Tag: Foreign Policy

In Defense of Trade – Bilateral Tariffs: No one wins

Posted on November 25, 2018 in Economics, Government, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

Trade giveth; trade taketh away …

This has now been established: trade can transform a society, elevating masses of people out of poverty to a middle-class life.

We have seen this formula succeed and repeated time and again – Great Britain, United States, Germany, Japan, Asian Tigers (Singapore, Hong Kong. South Korea and Taiwan). The formula also works in the reverse: stopping trade and people become more improvised.

We are seeing this actuality now as well.

This is the assessment in the US where the current American Federal government (under President Donald Trump) has a new penchant for tariffs. This is also en vogue with the experiences in the UK; London is negotiating a new trade deal with the European Union as they leave – Brexit – that Single Market. Both of these developments appear to be inviting doom for the perspective economies.

This commentary is the fourth submission of a 5-part series (4 of 5) from the movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean in consideration of the subject “In Defense of Trade“. The focus here is that Trade must be prioritized in the Caribbean region if we want a new economic regime. The other commentaries in the series are cataloged as follows:

  1. In Defense of Trade: China Realities
  2. In Defense of Trade: Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade Model – ENCORE
  3. In Defense of Trade: India BPO’s
  4. In Defense of Trade: Bilateral Tariffs – No one wins
  5. In Defense of Trade: Currency Assassins – Real Threat

No doubt, we want growth, so this means we must embrace the strategies, tactics and implementations related to trade. This is how we can succeed with the quest for jobs, entrepreneurial opportunities, better educational and healthcare options, a safer homeland and more efficient governmental services. We must pay more than the usual attention to these discussions, especially related to tariffs.

A tariff is a tax on imports or exports between sovereign states. Trade deficits mean that consumers buy too much foreign goods and too few domestic products. According to Keynesian theory, trade deficits are harmful. Countries that import more than they export weaken their economies. As the trade deficit increases, unemployment or poverty increases and GDP slows down. And surplus countries are getting richer at the expense of deficit countries. Keynes thought that surplus countries should be taxed[1].The tariff is used to equalize the trade balance in order to protect domestic workers. It is a policy that taxes foreign products and encourages home industry. – Source: Wikipedia.

Right now the US is doubling-down on a tariff strategy so as to force their will on the international community – especially targeting China. But the experts are asserting that a tariff strategy is not the solution.

Experts? The Economists … and Wall Street Titans. See this one Wall Street Titan prognosticate the vision of trade realities in this November 2018 VIDEO:

VIDEO – Ray Dalio on U.S. – China Trade Tensions, Markets – https://youtu.be/ZTJkNDlHB3s

CNBC
Published on Nov 15, 2018 – Ray Dalio, hedge fund giant Bridgewater Associates, joins ‘Squawk Box’ to discuss markets, interest rates, the debt market and U.S.-China trade tensions.

The dispute between the U.S. and China over trade deficits and surpluses is rather trivial compared to the broader philosophical differences between the world’s two biggest economic superpowers, Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio told CNBC on Thursday.

“The trade war, I think, can be worked out,” the billionaire investor Dalio said in a “Squawk Box” interview on CNBC. But he argued the conflict goes “way beyond the trade war.”

Dalio, co-CIO and co-chairman at Bridgewater, said the two nations’ polar opposite methods of governing is the broader, more difficult issue to reconcile. “It goes back to Confucius in 500 B.C.,” he said.

“It’s basically a top-down versus a bottom-up type of approach,” said Dalio, whose China unit of Bridgewater last month launched its first onshore Chinese investment fund.

“When you look at the 2025 plan in China, the government believes that they should have a plan for making China great” and will coordinate all aspects of public and private enterprise to achieve their goals, he said. “That type of activity is objectionable to the United States” in its free market economy.

The China 2025 plan is a state-backed industrial policy that’s provoked alarm in the West, and is core to Washington’s complaints about Beijing’s technological ambitions.

Dalio appeared on CNBC from the Greenwich Economic Forum in Connecticut where he later spoke to the elite gathering of “investment thought leaders“.

So Wall Street experts like Ray Dalio are urging caution for national governments implementing trade tariffs. In fact, an editorial by the iconic Wall Street Journal is strongly urging the trump administration to tread lightly with their new found affinity for tariff. The reason is simple:

No one wins a Trade War fought with the weapons of tariffs. It’s a fallacy and defective reasoning to think that tariff’s can be used to win a Trade War in this modern age of globalization.

This is the conclusion of the below Opinion Commentary in the Appendix: See the excerpt-summary here:

Mr. Trump has instead employed a unilateral tariff policy that lets him boast about being tough without a clear goal. The tariffs will hurt Chinese exporters, though many will move production to other countries. But tariffs also damage American producers and consumers, as does the $60 billion in new retaliatory tariffs that Beijing announced Tuesday.

The Caribbean needs to take note. We need effective strategies, tactics and implementation for trade. This is the quest of the book Go Lean…Caribbean.

The Go Lean book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). The CU seeks to optimize the region’s economic systems to better deliver on the prime directives of the Go Lean roadmap. The prime directives are pronounced as the following statements:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines and mitigate challenges/threats to ensure public safety for the region’s stakeholders.
  • Improvement of Caribbean governance, including a separation-of-powers between member-states and CU federal agencies.

