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Commerce of the Seas – Book Review: ‘Sea Power’

Posted on June 9, 2017 in Economics, Government, Implementation

Go Lean Commentary

70% of the earth is covered by water
70% of the human body is made up by water

It seems that water is pretty important in managing the affairs of people and their community.

The quest of the movement behind the book Go Lean… Caribbean is to confederate, collaborate and convene the 30 member-states of the Caribbean region into a Single Market; this would include the territorial homelands and aligning seas. How, where, when ‘Sea Power’ is managed becomes a major consideration in this quest. A lesson we have learned from Economic History is that a people who wield ‘Sea Power’ can control the economic prospects of its people.

We learn this lesson even more succinctly now, thanks to the new book by Admiral James Stavridis entitled: Sea Power: The History and Geopolitics of the World’s Oceans. See a summary-review of the book here and listen to an AUDIO-Podcast interview with the Author:

Book Review for Book: Sea Power: The History and Geopolitics of the World’s Oceans By: Admiral James Stavridis

From one of the most admired admirals of his generation – and the only admiral to serve as Supreme Allied Commander at NATO – comes a remarkable voyage through all of the world’s most important bodies of water, providing the story of naval power as a driver of human history and a crucial element in our current geopolitical path.

From the time of the Greeks and the Persians clashing in the Mediterranean, sea power has determined world power. To an extent that is often underappreciated, it still does. No one understands this better than Admiral Jim Stavridis. In Sea Power, Admiral Stavridis takes us with him on a tour of the world’s oceans from the admiral’s chair, showing us how the geography of the oceans has shaped the destiny of nations, and how naval power has in a real sense made the world we live in today, and will shape the world we live in tomorrow.

Not least, Sea Power is marvelous naval history, giving us fresh insight into great naval engagements from the battles of Salamis and Lepanto through to Trafalgar, the Battle of the Atlantic, and submarine conflicts of the Cold War. It is also a keen-eyed reckoning with the likely sites of our next major naval conflicts, particularly the Arctic Ocean, Eastern Mediterranean, and the South China Sea. Finally, Sea Power steps back to take a holistic view of the plagues to our oceans that are best seen that way, from piracy to pollution.

When most of us look at a globe, we focus on the shape of the of the seven continents. Admiral Stavridis sees the shapes of the seven seas. After reading Sea Power, you will too. Not since Alfred Thayer Mahan’s legendary The Influence of Sea Power upon History have we had such a powerful reckoning with this vital subject.

Sea Power makes a great Father’s Day gift!

Source: Amazon Online Bookstore-Portal; retrieved June 9, 2017 from: https://www.amazon.com/Sea-Power-History-Geopolitics-Worlds/dp/073522059X/

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Appendix AUDIO-Podcast – Stavridis’ Book ‘Sea Power’ Explains Why Oceans Matter In Global Politics – http://www.npr.org/2017/06/06/531701056/stavridis-book-sea-power-explains-why-oceans-matter-in-global-politics

Published June 6, 2017 – NPR’s Morning Edition’s Steve Inskeep talks to retired Admiral James Stavridis, former supreme allied commander for NATO, about his new book: Sea Power: The History and Geopolitics of the World’s Oceans.

Listen to an extended NPR Podcast here: http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510053/on-point-with-tom-ashbrook

The theme of this new book aligns with the book Go Lean…Caribbean in explaining the significance of ‘Sea Power’ in any plan to elevate the Caribbean region’s societal engines. This commentary is 2 of 4 in a series considering the Lessons in Economic History related to “Commerce of the Seas”, the good, bad and ugly (think Crony-Capitalism) strategies and practices around the maritime eco-system in the United States … and other countries. The full series is as follows:

Commerce of the Seas – Stupidity of the Jones Act
Commerce of the Seas – Book Review: ‘Sea Power’
Commerce of the Seas – Shipbuilding Model of Ingalls
Commerce of the Seas – Lessons from Alang (India)

The previous commentary in this series relates how “Commerce” refers to the economic interest of the 30 member-states in the Caribbean region. Admiral Stavridis book has a heavy focus on naval military power; he posits that a strong Navy paves the way for and protects the continuation of maritime commerce. From the book Sea Power and the Go Lean book we see this consistent Lesson in Economic History:

Around the world, countries that have access to control of the “Sea” have a distinct advantage economically versus countries that are land-locked; i.e. England versus Austria.

As stated previously, the United States have wielded its ‘Sea Power’ to promote profit for its maritime industrial stakeholders at the expense of the residents of off-shore territories, like Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands in the Caribbean.

There is therefore a need to reboot, reform and transform the Caribbean region’s stewardship of the Seas. This is the purpose of the book Go Lean … Caribbean, to help empower and elevate the societal engines of the 30 member-states of the Caribbean region and their waterscapes. The Go Lean book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). This would be the inter-governmental entity for a regional Single Market that covers the land territories of the 30 member-states, and their aligning seas; (including the 1,063,000 square miles of the Caribbean Sea in an Exclusive Economic Zone). The Go Lean/CU roadmap features this prime directive, as defined by these 3 statements:

Optimization of the economic engines to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
Establishment of a security apparatus to protect public safety and ensure the economic engines of the region, including the seas.
Improvement of Caribbean governance to support these engines in local governments and in the Exclusive Economic Zone, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

This Go Lean roadmap envisioned a wide-ranging, fully-encompassing treaty for all Caribbean member-states to deputize a technocratic agency to better administer the affairs (economic, security and governance) of the waterscapes in the region. It was recognized that this quest was “out-of-scope” and too big for any one Caribbean member-state alone, but rather, acknowledging their regional interdependence, these stakeholders would be able to engage a new inter-governmental administration for better regional stewardship. This, regionalism, was the original intent of the Go Lean book, which commenced with a Declaration of Interdependence, pronouncing the need for regional coordination and integration so as to reform and transform Caribbean society. See a sample of relevant stanzas here (Page 11 – 12) as related to the Caribbean ‘Sea Power’:

v. Whereas the natural formation of our landmass and coastlines entail a large portion of waterscapes, the reality of management of our interior calls for extended oversight of the waterways between the islands. The internationally accepted 12-mile limits for national borders must be extended by International Tribunals to encompass the areas in between islands. The individual states must maintain their 12-mile borders while the sovereignty of this expanded area, the Exclusive Economic Zone, must be vested in the accedence of this Federation.

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.

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 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.

The foregoing book, Sea Power, aligns with the Go Lean book references to strategies, tactics and implementations for the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn directions on “how” this EEZ can impact and benefit Caribbean society. Consider the Chapter excerpts and headlines from this sample on Page 104:

The Bottom Line on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
The UNCLOS is the international agreement that resulted from the third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea which took place between 1973 and 1982. This Convention defines the rights and responsibilities of nations in their use of the world’s oceans, establishing guidelines for businesses, the environment, and the management of marine natural resources. As of October 2012, 164 countries and the European Union have joined in the Convention. The convention introduced a number of provisions. The most significant issues covered were setting limits, navigation, archipelagic status and transit regimes, exclusive economic zones (EEZs), continental shelf jurisdiction, deep seabed mining, the exploitation regime, protection of the marine environment, scientific research, and settlement of disputes. EEZs extend from the edge of the territorial sea out to 200 nautical miles (230 miles) from the 12-mile baseline. Within this area, the coastal nation has sole exploitation rights over all natural resources, including the continental shelf. EEZs were introduced to halt the increasingly heated clashes over fishing rights, although oil was also becoming important. The success of an offshore oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico in 1947 was soon repeated elsewhere in the world, and by 1970 it was technically feasible to operate in waters 4000 meters deep. Foreign nations still have freedoms of navigation and over-flights for the EEZ, subject to the regulation of the coastal states. Foreign states may also lay submarine pipes and cables.

CU independent UNCLOS member-states include: Antigua, Jamaica, Suriname, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Barbados, Saint Vincent, Saint Kitts, Trinidad, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Cuba, Bahamas & Belize.

10 Start-up Benefits from the EEZ

1	Lean-in for Caribbean Integration The CU treaty unifies the Caribbean region into one single market of 42 million people across 30 member-states, thereby empowering the economic engines in and on behalf of the region. Integral to CU roadmap, is the territory between the island states. The CU will petition the United Nations for rights under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea for acquisition of an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). This will facilitate both economic empowerment (including Fisheries management) and security assurances for the region. (This effort was started by the Association of Caribbean States).
2	Funding by Selling Exploration Rights
3	Off-shore Wind Turbines
4	Pipelines
5	Extractions – Economic & Security
6	Security – Anti-Piracy The CU has the mission to defend the homeland against enemies: foreign, domestic, and in the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Caribbean Seas. There is still a threat of piracy in modern times, and these “bad actors” hide behind jurisdictional confusions of one territorial waters after another. But the CU, with its regional oversight, can be more effective in bringing these ones to justice. Piracy is a form of terrorism, and cruise ships (smaller vessels catering to a High Net Worth – One Percent – market) and leisure crafts can be vulnerable to these threats.
7	Security – Interdictions There is the need to be on alert for seaborne drug smuggling activities, as these can have corrupting influences on the local community. This would be the direct responsibilities of the CU Naval Operations for the jurisdiction of the EEZ. Today the US Coast Guard conducts patrols in the Caribbean Seas with impunity. There is no plan in the CU roadmap to curtail any of this activity; instead the CU will better coordinate their routes and maneuvers with CU Naval Operations.
8	Security – Search & Rescue
9	Security Monitoring The CU will embrace many cutting-edge technological options to “keep eyes” on the Caribbean Seas. This includes satellite (visual & GPS), drones (unmanned airborne vehicles & dirigibles or blimps. Boaters will be incentivized tocooperate and install location beacons.
10	Security – Defense Pact (Naval Maneuvers) The US, France, Netherlands, UK and some European trading partners have declared a “War Against Terrorism”; those battles will surely come to Caribbean shores. The CU therefore invites the Navies of allied nations to train, visit and conduct operations in our Caribbean waters, especially in the EEZ.

The issue of managing marine resources for commerce and security in the Caribbean has been a frequent subject for previous blog-commentaries; consider this list of sample entries:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11544	Forging Change in the Cruise Industry with Collective Bargaining
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10566	Funding the Caribbean Security Pact
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8819	Lessons from China – South China Seas: Exclusive Economic Zones
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5210	Cruise Ship Commerce – Getting Ready for Change
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3594	Better Fisheries Management for Queen Conch
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1965	America’s Navy – 100 Percent – Model for Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=673	Ghost ships – Autonomous cargo vessels without a crew
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=273	10 Things We Want from the US – # 4: Pax Americana

All Caribbean members are islands or coastal territories. The subject of ‘Sea Power’ and security of the waterscapes matters to us. Rather than 70 percent, we have to be concerned with 100 percent of the issues, challenges and opportunities.

There is a need to reform our maritime eco-system, for commerce and security. ‘Sea Power’ determines world power, so there is also a need to have a “seat at the table” among the big nations and sea-faring empires. As one small island alone, there is no chance for that consideration; but as a Single Market entity of 42 million people and 30 separate countries (and territories), the Caribbean can now have a Voice … and a Vote (in international forums) so as to shape the destiny of our homeland … and maybe even the whole world of commerce & security.

We hereby urge all Caribbean stakeholders – governments and citizens – to lean-in to this Go Lean roadmap to better wield our ‘Sea Power’, so that our region can be a better homeland (and waterscapes) to live, work and play. 🙂

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

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

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Book Review, Fisheries, Model, Security, Ships, Trade, Transform

Commerce of the Seas – Stupidity of the Jones Act

Posted on June 8, 2017 in Economics, Government, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

In the Caribbean, we are surrounded by water (straits, banks, Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, etc); if you stare upon the waters in the middle of a sunny day, you start to see a mirage – a distortion in reality. In the Caribbean, we are also surrounded by a lot of stupidity. Make no mistake, this is not a mirage; it is mercantilism*.

In a previous blog, this commentary asserted that the historicity of a lot of stupidity in society is due to Crony-Capitalism:

Someone is getting paid!

This applies in so many areas of American life that Caribbean people can learn lessons from this history and distortion in reality. This commentary is 1 of 4 in a series considering the Lessons in Economic History related to “Commerce of the Seas”, the Crony-Capitalism in laws and practices around the maritime eco-system in the United States … and other countries. The full series is as follows:

Commerce of the Seas – Stupidity of the Jones Act
Commerce of the Seas – Book Review: ‘Sea Power’
Commerce of the Seas – Shipbuilding Model of Ingalls
Commerce of the Seas – Lessons from Alang (India)

The reference to “Commerce” refers to the economic interests of the 30 member-states in the Caribbean region. There are so many Lessons in Economic History for us to glean:

Around the world, countries that had access to the “Sea” have a distinct advantage economically versus countries that were land-locked; i.e. England versus Austria.

Mercantilism dictated that empires force rules and laws to preserve commerce for their home countries. This was also the case for the United States. One prominent law that was instituted was the Jones Act; see more in Appendix B below.

The Jones Act mandates that for a ship to go from one US port to another US port it must be American-made and American flagged. Also, for foreign ships to trade in US Territories, they must first journey to a foreign port before they could journey to another American port to transport goods. This seems “stupid”; but the adherence to this law keeps American maritime commerce options afloat; this means someone is getting paid; see VIDEO in Appendix A below, highlighting a distortion in the reality of Puerto Rico-to US Mainland trade.

How about the Caribbean, do we have or need maritime “protectionism” in the laws of the member-states of our region? The answer is affirmative for the dysfunctional US Territories; there is a need for economic regionalism, not protectionism.

