these issues. The pressing needs are pronounced early in the book in the Declaration of Interdependence (Page 11), with these opening statements:

i. Whereas the earth’s climate has undeniably changed resulting in more severe tropical weather storms, it is necessary to prepare to insure the safety and security of life, property and systems of commerce in our geographical region. As nature recognizes no borders in the target of its destruction, we also must set aside border considerations in the preparation and response to these weather challenges.

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xii. Whereas the legacy in recent times in individual states may be that of ineffectual governance with no redress to higher authority, the accedence of this Federation will ensure accountability and escalation of the human and civil rights of the people for good governance, justice assurances, due process and the rule of law. …

xxiv. Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

Combating Climate Change should be important for Caribbean stakeholders. Deploying more efficient and cost-effective power generation options should also be of paramount importance in this region. But the motivation behind the Go Lean book is even bigger still; it is to elevate all of Caribbean society – above and beyond just combating Climate Change or just lowering costs.

With the unmistakable benefits of Green Energy systems, it should not matter who leads, Caribbean stakeholders or the EU, as long as the Caribbean region proceeds down this path. Well, according to the foregoing news article, the EU has stepped up. We now need all Caribbean stakeholders to lean-in to this focused effort.

The Caribbean is struggling with the costs and reality of energy. The Go Lean book related (Page 100) in 2013 that this region pays one of the highest rates in the world; averaging US$0.35 /kWh. The book, in presenting more optimized solutions, posits that the average energy costs can come down to US$0.088/kWh with just a better mix of fossil-fuels and renewables.

Other communities are doing this – lower energy costs due to 100% renewable energy – now, as the model of City of Burlington, Vermont referred to previously. If this city can get to 100% renewables, despite harsh winters for 3 months every year, imagine how much more so the Caribbean communities with their near-365 days of sunshine. Even some European communities are successful at this quest. This is en vogue right now, despite the different geographies and climates.

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society and to foster the progress in the pursuits of green energy generation.

The Caribbean energy needs are undeniable. The effects of fossil-fueled-driven Climate Change are also undeniable. The need to lower the costs of living in the Caribbean is therefore undeniable as well. The Caribbean region must therefore move forward – we do not have the luxury of standing still – alternative energy options are now vast and available. There is simply the need for the commitment. The Go Lean roadmap portrays that we must engage these alternatives if we want to make this region a better homeland to live, work and play.

The Go Lean book opened (Page 3) with the job description for the CU technocracy to make better provisions for the region’s basic needs: food, clothing, shelter and energy. There is the need now to fully embrace renewable energy options, maybe even for 100%. There are even grants – i.e. from the EU – to pursue this course of action.

We have no further excuse!

Now is the time for all of the Caribbean – the people, businesses, institutions and governments – to lean-in for the optimizations and opportunities of Green Energy options; and to lean-in to this Go Lean roadmap.

The vision of 100% renewable energy is now more than just a dream. 🙂

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

———–

Appendix VIDEO – Tidal Power 101 – https://youtu.be/VkTRcTyDSyk

Student Energy

Published on May 17, 2015 – Tidal power converts the energy from the natural rise and fall of the tides into electricity. Learn more about Tidal Power and all types of energy at www.studentenergy.org

  • Category: Education
  •  License: Standard YouTube License
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The Spoken and Unspoken on Haiti

Posted on January 16, 2018 in Ethos, Locations, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

The US President said what?! 

He – Donald J. Trump – called Haiti a “shit-hole” country while negotiating the details for an immigration reform bill with his political opponents.

This declaration spewed controversy and disgust in the US … and abroad; even here in the Caribbean. See VIDEO’s here:

VIDEO 1 – The U.S.’s complicated relationship with a country Trump called a ‘shithole – http://wapo.st/2ATEOSZ

According to the Washington Post, this is how ignorant you have to be to call Haiti a ‘shithole’.

President Trump’s defenders don’t know anything about Haiti’s history — or the United States’s. See the full article here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2018/01/12/this-is-how-ignorant-you-have-to-be-to-call-haiti-a-shithole/?utm_term=.f82e10bad3d8

———-

VIDEO 2 – CNN and Fox News hosts react to Trump’s ‘shithole’ remark – https://youtu.be/NrynNeqx48I

Published on Jan 12, 2018 – President Trump referred to African nations and Haiti as “shithole” countries on Jan. 11. Here’s how hosts on CNN and Fox News reacted. Subscribe to The Washington Post on YouTube: http://bit.ly/2qiJ4dy

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See commentary from the Caribbean Intelligentsia here posted on the regional site Caribbean News Now:

Commentary: President Trump’s ‘shithole’ comments unfortunately deserve follow up

By: Youri A Kemp

In a bi-partisan meeting with Democrat and Republican lawmakers on immigration and particularly on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) portion of the immigration reform package, in an unprecedented show of extreme ignorance and crassness, the president of the USA, Donald Trump, referred to Haiti, El Salvador and African countries as “shitholes”.

No further comment [is] necessary, but I will comment anyway. I will because the overt stupidity of such a statement, particularly a statement made in the presence of Democrat and Republican lawmakers, shows how “off the rails” and “loose with his mouth” President Trump is.

For me personally, I cry foul on such comments. As everyone should. The president, or any world leader, should not be using such language in the open and especially not disparaging other countries, no matter how he or the grouping may feel about the issue.
…

See the full commentary here: http://wp.caribbeannewsnow.com/2018/01/12/commentary-president-trumps-shithole-comments-unfortunately-deserve-follow/#comment-1747 

Source: Caribbean New Noe e-Zine; posted January 12, 2018; retrieved January 16, 2018

No wait, it wasn’t “shit-hole” that he said, it was “shit-house”.

No wait, maybe he didn’t say these at all!

Just what is spoken and what is unspoken about the disposition of Haiti in the minds of American leaders?

The Bible says:

“From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” – Luke 6:45

For people to say something like the above about a Caribbean country shows that truly, they have no regard for that country. Take away their words and study their actions (i.e. policies) and we see a consistent trend – spoken or unspoken – that there is really no regard for Haiti – and other Caribbean member-states.

The movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean – available to download for free – have said a lot about Haiti. We have told the truth, and the truth is not pretty.

Haiti is effectively a Failed-State.

Yet, still we make this statements in love – not hate; not bias; not prejudice nor blatant racism. We have also followed-up from “talking this talk” to “walking the walk” and have presented an Action Plan, a Way Forward for reforming and transforming Haiti. We have been doing this all along – since the start of these commentaries. See the previous submissions here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13916 Haiti – Beauty ‘Only a Mother Can Love’
Many women sacrifice to help Haiti create jobs and elevate their society. The Go Lean roadmap presents a model for Self-Governing Entities as a job-creating engine.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13105 Fixing Haiti – Can the Diaspora be the Answer?
Any plan that encourages people to leave their homeland and try to remember it later when they find success, double-downs on failure. We need solutions that encourage our people to prosper where planted in the homeland, like Haiti.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10336 A Lesson in History: Haiti’s Reasonable Doubt
There is the little-known history of an American occupation in Haiti in 1915. This suppressed, oppressed and repressed this island-nation further. Haiti needs to accept that America is not always its friend.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8767 A Lesson in History: Haiti 1804
Haiti has the proud legacy of being the first successful Slave Rebellion to liberate its people and start the effort of nation-building. Though Haiti became a Republic, they paid a steep price for the brazen acts of 1804.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8508 Support sought for kids left behind by UN troops in Haiti.
The UN’s efforts to help Haiti was a good intention, but there were many bad consequences. Rather than the UN, Haiti needs its neighbors to help.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7896 The Logistics of Disaster Relief
When Caribbean communities suffer from disasters – earthquakes and hurricanes – we need technocratic efficiency to manage the relief and response. The past track record is truly sad.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5695 Repenting, Forgiving and Reconciling the Past
Haiti has been on the “wrong-side” of so many atrocities, there must be a reconciliation focus to have peace with neighbors, going forward.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5462 In Search Of The Red Cross’ $500 Million In Haiti Relief.
The 2010 earthquake devastation brought-in a lot of money that somehow never made it to Haiti. This proves that Caribbean people need the maturity to manage charities ourselves.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5333 France – Haiti Legacy: Cause and Effect – Still matters today.
As finally the President of France made a proclamation of acknowledgement that the Republic of Haiti has endured a long legacy of paying a debt (in blood and finances) for the natural right of freedom.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3662 Migrant flow into US from Caribbean spikes. Haitians take to the dangerous seas in desperation to flee their homeland.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3473 Haiti to Receive $70 Million Grant to Expand Caracol Industrial Park. This is a model for Self-Governing Entities that the Go Lean roadmap stresses.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2907 Local Miami Haitian leaders protest Bahamian immigration policy.
Bad treatment of Haitians is not just limited to Americans; other Caribbean countries (the Bahamas in this case) are guilty of unfair treatment. The Go Lean strategy is to elevate the entire region, not one country over another.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2547 Miami’s Success versus Caribbean Failure
Miami is thriving now, mostly due to the contributions of the Caribbean Diaspora.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1773 Miami’s Caribbean Marketplace Re-opens. The City of Miami now celebrates their Haitian community as opposed to the initial ridicule and rejection. This appears to be standard arc – rejection => toleration => acceptance => celebration – for all new immigrants.