So the CU Trade Federation vision is to provide the stewardship for the region’s economic engines, to optimize trade, so as to succeed in the goals of the roadmap.

The Go Lean/CU roadmap is designed to drive change among the economic, security and governing engines of the Caribbean member-states. The Go Lean book – within its 370 pages – describes how a new Caribbean regime can better exploit the benefits of trade – thereby avoiding the pitfalls of faulty trade reasoning. Among the new community ethos the book urges the region to adopt and the strategies, tactics and implementations the book urges the region to execute is this one advocacy to double-down on trade. Consider the specific plans, excerpts and headlines from this advocacy on Page 128 entitled:

10 Ways to Improve Trade

1 Lean-in for the Caribbean Single Market

This treaty allows for the unification of the region into one market, thereby creating a single economy of 30 member-states, 42 million people and a GDP of over $800 Billion. The CU will function as a proxy organization of the governments of all 30 member-states … . The similar exclusivity of roles and responsibilities will allow the CU to deploy and then empower the economic engines of this region. The profits from this new Trading Company, the CU, also go back to its stockholders; in this case, the member-states.

In addition, the treaty will call for a homeland security pact, with emergency management provisions, to assuage regional threats and risks. The CU gets to apply the lessons-learned from … experience to pursue the Greater Good, ensure that its powers are always authorized and deputized by the sovereign states, and proper governance, transparency and accountability accompany all activities.
2 Adopt Trade SHIELD

The CU will adopt the Trade SHIELD principles (see APPENDIX D on Page 264) to foster and optimize domestic and international trade.
3 Caribbean Dollar (C$) Currency Stabilization Derived from Learned Lessons
4 Electronic Commerce to Streamline a Bigger Better Domestic Trade Market
5 CU Citizens as Foreign Guest Workers
6 Diaspora Trade

The presence of a Caribbean Diaspora in North American and EU cities furnishes an export market to profit from trade. Since most often, the Diaspora live in “pockets” in their foreign lands, the logistics of exporting products (food supplies and intellectual property) has been efficient, but the CU envisions an even more optimized trade process with Free Trade provisions, collaborated customs processing, pre-approved inspections, and electronic commerce in C$ Dollars.
7 Intellectual Property – Media, Music
8 Tourism Enhancers
9 Strategic Priorities (Food, Fisheries)

One mission of the CU is to facilitate the food supply so that the region can feed itself, more from local production and less from trade; this includes yields from domestic agriculture and fisheries. Even if the opportunity cost is too high for domestic food production compared to foreign trade, the CU must supplement with subsidies. Food is non-negotiable!
10 Trade Missions

The CU will foster a stronger foreign policy by “speaking on one accord” for all the member-states. The CU will therefore open/staff foreign Trade Missions to not only perform diplomatic services, but economic ones as well. This will extend beyond the current Trade Negotiations (OTN), so as to add the functions of a Group Purchasing Organization (GPO).

Tariffs are bad by the country imposing them, but by any competing entity – you hurt yourself.

Imagine the absurdity of this analogy: A Bad Actor robs a bank and instead of targeting the innocent hostages in the bank, he threatens to harm himself – “Give me the money or I will shoot … myself”.

Now that the Great Recession (2008) is over in the US, the country is enjoying a full recovery. But as warned in the foregoing editorial, faulty trade reasoning can jeopardize this disposition:

Strong U.S. growth after tax reform and deregulation is so far dwarfing the overall economic harm from tariffs, as Tuesday’s market nonchalance indicates. But the tariffs are doing arbitrary harm to innocent Americans, and a policy of hurting yourself until the other guy changes his behavior is hard to sustain.

This Go Lean movement has addressed Good -vs- Bad Trade Policies in the past. This consideration has reviewed the business prospects of chattel items (raw materials and finished goods), intelligent property (music and media products) and services (tourism, medical, outsourcing, etc.). Consider this sample of previous blog-commentaries:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=15346 Industrial Reboot – Shipbuilding 101
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13184 Industrial Reboot – Frozen Foods 101
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=15310 Industrial Reboot with Trauma Centers
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13138 Industrial Reboot – Prisons 101
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=12230 Commerce of the Seas – Extraction Realities
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=12126 Stupidity of the Jones Act on PR, USVI Trade
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7789 An Ode to Detroit – Good Luck on Trade!
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6867 How to address high consumer prices? Better Trade
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5648 New Trade Regime for Music Industry
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4767 Welcoming WTO? Say Goodbye to Nationalism
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=479 PetroCaribe approach to Regional Trade & Social Advocacy

The Caribbean can be a better homeland to live, work and play with a better execution of trade policies. Trade is more about “brains than it is about brawn”. We need to think smart and work smart to reform and transform our society.

Let’s do this!

This is the Go Lean quest.