The US Territories of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands are also regulated by the Jones Act. According to the encyclopedic reference (in Appendix B below), this is not good; it hinders economic development!

In March 2013, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a study of the effect of the Jones Act on Puerto Rico that noted “freight rates are set based on a host of supply and demand factors in the market, some of which are affected directly or indirectly by Jones Act requirements.” The report further concludes … [that] freight rates between the United States and Puerto Rico are affected by the Jones Act.” The report also addresses what would happen “under a full exemption from the Act, the rules and requirements that would apply to all carriers would need to be determined.” The report continues that “while proponents of this change expect increased competition and greater availability of vessels to suit shippers’ needs” …

The American territories in the Caribbean are in the middle of the Caribbean geography, rimming the Caribbean Sea. The “Laws of the Sea” need to reflect this reality and not just political alignments. This is the purpose of the book Go Lean … Caribbean, to help reform and transform the societal engines for the 30 member-states of the Caribbean region. The book specifically addresses customization to the “Laws of the Sea” to benefit the Caribbean region. The book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). This would be the governmental entity for a regional Single Market that covers the land territories of the 30 member-states, and their aligning seas; (including the 1,063,000 square miles of the Caribbean Sea in an Exclusive Economic Zone). The Go Lean/CU roadmap features this prime directive, as defined by these 3 statements:

Optimization of the economic engines to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
Establishment of a security apparatus to protect public safety and ensure the economic engines of the region, including the seas.
Improvement of Caribbean governance to support these engines in local governments and in the Exclusive Economic Zone, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

The Go Lean roadmap allows for the regional stewardship and administration of the commerce on the Caribbean Seas in collaboration, conjunction and cooperation with US legal jurisdiction and foreign entities. The legal premise for this strategy is an Interstate Compact & Treaty – see details in the Go Lean book (Page 278) or the photo-excerpt in Appendix IA below – legislated by the US Congress, independent Caribbean governments (17) and the colonial masters for the existing overseas territories:

France (Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Martin, St. Barthélemy)
The Netherlands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten)
United Kingdom (Anguilla, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Turks & Caicos and the British Virgin Islands)

Such a wide-ranging, fully-encompassing Compact-Treaty was an original intent of the Go Lean book – economic regionalism. The publication (published in November 2013) commenced with a Declaration of Interdependence, pronouncing the need for regional coordination and integration so as to reform and transform Caribbean society. See a sample of relevant stanzas here (Page 11 – 13):

v. Whereas the natural formation of our landmass and coastlines entail a large portion of waterscapes, the reality of management of our interior calls for extended oversight of the waterways between the islands. The internationally accepted 12-mile limits for national borders must be extended by International Tribunals to encompass the areas in between islands. The individual states must maintain their 12-mile borders while the sovereignty of this expanded area, the Exclusive Economic Zone, must be vested in the accedence of this Federation.

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.

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.

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

The foregoing Jones Act is an American legislation that probably needs to be repealed or revised to reflect the actuality of a globalized economy; (there are some good provisions related to injury of seamen). Consider this recent experience recorded by a commentator on a news site, below an article regarding the efforts to repeal the Jones Act:

John David Oct 25, 2016 at 7:38 pm

The Act does not Protect the Ports and Waterways, that task is left to the US Navy and US Coast Guard. We have Significant Ports on the US Mainland. None of them have had any security issues with Foreign Flagged Vessels. Trade is restrictive to and from places like Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Guam Etc.

Therefore business that could be entertained and cultivated providing a boost in their respective economies, those areas economically are suppressed. The United States has a significant Naval and Coast Guard presence in each of these areas. An example of how this stifles the economy would be to take a guitar manufacturer located on the Big Island of Hawaii. The Big Island has an abundance of Koa wood, a highly sought after wood for the manufacture of wooden guitars. However if they wanted to ship their guitars to a distributor in Australia, they have to first ship it to the USA mainland. They then Offload it and re-ship it to Australia, The interesting part of this story is that many times the costs for shipping it to Australia are less than it was to ship it to the US Mainland on the initial leg. So as you can see this stifles any possible USA productivity. And maybe that is why no one in Hawaii is Mfg guitars, or hardly anything else for that matter.

Original News Article: The Triton – Nautical News – Published January 26, 2015; retrieved June 8, 2017 from: http://www.the-triton.com/2015/01/mccain-repeal-jones-act/

Reforming America is out-of-scope for the Go Lean movement, notwithstanding Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Our quest is to reform and transform the Caribbean … only. The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos for economic regionalism, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the maritime commerce to benefit Caribbean society.

The issue of rebooting maritime commerce has been a frequent subject for previous blog-commentaries; consider this list of sample entries:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11544	Forging Change in the Cruise Industry with Collective Bargaining
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=4037	One mission for Maritime Commerce: Expanding Shipbuilding
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3594	Better Fisheries Management for Queen Conch
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2003	Where the Jobs Are in Maritime Commerce? Consider Shipbreaking
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=673	Ghost ships – Autonomous cargo vessels without a crew

All Caribbean members are islands or coastal territories. There is a need to reform maritime commerce for the Caribbean region; we can get more economic activity from this sector; the Go Lean book projects 15,000 new direct jobs in the shipbuilding industry, 4000 in fisheries and 800 jobs by reforming payment systems for cruise passengers. The possibility of new jobs are positive economic fruitage from considering a reboot of maritime eco-system; it would be stupid not to try.

Previous generations in the Caribbean lived off the sea; we can again; it would be stupid not to try. This plan is conceivable, believable and achievable. We urge all Caribbean stakeholders – seafarers and land-lovers – to lean-in to this roadmap for economic empowerment. We can make the Caribbean homeland and seas better places to live, work and play. 🙂

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

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

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Appendix A VIDEO – The Jones Act And The Debt Crisis – https://youtu.be/PFnrGcP1OyE

Published on Sep 27, 2016 – Nelson Denis talks about the Jones Act.

In addition, see the FULL Documentary on the Jones Act Explanation: https://youtu.be/GpwzoDGDGAQ

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Appendix B: Merchant Marine Act of 1920 aka Jones Act

The Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (P.L. 66-261), also known as the Jones Act, is a United States federal statute that provides for the promotion and maintenance of the American merchant marine.^[1] Among other purposes, the law regulates maritime commerce in U.S. waters and between U.S. ports. Section 27 of the Jones Act deals with cabotage and requires that all goods transported by water between U.S. ports be carried on U.S.-flag ships, constructed in the United States, owned by U.S. citizens, and crewed by U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents.^[2] The act was introduced by Senator Wesley Jones.

Laws similar to the Jones Act date to the early days of the nation. In the First Congress, on September 1, 1789, Congress enacted Chapter XI, “An Act for Registering and Clearing Vessels, Regulating the Coasting Trade, and for other purposes”, which limited domestic trades to American ships meeting certain requirements.^[3]

The Merchant Marine Act of 1920 has been revised a number of times; the most recent revision in 2006 included recodification in the U.S. Code.^[2] In early 2015 Senator John McCain filed for an amendment that would essentially annul the Act.^[4] [The amendment failed].

The Jones Act is not to be confused with the Death on the High Seas Act, another United States maritime law that does not apply to coastal and in-land navigable waters.

Objectives and purpose
The intention of Congress to ensure a vibrant United States maritime industry is stated in the preamble to the Merchant Marine Act of 1920.^[5]

Cabotage
Cabotage is the transport of goods or passengers between two points in the same country, alongside coastal waters, by a vessel or an aircraft registered in another country. Originally a shipping term, cabotage now also covers aviation, railways, and road transport. Cabotage is “trade or navigation in coastal waters, or the exclusive right of a country to operate the air traffic within its territory”.^[6] In the context of “cabotage rights”, cabotage refers to the right of a company from one country to trade in another country. In aviation terms, for example, it is the right to operate within the domestic borders of another country. Most countries enact cabotage laws for reasons of economic protectionism or national security.^{[citation needed]}

The cabotage provisions relating to the Jones Act restrict the carriage of goods or passengers between United States ports to U.S.-built and flagged vessels. It has been codified as portions of 46 U.S.C. ^[7] Generally, the Jones Act prohibits any foreign-built, foreign-owned or foreign-flagged vessel from engaging in coastwise trade within the United States. A number of other statutes affect coastwise trade and should be consulted along with the Jones Act. These include the Passenger Vessel Services Act, 46 USC section 289 which restricts coastwise transportation of passengers and 46 USC section 12108 restricts the use of foreign vessel to commercially catch or transport fish in U.S. waters.^[8] These provisions also require at least three-fourths of the crewmembers to be U.S. citizens. Moreover, the steel of foreign repair work on the hull and superstructure of a U.S.-flagged vessel is limited to ten percent by weight.

…

Effects
The Jones Act prevents foreign-flagged ships from carrying cargo between the US mainland and noncontiguous parts of the US, such as Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Alaska, and Guam.^[11] Foreign ships inbound with goods cannot stop any of these four locations, offload goods, load mainland-bound goods, and continue to US mainland ports. Instead, they must proceed directly to US mainland ports, where distributors break bulk and then send goods to US places off the mainland by US-flagged ships.^[11] Jones Act restrictions can be circumvented by making a stop in a foreign country between two US ports, e.g., Anchorage–Vancouver–Seattle.

Puerto Rico
Studies by the World Economic Forum and Federal Reserve Bank of New York have concluded that the Jones Act hinders economic development in Puerto Rico.^[12]

In March 2013, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a study of the effect of the Jones Act on Puerto Rico that noted “[f]reight rates are set based on a host of supply and demand factors in the market, some of which are affected directly or indirectly by Jones Act requirements.” The report further concludes, however, that “because so many other factors besides the Jones Act affect rates, it is difficult to isolate the exact extent to which freight rates between the United States and Puerto Rico are affected by the Jones Act.” The report also addresses what would happen “under a full exemption from the Act, the rules and requirements that would apply to all carriers would need to be determined.” The report continues that “[w]hile proponents of this change expect increased competition and greater availability of vessels to suit shippers’ needs, it is also possible that the reliability and other beneficial aspects of the current service could be affected.” The report concludes that “GAO’s report confirmed that previous estimates of the so-called ‘cost’ of the Jones Act are not verifiable and cannot be proven.”^[13]

In the Washington Times, Rep. Duncan Hunter spoke to the need for the Jones Act and why it is not to blame for the island’s debt crisis. “With or without such an effort, it’s imperative not to conflate the unrelated issues of Puerto Rico’s debt and the Jones Act, and to fully grasp the importance of ensuring the safe transport of goods between American ports. There must also be acknowledgment of the dire consequences of exposing ports and waterways to foreign seafarers.”^[14]

[See VIDEO in Appendix A above].

US shipbuilding
Because the Jones Act requires all transport between US ports be carried on US-built ships, the Jones Act supports the domestic US shipbuilding industry.^[15][16]Critics of the act describe it as protectionist, harming the overall economy for the sake of benefiting narrow interests.^[17][18] Other criticism argues that the Jones Act is an ineffective way to achieve this goal, claiming it drives up shipping costs, increases energy costs, stifles competition, and hampers innovation in the U.S. shipping industry^[19] – however, multiple GAO reports have disputed these claims.^[20]

Source: Retrieved June 8, 2017 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchant_Marine_Act_of_1920

[See the FULL Documentary on the Jones Act Explanation: https://youtu.be/GpwzoDGDGAQ]

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Appendix IA – Interstate Compacts

Since Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are US Territories, their implementation of the provisions of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation must legally be construed as an Interstate Compact.

An Interstate Compact is an agreement between two or more states of the US. Article I, Section 10 of the US Constitution provides that “no state shall enter into an agreement or compact with another state” without the consent of Congress. Frequently, these agreements create a new governmental agency which is responsible for administering or improving some shared resource such as a seaport or public transportation infrastructure. In some cases, a compact serves simply as a coordination mechanism between independent authorities in the member states.

Click on photo to enlarge

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Footnote Reference – * Mercantilism

A system of political and economic policy, evolving with the modern national state and seeking to secure a nation’s political and economic supremacy in its rivalry with other states. According to this system, money was regarded as a store of wealth, and the goal of a state was the accumulation of precious metals, by exporting the largest possible quantity of its products and importing as little as possible, thus establishing a favorable balance of trade.
Source: Retrieved June 8, 2017 from: http://www.dictionary.com/browse/mercantile-system

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Crony-Capitalism, Cruise, Model, PR, Ships, Trade, Transform

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Inaction: A Recipe for ‘Failed-State’ Status

Posted on June 7, 2017 in Government, Social, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

Do you remember when …?

Why not? It was such an important event that you should never forget. And yet!

This is the current situation today for a country that is a Caribbean neighbor: Venezuela. Atrocities are happening there and we, as observing-reporting neighbors have done nothing and now propose more of the same:

Inaction.

This is the formula, the recipe, for creating a Failed-State:

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” – Edmund Burke; 1729 – 1797; an Irish statesman and member of British Parliament.

How can we forget?!?!

The recipe of good people … doing nothing to prevent atrocities is what was prevalent in Nazi Germany, Rwanda, Bosnia and many other troubled spots – Failed-States – in modern times; (see Appendix D below). Despite all of our pledges of “Never Again“, we now see it happening again; this time in Venezuela; see VIDEO in Appendix C below.

In a previous blog-commentary by the movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean – available to download for free – it was related that …

… unless mitigated, Venezuela will become a Failed-State. We hope that the country, and their South American neighbors, can secure their society to assure peace and the protection of human rights.

