Industries – Page 8 – Go Lean…Caribbean

Category: Industries

Moving Forward with Transportation Solutions

Posted on May 19, 2019 in Industries, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

Its been 150 years exactly …
… we cannot just let that milestone for the Union Pacific Railroad go by without some acknowledgement … and reflection. This history is more than just the story of a train, or a company; its an economic solution, one that was the inspiration for study and modeling, while the writers were in Omaha, Nebraska composing the 2013 book Go Lean…Caribbean. See this excerpt:

The Bottom Line on the Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad, headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the US. It has more than 44,000 employees, more than 8,000 locomotives, and runs on 31,900 route-miles in 23 states west of Chicago and New Orleans. The original company, prior to later uniting with the Central Pacific Railroad, was incorporated on July 1, 1862 under an act of Congress entitled Pacific Railroad Act of 1862. The act was approved by President Abraham Lincoln and it provided for the construction of railroads from the Missouri River to the Pacific as a war measure for the preservation of the Union. It was constructed westward from Council Bluffs, Iowa (across the Missouri from Omaha) to meet the Central Pacific line, which was constructed eastwardly from San Francisco Bay. The two lines were joined together at Promontory Summit, Utah, fifty three miles west of Ogden on May 10, 1869, hence creating the first transcontinental railroad in North America. – Book Go Lean…Caribbean Page 205.

The Union Pacific Railroad and the City of Omaha was featured in the Go Lean book as a model for the transportation solutions that would allow the Caribbean region to better move people and goods around the member-states.

There was a lot of fanfare, celebration, pomp-and-pageantry this month for the 150th anniversary. See the news report in this company-produced VIDEO here and in the related article in the Appendix below:

VIDEO – Union Pacific’s Transcontinental Railroad Completion 150th Anniversary Celebration – https://youtu.be/ZOWoPuVSbY0

Union Pacific
Published on May 17, 2019 – Reflections of Union Pacific’s celebration May 9, 2019, marking the 150th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad’s completion.

Category: Autos & Vehicles

Yes, there is the need for transportation solutions in the Caribbean. Our failings – unaffordable to bring stay-over tourists to our shores and excessive costs of imported goods – have imperiled our progress in so many ways. We have consistently reported this theme in previous Go Lean commentaries; see a sample list here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=16645	Bad Partners – Cruise Lines Interactions
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14767	Caribbean less competitive due to increasing aviation taxes
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14761	Flying the Caribbean Skies – New Regional Options
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=12959	The Defective Shipping Law ‘Jones Act’ needs to be scraped
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=12322	Ferries 101: Economics, Security and Governance
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=12146	Commerce of the Seas – Shipbuilding Model – We need Ferries
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9179	Snowbirds Tourism – On the 1st day of Autumn, time to head South
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6867	How to address high consumer prices: A Ferry Transport System

The book Go Lean … Caribbean, serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), to facilitate a connected and integrated Single Market. This reality would mandate that we connect all the communities; the same as blood vessels would connect all the organs of a single “body”. Other Single Markets around the world have efficient transportation solutions; think rails and highways in the US and in Western Europe. The book features this one advocacy (Page 205) for implementing Caribbean transportation solutions. This advocacy is entitled: “10 Ways to Improve Transportation“. These “10 Ways” include the following highlights, headlines and excerpts:

1	*Lean-in for the Caribbean Single Market* – Ratify treaty for the CU.** Embrace the advent of the Caribbean Single Market & Economy Initiative of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). This will allow for the unification of 42 million people into one market, creating the demand to better move people and goods among the region and import-export to/from other regions. The CU will allow for the emergence of capital markets to sell municipal bonds for Transportation Authorities to raise project funds, as was the case for the Union Pacific Railroad. Bonds are ideal as their long term nature is ideal for slow harvesting returns from transportation solutions.
2	Turnpike: Pneumatic Capsule Pipeline (PCP) The “Union Atlantic” Turnpike, (modeled after the Union Pacific efforts in the US from 1862), is a big initiative of the CU to logistically connect all CU member-states for easier transport of goods and passengers. The Turnpike is virtual; made up of many physical transportation modes envisioned for the region: Pipeline, Ferry, Highways, and Railroad. PCP refers to large pneumatic tubes that can handle containers and trailers through underwater, under-ground and above-ground pipelines powered by magnetic levitation systems (ILM). This is modeled, after the freight PCP project envisioned for New York City [187], and the English Channel Tunnel for passengers and cargo. The CU will construct underwater tunnels for narrow straits in the region, like the 7 miles between Trinidad & Venezuela.
3	*Turnpike:* Ferries For the most part, the CU member-states are islands thereby allowing for a viable means of transportation via sea navigation. By deploying ferries, the CU facilitates passenger travel for business and leisure, (see model [of Ferry operations in] Appendix IC on Page 280).
4	*Turnpike:* Land Highways
5	*Turnpike:* Railroads
6	Aviation Coordination, Promotion and Safety Regulations The CU mandate is to facilitate the region’s economics through transportation solutions. Aviation plays a key role, and so there is the need for regional coordination and promotion of the region’s domestic and foreign air carriers. The CU will execute these functions along with Air Traffic Control and Safety regulations, thus mirroring both the FAA & National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in the US. The CU will be vested with subpoena and prosecutorial powers.
7	CNG Public Buses and Electric Street Cars with Handicap Access
8	Taxi Administration: Emission-free Inducements & Electronic Payments Systems (EPS)
9	Local Automaker(s)
10	Bicycle Friendly

According to the Go Lean book, the foregoing VIDEO, and the article in the Appendix below, the Union Pacific Railroad was more than just a railroad, it was a transportation and technology eco-system that transformed the American continent. This was a manifestation of the technology of the day, the best-of-the-best of the machinery and methods that defined the greatest industrial might in the history of modern man. The Go Lean book states (Page 57) this succinct reflection on transport technology:

Technological change is more than just [today’s] internet & communications (ICT); though this field is dynamically shifting the world. There are also industrial changes taking place, as in more efficient manufacturing methods, automation-robotics, and transportation options … in response to Climate Change. For example, the CU envisions the supply and demand for Fast Ferries in the region. The modern offerings allow for 40 – 50 (nautical) mph speeds on calm waters. There are many CU destinations that can be serviced within 2 – 3 hours using this mode. This effort will be championed by the CU Turnpike initiative.

The review of the history of the Union Pacific Railroad has done one more thing:

Provide a glimpse of a Caribbean version of a transformative transportation solution. (Consider the Canadian ferry example in the photo here).

Today, the Caribbean is 30 separate and distinct lands with 42 million people; we are 30 separate and distinct member-states; but instead, we need to be one community, a Single Market. Transportation can foster and furnish the needed unity in our neighborhood; this is how we can move forward in our quest to elevate the societal engines: economics, security and governance. This point was eloquently detailed in a previous blog-commentary:

The roadmap calls for the CU to navigate the changed landscape of the globalized air transport industry. There is the need for regional integration, administration, and promotion for Caribbean air travel among local and foreign carriers. The book posits that transportation and logistics empower the economic engines of a community. There must be air carrier solutions to service the transportation and tourism needs of the Caribbean islands. This point is fully appreciated by Caribbean tourism stakeholders; the book relates that the region’s Hotel and Tourism Association channel the vision of Robert Crandall, former Chairman of American Airlines, who remarked at a Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference in May 2010 that the region is uniquely dependent on tourism:

“Everyone involved in travel and tourism knows that our [airline] industry is immensely important to the world economy, generating and supporting – either directly or indirectly – about one in eleven jobs worldwide. Here in the Caribbean, it is even more important. On a number of islands, travel and tourism accounts for more than 50% of all employment, and on some islands for more than 75%. Overall, about 20% of Caribbean employment is travel and tourism dependent – something on the order of 2.5 million jobs.” – Book ‘Go Lean … Caribbean’ – Page 60.

Go Lean asserts that air travel options must be optimized to impact Caribbean society – thus the need for more regional coordination, regulation and promotion of the Caribbean’s aviation industry. New models are detailed in the book in which tourism can be enhanced with “air lifts” to facilitate Caribbean events, and “Air Bridges” to allow for targeting High Net Worth markets. This roadmap also introduces the Union Atlantic Turnpike to offer more transportation solutions (ferries, toll roads, railways, and pipelines) to better facilitate the efficient movement of people and cargo.

Yes, we can …

A more connected region is conceivable, believable and achievable. This is how we can make our homeland a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

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

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

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

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

Who We Are
The movement behind the Go Lean book – a non-partisan, apolitical, religiously-neutral Community Development Foundation chartered for the purpose of empowering and re-booting economic engines – stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be a regional pursuit. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13):

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

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

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

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

————

Appendix – Title: Golden Spike 150th Anniversary – 1869 – Omaha, NE

The communities of Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Omaha, Nebraska, would forever be changed by a single decision made by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. That was the year the president named Council Bluffs as the eastern terminus for Union Pacific, altering that community and Omaha — and, in fact, every community — along the railroad’s western path.

Despite this presidential declaration, there were other forces at play. Union Pacific’s first vice president and general manager, Thomas C. “Doc” Durant, used his influence to make Omaha — and not Council Bluffs, Iowa — the actual starting point. Union Pacific marked the occasion with a groundbreaking ceremony at the Omaha settlement in Nebraska Territory Dec. 2, 1863. A lack of funding delayed the project’s beginning for a short while, but on July 10, 1865, the first rail was finally laid. In 1872, the two communities were united for the first time when a railroad bridge was completed across the Missouri River.

