Category: Locations

Way Forward – Jamaica: Must reconcile the Past

Posted on April 9, 2019 in Ethos, Locations, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

“Sometimes we have to reach back to the past before we can launch forward into the future.”

We have all heard this “slingshot analogy” in different variations; like this one:

We have to know where we came from in order to know where we are going.

Any similar theme rings true!

Even in God’s word the Bible, the concept is presented that while a man reaps what he sows, he can be punished for the sins of his father – Exodus 34:7 – because chances are very great that he will commit the same infractions, as his father did; (and see Appendix VIDEO below):

An apple does not fall far from the tree

We are a product of our environment

Our nurture can override our nature

This is a consideration for Jamaica … and how this community can foster a Way Forward, away from its near-Failed-State status quo to a different destination of a prosperous homeland.

This commentary asserts that Jamaica must first reconcile its bad past before it can have a good future.

Why? Because of this premise here:

“If an empire is destroyed by its enemies, it will rise up again.
But if destroyed internally, it will be gone forever”. – Source.

This is the historicity of Jamaica and the sullied past that must be reconciled. This refers to the original plan for integration for the British Caribbean, the West Indies Federation.

Jamaica used to be a colony of the British Empire (United Kingdom); the quest for independence and autonomy was set forth as a long journey; the planners for stewardship of the British Caribbean conceived this West Indies Federation for 10 British territories to have the scale and leverage to be effective and efficient for regional economics, security and governance.

There was a West Indies Dollar, West Indies Regiment (today’s Jamaica Defense Force), University of the West Indies, and the West Indies Cricket Federation just to name a few of the institutions that were formed for this integration purpose – some remain today. But this Federation only lasted 4 years (1958 – 1962). This entity was not destroyed by its enemies, rather it was destroyed internally, by its own people, starting first and foremost with Jamaica. The 2013 book Go Lean … Caribbean – a roadmap for a new integration movement: Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU) – related this historic summary:

Jamaican Dynamic Appendix (Page 302)
Jamaica’s nationalistic ideals doomed the Federation; they were the largest population base and felt trivialized by the Federation. They believed that the smaller islands were draining Jamaica’s wealth; their share of the seats in the federal parliament was smaller than its share of the total Federation population. Jamaica was also remote to most of the other islands in the Federation, lying several hundred miles to the west. And many in Jamaica were upset that Kingston had not been chosen as the federal capital.

10 Lessons Learned from the West Indies Federation – #3: Jamaican Dynamic (Page 135)
Among the Caribbean nations, Haiti is highest on the 2012 Failed State Index (#7), Jamaica is among the next set of Caribbean countries at #119, just slightly behind South Africa (#115) and Albania (#118). Obviously, the nation-building needs of Jamaica has been truncated, plus the country’s brain drain is worst in the region with almost a matching population living abroad in a Diaspora as opposed to residing in and contributing to the local economy. The CU will ensure better representation of larger populated states by employing a bicameral legislative branch: while the Senate is “one-man-one-vote” (2 Senators per state), the lower house has balanced representation based on population.

Geographically, Jamaica is not the furthest west (Belize), nor south (Aruba) in the region. The Capitol for the CU is slated for a Federal District on the border of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. …

The Way Forward for Jamaica is that this country must now reconcile their bad behavior in the “regional sandbox” and learn how to play nice with others. Only then can the benefits of collaboration, cooperation and confederation come home … finally.

Only then can this country have a good future. (Since 1962, Jamaica has played in the “sandbox” alone, to its own peril). This theme – this Way Forward – aligns with previous commentaries from the Go Lean movement; see this sample list here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=16408 Bad Community Ethos on Violence; Start at Home, spills out to Streets
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=15521 Caribbean Unity? What a Joke – Tourism Missteps in Jamaica et al
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14242 Money Matters – Jamaicans follow the jobs, right out of the country
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13040 Jamaican Diaspora – Not the ‘Panacea’; Rather need Region Partners
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4840 Jamaican Poll: ‘Bring back the British!’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=313 What’s Holding Back Jamaica’s Reforms? – They must reboot!

Jamaica needs to reach back into their past, learn what it was that they did wrong – their fathers did wrong (see Appendix VIDEO below) – accept the learned-lessons, turn a new leaf and then march forward into the future with a determination and devotion to think, feel and act differently and better. This sounds so much like the Serenity Prayer that Alcoholics and Addicts are urged to enchant everyday:

Lord, give me the courage to change the things I can change
The serenity to accept the things I cannot change
And the wisdom to know the difference.

Today, this Way Forward is the courage, serenity and wisdom at work for Jamaica.

This commentary continues this recent series for the Way Forward for many other Caribbean member-states. Just recently, we completed a 3-part series categorized as follows:

  1. Way Forward: Puerto Rico learns its “status” with America
  2. Way Forward: Virgin Islands – America’s youngest colony
  3. Way Forward: Bahamas – “Solutions White Paper” – An Inadequate Plan
    ——–
  4. Way Forward: Jamaica: The need to reconcile the Past

This entire series asserts that “no man is an island” and that in fact “no island is an island”. Jamaica have always needed to collaborate and confederate with its regional neighbors. Their failure to do so, only imperiled their economic, security and governmental engines. Then their people fled; they left and joined communities abroad where the needed integration, cooperation and harmony existed.

This must now be reconciled. The stakeholders in Jamaica and from Jamaica are hereby urged to lean-in to this integration plan, this Go Lean roadmap, to make Jamaica a better homeland to live, work and play. Finally …

🙂

About the Book
The book Go Lean…Caribbean 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 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.

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

Who We Are
The movement behind the Go Lean book – a non-partisan, apolitical, religiously-neutral Community Development Foundation chartered for the purpose of empowering and re-booting economic engines – 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.

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

—————–

Appendix VIDEO – Does God Punish Children for the Sins of Their Parents? – https://youtu.be/C3OGrGAxqGE

Dr. Sean McDowell
Published on Oct 31, 2018 –  Does God hold children accountable for when their parents do bad things? Is culpability for sin passed on from one generation to the next? Sean briefly answers these questions.

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Way Forward – Common ‘Solutions’ for the Bahamas – An Inadequate Plan

Posted on April 5, 2019 in Ethos, Locations, Social, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

Flash back to 1958 …

The planners for stewardship of the British Caribbean conceived the West Indies Federation, and they left-off, left-out …

… the Bahamas. – (See Appendix B below).

Wow! This country was reported to have a population between 88,000 (1955) and 113,000 (1960) and yet the planners made no provision for their Way Forward. They assumed that their fate would be tied to the neighboring United States of America.

So while the instincts and wisdom of these planners were that the common lands of the British Caribbean needed to integrate to deploy common solutions, these ones felt that the poor Bahamas could just be satisfied with a Way Forward of being “parasites” of a larger more prosperous host, the USA.

The more things changed, the more they have remained the same!

In the 60 years since, the Bahamas has made progress; sometimes 2 steps forward, 1 step back; sometimes 1 step forward, 2 steps back. All the governmental developments in those 60 years (i.e.: women’s suffrage, majority rule populist party, independence, opposition party emergence, flip-flop of power between parties, etc.) have only resulted in a realignment of the stakeholders within the same regime – like “reshuffling the decks on the Titanic”. The “parasite” status remains.

Thusly, there is the need for a Way Forward for this country, for the Bahamas. A call had gone out for such a Way Forward plan; one that finally considers integration with its neighbors and strategic alliances and partnerships.

The call has been heeded. One national commentator composed and published a White Paper to address this quest for a Way Forward. This publication identified some viable solutions, but still under the overall strategy of being tied to the American hegemony – depending on American trade and security. That White Paper – see the full publication here – is presented with these following 5 parts:

White Paper Title: A Nation in Chaos – The Solution Series – EXCERPT
By: Stephen McQueen

Part 1: Scope of The Problem

Part 2: Simple but Multifaceted

Part 3: The Re-education Process

Part 4: Self-Economic Empowerment

Part 5: The Need for Strategic Alliances

    … those that have a common enemy might well find that they also have shared interests and can therefore be of benefit to each other in a common cause. Therein lies the concept of being allies.

    For small island nations like The Bahamas, one wonders for what common cause if any should we ally ourselves with other nations? And, do we not already have allies in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM), The Commonwealth, the United Nations (UN) and the Organization of American States (OAS)? Notwithstanding the fact that I am largely unaware of the benefits of being involved with the above-mentioned communities, as a lay person, it appears that we may not be deriving the kind of benefit that The Bahamas truly needs for economic protection from much larger and far more economically and otherwise powerful nations. The UN provides peace-keeping forces, CARICOM is an economic body for the Caribbean, and the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) is a regional agreement signed on by some Caribbean nations and is intended to strengthen member states’ economic power and stability. Dr. Christopher Curry of the University of The Bahamas believes that CSME will strengthen The Bahamas’ hand against the WTO. (Curry, 2019)

    Isn’t it time that we as a people look within and collectively raise ourselves to a better standing upon the world’s stage?
    …
    The position of “First World” nations toward small island nations like The Bahamas and the Caribbean wreaks of containment – a philosophy designed and intentionally carried out to prevent the growth, development and advancement of developing nations even after we have been pillaged for hundreds of years. According to Curry, “First, Second, Third World are social constructs devised by global north states to designate other states in a subordinate role to the ‘more advanced states’.” (Curry, 2019) It is a philosophy intended to prevent our nations from becoming global leaders and masters of our own destinies by subjugating our nations to rules designed for and by “First World” nations for their greater benefit and the furtherance of their economies. For instance, and without any justification, and merely because it had the wherewithal so to do, “the Netherlands adds Bahamas to Tax Havens blacklist.” (Robards, 2019)

See the full White Paper here: https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=17118

This published plan, despite the best intentions, is inadequate!

The Bahamas needs more! See the Appendix VIDEO below depicting the current economic outlook from an external viewpoint.

It turns out that the Bahamas wants more than just a “parasite” status with the US; they want to be considered protégés. After 60 years of an ever-increasing brain-drain, in which the country has sat idle and watched 61 percent of its tertiary-educated citizens abandoned the homeland for life in the Diaspora abroad – mostly to the US homeland. This country now wants to be a homeland where its citizens can prosper where planted.

Is there a Way Forward for that?!

Way Forward
This commentary continues the consideration on the Way Forward – this one just for the Bahamas – for the rest of the Caribbean region. This member-state is in dire straits, near-Failed-State status with Push-and-Pull factors pressuring the youth to seek refuge elsewhere. Yet, the movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean asserts that this crisis can be useful as an excuse to forge change in the Bahamian homeland. It is high time to reform and transform the Bahamas.

This is entry 3-of-3 for this April 2019 series of commentaries related to the Way Forward for Caribbean member-states. The full series is presented as follows:

  1. Way Forward: Puerto Rico learns its “status” with America
  2. Way Forward: Virgin Islands – America’s youngest colony
  3. Way Forward: “Solutions White Paper” – An Inadequate Plan for the Bahamas

While this series posits that “no man is an island”, this entry doubles down on the assertion that “no island is an island” either; that the Bahamas and all the tropical islands and coastal states of the political Caribbean need to come together, collaborate, cooperate, convene, and confederate for a better stewardship for their full homelands.

There is no longer any excusing, rationalizing or minimizing the reality of the Bahamian plight. One of their communities, the 2nd city of Freeport, has already been identified as falling into a Ghost Town status. A Way Forward for that city alone has already been published by this movement behind the Go Lean book. Consider this excerpt:

Excerpt from: Blog # 400 – A Vision of Freeport as a Self-Governing Entity

Freeport is beautiful! “It has great potential” …

… unfortunately, this has been the descriptor for over 60 years: “Great Potential”. In actuality, this town is the epitome of a failing community as it has been “rocked” by one crisis after another: hurricanes, financial crisis, abandonment by Direct Foreign Investors, abandonment by residents, and the eventual manifestation of deficient planning; bringing the age-old lesson to the fore: “when you fail to plan, you plan to fail”.