All of this messaging comprise the Way Forward as prescribed in the book Go Lean…Caribbean. The book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion and create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

The book stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be a regional pursuit of Caribbean people doing the work themselves for the Caribbean. This Way Forward was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13):

x. Whereas we are surrounded and allied to nations of larger proportions in land mass, populations, and treasuries, elements in their societies may have ill-intent in their pursuits, at the expense of the safety and security of our citizens. We must therefore appoint “new guards” to ensure our [own] public safety and threats against our society, both domestic and foreign. …

xii. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

xxiv. Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society, including Haiti. We urge every Caribbean stakeholder to lean-in to this roadmap.

We must do this ourselves – as a confederation, a brotherhood – rather than waiting for other people to lead us or love us. Because frankly …

They don’t!

So let’s get busy in the hard-work and heavy-lifting to make our Caribbean homeland a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the free e-book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

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Welcoming the Caribbean Intelligentsia

Posted on January 11, 2018 in Economics, Ethos, Planning, Social

Go Lean Commentary

Who knew?

    … the Caribbean has an Intelligentsia?

Well blow me away with a whisper! This fact is surprising new information for this movement behind the book Go Lean … Caribbean …

    … and we should know as we “wrote the book” on the Caribbean.

So there are college degree programs at universities in North America that cover the subject matter of “Caribbean Studies”. This would normally include the sociology, anthropology and historicity of the region; its people, traditions, culture, institutions and industries.

    Big question mark on that last one!

It’s hard to think that there may be intelligent people studying the Caribbean industrial and economic eco-system and their credentials are not scorned in academic circles.

The truth is, the Caribbean is devoid of so much smart out-workings – there are many societal defects – that it’s hard to think there is an intelligentsia for this region:

in·tel·li·gent·si·a
noun

  1. Google: intellectuals or highly educated people as a group, especially when regarded as possessing culture and political influence.
  2. Merriam-Webster: intellectuals who form an artistic, social, or political vanguard or elite.

The opening assessment in the Go Lean book explained that there is undoubtedly a Caribbean geographical region; but there is no unified Caribbean society or culture. Rather there is crisis; there are 30 disjointed, unorganized member-states rimming the Caribbean Sea that has no universal leverage, comradery nor brotherhood. Even the Bible says:

9 Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. 10 For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. 11 Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? 12 And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart. – Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12

So for any existing Caribbean intelligentsia in the status quo, it must be for English-speaking territories alone, or Dutch-speaking alone (minus Suriname), or French-speaking alone (minus Haiti), or Spanish-speaking (though there is no unity even among those 3 countries: Cuba, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico).

It is time now for a change; for the emergence of a Caribbean intelligentsia for all of the Caribbean, for all 30 member-states.

The book Go Lean…Caribbean – available to download for free – serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of all Caribbean society – for all 30 member-states in all 4 language groups. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion and create 2.2 million jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

The book stresses that Caribbean societal engines must be reformed and transformed at a regional level. This shows the need for an intelligentsia influence on Caribbean society. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13):

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xii. Whereas the legacy in recent times in individual states may be that of ineffectual governance with no redress to higher authority, the accedence of this Federation will ensure accountability and escalation of the human and civil rights of the people for good governance, justice assurances, due process and the rule of law. As such, any threats of a “failed state” status for any member state must enact emergency measures on behalf of the Federation to protect the human, civil and property rights of the citizens, residents, allies, trading partners, and visitors of the affected member state and the Federation as a whole.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

xxiv. Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

There is the need for a Caribbean Intelligentsia. This normally includes:

  • Think Tanks
  • Advisory Councils
  • Standards Organizations
  • Community Development Foundations
  • Organized Philanthropists
  • Non-Government social agencies

There have been so many expressions of intelligence-lacking practices (Stupidity, Orthodoxy and even Rent-Seeking) in Caribbean society that influence and guidance from well-educated, intelligent stakeholders need to be encouraged.

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society: economics, security and governance. Intelligence-lacking practices can be found in all these three spheres of society.

So teach away, all you colleges and universities, identified here from the online resource website CollegeBoard.org; (and learn more about the College Board in the Appendix VIDEO below):

College Search: Caribbean Studies

11 results

City University of New York: Brooklyn College

Brooklyn, NY

City University of New York: City College

New York, NY

Columbia University: School of General Studies

New York, NY

Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH

College Application Fee Waiver Available

Hofstra University

Hempstead, NY

College Application Fee Waiver Available

McGill University

Montreal, CA

Pitzer College

Claremont, CA

College Application Fee Waiver Available

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey: New Brunswick/Piscataway Campus

Piscataway, NJ

College Application Fee Waiver Available

SUNY University at Albany

Albany, NY

College Application Fee Waiver Available

University of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, PA

College Application Fee Waiver Available

University of Toronto

Toronto, CA

Source: Retrieved January 11, 2018 from: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-search?major=145_Caribbean%20Studies

So we entreat you universities … to teach your ‘Caribbean Studies’; and then lets apply the teachings – the arts and the sciences – the scientific methods and technocratic best practices.

See how the Go Lean book considers specific plans, excerpts and headlines for the objective of Fostering a Technocracy; this is found in the book on Page 64:

Fostering a Technocracy

1 Lean-in for the Caribbean Single Market
This CU treaty calls for a technocratic confederation of the Caribbean region into a Single Market of 30 member-states and 42 million people. The term technocracy was originally used to designate the application of the scientific method to solving social & economic problems, in counter distinction to the traditional political or philosophic approaches. The CU must start as a technocratic confederation – a Trade Federation – rather than evolving to this eventuality due to some Failed-State status or insolvency.
2 Economists & Engineers – not Lawyers nor Politicians

The concept of a technocracy remains mostly hypothetical, though some nations have been considered as such in the sense of being governed primarily by technical experts in various fields of governmental decision-making. A technocrat has come to mean either ‘a member of a powerful technical elite’, or ‘someone who advocates the supremacy of technical experts’. Scientists, engineers, economists, and technologists, who have knowledge, expertise, or skills, would compose the governing body, instead of politicians and businesspeople. In a technocracy, decision makers would be selected based upon how knowledgeable and skillful they are in their fields. Even the leaders of the Communist Party of China are mostly professional engineers. The Five-Year plans of the People’s Republic of China have enabled them to plan ahead in a technocratic fashion to build projects such as the National Trunk Highway System, the High-speed rail system, and the Three Gorges Dam.
3 Professional Emergency Managers

The CU treaty calls for a collective security agreement for the Caribbean member-states to prepare-respond to natural disasters, emergency incidents and assuage against systemic threats against the homeland. The CU employs the professional arts and sciences of Emergency Management to spread the costs and risks across the entire region. Outside of hurricanes or earthquakes, the emergency scope includes medical trauma, pandemic incidents and   industrial accidents (i.e. oil or chemical spills) – any scenario that can impact the continuity of the economic engines and/or community.
4 Apolitical – Loved by All
5 Model of Constitutional Monarchy
6 Constitutional Mandates – Supporting Democracy

The Nobel Prize winning Public Choice Theory posits that public stakeholders (politicians & bureaucrats), tend to act in their own self-interest. The CU, in true technocratic fashion, will codify constitutional mandates (ie. lottery/school funding).
7 Balance Budget Constraints
8 Federal Civil Service – Guarantee Fair Treatment
9 Service Level Agreements

The CU is a proxy organization, chartered to execute deputized functions on behalf of member-states; this means a task-oriented philosophy with “Service Level Agreements” in place; i.e. 80% of all phone calls answered within 20 seconds.
10 ITIL – Systematic Assurances

The formal ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) discipline is the art/science that describes processes, procedures, tasks, and checklists for managing risks associated with information technology deployments, to ensure the optimal uptime. This includes the CU’s Continuity & Availability Management, Change Control & Release Management.