The railroad’s effect on both communities has been extraordinary. Council Bluffs grew from a small, isolated Missouri River town to Iowa’s fifth largest city. The same robust growth has taken place in Omaha. Settlers and immigrants poured into the area beginning more than a century ago, and today this vibrant city has a population of nearly 500,000. This growth was spurred in great part by the passage of the Homestead Act in 1862, and the transcontinental railroad’s completion in 1869. Omaha has been Union Pacific’s operational headquarters since the 1860s, and its 19-story headquarters in the downtown area employs nearly 4,000 employees. Omaha also is home to UP’s Harriman Dispatching Center, one of the country’s largest and most technologically advanced dispatching facilities.

Source: Retrieved May 18, 2019 from: https://www.up.com/goldenspike/omaha-promontory.html

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Aviation, Model, Ships, Transform

Marshall Plan – Funding: How to Pay for Change

Posted on May 13, 2019 in Economics, Government, Industries, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

About that purse …
… we have been saying here repeatedly:

Will someone walk-up to Cuba/Haiti and give them $13 Billion (or $91 Billion in today’s dollars) to reboot, recover and turn-around their periods of dysfunction?

Probably, not!

So how to ensure that all this talk of a Marshall Plan is not just simply talk?

Answer: We create the purse ourselves.

Purse , noun
a: Resources, Funds
b: a sum of money offered as a prize or present also : the total amount of money offered in prizes for a given event

The book Go Lean…Caribbean asserts that the Caribbean region as an entity can create a new regional purse, one that can fund the Marshall Plan that is needed to reform the de facto Failed-States of Cuba, Haiti and other declining member-states.

Once we reform these problematic communities, then we can focus on transforming the entire region. Leverage is the key!

So we can comfortably declare that change is on the way for the Caribbean!

While the purpose of the Go Lean roadmap is NOT just Cuba & Haiti alone, we know that we cannot elevate the societal engines for all of the Caribbean while ignoring these near-Failed States. These member-states constitute 48% of the region’s population and a huge portion of the landmass. There is no Caribbean without these Cuban/Haitian countries and cultures.

So to repeat, if we can fix Cuba & Haiti, we can fix the entire Caribbean region. This is the “Why’ and “How” – Marshall Plan – and these are important considerations; but more importantly, we need to know how to fund our plans.

We must know if “someone” will walk-up to and give us $13 Billion (or $91 Billion in today’s dollars) to reboot, recover and turn-around our dysfunctional member-states. We can now hereby declare:

Probably, not … for any external entities.
Definitely yes … for doing it ourselves … internally.

The Go Lean roadmap asserts that it is up to the Caribbean to solve the Caribbean’s problems. We must plan, fund and execute our own Marshall Plan. Yes, we can!

The next step: graduate from just regional integration – Caribbean Community (CariCom) – to a Single Market.

The book Go Lean … Caribbean, serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), to facilitate a Single Market. The book features (Page 101) this one advocacy for creating a purse, entitled: “10 Ways to Pay for Change“. These “10 Ways” include the following highlights, headlines and excerpts:

1	*Lean-in for the Caribbean Single Market* – Ratify treaty for the CU.** This treaty allows for the unification of the region into one market, expanding to an economy of 30 member-states of 42 million people, to impact a GDP of over $800 Billion. In order for the CU to reboot the economic engines of the region, the political entity of the unified Caribbean must be rebooted first. … The CU will generate its own initial funding, as listed here, below.
2	Spectrum Auctions The CU will function as a government-owned multinational corporation to deliver services for an integrated Caribbean administration. Having the regional authority, the CU will hold auctions for the radio spectrum in the region. This will generate the CU’s own initial revenue stream, as only rights are being awarded; there is no performance – no fabrication of products or rendering of services. With this strategy, there will be revenues to return back to CU share-holders, member-states, even in the 1st year.
3	SGE Licenses The CU treaty empowers economic engines (Self-Governing Entities – SGE: industrial parks, technology labs, medical campuses, etc.) in and on behalf of the region. These independent entities pay fees to the CU, at the outset, so as to be licensed by the CU.
4	GPO Logistic Fees An important CU mission is the Group Purchasing Organization (GPO), an extension of the current [CariCom] Office of Trade Negotiations; but the CU will make purchases and fulfill delivery to member-states, for a handling fee.
5	Regional Lottery … The CU will implement a regional lottery, in conjunction with local state lotteries, with winnings awarded in Caribbean dollars (C$). The CU will outsource contracts for distribution, fund management and IT processing. These contracts can serve as an initial funding source.
6	EEZ Exploration Rights
7	Homeland Security – Private Protection Licensing
8	Homeland Security – Hurricane Insurance Fund
9	Warrants Paying for Change first optimizes the payment terms. All CU payments to member-states will be in the form of warrants attached to bonds; this allows the CU to pay lower interest rates. These warrants make the bonds sellable to the public. [See explanation of Registered Warrants in the Appendix below].
10	Foreign Aid & Grants *including Non-Government Organizations (NGOs)*

A Caribbean version of the previous European Marshall Plan will be very significant in the roadmap to reform and transform the Caribbean member-states. Planning the Plan is one thing; Executing the Plan is another. But in between the Plan and the Execution is the heavy-lifting task of funding the change. This is why this series of commentaries is so important. This is entry 4-of-5 in this series of commentaries on the Marshall Plan, the historic European one and Caribbean versions. Here, as follows, is the full series being presented this month of May (2019):

Marshall Plan: A Lesson in History
Marshall Plan: Cuba – An imminent need for ‘Free Market’ Emergence
Marshall Plan: Haiti – Past time for Mitigation
Marshall Plan: Funding – What Purse to Fund Our Plans?
Marshall Plan: Is $91 Billion a Redux for Puerto Rico?

In this entry for this series we focus on “How” to fund the Marshall Plan. In the European model, “it” was about the money; for the Caribbean version, money will be equally important. The theme of recovering and rebooting the Caribbean economic landscape has been detailed in many previous Go Lean commentaries; consider this sample list here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=16848	‘Two Pies’ – Funding Plan for a New Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=16836	Crypto-currency: Here comes ‘Trouble’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=16530	Efforts to de-Americanize the world’s economy
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=16210	In Defense of Trade – The Real Threat of Currency Assassins
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=15798	Lessons Learned from 2008 Great Recession – Region Still Recovering
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14834	Counter-culture – Monetizing the Change
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14248	Leading with Money Matters – Almighty Dollar – From US$ to C$
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13744	Caribbean Economics – The Quest for a ‘Single Currency’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10513	Transforming ‘Money’ Countrywide
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3582	For Canadian Banks – The Caribbean is a ‘Bad Bet’

The hope for a Marshall Plan for Cuba and Haiti will only be an empty promise unless the regional infrastructure accompanies the Planning and Executions. The Way Forward for the Caribbean economic landscape therefore presents these necessary ingredients:

Regional Currency – Trading in Caribbean Dollars (C$) rather than local currencies.
Regional Capital Markets – There are 9 Stock Exchanges; these will expand due to C$ adoption; i.e. Warrants.

The current economic landscape is deficient and defective. We must reboot and change all of it: Top-Down and Bottoms-Up. This is a Big Shift being considered here, transforming how we finance government spending: Looking to Capital Markets for fostering a landscape with Registered Warrants instead of “cash”. Wow! (See more on this in the Appendix below). Only with these technocratic strategies, tactics and implementations, can we even contemplate rebooting Cuba and Haiti.

This product offering – Registered Warrants – is part of the Way Forward for the new Caribbean.

Our Way Forward for the entire Caribbean includes the entire Caribbean, with Cuba & Haiti too. So we have to prepare the region for the full inclusion of these problematic countries. With them, we can better leverage the political, social, security and economic fabric of the regional society. This is the Caribbean’s future. This is how we intend to make our homeland, Cuba & Haiti included, better places to live, work and play. 🙂

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

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

——-

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

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

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

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

—————

Appendix: Warrants of Payments

In financial transactions, a warrant is a written order from a first person that instructs a second person to pay a specified recipient a specific amount of money or goods at a specific time.^[1] The warrant may or may not be negotiable and may authorize payment to the warrant holder on demand or after a maturity date. Governments may choose to pay wages and other accounts payable by issuing warrants instead of checks.

History
In the 18th century, warrants were used by the military to authorize payments to soldiers and suppliers. George Washington, for example, signed warrants that ordered quartermasters to deliver money or acquire supplies.^[2] These warrants were used by quartermasters to issue vouchers to acquire food, supplies, munitions, clothing, transportation, etc., for the use of the American military and to maintain Washington’s headquarters. Warrants could be redeemed by the army paymasters, but most often they were used like cash by the recipient. Warrants, like bills of exchange and vouchers, were often heavily discounted and depreciated in value. The fortunes of war could be traced through the discount rates on warrants, vouchers, and Continental dollars.

Modern warrants
In government finance, a warrant is a written order to pay that instructs a federal, state, or county government treasurer to pay the warrant holder on demand or after a maturity date. Such warrants look like checks and clear through the banking system like checks, but are not drawn against cleared funds in a checking account (demand deposit account). Instead, they may be drawn against “available funds” or “out of fund 0027” so that the issuer can collect interest on the float or delay redemption. If the warrant is conditional on funds being available, the warrant is not a negotiable debt instrument. In the U.S., warrants are issued by government entities such as the military and state and county governments. Warrants are issued for payroll to individual employees, accounts payable to vendors, to local governments, to taxpayers receiving tax refunds, to recipients of unemployment benefits, and to owners of unclaimed money. A warrant differs from a check in that the warrant is not drawn on a checking account, is not necessarily payable on demand, and may not be negotiable.^[5][6]

Warrants deposited in a bank are routed (based on the MICR routing number) to a collecting bank which processes them as collection items like maturing treasury bills and presents the warrants to the government entity’s treasury department for payment to the bank each business day.