The complaint there of the everyday man, everyday, is that the oversight of the city’s affairs by the central government in Nassau is deficient, flawed and shortsighted for Freeport. The critics are demanding a referendum to consider different secession options from Nassau. But the options being considered are not “all of nothing from Nassau”, but rather, Freeport is seeking some degree of autonomy and then becoming a Self-Governing Entity (SGE) … .

There is a lot of history associated with the issues of SGE’s and Freeport.

The closest, most successful SGE is in the Orlando, Florida area: Walt Disney World Resort. This resort is administered as a SGE, empowered by the Reedy Creek Improvement District, a special government district created in 1965 that essentially gave the Walt Disney Company the standard powers and autonomy of an incorporated city. Today, the resort hosts 52.5 million visitors as the most popular vacation destination in the world. But early in the site selection process (1959), Walt Disney’s team toured Freeport for consideration for his planned resort[a]. Today tourism is the primary economic driver for Freeport, but declining, with only less than 280,000[b] annual visitors. (Freeport’s economic history has been likened to the Concorde Supersonic jet airplane; considered advanced for a time and then … the cutting-edge had an expiration date, so it became stagnant and stale in its appeal).

It is time now for empowerments like this in all of the Bahamas, and all of the Caribbean! It is time now to build a foundation on the unified society that was once envisioned for the British West Indies. But now we have the hindsight to realize that we need to go even deeper for a more sound foundation. We need and want all of the West Indies: American, British, Dutch, French and Spanish. We want such a firmer foundation. We want:

Bedrock, Baby!

Yes, we can. These strategies, tactics and implementations proposed here in the Go Lean roadmap are conceivable, believable and achievable. We must do this now! We must make our homeland a better place to live, work and play.

We encourage everyone in the Bahamas in particular and the Caribbean in general to lean-in for this Go Lean roadmap.  🙂

About the Book
The book Go Lean…Caribbean 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 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.

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

Who We Are
The movement behind the Go Lean book – a non-partisan, apolitical, religiously-neutral Community Development Foundation chartered for the purpose of empowering and re-booting economic engines – 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.

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

————–

Appendix A VIDEO – Discussing The Bahamian Economy – https://youtu.be/Hx0XPWYp0zQ

World Investment News
Published on Jul 19, 2016 – World Investment News Editor-in-Chief Stan Aron and Project Director Simone Goldsmith discuss the different facets and the potential of the economy of The Bahamas, published in the 2016 July and August edition of Harvard Business Review.

World Investment News Online sites:
https://twitter.com/WINNENews
https://www.facebook.com/worldinvestm… 
https://www.linkedin.com/company/worl…

———–
MORE: See an additional VIDEO here on the Bahamas economic landscape – Financial Sector:
Chapter 1: What will drive growth in the Bahamas? – https://youtu.be/do4VmKgA10c

————–

Appendix B – 10 Territories in the British West Indies – Go Lean Book (Page 301)

West Indies Federation Population Distribution as of 1958
Province Capital Population Area (km²) Pop. %
Antigua and Barbuda St. John’s 57,000 440 1.75%
Barbados Bridgetown 234,000 431 7.17%
Cayman Islands (attached to Jamaica) George Town 9,000 264 0.28%
Dominica Roseau 61,000 750 1.87%
Grenada St. George’s 91,000 344 2.79%
Jamaica Kingston 1,660,000 10,991 50.85%
Montserrat Plymouth 13,000 102 0.40%
Saint Christopher (St. Kitts) – Nevis – Anguilla Basseterre 55,600 351 1.70%
Saint Lucia Castries 95,000 616 2.91%
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Kingstown 83,000 389 2.54%
Trinidad and Tobago Port-of-Spain 900,000 5,131 27.57%
Turks and Caicos Islands (attached to Jamaica) Cockburn Town 6,000 430 0.18%
Federation of the West Indies Chaguaramas 3,264,600 20,239 km2 100.00%
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Way Forward – Virgin Islands: America’s Youngest Colony

Posted on April 4, 2019 in Economics, Ethos, Locations, Social, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

The US Virgin Islands – St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. Johns – are 80 miles east of Puerto Rico. Their small population only peaks at about 110,000; they have a lot of challenges sustaining and elevating their society. If only their economy was bigger.

Wait, wait … next door Puerto Rico has a population of over 3 million people. Bigger economy! Bigger problems!

Obviously, size … of the economy is not the predictor for success.

Nor is age…

… the US Virgin Islands, as an entity, is in fact the youngest US Territory in North America; having been acquired from Denmark only in 1917 – see VIDEO below.

There must be something more?!

Maybe race! Maybe, if we have a population of homogeneous people who can form a brotherhood and work hand-in-hand without any concern for racial differences – “Power to the People”. Well, this land has a majority Black population – unique for any domicile (State or Territory) in the United States. It is a 76% majority! Here is the actual demographic breakdown from the last census (2010):

There are many people in America – especially in the Black community – that have theorized that if they had a “majority Black land in America” they could really be a more prosperous society.

Well, they have the US Virgin Islands, and what is the disposition? See summaries here:

U.S. Virgin Islands GDP Decreases in 2017 [by 2%]
Tourism spending declines following Hurricanes Irma and Maria
Today, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) is releasing estimates of gross domestic product (GDP) for the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) for 2017, in addition to estimates of GDP by industry and compensation by industry for 2016. These estimates were developed under the Statistical Improvement Program funded by the Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The U.S. Virgin Islands suffered extensive damage from two major hurricanes in September 2017. These hurricanes affected the availability of various source data used in the estimation of USVI GDP, including financial statements for the territorial government and its independent agencies.
…

Source: US Government Bureau of Economic Analysis – Posted December 17, 2018; retrieved April 3, 2019 from: https://www.bea.gov/news/2018/us-virgin-islands-gdp-decreases-2017

————–

Welcome to the Virgin Islands, One of the Most Indebted Places in the U.S.
The U.S. territory is running out of options as it faces rising debt and pension obligations, a declining population and tepid response to proposed new bond offerings

By: Heather Gillers

A U.S. territory famed for its white-sand beaches and azure waters is in a precarious financial position. This time, it isn’t just Puerto Rico.

The U.S. Virgin Islands shares many of the same fiscal problems as its Caribbean neighbor 80 miles to the west: high levels of debt, mounting pension obligations and a declining population.

…

Source: Wall Street Journal – posted January 26, 2017; retrieved April 3, 2019 from: https://www.wsj.com/articles/welcome-to-the-virgin-islands-one-of-the-most-indebted-places-in-the-u-s-1485426604

Obviously, race … of the demography is not the predictor for success. (Let this be the last word on this unnerving subject!)

The problems facing small Caribbean islands, or young Caribbean islands or Black Caribbean islands, are the same problems facing all Caribbean islands … it is failure to adapt to these undeniable Agents of Change:

It is Globalization, Climate Change, Technology and an Aging Diaspora.

These Agents of Change are devastating Caribbean life … for all people, in all the islands and coastal states. The book Go Lean…Caribbean asserts that we are “all in the same boat” and need to work together – to confederate – to seek solutions to our problems.

A crisis is a terrible thing to waste – Go Lean book (Page 8)

The Way Forward is a roadmap to actually consolidate, collaborate, and confederate the 30 member-states of the Caribbean region into a technocratic confederation. These USVI islands are among the “best addresses on the planet” …

… and yet, the residents, leaders and stakeholders cannot seem to provide proper stewardship for managing the affairs of these islands.

This theme – remediating and mitigating the failures in Caribbean island life – aligns with previous commentaries from the movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean; see this sample list here as it relates to the US Virgin Islands; (but truth be told, there is application for the British Virgin Islands as well):

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13995 Island life is hard – The need for Congressional Interstate Compacts
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=12959 Island life is hard – America Should Scrap the ‘Jones Act’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10771 Island life is hard – The need for Logical Addresses
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6867 Island life is hard – How to address high consumer prices
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4551 Island life is hard – Between a ‘rock and a hard place’

The Virgin Islands, the youngest American colony, are among the most beautiful places on the planet – it is paradise. See the VIDEO here:

VIDEO – Almanac: The U.S. Virgin Islands – https://cbsn.ws/2JSVJi7

CBS News – Posted March 31, 2019 – On March 31, 1917 the U.S. took possession of St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix and about 50 other smaller Caribbean islands, which they purchased from Denmark for $25 million. Jane Pauley reports.

But this paradise is the flora and fauna; the societal engines, on the other hand, need some work.  As related in the previous blog-commentary in this series, Puerto Rico suffers from the same fate as the Virgin Islands – “island life is hard”. So there needs to be a roadmap to reform and transform all “island life”.

Way Forward
This commentary continues the consideration on the Way Forward for Caribbean islands – for the Virgin Islands – and the rest of the Caribbean. This territory here is in dire straits, near-Failed-State status. Yet, the movement behind the Go Lean book asserts that any crisis can be useful, as an excuse to forge change. It is high time to change/elevate the societal engines of the Virgin Islands. This is entry 2-of-3 for this April 2019 series of commentaries related to the Way Forward for Caribbean member-states. The full series is presented as follows:

  1. Way Forward: Puerto Rico learns its “status” with America
  2. Way Forward: Virgin Islands – America’s youngest colony
  3. Way Forward: ‘Solutions White Paper’ – An Inadequate Plan for the Bahamas

This series posits that “no man is an island”; or that “no island is an island”; that these Caribbean island-states need to come together, collaborate, cooperate, convene, and confederate for a better stewardship for the full region.

Yes, we can…

The Go Lean movement presents the strategies, tactics and implementations to make the US Virgin Islands – as part of the full US Territories – a better homeland to live, work and play. The book identify these main points, as follows (Page 244):

10 Ways to Impact US Territories

  1. Lean-in for the Caribbean Single Market & Economy (CSME) initiative: Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU).
  2. Trading Partners based on Nature not Politics
  3. Disaster Preparation & Response
  4. Dual Currency
  5. Emigration Circuit Breaker
  6. Homeland Security Pact – NATO style
  7. Intelligence Gathering
  8. Cruise Line Collective Bargaining
  9. Transportation / Turnpike Hub & Spokes
  10. Spanish Integration – Reversal of European Imperialistic Maneuvers

Yes, it is conceivable, believable and achievable that with the proper guidance, “blood, sweat and tears”, this island chain can in fact actualize to be one of the greatest addresses on the planet.

Enough already! This is the Way Forward! It is now past time to lean-in to this roadmap to reform and transform our homeland. 🙂

About the Book
The book Go Lean…Caribbean 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 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.

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

Who We Are
The movement behind the Go Lean book – a non-partisan, apolitical, religiously-neutral Community Development Foundation chartered for the purpose of empowering and re-booting economic engines – 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.

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

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Way Forward – Puerto Rico: Learns its status with America

Posted on April 3, 2019 in Ethos, Locations, Planning, Social

Go Lean Commentary

You love America.
But does “she” love you back?

This is the reality of unrequited love. The people of the island of Puerto Rico love America – they give blood, sweat and tears. But America does not always love the island back. This has always been evident and obvious, but now even more so after Hurricane Maria devastated the island in 2017 and the US Federal Government lackluster response. Puerto Ricans, on the island and in the Diaspora, must accept that they are treated as the “ugly step-child”.

Today, we learn that the 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, is now vocalizing that there is a fast approaching limit for gratitude towards Puerto Rico. See that story here:

VIDEO – Puerto Rico’s governor sending warning to Trump – https://news.yahoo.com/puerto-ricos-governor-sending-warning-175145864.html

CNN – Posted March 28, 2019 – “If the bully gets close, I’ll punch the bully in the mouth,” Rosselló said when asked about a tense meeting Wednesday between members of the Trump administration and Puerto Rican officials. “It would be a mistake to confuse courtesy with [lack of] courage.”