We urge everyone in the Caribbean to lean-in to this roadmap. It is conceivable, believable and achievable. 🙂

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

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

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Appendix – Title: The Missing China Trade Strategy
Sub-title: Trump imposes new tariffs but what he wants from Beijing isn’t clear.
By: WSJ Editorial Board

President Trump on Monday imposed a long-threatened 10% tariff on $200 billion of Chinese imports, effective next week, with the rate set to increase to 25% at the end of the year. More than half of Chinese imports now face punitive taxes, so it’s remarkable that the U.S. still hasn’t spelled out what it wants from Beijing. The lack of a strategy makes it hard to secure meaningful gains and resolve a trade war that is damaging both economies.

The Administration is on solid ground when it says China’s behavior threatens the global trading system. A study by the U.S. Trade Representative found “numerous unfair policies and practices relating to United States technology and intellectual property.” There is bipartisan U.S. support to address China’s violations of its promises to respect market forces.

But Mr. Trump also continues to rail against China for its large bilateral trade surplus with the U.S., and this is clearly motivating his escalation of tariffs. The surplus is driven largely by Chinese comparative advantage in low-end manufacturing and global capital flows to the U.S. Prioritizing a goal that flies in the face of market forces sends a mixed message to Beijing on what the U.S. wants, and it allows China to pose as the defender of free trade.

Cabinet members have tried to negotiate deals that would satisfy Mr. Trump’s obsession with the trade deficit, only to have him reject them as insufficient. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross struck a compromise last year on steel production that was discarded after he returned from Beijing. In May Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin reached a tentative deal to put tariffs on hold if the Chinese bought more soybeans and natural gas, but the White House resumed its tariff threats in June.

Mr. Trump is correct on many points, including his complaints that his predecessors failed to address changing Chinese behavior. China’s accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001 assumed the country was committed to what it then called “reform and opening” and would honor its promises to let foreign companies compete and protect intellectual property. The agreement largely treated China like other trading nations and relied on WTO arbitration to resolve disputes.

But China’s economic reforms stalled after its WTO entry. Beijing responded to the global financial crisis by directing credit to state-owned enterprises, which led officials to discriminate against foreign companies. After President Xi Jinping took power in 2012, he continued this trend and created the “Made in China 2025” plan requiring foreign companies to turn over intellectual property in return for access to China.

If China were a small country, the U.S. could afford to absorb surplus goods and let American consumers benefit. China’s effort to leapfrog into the ranks of developed economies by forcing companies to relocate their most valuable processes and pervert the law of comparative advantage will ultimately fail.

But when the world’s second-largest economy goes rogue, the collateral damage is huge and has undermined political support in the U.S. and the West for free trade. More ominously, China’s mercantilism is part of a larger Xi Jinping strategy to establish a new military and commercial hegemony in Asia.

The U.S. goal now should be to negotiate a deal with Beijing that sets new rules of the trading road. That agreement should seek to change Chinese practices, not reduce the trade deficit per se. This may require superseding current WTO rules, and that is best accomplished with a united front that includes the world’s other major trading powers.

Mr. Trump has instead employed a unilateral tariff policy that lets him boast about being tough without a clear goal. The tariffs will hurt Chinese exporters, though many will move production to other countries. But tariffs also damage American producers and consumers, as does the $60 billion in new retaliatory tariffs that Beijing announced Tuesday.

Strong U.S. growth after tax reform and deregulation is so far dwarfing the overall economic harm from tariffs, as Tuesday’s market nonchalance indicates. But the tariffs are doing arbitrary harm to innocent Americans, and a policy of hurting yourself until the other guy changes his behavior is hard to sustain. Mr. Trump’s political support will erode if he can’t deliver the new trade deals he promises.

If Mr. Trump wants to change Chinese behavior, he should first finish a new NAFTA, drop his blunderbuss steel tariffs on allies, forget new auto tariffs, negotiate a zero tariff deal with Europe, and re-enter the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Then lead a coalition to confront Xi Jinping from a position of strength with targeted trade enforcement rather than scattershot tariffs. The real worry is that Mr. Trump supports tariffs for their own sake, and he may not want a China deal. With Donald Trump and trade, you never know.

Source: Posted September 18, 2018; retrieved November 25, 2018 from: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-missing-china-trade-strategy-1537313246

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Related Media – Foreign Edition Podcast

Asia Avoids a Crisis; Britain Falls Into One – http://traffic.megaphone.fm/WSJ6726301554.mp3

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“Venezuela” – ‘On the Menu’ in California – ENCORE

Posted on June 7, 2018 in Economics, Ethos, Government, Strategy

“Gavin Newsom wants to turn this State into Venezuela” …
Republicans are always underdogs in [California] statewide contests, Nehring said, but he sees Newsom as vulnerable to the perception that he’s elitist and out of touch.

Still, Cox showed no signs of moderating the aggressive tone that generated excitement among conservatives, saying “Gavin Newsom wants to turn this state into Venezuela.”

… the aggressive tone of this accusation has generated a lot of excitement among conservatives. Here’s the background: Gavin Newsom is the Democratic Party’s nominee for Governor of California – the General Election will be November 6, 2018 – he is currently the Lieutenant Governor and also the former Mayor of San Francisco. He is a liberal icon in a liberal State.

Yet the one criticism that is sticking to candidate Newsom by Republican Party candidate John Cox is the fearful pattern of Venezuela.