Regular warrants are redeemable by the government treasurer after they are issued. “Registered warrants” bear interest and need not be redeemed by the treasurer until the warrant maturity date.^[7] If warrants cannot be immediately redeemed by the issuing entity, the collecting bank may accept the warrants as short term debt instruments and collect interest when redeemed in accordance with a prior agreement with the issuing entity. The collecting bank may refuse to accept a warrant issue, in which case other banks may also refuse to accept them.^[8]

“The warrants of a municipal corporation are not negotiable instruments. They do not constitute a new debt, or evidence of a new debt, but are only the prescribed means devised by law for drawing money from the treasury.”^[9]

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on July 9, 2009, that California’s registered warrants are “securities” under federal securities law and will be regulated as municipal securities by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board.^[10] Under these regulations, anybody who profits by buying and reselling warrants must be registered as a municipal securities broker-dealer.^[11]

Although registered warrants are evidence of a municipality’s obligation to pay, because they demonstrate an intent to disburse funds when those funds become available, the US Supreme Court has ruled that a holder of a valid warrant cannot obtain a writ of mandamus for specific performance of the obligation to pay, enforced against a treasurer or other employee of the municipality.^[12] …

United Kingdom
In the UK, warrants are issued as payment by the NS&I when a Premium Bond is chosen.

The difference between a warrant and a cheque is that a cheque usually places no explicit time frame on when the amount is to be paid.

Source: Retrieved May 13, 2019 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warrant_of_payment

—————

VIDEO – What is WARRANT OF PAYMENT? What does WARRANT OF PAYMENT mean? WARRANT OF PAYMENT meaning – https://youtu.be/9LY7Ol5ec6E

The Audiopedia

Published on Apr 20, 2017 – … Governments may choose to pay wages and other accounts payable by issuing warrants instead of checks …

Category: Education
License: Creative Commons Attribution license (reuse allowed)

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Banks, Model, Transform

[Top]

Industrial Reboot – Amusement Parks

Posted on May 8, 2019 in Industries, Locations, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

We need a Way Forward.

We need to double-down in our economic engines and do “it” bigger, stronger, better. The “it” refers to our tourism product offerings. Tourism is already the primary economic driver in the region, but the current harvest is not fertile enough. We need to reboot the amenities-and-attractions and transform the landscape with more industrial options.

One way for industrializing tourism is with Amusement Parks.

Are we talking about Amusement Parks like Disney Land & Disney World?

Maybe!

Even more so, we are talking about Amusement Parks at resort hotels and cruise ship private island destinations. See the sample destination in the news story here:

Title: CocoCay: Cruise line’s $250 million private island opens

(CNN) — Thanks to a $250 million transformation, Royal Caribbean’s once-sleepy private island retreat in the Bahamas is offering eye-opening travel amenities to its cruise passengers.

The island, Perfect Day at CocoCay, offers everything from a record-setting water slide and a massive wave pool to five new complimentary dining venues and quiet sandy beaches.

“We are so proud to bring our 50-year legacy of innovation ashore to transform an incredible island that now completely revolutionizes private destinations in the vacation industry,” said Michael Bayley, Royal Caribbean International’s president and CEO, in a statement.

Reviews site Cruise Critic seconds that notion. Colleen McDaniel, the site’s editor-in-chief, said the “revolutionary” island is “really upping the cruise line private island game in terms of activities ashore.”

At CocoCay’s Thrill Waterpark, the fiery red and orange Daredevil’s Peak water slide towers over the park’s other 12 slides. At 135 feet, it’s North America’s tallest water slide.

CocoCay is also home to the Caribbean’s largest wave pool, a 1,600-foot-long zip line and a helium balloon tethered to the ground that provides guests with a vantage point 450 feet high.

Oasis Lagoon, the Caribbean’s largest freshwater pool, has a large swim-up bar and private cabanas.

McDaniel believes Royal Caribbean may create some cruising converts with this private island offering packed with activities.

“Beyond creating incredible experiences for your avid customers, that’s where an investment of this magnitude has the potential to really pay off — to catch the eye of those who might not have ever tried cruising but are intrigued by this exclusive new experience,” she said.

There’s an added benefit to cruise line private islands, McDaniel said. They help the cruise lines stagger their itineraries and relieve crowds in popular ports.

“The Caribbean is the cruise industry’s most popular region, in terms of passengers and ship deployment,” she said. “So having private islands to add to itineraries is quite helpful to the lines to help preserve the in-port guest experience and the port’s own capacity.”

Perfect Day at CocoCay had its grand opening over the weekend. Itineraries that include a stop at the revamped island are listed online.

One area of CocoCay won’t be completed until December. When it opens at the end of the year, Coco Beach Club will feature the Bahamas’ first overwater cabanas, each with its own slide into the ocean. There will also be a 2,600-foot beachfront infinity pool and a club and deck area.

CocoCay is the first in a planned collection of Royal Caribbean Perfect Day islands. Additional private island locations are expected in the Caribbean, Asia and Australia.

Several other cruise lines have private islands in the Bahamas, among them Disney Cruise Line’s Castaway Cay and Holland America’s Half Moon Cay.

Source: CNN Travel’s Play Column – Published May 7, 2019; retrieved May 8, 2019 from: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/cococay-royal-caribbean-private-island-bahamas/index.html

Yes, there are Amusement Parks in the Caribbean – think: water slides and a wave pools – and there could/should be more.

Yes, we can!

In fact, in a previous commentary by the movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean, it was related how the World’s Largest Amusement Park – Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida – was first propositioned to be located in the Bahamas. Had we made such a community investment back then, imagine the returns on our economy and infrastructure. The book describes that such an implementation can impact many of the societal engines – think: economy, security and governance.

The Amusement Park-based economy contributes tremendously to the actuality of Orlando, Florida and the State of Florida in general. Now, there is the quest to make more investments like these in Caribbean communities. This is among the Industrial Reboots that we must do to reform and transform our society. This strategy was addressed back in 2013 in the previously identified Go Lean book. The articulated strategy was to invest in Fairgrounds. This summary is detailed on Page 192 of the book under the title – “10 Ways to Promote Fairgrounds“:

# 1 – Lean-in for the Caribbean Single Market & Economy initiative: Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU).
The CU is chartered to unify the Caribbean region into one Single Market of 42 million people across 30 member-states, thereby re-engineering the economic engines in and on behalf of the region, including the infrastructural needs to enhance tourism. A CU mission to impact events require complete fairgrounds with the facilities to stage festivals, fairs, sporting events, concerts and theatrical performances, much like the Fair Park model in Dallas, Texas. An eco-system around fairgrounds will impact so many aspect of Caribbean life, engaging the domestic and foreign (tourist) markets. …

# 4 – Amusement Parks
The CU region is ideal for the implementation of advance technological amusement parks, the region as a whole enjoy over 10 million cruise passengers – year round. The right mix of computer-aided audio-visual, 3-D, animatronics, live action performers could result in a boom in the region, spinning off jobs, construction, lodgings and other activities.

Investing in Amusement Parks will mean rebooting the industrial landscape of the Caribbean. Rebooting the industrial landscape is not a new subject for this Go Lean movement; this commentary has previously identified a number of industrial initiatives to launch a reboot in the region. See the chronological list of previous submissions on Industrial Reboots here:

Industrial Reboots – Ferries 101 – Published June 27, 2017
Industrial Reboots – Prisons 101 – Published October 4, 2017
Industrial Reboots – Pipeline 101 – Published October 5, 2017
Industrial Reboots – Frozen Foods 101 – Published October 6, 2017
Industrial Reboots – Call Centers 101 – Published July 2, 2018
Industrial Reboots – Prefab Housing 101 – Published July 14, 2018
Industrial Reboots – Trauma 101 – Published July 18, 2018
Industrial Reboots – Auto-making 101 – Published July 19, 2018
Industrial Reboots – Shipbuilding 101 – Published July 20, 2018
Industrial Reboots – Fisheries 101 – Published July 23, 2018
Industrial Reboots – Lottery 101 – Published July 24, 2018
Industrial Reboots – Culture 101 – Published July 25, 2018
Industrial Reboots – Tourism 2.0 – Published July 27, 2018
Industrial Reboots – Cruise Tourism 2.0 – Published July 27, 2018
Industrial Reboots – Reinsurance Sidecars 101 – Published October 2, 2018
Industrial Reboots – Navy Piers 101 – Published October 9, 2018
Industrial Reboots – Payment Cards 101 – Published October 11, 2018
Industrial Reboots – Amusements Parks 101 – Published TODAY May 8, 2019

In summary, our Caribbean region needs a better industrial landscape to improve our economics, security and governance. We can easily make investments in small, resort-based Amusement Parks. We are not envisioning the level of Disney World, but rather more like the attraction in the foregoing news article and the infrastructure at Atlantis in Nassau & Paradise Island in the Bahamas. See Photos here and VIDEO in the Appendix below:

We must do more. The Caribbean’s industrial landscape is in crisis. It must reboot!