———–

Title: Puerto Rico’s governor warns Trump: ‘If the bully gets close, I’ll punch the bully in the mouth’
By: David Knowles
Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló is through playing nice with President Trump.

After months of soft-pedaling his criticism of the president as Puerto Rico struggles to recover from Hurricane Maria in 2017, Rosselló voiced his frustration with the White House in a Thursday interview with CNN.

    “If the bully gets close, I’ll punch the bully in the mouth,” Rosselló said when asked about a tense meeting Wednesday between members of the Trump administration and Puerto Rican officials. “It would be a mistake to confuse courtesy with [lack of] courage.”

The Washington meeting — which was attended by White House trade adviser Peter Navarro and members of Rosselló’s government — was requested after reports that Trump was considering halting further disaster relief to the beleaguered U.S. territory.

In a Wednesday meeting with Senate Republicans, Trump said the amount of aid Puerto Rico had so far received “is way out of proportion to what Texas and Florida and others have gotten,” according to Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who attended the meeting.

Though it has already slashed benefits, Puerto Rico faces a $600 million shortfall to administer food stamps. So far the U.S. government has spent more than $6 billion on disaster relief to Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria, which was blamed for killing more than 3,000 people. In June, Texas received $5 billion in federal aid for housing and infrastructure repairs stemming from Hurricane Harvey, which left 103 people dead.

Rosselló, who avoided criticizing Trump in a 2018 interview with Yahoo News, lashed out at the president over his latest reported comments.

“He treats us as second-class citizens, that’s for sure,” Rosselló told CNN. “And my consideration is I just want the opportunity to explain to him why the data and information he’s getting is wrong. I don’t think getting into a kicking and screaming match with the president does any good. I don’t think anyone can beat the president in a kicking and screaming match. What I am aiming to do is make sure reason prevails, that empathy prevails, that equality prevails and that we can have a discussion.”

Trump, whose administration’s response to Maria was criticized as inadequate, has long been seen as reluctant to offer aid to Puerto Rico. In October the president again signaled his disapproval of giving aid that might be used to help alleviate the financial distress the island was experiencing even before Maria hit.

Source: Posted March 28, 2019; retrieved March 29, 2019 from: https://news.yahoo.com/puerto-ricos-governor-warns-trump-if-the-bully-gets-close-ill-punch-the-bully-in-the-mouth-162447705.html?.tsrc=notification-brknews

There is no love for Puerto Rico … within their American eco-system.

This theme aligns with previous commentaries from the movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean; see a sample list here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=15012 In Life or Death: No Love for Puerto Rico
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14101 ‘We Are The World’ Style Campaign to Help Puerto Rico
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13391 After Maria, Failed-State Indicators: Destruction and Defection for PR
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11647 Righting a Wrong: Puerto Rico’s Bankruptcy
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7963 ‘Like a Good Neighbor’ – Being there for Puerto Rico
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6260 Puerto Rico Bondholders Coalition Launches Ad Campaign
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=599 Ailing Puerto Rico open to radical economic fixes

As related in this previous blog-commentary, Puerto Rico devotes more human capital – and sacrifice – to US military endeavors than any other state or territories per capita.

Never kill yourself for people who are willing to watch you die.

Way Forward
This consideration brings to mind, an overall discussion of the Way Forward for this country – Puerto Rico – and all Caribbean countries. Our current disposition is dire, a crisis, near-Failed-State status. Yet, the movement behind the Go Lean book posits that a “crisis is a terrible thing to waste”. Here for April 2019, we present a full series of commentaries related to the Way Forward for these 30 Caribbean member-states. The full series is presented as follows:

  1. Way Forward: Puerto Rico learns its “status” with America.
  2. Way Forward: Virgin Islands – America’s youngest colony
  3. Way Forward: ‘Solutions White Paper’ – An Inadequate Plan for the Bahamas

In this series – incomplete as of this date, many other national plans will follow – reference is made to the need for a more comprehensive roadmap for elevating the societal engines of Caribbean communities. Of all the plans out there, this – roadmap presented in Go Lean…Caribbean – is the only one that double-downs on the prospect of regional interdependence.

No man is an island; no island is an island.

Considering entry 1 of 3 of this series for April, what should be the Way Forward for Puerto Rico?

There are 3 options that have been detailed by this Go Lean movement. Here, again, with references to updated information:

Whatever the selection by the people of Puerto Rico – it should be their choice alone – the Go Lean movement still presents the strategies, tactics and implementations to make this island a better homeland to live, work and play. But, it is hardwork …

Actually, it is overdue work. It is the same “Growing Up“, “Managing Your Affairs“, “Taking Care of Business” that was always needed for this island nation.

Others (countries) have done “it” well – we can learn from them; i.e. consider the Iceland experience.

Some have done “it” bad – we must learn from that too; i.e. consider Republic of Venezuela.

With the proper guidance, blood, sweat and tears, it is conceivable, believable and achievable for this island to actualize and be recognized as one of the greatest address on the planet – not just some “ugly step-child”.  🙂

About the Book
The book Go Lean…Caribbean 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 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.

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

Who We Are
The movement behind the Go Lean book – a non-partisan, apolitical, religiously-neutral Community Development Foundation chartered for the purpose of empowering and re-booting economic engines – 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.

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

————–

Appendix A – Florida lawmaker introduces bill to make Puerto Rico 51st State

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – A Florida congressman and Puerto Rico’s non-voting representative in Congress have introduced a bill that seeks to make the U.S. territory the 51st state.

The Puerto Rico Admission Act of 2019, which is sponsored by Rep. Darren Soto, D-Florida, and Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón, would give the island statehood within 90 days of passage.

Our historic legislation will finally end over 120 years of colonialism and provide full rights and representation to over 3.2 million Americans.”

The legislation is partly in response to the Trump administration’s handling of Hurricane Maria relief efforts. According to reports, President Trump complained to Senate Republicans about the amount of disaster aid designated for Puerto Rico. He also asked why the island was given more money than some states affected by hurricanes.

“We have seen time and time again that colonial status is simply not working. Look no further than the abysmal Hurricane Maria recovery efforts and the draconian PROMESA law to prove this point all too well,” Soto added. “The Puerto Rican people have spoken. It’s time for Congress to finally make Puerto Rico a state!”

“From the day I was sworn in as Puerto Rico’s sole representative in Congress, and filed the Puerto Rico Admission Act, I stated very clearly that I would work different strategies, across all platforms to achieve the full equality for Puerto Rico, which can only be achieved through statehood, For more than a century the people of Puerto Rico have been U.S. citizens, but has been denied the right to vote for the President and members of Congress, leaving us without representation in the federal government, which enact the laws that rule the land. Democracy and equality for American citizens is an issue of justice and civil rights. Us, as American citizens, want to have the same benefits and duties, as all American citizens have in the states,” she continued.

Governor Ricardo Rossello was also in attendance and called on members of Congress to support the bill and “join in our quest to achieve equal treatment for the over 3 million U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico.”

Source: Posted March 30, 2019; retrieved April 2, 2019 from: https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/florida-lawmaker-introduces-bill-to-make-puerto-rico-51st-state/1888575456

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Caribbean Cruise Port ‘Held Hostage’

Posted on March 18, 2019 in Economics, Government, Industries, Locations, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

So you think you’re independent?

The twin-island nation of Antigua & Barbuda was granted independence from the United Kingdom on 1 November 1981. This status allows them to govern their own country; make decisions that they feel are in the best interest for their nation.

But the primary industry in this country is tourism. So this means that there is dependence on external (foreign) stakeholders to provide transportation solutions, travel agency, lodging and/or leisure cruises. So the country’s attitude should never be arrogant, haughty or uncooperative. They cannot approach any negotiation with a cruise line with this attitude:

“My way or the Highway”!

The cruise line response would resemble some rendition of this spirit:

Hold my beer!

This is what is happening in some re-negotiations between Antigua and Carnival Cruise Lines. As reported by the Antigua Daily Observer newspaper on February 26, 2019, Prime Minister Gaston Browne accuses Carnival and the entire Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) of “exploiting Caribbean countries for lower visitor tax rates [(head tax)]”.

The country is attempting to influence this corporation with their offering of only one port-of-call – 2 piers in St. John – while the full region is 30 member-states. Rather than single government negotiations, the 2013 book Go Lean …Caribbean asserts that the region must adopt a collective bargaining strategy among the full universe of Caribbean ports-of-call, introducing the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU) as a collective bargaining agent. The book states (Page 32):

Cruise Line Collective Bargaining – Setting Matters Straight
The CU will collectively bargain with operators to garner more benefits and protections. In general, port cities are not gleaning much income from ship visits. In order to reboot the industry’s economic impact, changes need to be made, rescinding some exploitive rules the ships implemented and adding some new products, like smartcard e-purse options.

Carnival Cruise Line is overmatched compared to the small island nation of Antigua. The holding company, Carnival Corporation, is identified as a significant stakeholder in the global cruise industry in general and Caribbean tourism in particular; they own/market all of these cruise line brands (10):

  • Carnival Cruise Lines
  • Holland America
  • Cunard
  • Princess
  • P&O Cruises
  • P&O Cruises Australia
  • The Yachts of Seabourn
  • Costa Cruises
  • AIDA
  • IberoCruceros

To compete, Antigua needs interdependence with their Caribbean neighbors – confederation and collective bargaining. Carnival is holding Antigua hostage. See the news article here reporting this drama, and an aligning VIDEO:

Title: More Cruise Lines Pull Out of Caribbean Port
By: Ben Souza
A few days ago, Cruise Fever reported that Carnival Cruise Line had canceled all port stops to Antigua. Now, additional cruise lines have pulled out of the Caribbean port according to the Antigua Observer.

In addition to Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line and luxury line Seabourn have canceled future port stops in Antigua. All three cruise lines operate under the Carnival Corporation umbrella.

These two new cruise lines that canceled port stops each had two cruise ships scheduled to visit the Caribbean port during the next Caribbean season.

Why have these three cruise lines canceled their scheduled calls to Antigua? The cruise lines have stated that government officials have made the cruise lines feel unwelcome.

These new cancelations were somewhat expected. The Prime Minister gave the following statement when Carnival Cruise Line first announced they were pulling out of the port:

    “Once Carnival has started the cancellation, unfortunately, I expect to see cancellations from all of its brands. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Princess, Holland America, Seabourn and other European Lines making cancellations going forward.”

Antigua is a popular cruise destination in the Southern Caribbean, especially during winter months.

Cruise ships that have canceled a port stop in Antigua will visit an alternative port.

Cruise Fever will have all new information about this developing situation in Antigua when it becomes available.

Source: Posted and retrieved March 17, 2019 from: https://cruisefever.net/more-cruise-lines-pull-out-of-caribbean-port/

—-

Ben Souza has written thousands of articles on cruising and currently takes between 8-10 cruises a year. His writings have appeared and been cited in various media outlets such as Yahoo News, MSN, NPR, Drudge Report, CNN, and ABC News. Ben currently resides in Cincinnati, Ohio. Visit Ben Souza on Linkedin. You may email Ben at Ben@cruisefever.net.