The Go Lean roadmap seeks to assuage the societal defects in the Caribbean region. This means identifying, qualifying and engaging curative strategies and tactics. This is a familiar theme for this Go Lean movement; the charter of the organization is to function as an Intelligentsia Group unto itself. Consider here, some previous blog-commentaries that have highlighted organizations, best-practices and new community attitudes, all under a consistent theme of the “Role of the Intelligentsia“. See the sample of prior submissions here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13890 Role of Intelligentsia: We Need to Talk and Collaborate on Solutions
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13524 Role of Intelligentsia: Future Focused – e-Government Portal 101
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13321 Role of Intelligentsia: Making a Pluralistic Multilingual Democracy
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=12949 Role of Intelligentsia: Grow Up Already for Charity Management:
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=12621 Role of Intelligentsia: ‘If it is going to be, it starts with me’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11812 Role of Intelligentsia: Planning for Hope and Change
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11759 Role of Intelligentsia: Understand the Market, Plan the …
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11598 Role of Intelligentsia: Give us your Time, Talent and Treasuries
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11358 Role of Intelligentsia: Preparing for the Inevitable Retail Apocalypse
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10351 Role of Intelligentsia: ‘Culture Eats Strategy For Breakfast’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10166 Role of Intelligentsia: Looking Back at the Obama Years
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9428 Role of Intelligentsia: Forging Change with a Herd Mentality
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7769 Role of Intelligentsia: Being Lean – Asking the Question ‘Why’ 5 Times
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7646 Role of Intelligentsia: Going from ‘Good to Great’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6341 Role of Intelligentsia: Tourism Stewardship
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2709 Role of Intelligentsia: Caribbean Academic Study: Boy-Girl ‘Discipline’

Having educated individuals in society is good for society … and good for the individuals – see Appendix VIDEO below. These ones eventually make up the intelligentsia. If put to use this intelligentsia can be a source for good.

It was shocking and unbelievable that there is supposed to be a Caribbean Intelligentsia, individuals or groups studying the Caribbean’s past and planning the future. This can easily become the role-responsibilities of today’s students matriculating in the field of ‘Caribbean Studies’. They are out there! So let’s be shocked no more. The message to the people of the Caribbean region henceforth is that the Caribbean’s past is not necessarily condemned to be the Caribbean’s future.

Change has come! The CU will do the “heavy-lifting” to effect change, to implement agile/lean methodologies in the region, in the member-states and in the new federal agencies. Welcome to a  technocracy!

Now is the time for all Caribbean stakeholders – residents, Diaspora, businesses and institutions – to lean-in for the optimizations and empowerments described in the book Go Lean … Caribbean. Yes, we can make the region a better homeland to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation. 

———–

Appendix VIDEO – Five Ways Education Pays: Having a college degree means a richer life in every way! – https://youtu.be/spNDLD2KRuA

The College Board
Published on Nov 28, 2011 – For most students who go to college, the increase in their lifetime earnings far outweighs the costs of their education. That’s a powerful argument for college. But more income is by no means the only positive outcome students can expect. Learn about all the ways that a college degree can transform your life and lifestyle for the better!

  • Category: Education 
  • License: Standard YouTube License

 

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Haiti – Beauty ‘Only a Mother Can Love’

Posted on January 10, 2018 in Locations, Social, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

The Caribbean is among the most beautiful addresses on the planet.

Consider the tropical islands, coastal beaches, waterscapes, flora, fauna, etc.

This is true among most of the Caribbean member-states in the region …

… Haiti, not included! (Just yet! Stay tuned!)

While this country has some beautiful terrain, poverty and mis-management has sullied a lot of its natural beauty. In some places, Haiti is a land where “only a mother can love”.

Yet still, many mothers have stepped in, stepped up and are showing love to this land!

May we all be inspired by their examples. Consider the news story in this article here:

Title: These Haitian women were doing great in U.S. — and then returned to aid quake-hit nation

Croix-Des-Bouquets, Haiti — Regine Theodat had just passed the bar exam and at 25 years old was beginning a promising, if predictable, career in U.S. corporate law. She went to work, to spin class, home and to bed.

“Wake up and repeat,” she recalled. “I was very much a corporate lawyer — very strait-laced; not very adventurous.”

Then on Jan. 12, 2010, a magnitude-7.0 earthquake struck Haiti, killing hundreds of thousands of people. And the child of immigrants who left Haiti for greater opportunities did something shocking. She traded her comfortable life in Boston for the chaos of the poorest country in the Americas.

Aid groups and volunteers from around the world also poured into Haiti. Most have left. But eight years later, Theodat is still here.

She is among a small army, most of them women, who returned to Haiti and started businesses. Theodat makes food and cocktails. Another woman supplies castor oil beauty products to North American stores, including Whole Foods. Some of the others sell fruit smoothies, jewelry and chocolate.

More Haitians may soon be returning from the U.S., but not voluntarily. The Trump administration announced in November that “temporary protected status” for 59,000 Haitians will end in 2019. Many will have limited opportunities back home. VIDEO

What’s more, remittances make up almost a third of Haiti’s GDP, so for each person deported, several local people suffer. For those with education, drive and money, however, moving back is a chance to create jobs and help change practices that many believe perpetuate poverty.

Family members thought Theodat was insane for going back to a country they’d left in the 1980s.

“They said, ‘She’ll be back. The first demonstration that happens, she’ll be back. The first rocks she sees thrown, she’ll be back,’” she said. She has indeed seen a lot, but she has stayed.

Theodat spent her first year running a human rights clinic, until she found out that Haitians really wanted something else. “People kept asking me for jobs,” she said.

So she teamed up with two collaborators from her human right work, including a man she later married. They launched MyaBèl, a restaurant and cocktail bar in Croix-des-Bouquets, the hometown of Theodat’s family located northeast of Port-au-Prince.

Then they started bottling drinks and sauces in a middle-class house on a dirt side street and began a farm to supply fresh ingredients.

MyaBèl now sells products at more than a dozen Haitian supermarkets and boutiques. It employs 18 people and works with 65 farmers. This year, Theodat was nominated for an entrepreneur of the year award.

Jezila Brunis, 37, a single mother of three, makes minimum wage, about $5.50 a day, in the workshop. She’s able to send her children to school, and she likes the process of washing and chopping ingredients, feeding them into mixers and cooking them on a stove-top. “I’m always learning new things,” she said.

Even paying the minimum is a challenge because other costs — generators, fuel, imports and wear-and-tear on vehicles — are extremely high, Theodat said. Hiring and managing people is difficult because so few held jobs before, and they often fail to do basics, such as keeping kitchen doors closed, getting to work on time and finishing tasks quickly. Five out of the restaurant’s original six employees lost their jobs.

Most Haitians subsist in part on farms or work informally, so unemployment is hard to measure. But the World Bank says almost 60% of Haiti’s 11 million people live in poverty. In May, the insurance company FM Global rated Haiti the worst place to do business among 130 countries it studied.

Theodat came face-to-face with endemic corruption the first time she went to pay taxes. She was told she needed to pay someone to speed up the process. “I refused,” she said. “And then I just sat there until I was able to do it the way I was supposed to do it.” She did the same with immigration and customs.

Some of the émigrés couldn’t cut it. “They came, they tried, Haiti pummeled them, and they left,” said Isabelle Clérié, who came home to work with local entrepreneurs after studying anthropology in the U.S. “Some were able to stick it out, and through some truly big challenges.”

“One of the most valuable exports from Haiti is our brains,” she said. “It’s been really great to see these people come back.”

Unlike Theodat, Corinne Joachim Sanon long planned to start a business in Haiti. She grew up in Port-au-Prince, graduated from high school at 16 and headed to the University of Michigan to study industrial engineering. She was in Wharton’s business program when the earthquake struck, destroying her family home and killing her grandmother.