Amusement Parks can help to optimize our tourism offerings through out the region, in every member-state. In fact, the CU/Go Lean roadmap calls for the introduction and implementation of Self-Governing Entities (SGE) as CU federal promoted ventures to optimize this business model. This SGE concept is ideal for fairgrounds, industrial and Amusement Parks – even ports and piers – with their exclusive federal regulation-promotion activities. Imagine the quick turn-around and cooperative partnerships with local government and municipal authorities. Imagine the jobs …

Within the 370-pages of the Go Lean book are more details of the eco-systems needed to consider these investments. Here is a sample of references to this strategy of Amusement Parks through-out the Go Lean book:

Advocacy – 10 Ways to Grow the Economy

#5 – Enterprise Zones & Empowerment Zones for 2 million jobs
This includes Industrial Parks, Theatre Districts, Amusement Parks, Bonded Warehouses and Duty Free ports, some managed as Self Governing Entities (SGE). Though some zones exist now, the formalization under the CU will bring more tax (sales, property & income tax rebates) and economic incentives (low interest loans & grants) and stimuli (advertising and event promotions)…

Page 151

Advocacy – 10 Ways to Foster Empowering Immigration
# 7 – Carnies – Event Staff
The CU plan calls for the deployment of Fairgrounds throughout the region. With these facilities come amusement park-like rides and events, or carnivals. There is an eco-system for carnival ride operators or “carnies”. These are considered highly skilled and experience is necessary for the operators. Carnies will therefore be invited on these SGE Fairgrounds.

Page 174

Advocacy – 10 Ways to Enhance Tourism

# 3 – Fairgrounds/Amusement Parks Empowerment Zones
Encourage the establishment and promotion of Fairgrounds/Amusement Parks (Disney, Sea World, Busch Gardens-like attractions) that can bring in vast number of visitors. The empowerment zones get special tax incentives and building code variances, or managed as Self Governing Entities (SGE) in which they are beholden only to the CU jurisdiction. Many US and European theme parks are only open during the warm seasons, the opposite can be advocated in the Caribbean region, where theme parks may only be open during the “high season”, or only when cruise ships are in port.

Page 190

This is the vision for more Amusement Parks while we reboot our industrial landscape! This is the type of transformations that will allow us to reboot our societal engines to elevate our communities.

These efforts are Day One / Step One of the Go Lean/CU 5-year roadmap. Let’s get busy!

We urge all Caribbean stakeholders to lean-in to this roadmap for industrial reboots and for Amusement Parks. Yes, we can … make our homelands better places to live, work and play. 🙂

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.

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

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.

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

—————

Appendix VIDEO – All Big Water Slides at Atlantis Paradise Island | Nassau, Bahamas- https://youtu.be/oiR8GbeNms0

TUBERIDES
Published on Jul 24, 2016 – Take a ride on all big water rides at Atlantis Paradise Island, Nassau, Bahamas! The Aquaventure water park at the world-famous Atlantis Resort is home to several slides which are impressively embedded into a landscape of palms, rocks and pools. In this video, we show you onride footage of the major slides at the park.

——-

RIDES:
00:10 Kids’ Slide 1
00:17 The Challenger (Kamikaze Slide) Left
00:34 Jungle Slide
00:50 Kids’ Slide 2
00:54 The Falls
01:18 Leap Of Faith
01:31 The Challenger (Kamikaze Slide) Right
01:42 The Abyss (Drop Slide)
02:01 Green Tube Slide
02:13 The Drop
02:52 Power Tower (Master Blaster)
03:26 Serpent Slide (Shark Water Slide)
04:17 River Rapids
► HOMEPAGE: http://www.tuberides.de
► FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/tuberides
► TWITTER: http://www.twitter.com/tuberides
► INSTAGRAM: http://www.instagram.com/tuberides

Category: Entertainment

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Bahamas, Jobs, Model, Tourism

[Top]

Way Forward – Caribbean ‘Single Market’ for Media

Posted on April 17, 2019 in Economics, Ethos, Industries

Go Lean Commentary

The host asked American media icon Oprah Winfrey this BIG Question at the promotional event for Apple on March 25, 2019:

“Why are you here?”
Ms. Winfrey: “They are in a Billion pockets …”

———
VIDEO – Oprah to return to TV as part of Apple TV+ – https://youtu.be/8PdJvXfw76k

CNBC Television
Published on Mar 25, 2019 – Oprah Winfrey takes the stage at Apple’s Steve Jobs Theater to announce her inclusion in the company’s new streaming service, Apple TV+.

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Category: News & Politics

This is the reality of the Apple eco-system: 1 billion is 1 billion. The Way Forward for the television-media-video industry is this simple undeniable fact:

Numbers matter.

Numbers matter and size matters … when it comes to media!

This theme has been exhaustingly covered in many previous commentaries by the movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean. Consider this sample here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=15858	Network Mandates for a New Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14224	How the Youth are Consuming Media Today
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13474	Future Focused – Radio is Dead … Almost
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8813	Lessons from China – Size Does Matter … for Hollywood
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8328	YouTube Millionaire: ‘Tipsy Bartender’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6464	Sports Role Model – ‘WWE Network’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4381	Net Neutrality: It Matters in the Caribbean too
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3244	Sports Role Model – espnW.

The Caribbean media markets (TV, radio and newspaper) should expect this same change in our region. The devices – computers, tablets, smartphones – will supplant traditional media: TV, radio, newspapers, books, etc..

This eventuality was anticipated in the book Go Lean … Caribbean. The book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). The roadmap is designed to elevate Caribbean society and the book relates that media – Internet Communications Technologies (ICT) actually – is a BIG element in this elevation quest.

Apple’s devices also proliferate in the Caribbean; (though no where close to 1 billion units). We therefore have the opportunity to prepare our media offerings for direct-to-consumers via their devices. This is already the Go Lean strategy for the new social media site: www.myCaribbean.gov. As related in a previous blog-commentary:

Change has come to the world and to the Caribbean region. The advent of Internet Communications Technologies (ICT) now has voluminous options for media to be delivered without the large footprint … or investment. Now anyone can easily publish VIDEO’s and Music files to the internet and sell them to the public – models abounds: i.e. pay-per-play, or subscription.

Apple – see their strategies and options in the Appendix below – is not the only game in town…

… there is also Google, and sometimes Amazon.

All in all, devices abound; no need for expensive satellites and broadcast towers.

This is the Way Forward for Caribbean media. We must be ready for this New Media eco-system.

This commentary continues this recent series – April 2019 – for the Way Forward for our Caribbean region and individual member-states. In fact, we just recently completed a 4-part series as follows:

Way Forward: Puerto Rico learns its “status” with America
Way Forward: Virgin Islands – America’s youngest colony
Way Forward: Bahamas – “Solutions White Paper” – An Inadequate Plan
Way Forward: Jamaica: The need to reconcile the Past
——–
Way Forward: Caribbean Media Strategy & Deliveries

This entire series asserts that “no man is an island” and that “no island is an island”, therefore the full Caribbean region – all 30 member-states and 42 million people – need to combine, collaborate and confederate to form a Single Market for media and other economic activities. Our failure to do so in the past have imperiled our economic, security and governmental engines.

(With no viable Single Market, our people fled and left in exile to other Single Market destinations: US, Canada and EU countries).

We should now be ready for the challenge and change in our Caribbean society; we must be ready to reform and transform, despite the heavy-lifting. We should be up to the task, because the rest of the world is counting the devices – 1 billion for Apple.

We must also count … and be counted. Otherwise our Caribbean people will just be Less Than.

This quest – of the Go Lean/CU roadmap – for the Caribbean Way Forward is conceivable, believable and achievable. We must do the heavy-lifting ourselves to forge our Single Media Market and thereafter make our homeland a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

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.

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

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.

xxvii. Whereas the region has endured a spectator status during the Industrial Revolution, we cannot stand on the sidelines of this new economy, the Information Revolution. Rather, the Federation must embrace all the tenets of Internet Communications Technology (ICT) to serve as an equalizing element in competition with the rest of the world. The Federation must bridge the digital divide and promote the community ethos that research/development is valuable and must be promoted and incentivized for adoption.

xxviii. Whereas intellectual property can easily traverse national borders, the rights and privileges of intellectual property must be respected at home and abroad. The Federation must install protections to ensure that no abuse of these rights go with impunity, and to ensure that foreign authorities enforce the rights of the intellectual property registered in our region.

xxx. Whereas the effects of globalization can be felt in every aspect of Caribbean life, from the acquisition of food and clothing, to the ubiquity of ICT, the region cannot only consume, it is imperative that our lands also produce and add to the international community, even if doing so requires some sacrifice and subsidy.

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

—————

Appendix – Apple TV app vs. Apple TV Channels vs. Apple TV Plus: What’s the difference?

Apple has three new ways to get you watching more TV shows and movies. Unfortunately they all have very similar names, and all start with “Apple TV.”

On March 25 in Cupertino, Apple CEO Tim Cook finally took the wraps off his company’s latest “service” ambitions. It was an Apple event without any new gadgets. Instead we saw a news and magazine aggregation app, a subscription gaming play and an Apple credit card.

Most of the event focused on streaming TV shows and movies, however, culminating in Apple’s new television service with original shows from stars like Jenifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Kumail Nanjiani and producers like J.J. Abrams and Oprah Winfrey. It’s called Apple TV Plus.

But Apple also talked about updates to its new TV app, which includes a new Channels option. So what’s actually new and what do we know? Here’s a cheat sheet.