—————–

VIDEO – Update: Antigua Government To Meet With Carnival Over Cruise Cancellations – https://youtu.be/3CQzQb_2vUQ



Travelling with Bruce

Published on Mar 16, 2019 – Update: Antigua Government To Meet With Carnival Over Cruise Cancellations Norwegian Cruise Lines and MSC Cruises have both backed the government and have committed to sailing to the country going forward. After Prime Minister Browne contacted Carnival’s CEO the two parties have agreed to have a face to face meeting with each other to try to resolve their differences. #antigua #carnivalcruiselines #norwegiancruisenews #mscnews #globalportsholdings #antiguanews #caribbeancruise #hollandamericanews #seabournnews #cruisenews

We told you! Any Way Forward for better cruise line negotiations must include collective bargaining. This theme aligns with previous blog-commentaries from the movement behind the Go Lean book; see a sample list here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=16645 Bad Partners – Cruise Lines Interactions
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=15380 Industrial Reboot – Cruise Tourism 2.0
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11544 Forging Change in the Cruise eco-system: Collective Bargaining
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6635 Security Chip in credit cards unveiled: Now Ready for Cruise eco-system
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5210 Cruise Ship Commerce – Getting Ready for Change

We warned, alerted and cautioned you Caribbean stakeholders that “Big Cruise Line Abuse” would happen. Carnival seems to be counting on our disunity. This is not just our thoughts alone; others have opined:

Carnival holds all of the cards in situations like this.  The notion that a sovereign country like Antigua is an equal “partner” to an 800 pound gorilla like Carnival is fanciful.  If a cruise line can make a better deal with an island next door, which charges a lower head tax, has fewer environmental restrictions, or is willing to foot the bill for a larger dock, then it’s ‘see ya later’ as far as the cruise line goes.” – Source: CruiseLawNews

The solution (Way Forward) for this type of one-sided negotiation advantage is not secretive or proprietary; rather it is the stated purpose of the Go Lean book and this resultant roadmap: “Come together“; collaborate; consensus-build and confederate.

Prime Minister Browne explained that the only way for small countries like Antigua to fight the FCCA is to form a regional port facility.

“Unless the entire Caribbean comes together and forms a regional port facility and mandate that [the Cruise Associations] pay more, we will continue to end up in problems and have to subsidise that sector …” – Source: CruiseLawNews

Yes, we can … come together and make our homeland a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

About the Book
The book Go Lean…Caribbean 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 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.

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

Who We Are
The movement behind the Go Lean book – a non-partisan, apolitical, religiously-neutral Community Development Foundation chartered for the purpose of empowering and re-booting economic engines – 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 11 – 13):

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.

viii. Whereas the population size is too small to foster good negotiations for products and commodities from international vendors, the Federation must allow the unification of the region as one purchasing [or bargaining] agent, thereby garnering better terms and discounts.

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 … to assuage continuous threats …

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.

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

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Montserrat: No ‘Irish Luck’

Posted on March 17, 2019 in Locations, Social

Go Lean Commentary

We have an island in the Caribbean – Montserrat – that is coupled, compared and contrasted with Ireland in fact, fiction and folklore …

Montserrat is nicknamed “The Emerald Isle of the Caribbean” both for its resemblance to coastal Ireland and for the Irish ancestry of many of its inhabitants.[3][4] – Wikipedia

Maybe the coupling-comparison-contrast with Ireland can also apply to their luck:

Wherever the origin of the phrase ‘Luck of the Irish‘ stems from or what is was originally intended to mean, fact is that the Irish are indeed very fortunate people. They are proud of themselves, their country and culture, hardworking, funny and nowadays loved by nations all over the world. – Tour Ireland Blog Nov 26, 2015

But the reality of Irish Luck is only evident after all the hard-work and heavy-lifting; consider this historicity:

The Irish Luck = Bad Luck? During Ireland’s past, many Irish were forced to emigrate due to the potato famine for instance. Often, abroad, the Irish were treated badly and had to struggle to make a living. Some emigrants didn’t even survive the sea crossing, others grew ill and with no health care, suffered badly. Childhood disease saw many families lose their children, with that their reason for succeeding was not so great and depression followed in many cases by alcohol abuse. Many of the original Irish settlers in the US, the UK and Australia never saw their family again. Indeed on the night before a person emigrated a party was held, a sort of ‘funeral’ wake which is a traditional Irish custom when someone dies. Therefore, some believe that the expression is rather an ironic one, stating that the Irish are not lucky after all.

Montserrat “luck” is also fleeting – “not so lucky”:

On 18 July 1995, the previously dormant Soufrière Hills volcano, in the southern part of the island, became active. Eruptions destroyed Montserrat’s Georgian era capital city of Plymouth. Between 1995 and 2000, two-thirds of the island’s population was forced to flee, primarily to the United Kingdom, leaving fewer than 1,200 people on the island as of 1997 (rising to nearly 5,000 by 2016).[5][6] –  Wikipedia

As we approach St. Patrick’s Day 2019, we are reminded how we love Ireland and the Irish …

… we love Montserrat too.

Consider the previous treatments we gave to Ireland and the Irish people in these previous blog-commentaries from the movement behind the book Go Lean … Caribbean; see relevant summaries here:

The ‘Luck of the Irish’ – Past, Present and Future – March 17, 2015

Why do people wear green? It’s a move of solidarity for Irish people and culture.

This is a big deal considering the real history.

This subject also has relevance for the Caribbean as Saint Patrick’s Day is a public holiday in the British Caribbean Territory of Montserrat, in addition to the Republic of Ireland,[10] Northern Ireland,[11] and the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. While not a holiday elsewhere, this day is venerated by the Irish Diaspora around the world, …

This subject also provides a case study for the Caribbean, as the Irish Diaspora is one of the most pronounced in the world. This is the model of what we, in the Caribbean, do not want to become. …

The Diaspora, broadly interpreted, contains all those known to have Irish ancestors, i.e., over 100 million people, which is more than fifteen times the population of the island of Ireland, which was about 6.4 million in 2011.

In July 2014, the Irish Government appointed Jimmy Deenihan as Minister of State for the Diaspora.[3] …

Ireland has fared better since those dire days of the potato famine, but still its people, the Diaspora, endured a lot of misery, resistance and discrimination in their foreign homes. … The usual path for new immigrants is one of eventual celebration, but only after a “long train of abuses”: rejection, anger, protest, bargaining, toleration and eventual acceptance. Wearing green today – or any other March 17th’s – is a statement of acceptance and celebration of the Irish; as a proud heritage for what they have endured and accomplished. …
Frederick Douglass [Irish Odyssey]: Role Model for Single Cause – Death or Diaspora – March 17, 2016

The Caribbean can learn an important lesson from a 150 year-old Role Model, Frederick Douglass. His is a powerful lesson for the advocacy of Single Cause. … Mr. Douglass remained steadfast and committed to one cause primarily: abolition of slavery and civil rights for African-Americans. …

The legacy of Frederick Douglass, is that if an oppressed population didn’t find refuge, the only outcome would be Death or Diaspora.

The Diaspora prophecy happened, then in Ireland and today, especially here in the Caribbean! (In [that] previous blog, it was revealed that after 1840, emigration from Ireland became a massive, relentless, and efficiently managed national enterprise. In 1890 40% of Irish-born people were living abroad. By the 21st century, an estimated 80 million people worldwide claimed some Irish descent; which includes more than 36 million Americans who claim Irish as their primary ethnicity).

Caribbean citizens are also pruned to emigrate … to foreign shores (North America and Europe) seeking refuge. In a previous blog-commentary it was asserted that the US – the homeland  for Frederick Douglass – has experienced accelerated immigration in recent years. Published rates of societal abandonment among the college educated classes have reported an average of 70 percent in most member-states …. For this reason, there is solidarity for the Diaspora of Ireland and the Diaspora of the Caribbean.
Caribbean Ghost Towns [- i.e. Plymouth, Montserrat]: It Could Happen…Again – February 11, 2015

The Caribbean is in crisis today; but even more so, if left unchecked, the crisis gets worst tomorrow …. There is no guarantee of our survival. Communities and societies do fail; success is not assured; the work must be done, we must “sow if we want to reap”.

The reality of ghost towns, in the Caribbean and around the world, is a reminder to failing communities of where the road ends. …

A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disaster ….

There is a ghost town that is an incumbent de jure capital: Plymouth in the Caribbean island of Montserrat. This city was abandoned in 1997 due to volcanic eruptions and is now part of an Exclusion Zone ….

The Go Lean book posits that many Caribbean communities suffer from a mono-industrial complex (Page 3), therefore the risk is high for the same ghost town eventuality like so many other towns have experienced. Yes, ghost towns could happen in the Caribbean … again.

What is the Way Forward for Montserrat?

That previous Go Lean commentary about “Irish Luck” from March 17, 2015 also related the successful Way Forward pursued by modern day Ireland – we need solidarity with this Irish model:

The Republic of Ireland ranks among the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of GDP per capita.[11] After joining the European Union, Ireland enacted a series of liberal economic policies that resulted in rapid economic growth. The country achieved considerable prosperity from 1995 to 2007, during which it became known as the Celtic Tiger. This was halted by an unprecedented financial crisis that began in 2008, in conjunction with the concurrent global economic crash.[12][13]
——-
See this VIDEO here:

VIDEO – Ireland is back in business – https://youtu.be/qg1cwyjDlHY

FRANCE 24 English
Published on Feb 11, 2016 – Ireland’s strong economic recovery will be the main backdrop to the country’s general elections on February 26. After five years in power, Prime Minister Enda Kenny’s conservative government are keen to highlight the fact that when they took the job, Ireland’s economy was close to collapse. Public finances are now back on track, and the brutal seven-year austerity programme and bailout plan are a thing of the past. However, opposition parties argue that many people have been left on the sidelines during these tough times. This report takes a closer look at one of the “ingredients” of Ireland’s economic recovery: an extremely low corporation tax. A programme prepared by Patrick Lovett and Laura Burloux.

Subscribe to France 24 now : http://f24.my/youtubeEN

FRANCE 24 live news stream: all the latest news 24/7 http://f24.my/YTliveEN

Visit our website : http://www.france24.com
Subscribe to our YouTube channel : http://f24.my/youtubeEN
Like us on Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.Eng…
Follow us on Twitter : https://twitter.com/France24_en

——-
See this additional story – How did IRELAND step out of POVERTY? – in this VIDEO here:
https://youtu.be/sDzSIuW6uiM
——-

Montserrat now has the model by which to follow: regional integration in a EU-styled Single Market. This model will work for the rest of the Caribbean too. This is the quest of the Go Lean movement, to provide a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). The book Go Lean … Caribbean addresses this model and prepares the regional institutions accordingly.

This remediation allows us to better appreciate what the Luck of the Irish really means – the end result of the required hard-work and heavy-lifting – as conveyed in this Classic Irish Blessing:

May you always have…
Walls for the winds
A roof for the rain
Tea beside the fire
Laughter to cheer you
Those you love near you
And all your heart might desire.

All in all, the Luck of the Irish “finally fulfilled” means a better homeland to live, work and play. 🙂

About the Book
The book Go Lean…Caribbean 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 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.

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

Who We Are
The movement behind the Go Lean book – a non-partisan, apolitical, religiously-neutral Community Development Foundation chartered for the purpose of empowering and re-booting economic engines – 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.

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

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Exploring Medical School Opportunities … as Economic Engines

Posted on March 1, 2019 in Economics, Industries, Locations

Go Lean Commentary

“Birds of a feather flock together” – Old Adage

Is this true?

Can we use this actuality to explore economic opportunities for our communities?

The reality is that Medical Schools average over $300,000 in tuition for a 4-year education; ($60,000/yr). Imagine 3,000 students. That’s a lot of economic opportunity; that’s $180 million annually added to a community’s GDP just based on tuition. Imagine too, room-and-board, extra-curricular activities and spending by visitors to the campus and students.

Economics = supply and demand dynamics; fulfilling the outstanding demand for some financial remuneration.

Now that we have your attention for the supply-side of Medical Education, how realistic is it to explore opportunities on the demand-side? (Unfortunately, this industry and demographic have seen abuse; thus the need for a new technocratic stewardship).