She launched Askanya, Haiti’s first bean-to-bar chocolate company, in her grandmother’s childhood home in Ouanaminthe, a town on the border with the Dominican Republic. The company works with cacao and sugar cooperatives representing more than 3,000 growers and employs 10 people full time.

One of them is Jocelyne Diomètre, 34, who had been a maid in the Dominican Republic and hated the hassle of crossing the border every day. At Askanya, she is working in her own country for the first time.

Askanya sells bars at scores of locations across Haiti and the U.S. Boosted by recognition at festivals in Seattle and Paris, Joachim Sanon is looking to expand production and double its number of growers.

MyaBèl is also growing, clearing and planting more than 30 acres of idle land. It is planning to hire local people to make machines for the workshop. Theodat said the company must increase production to meet local demand and then start exporting to the U.S., creating more jobs.

Theodat and Joachim Sanon know that returning émigrés can’t end poverty in Haiti. “I don’t think I’m going to go to bed and wake up and Haiti is going to be totally different,” Theodat said.

Refusing to take part in corruption might result in incremental change. Theodat also believes the more collaborative style of émigrés has been rubbing off on their local counterparts.

Joachim Sanon is encouraged that a Haitian company is now competing with Askanya by selling high-end chocolate bars. “Sometimes you want to see someone else succeed first before you try to put your toe in the water,” she said.

“It’s definitely changing the image of Haiti,” she said. “It creates a momentum.”

—–
Contributing: Michel Joseph. 

This story was produced in association with Round Earth Media, which trains and supports young journalists around the world.

Source: USA Today – Posted December 22, 2017; retrieved January 9, 2017 from:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/12/22/these-haitian-women-were-doing-great-u-s-and-then-returned-aid-quake-hit-nation/938639001/ 

Related: Trump administration to send Haiti earthquake victims home in 2019 – See Appendix VIDEO below.

This commentary is about Haiti’s community re-development, jobs, image and pride. Plus the “Sheroes” who are transforming the country!

This foregoing article aligns with the movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean – available to download for free. The movement double-downs on the homeland; it advocates for the Caribbean Diaspora – like the above “Sheroes” – to return to their communities and for in-country residents to not leave in the first place. While no society is perfect anywhere in the world, the Go Lean book posits that the Caribbean is easier to reform and transform. Plus the inherent beauty of the islands, coastal states, cultures and hospitality makes the heavy-lifting to transform our community worth all the effort and sacrifice.

There is no doubt that Haiti has seen a lot of dysfunction; the country flirts with Failed-State status. But change is afoot – see A Supplication for Haiti in the Appendix below – here comes that change: “New Guards”. The Go Lean book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – New Guards for all member-states. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion and create 2.2 million new jobs. One strategy is to deploy industrial campuses, work-yards and job-sites as Self-Governing Entities (SGE’s).
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines, especially on the SGE’s.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies. This allows for Self-Governing Entities independent of Haiti’s local government. Yippee!!!

The book stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be a regional pursuit. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13):

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xii.  Whereas the legacy in recent times in individual states may be that of ineffectual governance with no redress to higher authority, the accedence of this Federation will ensure accountability and escalation of the human and civil rights of the people for good governance, justice assurances, due process and the rule of law. As such, any threats of a “failed state” status for any member state must enact emergency measures on behalf of the Federation to protect the human, civil and property rights of the citizens, residents, allies, trading partners, and visitors of the affected member state and the Federation as a whole.

xiii. Whereas the legacy of dissensions in many member-states (for example: Haiti and Cuba) will require a concerted effort to integrate the exile community’s repatriation, the Federation must arrange for Reconciliation Commissions to satiate a demand for justice.

xix. Whereas our legacy in recent times is one of societal abandonment, it is imperative that incentives and encouragement be put in place to first dissuade the human flight, and then entice and welcome the return of our Diaspora back to our shores. This repatriation should be effected with the appropriate guards so as not to imperil the lives and securities of the repatriated citizens or the communities they inhabit. The right of repatriation is to be extended to any natural born citizens despite any previous naturalization to foreign sovereignties.

xxiv. Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society. One advocacy is the deployment of Self-Governing Entities – industrial sites though physically located in a member-state, like Haiti, actually administered by agencies of the CU Federation (Page 105). Another advocacy is the Reboot of Haiti. The book posits that solutions for the Caribbean must first come from the Caribbean. Therefore, the roadmap calls for a Caribbean-styled Marshall Plan. (A similar advocacy is provided for Cuba). See this definition here, from Page 238:

The Bottom Line on the Marshall Plan

By the end of World War II much of Europe was devastated. The Marshall Plan, (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP), named after the then Secretary of State and retired general George Marshall, was the American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of the war. During the four years (1948 – 1952) that the plan was operational, US $13 billion in economic and technical assistance was given to help the recovery of the European countries. The plan looked to the future, and did not focus on the destruction caused by the war.

Much more important were efforts to modernize European industrial and business practices using high-efficiency American models, reduce artificial trade barriers, and instill a sense of hope and self-reliance. By 1952 as the funding ended, the economy of every participant state had surpassed pre-war levels; for all Marshall Plan recipients, output in 1951 was at least 35% higher than in 1938. Over the next two decades, Western Europe enjoyed unprecedented growth and prosperity. Generally, economists agree that the Marshall Plan was one of the first elements of European integration, as it erased trade barriers and set up institutions to coordinate the economy on a continental level—that is, it stimulated the total political reconstruction of Western Europe.

Today, the European Union, the latest successor of the integration effort, is the world largest integrated economy.

Consider too some specific plans, excerpts and headlines for the objective of engaging the Marshall Plan concept for Haiti; this too is found in the book on Page 238, entitled:

10 Ways to Reboot Haiti

1 Lean-in for the Caribbean Single Market
This regional re-boot will allow for the unification of the region into one market, thereby creating a single economy of 30 member-states, 42 million people and a GDP of over $800 Billion. Following the model of European integration, the CU will be the representative and negotiating body for Haiti and the entire region for all trade and security issues.
2 Marshall Plan for Haiti

Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. But what they have is impassioned human capital as opposed to financial capital or valuable minerals. The CU is a total economic reboot for this country, one that involves developing internally and not thru emigration. To reboot Haiti will require a mini-Marshall Plan. The infrastructure, for the most part, is archaic compared to modern societies. The engines of the CU will enable a rapid upgrade of the infra-structure and some “low hanging fruit” for returns on the investment.
3 Leap Frog Philosophy

There is no need to move Haiti’s technology infrastructure baseline from the 1960’s, then to the 1970’s, and so on. Rather, the CU’s vision is to move Haiti to where technology is going, not coming from. This includes advanced urban planning concepts like electrified light-rail, prefab house constructions, alternative energies and e-delivery of governmental services and payment systems.
4 Repatriation and Reconciliation of the Haitian Diaspora
5 Access to Capital Markets
6 National Historic Places
7 World Heritage Sites
8 Labor, Immigration and Movement of People
The recovery plan for Haiti would discourage the emigration of the population. Haiti has a population base (10 million) that can imperil other islands if too many Haitians relocate within the Caribbean. As a result, the CU will expend the resources and facilitate the campaign to dissuade relocation for the first 10 years of the ascension of the CU [Treaty]. During these first 10 years, Haitians visiting other CU member states, with Visa’s, with careful monitoring to ensure compliance.
9 Educational Mandates

Whereas the CU educational facilitation is satisfied at the secondary level, there will be a greater need for Adult Education in Haiti. Because of the decades of poverty, illiteracy is more dire in Haiti than in other CU state. There will be no age limitation for the educational opportunities. The macro-economic principle is “every year of education raises a country’s GDP”; this will allow for easy pickings of the economic “low hanging fruit”.
10 Language Neutrality of the Union … French and Creole

According to the foregoing news article, a big concern for Haiti is the lack of jobs – the article cited a 60 percent poverty/unemployment rate. The Go Lean roadmap seeks to assuage this economic challenge by the facilitation of formal jobs and informal gigs, especially on the Self-Governing Entity job sites. Welcome to the Gig Economy …

A gig economy is an environment in which temporary positions are common and organizations contract with independent workers for short-term engagements. The trend toward a gig economy has begun. A study by financial systems company, Intuit, predicted that by 2020, 40 percent of American workers would be independent contractors. – Source

We can ride this trend in the Caribbean as well. Haiti would be perfectly suited. Consider here, how the Go Lean movement identified many opportunities and expressions of the Gig Economy in these previous blog-commentaries:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13420 Lessons on Gigs from the History of Whaling Expedition
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8262 UberEverything in Africa – Model of Gigs
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6129 Lessons Learned from US Migrant Farm Workers on Seasonal Gigs
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4145 Gigs for Eco-Tourism and World Heritage Sites
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2857 Gig Economy Model – Entrepreneurism in Junk
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2571 AirBnB Gig Economy Options Materializing
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2003 Ship-breaking – One Job/Gig Scenario
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1364 Uber Gigs Backlash Shows the Community Impact

Jobs in the Gig Economy are counted in the Go Lean roadmap as these are direct jobs; there is also the reality of indirect jobs – unrelated service and attendant functions – at a 3.75 multiplier rate would add even more to the job-creation effort.