Yes, Venezuela is “On the Menu” in California. But wait, that should be our ‘vantage point’ in the Caribbean!

… this was the theme of a previous blog-commentary from the movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean. Venezuela is in our neighborhood – with a long coastline on the Caribbean Sea – dysfunctions there spillover to our Caribbean member-states. It’s time to Encore that blog from May 31, 2016 . See the Encore as follows:

——————–

Go Lean Commentary – Venezuela: Watching a ‘Train Wreck in Slow Motion’>

Watching Venezuela now is like watching a “train wreck … in slow motion”.

- Photo 1Didn’t we just see this recently … in a land far-far away – Greece? If the Venezuela parallel with Greece continues, we will be able to accurately predict that “things will get worse before it gets worse!”

This is not just an academic consideration for Caribbean stakeholders, as Venezuela boasts a vast coastline on the Caribbean Sea; they also share a border with one Caribbean member-state, Guyana, and supplies the region with a lot of its oil. And just recently with its PetroCaribe initiative, Venezuela was one hope to help eradicate poverty in the Caribbean. But now Venezuela is having a tough time protecting its own self from the pangs of poverty.

Many people are now waking up – inside and outside Venezuela – to the harsh realities that a Failed-State is emerging in our neighborhood, right in front of our eyes. Unfortunately, we – the Caribbean – are all too familiar. Consider here how Venezuela’s political institutions are crumbling:

  • The opposition parties refused to collaborate with the governing officials
  • Riots in the streets
  • Assassinations of government officials
  • Economy in shambles
  • Currency in disarray
  • Cupboards and store shelves are bare – see Photo above
  • Basic government services – social contract – are not being executed
  • External parties – UNASUR – are coming in to intercede

See the news article here conveying this harsh reality in Venezuela:

Title: Venezuelan officials, opposition meet mediators over standoff
By: Ernesto Tovar

- Photo 2Caracas (AFP) – Venezuelan officials and opposition foes have held separate secret meetings in the Dominican Republic with a group of ex-world leaders seeking a way out of political crisis, officials said, as an ex-military reserve leader was shot dead.

Representatives of both sides of Venezuela’s political standoff met former Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, former Dominican president Leonel Fernandez and Panama’s ex-president Martin Torrijos “in recent days” under the auspices of the Union of South American Nations, UNASUR, to seek a “framework for a national dialogue,” the organization said in a statement.

The mediating former leaders found “a desire for dialogue on both sides,” for which new meetings were proposed to “agree on an agenda that meets the requirements of each party and a method for engaging in national dialogue,” the statement said.

The meetings were the initiative of President Nicolas Maduro, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez tweeted, saying the effort “promotes peace, respect for the rule of law and the defense of sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

The main center-right opposition group Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) said in a statement that its conditions for the talks were the holding of a referendum over Maduro’s recall, freeing political prisoners, allowing exiles to return and “an end to prosecutions for political persecution.”

The opposition is also calling on the government to allow international relief supplies of food and medicine into the country and seek to end a crippling economic crisis “generated by official corruption and an economic model that is spreading misery.”

The three former leaders also held talks with Maduro and the opposition under UNASUR auspices in Caracas two weeks ago.

Publicly, the two sides could not be further apart.

MUD which blames Maduro for the economic crisis, accuses the electoral authorities of dragging their feet in processing their petition for a referendum on removing the socialist leader from office.

Although a survey last month showed 68 percent of Venezuelans want Maduro to leave office and to hold new elections, he has said the referendum drive has “very little support.”

Venezuela has the world’s largest oil reserves, but its economy is reeling from the collapse in global crude prices.

Venezuelans are experiencing severe food and medicine shortages compounded by the world’s highest inflation — almost 190 percent in 2015, which the International Monetary Fund predicts will balloon to 700 percent in 2016.
Source: Yahoo/AFP Online News – Retrieved May 29, 2016 from: https://www.yahoo.com/news/venezuelan-officials-opposition-meet-mediators-over-standoff-020940920.html?nhp=1

Yet still, there are a lot of lessons for the Caribbean to consider from this crisis – a “crisis is a terrible thing to waste” declares the book Go Lean … Caribbean (Page 8). As a region with past and present Failed-States, we must not fail to discern these lessons.

- Photo 6For starters, there is a super-national organization that Venezuelan stakeholders are able to escalate to for mediation, the Union of South American Nations – UNASUR according to the Spanish-language acronym. A super-national organization – for mediation and conflict resolution – is also the goal of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). In both cases, the goal is to model the European Union. See details and VIDEO of the UNASUR organization in the Appendices below:

The UNASUR organization, as described below, is part of the Latin American integration movement, combining the efforts of the Andean Community and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur). This should be the primary strategy for mitigating Failed-State status in South America. While Venezuela is a sovereign state, they can still be held accountable to their neighbors in UNASUR; this would be a product of peer pressure and the threat of sanctions. Too bad this integration movement is not complete in its construct, as this would have been most effective in stopping this “slow motion train wreck”.