In fact, the Go Lean commentary had observed-and-reported on a number of negative developments regarding Venezuela; see this sample list of previous blogs here:

Link	Date	Title
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8132	05-31-2016	Venezuela: Watching a ‘Train Wreck in Slow Motion’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6800	10-26-2015	Venezuela sues black market currency website in US
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1076	05-29-2014	Trinidad Muslims travel to Venezuela for jihadist training

The situation in Venezuela is dire – see VIDEO in Appendix C below – action must be taken to abate the downward spiral of the societal engines there. There is something the Caribbean community can do to help mitigate the threats.

There are new Caribbean-Venezuela developments … happening now (last week actually):

Proposals for more of the same … inaction.

See the news articles in the Appendices (A & B) below. The overall theme from the articles is that government leaders in the formal Caribbean Community (CariCom) want to not disturb Venezuela’s sovereignty and further these leaders oppose any entity – i.e. the Organization of American States or OAS – that may want to condemn the status quo and ruling class in Venezuela.

Say it ain’t so CariCom!

Venezuela is near-Failed-State status; lives are being lost; economic systems are dysfunctional and people are taking flight, seeking refuge in foreign countries; see VIDEO below. Despite these conditions, CariCom – who weld some power and influence through peer pressure – wants Inaction.

We object!

Down with CariCom …
Time for a change …
Time to reboot the Caribbean …

This is the declaration of the book Go Lean…Caribbean; this book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states. The book posits that CariCom is a failure (Page 3) and that the quest for regional integration in the Caribbean needs a new – and better – expression. The book therefore presents the Go Lean/CU roadmap with these 3 prime directives:

Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion and create 2.2 million new jobs.
Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines.

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

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

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

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

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions and actions 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. To prevent atrocities, there must be actions, positive engagements, before and after; see Appendix D below.

To political leaders like Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, the Go Lean movement gives this salutation (Page 252):

[Step aside]. Thank you for your service. Change has come.

We must do this: change from the inaction of the current political leadership and lean-in to this roadmap to re-boot, reform and transform the Caribbean region.

Yes, we can act and help prevent atrocities in our region and make our own homeland better places to live, work and play. 🙂

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

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

————-

Appendix A – Gonsalves warns CariCom of plot against Venezuela

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent – Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves of St Vincent and the Grenadines has cautioned the Caribbean Community (CariCom) to refrain from allowing a small group of powerful nations to dilute the collective strength of the 15-member regional grouping.

Gonsalves, in a three page letter to CariCom leaders, that was circulated to the media, warned that a wedge is being driven through CariCom over a plan for regime change in Venezuela and the group of powerful nations with the Organisation of America States (OAS) has an agenda of naked self-interest.

He said the group has strategically invited select CariCom countries to their meetings and ignored the others. In the result, they have succeeded in disuniting and weakening CariCom countries whose only strength lies in our solidarity. This worrying development has been particularly manifest in matters relating to Venezuela, said Gonsalves in a letter dated May 10.

There is clearly a calculated strategy in place by a group of nations to achieve regime change in Venezuela by using the OAS as a weapon of destruction, he added.

Gonsalves said while CARICOM countries may have concerns about the political, economic and social conditions in Venezuela, we are all sufficiently seasoned political leaders to know that toppling a government will not end those conditions, particularly when there is no viable, electable single alternative to replace it.

Resolving the conflict
He acknowledged that CariCom member states could have a role in promoting dialogue to help resolve the conflict in Venezuela he warned fellow regional leaders against allowing themselves to be ambushed into breaking our solidarity and aligning ourselves with fair-weather friends.

Meanwhile, representatives from 18 OAS member states have approved a meeting of foreign ministers scheduled for May 31 in Washington to discuss the Venezuelan crisis.

In recent weeks, there has been growing unrest across Venezuela, with several killed and others injured as they have called for elections, freedom for jailed activists, foreign humanitarian aid to offset the economic crisis, and autonomy for the opposition-controlled legislature.

Source: Posted May 17, 2017; retrieved June 7, 2017 from: https://www.iwnsvg.com/2017/05/17/gonsalves-warns-caricom-of-plot-against-venezuela/

————-

Appendix B – St Vincent PM praises CariCom on position taken on Venezuela
By: Peter Richards

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister, Ralph Gonsalves has praised Caribbean Community (CariCom) countries for acting “with independence, courage and concerted action” during the Permanent Council meeting of the Organisation of American States (OAS) called to discuss the situation in Venezuela earlier this week.

In a two-page letter sent to the Irwin La Rocque, secretary general of CariCom, Gonsalves said that the “CariCom stance is a tribute to our region’s commitment to the highest ideals of our Caribbean civilisation and of its institutional expression, politically, the independent and sovereign nation-state”.

He said that through its position at the OAS, CariCom countries have honoured the names of “our revered leaders of yesteryear” including Errol Barrow of Barbados, Forbes Burnham of Guyana, Michael Manley of Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago’s Dr. Eric Williams “whose respective countries defied the edict of a hegemonic neighbour in their formal diplomatic recognition of revolutionary Cuba in 1972”.

In his letter, which was copied to heads of state and governments in CariCom and obtained by the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC), Gonsalves said he was “humbled and proud of the majesty of CARICOM’s united stance in defence of the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of states; the bedrock ideas of sovereignty and independence (and) the nobility of the fundamental precepts of representative democracy”.

During the OAS meeting, Jamaica, for example, called for dialogue among all parties in Venezuela, where opposition-led street demonstrations to force the Nicolas Maduro government out of office have resulted in more than 40 deaths and a split among members of the OAS.

Jamaica’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Kamina Johnson-Smith, addressing the 29th Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs at the OAS in Washington earlier this week, said the Andrew Holness government is “gravely concerned by the continued deterioration of the situation in Venezuela”.

She cited increased violence, loss of life, damage to infrastructure, severe economic hardships for the people, and “a hardening of deeply entrenched positions by both Government and opposition groups…

“Jamaica continues to highly favour meaningful dialogue and discourages the isolation of Venezuela. We, therefore, invite the Government of Venezuela to reconsider that decision,” Johnson Smith added.

On Wednesday, Trinidad and Tobago called for the removal of the OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro, over his non-neutral position on the political situation in Venezuela and warned the 15-member CariCom grouping of the possibility of destroying “itself as an honest broker with respect to any involvement in assistance to Venezuela and its internal problems…

“Trinidad and Tobago registered a strong objection to the behaviour of the OAS leadership. The public servants from the OAS took it upon themselves to engage the Government of Venezuela, the president in fact, in a very derogatory manner,” Prime Minister Keith Rowley told a news conference on his return from an official two-day visit to Chile.

Last month, CariCom foreign ministers called for non-interference in the internal affairs of Venezuela.

Gonsalves, who had last month had cautioned CARICOM to refrain from allowing a small group of powerful nations to dilute the “collective strength” of the 15 member regional grouping on the Venezuela issue, said in his letter to La Rocque that he was “heartened that CariCom member-states are alive to the maneuverings of those who would wish to deliver Venezuela and its oil on a platter to a handful of global enterprises, who are focused on their own greed, duplicity, and narrow self interest….

“We know the road very well. But CariCom has taken the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference,” Gonsalves wrote, adding, “I do not underestimate the current travails of Venezuela and I am pleased that CariCom is prepared to play a facilitating role, along with other countries and leading personalities in fostering peace, dialogue and constitutionalism in Venezuela”.

But he acknowledged that “at the end of the day, this is a matter for Venezuelans themselves”.

Gonsalves said that he is “sure that the overwhelming majority of nation-states, globally, are pleased with CariCom’s stance at the OAS.

“We must now allow our unity and good sense to be put asunder. Now more than ever we must remain firm. The enemies at the gates of non-interference, sovereignty, and independence will not rest; indeed, they will redouble their efforts. They will raise aloft, hypocritically, any number of high-sounding phrases but beneath them are base motives. History has taught us all this, and more.

“I am confident of CariCom’s continuing embrace of independence, courage, and concerted action, remembering always that, of all time, only the future is ours to desecrate. Our Caribbean civilisation must never be engaged in the desecration of our future,” the St. Vincent and the Grenadines prime minister wrote.

Source: Posted June 3, 2017; retrieved June 7, 2017 from: https://www.iwnsvg.com/2017/06/03/st-vincent-pm-praises-caricom-on-position-taken-on-venezuela/

————-

Appendix C VIDEO – Exclusive Interview on Venezeula: “We’re Being Ruthlessly Killed by the Venezuelan Gov’t” – https://youtu.be/qwPZ75_rj0k

Published on Jun 7, 2017 – Venezuelan citizen Aura Garrillo joined MRCTV’s Nick Kangadis to talk about the atrocities happening in the “dictatorial” nation of Venezuela.

Garrillo speaks out about the hyper-inflation, crime-ridden neighborhoods, lack of affordable goods and bloodshed, courtesy of the Nicolas Maduro-led government.

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About: MRCTV is an online media platform designed to broadcast conservative values, culture, politics, liberal media bias, and entertainment to a new and diverse audience on a social media optimized site. Our goal is to break down the boundaries between traditional conservative media and mainstream culture.

Follow Us:
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Category: News & Politics
License: Standard YouTube License

————-

Appendix D – Preventing mass atrocities – An agenda for policymakers and citizens

Introduction ………………………………………………………. 1

Early warning ……….. ………………………………………….. 3

Detecting risk and promoting action

Diplomacy …………………………………………………………. 5

The first line of prevention

Development aid ………………………………………………… 7

Building resilient societies to prevent atrocities

Security assistance ……………………………………………… 9

Helping countries protect their people

International action ………………………………………………11

Working together to prevent atrocities

See the full report here; retrieved June 7, 2017 from:

http://responsibilitytoprotect.org/Cit%20for%20glob%20sol-Preventing_mass_atrocities-highres-singlepages.pdf

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CariCom, Disaster, Foreign Policy, Model, Venezuela

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Hurricane Season 2017 and ‘Climate Change’ Abatement

Posted on June 1, 2017 in Government, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

Its June 1st, the start of the Hurricane season. According to Weather Authorities, it is going to be a tumultuous season, maybe even more destructive than last year; see Appendix A below.

Thanks Climate Change.

What hope is there to abate the threats from Climate Change?

Thanks to the Paris Accord, there is now hope; (we remember the effectiveness of the accord to abate “Acid Rain”).

But wait! The American President – Donald Trump – announces that he is withdrawing the United States from the Paris Accord. (See the news article/link in Appendix B below).

W.T.H.?!?!

This is a matter of security; perhaps we should not look to the US to take the lead for our own fate. This is so familiar … and a Hot Topic today as European member-states are contemplating how much they can look to the US for leadership for their security needs; (see the VIDEO in the Appendix C below).

This is the assertion of the book Go Lean…Caribbean; available to download for free. It serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states. The quest is that we take our own lead – collectively – for our own fate. 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.
Improvement of Caribbean governance to support these engines.

The book stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be a regional pursuit; the issues at hand are too big for anyone member-state alone. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13):

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

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

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

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

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

The issue of Hurricane Season 2017 is bigger than initial appearances – there are BIG issues afoot. Many are issues that were addressed in previous Go Lean blog-commentaries; see a sample here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11858	Welcome to Kiribati – Hello and Goodbye
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11442	Caribbean Roots: Al Roker – ‘Climate Change’ Defender
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9455	Fix ‘Climate Change’ – Yes, We Can
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9334	Hurricane Categories – The Science
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7449	Due to Climate Change, ‘Crap Happens’ – So What Now?
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7103	COP21 – ‘Climate Change’ Acknowledged
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6893	A Meteorologist’s View On Climate Change
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6016	‘Hotter than July’ – Reality in the Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4673	‘Climate Change‘ Merchants of Doubt … to Preserve Profits!!
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2465	Book: ‘This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2276	Climate Change May Affect Food Supply Within a Decade
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2119	Cooling Effect – Oceans and the Climate
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1883	Climate Change May Bring More Kidney Stones
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1817	Caribbean grapples with intense cycles of flooding & drought
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=926	Conservative heavyweights have solar industry in their sights
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=915	Go ‘Green’ … Caribbean

We endured a bitter Hurricane Season last year; Hurricane Matthew was devastating for a number of Caribbean islands in September/October; i.e. Haiti and the Bahamas. (In fact, the Bahamian city of Freeport was so severely impacted that one of its biggest Hotel-Casino resorts closed … permanently).

The Caribbean status quo is unsustainable under the real threats of Climate Change. The region must reboot, reform and transform. We must do the heavy-lifting ourselves; we cannot expect relief and refuge from others, like the American Super-Power. We must find and “sail” under our own power.

Hope and Change! Yes, we can …

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

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

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

————

Appendix A – Forecasters predict active 2017 hurricane season

With the start of the Atlantic hurricane season less than one week away, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, says it could be a busy one with five to nine hurricanes expected to form.

Overall, NOAA forecasts 11 to 17 named tropical storms will develop in the region, which includes the Atlantic, the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, the agency announced Thursday.

The season officially begins June 1 and runs through Nov. 30.

Of the hurricanes, two to four could be major, with wind speeds of 111 mph or higher and rated as Category 3, 4 or 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale of Hurricane Intensity.

An average season typically produces 12 named tropical storms and six hurricanes and peaks in August and September.

A tropical storm contains wind speeds of 39 mph or higher and becomes a hurricane when winds reach 74 mph.

Factors contributing to the prediction include: A weak or non-existent El Nino, near- or above-average sea-surface temperatures, and average or weaker-than-average vertical wind shear, said Gerry Bell, Ph.D., lead seasonal hurricane forecaster with NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.