According to the foregoing news article, there are many women in Haiti that have given a full measure to impact their communities and foster new jobs and economic activities. Such good news! How blessed they are:

The Lord gives the word; the women who announce the good news are a great host – English Standard Version

We urge all Caribbean stakeholders to lean-in to this roadmap to make the homeland a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

————

Appendix – Poem: A Supplication for Haiti!

Here’s my supplication for my brothers and sisters of Haiti:

Do not beg people to love you.
If you are successful in your begging,
it will not be love that you get, it will be pity!

Do you want to be pitied … as an individual?

Do you want to be pitied as a community; do you want to be pitied as a country?

This is most apropos on the heels of America ending her charity towards you – below. Yet, do not beg!

You do not want to be pitied by the world. You want to be honored by the world … for showing your proud heritage, as the progenitor of freedom for the New World.

Show them your pride. Show them your dignity.

————

Appendix VIDEO – US Ending Temporary Permits for Haitians – https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2017/11/21/u.s.-ending-temporary-permits-haitians/107896498/

AP Nov. 21, 2017 – The Trump administration said Monday it is ending a temporary residency permit program that has allowed almost 60,000 citizens from Haiti to live and work in the United States since a 2010. Haitian advocates quickly criticized the decision.

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Blog # 700 – We Need to Talk!

Posted on January 5, 2018 in Ethos, Social, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

Hello, to those of you who live in and/or love the Caribbean, we have to make this urgent plea:

We need to talk …

This is a familiar advocacy from the movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean – available to download for free. The book declares that the Caribbean is in crisis, and opens with this sad disposition (Page 3):

There is something wrong in the Caribbean. It is the greatest address in the world for its 4 language groups, but instead of the world “beating a path” to these doors, the people of the Caribbean have “beat down their doors” to get out. For some Caribbean countries, their population has declined or been flat for the last 3 decades. This is only possible if despite new births and the absence of war, people are fleeing. This scenario, human flight, is a constant threat to prosperity for all the Caribbean despite their colonial legacies. Our youth, the next generation, may not be inspired to participate in the future workings of their country; they may measure success only by their exodus from their Caribbean homeland.

Today is January 5, 2018, as the rest of North America dips into a deep freeze – Winter Storm Grayson – the expectation should have been that the Caribbean would be a refuge. But sadly, we have to conclude that “all is not well in the sunny Caribbean“.

No, our dire situation depicts our wonderful Caribbean cultures flirting with failure, abandonment and extinction. Consider these highlights of island communities that have had to contend with failure and extinction:

  • Sad Puerto Rico, despite American power and prosperity, this US Territory is between a “rock and a hard-place” after Hurricane Maria this past season. More and more residents are now fleeing the island on a daily basis, justifiably so.
  • There are no guarantees that communities, countries and nations will survive. Just this past year, the twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda evacuated Barbuda – it is a twin-island nation no more.
  • The Pacific island nation of Kiribati has engaged a plan to evacuate the whole country and relocate to a foreign land – in a few generations Kiribati citizenship will cease to exist.
  • A few years ago, a volcano eruption in Montserrat led to the near-evacuation – a ghost-town – of the whole island.

Once again, no guarantees exist for the future. We reap what we sow.

In order to secure a future, communities must do the heavy-lifting to reform and transform their societal engines. So to you Caribbean people, the entreaty is:

We need to talk …

We need to consider some solutions that can bring us from the precipice of extinction to forge a new future. We need to talk about the workable strategies, tactics and implementations to reach this goal.

There had been some plans in the past, that failed to launch viable solutions:

  • There was the West Indies Federation among the Anglophone Caribbean. It failed after 4 years. (At one point there was talk of integrating the British Caribbean possessions into Canada as overseas territories, much like Hawaii is to the United States).
  • There was the renewed attempt for integration with the formal Caribbean Community organization, but its failures are so evident that now there is even talk of the EU funding a study to consider CariCom’s dissolution.

No, we need to talk about a newer, better plan, a roadmap to finally elevate Caribbean communities, all Caribbean communities – all 30 member-states in the geographic region. This is the thrust of the Go Lean book …

The Go Lean book therefore serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society; this is a Way Forward for all member-states. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion and create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, with one stewardship among all Caribbean member-states despite the colonial heritage of American, British, Dutch, French or Spanish.

The book stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be a regional pursuit. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13):

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

xxiv. Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

So the Caribbean needs to talk … about our current assessments and how we can move forward. The “talk” we need to have is really collaborative problem-solving. Just how do we conduct this “talk”?

A new book by radio-journalist Celeste Headlee gives us some suggestions. See the Book Review here and an accompanying Ted Talk VIDEO that follows:

Book Title: “WE NEED TO TALK” by Celeste Headlee
Sub-title: How to Have Conversations That Matter

In this urgent and insightful book, public radio journalist Celeste Headlee shows us how to bridge what divides us–by having real conversations. (BASED ON THE TED TALK WITH OVER 10 MILLION VIEWS)

NPR’s Best Books of 2017

“We Need to Talk is an important read for a conversationally-challenged, disconnected age. Headlee is a talented, honest storyteller, and her advice has helped me become a better spouse, friend, and mother.”  (Jessica Lahey, author of New York Times bestseller The Gift of Failure)

Today most of us communicate from behind electronic screens, and studies show that Americans feel less connected and more divided than ever before. The blame for some of this disconnect can be attributed to our political landscape, but the erosion of our conversational skills as a society lies with us as individuals.

And the only way forward, says Headlee, is to start talking to each other. In We Need to Talk, she outlines the strategies that have made her a better conversationalist—and offers simple tools that can improve anyone’s communication. For example:

  • BE THERE OR GO ELSEWHERE. Human beings are incapable of multitasking, and this is especially true of tasks that involve language. Think you can type up a few emails while on a business call, or hold a conversation with your child while texting your spouse? Think again.
  • CHECK YOUR BIAS. The belief that your intelligence protects you from erroneous assumptions can end up making you more vulnerable to them. We all have blind spots that affect the way we view others. Check your bias before you judge someone else.
  • HIDE YOUR PHONE. Don’t just put down your phone, put it away. New research suggests that the mere presence of a cell phone can negatively impact the quality of a conversation.

Whether you’re struggling to communicate with your kid’s teacher at school, an employee at work, or the people you love the most — Headlee offers smart strategies that can help us all have conversations that matter.

Source: Retrieved January 4, 2018 from: https://www.amazon.com/We-Need-Talk-Conversations-Matter/dp/0062669001/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1515111400&sr=1-1&keywords=we+need+to+talk

Biography
Celeste Headlee is the host of the daily news show On Second Thought on Georgia Public Broadcasting. She has spent more than a decade with National Public Radio and has been a host for Public Radio International since 2008. Celeste has appeared on CNN, the BBC, PBS, and MSNBC. She’s also a classically trained soprano who doesn’t get enough time to sing anymore. She has one son and one rescue dog, and lives in Atlanta, Georgia. <<< Photo 2 >>>
Source: Retrieved January 4, 2018 from: https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062669001/we-need-to-talk

———–

VIDEO – 10 ways to have a better conversation | Celeste Headlee – https://youtu.be/R1vskiVDwl4

TED
Published on Mar 8, 2016 – When your job hinges on how well you talk to people, you learn a lot about how to have conversations — and that most of us don’t converse very well. Celeste Headlee has worked as a radio host for decades, and she knows the ingredients of a great conversation: Honesty, brevity, clarity and a healthy amount of listening. In this insightful talk, she shares 10 useful rules for having better conversations. “Go out, talk to people, listen to people,” she says. “And, most importantly, be prepared to be amazed.”
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more.