In fact, in the 2004 South American Summit, representatives of these twelve South American nations participated:

1 These countries are also considered to be associate members of Mercosur.
2 These countries are also considered to be associate members of the Andean Community.
C Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member state
L Latin American Integration Association (ALADI) member state
M Accessing member to Mercosur
Source: Retrieved May 31, 2016 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_of_South_American_Nations

The leaders of these countries announced the intention of modeling the new community in the mold of the European Union, including a unified passport, a parliament and, eventually, a single currency. The then Secretary General of the Andean Community – Allan Wagner – speculated at that time that the advanced union like the EU should be possible within the next fifteen years. Based on these experiences in Venezuela, this integration movement is a “day late and a dollar short”.

The actuality of Venezuela is more than just a cautionary tale for the Caribbean, it is also a Caribbean problem. In addition to the presence of Caribbean Community member-states of Guyana and Suriname, many aspects of Venezuelan life parallel those of the Caribbean in general and in specifics – see these previous blog-commentaries:

Mono-Industrial Economy

Majority of consumer goods imported and pricey

Close proximity with other countries, not suffering this failing status

Long legacy of bad community ethos regarding fiscal responsibilities

Validation of regional criticism

High societal abandonment rate

Large Diaspora abroad

Challenge of security / public safety

Incompetent governance

Being at the brink of disaster, at the precipice, is perhaps the only time communities are willing to reform and transform. This reality is what inspired the book Go Lean…Caribbean to serve as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). The events of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis was the trigger for the composition of this book. Will Venezuela now use this crisis to forge change for its society?

Will the Caribbean forge change by just “observing and reporting” on Venezuela? There are many lessons to learn and the Caribbean community is urged not to ignore. The lessons learned, and codified in the pages of the Go Lean book can now be enhanced with the examination of the realities of Venezuela. This examination must consider the reality of the economic, security and governing aspects of Venezuelan society and the resultant consequences on their neighbors.

Like the UNASUR initiative, the Go Lean roadmap calls for a confederation of the 30 member-states of the Caribbean into a Single Market of 42 million people so as to leverage the governing burden across a separation-of-powers: a federal government and member-state government. This allows a new response to national crisis (economic, security and governance). This vision is at the root of the Go Lean roadmap, embedded in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Page 12 – 13):

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

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

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

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

The following details from the book Go Lean … Caribbean are the community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies necessary to effect the turn-around of the Caribbean societal engines – to learn from failing communities (like Greece and Venezuela):

Community Ethos – Economic Systems Influence Individual Choices Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Principles – Money Multiplier Page 21
Community Ethos – Governing Principles – Lean Operations Page 24
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Future Page 26
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact Turn-Arounds Page 33
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good Page 37
Strategy – Vision – Confederate all 30 Member-States into a Single Market Page 47
Strategy – Mission – Build and foster local economic engines Page 45
Strategy – Mission – Fortify the stability of our mediums of exchange Page 45
Strategy – Mission – Dissuade further Brain Drain Page 46
Tactical – Confederating a Permanent Union Page 63
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy Page 64
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Federal Government versus Member-States Page 71
Implementation – Assemble all Member-States Page 96
Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change Page 101
Implementation – Foreign Policy Initiatives at Start-up – Relationship with Venezuela Page 102
Implementation – Ways to Foster International Aid Page 115
Planning – Ways to Model the European Union Page 130
Planning – Ways to Improve Failed-State Indices Page 134
Planning – Lessons Learned from 2008 – The Global Financial Crisis Page 136
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs Page 152
Advocacy – Better Manage the Social Contract Page 170
Advocacy – Ways to Preserve Caribbean Heritage Page 218
Advocacy – Ways to Protect Human Rights Page 218
Advocacy – Ways to Re-boot Cuba – Marshall Plan Tactic for Failed-States Page 236
Advocacy – Ways to Re-boot Haiti – Marshall Plan Tactic for Failed-States Page 238
Appendix – Caribbean Failed-State Indicators and Definitions Page 271

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

We also have near Failed-States in the Caribbean: Think: Haiti, Puerto Rico and Cuba; plus a host of countries just slightly behind them. We have to foster our own turn-around strategies for our region.

Venezuela is out of scope for the Go Lean roadmap; our quest is to reform and transform the Caribbean. The roadmap declares that the responsibility for fixing the Caribbean though must fall first-and-foremost on the Caribbean, its people and institutions. The effort is not easy; the Go Lean book describes it as heavy-lifting. But the returns will be worth the investment. This is true for Venezuela … and the Caribbean.

This is the goal of the Go Lean roadmap: to make the Caribbean a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

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Appendix – Union of South American Nations – UNASUR

- Photo 3The Union of South American Nations (USAN; Spanish: Unión de Naciones Suramericanas, UNASUR; Portuguese: União de Nações Sul-Americanas,UNASUL; Dutch: Unie van Zuid-Amerikaanse Naties, UZAN) is an intergovernmental regional organization comprising 12 South American countries.