Meteorologists at Colorado State University last month estimated 11 tropical storms will form, with four becoming hurricanes.

The late Colorado State University meteorologist William Gray was the first scientist to make seasonal hurricane forecasts back in the 1980s.

The Weather Channel predicts an average season, with 12 named storms, of which six will become hurricanes. AccuWeather forecasts 10 named storms, five of which are projected to become hurricanes.

Source: St. Lucia Times Daily Newspaper – Posted May 25, 2017 retrieved June 1, 2017 from: https://stluciatimes.com/2017/05/26/forecasters-predict-active-2017-hurricane-season

————

Appendix B – Trump expected to withdraw from Paris Accord

Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump is expected to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, two senior US officials familiar with his plans told CNN Wednesday, a major break from international partners that would isolate the United States in global efforts to curb global warming.

The decision would put the US at odds with nearly every other nation on earth. It would reflect a major reversal of the Obama administration’s efforts on climate change. And it could trigger further efforts to erode the landmark climate accord.
…

Source: Posted and retrieved May 31, 2017 from http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/31/politics/trump-paris-accord/

——

In actuality, President Trump officially announces the exit and former President Obama barks. See story and VIDEO here: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/paris-agreement-trump-obama-response-rejecting-future-climate-change-deal-latest-news-updates-a7768171.html

————

Appendix C VIDEO – Thanks to Trump, Germany says it can’t rely on the United States – http://wapo.st/2qsrQHd

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R.I.P. Noriega – Lessons Learned from Panama – ENCORE

Posted on May 30, 2017 in Economics, Ethos, Government

The world is acknowledging the passing of Manuel Noriega (1934-2017), the General and former Military Dictator of Panama (1983–1989), the Central American country with a Caribbean coastline. His life experience is one of highs and lows, ascending to great heights and depressing depths. There is so much for the planners of the new Caribbean to learn considering the historicity of Noriega.

… and the historicity of Panama.

One lesson – from Panama – was presented before in a previous Go Lean blog-commentary from February 10, 2015, encored here.

This previous blog-commentary, and the life of Noriega, portrays the duplicity and complexity of operating in the shadows of/for the United States of America. The theme is consistent:

American interest is not always Caribbean interest.

“From the 1950s until shortly before the [1989] U.S. invasion, Noriega worked closely with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Noriega was one of the CIA’s most valued intelligence sources, as well as one of the primary conduits for illicit weapons, military equipment and cash destined for U.S.-backed counter-insurgency forces throughout Central and South America. Noriega was also a major cocaine trafficker, something which his U.S. intelligence handlers were aware of for years, but allowed because of his usefulness for their covert military operations in Latin America.”^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]

See the full blog-commentary regarding the Panamanian currency – Balboa – here:

————-

Go Lean Commentary – A Lesson in History – Panamanian Balboa

America has surely changed over the past century!

The people, institutions and governance of the US are now more tolerant of minorities and their communities. As such, there are no more American complexities in overthrowing Latin American & Caribbean governments.

Wink-wink …

This hypothesis is validated with the lesson in history from 1941 in the Republic of Panama. This Central American country is a young nation; they were formed in 1903 after seceding from the Republic of Colombia, with US backing. The new country immediately signed a treaty with the US to allow the construction of the Panama Canal, by the US Army Corps of Engineers, and a perpetual lease* for its operations. The country’s separation from Colombia also included changing from the Colombian Peso currency. So in 1904 the Panamanian Balboa currency was launched, but as coins only; the country used the US Dollar as banknotes.

A basic tenant of macro-economics is that countries should issue their own currency and banknotes so as to better influence the economic engines in their communities. By manipulating the banknote quantity and the “Discount Rate” in a Fractional Central Banking System, monetary supply can be regulated, interest rates controlled; credit markets tamed; and yes, money can be created from “thin air”. Panama had none of this control, due to its lack of banknotes.

In 1941, the then-President Dr. Arnulfo Arias pushed the government to create the Central Bank and to issue paper currency.^[2] The bank was authorized, constitutionally, to issue up to 6 million Balboas worth of paper notes, but only 2.7 million Balboas were issued on 2 October 1941. Seven days later, Arias was deposed in a military coup – supported by the United States – and replaced by Dr. Ricardo Adolfo de la Guardia Arango as President. The new government immediately closed the bank, withdrew the issued notes, and burned all unissued money stock. In the 74 years since then, the country has never re-attempted to issue its own paper money currency; they continue to use US Dollars, even today.

A bit extreme?

This lesson in history is presented in a consideration of the book Go Lean…Caribbean; it serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU) and Caribbean Central Bank (CCB) to provide better stewardship in ensuring that the currency and economic failures of the past, in the Caribbean and other regions, do not re-occur here in the homeland. The book posits that we must NOT fashion ourselves as an American parasite economy, but rather pursue a status as a protégé.

The full details of the Panamanian Balboa history is provided here:

Title: Panamanian Balboa
(Source: Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia (Retrieved 02/09/2015) – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panamanian_balboa)

The Balboa (sign: B/.; ISO 4217: PAB) is, along with the United States dollar, one of the official currencies of Panama. It is named in honor of the Spanish explorer / conquistador Vasco Núñez de Balboa. The Balboa is subdivided into 100 centésimos.

The history of the Panamanian Balboa

The Balboa replaced the Colombian Peso in 1904 following the country’s independence. The Balboa has been tied to the United States dollar (which is legal tender in Panama) at an exchange rate of 1:1 since its introduction and has always circulated alongside dollars.

Coins

In 1904, silver coins in denominations of 2½, 5, 10, 25, and 50 centésimos were introduced. These coins were weight-related to the 25 gram 50 centésimos, making the 2½ centésimos coin 1¼ grams. Its small size led to it being known as the “Panama pill” or the “Panama pearl”. In 1907, copper-nickel ½ and 2½ centésimos coins were introduced, followed by copper-nickel 5 centésimos in 1929. In 1930, coins for ¹⁄₁₀, ¼, and ½ Balboa were introduced, followed by 1 balboa in 1931, which were identical in size and composition to the corresponding U.S. coins. In 1935, bronze 1 centésimo coins were introduced, with 1¼ centésimo pieces minted in 1940.

In 1966, Panama followed the U.S. in changing the composition of their silver coins, with copper-nickel clad ¹⁄₁₀ and ¼ Balboa, and .400 fineness ½ Balboa. 1 balboa coins, at .900 fineness silver, were issued that year for the first time since 1947. In 1973, copper-nickel clad ½ Balboa coins were introduced. 1973 also saw the revival of the 2½ centésimos coin, which had a size similar to that of the U.S. half dime, but these were discontinued two years later due to lack of popular demand. In 1983, 1 centésimo coins followed their U.S. counterpart by switching from copper to copper plated zinc. Further issues of the 1 Balboa coins have been made since 1982 in copper-nickel without reducing the size.

Modern 1 and 5 centésimos and ¹⁄₁₀, ¼, and ½ balboa coins are the same weight, dimensions, and composition as the U.S. cent, nickel, dime, quarter, and half-dollar, respectively. In 2011, new 1 and 2 balboa bi-metal coins were issued.^[1]

In addition to the circulating issues, commemorative coins with denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, and 500 Balboas have been issued.

Banknotes

In 1941, President Dr. Arnulfo Arias pushed the government to enact Article 156 to the constitution, authorizing official and private banks to issue paper money. As a result, on 30 September 1941, El Banco Central de Emission de la Republica de Panama was established.^[2]

The bank was authorized to issue up to 6,000,000 Balboas worth of paper notes, but only 2,700,000 balboas were issued on 2 October 1941. A week later, Dr. Ricardo Adolfo de la Guardia Arango replaced Arias as president in a coup supported by the United States. The new government immediately closed the bank, withdrew the issued notes, and burned all unissued stocks of same. Very few of these so-called “Arias Seven Day” notes escaped incineration.

Reference Notes:
1. http://worldcoinnews.blogspot.com/search/label/panama
2. Linzmayer, Owen (2012). “Panama”. The Banknote Book. San Francisco, CA: www.BanknoteNews.com.

Panama is out-of-scope of this Go Lean empowerment roadmap. They are not a member-state that caucuses with the Caribbean Community (CariCom), and they do not even have an “Observer” representation/status within the trade bloc. But since a part of their territory-coastline is on the Caribbean Sea, their dealings should generate review and monitoring from Caribbean planners. There are many issues for the Caribbean to consider – from an academic point-of-view – about this history of Panama: an obvious failed-state as recent as the 1980’s.

Is the American manipulations in Panama’s past reflective of the same America today? The assumption is No! The US no longer draws such “hard lines” in their interactions with peoples of different ethnicity. The country has endured deep soul-searching and reconciliation of its racial past, (Civil Rights Movement, Affirmative Action, etc.), and now even the President of the United States is a Black Man. On the surface today, America is a color-blind society.

On the surface!

Behind the scenes, under the covers, there is another reality. The current American experience is that Black-and-Brown is still institutionally disadvantaged and Wall Street, and by extension “Big American Business”, wields uncanny power over the socio-economic-political affairs of the country. For this and other reasons, the Go Lean movement advocates for Caribbean people and institutions to take their own lead for their own determination. We want to be a protégé of the US, not a parasite.

The roadmap calls for a cooperative entity of the existing regional Central Banks to foster interdependence for the regional Greater Good. We must issue Caribbean banknotes, branded Caribbean Dollars (C$). The totality of the regional market, 42 million people in 30 member-states, is large enough to allow for streamlining of the marketplace, creating the right climate for viable currency/financial/securities markets. While there might be some reticence for liberal currency operations, considering that so many Caribbean member-states had to learn hard lessons on currency over the decades – painful devaluations – the CU is to be structured as a technocracy, with the right mix of skilled talent, gifted genius and independent oversight to allow regional C$ currency markets to soar.

The strategy is not a pro-American stance, no pegging to the US Dollar, therefore no losses will be experienced when the US dollar drops value compared to other international currencies, a far too frequent an occurrence in the last 50 years. The US Dollar planners (Federal Reserve) do not have the Caribbean best-interest in mind for their technocratic decisions regarding their currency management; they have American self-interest in mind. Therefore the Caribbean region must overcome any “fear of math” because the C$ may become stronger, (see VIDEO below), in comparison to the US$. This is why e-Commerce and e-Payments schemes are strongly urged within the CU/Go Lean roadmap.

In general, the CU will employ strategies, tactics and implementations to impact its prime directives; identified with the following 3 statements:

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 protect the resultant economic engines and mitigate internal and external threats.
Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines.

Early in the Go Lean book, this need for careful technocratic stewardship of the regional Caribbean economy was pronounced (Declaration of Interdependence – Page 12 – 13) with these acknowledgements and statements:

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

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

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.

xxv.   Whereas the legacy of international democracies had been imperiled due to a global financial crisis, the structure of the Federation must allow for financial stability and assurance of the Federation’s institutions. To mandate the economic vibrancy of the region, monetary and fiscal controls and policies must be incorporated as proactive and reactive measures. These measures must address threats against the financial integrity of the Federation and of the member-states.

The Go Lean book, and previous blog/commentaries, stressed the key community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies necessary to regulate and manage the regional financial eco-system for the Caribbean currency. These points are detailed in the book as follows:

Community Ethos – Economic Principles – Economic Systems Influence Individual Choices	Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Principles – Consequences of Choices Lie in the Future	Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Principles – Money Multiplier	Page 23
Community Ethos – Governing Principles – Lean Operations	Page 24
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Future	Page 26
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good	Page 37
Strategy – Mission – Fortify the Stability of the Banking Institutions	Page 45
Strategy – Provide Proper Oversight and Support for the Depository Institutions	Page 46
Tactical – Ways to Foster a Technocracy	Page 64
Tactical – Growing the Economy – Minimizing Bubbles	Page 69
Tactical – Separation-of-Powers – Caribbean Central Bank	Page 73
Tactical – Separation-of-Powers – Depository Institutions Regulatory Agency	Page 73
Anecdote – Turning Around CARICOM – Effects of 2008 Financial Crisis	Page 92
Implementation – Assemble Caribbean Central Bank as a Cooperative	Page 96
Implementation – Ways to Better Manage Debt	Page 114
Planning –10 Big Ideas – Single Market / Currency Union	Page 127
Planning – Ways to Improve Failed-State Indices	Page 134
Planning – Lessons Learned from 2008	Page 136
Planning – Ways to Measure Progress	Page 147
Anecdote – Caribbean Currencies	Page 149
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy	Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Control Inflation	Page 153
Advocacy – Reforms for Banking Regulations	Page 199
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Wall Street	Page 200
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Main Street	Page 201
Appendix – Controlling Inflation – Technical Details	Page 318
Appendix – Jamaica’s International Perception – “High inflation and currency dysfunction”	Page 297

The points of effective, technocratic banking/economic stewardship of regional currencies, were further elaborated upon in these previous blog/commentaries:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3889	RBC EZPay – Ready for Change
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3858	ECB unveils 1 trillion Euro stimulus program
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3814	Lessons from the Swiss unpegging the franc
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3743	Trinidad cuts 2015 budget as oil prices tumble
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3582	For Canadian Banks: Caribbean is a ‘Bad Bet’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3090	Lessons Learned – Europe Sovereign Debt Crisis of 2009
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2930	‘Too Big To Fail’ – Caribbean Version
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=949	Inflation Matters
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=833	One currency, divergent economies
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=518	Analyzing the Data – What Banks learn about financial risks
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=378	US Federal Reserve Releases Transcripts from 2008 Meetings/Stimulus
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=273	10 Things We Don’t Want from the US – #3: Quantitative Easing

Similar to Panama, there are a number of Caribbean member-states that use the US dollar as their sole paper currency:

British Virgin Island
Turks & Caicos Islands
Dutch Caribbean Territories: Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba
US Territories of Puerto Rico & US Virgin Islands

The Go Lean book reports that previous Caribbean administrations have failed miserably in managing regional currencies. Consider Jamaica for example, despite being pegged 1-to-1 with the US dollar in 1960’s, the J$ was trading at 87-to-1 with the US$ at press time for the book (November 2013). Other countries (like Trinidad, Dominican Republic, and the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union states) experienced similar turmoil, though at lesser rates of devaluation. The book opens with the declaration that the Caribbean is in crisis because of episodes like these currency failings. In every case, the direct after-effect was increased societal abandonment, and now the reported brain-drain rate is estimated at 70%, with some countries even reporting up to 81%. This disposition is symptomatic of a Failed-State status.