Find closed captions and translated subtitles in many languages at http://www.ted.com/translate

Follow TED news on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tednews

Like TED on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TED

Subscribe to our channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/TEDtalksD…

This foregoing Book Review describes this global deficiency of talking-and-listening from an American perspective. But the need for collaborative problem-solving is really location agnostic. This is because America has problems; the Caribbean has problems; the whole world has problems. We need to come together and work towards assuaging our problems, yet the only way forward, says Headlee, is to start talking to each other.

The Go Lean book provides a Way Forward, 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society.

This is Blog # 700, a major milestone within this Go Lean movement for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation. Over the years, the concept of a Way Forward for the universal Caribbean has been explored in other previous Go Lean blog-commentaries; see sample here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=12416 Conscientizing – Talking about Solutions – on the Radio
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=12274 State of the Union – Spanish Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11812 State of the Union – Hope and Change
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11544 State of the Union – Need for Collective Bargaining
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10554 State of the Union – French Caribbean Seeking Integration
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4551 State of the Union – US Territories
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4263 State of the Union – Aruba and Dutch Territories
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3956 Art and Science of Collaboration

Now is the time for all of the Caribbean – the people in all the islands and coastal states and those in the Diaspora – to lean-in for this collaborative effort, the integrated Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

We can do this. We can all talk … and collaborate and conceive solutions to our regional problems. We can make our Caribbean homeland a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the free e-book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

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Managing ‘Change’ in California

Posted on January 3, 2018 in Ethos, Government, Implementation, Social

Go Lean Commentary

This is a Big Deal …

California, the biggest state in the Union (USA) – #6 GDP if ranked as an independent country – has enacted legislation to legitimize recreational marijuana use. Wow, what a ‘change’ to manage! That’s 37 million people, millions of cars and billions of dollars. The implementation of this New Order will surely be heavy-lifting.

For the Caribbean, let’s pay more than the usual attention for lessons learned for our own Big Deal implementation. See the VIDEO on California’s challenge here:

VIDEO – California residents line up to buy recreational marijuana – https://www.today.com/video/california-residents-line-up-to-buy-recreational-marijuana-1127548995762

   

Posted January 2, 2018 – Vendors in The Golden State began selling recreational marijuana legally on Monday, a milestone moment in the push to legalize marijuana across the country. NBC’s Jacob Soboroff has the report for TODAY from Los Angeles.

Again, California is managing the ‘change’ of implementing the legalization of recreational marijuana use, while the Caribbean needs to implement a roadmap to forge change in its societal engines (economics, security and governance) for the 30 member-states of our region.

The book Go Lean…Caribbean – available to download for free – serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion and create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

The State of California is taking on the heavy-lifting of this marijuana legalization while the US federal government continues to consider the drug as illegal. But California is NOT the first state; that distinction belongs to Colorado. The movement behind the Go Lean book has explored Colorado and observed-and-reported on the societal developments there. Notice these main points from a previous blog-commentary entitled – Lessons from Colorado: Legalized Marijuana: Heavy-lifting! – from August 17, 2017:

… in 2017, the phrase “Rocky Mountain High” has a total different meaning, because the State of Colorado has since legalized recreational use of marijuana.

This is not an easy topic; this is heavy …

There are so many lessons we can learn from the debate, legalization, implementation and regulation of this product in this State. All in all, it is heavy-lifting. This is the theme of this series of commentaries of lessons that have been learned by Caribbean stakeholders visiting, observing and reporting on the US State of Colorado.

We have so much in common and so much in contrast. One commonality to consider is how Colorado is now associated with marijuana consumption. …

“Welcome to our club”! This has always been the image of Caribbean people and culture – think: Rasta Man smoking Ganja.

California … Colorado … other states to follow, according to another previous blog-commentary after the last American General Election on November 8, 2016. That submission was entitled – Time to Go: American Vices; Don’t Follow and quoted:

Marijuana legalization is now the norm for 40 percent of the American population. …
Voter measures [passed] in Massachusetts and Nevada. Maine’s referendum was still being counted early Wednesday morning, and Arizona’s was poised to lose. Three other states passed medical marijuana reforms, and a fourth appeared likely to do so. This means that in eight states (plus Washington, D.C.) weed will be legal for recreational purposes, and in sum, 28 will have some kind of legalization on the books.

There will be a lot of security and governing dynamics that these states – like California – will now have to manage, since the process will decriminalize marijuana use, after a long history of criminalization. This is a BIG DEAL considering that many people may be in a penal status – active or parole – for marijuana use or trafficking. Wow, indeed; this is a BIG transformation!

This point too, was addressed in a previous blog-commentary entitled – Marijuana in Jamaica – ‘Puff Peace’:

There are moral, religious, legal and psychological (treatment) issues associated with this topic; and there is history – good and bad. Any jurisdiction decriminalizing the use of marijuana has to contend with the previous messaging to the community of: “Just say no to drugs”.

The [Go Lean] book asserts that before the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies of a roadmap to elevate a society can be deployed, the affected society must first embrace a progressive community ethos. The book defines this “community ethos” as the fundamental character or spirit of a culture; the underlying sentiment that informs the beliefs, customs, or practices of society; dominant assumptions of a people or period. Think of the derivative term: “work ethic”.

Marijuana is a mood-altering drug; it has negative effects, one being preponderance for apathy, to tune out of any active engagement. In the US, even in the states where marijuana is legal, most firms/governments still screen staffers (new hires and veterans) and ban consumption of the drug. The reason is simple: Apathy does not make for industriousness.

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to transform the societal engines of Caribbean society, regarding the whole drug eco-system. The Go Lean book asserts that every community has bad actors, and with a more liberal-progressive attitude towards a once-illegal drug, community attitudes must be paramount. There must be “new guards” to assuage any threats from this practice on society. This point is pronounced early in the book with the Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13) that claims:

x. Whereas we are surrounded and allied to nations of larger proportions in land mass, populations, and treasuries, elements in their societies may have ill-intent in their pursuits, at the expense of the safety and security of our citizens. We must therefore appoint “new guards” to ensure our public safety and threats against our society, both domestic and foreign. The Federation must employ the latest advances and best practices of criminology and penology to assuage continuous threats against public safety. The Federation must allow for facilitations of detention for [domestic and foreign] convicted felons of federal crimes, and should over-build prisons to house trustees from other jurisdictions.

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes, including piracy and other forms of terrorism, can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

So legalizing marijuana in the BIG market of California will be about more than just managing change, it will also be about managing risks. The Go Lean book relates that managing risk is more than just “One Act”, there is lengthy, engaged process (Page 76):

  • Education
  • Mentoring
  • Monitoring
  • Mitigation
  • Licensing
  • Coordination

Let’s see how this process goes for California. While this state’s independent streak has made it a “maverick” among the other American states – see Independence Movement detailed in this previous blog – this effort with marijuana may be “biting off more than they can chew”. This is truly a BIG DEAL!

We need to pay attention, as there are parallels for California compared to the full Caribbean:

This writer, having lived in California for 10 years, can conclude that California wants the same thing that the Caribbean wants (or should want): to be an elevated society; to be a better homeland, a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

Let’s observe-and-report on these California’s developments and manifestations, their successes and failures.

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

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Baha Mar: Doubling-down on Failure

Posted on January 2, 2018 in Economics, Industries, Locations, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

“We told you it wouldn’t work.” – Previous Go Lean commentary.

Update: It hasn’t worked!

The Baha Mar Resort, Casino and Convention Center in Cable Beach, Nassau, Bahamas is now fully open – see Appendix VIDEO – and frankly empty! (See Photos below). This is the peak winter tourism season. This weather reality creates a seasonal demand for tropical resorts. Plus the excitement of a new property always generates a “buzz” … normally.