The UNASUR Constitutive Treaty was signed on 23 May 2008 – [legally completing the integration between the Andean Community and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) nations] – at the Third Summit of Heads of State, held in Brasília, Brazil.[7] According to the Constitutive Treaty, the Union’s headquarters will be located in Quito, Ecuador.[2] On 1 December 2010, Uruguay became the ninth state to ratify the UNASUR treaty, thus giving the union full legality.[8][9] As the Constitutive Treaty entered into force on 11 March 2011, UNASUR became a legal entity during a meeting of Foreign Ministers in Mitad del Mundo, Ecuador, where they had laid the foundation stone for the Secretariat Headquarters.[10] The South American Parliament will be located in Cochabamba, Bolivia, while the headquarters of its bank, the Bank of the South are located in Caracas,Venezuela.[2]

On 4 May 2010, at a heads of state summit held in Campana, 47 miles north of Buenos Aires, former Argentine President Néstor Kirchner was unanimously elected the first Secretary General of UNASUR for a two-year term.

Structure

At the moment, the provisional structure of the UNASUR is as follows:

  • A permanent Secretariat is to be established in Quito, Ecuador. The Secretary General, with a two-year mandate, is to be elected on a consensual basis among the Heads of State of the member states. Former Argentine President Néstor Kirchner was designated the first Secretary General on 4 May 2010.[20]
  • The presidents of the member nations will have an annual meeting, which will have the superior political mandate. The first meeting was in Brasília (Brazil) on 29–30 September 2005. The second meeting was in Cochabamba (Bolivia) on 8–9 December 2006. The third meeting was held in Brasília on 23 May 2008.
  • - Photo 5The Presidency Pro Tempore, is exercised for a one-year period on a pro tempore basis by one of the heads of state of each UNASUR Member State, the succession following alphabetical order. The first leader to occupy this position was Chilean President Michelle Bachelet. According to Decisions Reached in the Political Dialogue[21] which was signed during the First South American Energy Summit.
  • The ministers of foreign affairs of each country will meet once every six months. They will formulate concrete proposals of action and of executive decision. The President of the Mercosur’s permanent representatives committee and the director of the Mercosur’s department, the Andean Community’s general secretary, the general secretary of the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI) and the permanent secretaries of any institution for regional cooperation and integration, Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization among others, will also be present at these meetings.
  • Sectorial Ministers’ meeting will be called upon by the presidents. The meetings will be developed according to Mercosur’s and CAN’s mechanisms.
  • On 9 December 2005, a special commission was established in charge of advancing the process of South American Integration. It consists of 12 members, whose function is to elaborate proposals that will help the process of integration between the South American nations.

An Executive Commission, which was created by the II CSN meeting, was transformed in the Political Commission or Delegates Council, according to Decisions Reached in the Political Dialogue.[21]

- Photo 4
=============================

APPENDIX – VIDEO – UNASUR –  https://youtu.be/rNjkr7y8-Kc

Published on Apr 16, 2016 – The Union of South American Nations, or UNASUR, marks its ninth anniversary this Sunday, April 17 with a 12-kilometer race in Ecuador with the aim of “bringing the regional body closer to the people.” The UNASUR Secretary-General Ernesto Samper resumed in a few words what the bloc is all about: “To promote peace, democracy and respect of human rights, as well as a Latin American integration. http://multimedia.telesurtv.net/v/una…

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Overseas Workers – Not the Panacea

Posted on May 23, 2018 in Economics, Industries, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

What do you want to be when you grow up?

This question is usually asked of young ones while they are still fostering their development. This question normally reflects the role models that the young ones perceive.

A similar exercise can be applied to developing countries. So we ask the question of the developing Caribbean nations:

  • What do you want to be when you grow up?
  • Who is your role model?
  • Which country’s template do you want to consider?

The easy answers could be the US, the EU or Canada, but our practices belie a different role model. Our region seems to be copying North Korea. There is a jobs program that exists in our region that is 100% modeled on North Korea; it is their Overseas Worker program. See more details on the North Korean program here:

Estimates of the number of North Koreans overseas vary considerably. Some researchers, as well as a 2015 report by the UN Special Rapporteur on North Korean Human Rights, cite roughly 50,000 overseas workers. Other analysts have given larger estimates, ranging as high as 120,000 overseas workers. A fact sheet published by the U.S. Mission to the UN in 2017 cites 100,000 overseas workers, bringing in revenue of over $500 million annually.

The reason for this variation hinges mostly on the difficulty of estimating the number of North Korean workers in China. The number of North Koreans legally entering China has increased significantly in recent years, with over 188,000 reported entrants in 2015, including 94,000 entrants identified as “workers and crew”. This may be connected to a reported2012 informal agreement between Beijing and Pyongyang allowing for an increased number of North Koreans to work in China. However, data on the number of reported entrants does not necessarily reflect the total number of North Korean workers in China. On the one hand, some North Korean workers may have been placed in entry categories other than “workers and crew,” and workers might stay longer than one-year periods. One the other hand, it is not clear whether the “worker and crew” category includes transportation workers who may enter China on a routine basis for very short terms, or how often North Korean workers (particularly those stationed in the border area) travel back and forth across the border — in either case, any given worker would be counted as an “entrant” multiple times in a single year.