Apple TV app

Introduced in 2016, this app for the Apple TV streamer as well as iPhones and iPadsprovides a single place to browse, discover and resume watching TV shows and movies from apps like Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, ESPN, PlayStation Vue and many more. It shows individual episodes and movies but doesn’t let you watch them from within the Apple TV app itself. Instead you’ll select one and get bounced out to the app in question (such as Hulu for The Handmaid’s Tale) to begin or resume watching.

An updated version of the app, coming in May 2019, will integrate purchases from iTunes TV shows and movies, as well as provide suggestions for more TV shows and movies to watch. Apple says the app will also come to smart TVs from Samsung this spring, as well as Sony, LG and Vizio TVs and Roku and Amazon Fire TV streamers and TVs in the future. It would also be available to MacOS computers this fall.

More: Apple TV app coming to Macs, smart TVs in 2019

Apple TV Channels

This is an all-new addition to the Apple TV app that allows subscribers to add content from a variety of partners, including HBO, Showtime, Epix, Starz, Britbox and more. You subscribe within the TV app, with no additional apps, accounts or passwords required. The same goes for watching content: Instead of being bounced out to the HBO Now app, for example, you can watch your Game of Thrones episode within the Apple TV app itself. Users can also share Apple TV channels subscriptions via Apple’s Family Sharing feature.

The service sounds similar to Amazon’s Prime Channels service, available now. Apple didn’t announce pricing, but one report says services like HBO will be discounted.

More: Apple TV Channel’s streaming service is here and wants to run the show

Apple TV Plus

Coming this fall, this is a separate TV streaming service that will be home to original TV shows, movies and documentaries exclusive to Apple. Apple has a multiyear partnership deal with Oprah and deals with Reese Witherspoon, J.J. Abrams and dozens of others. The company has spent more than $1 billion budget and has committed to 30 shows and a handful of movies. They include Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories series, The Morning Show starring Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston and Steve Carell about workplace relationships and Little America, which features stories that center around immigrants. Pricing for an Apple TV Plus subscription was not announced.

More: Apple introduces Apple TV Plus for its original shows

Source: Posted March 29, 2019; retrieved April 8 2019 from: https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-tv-app-vs-apple-tv-channels-vs-apple-tv-plus-whats-the-difference/

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New Media, Transform

[Top]

Caribbean Cruise Port ‘Held Hostage’

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

Go Lean Commentary

So you think you’re independent?

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

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

“My way or the Highway”!

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

Hold my beer!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

—-

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

—————–

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

Travelling with Bruce

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

Category: Travel & Events

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Antigua, Cruise, Power, Tourism, Transform

[Top]

Uber: A Better ‘Mousetrap’

Posted on March 13, 2019 in Economics, Industries, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

There is a popular business idiom:

Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.

This has been proven true time and again. Think:

Digital photography better than chemical photo-finishing.
Wireless touch-tone phones better than wired handset dial phones.

Now, we are learning that car-ride-sharing solutions – like Uber or Lyft – are actually working successfully. They are faster, better and cheaper than other transportation options, like taxi’s and rental cars.

Rental cars?

This was the test/comparison in the VIDEO below. For the sake of this exercise, a news correspondent and his producer, started at the same origin to go to the same destination; one by Uber and the other via a rental car. For every category of comparison, the Uber option out-performed the rental car: faster, better, cheaper. See the VIDEO here:

VIDEO – Ride-sharing vs. car rental: Which is best for your vacation? – https://www.today.com/video/ride-sharing-vs-car-rental-which-is-best-for-your-vacation-1456378435570

Posted March 12, 2019 – March is the month when many head out on vacation to escape to warmer climates. But here’s a question of dollars and cents: Does it make more sense to rent a car on your getaway or get around via a ride-sharing app? NBC’s Kerry Sanders investigates.

This is not some exercise in futility. For the Caribbean, we must pay more than the usual attention to this experience. The city in focus for this exercise is the tourist mecca of Orlando, Florida, home to Super Theme Parks: Disney World and Universal Studios. This exercise therefore relates to any tourist destination. This means us in the Caribbean, where tourism is our primary industry. The oft-reliable jobs of taxi drivers may soon be less reliable.

But, it might be argued that local governments can simply ban ride-sharing companies like Uber, Lyft, etc..

Alas, the “genie is out-of-the-bottle”; ICT or Internet Communications Technologies (and smartphones) make messaging and electronic commerce seamless and effortless. This is likened to holding back the tides. Resistance is futile!

The Change Agent cometh!

The book Go Lean … Caribbean identified the following 4 primary Change Agents that are devastating the Caribbean region:

The book asserts that no one Caribbean member-state can tackle any of these challenges alone; there is an urgent need – a Clear and Present Danger – to convene, collaborate, consolidate and confederate the response to these modern challenges – we need the economies-of-scale. This theme aligns with many previous Go Lean blog-commentaries; see a sample list here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14191	Scheduling in the ‘Gig Economy’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8262	UberEverything in Africa
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1364	Uber Demonstrations Snarl Traffic from London to Berlin
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2571	More Business Travelers Flocking to Shared Economy and AirBnB
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2126	Where the Jobs Are – Computers Reshaping Global Job Market
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=486	Temasek firm backs Southeast Asia cab booking app

Uber is NOT in many Caribbean member-states … yet.

“A rose by any other name would be just as sweet”.

What prevents any other company, innovator and/or entrepreneur from doing ride-sharing in the mode of Uber? Nothing! It is imminent, whether regulated or not.

Just watch!!!

Wait, instead of watching change derail our economic engines, the movement behind the Go Lean book asserts that “we” need to make change happen to enhance our economic engines. Lives and livelihoods are at stake.

Be the change we want to see in the world.

Taxi cabs and rental cars will be affected in the Shared/Gig Economy.

Don’t wait until it rains to obtain an umbrella.

The Caribbean region has been devastated from “the rain”, external factors: global economic recession, globalization and rapid technology changes. Have no fear, the Go Lean roadmap posits that this “crisis would be a terrible thing to waste“.

We can get ahead of these changes; we can innovate our economy and create new job and entrepreneurial opportunities. Being proactive and reactive to real changes in the real world will help to make our homeland a better place to live, work and play. We urged every Caribbean stakeholder to lean-in to this Go Lean roadmap. 🙂

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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Women Empowerment – Captain Marvel: We need “Sheroes” in Facts and Fiction

Posted on March 8, 2019 in Ethos, Industries, Planning, Social

Go Lean Commentary

A ‘Shero’ is quite simply a female hero. What is it that ‘Sheroes’ want?

A better life; better protections ; better promotion; better empowerment and also: Better Balance … or #BalanceforBetter.

This is important, today and beyond.

From empowerment seminars to street strikes, pop-up art shows to business master classes, female voices will echo across the globe Friday with a resounding message: Women want balance.

#BalanceforBetter is the theme for this year’s International Women’s Day, which is observed each year on March 8. The 2019 initiative is aimed at gender equality, a greater awareness of discrimination and a celebration of women’s achievements, according to the International Women’s Day website. That includes reducing the global pay gap between men and women and making sure all are equal – and balanced – in activist movements, boardrooms and beyond. – USA Today

Today, we acknowledge International Women’s Day 2019, as part of the consideration for Women’s History Month 2019. In addition to #BalanceforBetter in real life (facts), we also want to see more balance in our fiction (movies, novels and comic books).

Life imitating art; art imitating life.

In honor of International Women’s Day 2019, the media conglomerate Disney Pictures is releasing a new film Captain Marvel under their subsidiary Marvel Studios – Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). This live-action movie – see Trailer below – renders the comic book superhero Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel, in a powerful role where she has to overcome immense odds to protect, promote and empower balance and peace in the galaxy. Forgive the spoiler, but in the film, Carol Danvers begins fighting for the Kree against the Skrulls, has to endure a hero’s journey in which she learns the truth of herself, her friends and her enemies. In the end, she helps and support the Skrulls; she fights for balance and in pursuit of the Greater Good!

The confluence of Marvel (MCU) and International Women’s Day is the theme of this feature article here:

Title: On International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating the women of Marvel, from Black Widow to Captain Marvel
Subtitle: For International Women’s Day and Month, women across CBS Interactive have teamed up to spotlight the fierce ladies pushing Marvel ahead, both on and off screen.
By: Rebecca Fleenor, Caitlin Petrakovitz

Black Widow takes out a room of men — while tied to a chair. Gamora wins an electric sword fight with her sister Nebula. Okoye points a spear at her own husband after he charges her down on a rhino. The women of Marvel, needless to say, are fearless.

CBS Interactive, which CNET is part of, is celebrating the March 8 release of Captain Marvel, and all of International Women’s Month, by highlighting the powerful women of Marvel movies and shows. We’re focusing not only on the incredible women of the MCU, but also on Marvel comics and their impact on pop culture.

Multiple CBS sites have come together to produce this special report on the women of the Marvel universe. CNET has a mega-bracket showdown of powerful women; Entertainment Tonight is profiling prominent women behind and in front of the camera; and TV Guide will look ahead at the future of Marvel’s strong characters on the small screen.

Highlighting the scope of talented women who work at CBS Interactive, women throughout the company wrote, edited and produced every article, gallery and video in this collection — from our long-running compendium of Marvel movies to our roundtable of women talking about more strong ladies and our Q&A with Danai Gurira, Black Panther’s General Okoye, for CNET Magazine.