Currency management includes details of more than just the paper-money people carry in their wallets. The book describes the 4 basic functions of money:

a medium of exchange
a unit of account
a store of value
a standard of deferred payment

These dynamics have an effect on inflation/deflation and trade facilitation with other countries. So Central Banks must strenuously manage currency issues to ensure economic progress and avoid financial dysfunction. This point is conveyed in the following VIDEO, as regards the Central Bank management of the Chinese Yuan.

VIDEO: Pegging the Yuan – http://youtu.be/S-9iY1OgbDE

Uploaded on Oct 25, 2010 – How the Chinese Central Bank could peg the Yuan to the dollar by printing Yuan and buying dollars (building up a dollar reserve). This lesson in macro-economics can be applied to any Central Bank, any other currency.

There are so many currency issues that have to be coordinated that the Go Lean book describes the effort as heavy-lifting. The roadmap (Page 5) declares that change has come to the Caribbean, and that new technocrats are ready to assume oversight of regional currency issues:

Please swallow your pride
If I have things you need to borrow
For no one can fill those of your needs
That you won’t let show
You just call on me brother, when you need a hand

(Chorus)
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem that you’d understand
We all need somebody to lean on

(Lyrics of song: Lean On Me, by Singer/Songwriter: Bill Withers)

This is not the same world as 1941 Panama, but still there are many lessons to learn and apply in the Caribbean. The goal is simple, to move the region to a new destination: a better homeland to live, work and play. Now is the time for all of the Caribbean, the people, banking establishments and the governing institutions, to lean-in for the changes described in the book Go Lean … Caribbean.

🙂

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

———

* Appendix Footnote: Subsequent treaties added an expiration date for 1999; the Canal is now fully Panamanian.

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The Dynamics of Diaspora Voting

Posted on May 26, 2017 in Government, Social, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

So you have an opinion? Good! Now here are the facts.

Did that move your opinion? If not, you’re dogmatic. If, on the other hand, the clarification of facts causes you to adjust your thinking then you have been enlightened.

Welcome to the club!

For the movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean, the planners of a new Caribbean, it has always been our position that the Diaspora should preserve their voting rights back in the homeland. Now that we have considered the facts below, our relationship status – assuming the ‘romance between man and his hometown’ – must be changed to:

“It’s complicated“; not just “divorced” nor just “separated”.

The primary driver of this position comes from this basic principle of democracy:

No taxation without representation

If this basic principle is accepted then the opposite must also be true:

No representation without taxation.

This may be a fitting analogy for the issue of Diaspora Voting: Imagine a man that divorces his wife, then still tries to dictate who she can subsequently date or marry; that ex-husband’s prerogative should justifiably be revoked.

Can a member of the Caribbean Diaspora leave his/her homeland, stop paying taxes, stop contributing to the community and yet still dictate who should assume leadership in their absence? This would include how to spend the tax dollars that they no longer contribute. (See the Letter to Editor – “Diaspora voting is the people’s rights to decide” in the Appendix below).

Thus, the “complicated” status.

There is a lot of details and complexities associated with Diaspora Voting. See this summary here of this White Paper; (the full White Paper can be accessed at: https://www.overseasvotefoundation.org/files/The_History_and_Politics_of_Diaspora_Voting.pdf):

Title: The History and Politics of Diaspora Voting in Home Country Elections

Prepared by Andy Sundberg, based on information from Andrew Ellis and others sources in: ”Voting from Abroad”: The International IDEA Handbook, 2007.

The case for external voting is usually presented as a question of principle, based on the universality of the right to vote. In reality, however, the introduction of external voting is enacted or enabled by legislation passed by elected politicians. Although there have been a variety of reasons for the enactment of external voting provisions, almost all have been the result of political impetus, and many have been controversial and even nakedly partisan.

1. A Brief History of Diaspora Voting
… The reasons for introducing external voting also differ according to the historical and political contexts. Thus, in several countries the introduction of the right to vote for overseas citizens was an acknowledgement of their active participation in World War I or World War II. …Outside the military context, New Zealand introduced absentee voting for seafarers in 1890, and Australia adopted it in 1902, although under operating arrangements which made its use outside Australia practically impossible. …

2. Diaspora Voting In Democratic Transition Countries
The importance of political factors in the adoption and design of external voting provisions was accentuated during the democratic transitions of the 1990s. The inclusion of citizens abroad was often seen as a key element in the process of nation-building, for example, in Namibia in 1989 and South Africa in 1994.Diaspora communities may be active in seeking a post-transition role, and may be particularly influential when they play a role in the domestic politics of major donor countries. However, such pressure is not always successful. …The international community frequently plays a leading or significant role in mediating transitions and even in implementing transitional elections. Transition agreements may therefore contain important and sometimes controversial external voting provisions. …

3. Diaspora Voting and Electoral System Design
Political considerations are not only important in determining whether external voting takes place: they are also influential in defining its form. Many decisions relating to external voting are linked to electoral system design, another highly political aspect of democratic reform and democratic transition.Electoral system design is one of the most important elements in the institutional framework of a country, influencing as it does the political party system. Electoral system reform may be on the agenda as a result of vision or a motivation to improve democracy, or for more short-term, sectoral or even venal reasons on the part of some political participants. This is mirrored by external voting, which may be placed on the democratic agenda by those who believe strongly in the equal right of all citizens to participate—or by political forces which see potential advantage in it.The desire to promote external voting may constrain the options for electoral system design. Conversely, the adoption of a particular electoral system may limit the options for external voting mechanisms. This can be illustrated by considering the three basic options for external voting— personal voting at an external polling site in a diplomatic mission, for example; remote voting by post, fax or some form of e-voting; and voting by proxy.

3.1 Diaspora Voting in Person and Electoral System Design

3.2 Diaspora Remote Voting and Electoral System Design

3.3 Diaspora Voting by Proxy and Electoral System Resign

3.4 Diaspora Voting Timing Issues

4. Who Can Vote and How Voting Takes Place

4.1 The Number of National Diasporas Who Can Vote Today
Voting from abroad is now possible for Diaspora communities from 115 home countries. Of these, 28 come from home countries in Africa; 16 in the Americas; 20 in Asia; 41 in Western, Central and Eastern Europe; and 10 in the Pacific. Provisions for voting by Diaspora communities have been adopted by five additional countries, but rules and voting methods have not yet been decided.

4.2 Restrictions on Diaspora Members Who Can Vote from Abroad
Fourteen countries, who allow voting by their Diaspora communities, impose some time restrictions on such electoral participation. These restrictions are summarized in Table 1 below.

4.3 Different Types of Elections During Which Diaspora Voting is Currently Permitted
There are four principal types of elections where voting by Diaspora members can take place so far.Presidential Elections: Diaspora members from 64 countries can participate in their home country presidential elections.

Legislative Elections: Diaspora members from 92 countries can participate in their home country legislative elections.

Sub-National Elections: Diaspora members from 25 countries can participate in their home country sub-national elections.

Referendums: Diaspora members from 38 countries can participate in their home country referendums.

Diaspora Voting in Different Combinations of Elections: Each country has a different selection of elections that permit vote from their Diaspora members. These elections are shown in Table 2 below.

4.4 Different Types of Diaspora Voting Methods Used
Countries use five different methods of voting for their Diaspora members today.Voting in Person: Diaspora members from 79 countries can vote in person.

Voting by Post: Diaspora members from 47 countries can vote by postal ballot.

Voting by Proxy: Diaspora members from 16 countries can vote by proxy.

Voting by Fax: Diaspora members from 2 countries (Australia and New Zealand) can vote by fax.

Voting by the Internet: Diaspora members from 2 countries (Estonia and the Netherlands) have been able to vote by the Internet so far. (Note: American Diaspora members of Democrats Abroad (DA) were also able to vote in the 2008 overseas primary election by Internet and 48% of the total DA primary votes were cast this way).Different Combinations of Voting Methods: Each country has a different selection of voting methods that are available for their Diaspora members. Some offer only one voting method, but some offer several options. These different options are shown in Table 3 below.

Source: Posted 2007; retrieved May 25, 2017 from: https://www.overseasvotefoundation.org/files/The_History_and_Politics_of_Diaspora_Voting.pdf

The book Go Lean…Caribbean – available to download for free – identified the Diaspora as stakeholders in the quest to reform and transform Caribbean society. The book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all 30 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 failing of these above societal engines constitute one of the reasons why Caribbean people have left their homelands in the first place. This is identified as the “push” factor; in addition there is the “pull” factor, the lure that life may be more prosperous elsewhere, that the “grass is greener on the other side”. The book stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be engaged, and must be a regional pursuit, as the societal challenges are too big for any one Caribbean member-state alone to assuage. This regionalism 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.

xxxiii. Whereas lessons can be learned and applied from the study of the recent history of other societies, the Federation must formalize statutes and organizational dimensions to avoid the pitfalls of communities like …. On the other hand, the Federation must also implement the good examples learned from developments/communities like ….

The Bottom Line on Taxation without Representation
“No taxation without representation” is a slogan originating during the late-1700s that summarized a primary grievance of the British colonists in the Thirteen American Colonies, which was one of the major causes of the American Revolution against Great Britain. Many in those colonies believed that as they were not directly represented in the distant British Parliament, any laws it passed taxing the colonists were illegal under the English Bill of Rights enacted in 1689 and were a denial of their rights. – http://www.notaxationwithoutrepresentation.com Retrieved September 2012.

Today, the phrase is used in Washington, DC, and in Ottawa, Canada as part of the campaign for a vote in Congress or Parliament, to publicize the fact that Capital District residents pay Federal taxes, but do not have a legislative vote. To alleviate this abuse, the CU intends to add 1 (voting) seat in the Legislative House of Assembly to represent residents of its Capital District.

What was your opinion? How has your opinion been altered based on the facts here? The overall assertion from the Go Lean movement (book and blog-commentaries) is that reforming politics-government alone will not reform Caribbean society – it is part-and-parcel with reforming economic and security engines – but we still do need to reform government. Reforming society is a heavy-lifting task; we must have “all hands on deck”, Diaspora included.

While we cannot just say “give us your money” and then “get lost” from our decision-making”, we must also accept that there is a difference for those that are “here” versus those that are not! The Go Lean book (Page 47) therefore identifies this role for the Diaspora as stakeholders in the Caribbean reform-transform heavy-lift:

Caribbean Diaspora
These emigrated citizens still identify with their homelands. Though they may live abroad, they congregate in pockets in urban areas. The CU will foster the development of this group so as to form them into an organized market; this includes individuals and institutions (for-profit companies, not-for-profit organizations and foundations). There is also the reality of the foreign-born children of the Diaspora, identified here as Legacies. These will be tapped for consumer products only.

In total, these stakeholders import foods and drink from the homeland; they demand expressions of Caribbean culture and they consume media produced by Caribbean artists targeting a Caribbean consumer-base. The number constituting the Diaspora is estimated between 6 and 8 million people – for some member-states, a majority of their citizenry lives abroad – this population is not to be ignored. A CU mission is to repatriate this group, for their time, talent and treasuries. Where this repatriation cannot be full-time, the CU proffers a part-time commitment: vacation homes, time-share condominiums, youth mentoring, community coaching, and season-ticket holders for sports and artistic events – in the islands or abroad for touring companies’ performances.

The CU will establish Trade Mission Offices closest to Diaspora pockets (for example: Flatbush in Brooklyn, NY, Jamaica Hill in Lauderhill, FL and Notting Hill, London) to allow efficient trade, visitor/convention promotion & planning and CU federal government interactions.

Yes, the Diaspora can help to make our homeland a better place to live, work and play. We urge them to lean-in to this effort.

Consider some previous blog-commentaries here, that elaborated on the role of the Diaspora in the Go Lean roadmap:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11420	‘Black British’ and ‘Less Than’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11244	‘To Live and Die in L.A.’ …
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10820	Miami: Dominican’s ‘Home Away from Home’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10657	Stay Home! Outreach to the Diaspora – Doubling-down on Failure
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10494	A Lesson In History – Ending the US Military Draft Accelerated Diaspora
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9646	‘Time to Go’ – American Vices. Don’t Follow!
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9017	Proclaim the Same ‘International Caribbean Day’ for All Diaspora
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8155	Government Referendum Outcome: Exacerbating the ‘Brain Drain’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8099	Caribbean Diaspora Image: ‘Less Than’?
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7151	The Caribbean is Looking for Heroes … ‘to Return’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5088	Immigrants account for 1 in 11 Blacks in the US
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4613	Learning from Ireland about the Past, Present and Future of the Diaspora
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2547	Miami’s Success versus Caribbean Failure
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1296	Remittances to Caribbean Increased By 3 Percent

But should these Diaspora members vote while still residing in their foreign abodes?