Since “birds of a feather flock together”, “we” assert that there is a great opportunity right now to attract and foster medical students from the African-American communities in the US to our Caribbean destinations. See a recent news article story here relating this overarching need:

Title: After decades of effort, African-American enrollment in medical school still lags
By: Jayne O’Donnell and David Robinson, USA TODAY NETWORK

WASHINGTON – Gabriel Felix is on track to graduate from Howard University’s medical school in May. 

The 27-year-old from Rockland County, N.Y., has beaten the odds to make it this far, and knows he faces challenges going forward.

He and other black medical school students have grown used to dealing with doctors’ doubts about their abilities, and other slights: being confused with hospital support staff, or being advised to pick a nickname because their actual names would be too difficult to pronounce.

“We’re still on a steady hill toward progress,” says Felix, president of the Student National Medical Association, which represents medical students of color. But “there’s still a lot more work to do.”

After decades of effort to increase the ranks of African-American doctors, blacks remain an underrepresented minority in the nation’s medical schools.

USA TODAY examined medical school enrollment after the wide coverage of the racially controversial photo that appeared in the 1984 Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook entry of Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam. The picture showed one person in blackface and another in a Ku Klux Klan hood and robe.

The proportion of medical students who identified as African-American or black rose from 5.6 percent in 1980 to 7.7 percent in 2016, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. That’s a substantial increase but still short of the 13.2 percent in the general population.

The disparity matters, physicians, students and others say, because doctors of color can help the African-American community overcome a historical mistrust of the medical system – a factor in poorer health outcomes for black Americans.

“It’s been a persistent, stubborn racial disparity in the medical workforce,” says Dr. Vanessa Gamble, a professor at George Washington University. “Medical schools have tried, but it also has to do with societal issues about what happens to a lot of kids in our country these days.”

Those who have studied the disparity blame much of it on socioeconomic conditions, themselves the legacy of systemic racism. African Americans lag other Americans in household income and educational opportunity, among other indicators.

Medical schools and professional organizations have tried to boost enrollment and graduation rates by considering applicants’ socioeconomic backgrounds when reviewing grades and test scores, connecting doctors of color with elementary and middle schools and awarding more scholarship money.

They’ve achieved some success: The number of medical students who identified as African-American or black grew from 3,722 in 1980 to 6,758 in 2016, an 82 percent increase.

Individual schools have outperformed their peers.

Eastern Virginia Medical School has increased the enrollment of students of color since then. In 1984, 5 percent of M.D. students identified as black, the only category then available. In the school’s most recent class, 12.4 percent identified as African, African-American, Afro-Caribbean or black.

But further progress toward a more representative student body nationwide remains elusive. That’s due largely to the high cost of medical school – student loans average $160,000 and can take decades to pay off – and the attraction of other professional options available to the strongest minority students that cost less and require fewer years of training.

The benefits of greater enrollment could be considerable: Studies show that having more black doctors would likely improve black health in the United States. Many African-Americans remain mistrustful of the health care system, with some historic justification, and so are less likely than others to seek preventative or other care.

Gamble knows the phenomenon as well as anyone. She chaired a committee that investigated the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, the notorious experiment conducted by the U.S. Public Health Service from 1932 to 1972. Researchers withheld treatment from a group of black men with syphilis to study the progress of the disease, jeopardizing their health and that of their sexual partners.

Building pipelines to medical school
Universities are working to boost minority enrollment and increase the likelihood that students will stay in school and pass the exams required to graduate and get licensed to practice.

Dr. Thomas Madejski, president of the Medical Society of the State of New York, says efforts such as the American Medical Association’s Doctors Back to School program, in which physicians of color visit grade schools, help encourage minority students consider careers in medicine.

But he cautions that such programs don’t address all of the socioeconomic hurdles confronting African Americans.

“I think we may have to relook at some of the factors that may still be barriers and create some new initiatives to overcome those and get the citizens of the U.S. to have the physician workforce that they want and need,” Madejski says.

His group and others are pushing for tuition relief and expansion of scholarship programs for underrepresented groups.

Felix, the Howard student, calls for more outreach by physicians of color, particularly in African American communities.

Felix’s parents are from Haiti, where black doctors are a common sight. They could easily envision the career for their son. Felix says African-American parents might discourage their children.

Dr. Mia Mallory is associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion at the University of Cincinnati medical school.

“Patients do better when they are taken care of by people who look like them,” she says. “So we’re trying to grow talented physicians that look like them and are more likely to go back into the community they came from.”

Some of what’s being done:

► New York. About a third of the state’s population is black and/or Latino, but only 12 percent of doctors in practice are. The decision of New York University’s decision to offer free tuition to medical students who maintain a certain grade point average has more than doubled the number of applicants who identify as a member of a group that’s underrepresented in medicine.

Associated Medical Schools of New York, which represents the state’s 16 public and private medical schools, says several programs give college students academic help, mentoring or other aid, and guarantee medical school acceptance upon completion.

About 500 practicing physicians from underrepresented groups graduated from one of these programs at University at Buffalo.

These were “kids who otherwise never would have gotten into medical school,” says Jo Wiederhorn, president of Associated Medical Schools of New York.

The share of black and Latino students at medical school rose from 13.5 percent in the 2010-11 school year to 15.4 percent for the past school year, Wiederhorn said.

► Maryland. University of Maryland, Baltimore County, produces more African-Americans who go on to earn dual M.D./Ph.D. degrees than any college in the country.

Its Meyerhoff Scholars program selects promising high school students for a rigorous undergraduate program that connects them with research opportunities, conferences, paid internships, and study-abroad experiences. The program is open to all people, but nearly 70 percent of the scholars are black.

The university also sends students in its Sherman Scholars program to teach math and science in disadvantaged elementary schools in the Baltimore area. That helps build an early pipeline to the university and its science and math programs.

UMBC President Freeman A. Hrabowski III says, “We’re going to find some prejudice wherever we go.” But he prefers to look for solutions that keep students of color in math and science, which increases their chances of medical school acceptance.

► University of Cincinnati. The College of Medicine welcomed the largest group of African-American men in its history last year at 10 – an important milestone, given the gender gap within the few black doctors.

Mallory says the school looks at students’ applications “holistically,” considering “what it took for them to get where they are.” That includes whether they had to work while they were in college and whether they had access to tutors.

The school’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion hired Dr. Swati Pandya, a physician and learning specialist, to teach medical school students how to take standardized tests and improve study habits.

All of the school’s third-year students last year passed the first of their medical licensing exams, achieving the highest average in the school’s and the highest of any medical school in the state.

Why so few?

Dr. Georges Benjamin executive director of the American Public Health Association, cites the criminal justice system’s targeting of young black men and the pull of other professions for others.

“The cream of the crop has a broader portfolio of things they can do,”  Benjamin says. “They can go into other disciplines, including MBA and law programs.”

Dr. Garth Graham is a cardiologist by training, but in a nearly 20-year career, he has become something akin to a doctor of disparities.

A former assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health, he’s Aetna’s vice president of community health and president of the Aetna Foundation.

He also chairs the Harvard Medical School Diversity Fund, which supports science, technology, engineering and math education and other support for minority students and faculty members in kindergarten through grade 12.

The National Bureau of Economic Research studied African-American men’s use of preventive health services when they had black and non-black doctors. The bureau reported last year that black doctors could reduce black men’s deaths from heart disease by 16 deaths per 100,000 every year. That would reduce the gap between black and white men by 19 percent.

Black doctors “bring a cultural understanding because of their background in their communities,” Graham says. “Relatability is important in patient-doctor relationships.”

Contributing: Shari Rudavsky, The Indianapolis Star 

Source: Posted February 28, 2019; retrieved March 1, 2019 from: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2019/02/28/medical-school-student-african-american-enrollment-black-doctors-health-disparity/2841925002/

Since 29 of the 30 member-states of the Caribbean boast a majority Black population, it should be a natural assimilation to invite Black American students to Caribbean campuses.

By the way, this is being done already! There are medical colleges and universities operating in Caribbean communities right now that do a good job of providing the needed educational training and experience (internships). See the list of campuses in Appendix A below. Some schools have an impressive track record of success with testing and examinations on medical boards. Many alumni get residency in the US as International Medical Graduates.

This theme of medical education eco-system has been elaborated in previous blog-commentaries from the movement behind the book Go Lean … Caribbean; see a sample list here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=15543 Ross University Saga – Search for a New Home
This medical school actually had to move from their Dominica campus due to Hurricane Irma’s devastation in 2017. They created a new campus in Barbados.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=15310 Industrial Reboot – Trauma 101
A successful business model is Trauma Centers affiliated with medical schools. For example: Jackson Memorial Hospital / University of Miami / Ryder Trauma Center (Miami, Florida).
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13472 Future Focused – College, Caribbean Style
There is a comprehensive tertiary education eco-system already in the region.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9724 Bahamas Welcomes the New University
But no medical education option. HHMMmmmm?!?!?!
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=425 Low-cost Dominican surgeries spark warnings by US
Example of demand from patients for medical services.

The Go Lean book serves as a roadmap for the elevation of Caribbean economic engines. It describes an eco-system for a structure of autonomous industrial campuses branded Self-Governing Entities (SGE). These are ideal for Medical School campuses, with their exclusive regulation/promotion activities. Imagine bordered campuses – with backup power generations, autonomy for professional standards, building codes, and transportation easements from/to the campuses. The Go Lean movement (book and blogs) details the principles of SGE’s and job multipliers, how certain industries – education and medical deliveries are ideal – are better than others for generating multiple indirect jobs down the line (or off-campus) for each direct job on the SGE’s payroll.

One particular Caribbean city, the 2nd City in the Bahamas, Freeport, seems like a good candidate for medical education campuses. They have abandoned infrastructure that can be easily refurbished as educational facilities and student housing solutions.

But for the Bahamas to even contemplate such ventures in educational facilities, they have some heavy-lifting to do; they must first correct societal defects that deter young adults from their markets. Consider:

There is an organized movement to promote medical education in the Black community; see the foregoing news article above and the VIDEO about the Student National Medical Association in Appendix B below. Why is this important? It means economic opportunities (jobs and entrepreneurship) and better health deliveries. This is all good!

Yes, medical education – as a delivery, vocation and occupation – can facilitate better overall environments; “it” can help make our homeland a better place to live, work, learn, heal and play. 🙂

About the Book
The book Go Lean…Caribbean 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 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.

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

Who We Are
The movement behind the Go Lean book – a non-partisan, apolitical, religiously-neutral Community Development Foundation chartered for the purpose of empowering and re-booting economic engines – 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.