Captain Marvel sets the stage
Brie Larson stars as Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel, the 21st MCU movie now open around the world. For anyone unfamiliar with Captain Marvel’s backstory, check out GameSpot’s comic book history of Captain Marvel. CNET’s Patricia Puentes called the film “two hours of pure female empowerment packaged with all the visual power you’d expect from a Marvel blockbuster.”

Additionally, Entertainment Tonight‘s Meredith B. Kile reviewed Captain Marvel, noting that its “origin-story-in-reverse structure allows Captain Marvel to do away with many of the more overdone origin story tropes.” As the film opens, GameSpot will feature more explainers, spoilers, and breakdowns of how Captain Marvel (and those post-credits scenes!) will tie into Avengers: Endgame.

International Women’s Month
The first National Women’s Day was observed in the United States all the way back in 1909, many years before we’d celebrate Women’s History Month. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter declared the week of March 8 to be National Women’s History Week, and by 1987, Congress had passed a statute designating March as Women’s History Month. We continue to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8. Did we mention one or 100 times that’s the day Captain Marvel, the first female-led film in the entire MCU, comes out?

Since the ’90s, the United Nations has focused on an annual theme for International Women’s Day. This year’s theme is “Think equal, build smart, innovate for change.” That’s why it feels appropriate for us to look to the women of Marvel who’ve been working in innovative ways, both on screen and off screen, to get more seats at the franchise’s proverbial table.

Women of the MCU making magic
Captain Marvel may be taking the lead right now, but many other women have been key to making magic happen in the Marvel universe. CNET’s Patricia Puentes talked to costume designer Ruth E. Carter, who just won an Oscar for costume design for Black Panther. Entertainment Tonight looks at the women of Wakanda, aka all the women behind Black Panther, making Oscar history. And there’ll be much, much more Marvel flying your way.

Source: C-NET.com – Posted and retrieved March 8, 2019 from: https://www.cnet.com/news/celebrating-the-women-of-marvel-from-black-widow-to-captain-marvel-international-womens-day/

This – relevance of fictional heroes impacting real life – is a familiar theme for the movement behind the book Go Lean … Caribbean. We have published a lot of media advocating for balance and the Greater Good. We have even published many previous Go Lean commentaries that reviewed superhero films; see a sample list here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14911	Film: Avengers Infinity War Art Imitating Life – Was ‘Thanos’ Right?
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14359	Film: Black Panther Wakanda Forever – Conceive, Believe and Achieve
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13579	Film: Thor Ragnarok Colonialism’s Bloody History Revisited
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=12035	Film: Wonder Woman ‘Wonder Woman’ Leaning-in Then (75 years) and Now
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7151	Film: Star Wars – The Force Awakens The Caribbean is Looking for Heroes … ‘to Return’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5964	Film: Tomorrowland Feed the right wolf

These prior commentaries portray how the Caribbean also need heroes and sheroes to impact our real communities – the facts, not just the fiction. This means protecting, promoting and empowering the sisters, mothers and daughters in our society. Our status quo is lacking …

Without the appropriate female empowerment, many of our sisters, mothers and daughters leave the homeland to seek refuge else where – one reports states 70 percent of our tertiary educated citizens have already left and live abroad. It is understandable, justifiable and viable that they would have left; our governing engines continue to double-down of female-dishonoring policies.

We need to stop … and fight these bad orthodoxies. It is so heroic of our Caribbean women who have returned and those who contemplate doing so. We need them! We want them back!

Many women fight the bad orthodoxies in society; they challenge us to overcome obstacles and positively impact our communities. This is a continuation of this series of commentaries from the movement behind the book Go Lean … Caribbean. This is part 4 of 6 for Women History Month; this series addresses how one woman can make a difference in society; and how society can make a difference for women; other commentaries in this series include these entries:

Women History Month 2019: Thoughts, Feelings, Speech and Actions
Women History Month 2019: Viola Desmond – The Rosa Parks of Canada
Women History Month 2019: Kamala Harris – Caribbean Legacy to the White House?
Women History Month 2019: Captain Marvel – We need “Sheroes”
Women History Month 2019: Ellevest CEO: Sallie Krawcheck
Women History Month 2019: Accepting Black Women As Is

As related in the foregoing, the United Nations designates the annual theme for International Women’s Day. This year’s theme is “Think equal, build smart, innovate for change.” The foregoing article continues:

“That’s why it feels appropriate for us to look to the women of Marvel who’ve been working in innovative ways, both on screen and off screen, to get more seats at the franchise’s proverbial table”.

Ditto … for the Caribbean.

We need more heroes and sheroes … to help us make our homeland a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

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.

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

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

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

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

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

—————–

Appendix VIDEO – TRAILER: Captain Marvel (2019) – https://youtu.be/_tnGmshDB4I

FilmSelect Trailer

Published on Dec 3, 2018 – Trailer 2 for Marvel Studios CAPTAIN MARVEL

Release date: March 8, 2019

Category: Entertainment

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Exploring Medical School Opportunities … as Economic Engines

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

Go Lean Commentary

“Birds of a feather flock together” – Old Adage

Is this true?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Individual schools have outperformed their peers.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Some of what’s being done:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Why so few?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Contributing: Shari Rudavsky, The Indianapolis Star

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Immigration policies – Many professors may be foreign-born
Citizenship mandates – Adult students may practice family planning
LGBT Acceptance – “Live and let live” (medical students are adults, not children)

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

———–

Appendix A – List of Caribbean Medical Schools

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

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

———-

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

SNMA Region III

Published on Aug 7, 2016

Category: People & Blogs

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Crypto-currency: Here comes ‘Trouble’

Posted on February 20, 2019 in Economics, Industries, Strategy, Tactical

Go Lean Commentary

What materials should money be made from: Gold, Silver, Copper, Diamonds, Emeralds, Rubies and other precious stones?

How about “nothing”? Thin Air?

To insist on some orthodoxy of precious materials, would be inconsequential. Remember, the default currency now is paper. How much more precious a material is paper as opposed to Digits (1’s and 0’s). These are all close to “nothing”.

Yet, this is our economy. Yes, the medium for our currency is not the physical material, but rather: Trust.

The Trust equation is about to change, again. This time, instead of National Trust, we are looking at Corporate Trust.

Here comes the banks; here comes blockchain; here comes crypto-currency; here comes digitization.

Yes, here comes ‘trouble’. Here comes Big Wall Street Bank JPMorganChase. Here comes other players in other markets – see the news articles in the Appendices below:

Appendix A – JPMorganChase
Appendix B – Belarus
Appendix C – Sweden

All of these articles and news developments speak to the digitization of money and banking, highlighting that the primary ingredient in this recipe for success is Trust.

This is where this discussion comes home. In the Caribbean we need to embrace digital money and electronic payment solutions, but first we need Trust in a regional financial institution to manifest this roadmap. When we look at the reality of our Caribbean geography, we see:

American, Dutch, English, French, Spanish, Independent and Overseas Territories

Here comes trouble! We realize something very obvious: we do not trust each other! So we may actually have to do the heavy-lifting that was always needed for our regional society to finally function as a coherent neighborhood. We have always needed to come together … in trust and unity; but never have.

Now more than ever, we must convene, collaborate and confederate banking solutions for our Caribbean homeland by committing vital resources for every Caribbean country, all 30 member-states. The basis for our trust must be, that we all have something to lose.

Then, only then, will we have no choice but to trust each other for a unified monetary and currency solution.

Trust but verify – Russian proverb Doveryai, no proveryai used by the 40th US President Ronald Reagan to emphasize “the extensive verification procedures that would enable both sides to monitor compliance with the INF Treaty of 1987 for nuclear disarmament by the US and USSR”^[4].

We are urged to follow this wise “trust but verify” course of action. If it worked for bilateral cooperation between arch-enemies – USA and USSR – it can work for friendly neighbors in the Caribbean region.

The verification is key. The book Go Lean … Caribbean proposed a monetary-currency (Caribbean Dollar or C$) solution involving a cooperative of the Central Banks already in the region, dubbed the Caribbean Central Bank (CCB). Such a move should not be so unnerving. There is already currency interdependence for many member-states:

Eastern Caribbean Central Bank – services the monetary-currency needs of 8 countries (Antigua & Barbuda, Anguilla, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent & the Grenadines)
US Dollar is used as the monetary-currency solution for 4 Caribbean countries: British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Turks & Caicos Islands, US Virgin Islands. (Plus used widely along with local currency in 9 countries).

With a Central Bank cooperative, we would already be half-way there! The Go Lean book (Page 73) details this CCB cooperative as follows:

The Caribbean Central Bank (CCB) is actually a cooperative among the region’s Central Banks. All the existing Central Banks, at the time of ascension, will cede their monetary powers to the CCB and continue their participation using well-established cooperative principles (Rochdale). This includes these 7 prime directives:
1). Open/voluntary membership – based on CU treaty ratification;
2). Democratic member control – the CCB cooperative is controlled by their Central Bank Governor-members, who actively participate in setting monetary policies and making tactical decisions;
3)-a. Members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of their co-operative – the C$ is the capital;
3)-b. Members are compensated for funds invested in the CCB cooperative, and decide how surpluses should be used – how much reserves to maintain and how much to return to the member-state governments;
4). Autonomous and independent – the very definition of a technocracy;
5). Provide education and training to their members and the public – the CCB champions the cause of an integrated currency to the public;
6). Co-ops cooperate with each other;
7). Work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies approved by their members – the community is the region as a whole.