And yet, Baha Mar,  thus far has been underwhelming! (There is hope for a better disposition in the future).

The Baha Mar project has been a source of contention for many years; one drama after another: dispute during construction, missed opening, bankruptcy filing, official wine-down, changed ownership, eventual opening, litigation among the originators.

See the latest breaking news in this Baha Mar drama in the news article here:


Title: Bahamas Developer Claims Huge Chinese Fraud at $3.9 Billion Resort
By: Bob Van Voris

China Construction America Inc. was accused in a lawsuit of ripping off the original developer of the long-delayed $3.9 billion Baha Mar resort in the Bahamas by submitting fraudulent bills and collecting undeserved fees.

BML Properties Ltd., led by wealthy Bahamas businessman Sarkis Izmirlian, sued CCA Tuesday claiming the state-owned Chinese contractor pulled off a “massive fraud” to enrich itself at BML’s expense, leading to the collapse of the project in 2015. Delays in the construction of the biggest and most expensive resort to be built in the Caribbean have been a drag on the Bahamian economy in recent years.

BML claims that CCA submitted hundreds of millions of dollars in fake bills, understaffed the project and used it as a training ground for inexperienced workers. CCA knew it wouldn’t be able to meet the planned December 2014 deadline to open the resort but created the appearance that it would, in order to remain on the project and collect undeserved fees, BML claims. BML is seeking at least $2.25 billion in damages.

CCA didn’t respond to phone messages and an email seeking comment on the suit.

BML filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware in 2015. A U.S. bankruptcy judge dismissed the case in favor of a Bahamian court.

Baha Mar, which opened in April, is now owned by Hong Kong-based, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Ltd. The development features more than 2,300 rooms, 40 restaurants and lounges, a convention center, a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course, shopping and the biggest casino in the Caribbean, according to Baha Mar’s website.

BML outlined its claims in a 259-page complaint filed in state court in Manhattan.

The case is BML Properties Ltd. v. China Construction America Inc., 657550/2017, New York State Supreme Court, New York County (Manhattan).

Source: Bloomberg Business News Source – Posted December 26, 2017; retrieved December 30, 2017 from: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-26/baha-mar-developer-claims-to-be-victim-of-massive-china-fraud

All of this drama for a business model designed for … failure.

The Baha Mar Resort on Cable Beach features casino gambling and golf, two amenities that are failing more and more.

Casino
In a previous commentary, the business disposition of casino gambling was explored:

Increasingly in the casino/gaming industries, the money is not there. …

Despite the fact that the “house” always wins, the number of gamblers have declined! It is what it is!

  • 87% of Baby-Boomers gamble when visiting Las Vegas
  • 78% of Generation X-ers gamble when visiting Las Vegas
  • 63% of Millenials gamble when visiting Las Vegas

Golf
In a previous commentary, the business disposition of the sport of golf was explored:

“The games people play” … have relevance for our consideration. Golf is one of those games. But golf is more than just a game, it is an eco-system; but this eco-system is in peril.

    “The financial bubble burst and the Tiger bubble burst as well”.
    “Even as the economy recovered, golf is still in a nose dive”.
    “Your house is on fire”.

These (above) are among the key phrases from the narration of … [an] HBO Real Sports documentary story …

This topic of the Baha Mar Resort is very important in the consideration of Caribbean economics, as casino gambling and golf has often been associated with Caribbean tourism.

The foregoing news article about Baha Mar aligns with the book Go Lean…Caribbean, which calls for the elevation of Caribbean economics. This book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU) to better manage economic opportunities in the full Caribbean region. This is a Big Deal for the Go Lean roadmap to foster the diversification of the regional economy. Frankly, a $3.9 Billion investment should be able to generate better returns (job creation) than the Baha Mar fiasco has demonstrated. This hope for better tourism and economic diversification was identified early in the Go Lean book (Pages 11 – 14) in the following pronouncements in the Declaration of Interdependence:

iv. Whereas the natural formation of the landmass is in a tropical region, the flora and fauna allows for an inherent beauty that is enviable to peoples near and far, the structures must be strenuously guarded to protect and promote sustainable systems of commerce paramount to this reality.

vi. Whereas the finite nature of the landmass of our lands limits the populations and markets of commerce, by extending the bonds of brotherhood to our geographic neighbors allows for extended opportunities and better execution of the kinetics of our economies through trade. This regional focus must foster and promote diverse economic stimuli.

xxiv. Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

xxvi. Whereas the Caribbean region must have new jobs to empower the engines of the economy and create the income sources for prosperity, and encourage the next generation to forge their dreams right at home, the Federation must therefore foster the development of new industries, like that of ship-building, automobile manufacturing, prefabricated housing, frozen foods, pipelines, call centers, and the prison industrial complex. In addition, the Federation must invigorate the enterprises related to existing industries like tourism, fisheries and lotteries – impacting the region with more jobs.

The Go Lean book posits that there is a need to re-boot and optimize the engines of commerce so as to make the Caribbean a better place to live, work and play. The tourism product, the mainstay of Caribbean economy, used to depend on certain amenities (i.e. Casinos and Golf) that have now come under attack by the social and demographic changes. It so appears that the future for Caribbean economics cannot lazily depend on factors like “sun, sand, surf and smiles”, no, there must be intelligent business models.

This is a changed world and changed marketplace. Likewise, our economic engines must change to keep pace … and get ahead!

The Go Lean book presents a Way Forward.

Way Forward
The Go Lean/CU roadmap seeks to elevate all of Caribbean society to remain competitive and consequential in the future. This is the heavy-lifting of shepherding a progressive region of 42 million people, 10 million Diaspora, 80 million tourists, and 4 language groups across 30 member-states. The CU’s charter is to effectuate progress in this region with these 3 prime directives:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion and create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines and marshal against economic crimes.
  • Improvement of Caribbean governance to support these above engines, including a separation-of-powers between CU federal administrations and local member-states.

The Way Forward / Go Lean roadmap includes the quest to create the jobs for the near-future. There is the plan to monitor, manage, and plan for new jobs. The roadmap provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society.

As a region, we have failed to keep pace of change. As related in that previous blog-commentary …

… our society is now in desperate need of reform and to reboot to insulate from many demographic changes. On the one hand, we must diversify our economy and avail other high job-multiplier industries, away from tourism, but on the other hand, we must double-down in the tourism product, as the economic principles of “supply and demand” just cannot be ignored. (During the winter months, our Caribbean destinations are the “best addresses on the planet”.)

The Go Lean/CU roadmap calls for fostering industrial developments to aid economic diversification and to aid tourism. This includes incorporating best practices and quality assurances to deliver the “best experience in the world” for our visitors and trading partners.

This commentary has previously related details of the changing macro-economic factors in the world and how despite the dynamic conditions, jobs can be created. The following are samples of previous Go Lean blog-commentaries:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13700 Increasing Tourism Market Share
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13420 A Lesson in Whaling History – Expeditions for Shipyard Jobs
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13184 A Series on Industrial Reboots
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=12668 Common Sense of Eco-Tourism
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8590 Build It and They Will Come – Politics of Infrastructure
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7977 Transformations: Perfecting Our Core Competence – i.e. Tourism
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6341 Doing Better with Tourism Stewardship
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6089 Need Better Jobs Than ‘Minimum Wage’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4037 How to Train Your ‘Dragons’ or Direct Foreign Investors
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2857 Where the Jobs Are – Example: Entrepreneurism in Junk
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2126 Where the Jobs Are – Computers Reshaping Global Job Market
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2003 Where the Jobs Are – One Scenario (Ship-breaking)

So this commentary advocates not doubling-down on bad trends that just “soak up” investments and produce very little return. We must be better and do better. We need to double-down on improving our tourism products and diversifying our economy away from tourism.

Yes, we can! We can do the heavy-lifting (hard-work and smart-work) to make our homeland a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the free e-book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

———–

Appendix VIDEO – Baha Mar: The Las Vegas of the Caribbean – https://youtu.be/T7lGljlr01M

Caribbean Journal

Published on Aug 6, 2017 – The long-awaited Baha Mar resort project is finally here, and Caribbean Journal got an exclusive first look. So what’s it like? Well, it’s a unique, impressive project: a Las Vegas in the heart of the Caribbean.