It’s complicated!

🙂

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

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

————–

Appendix – Letter to Editor – Diaspora voting is the people’s rights to decide

Dear Sir:

It is indeed one step closer to complete freedom of the Jamaican people the unshackling of the last vestige of slavery; a direct challenge to the ruling class who have openly opposed ordinary Jamaicans gaining significant political and economic power.

If you agree with me that ever since independence no government has actually sought to empower the people except under Michael Manley to some degree, then you must conclude that the country is not been governed in the interest of the ordinary people. Diaspora voting right is not an imposition of our will on the Jamaican people but rather the embodiment of the common man’s vision of the future for Jamaica outside of the colonial construct created to perpetuate the economic enslavement our people.

Crime in Jamaica is an instrument of social control to deplete the rising power of a middle-class by forcing them to “fly-out ” and oppress a captive underclass by using them as the dominant electorate subverted by criminal gangs and their “Don” leaders.

We, therefore, cannot assert our political and economic rights from within, our influence on transforming Jamaica can only be achieved under the protection of foreign democracies in which we live. There is no other solution to Jamaica’s crime problem than a political one. Diaspora Jamaicans must demand a vote and end the violence once and for all. This will strengthen our democratic institutions and shift the political dynamics away from garrison politics to allow for the repatriation of economic and human capital to Jamaica for economic development. Economic integration cannot be achieved without political and social integration.

One of the most frequent arguments against Diaspora voting is “they don’t have to live with the consequences”. But I say this, you are right! cause we don’t want to live with the consequences of continued poverty and crime, we want live with the consequences of Jamaica’s prosperity that is why we are demanding the vote.

We are not asking to change the laws, we are only demanding what the constitution guarantees us pursuant to the rights and duty of a citizen under the UN Charter of Rights and Freedom which Jamaica is a signatory. It is an agenda for change through the creation of a cooperative democracy (a real partnership) in which the poor is afforded a safety net, and government projects, programs, and policies are evaluated for sustainability goals.

Signed,
Silbert Barrett

Source: Posted May 16, 2017; retrieved May 25, 2017 from: http://www.caribbea nnewsnow.com/topstory-Letter%3A-Diaspora-voting-is-the-people%27s-rights-to-decide-34467.html

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Appendix – Reference Tables

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Rio Olympics – Athens Olympics: Same Strategy; Same Failure

Posted on May 24, 2017 in Government, Implementation, Industries, Social

Go Lean Commentary

It’s simple: learn from mistakes or you repeat them.

This applies to other people’s mistakes as well.

There is the funny anecdote of an insane asylum located in the inner boroughs in some unidentified city. The inmates forced a hole in a border fence and one day they shouted out “Four, four, four …”. A stranger walked by, heard the shouts and peeked in the hole. An inmate poked him in the eye, then shouted “Five, five, five …”.

Mistake made, no lesson learned!

Unfortunately, this is the reality for many countries, in particular “poorer” countries that have hosted the Olympics. There was the clearly documented mistake – “bad” experience – of Athens-Greece hosting the 2004 Olympics. They built many permanent stadiums that were never used again – “white elephants” – they cost a lot of money to build and a lot to maintain. Fast forward to the 2016 Rio De Janeiro-Brazil Olympics and we see the Same Strategy; Same Failure – “the stranger unwisely peeks in the same hole and gets poked in the eye”.

The Rio De Janeiro-Brazil city, state and federal governments ignored the sage advice and built permanent stadia (plural of stadium) and venues for the 2016 Olympic Games and now are suffering the same “black eye”. See the details of this Same Strategy; Same Failure phenomena in the article and VIDEO here:

Title: Scathing report on 2016 Rio Olympics: venues ‘White Elephants’
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A federal prosecutor looking into last year’s Rio de Janeiro Olympics says that many of the venues “are white elephants” that were built with “no planning.”

The scathing report offered Monday at a public hearing confirms what was reported several months after the games ended. Many of the venues are empty, boarded up, and have no tenants or income with the maintenance costs dumped on the federal government.

“There was no planning,” federal prosecutor Leandro Mitidieri told the public hearing on the Olympics. “There was no planning when they put out the bid to host the Games. No planning.

“They are white elephants today,” Mitidieri added. “What we are trying to look at here is to how to turn this into something usable.”

Rio de Janeiro spend about $12 billion to organize the games, which were plagued by cost-cutting, poor attendance, and reports of bribes and corruption linked to the building of some Olympic-related facilities.

The Olympic Park in suburban Barra da Tijuca, which was the largest cluster of venues, is an expanse of empty arenas with clutter still remaining from the games. The second largest cluster, in the northern area of Deodoro, is closed despite plans to open it as a public park with swimming facilities for the mostly poor who live in the area.

Patricia Amorim, the undersecretary for sports in the city of Rio, said highly publicized plans were on hold to dismantle one arena and turn the remains into four schools. The arena was the venue for handball.

“It will be dismantled,” she said. “We are just waiting to know whether we will actually have resources to build these schools on other sites, or whether we will dismantle it and wait for the resources to come. Our schools need to be reformed and that’s our priority, not new schools.”

Nine months after the Rio Olympics ended, the local organizing committee still owes creditors about $30 million, and 137 medals awarded during the games are rusting and need to be repaired.

Former Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes, the moving force with the International Olympic Committee behind organizing last year’s Olympics, is being investigated for allegedly accepting at least 15 million reals ($5 million) in payments to facilitate construction projects tied to the games.

He denies any wrongdoing.

Organizing committee spokesman Mario Andrada said more than 100 medals awarded at the Olympics showed signs of rusting. He said many were bronze medals, and said many of the tarnished medals had been awarded to Americans.

“Most of the problems were due to handling, poor handling,” Andrada said. “Either they fell on the floor or they were touching each other so, it was a problem of handling. Whatever was the problem with the poor handling, it took the gloss off the medal and then you see rusting.”

He said the medals would be repaired at Brazil’s mint, called the Casa da Moeda.

He said more than 2,000 medals were awarded at the Olympics and said “several other games had problems with medals.”

Source: USA Today Daily Newspaper. Posted May 22, 2017; retrieved May 24, 2017 from: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2017/05/22/scathing-report-on-rio-olympics-venues-white-elephants/102041926/

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VIDEO – Rio 2016 Olympic Venues Just 6 Months After The Olympics – https://youtu.be/Jh-s2rb1Ka0

Published on Feb 13, 2017 – Summer is over for Brazil’s ‘marvelous city’. In a series of eerie and depressing new photos released last week, the 2016 Summer Olympic venues in Rio de Janeiro are seen filthy and deserted just 6 months after the end of the games, including the legendary Maracana Stadium. In a city that hoped desperately to be lifted out of poverty and debt by making back the money they spent, these are the ruins of a shattered dream.

Rio 2016 was boiled in scandal before it had even began, including a Zika virus outbreak, reports of doping by Russian athletes, and the impeachment of president Dilma Rousseff due to corruption. The second largest city in Brazil is millions of dollars in debt with international creditors, and now also owes over 900 thousand dollars to a local energy company.

Murky pools, worn terrain, and vandalism can be found all over the Olympic park. Seats have been torn from the once-iconic arena. The future of these shockingly neglected buildings remains uncertain, but they’re unlikely to be a high priority among Rio’s long list of coming challenges.

Category: News & Politics

License: Standard YouTube License

Temporary stadium over permanent stadium – this is a familiar advocacy for the publishers of the book Go Lean…Caribbean. These points are gleaned from this previous blog-commentary from June 5, 2014:

Learn from Greece – Why build expensive permanent stadiums for temporary (sports/cultural) events, when there is such an effective art and science with temporary stadiums?! This important lesson was ignored in Brazil for the FIFA World Cup 2014.
…
The subsequent article and [embedded] VIDEO (from the cable channel HBO’s documentary Real Sports) describes the folly for expensive permanent stadiums for short-term events; especially while the art and science of temporary stadiums is so effective.

VIDEO: Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel: Episode #206 Web Clip – White Elephants (HBO Sports) – http://youtu.be/lHUiyxKgg1s

…
The foregoing article discourages investment in permanent venues unless there is a solid long-term business plan. The Go Lean roadmap concurs – Greece did not recover from the flawed Olympic build-out for facilities that were never used again after the 2004 Games. On the other hand, here is the encouragement and recommendation to develop fairgrounds and deploy temporary stadia, arenas and theaters. Imagine a golf tournament; no one would expect bleachers and grandstands at the putting greens to be permanent structures. No, there is a place for temporary structures in the world of sports.

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 the 30 member-states in the region. The roadmap asserts that there could be many economic and societal benefits by harnessing the potential from the world of sports. While sports are not the roadmap’s primary purpose, related pursuits are recognized as important strategies. A mission of the Go Lean roadmap is quoted as “forge industries and economic drivers around the individual and group activities of sports and culture” (Page 81). But make no mistake, there is NO recomendation for the Caribbean to host the Olympics … ever.

Overall, this CU/Go Lean roadmap describes 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; 21,000 direct jobs at sports enterprises, venues and fairgrounds throughout the region.
Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
Improvement of Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

The book stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines – including the sports eco-systems – 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.

xxii. Whereas sports have been a source of great pride for the Caribbean region, the economic returns from these ventures have not been evenly distributed as in other societies. The Federation must therefore facilitate the eco-systems and vertical industries of sports as a business, recreation, national pastime and even sports tourism – modeling the Olympics.

The Go Lean book avoids the Same Strategy; Same Failure pitfall; it provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society, including the full opportunities in the world of sports.

There are a number of sports – Tennis, Auto Racing, Beach Volleyball, and Soccer/Football (i.e. 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany) – which fully explore temporary bleachers/grandstands. This is the wise course; the art-and-sciences of temporary structures is a best-practice.

Why would anyone consider expensive permanent stadia when temporary stadia is better? This would be stupid! But alas, a previous Go Lean commentary has posited that Stupidity persists when “someone is getting paid”. This is the lesson learned from Rio … and Athens.

Now is the time for all of the Caribbean – governing institutions and the people (athletes and fans) – to abide by best-practices and lean-in for this Go Lean roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation; Same Strategy; Same Failure no more! Now is the time to make our homeland a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

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

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

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History, Model, Power, Sports

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Want Better Security? ’Must Love Dogs’

Posted on May 23, 2017 in Government, Implementation

Go Lean Commentary

So you want to secure your homeland against terror and other threats? Here’s a key requirement:

‘Must Love Dogs’

This is so true; man’s best friend can also be our best partner for mitigating threats of terroristic acts in public places. This is common sense … now that we have seen how devious the terrorists can be, exploiting soft targets right outside any hard target zones.

This is a fresh concern as there was a terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England last night (May 22, 2017). The attacker was an ISIS-backed suicide bomber who positioned himself among the exiting concert-goers for a show at the Arena. (The artist is American teen pop-sensation Ariana Grande, a fan-favorite among teenage girls and boys). He detonated his “Improvised Explosive Device” (IED) right outside the security zone while people were exiting to leave. So far, the death toll is 22, with 59 injuries. See full details on the story, aftermath and investigation here:

ISIS Claims Responsibility for Manchester Concert Attack; 22 Dead

Manchester Arena – Situation Normal

Manchester Arena – Monday Night May 22, 2017

Expect more revelations of the motives and bitter consequences of this attack against “innocence”.

This is a matter of serious concern for planners of a new Caribbean. This is Terrorism 101; this is affecting the whole world and our world. Though this attack was far away from the Caribbean islands, it was not far away from Caribbean people, as related in a previous blog-commentary from the promoters of the book Go Lean…Caribbean, there is a large Caribbean Diaspora in Manchester.

The book Go Lean…Caribbean – available to download for free – serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states. The book asserts that the needed security apparatus to better defend against the modern threats of terrorism is too much for any one Caribbean member-state alone. There must be a regional integrated and confederated solution. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy and create 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.

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 … 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.

Is there anything more that could have been done to prevent this Manchester Terrorist Attack? Let the post-trauma analysis begin! For one, the planners of the new Caribbean security apparatus have always presented this ingredient to the recipe for security success:

Must love dogs!

In a previous blog-commentary, it was related how specially-trained canines can help to better secure the Caribbean homeland. Consider this quotation:

The subject of animals and animal companionship is also pivotal in the roadmap for elevating Caribbean society, especially for the security engines. The Go Lean book posits (Page 185) that better command of Animal Husbandry can facilitate better security around the region’s economic engines. Dogs feel a lot less intrusive and less intimidating than formal security screening, or personnel patrolling with AK47 automatic rifles. Imagine a beautiful Caribbean beach scene with a plain clothes “officer” walking along with specialty dogs, or more exactly:

Drug Sniffing Dogs

Bomb Sniffing Dogs

Service/Therapy Dogs

This is one implementation that could have been deployed to mitigate the terrorism threat in Manchester … and everyday here in the Caribbean. Yes, this is in hindsight; this is “Monday Morning Quarterbacking“. This is not fair to the 22 lives lost in Manchester, but this is most importantly a pledge, not to let those lives die in vain. Let’s apply the lessons-learned.

This implementation with service dogs is just one “how”. 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 better ensure homeland security in the Caribbean region.