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

———–

Appendix A – List of Caribbean Medical Schools

Country or territory School Established Degree Regional/offshore WDMS CAAM-HP Other Accreditations
Anguilla(UK) Saint James School of Medicine 2010[6] MD Offshore Yes[7] CAAM-HP Probation[8]
Antigua and Barbuda American University of Antigua 2004 MD Offshore Yes[9] CAAM-HP[8] NYSED,[10]
Metropolitan University College Of Medicine 2018 MD Offshore Yes
University of Health Sciences Antigua School of Medicine 1983 MD Offshore Yes No
Aruba (NL) American University School of Medicine Aruba 2011 MD Offshore Yes Aruba Ministry of Education
Aureus University School of Medicine 2004 MD Offshore Yes No
Xavier University School of Medicine 2004 MD Offshore Yes CAAM-HP[8] ACCM[11]
Barbados American University of Barbados School of Medicine 2011 MD Offshore Yes CAAM-HP Initial Provisional[8]
American University of Integrative Sciences 1999 MD Offshore Yes No
Bridgetown International University 2017 MD Offshore Yes
Victoria University of Barbados 2017 MD Offshore Yes
Ross University School of Medicine 1978 MD Offshore Yes[12] CAAM-HP[8] NYSED,[10] Medical Board of Dominica
Washington University of Barbados 2015 MD Offshore Yes No
University of the West Indies Faculty of Medicine (Cave Hill) 1967 MBBS Regional Yes CAAM-HP[8]
Belize Central America Health Sciences University Belize Medical College 1996 MD Offshore Yes No Belize Ministry of Education
Washington University of Health & Science 2005 MD Offshore Yes No Belize Ministry of Education
Cayman Islands (UK) St. Matthew’s University School of Medicine 2002 MD Offshore Yes[13] No NYSED,[10] ACCM[11]
Cuba Escuela Latinoamericana de Medicina 1999 MD Offshore Yes No Cuban Ministry of Higher Education
Facultad de Ciencias Medicas Ciego de Avila 2000 MD Regional Yes No Cuban Ministry of Higher Education
Facultad de Ciencias Medicas Cienfuegos 1990 MD Regional Yes No Cuban Ministry of Higher Education
Facultad de Ciencias Medicas Granma 1982 MD Regional Yes No Cuban Ministry of Higher Education
Facultad de Ciencias Medicas Holguin 1976 MD Regional Yes No Cuban Ministry of Higher Education
Facultad de Ciencias Medicas Las Tunas 1986 MD Regional Yes No Cuban Ministry of Higher Education
Facultad de Ciencias Medicas Matanzas 1969 MD Regional Yes No Cuban Ministry of Higher Education
Facultad de Ciencias Medicas Pinar del Rio 1976 MD Regional Yes No Cuban Ministry of Higher Education
Facultad de Ciencias Medicas Sancti Spiritus 1994 MD Regional Yes No Cuban Ministry of Higher Education
Instituto Superior de Ciencias Medicas de La Habana 1976 MD Regional Yes No Cuban Ministry of Higher Education
Instituto Superior de Ciencias Medicas de Santiago de Cuba 1962 MD Regional Yes No Cuban Ministry of Higher Education
Instituto Superior de Ciencias Medicas de Villa Clara 1966 MD Regional Yes No Cuban Ministry of Higher Education
Universidad de Ciencias Medicas de Camaguey 1968 MD Regional Yes No Cuban Ministry of Higher Education
Universidad de Ciencias Medicas de Guantanamo 1982 MD Regional Yes No Cuban Ministry of Higher Education
Curacao(NL) Avalon University School of Medicine 2003 MD Offshore Yes[14] CAAM-HP No[8] Government of Curacao
Caribbean Medical University School of Medicine 2007 MD Offshore Yes CAAM-HP Denied[8]
John F. Kennedy University School of Medicine 2014 MD Offshore Yes No Government of Curacao
St. Martinus University Faculty of Medicine 2000 MD No Yes
Dominica All Saints University School of Medicine 2006 MD Offshore Yes No
Dominican Republic Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo Escuela de Medicina 1972 MD Regional Yes CAAM-HP[8] Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology
Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra Departamento de Medicina 1976 MD Regional Yes No Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology
Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo Departamento de Medicina 1538 MD Regional Yes No Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology
Universidad Católica Nordestana Facultad de Ciencias Medicas 1978 MD Regional Yes No Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology
Universidad Católica Tecnológica del Cibao Escuela de Medicina 1983 MD Regional Yes No Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology
Universidad Central del Este Escuela de Medicina 1970 MD Regional Yes No Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology
Universidad Iberoamericana (UNIBE) Escuela de Medicina 1982 MD Offshore Yes No Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology
Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña Escuela de Medicina 1966 MD Regional Yes No Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology
Universidad Tecnológica de Santiago Escuela de Medicina, Santiago de Los Caballeros 1979 MD Regional Yes No Secretary of State for Higher Education, Science and Technology
Universidad Tecnológica de Santiago Escuela de Medicina, Santo Domingo 1981 MD Regional Yes No Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology
France University of the French West Indies 2015 MD Regional Yes[15] No
Grenada St. George’s University School of Medicine 1977 MD Offshore Yes[16] CAAM-HP[8] Grenada Ministry of Health, NYSED,[10]
Guyana University of Guyana 1985 MBBS Regional Yes CAAM-HP[8]
American International School of Medicine 1999 MD Offshore Yes No World Health Organization; Ministry of Education and Health (Guyana); NAC (National Accreditation Council) of Guyana[17]
Georgetown American University 2013 MD Offshore Yes No NAC (National Accreditation Council) of Guyana[17]
Lincoln American University 2016 MD Offshore Yes No NAC (National Accreditation Council) of Guyana,[18]World Directory of Medical School,[19] Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research,[20] Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG)[20]
Texila American University 2010 MD Offshore Yes CAAM-HP Denied[8] NAC (National Accreditation Council) of Guyana,[17] World Directory of Medical School
Alexander American University 2015 MD Offshore No No
Haiti Université d’Etat d’Haïti Faculté de Médecine 1867 MD Regional Yes No
GreenHeart Medical University 2007 MD Offshore No No World Health Organization; Ministry of Education and Health (Guyana); NAC (National Accreditation Council) of Guyana[17]
Université Lumière Faculté de Médecine 2006 MD No No
Université Notre Dame d’HaïtiFaculté de Médecine 1997 MD Regional Yes No
Université Quisqueya Faculté des Sciences de la Santé 2002 MD Yes No
Université Joseph Lafortune Faculté de Médecine 2005 MD Regional Yes[21] No
Jamaica All American Institute of Medical Sciences 2011 MD Offshore Yes[22] CAAM-HP Withdrawn[8]
University of the West Indies Faculty of Medicine (Mona) 1948 MBBS Regional Yes CAAM-HP[8]
Montserrat(UK) Seoul Central College of Medicine 2003 MD Offshore Yes No
University of Science, Arts and Technology Faculty of Medicine 2003 MD Offshore Yes CAAM-HP No[8]
Saba (NL) Saba University School of Medicine 1994 MD Offshore Yes[23] No NYSED,[10] NVAO[24]
Saint Kitts and Nevis International University of the Health Sciences (IUHS) 1998 MD Offshore Yes No Accreditation Board of Saint Kitts and Nevis[17]
University of Medicine and Health Sciences 2008 MD Offshore Yes No Accreditation Board of Saint Kitts and Nevis[17] ACCM[11]
Medical University of the Americas 1998 MD Offshore Yes[25] No ACCM,[11] NYSED[10]
Windsor University School of Medicine 2000 MD Offshore Yes CAAM-HP No[8] Accreditation Board of Saint Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean[17]
Saint Lucia American International Medical University 2007 MD Offshore No CAAM-HP Denied[8]
Atlantic University School Of Medicine (AUSOM) 2010 MD Offshore No[26] No
College of Medicine and Health Sciences/aka Destiny University 2001 MD Offshore Yes No Provisional Accreditation from the Government of Saint Lucia
International American University College of Medicine 2003 MD Offshore Yes CAAM-HP[8] Ministry of Education, Saint Lucia
Spartan Health Sciences University 1980 MD Offshore Yes CAAM-HP[8] Ministry of Education, Saint Lucia
Washington Medical Sciences Institute 2011 MD Offshore Yes No
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines All Saints University School of Medicine 2011 MD Offshore Yes[27] CAAM-HP No[8] Recognized by Canadian Government of Designated Educational Institutions,[28] Considered a qualified Institution by the General Medical Council (UK),[29]recognized by the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education, St. Vincent and the Grenadines,[30] IMED
American University of St Vincent School of Medicine 2012 MD Offshore Yes No National Accreditation Board (NAB) of the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines[31]
Saint James School of Medicine 2014[6] MD Offshore Yes[32] CAAM-HP Probation[8] National Accreditation Board (NAB) of the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines[33] WCFMG.
Trinity School of Medicine 2008 MD Offshore Yes CAAM-HP[8] National Accreditation Board (NAB) of the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines[34]
Sint Maarten(NL) American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine 1978 MD Offshore Yes[35] No NYSED,[10] ACCM[11]
Trinidad and Tobago University of the West Indies Faculty of Medicine (St. Augustine) 1967 MBBS Regional Yes CAAM-HP[8]

Source: Retrieved March 1, 2019 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_medical_schools_in_the_Caribbean

———-

Appendix B VIDEO – Student National Medical Assoc 2016 “Rep Your Region” – https://youtu.be/jsHys6jEOUo

SNMA Region III

Published on Aug 7, 2016

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Barbados Ready for ‘Free Movement’

Posted on February 18, 2019 in Economics, Locations, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

“Free Movement of People” is one aspect of the Single Market concept that is strongly urged by this commentary. Even though this view is not unanimous in its appeal – in the Caribbean especially – many advanced economies do have Free Movement:

  • US – Yes
  • European Union – Yes

These two markets are Number 1 and Number 2 accordingly in the world’s GDP rankings. There truly is merit to this strategy, as people can freely go where they are needed and job openings can be freely filled by people – from near or far.

This means neighboring communities get to share in the opportunities and challenges of any one destination.

The book Go Lean … Caribbean (Page 5) drew reference to neighborly collaboration, cooperation and confederation by detailing the lyrics of a 1972 song, as follows:

If there is a load you have to bear
That you can’t carry
I’m right up the road
I’ll share your load
If you just call me – Song: Lean On Me by Bill Withers

One country gets it …

An Economic Affairs Minister for Barbados has declared that his country needs to be more welcoming of workers from other Caribbean communities. In fact, he indicated that the demographic trends in Barbados is all bad; their population is getting older as there are now fewer and fewer young people. The “load” of rebooting the Caribbean can be shared among the region – Caribbean Community or CariCom. See the news article here relating this thesis:

Title: Barbados opening jobs to CARICOM nationals
By: George Alleyne

Responding to a growing demographics imbalance in which the retired and close to retirement members of the population are growing while the number of working-age nationals is dwindling, Barbados will soon open its doors to skilled labour, especially persons from the Caribbean Community.

This situation caused Minister of Home Affairs, Edmund Hinkson, to say recently, “I as minister of immigration am firmly of the view that we have too small a population for Barbados to sustain and grow this economy and we will have ‘managed migration’ into this country especially among our fellow Caribbean people who are productive, who will make a mark.”

He said that the island, however, will not be open to “those who are going to be a drain on our economy or public purse,” but will be welcoming “those who are productive, who have skills”.

“We need more young people in this country in their most productive age.”

Hinkson’s revelation of the island’s intent found support in fellow government minister, Marsha Caddle, who has said, “we’ve realised that the population base of the country is not sufficient to generate the revenue that we need to be able to contribute to the standard of living that we want to have.”

The junior economic affairs minister said that 20 to 25 years ago the population group between ages 20 and 29 was the largest, however, “that same cohort is now still the largest, but it is 50 years old. And the 20 to 29 [age group is] now is much smaller.”

With Barbados restructuring its flagging economy to make it welcoming to investors, and a number of major construction projects set to begin this year, she said, “it is not just a question of diversifying the economy and having a revenue-positive policy …but it is also a question of making sure you have the population base to support it.”

This unevenness in the island’s population was the reason that Ronald Jones, a minister in the former government, had pleaded with Barbadians to make more babies to counter the lowering birth rate, which in turn leads to a reduced workforce.

“A declining population will have an impact on what we do to support older generations and national development as a whole,” Jones had said.

But Hinkson dismissed that as the solution for Barbados’ immediate need for a larger workforce.

“We’re not going to do like what the then minister of education said two or three years ago that people must get more children because they will take 20 years plus nine months before a child might become productive if conceived today,” the home affairs minister said.

Barbados’s soon-to-be implemented programme of ‘managed migration’ should provide pointers to sister CARICOM nations on how to implement the grouping’s policy of the right of skilled nationals to work in most of the 15 countries in this body.