Now, we can launch our own crypto-currency and electronic payments, clearing and settlements from this strong foundation. The missing ingredient, Trust, would be fulfilled. See how the underlying technology behind crypto-currencies, Blockchain, is explained in this TED Talk VIDEO here:

VIDEO – How the blockchain will radically transform the economy | Bettina Warburg – https://youtu.be/RplnSVTzvnU

TED
Published on Dec 8, 2016 – Say hello to the decentralized economy — the blockchain is about to change everything. In this lucid explainer of the complex (and confusing) technology, Bettina Warburg describes how the blockchain will eliminate the need for centralized institutions like banks or governments to facilitate trade, evolving age-old models of commerce and finance into something far more interesting: a distributed, transparent, autonomous system for exchanging value.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more. Find closed captions and translated subtitles in many languages at http://www.ted.com/translate

Follow TED news on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tednews
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Subscribe to our channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/TEDtalksD…

Category: Science & Technology

A successful digital money / electronic payment scheme is very important in the strategy for elevating the Caribbean economy. The “risky” image of crypto-currency may now be nullified with all the global developments taking place.

Let’s get started!

This theme of Caribbean monetary and currency solutions have been elaborated in previous Go Lean commentaries; see a sample list here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14248	Leading with Money Matters – New Almighty Caribbean Dollar
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13744	Failure to Launch: The Quest for a Caribbean ‘Single Currency’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8381	Case Study on Central Banking for Puerto Rico
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7034	The Future of Money – For the Caribbean and Beyond
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=906	Bitcoin needs regulatory framework to change ‘risky’ image
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=467	Barbados Central Bank records $3.7m loss in 2013
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=360	Central Banks Can Create Money from ‘Thin Air’ – Here’s How

The world of crypto-currency and electronic payment systems is here! But this is a good thing. The benefits of these new schemes are too enticing to ignore: fostering more e-Commerce, increasing regional money supply, mitigating Black Markets, more cruise tourism spending, growing the economy, creating jobs, enhancing security and optimizing governance.

Yep! Count us in!

Now is the time for all stakeholders of the Caribbean, (residents, visitors, merchants, vendors, bankers, and governing institutions), to lean-in for the empowerments described in the book Go Lean roadmap. These empowerments can help to make the Caribbean a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

About the Book
The book Go Lean…Caribbean serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU) and aligning Caribbean Central Bank (CCB), 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 CCB provides a comprehensive role in this roadmap: facilitating and settling interbank transactions for the region, especially in light of the introduction of for new digital payment systems: new cards, telephony apps and crypto-currency. The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on these solutions; and on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society.

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

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

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

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

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

————-

Appendix A – JPMorgan launches ‘JPM Coin’ cryptocurrency, becomes first major bank to create its own digital coin By: Jade Scipioni

Nearly two years after JPMorgan Chase chief Jamie Dimon Opens a New Window. famously bashed bitcoin, calling it a “fraud,” the big bank announces it has created its own cryptocurrency Opens a New Window. prototype.

Dubbed JPM Coin, the new tokens, which will be the first cryptocurrency backed by a U.S. bank, are set to be tested to instantly settle transactions, on a small portion of payments, among clients of the big bank’s wholesale payments business.

“The JPM Coin isn’t money per se. It is a digital coin representing United States Dollars held in designated accounts at JPMorganChase,” the company said in a press release.

In short, a JPM Coin will have a fixed value redeemable for one U.S. dollar. However, it won’t trade freely like bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.

“When one client sends money to another over the blockchain, JPM Coins are transferred and instantaneously redeemed for the equivalents amount of U.S. dollars, reducing the typical settlement time,” the company added.

JPMorgan Opens a New Window. said it believes the new technology can help lower costs and risks associated with big money transfers around the world.

While the new tokens are initially designed for major ‘institutional clients’ for business-to-business transactions, not individuals, the cost-savings and efficiency benefits “would extend to the end customers of our institutional clients,” the company said.

The news does not come as a surprise either, as JPMorgan has been leading the charge in testing blockchain payments for more than two years.

As reported by FOX Business last September,Opens a New Window. more than 157 banks globally have joined a blockchain-based payment project led by JPMorgan to test how to streamline cross-border transactions.

The shared ledger called Interbank Information Network (IIN) was built by Dimon’s team in 2017 through its own blockchain platform called Quorum.

While Dimon did famously call bitcoin a “fraud” and “worse than tulip bulbs” — a reference to the 17th century economic bubble — he and his key managers have consistently said that blockchain and regulated digital currencies do have promise.

Source: Posted February 14, 2019; retrieved February 19, 2019 from: https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/jpmorgan-set-to-roll-out-the-first-bank-backed-cryptocurrency

————-

Appendix B – Belarus’ Biggest Bank is ‘Working on’ Launching Its Own Cryptocurrency Exchange
By: Jimmy Aki, CCN
According to a report by local news outlet BeITA, Belarusbank, the largest bank in Belarus, is considering the launch of its very own cryptocurrency exchange platform.

The plans for the exchange were revealed by Viktor Ananich, the Chairman of Belrusbank’s board. Speaking with Belarus 1 TV channel, Ananich remarked:

“We are considering a possibility to establish a cryptocurrency exchange. We are working on it.”

For Belarusbank, Digitization is the Future
The bank is looking to intensify its focus on digitization, and it is reportedly seeking ways to expand its range of services by forming alliances with various mobile service providers. In addition to the reported cryptocurrency exchange, BeITA also stated that the bank is in the process of issuing virtual cards soon.

Source: Posted January 31, 2019; retrieved February 20, 2019 from: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/belarus-biggest-bank-working-launching-155444267.html

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Appendix C – Sweden Officially Backs a Cryptocurrency and Establishes It As Their Official Coin

It’s finally happened. A major worldwide government has just bestowed a huge vote of confidence and legitimacy onto the world of cryptocurrencies. Sweden, in an unprecedented move, just announced that they are officially adopting a certain cryptocurrency as Sweden’s official coin!

The Swedish government just informed us that they have chosen a preferred firm for the purchase and marketing of their new coin – Kryptonex Research Group. The sales of Sweden’s coin officially started on Friday, April 27th and currently these coins can be bought only from Kryptonex Research Group.

Industry experts weren’t surprised when Kryptonex was chosen by Sweden as their preferred firm for the release of their official coin. They had all seen for their own eyes the cutting edge insight that Kryptonex had brought to the cryptocurrency markets for their clients.

See the full article here: https://elevenews.com/2018/04/28/sweden-officially-backs-cryptocurrency-and-establishes-it-as-their-official-coin/ – posted April 28, 2018; retrieved January 20, 2018.

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War on Cancer: Survivors Emerge from ‘Better Battles’

Posted on February 19, 2019 in Economics, Industries, Social, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

In 1971, there was a War Declaration … against the dreaded disease of Cancer.

We all know someone that has battled cancer. Many of us know people who fought and lost. Truly, the designation of a War on Cancer is appropriate. Here is the historical details as related in the 2013 book Go Lean … Caribbean on Page 157:

The Bottom Line on Cancer Industrial Complex
Cancer strikes nearly 1 in every 2 men and more than 1 in every 3 women. When President Richard Nixon signed the landmark measure, National Cancer Act, in 1971, he declared it as America’s War on Cancer. After 40 years, the overall incidence of cancer in the U.S. has escalated to epidemic proportions, now striking 1.8 million, and killing about 550,000 annually. The median age for the diagnosis of cancer is 67 in adults, and six in children. The war is being lost, even though it is being fought at the public’s expense (medically & financially).
.
To win the war on cancer would mean preventing cancer. Yet cancer is a multi-billion dollar business and preventing cancer would be bad for business. It is bad for the pharmaceutical and mammography businesses. These industries have intricate ties to U. S. policy makers, directing research funds to insure their continued profits in cancer diagnosis/treatment. – Cancer Prevention Coalition’s www.PreventCancer.com.
.
There are many medical practitioners and general advocates alike, that feel that cancer treatment uses “slash and burn” technology. They claim that these treatment schemes are a racket, designed to fleece the public. They point out that chemo-therapy costs $10,000 – $30,000 a month, and its success rate today is no better than 40 years ago. “It’s firstly a business; as long as health is considered to be a profit center, there is no reason for the cancer-industrial complex to cure cancer”.

The Go Lean book does not portend to be a manual on diagnosing or treating cancer. But it does strategize a roadmap for economic empowerment. It clearly relates that healthcare, disease management, cancer treatments and medicines are germane to the Caribbean quest for health, wealth and happiness. The primary author of the book was inspired to write this roadmap, after his sister died after a 32-year battle with cancer – See Dedication (Page 2). This supplemented the fact that their mother died first of breast cancer, almost 50 years ago in 1970.

This is now war …

… battles continue … there are victors and victims.

Yes, some people do survive their battles with cancer. They live to share lessons with the rest of us. These lessons are not just medical, but emotional, social and yes: economic as well.

Examine the experiences here in this news article from the American Daily Newspaper “USA Today“. The story is too important to ignore; (despite the American settings, there is application for us in the Caribbean as well):

Title: Life after cancer: More survivors living longer, facing new health challenges
Sub-title: More cancer patients are living longer. Few are getting the help they need to stay healthy
By: Kim Painter, USA TODAY

When Susan Leigh finished treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma back in 1972, she says, “no one knew what was going to happen.”

Certainly, no one knew that the Arizona woman would develop three more cancers and heart damage, all likely linked to the aggressive radiation and chemotherapy treatments that helped save her life.

Those treatments were new at the time. When Leigh finished them, apparently cancer-free, she was a pioneer.