Consider this one chapter (and Case Study) … where the Go Lean book fully detailed the advocacy of Animal Husbandry; see these headlines from Page 185:

Case Study: Trikos K9 Warriors
When the bombs went off at the Boston Marathon [in April 2013], highly trained dogs were rushed to the scene to search for more explosives. Boston Police have said dogs swept the streets in the morning and a second time just an hour before the first marathoners crossed the finish line. It’s considered likely that the bombers planted their devices well after the dogs finished sweeping the area. Since 9/11, dogs have been used more than ever because nothing has proven more effective against hidden bombs than the nose of a working dog. The best of them serve with U.S. Special Operations, so much of what they do is classified, but by looking at the trainers, Trikos K9 Warriors (www.trikos.com) – on a 20-acre ranch in rural Cooper, Texas – one gets a rare glimpse inside the secretive world of these elite dogs. Most of them are from one breed, Belgian Malinois.
Dogs and their handlers work as a team, train as a team, and they go through so much together their bond is as strong as a band of brothers. In Afghanistan, they led their units and protected them in battlefields littered with hidden bombs. Per former Navy SEAL and Trikos Founder Mike Ritland: “same thing that they do for [the troops] overseas, detect explosives, they can do on American streets; plus they can run faster than 30 miles an hour so they can help take down suspects”.
See Appendix below for VIDEO from CBS News Magazine “60 Minutes”.

10 Ways to Improve Animal Husbandry

1	Lean-in for Caribbean Integration The CU treaty allows for the unification of the region into one market, thereby impaneling a federal layer for oversight of the economy and security of the 30 member-states and 42 million people. One CU mission is to facilitate better security around the region’s economic engines. Another mission is to make the Caribbean a better place to live, work and play. In considering the needs of the 42-million population, there must be some consideration for their animals. Beyond the CU overseeing food-supply regulations and spearheading the security benefits of employing specially trained service animals, the CU will spur philanthropy for more animal husbandry efforts, such as foundations advocating Spay/Neuter goals for dogs/cats. Lastly, the CU will coalesce with local authorities to ensure “dog parks” in urban/suburban areas.
2	Plantations for Bomb Sniffing Dogs The CU assumes the responsibility to assuage systemic risks and economic crimes. This includes marshaling defensive support for events/festivals, against terrorism and cross border gangs. The US model of Trikos K9 Warriors will be adopted with Belgian Malinois dogs, to breed them on plantations and train them to detect and interdict explosives.
3	Cadaver Dogs / Drug Sniffing Dogs / Drug Sniffing Pigs The CU will install plantations for dogs and pigs (Vietnamese Potbellies are especially acute) to train them to detect drugs/contraband and cadavers. The CU will maintain animals on-the-ready for acquisition by local and federal police.
4	Police K9 Units Each member-state may currently have a platoon of K9 police dogs, but their average service life is less than 10 years. So there is always a constant need for service animals. These needs will henceforth be fulfilled locally within the region.
5	Horses for Mounted Police Many polices forces have a Mounted Police Squad. These are especially critical for patrols at events and crowded locales. The CU will facilitate the acquisition and training of horses for the region’s Mounted Police units. These breeding and training plantations are ideal for rural area development, thus spurning an economic benefit.
6	Water Focus – Seals and Dolphins Service animals are not only the land variety. There are aquatic mammals as well: seals and dolphins. These species are excellent for securing maritime and naval operations – the CU are all islands and coastal states. The best practice is to mount mobile cameras on these mammals and have them patrol a specified grid. The economies of scale of the CU will allow for the deployment of these creative solutions while any one member-state alone cannot justify the investment. These deployments should not be secretive, but rather exposed to local/foreign media for image promotion.
7	Service Dogs for the Blind / Disabled – Domestic and Tourists
8	Comfort Animals for Therapies and Treatment
9	Bio-Medical Farms (Pigs, Baboons)
10	Agricultural Considerations – Animals for Foods

The Go Lean movement (book and preceding blog-commentaries) relate that security is not automatic, innate nor natural – Freedom is not Free. There is heavy-lifting involved in protecting the homeland for Caribbean stakeholders: residents and visitors. This point was detailed in these previous blog-commentaries:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11332	Boston Bombing Anniversary – Learning Lessons
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10959	See Something, Say Something … Do Something
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10566	Funding the Caribbean Security Pact
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10222	Waging a Successful War on Terrorism
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9072	Securing the Homeland – On the Ground
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6103	Sum of All Fears – ‘On Guard’ Against Deadly Threats
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5307	8th Violent Crime Warning to Bahamas Tourists
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5002	Managing a ‘Clear and Present Danger’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1965	America’s Navy – 100 Percent – Model for Caribbean Regional Security
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1832	American Drug-arrested inmates to be deported – Look-out Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1554	Status of Forces Agreement for Regional Security Pact
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1487	Here come the Drones … and the Concerns
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=392	Jamaica received World Bank funds to help in crime fight

The quest of the Go Lean roadmap is to make the Caribbean homeland, a better place to live, work and play. This means measurable reduction (mitigating and remediation) of crime, interpersonal violence and systemic threats in the region. The Go Lean book presents a regional solution to remediate and mitigate crime and terrorism in the Caribbean, featuring details of strategies, tactics and implementations designed based on best-practices from around the world. The book’s vision is quite simple:

If we fail to plan, then we plan to fail.

The premise in the Go Lean book is that “bad actors” will always emerge, from internal and external origins. We must be prepared and on-guard to defend our homeland against all threats, foreign and domestic, including terrorism and interpersonal violence. Plus, we must accomplish this goal with maximum transparency, accountability, and commitment to due-process and the rule-of-law. Thusly, there is a place for many tools and techniques, think: closed-circuit TV (CCTV), dashboard and body cameras.

The title on this commentary – ‘Must Love Dogs’ – puns the title of the 2005 Movie of the same name. That movie was not about Terrorism nor about dogs. (It was about a couple who met through an internet dating site that matched their dog-loving profiles).

See a review of the movie here: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/must-love-dogs-2005.

Yes, we can – with our “love for dogs” – make our homeland a better-safer place to live, work and play. 🙂

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

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

—————

Appendix VIDEO – Sniffing Out Bombs: America’s most elite dogs – https://youtu.be/FsnPAQ137fY

Published on Apr 21, 2013 – Lara Logan gets a rare look into the secretive world of working dogs — some of whose capabilities are military secrets — and their handlers.

Category: News & Politics
License: Standard YouTube License

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Events, Model, Security, Terrorism, UK

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State of the American Union – Indian Termination Policy

Posted on May 22, 2017 in Government, Planning, Social

Go Lean Commentary

When Christopher Columbus discovered the New World on his initial voyage in 1492, he brought along with him Benedictine Priests as missionaries for any native people encountered.

Encounter they did!

From this start, the quest to assimilate native people (dubbed “Indians” by all European colonizers) – to make them civilized Christians – had started in earnest and didn’t end until …

… what time is it? 🙁

The experience of European colonizers versus indigenous tribes is similar throughout the New World, but the historic model of the quest to assimilate native people is best represented by the American experience. There were the colonial efforts and early American efforts – make that wars – but eventually there was a compromise for the “White” people to co-exist with the native people, to grant them “tribal sovereignty”. This quest is codified in the American Constitution and further expanded in the Tenth Amendment (Bill of Rights); see this quotation here:

It may be noted that while Native American tribal sovereignty is partially limited as “domestic dependent nations,” so too is the sovereignty of the federal government and the individual states – each of which is limited by the other. The will of the people underlies the sovereignty of both the U.S. federal government and the states, but neither sovereignty is absolute and each operates within a system of dual sovereignty. According to the reservation clause of the Tenth Amendment, the federal state possesses only those powers delegated to it by the Constitution (expressly or implicitly), while all other powers are reserved to the individual states or to the people. For example, the individual states hold full police powers. On the other hand, the individual states, like the Indian tribes, cannot print currency or conduct foreign affairs, or exercise other powers assigned by the Constitution to the federal state. Viewed in this light, tribal sovereignty is a form of parallel sovereignty^[1] within the U.S. constitutional framework, constrained by but not subordinate to other sovereign entities. – Source: Wikipedia

The book Go Lean…Caribbean – available to download for free – details a study of the Native American efforts to preserve and elevate their society while amongst the general American population. They failed (and continue to fail) miserably. The US has a long bad history of ethnic genocide and discrimination – see the VIDEO in Appendix B below – this had been the State of their American Union.

The Go Lean book asserts that there are lessons from Indian Reservations for the Caribbean region to learn and apply in our efforts to elevate our Caribbean region. The Go Lean book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states. A CU mission is to integrate resources to field a confederated response to economic challenges and security threats. This strategy was not applied by the Indian-Native American tribes during their history. After losing many one-on-one battles against the stronger US Army; they were forced into treaties that relegated them to these Reservations.

The official American policy did not stop with Reservations; it migrated to an Indian Termination Policy – an attempt to assimilate Native American people into mainstream society, into the American Union. See more here:

Indian Termination was the policy of the United States from the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s.^[1] It was shaped by a series of laws and policies with the intent of assimilating Native Americans into mainstream American society. Assimilation was not new. The belief that indigenous people should abandon their traditional lives and become “civilized” had been the basis of policy for centuries. But what was new was the sense of urgency, that with or without consent, tribes must be terminated and begin to live “as Americans”.^[2] To that end, Congress set about ending the special relationship between tribes and the federal government. The intention was to grant Native Americans all the rights and privileges of citizenship, reduce their dependence on a bureaucracy whose mismanagement had been documented, and eliminate the expense of providing services for native people.^[3]

In practical terms, the policy ended the U.S. government’s recognition of sovereignty of tribes, trusteeship over Indian reservations, and exclusion of state law applicability to native persons. From the government’s perspective Native Americans were to become taxpaying citizens, subject to state and federal taxes as well as laws, from which they had previously been exempt.^[4]

From the native standpoint, Northern Cheyenne former U.S. Senator from Colorado Ben Nighthorse Campbell said of assimilation and termination in a speech delivered in Montana^[5]:

“If you can’t change them, absorb them until they simply disappear into the mainstream culture. …In Washington’s infinite wisdom, it was decided that tribes should no longer be tribes, never mind that they had been tribes for thousands of years.” – Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Opening Keynote Address.

The policy for termination of tribes collided with the Native American peoples’ own desires to preserve native identity, reflected in an activism that increased after World War II and survived through the anti-collectivism era of Joseph McCarthy. The termination policy was changed in The Sixties and rising activism resulted in the ensuing decades of restoration of tribal governments and increased Native American self-determination.

See the links to the detailed Table of Contents on the Indian Termination Policy in Appendix A below.

The Go Lean book posits that if the Native American tribes were able to integrate and consolidate to one unified effort they would have been so much more successful. This is not our contention alone.

Today – May 22, 2017 – marks the 75^th birthday of the late Native American Activist Richard Oakes; this is the Google Doodle in his honor. His quest was to unite all Native American tribes in their struggle for civil rights. This was a noble gesture on his part, worthy of his devotion and sacrifice; (he was assassinated on September 20, 1972).

See the related VIDEO here:

VIDEO – Activist Richard Oakes delivers the Alcatraz proclamation – http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/science-technology/807660/richard-oakes-activist-biography-death-michael-morgan-assassination-google-doodle

Richard Oakes has been honoured with a special Google Doodle – today May 22, 2017 – which shows him alongside three locations that defined his life and legacy.

The illustration features the Mohawk Indian reservation in Akwesasne – where Oakes was born, Alcatraz Island – where he launched a 19-month occupation, and Pit River – where he helped to recover tribal land.

The book Go Lean … Caribbean has a similar quest as the foregoing activist and advocacy, for the 30 member-states of the Caribbean region to convene, collaborate and confederate. There are many benefits to flow from such an unification effort.

These benefits are pronounced in the Go Lean/CU roadmap as the prime directives, with these 3 statements:

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

The Go Lean book stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be a regional pursuit. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 14):

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.

xxxiii. Whereas lessons can be learned and applied from the study of the recent history of other societies, the Federation must formalize statutes and organizational dimensions to avoid the pitfalls of communities like East Germany, Detroit, Indian (Native American) Reservations, Egypt and the previous West Indies Federation. On the other hand, the Federation must also implement the good examples learned from developments/communities like New York City, Germany, Japan, Canada, the old American West and tenants of the US Constitution.

Consider this one chapter … where the Go Lean book fully detailed the lessons learned from Native American Reservations; see these headlines from Page 141:

10 Lessons from Indian Reservations

1	Lean-in for Caribbean Integration The CU treaty calls for the unification of the 30 member-states in a Single Market of 42 million people. The CU mission is to integrate resources to field a confederated response to economic challenges and security threats. This strategy was not applied by the Indian tribes. After losing many one-on-one battles against the stronger US Army; they were forced into treaties that relegated them to Reservations. While the CU gets its legal authority through national treaties, these can be counted as assets (strengths), guaranteeing specific rights and privileges, rather than weaknesses. The synergy from inter-tribe cooperation was never a feature of Indian life – no benefits from brotherhood and confederation. US integration of multiple cultures led to economic prosperity, while the Reservations never enjoyed the American Dream.
2	Image Management
3	Heritage As Hostage More than 80 years after the [original 1890] battle, beginning on February 27, 1973, Wounded Knee [Creek on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation] was the site of another incident, a 71-day standoff between militants of the American Indian Movement (AIM) — who had chosen the site for its symbolic value — and federal law enforcement officials. The legacy of the 1890 massacre had lingered up to that point, and continues even now. The Lakota strategized their engagement in the US as if they are Prisoners-of-War rather than full American citizens. The lesson for the CU is to facilitate the future, not burden children with anguish against past sins.
4	Sovereignty – *Subject Only to Congress* All Indian Reservations were codified by treaties with the US federal government. This allows semi-autonomousjurisdiction from any domicile State. This is the basis for the establishment of casino gambling on reservations, though not legal in that state. The CU advocates the establishment of Self Governing Entities that are regulated only by the CU.
5	Casinos – *Managed by Gaming Professionals*
6	Economic Empowerment – Audacity of Hope Treaties (and subsequent statues) between Reservation tribes and federal government have strived for new economic empowerments: fishing, hunting, some tribes have even begun herding buffalo and catching wild salmon for market.
7	Alcoholism – Absence of Hope Reservations suffer from a disproportionately high rate of poverty and alcoholism – a continuing problem since founding. These are symptoms of the hopelessness that stems from societal isolation. Some tribes now try to police alcohol on and off the Reservation. The CU accepts that Prohibition tactics do not work and it dissuades economics, like tourism.
8	Brain Drain – Absence of Hope Reservations have historically been economically depressed, with minimal job prospects. The end result, like the CU, people leave/flee. [For example,] today, one half of all identified Lakota live off the Reservation (55,000 of 103,255 from 1990 census).
9	Reservation Health and Suicides – Absence of Hope The population on Reservations, like Pine Ridge, SD [in South Dakota], has among the shortest life expectancies (male: 47 years; female: 52) in the Western Hemisphere. The infant mortality rate is five times the US national average, and sadly, the suicide rate for adolescents is four times the national average. The CU mitigation is to promote a better place to live/work/ play.
10	Entitlements – Absence of Hope Reservations residents are entitled to a share of tribal revenues from gaming, hunting and other economic activities. Plus with additional federal benefits, there is a weakened, work ethic. The CU advocates “work-fare” over welfare.