Source: Posted February 15, 2019 retrieved February 17, 2019 from: https://www.caribbeanlifenews.com/stories/2019/2/2019-02-15-ga-barbados-jobs-caricom-nationals-cl.html

According to this foregoing article, there is the need for Barbados to fill its job openings from CariCom countries nearby. The original plan for the now-stalled Caribbean Single Market & Economy (CSME) called for such “Free Movement of People”. Too bad, this scheme was never fully incorporated; many societal defects could have been averted.

The book Go Lean…Caribbean addressed CSME from the beginning; starting with this opening assessment of the State of Caribbean Integration. The book detailed CSME on Page 15 as follows:

What is the CSME?
The initials refer to the Caribbean Single Market & Economy, the attempted integrated development strategy envisioned at the 10th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community which took place in July 1989 in Grand Anse, Grenada. The Grand Anse Declaration had three key features:

  1. Deepening economic integration by advancing beyond a common market towards a Single Market and Economy.
  2. Widening the membership and thereby expanding the economic mass of the Caribbean Community (e.g. Suriname and Haiti were admitted as full members in 1995 and 2002 respectively).
  3. Progressive insertion of the region into the global trading and economic system by strengthening trading links with non-traditional partners.

What was the hope for CSME?
Whereas CariCom started as a Common Market and Customs Union, to facilitate more intra-region trade, the CSME was intended to effect more integration of the economies of the member states. But this turned out to be mere talk, fanciful murmurings of politicians during their bi-annual Heads of Government meetings. No deployment plans ever emerged, even though up to 15 member-states signed on to the accord; (and 10 more as “Observers” only).
…

The recommendation of the movement behind the Go Lean book is to confederate now, as this would expand the labor pool and job market. This is the purpose of the book Go Lean…Caribbean, to help reform and transform the economic engines of the 30 member-states of the Caribbean region. The book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU).

The Go Lean roadmap is designed to elevate the Caribbean region, to be better destinations to live, work and play. The roadmap asserts that in addition to the ease of travel and transport for touristic purposes – the primary industry in the region – Caribbean communities get to benefit from Free Movement of Labor under controlled employment rules-conditions. This is why the CU Trade Federation is a graduation from the CSME – something better. We accomplish Free Trade and Free Movement of People for Domestic (Intra-region) Tourism, but controlled Freedom of Movement for jobs … based on a Labor Certification process. Here is how the Go Lean book describes the Certification process as regulated by one of the CU agencies:

CU Labor Relations Board
This agency coordinates the activities of labor certifications, labor unions and other organizational dimensions in the region. This effort will be collaborated and in cooperation with member-state Labor Relations agencies. The CU‘s focus will be towards interstate activities and enterprises, as opposed to intra-state.

Labor Certification is an important role for this agency as it requires monitoring the labor needs of the region to ascertain where skills are needed and where and who can supply the skills. The certification role involves rating the level of expertise needed for job and rating workers skill sets. (Consider a 10-point grading system for positions and personnel, where “apprentice” level ranges from 1 – 3, “journeyman” level ranges from 4 – 6, and “master” ranges from 7 – 10). This certification role is vital to the strategy of preserving Caribbean human capital in the region, even if this involves some movement among the member-states.  [When a high skilled job becomes available, it has to be rated so that if no local talents are available, workers with qualifying ratings in other CU member-states can apply and be engaged].

Embracing the tenants of a Single Market have been elaborated upon in previous blog-commentaries. Consider this sample:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=15245 Righting a Wrong: Re-thinking CSME
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14954 Overseas Workers – Not the Panacea
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13319 Making a ‘Pluralistic Democracy’ – Freedom of Movement
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8377 Fallacy of Minimum Wage
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8351 Brexit reality tied to Free Movement of People.

Considering Barbados’s move in the foregoing, it is a good start for embracing the concept of a Single Market. They are not the first country in the region to lean-in to this initiative – and should not be the last. Consider the VIDEO here, relating the CARICOM Skilled Nationals Act in Guyana:

VIDEO – Gov’t to amend CARICOM Skilled Nationals Act – https://youtu.be/IduFS86PGpM

CapitolNewsGY
Published on Feb 5, 2014

http://www.capitolnewsonline.com | http://www.capitolnewsgy.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/wrhmnews
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CapitolNewsGY

Listen up you other countries: Follow suit!

All Caribbean stakeholders – leaders, citizens, businesses, employers, Union workers and professionals – need to embrace the strategy of a Single Market. The movement behind the Go Lean book invites everyone in the Caribbean to lean-in for the empowerments described here-in. We must do better than in the past; we cannot sustain our society with our current population dimensions. We must come together so that we can finally make our homelands better places to live, work and play. 🙂

About the Book
The book Go Lean…Caribbean 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 & 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 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.

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

Who We Are
The movement behind the Go Lean book – a non-partisan, apolitical, religiously-neutral Community Development Foundation chartered for the purpose of empowering and re-booting economic engines – 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.

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.

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.

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

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‘February 14’ commemorating ‘Hate, Not Love’ this year – ENCORE

Posted on February 13, 2019 in Ethos, Government, Locations, Social

This is Greater Miami – 2019.

What should be a day set-aside for lovers – Valentines Day – is now only being remembered for the bad episode of a  School Shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida – a suburban town in Greater Miami.

May we never forget!

But this is America; a warped pattern of gun use in society is common and now expected. For Caribbean communities, we have always been able to sit on the sidelines and just laugh-weep-mourn at these bad practices. On February 14, 2018 however, things change. One of our Caribbean Diaspora was enrolled at that High School … and victimized accordingly.

This American social dysfunction came to “our home” to roost.

So we must advocate for change, not just in our Caribbean homeland, but also for America, as the full Caribbean eco-system includes our Diaspora that have left the homeland 50, 40, 30, and 20 years ago – plus their children … and grandchildren. Surely, as compassionate people, we feel the thug on our hearts if/when a little one is victimized by this cruel American dysfunction.

Surely, we mourn for our own, and for those who emigrated from our communities; ones who may still consider the Caribbean their true identity and their tropical homeland as their true “yard”.

Surely!

This was the theme of a previous Go Lean commentary from March 26, 2018, asserting that while we need to work to reform our Caribbean homeland, to make it a better place to live, work and play, that we also need to lend-a-hand to change America. That previous blog is Encored here-now:

===========================

Go Lean Commentary – Observing the Change … with Guns

Here’s is our assignment – the 5 L‘s – for the Caribbean Diaspora in the US hoping for change back in our beloved homeland:

Look, Listen, Learn for the societal defects in the American eco-system.

… and if you can: Lend-a-hand

… then go back home and Lead.

You see, we are not trying to be like America; we are trying to be better.

This is a Big Deal … right now. There was a school shooting in the US again; this time on February 14, 2018 in Parkland, Florida. 17 people were killed, 14 students and 3 staff members. Though the school, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, has 3100+ students, the survivors are not going away quietly; they are “mad as hell and not taking it anymore”; they are not satisfied with the status quo for gun control in this country and they are not going to settle for anything other than:

Change.

When asked about the #Enough hashtag – “hactivism” – these young ones responses has been consistent, summarized as:

America should have considered it “Enough” with Columbine (1999), Virginia Tech (2007), Aurora Theater (2008), SandyHook (2012), Pulse Nightclub (2016), Las Vegas Concert (2017), or any of the other 260 shootings since Columbine. The fact that these shootings have proliferated is proof that the adults have failed to protect their children. Now the children will not be satisfied until there is real reform, real change.

——–

VIDEO – Hundreds of thousands stand with March for Our Lives – https://youtu.be/KYxIQ_FHPE4

Posted March 24, 2018 – From Washington D.C. to Paris, young voices resound in protest against gun violence.

The implementation of any reforms 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 for change in our region. But let’s lend-a-hand here too. We do have our Caribbean Diaspora here, and students and visitors. These ones amount to millions. Any lack of reform can and do imperil our own loved ones. This is sad, but true – one of the 17 victims in Parkland, Helena Ramsay (Age 17), was of Caribbean (Jamaica/Trinidad) heritage. See story here:

Title: Student of Caribbean-American descent among 17 victims killed at Parkland high school

According to reports obtained by the Jamaican Consulate in Miami, one of the victims of the tragic mass shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on Wednesday, February 14 was the child of Caribbean Americans parents.

Helena Ramsay, 17, a student at the high school was confirmed by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office as one of the 17 killed by a 19-year old gunman who opened fire on students and school staff. Her mother is reported to be Jamaican and her father Trinidadian.
…
Source: Posted February 16, 2018; retrieved March 27, 2018 from: https://www.caribbeannationalweekly.com/caribbean-breaking-news-featured/student-caribbean-american-descent-among-17-victims-killed-parkland-high-school/

Again, the US is being urged to reform and transform its policies on guns and school safety, while the Caribbean needs to implement a roadmap to forge change in the 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.

There will be a lot of security and governing dynamics associated with the topic of guns.

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 guns and gun control. In fact, there is 1 advocacy entitled “10 Ways to Improve Gun Control” (Page 179), with specific highlights, mitigations and solutions. There is also this encyclopedic reference to the US’s Second Amendment, here:

The Bottom Line on the 2nd Amendment

The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights that protects the right to keep and bear arms. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, along with the rest of the Bill of Rights.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Supreme Court ruled on several occasions that the amendment did not bar state regulation of firearms, considering the amendment to be “a limitation only upon the power of Congress and the National government and not upon that of the States.” Along with the incorporation of the Second Amendment in the 21st century, the Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess and carry firearms. In 2008 and 2010, the Court issued these two landmark decisions to officially establish an “individual rights” interpretation of the Second Amendment:

a. In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Court ruled that the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to possess a firearm, unconnected to service in a militia and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home within many longstanding prohibitions and restrictions on firearms possession listed by the Court as being consistent with the Second Amendment.

b. In McDonald v. Chicago (2010), the Court ruled that the Second Amendment limits state and local governments to the same extent that it limits the federal government.

The US has the most liberal gun ownership laws in the western world, accompanied by highest gun crime and murder rate.

The Go Lean book asserts that every community has bad actors, and coupled with guns, a bad actor can do a lot of damage. The assumption in the Social Contract – where citizens surrender some of their freedoms and submit to the authority of the State in exchange for protection of remaining natural and legal rights – is for the State or governing entity to regulate weapons to ensure protections for all members of society. There must be “new guards” to assuage any gun risks and threats in Caribbean communities. 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. …

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.

Reforming guns in the US is a BIG DEAL considering that many Caribbean people have emigrated to the US from their island homes. It is a frightening prospect that our people may have jumped from the “frying pan” of failing communities, “into the fire” of a gun-crazed society. This point was addressed recently in a previous blog-commentary entitled – ‘Pulled’ – Despite American Guns with this excerpt:

The repeated incidences of mass shootings – with no gun control remediation – makes American life defective …

This commentary aligns with charter of the book Go Lean … Caribbean to make the countries of the Caribbean region better places to live, work and play. The goal is to be Better Than America; to be a protégé without the ignominious Second Amendment; to exercise better governance.

Let’s see how this process goes in the US. Guns are in the DNA of this country; the Second Amendment was ratified in 1791; the US has more gun ownership per capita than any other country in the world; more gun deaths too. Changing this culture will truly be a BIG DEAL!

This writer is doing more than just “look, see or observe”; I will lend-a-hand as well.

I have children and grandchildren in the US States of Florida and Arizona. Though my efforts are only in the scope of reforming and transforming the Caribbean, my heart does want to ensure change in the US regarding guns and school safety.

I would not want to sacrifice my children nor grandchildren to the American twisted perception of gun rights. No, and while I accept the premise that I cannot fix America, I can work to fix the Caribbean homelands to be better places to live, work and play. Hopefully then we can provide a model to the US on how to effect change.