“I remember saying to my radiation doctor, what do I do now?” recalls Leigh, 71, a retired cancer nurse. “What do I do to keep this from coming back and to recover?

“He said he really didn’t know. He said maybe I could try taking a good multivitamin pill.”

Four decades later, doctors know much more. They know that some cancer survivors are at increased risk for other cancers later, and for problems ranging from brittle bones to heart failure.

They also know more about how to help patients head off or manage those risks.

But few patients are getting that help – even 13 years after the influential Institute of Medicine warned that many survivors were “lost in transition,” and weren’t getting adequate follow-up care.

“The number of cancer survivors continues to grow, yet high-quality, coordinated survivorship care is still infrequent,” experts from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine said in a recent follow-up report (the nonprofit includes the former Institute of Medicine).

“Strides have been made, but there’s also been an acceleration in the demand,” says Neeraj Arora, associate director for science at the nonprofit Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.

Arora, a 25-year survivor of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, helped write the report.

Even today, Leigh says, too many people “don’t get the kind of follow-up care they need.”

“Doctors say, ‘You are OK, we don’t need to see you anymore.’ ”

Numbers are growing – and so is the need
The American Cancer Society says more than 15.5 million Americans with a history of cancer were alive in 2016. By 2026, the group says, that number will rise to 20.3 million.

The population of survivors is also aging. Nearly two thirds are over age 65, meaning most face health challenges beyond those linked to their cancer.

And those over age 85 are the fastest growing segment – giving famous survivors such as Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 85, and former President Jimmy Carter, 94, a lot of generational company.

Meanwhile, cancer patients, young and old, are living longer.

“Now, thanks to early detection and better treatment, we have a lot more people living many years beyond their initial diagnosis,” says Catherine Alfano, the cancer society’s vice president for survivorship.

The five-year survival rate for all cancers combined stands at 70 percent for whites and 63 percent for blacks, the society says. That’s up from 39 percent for whites and 27 percent for blacks in the 1960s.

People treated in 2019 might do still better. But they also might face unknown long-term risks, even from treatments meant to be less toxic and more targeted than those of the past.

Surviving cancer does not mean leaving health concerns behind.

Cancers can recur. And some survivors face an increased risk of other cancers, sometimes related to their treatment.

Some cancer treatments can damage bones, hearts and other organs in ways that might not show up for decades. Leigh and Arora can attest to that: both have been diagnosed with congestive heart failure.

Patients can leave initial treatment with ongoing symptoms. More than a quarter of patients in one study reported lingering problems such as fatigue, sleep disturbances and foggy thinking.

In another survey, 24 percent of survivors reported poor physical health and 10 percent reported poor mental health – roughly double the rates for other adults.

Psychologist Julia Rowland led the National Cancer Institute’s Office of Cancer Survivorship for 18 years.

“People are now thinking of cancer survival not just in terms of lifespan but health span,” she says. “There’s a growing recognition that it’s not just the length of life but the quality of life.”

The push for survivorship care plans
Arora, now 49, was diagnosed two decades after Leigh. But he also left treatment unprepared for his future.

“I got absolutely top-notch treatment. But when I left, after five years, my doctor said, ‘You are good.’ He said, ‘You don’t need to see anybody.’ Which today I know is not the right thing to say. But that’s where the field was then.”

Under reforms first envisioned by the Institute of Medicine in 2006, patients are supposed to leave initial treatment with two things: A brief written summary that lists all treatments received and a survivorship care plan.

For a breast cancer survivor, the plan might prescribe regular mammograms and an exercise program. It might tell someone who took heart-toxic chemotherapy drugs to watch for cardiac symptoms. Some patients might be urged to keep seeing their cancer care team, often or occasionally; others might be told they face few cancer-related risks and can return to routine care by their regular doctors.

Ideally, advocates say, the plan starts a dialogue among providers, patients and caregivers and tells patients where to seek help with mental health, family matters, jobs and finances.

But when 53 top cancer centers were surveyed several years after the initial recommendation, fewer than half were using the plans.

The Commission on Cancer, which accredits cancer centers, started in 2015 to require them to phase in the plans. But uptake was so slow that the commission altered the standard in 2018 to allow more time for full implementation.

Costs, staffing shortages and inadequate electronic records all slow adoption, the National Academies reports.

Even where care plans have been adopted, their usefulness has not been proved.

“The data is not impressive,” Rowland says. One reason, she says, is that “people are treating this not as a conversation, but a piece of paper.”

Innovative cancer programs are now weaving survival planning into every phase of care, Alfano says. They’re also seeking better ways to use technology to track and guide patients.

But those innovations are not reaching enough patients, she says.

Progress for survivors
Leigh says much progress has been made since she became a founding member of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship in 1986.

“When we first started this, we were called cancer victims,” she says. “It was a way of looking a it that said you didn’t have any control.”

Today, the survivor community embraces everyone from newly diagnosed patients to the growing cadre of chronic cancer patients who stay on therapies for years.

Some, Leigh notes, reject the label “survivor,” for various reasons, including perceptions that it excludes those who will never be cancer-free. But even that debate, she says, is a sign that the movement has matured.

Another sign of progress: Most states now at least mention cancer survivors in their official cancer control plans, says Larissa Nekhlyudov, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

It’s not clear what impact state efforts have had, she says. But some states have launched innovative programs, often with funding from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In Kansas, for example, health officials worked with farmer’s markets for seniors to boost fruit and vegetable consumption among survivors. Iowa created educational materials for survivors facing sexual problems. Vermont trained survivors to counsel newly diagnosed patients as part of a program called Kindred Connections.

Volunteer David Cranmer says the program helps the volunteers almost as much as it helps those they counsel.

“We have training sessions with potluck suppers, and people get together and tell their stories,” says Cranmer, 70, of Williston, Vermont.

His own story includes a bone marrow transplant for chronic myeloid leukemia in 1999, followed by thyroid cancer. He’s now undergoing long-term chemotherapy for another condition, amyloidosis.

Despite his difficulties, he says, his story offers hope – and plants the idea that today’s cancer patients can and should plan for their futures.

“Most people aren’t thinking five or ten years from now. They are thinking about today,” he says. “But when I call up and say I’m a 20-year cancer survivor, that turns on a light that oh, there is life after cancer.”

Source: USA Today Newspaper; posted February 15, 2019; retrieved February 19, 2019 from: https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/50-states/2019/02/13/life-after-cancer-survivors-oncology-survivorship-plans-long-term-health/2794121002/

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Related: Advice for cancer patients: plan on surviving

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VIDEO – Four-time cancer survivor pioneers recovery and advocacy – https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/2019/02/13/four-time-cancer-survivor-pioneers-recovery-and-advocacy/2859322002/

USA TODAY – Susan Leigh has beaten multiple cancers and heart problems and now champions survivorship care plans for patients and their families.

Lessons abound – we must Battle Cancer Better:

We reap what we sow in this war. Hard work, smart work and better work pays off in victory.
Some places are better for surviving cancer than others.
The battle continues … even after cancer has been defeated … initially.
There are high-tech (advances drugs and surgical procedures) and low-tech solutions (diet, exercise, stress management, positivity, etc.).
The Caribbean must prepare and invest in Research & Development (R&D) and treatment deliveries for our people and visiting guests (patients) who may want to benefit from a new Caribbean commitment to Battle Cancer Better.

This theme has been elaborated upon in previous Go Lean commentaries; see a sample list here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7822	Cancer: Doing More Many Role Models want to invest their time, talent (business & entrepreneurship) and treasuries in this quest to impact the world of cancer R&D and treatment. This is good! This is better if/when we invite them to bring their operations to a Caribbean address. We have the perfect structure to Do More for cancer: Self-Governing Entities are detailed in the Go Lean roadmap.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3276	Role Model Shaking Up the World of Cancer One person can make a difference in cancer R&D and treatment. We should always incentivizes innovators. In fact, the Go Lean roadmaps invites them to avail our Self-Governing Entity concepts for ful industrialization of medical research and delivery.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2522	The Cost of Cancer Drugs The Americans eco-system may not be the best role model for emulating R&D and treatment for cancer. Their Crony-Capitalism is so acute that their motives maybe profit more so than life.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=554	Cuban cancer medication registered in 28 countries Innovation in cancer drugs and treatment have already emerged from the Caribbean – Cuba or all places have doubled-down in their R&D ethos. Any apathy towards their politics should not deter medical progress – lives are at stake.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=286	PR’s Comprehensive Cancer Center Project Breaks Ground The Caribbean needs to facilitate an atmosphere for Cancer R&D and Treatment. There can be an organized industry for this quest. Jobs can be created, in addition to Battling Cancer Better.

Cancer is a crisis … everywhere. This is not just an American drama and solutions do not only emerge from America.

The Go Lean book demonstrates how developing the ethos that a “crisis is a terrible thing to waste”, could help save lives … and communities. There are winning battles in the War on Cancer, but we must do the heavy-lifting to succeed.

Let’s fight … and keep on battling!

Many of our loved ones have died trying. Let’s not allow their deaths to be in vain. Let’s work harder, smarter and better and win more battles in this War on Cancer. This is how we can make our homeland a better place to live, work, heal and play. 🙂

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.

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

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

ix. Whereas the realities of healthcare and an aging population cannot be ignored and cannot be afforded without some advanced mitigation, the Federation must arrange for health plans to consolidate premiums of both healthy and sickly people across the wider base of the entire Caribbean population. The mitigation should extend further to disease management, wellness, obesity and smoking cessation programs.

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

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

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

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

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