The Go Lean movement (book and preceding blog-commentaries) relates that cultures and countries are not guaranteed to survive: many native tribes and cultures have been assimilated. In fact, in a recent blog it was detailed how the Central Pacific island-nation of Kiribati is on course to lose all of its land territory due to global warming and the resultant higher sea-levels. They have thusly used their national treasuries to buy land elsewhere (Fiji) with the intent of relocating their people there. This will undoubtedly result in all new children being awarded Fiji birth certificates; and after 2 – 3 generations, the original culture of Kiribati will be extinct, lost to time and tides.

The book Go Lean…Caribbean and accompanying blogs have asserted that without remediation and mitigation efforts, there is no guarantee that countries and/or cultures can survive. The book therefore urges the Caribbean region to act! Already, the English-speaking nations have lost 70 percent of the tertiary educated populations to the Brain Drain, while the US Territories experience an even higher rate of societal abandonment. The Dutch and French Caribbean countries, with their automatic EU citizenship status have the same cultural extinction concerns. Notice these points further developed in these previous blogs:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11858	Welcome to Kiribati – Say “Hello” and “Goodbye”
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10554	Welcoming the French to these Cultural Extinction Concerns
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7151	The Caribbean is Looking for Heroes … ‘to Return’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4613	Lessons from Ireland – Diaspora Past, Present and Future
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4551	US Territories – Between a ‘rock and a hard place’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4263	The State of Aruba’s Economy
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4185	Caribbean Ghost Towns: It Could Happen…Again
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2818	DR President Medina on the economy: ‘God will provide’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2602	Guyana and Suriname Wrestle With High Rates of Suicides
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1433	Region loses more than 70% of tertiary educated to Brain Drain

The foregoing is a true and accurate history of the United States of America. Considering their treatment of Native Americans, there should be no rush for the Black-and-Brown of the Caribbean to seek refuge in the US. The book Go Lean posits that fleeing the Caribbean homeland equates to “jumping from the frying-pan into the fire”. What’s more, the Go Lean book asserts – in the quest to lower the rate of societal abandonment – that it is easier to remediate social defects in the Caribbean homeland than to attempt to remediate the American eco-system. The “grass is not greener on the other side”.

We must learn from the experiences of the Native American Tribes and Reservations – in the US and other countries – and reboot our homeland to reform and transform our societal engines, to avoid any possible cultural termination-extinction fate.

We hereby urge all Caribbean stakeholders –governments and people (residents and Diaspora) – to lean-in to this Go Lean roadmap to continue to accentuate our culture. We must work against extinction and societal abandonment by making our homeland a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

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

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

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Appendix A – Indian Termination Policy Contents

[The detailed content on the Indian Termination Policy is catalogued as follows:]

Source: Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia; retrieved May 22, 2017 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_termination_policy

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Appendix B VIDEO – The Tragedy of Wounded Knee – https://youtu.be/0EdRT56WK7Q

Uploaded on Jan 22, 2011 – Not even the powers of the Ghost Dance could save the victims of the Wounded Knee Massacre.

Category: Education
License: Standard YouTube License

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Welcome to Kiribati – Hello and Goodbye

Posted on May 18, 2017 in Government, Planning, Tactical

Go Lean Commentary

Islands are the greatest places to live … until they are not.

There is nothing better than being surrounded by water on all sides: beach or bay, just having that vista is preferred. Until, higher tides come in … and stay.

Welcome to Kiribati, an island nation (archipelago of 33 atolls and reef islands) in the central Pacific Ocean. This nation is strategically located at the crossroads of the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, straddling the equator and the International Date Line; so it is the only country in all 4 hemispheres. (Source: Wikipedia)

Say ‘Hello’ to Kiribati.

Kiribati is also the first country expected to lose all its land territory to global warming. In June 2008, the then-President Anote Tong said that the country has reached “the point of no return.” He added, “to plan for the day when you no longer have a country is indeed painful but I think we have to do that.”^{[31][32][33][34]}

This just got real …

The book Go Lean…Caribbean and accompanying blogs have asserted that there is no guarantee that countries and/or cultures must survive. Some of them do not!

Remember the Babylonians, Mayans, Lucayans, and others. Despite the array of archeological evidence of their historicity, their culture (language and traditions) simply no longer exist.

Kiribati can also no longer exist. In fact, in early 2012, the government of Kiribati purchased the 2,200-hectare Natoavatu Estate on the second largest island of Fiji, Vanua Levu. At the time it was widely reported^[35][36][37] that the government planned to evacuate the entire population of Kiribati to Fiji. In April 2013, President Tong began urging citizens to evacuate the islands and migrate elsewhere.^[38]

We could … say ‘Goodbye’ to Kiribati. See the VIDEO here:

VIDEO – Kiribati: The country killed by Climate Change – Truthloader – https://youtu.be/-jMddhJNr9U

Published on Jun 18, 2014 – Kiribati is a tiny nation of 100,000 people living on dozens of islands over a huge area of the South Pacific. And it is set to become the first state completely destroyed by climate change. The government estimates the country will vanish beneath the waves by 2050 due to rising sea levels and coastal erosion, and has an official policy of evacuating the native population. At the same time, it is doing everything it can to protect the pristine ocean environments within its territorial waters, so that even once the country is gone the nature will survive. It’s a pretty sad story.
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The fate of Kiribati is a cautionary tale for the Caribbean. “There but for the Grace of God go I”.

The Go Lean book anticipated the Agents of Change impacting the region, Climate Change is most prominent. This is the direct result of the excessive amount of carbon emitted into the planet’s atmosphere. The Small Islands States like Kiribati and the Caribbean are not the BIG polluters most responsible for this disposition – the US is #1 and China is #2 – but we are among the most affected. So we need to be front-and-center in the protests and advocacy for Climate Change mitigations.

The book Go Lean…Caribbean – available to download for free – prepares the Caribbean region for the heavy-lifting of monitoring, managing and mitigating the acute risks of Global Warming, Climate Change and rising sea-levels. We must act now!

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

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

The book stresses that there are external and internal considerations. As any one country in the Caribbean region may be too small to get attention of the watching world, the whole region on the other hand – 30 member-states and 42 million people – operating as a Single Market and One Voice can have more of an impact. Internally, we must “get our own house in order”, so the effort is to reform and transform the Caribbean societal engines as part of this regional pursuit. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 11 – 13):

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

iii. Whereas the natural formation of the landmass for our society is that of an archipelago of islands, inherent to this nature is the limitation of terrain and the natural resources there in. We must therefore provide “new guards” and protections to ensure the efficient and effective management of these resources.

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

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

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

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

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to monitor, manage and mitigate the challenges of Climate Change.

In addition, these previous blog-commentaries detailed a lot of the issues and developments for the Caribbean’s Climate Change efforts:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11442	Caribbean Roots: Al Roker – ‘Climate Change’ Defender
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9455	Fix ‘Climate Change’ – Yes, We Can
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7449	Due to Climate Change, ‘Crap Happens’ – So What Now?
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7103	COP21 – ‘Climate Change’ Acknowledged
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6893	A Meteorologist’s View On Climate Change
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6016	‘Hotter than July’ – Reality in the Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4673	‘Climate Change‘ Merchants of Doubt … to Preserve Profits!!
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2465	Book: ‘This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2276	Climate Change May Affect Food Supply Within a Decade
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2119	Cooling Effect – Oceans and the Climate
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1883	Climate Change May Bring More Kidney Stones
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1817	Caribbean grapples with intense cycles of flooding & drought
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=926	Conservative heavyweights have solar industry in their sights
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=915	Go ‘Green’ … Caribbean

We must learn from Kiribati – and other locales – and prepare our homeland as well. We must prepare for the good, bad and the ugly (think extinction). Things can get better, we can make our homeland a better place to live, work and play – but this is not automatic; this quest will require a lot of heavy-lifting. 🙂

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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1.	A Brief History of Diaspora Voting … The reasons for introducing external voting also differ according to the historical and political contexts. Thus, in several countries the introduction of the right to vote for overseas citizens was an acknowledgement of their active participation in World War I or World War II. …Outside the military context, New Zealand introduced absentee voting for seafarers in 1890, and Australia adopted it in 1902, although under operating arrangements which made its use outside Australia practically impossible. …
2.	Diaspora Voting In Democratic Transition Countries The importance of political factors in the adoption and design of external voting provisions was accentuated during the democratic transitions of the 1990s. The inclusion of citizens abroad was often seen as a key element in the process of nation-building, for example, in Namibia in 1989 and South Africa in 1994.Diaspora communities may be active in seeking a post-transition role, and may be particularly influential when they play a role in the domestic politics of major donor countries. However, such pressure is not always successful. …The international community frequently plays a leading or significant role in mediating transitions and even in implementing transitional elections. Transition agreements may therefore contain important and sometimes controversial external voting provisions. …
3.	Diaspora Voting and Electoral System Design Political considerations are not only important in determining whether external voting takes place: they are also influential in defining its form. Many decisions relating to external voting are linked to electoral system design, another highly political aspect of democratic reform and democratic transition.Electoral system design is one of the most important elements in the institutional framework of a country, influencing as it does the political party system. Electoral system reform may be on the agenda as a result of vision or a motivation to improve democracy, or for more short-term, sectoral or even venal reasons on the part of some political participants. This is mirrored by external voting, which may be placed on the democratic agenda by those who believe strongly in the equal right of all citizens to participate—or by political forces which see potential advantage in it.The desire to promote external voting may constrain the options for electoral system design. Conversely, the adoption of a particular electoral system may limit the options for external voting mechanisms. This can be illustrated by considering the three basic options for external voting— personal voting at an external polling site in a diplomatic mission, for example; remote voting by post, fax or some form of e-voting; and voting by proxy.
3.1	Diaspora Voting in Person and Electoral System Design
3.2	Diaspora Remote Voting and Electoral System Design
3.3	Diaspora Voting by Proxy and Electoral System Resign
3.4	Diaspora Voting Timing Issues
4.	Who Can Vote and How Voting Takes Place
4.1	The Number of National Diasporas Who Can Vote Today Voting from abroad is now possible for Diaspora communities from 115 home countries. Of these, 28 come from home countries in Africa; 16 in the Americas; 20 in Asia; 41 in Western, Central and Eastern Europe; and 10 in the Pacific. Provisions for voting by Diaspora communities have been adopted by five additional countries, but rules and voting methods have not yet been decided.
4.2	Restrictions on Diaspora Members Who Can Vote from Abroad Fourteen countries, who allow voting by their Diaspora communities, impose some time restrictions on such electoral participation. These restrictions are summarized in Table 1 below.
4.3	Different Types of Elections During Which Diaspora Voting is Currently Permitted There are four principal types of elections where voting by Diaspora members can take place so far.Presidential Elections: Diaspora members from 64 countries can participate in their home country presidential elections. Legislative Elections: Diaspora members from 92 countries can participate in their home country legislative elections. Sub-National Elections: Diaspora members from 25 countries can participate in their home country sub-national elections. Referendums: Diaspora members from 38 countries can participate in their home country referendums. Diaspora Voting in Different Combinations of Elections: Each country has a different selection of elections that permit vote from their Diaspora members. These elections are shown in Table 2 below.
4.4	Different Types of Diaspora Voting Methods Used Countries use five different methods of voting for their Diaspora members today.Voting in Person: Diaspora members from 79 countries can vote in person. Voting by Post: Diaspora members from 47 countries can vote by postal ballot. Voting by Proxy: Diaspora members from 16 countries can vote by proxy. Voting by Fax: Diaspora members from 2 countries (Australia and New Zealand) can vote by fax. Voting by the Internet: Diaspora members from 2 countries (Estonia and the Netherlands) have been able to vote by the Internet so far. (Note: American Diaspora members of Democrats Abroad (DA) were also able to vote in the 2008 overseas primary election by Internet and 48% of the total DA primary votes were cast this way).Different Combinations of Voting Methods: Each country has a different selection of voting methods that are available for their Diaspora members. Some offer only one voting method, but some offer several options. These different options are shown in Table 3 below.