Successive UN Security Council resolutions have imposed progressively stronger sanctions on the employment of North Korean overseas laborers. The most recent, Resolution 2397 adopted in December 2017, requires member states to repatriate all DPRK nationals earning income in their territory within 24 months.
…
North Korea’s overseas workers are typically closely managed by DPRK state-run enterprises, which contract with foreign partners to provide labor. While conditions may vary from place to place, human rights advocates note that North Korean overseas workers often labor under intense conditions, face restrictions on their movements, and keep little of their wages. Other analysts argue that work abroad nonetheless provides North Koreans with the opportunity to earn more money than they could at home, and that foreign work is often seen as desirable within North Korea.

While it appears that the majority of state-organized North Korean overseas workers are men, women comprise a majority of the undocumented North Koreans living in China. Due to their vulnerable status, undocumented North Korean women are often subject to sex trafficking or forced marriage.

Source: Retrieved May 23, 2018 from: https://www.northkoreaintheworld.org/economic/north-korean-overseas-workers

Overseas Workers?! There are so many dangers; so many threats; and so many downsides that no government should be encouraging this role model – the North Korean model – for any country. India – see Appendix B – had bad experiences with this practice and have now added new empowerments to better protect its people from the dangers of overseas employment. Yet, our Caribbean member-states seem to be “cruising for a bruising” by inviting their own overseas workers programme. Is this who we want to be when we grow up?

Sad!

Now see this news article here, reflecting the demand for overseas employment in one Caribbean member-state. The demand is so high that the abuse has begun; see the article here:

Title: St Lucia warns of false advertisements for Canadian farm worker programme

CASTRIES – The St Lucia government has warned of “false advertisements” in circulation on the social media and other platforms indicating that the Labour Department here is now accepting applications from nationals for work under the Canadian Farm Worker Programme.

In a statement, the Labour Department said that it has “been swamped with scores of citizens in recent days seeking to register in response to the false notice”.

“Citizens are informed that the Department of Labour is currently not in the process of accepting new applicants to the programme. The department currently has a database of over five hundred citizens registered for the programme. This database is the first point for consideration in the event new opportunities become available,” the Ministry of Labour said in the statement.

St Lucia is among a number of Caribbean countries whose nationals participate in the annual work programme in Canada and the statement quoted Labour Minister Stephenson King as saying that he is “working feverishly with existing and prospective employers for additional opportunities for St Lucians”.

The Department said it also wanted to take the opportunity “to thank employers and all citizens for continuous support,” adding “rest assured we will continue working for you”. (CMC)
Source: Posted May 20, 2018; retrieved May 23, 2018 from: http://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/159035/st-lucia-warns-false-advertisements-canadian-farm-worker-programme

So according to the foregoing – “St Lucia is among a number of Caribbean countries whose nationals participate in the annual work programme in Canada” – when the question is asked: Where are the jobs in the Caribbean? The answer in St. Lucia and these other Caribbean countries is:

Overseas!

Commentators conclude that North Korea is Hell on Earth! See the related story in the Appendix VIDEO. We must do better than copying their economic model!

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

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion and create 2.2 million 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.

Overseas jobs in Canada is not the panacea for what ails the Caribbean economically. Rather than look to Canada, we must look inwardly at our region so as to fix our broken local economic engines, not just look “across the waters” for others to solve our problems for us.

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

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

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

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

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

The Go Lean book 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 economic engines of Caribbean society. Just “how” can the stewards for a new Caribbean create local “innovative” jobs in our region? This is the actual title of one advocacy in the Go Lean book. Consider the specific plans, excerpts and headlines here from Page 152, entitled:

10 Ways to Create Jobs … in the Caribbean Region

1 Lean-in for the Caribbean Single Market and Economy
The CU will allow for the unification of the region into one market, thereby creating a single economy of 30 member- states, 42 million people and a GDP of over $800 Billion. The CU’s mission is to create high-paying jobs for the region, beyond the minimum wage (defined below). Many high-wage industries would be promoted, incentivized and regulated at the federal level, even new industries created. Jobs come from trade; the CU goal is to improve trade. The CU will thus institute Enterprise Zones and Empowerment Zones – SGE’s – with tax benefits: rebates, abatements – as job creation pockets. The CU will capture data, micro and macro-economic metrics, to measure the success/failure of these initiatives.
2 Feed Ourselves
The industries of agri-business allow structured commercial systems to grow, harvest and trade in food supplies. Many of the Caribbean member states (Lesser Antilles) acquire all their food in trade, the agricultural footprint is very small, though some countries (Greater Antilles, Belize, Guyana & Suriname) have a low opportunity cost for producing food. But with the Trade Federation in force, intra-region trade will be the first priority. When the demand is qualified, quantified and assured, the supply and quality there in, will catch up.
3 Clothe Ourselves
4 House Ourselves
In the US, it’s a truism of the National Association of Realtors® that “housing creates jobs”. With the repatriation of the Caribbean Diaspora, local building supplies and new “housing starts” will emerge in the Caribbean. Plus, the CU will facilitate mortgage secondary market and pre-fabulous construction thereby fostering new housing sub-industries.
5 Update Our Own Infrastructure and the Industries They Spun