Music: “Consortium of Cold Cool” by Craig Riley Listen ad-free with YouTube Red

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2017 Review – Mr. Trump shows the ‘Wrong Way’

Posted on December 21, 2017 in Government, Social, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

The year 2017 is coming to a close. This was the first year of the federal administration of the 45th President of the United States, the non-politician, billionaire real estate developer Donald J. Trump. In retrospect, it has been a “year of Biblical proportions”, one to lament. While we thought 2016 was bad, and it was, its “wow oh wow” for 2017 …

… if the summary of 2017 was named after one of the 66 books of the Bible, it would not be Revelations, nor Exodus. No, it would be:

Lamentations
The Bible book of Lamentations reveals how God viewed the ancient City of Jerusalem and the land of Judah after their enemy, the Kingdom of Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar, burned the city and laid the land desolate in the year 607 BC. The expressions of acknowledgment of sin recorded therein make it clear that from God’s standpoint, the reason for the calamity was the error of the people. – Source.

We can now look back and lament the happenings of 2017.

While this year 2017 has been a cliffhanger, it has been perfect for the stewards of a new Caribbean. The new President – Donald Trump – proved the “perfect example of what NOT to do” to elevate society – economics, security and governing engines. Yet, this is the country that so many Caribbean people have fled to. We can learn a lot from America’s accomplishments, and even more from their failures. See the satirical recaps in these VIDEO’s, here and the Appendix. 🙂

We can now look back, lament and laugh at the happenings of 2017, see here:

VIDEO – Stephen’s Greetings: 2017 Late Show Year In Review – https://youtu.be/E9VkweYGTwU


The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Published on Dec 4, 2017 – 2017 was rough for a lot of people, but here’s proof that it wasn’t a total wash. See some of Stephen Colbert’s best moments from The Late Show this year.

Subscribe To “The Late Show” Channel HERE: http://bit.ly/ColbertYouTube

For more content from “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”, click HERE: http://bit.ly/1AKISnR 

This commentary is presented by the movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean. The movement – book and accompanying blog-commentaries – relates that the United States of America should be lamented and not considered a refuge for the people of the Caribbean – the “grass is not greener on the other side”. The book laments the fact that despite residing in the best address on the planet, many of our people “beat down their doors” to get out (Page 3), and emigrate to the US and other countries.

Why do people leave such an idyllic place? The book identifies a series of reasons, classified as “push and pull” factors:

“Pull”, on the one hand refers to the lure of a more prosperous life abroad; many times our people are emigrating for economics solely.

“Push” refers to people who feel compelled to leave, to seek refuge in a foreign land. “Refuge” is an appropriate word; because of societal defects, many from the Caribbean must leave as refugees – think LGBT, Disability, Domestic-abuse, Medically-challenged – for their life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.

Surely, fleeing to the US must be likened to “jumping out of the frying pan into the fire”. Remember, this country was not built for the Caribbean’s Black-and-Brown. They continue to experience racial discriminations, despite a recent Black President.

Here are some snippets from this 2017 Caribbean Yearbook against the backdrop of Trump’s exhortations; (this is just a sample in chronological order – from January 2017 to today):

Religious Intolerance – Trump banned travel from 6 Muslim countries

Fostering Discord – California wants out!  They have started a petition to secede from Tump’s America

Collaboration Flaws – Disinterest in Others  (Non-Americans) – Trumps yawns at the Caribbean’s priorities

Disparaging Messaging to Tourists/Visitors – Arrivals and Revenues down from some countries

Rejection of Evidence – Climate Change Denial – Paris Accords Withdrawal

Climate of Hate fostered by Trump – White Supremacists / Disdain of Immigrants

America First – Prioritization as World Leader downplayed – Other countries lose respect

Supply-side Economics Failures manifested in Kansas

Selective Law-and-Order Enforcement – Under Trump, Civil Rights cases downplayed

Claim to Ignorance on Natural Disasters – Who Knew?

Disdain of Female Empowerment – Female dissidents “diss-ed” by Trump; think Hillary, Pocahontas, etc.

Hurricane Response and Competence – Puerto Rico versus Texas – Black-and-Brown gets less

Societal Defects of Gun Culture – Trumps calls Black-and-Brown Shooters Terrorist, but silent on Whites

Aversion to Trade Agreements – Trump undermined TPP, NAFTA and others

Trump’s Compassion Exhaustion – Ending ‘Temporary Protection Status’ to Haitian Refugees

Sexual Harassment Complicity – Trump’s accusers re-emerged

Take from the Poor; Give to the Rich – Trump’s Tax Reform law

Surely, it is the conclusion of most people that 2017 has proven that America is not working for Caribbean priorities …

… they are not even working for their own priorities, as the country under Trump seems more and more divided with the President only supported by 33 percent of the people, the other 67% are outraged – see VIDEO in the Appendix below – i.e. the majority of the population are middle class, yet yesterday’s passage of the Tax Reform bill only benefits the rich.

Proudly, we say that for our societal elevation efforts, the quest of the Go Lean … Caribbean movement: we do not want to be America, we want to be better.

The Go Lean book – available for free download – does not only complain or lament America, but also prescribes a Way Forward for the Caribbean:

Way Forward – an action, plan etc. that seems a good idea because it is likely to lead to success; i.e.:

  • A way forward lies in developing more economic links.
  • This treatment may be the way forward for many inherited disorders.

Source: Retrieved December 22, 2016 from: http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/a-the-way-forward

The Go Lean book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

This Go Lean movement (book and accompanying blogs) does not look to President Donald Trump to lead for the Caribbean; we look to lead ourselves. To our chagrin, so many of our citizens have previously fled the homeland for American shores. But now …

… we want them back!

The Go Lean book does not ignore these “push and pull” factors that cause our Caribbean people to leave in the first place. No, the book stresses (early at Page 13) the need to be on-guard for “push” factors in these Declaration of Interdependence statements:

xix. Whereas our legacy in recent times is one of societal abandonment, it is imperative that incentives and encouragement be put in place to first dissuade the human flight, and then entice and welcome the return of our Diaspora back to our shores. This repatriation should be effected with the appropriate guards so as not to imperil the lives and securities of the repatriated citizens or the communities they inhabit. The right of repatriation is to be extended to any natural born citizens despite any previous naturalization to foreign sovereignties.

xxi. Whereas the preparation of our labor force can foster opportunities and dictate economic progress for current and future generations, the Federation must ensure that educational and job training opportunities are fully optimized for all residents of all member-states, with no partiality towards any gender or ethnic group. The Federation must recognize and facilitate excellence in many different fields of endeavor, including sciences, languages, arts, music and sports. This responsibility should be executed without incurring the risks of further human flight, as has been the past history.

xxvi. Whereas the Caribbean region must have new jobs to empower the engines of the economy and create the income sources for prosperity, and encourage the next generation to forge their dreams right at home, the Federation must therefore foster the development of new industries, like that of ship-building, automobile manufacturing, prefabricated housing, frozen foods, pipelines, call centers, and the prison industrial complex. In addition, the Federation must invigorate the enterprises related to existing industries like tourism, fisheries and lotteries – impacting the region with more jobs.

For the Caribbean, we must succeed in our Way Forward / Go Lean roadmap, so as to dissuade our own people from giving up and abandoning their native homelands. While no society is perfect nor fully-optimized, some countries have been better than others; notwithstanding the US under Donald Trump. Many countries in North America and Western Europe have become lands of refuge for our Caribbean Diaspora.

Surely, we can do better in lowering the Push and Pull factors now. We should be able to dissuade Caribbean people from the lamentable decision of going to Trump’s America.

Yes, we can …

… if we do the heavy-lifting to convince all Caribbean stakeholders to lean-in to this Go Lean roadmap, then truly we can make our region better places to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

—————

Appendix VIDEO – The Politics of Branding, Meeting Obama & Trump’s First Year: The Daily Show – https://youtu.be/bjKr2ltVKII

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah

Published on Dec 18, 2017

Trevor Noah explains why Republicans are better than Democrats at political branding, talks about meeting Barack Obama and reflects on the first year of the Trump administration.

Watch full episodes of The Daily Show for free: http://www.cc.com/shows/the-daily-sho…

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah airs weeknights at 11/10c on Comedy Central.

  • Category: Comedy 
  • License: Standard YouTube License

 

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