Let’s observe-and-report on this American effort – these Parkland students – let’s observe their successes and their failures, while we hope for change.

Speaking of change, this commentary commences a short 3-part series on “Change” in society. The full catalog of commentaries in this series are as follows:

  1. Change! Observing the Change – Student Marches for Gun Control Reform and Action
  2. Change! Be the Change – RIP Linda Brown; the little girl in “Brown vs Board of Education”
  3. Change! Forging Change – Citibank’s Model of “Corporate Vigilantism”

All of these commentaries give insights on “how” the stewards of a new Caribbean can persuade people, establishments and institutions to forge change in their communities. 🙂

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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Bad Partners – Cruise Lines Interactions

Posted on January 27, 2019 in Government, Industries, Locations

Go Lean Commentary

So you got a partner …

… he/she should be working towards maximizing the returns for your partnership. Each one should be pursuing what’s best for “us”, not “me”. This is a basic premise for any partnership: think marriage, business, musical band …

A partnership is an arrangement where parties, known as partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments or combinations. Organizations may partner to increase the likelihood of each achieving their mission and to amplify their reach. A partnership may result in issuing and holding equity or may be only governed by a contract. – Source: Wikipedia

Here is the partnership objectives that should be operating in our Caribbean marketplace:

Caribbean Port-of-Call: We need travelers to visit our shores and spend money to spur economic activity.

Cruise Line: We need passengers to book our cruises to consume Caribbean hospitality from onboard ships.

But a basic fault seem to be present in this partnership between the Cruise Line industry and their Caribbean ports-of-call:

The relationship appears to be one of détente – easing of strained relations – rather than a true partnership.

“I won’t destroy you if you don’t destroy me”.

While the partnership model may mean hoping that all parties profit, the détente model assumes a posture of mitigating mutual destruction. Yet, destroying the image of a port city is exactly what this cruise ship Captain has appeared to have accomplished in Nassau, Bahamas in December (2018) with the release of this personal Crime-Warning letter:

Discouraging his passengers from consuming a port-city?! That seems counter-productive! That seems counter-partnering!

See this related news article here, depicting the complaint and rebuke of the Bahamas Tourism officials towards this cruise line:

Title: Bahamas persuades Royal Caribbean to tone down warnings about crime in Nassau

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line has agreed to stop warning its cruise passengers about increased crime in Nassau and identifying parts of the city to avoid.

Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation for the island nation, told the Nassau Tribune this week that he employed “gentle nudging” to persuade Royal Caribbean to drop an “unwarranted” passenger advisory being distributed to disembarking passengers of the cruise line’s Anthem of the Seas.

D’Aguilar reached out to Miami-based Royal Caribbean after several cruise industry websites reported on the letter, signed by Anthem of the Seas’ captain Srecko Ban.

“We feel it is important to make our guests aware that Nassau has been experiencing an increase in crime,” the letter said.

A copy of Ban’s letter posted on various websites, dated Dec. 26, pointed out that the most common types of crimes are nonviolent, “such as theft of personal items,” and noted that “thousands of visitors routinely travel to Nassau without incident.”

It went on to provide safety tips and urged visitors to Nassau to be mindful of their personal safety “like visitors to all major foreign cities in the world today.”

Among the tips:

— Leave valuables and irreplaceable items inside your stateroom safe.

— Avoid wearing obviously expensive jewelry

— Carry only cash and credit cards needed on each outing.

— Use discretion when handling cash publicly.

— Keep belongings, especially expensive cameras and phones, secure and in sight.

The letter also recommended guests “not venture too far from tourist areas,” and identified as “particular areas of concern” the Sand Trap, the Fish Fry at Arawak Cay, “and areas of Nassau referred to as ‘Over the Hill’ by locals, which should be avoided after sunset.”

After stories about the letter were posted by such sites as cruiseradio.net and travelpulse.com, D’Aguilar on Dec. 27 told a Bahamas newspaper, the Nassau Tribune, that he felt “blindsided.”

But the Tribune story noted that the Anthem captain’s warning mirrored a January 2018 travel advisory by the U.S. State Department, telling tourists to “exercise increased caution in the Bahamas because of crime” and avoid the Over the Hill and Fish Fry areas at night.

The Canadian government warned tourists to avoid the same two areas in its own advisory on Dec. 20. Both countries’ advisories listed armed robberies, burglaries, purse snatchings, theft, fraud and sexual assaults as the most common crimes against travelers.

The Tribune story quoted D’Aguilar saying he had never heard complaints about the Fish Fry in numerous meetings with cruise line executives.

“I don’t know of any major or significant crime happening to a cruise passenger in quite some time,” he said. “I don’t know about petty crime, but in my humble opinion Nassau is as safe as any other city.”

Despite the warnings, the State Department advisory also reported statistics from Royal Bahamas Police Force Commissioner Anthony Ferguson showing a 14 percent drop in overall crime and a 22 percent drop in violent crime. “The one exception was a 10 percent increased in murders,” the advisory said, adding most reported violent crimes took place in areas not frequented by tourists.

On Monday, the Nassau Tribune posted a follow-up story quoting D’Aguilar saying he convinced Royal Caribbean through “gentle nudging” to withdraw its crime warning and replace it with “a more generalized warning … that does not mention Nassau by name and could be taken as referring to any of its ports of call.”

A story posted Wednesday on BahamasLocal.com, a search engine site, quoted a statement by Royal Caribbean pledging to replace the letters with a generic statement in its daily newsletter urging travelers to “use the same common sense you would in any major city” and consult the U.S. State Department for specific information about any country on the cruise line’s itinerary.

Reached by email Wednesday, Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Tracy Quan verified that the story in BahamasLocal “is accurate.”

The story further quotes Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, as saying Nassau remains the cruise line’s most popular port of call among more than 300 destinations.

Source:The Sun-Sentinel – South Florida Daily Newspaper – Posted January 2, 2019; retrieved January 24, 2019 from: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-bz-royal-caribbean-bahamas-crime-warning-20190102-story.html

———–

VIDEO – ANTHEM OF THE SEAS – Highlights of Royal Caribbean’s amazing second Quantum-Class-Cruiseship – https://youtu.be/nwsS9PaF94w



Cruiseclips

Published on Nov 14, 2015 – A video produced by: Tobias Bruns in cooperation with: Oceanliner Pictures.com Schiffsjournal.de Special thanks to Royal Caribbean International! Want to book a cruise with the “Anthem of the Seas”? check out www.kreuzfahrten-mehr.de Informations about the ship (german langauge) ausfürhrliches Schiffsportrait auf Schiffsjournal.de: http://www.schiffsjournal.de/schiffsp…

Category: Travel & Events

———–

Related:

Bahamas unhappy with cruise passenger spending: no longer paying incentives to cruise lines.

It’s time to reboot the entire Cruise-Port-City eco-system. This is a familiar advocacy for the movement behind the 2013 book Go Lean … Caribbean, a roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). “Stop competing“, the book urges, and start working together – collaborate, cooperate, confederate – as true partners.

Are there problems? Let’s collaborate to solve them.

You’re not making any profit? Then what changes can we make so that everyone wins.

There are no Bad Guys here; just the need to reboot. The first step is this rebooting must be the strategy of Collective Bargaining. The Go Lean book detailed this strategy (Page 32) early, as follows:

Cruise Line Collective Bargaining – Setting Matters Straight
The CU will collectively bargain with operators to garner more benefits and protections. In general, port cities are not gleaning much income from ship visits. In order to reboot the industry’s economic impact, changes need to be made, rescinding some exploitive rules the ships implemented and adding some new products, like smartcard e-purse options.

In addition, here are some suggestions, as summarized and excerpted from this advocacy in the Go Lean book (Page 193) entitled – 10 Ways to Impact Cruise Tourism:

1 Lean-in for the Caribbean Single Market – Negotiate-Bargain as a Collective agent for the region.
2 Quality Assurance Programs
The CU will regulate and enforce high standards among the port-side establishments, therefore eliminating the need for cruise lines to “curry favor” with merchants. A Charge-back eco-system and quality assurance programs like surveys for passenger feedback will be used and the results published extensively.
3 e-Purse Settlement with Central Bank in Caribbean Dollars
4 Port-side Risk Mitigations
Economic crimes against tourists are the jurisdiction of the CU. Therefore crime prevention responsibility rest primarily with the CU for monitoring, investigations and interdictions of systemic and racketeering threats. As such the ship ID cards can feature NFC features for location tagging.
5 Disabled Passengers Accommodations
6 Emergency Management Proactive and Reactive Services

The cruise lines will not go at it alone for emergencies in the region. The CU Emergency Managers will collaborate with cruise line managers for best practices/tactics during hurricane threats. As of late, (2013), Carnival Cruise Lines had a number of bad incidents impacting their cruise operations and generating bad publicity. The CU will deploy emergency support barges on demand, for Cruise lines to quickly respond and return ships to normal services.
7 Medical Escalated Response
8 Co-Marketing with National Tourism Departments, Excess Inventory and One-Way Travel

The Cruise industry should not be considered a competitor of Caribbean tourism, but rather a cooperative partner and even a transportation mode, ship lines could help with sea-lifts. Travel planners should be able to plan one-way cruise travel coupled with air-hotel packages. This option could extend to excess inventory during the slow season.
9 Domestic Market

The CU market of 42 million people also has vacation needs. Cruises should be able to start/end locally in the region, for example a passenger should be able to join a cruise in the Bahamas and complete the circuit back in the Bahamas. The Caribbean represents different cultures, languages, urban and rural destinations, therefore many taste can be accommodated. An alignment with tender boats can also accommodate eco-tourism hand-off to/from cruise ships. These are among the service offerings for collective bargaining negotiations.
10 Shipbuilding Support Services

The CU roadmap calls for fostering a shipbuilding/maintenance industry, so transfer prices and rebates could be offered to cruise lines for in-sourcing shipyard and dry-dock engagements in the CU region. The travel time to CU area shipyards can minimize the downtime for active cruise ships, positively affecting cruise lines cash flows.

More and more cruise ships are equipped with amenities once only available at on-shore facilities; think: ice-skating rink, zip line, go-cart racing, etc. – see foregoing VIDEO. This sends the message to on-island resorts that cruise lines will do Caribbean hospitality without them. This undermines any precept of a partnership.

This theme – trouble in the Cruise-Port-City eco-system – aligns with previous Go Lean commentaries; see a sample list here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=15380 Industrial Reboot – Cruise Tourism 2.0
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11544 Forging Change in Cruises: Collective Bargaining
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6635 New Security Chip in Credit Cards Unveiled
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5307 8th Violent Crime Warning to Bahamas Tourists
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5210 Cruise Ship Commerce – Getting Ready for Change
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4639 Tobago: A Model for Cruise Tourism
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2207 Hotels undermining Cruise Competition with Resort-fees

The problems in cruise tourism are not just in the Bahamas alone; rather all Caribbean port-cities are affected; think Montego Bay, Jamaica; Saint Martin, Grand Cayman, etc.. In summary, the assumed partnership between cruise lines and port-cities needs to be rebooted. In fact, all the societal engines of the Caribbean – economics, security and governance – need to be rebooted. The defects are glaring! But a regional approach, rather than a national focus, allows us the opportunity to finally pursue better strategies, tactics and implementations to improve the tourism product for all.

The effort to improve the Cruise-Port-City eco-system is Day One/Step One in the Go Lean roadmap. These pursuits need to succeed sooner, rather than later.

Let’s do this! Let’s make our homeland a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

About the Book
The book Go Lean…Caribbean 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 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.

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

Who We Are
The movement behind the Go Lean book – a non-partisan, apolitical, religiously-neutral Community Development Foundation chartered for the purpose of empowering and re-booting economic engines – 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.

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

 

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