Roads, bridges, ports, ship-building dry-docks, utilities and media outlets create companies and jobs for implementation and maintenance. Many of the infrastructure projects will cover the transportation sector; with improvements here, the result will be more traffic (passenger & cargo). This opens new modes for travelers/visitors/tourists to come to their favorite resort destination. (Consider Fast Ferries boats and Spring Break). Also, the CU will correct the void of no auto manufacturing industry in the Caribbean region, despite a market of 42 million people.
6 Steer More People to S.T.E.M. Education and Careers
7 Help Regional Businesses Find Foreign Markets
8 Welcome Home Emigrants
9 Welcome “Empowering” Immigrants
10 Draw More Tourists
The North American upper-middle-class market should not be the only target, better infrastructure and promotion can channel more tourists to the region. There can be a year round improvement in tourist arrivals, rather than just the “high” season. The CU will promote events with wide appeal to attract more tourists from around the world, year-round. The facilitation, support and promotion of the events will create multitudes of jobs, if only temporary.

Once these new “innovative” local direct jobs are created, then the job multiplier factor is engaged. The Go Lean book (Page 259) describes this factor and effect as follows:

… not only do innovative industries bring “good jobs” and high salaries to the communities where they cluster but that their impact is “much deeper” than their direct effect. … A healthy traded sector benefits the local economy directly, as it generates well-paid jobs, and indirectly as it creates additional jobs in the non-traded sector. What is truly remarkable is that this indirect effect to the local economy is much larger than the direct effect.

The subject of overseas jobs in Canada have been visited before. There was a previous blog-commentary from January 8, 2015 that detailed the experience for Jamaica; this previous study is one reason why we are able to conclude that this type of employment program, overseas, is not the panacea:

Jamaica has one of the highest rates of societal abandonment in the Caribbean. In a previous blog-commentary, it was revealed that the Caribbean loses more than 70 percent of tertiary educated to brain drain, but Jamaica’s rate is at 85%; (plus 35% of the secondary educated population leaves). This Foreign Guest Worker program, in the foregoing article, seems to be a “double down” on the itinerant Jamaican strategy. Imagine the analogy of a teenage runaway leaving his family behind; then when the parents finally discover that prodigal’s son’s whereabouts, they send another child to join them, rather than encourage a return home and a plea to prosper and be planted at home.

The people of Jamaica deserves better.

The people of the Caribbean deserves better. We do not have to repeat the same mistakes as India, North Korea or other Caribbean states; we can … and must do better. We must create local jobs. This is conceivable, believable and achievable. Yes, we can make our homeland a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

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

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

————–

Appendix A VIDEO – North Korea Literal Hell On Earth – https://youtu.be/DGA0_4pyOrw

Paulraj P.

Published on Mar 15, 2017 – Must Read:  WEIRD AND BIZARRE FACTS ABOUT NORTH KOREA, THE MOST REPRESSIVE AUTHORITARIAN COUNTRY IN THE WORLD, A LITERAL HELL ON EARTH

…

Listen to Yeonmi Park , escaped from North Korea and now a human right activist, who like any other North Koreans  was once forced to  collect  human and animal poo for the government ,  knew about love for the first time, only after watching “Titanic”,  speaking  in One Young World Summit in Dublin. Keep tissues.

————–

Appendix B – India’s Overseas Workers Passport – Emigration Act, 1983

The Emigration Act, 1983 is an Act passed by the Government of India to regulate emigration of people from India, with the stated goal of reducing fraud or exploitation of Indian workers recruited to work overseas. The Act imposed a requirement of obtaining emigration clearance (also called POE clearance) from the office of Protector of Emigrants (POE), Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs for people emigrating from India for work. As of 2017, this requirement applies only for people going to one of 18 listed countries.[1][2][3][4]

Background

Indians emigrated, both temporarily and permanently, to a number of countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Australia, and the economies of south-east Asia. The bulk of emigration from the 1970s onward was to the Arab states of the Persian Gulf.[3] Recruiting agents played a role in connecting workers to foreign jobs and charged the workers or the employers some share of the revenue. The Emigration Act, 1983 was passed to address concerns related to defrauding and exploitation of workers by the recruiting agents and other problems they might face upon going abroad.[3]

Provisions

Creation of the Office of Protector of Emigrants (Chapter II)

Chapter II, Section 3 of the Act provided that the Central Government may appoint a Protector General of Emigrants and as many Protectors of Emigrants (POE) as it sees fit, as well as their respective areas of operation. Later Sections of Chapter II defined the duties of Protectors of Emigrants in more detail, provided for emigration check-points, and provided for other emigration officers.[2][3]

Registration of recruiting agents (Chapter III)

The Act made the Protector General of Emigrants and other Protectors of Emigrants the authorities who could register recruiting agents. A person could operate as a recruiting agent for emigrants only if registered. The Act also provided details on the application, terms and conditions, renewal, and cancellation of registration.[2][3]

Permits for recruitment by employers (Chapter IV)

All employers were required to recruit either through a recruiting agent with a valid registration, or obtain a permit for recruitment. The procedure for obtaining, validity period, and cancellation of permits was detailed in the law.[2]

Emigration clearance (Chapter V)

Any citizen of India seeking to emigrate was required to have emigration clearance from the Protectorate of Emigrants (POE). The application process for emigration clearance, and potential grounds for rejection, were detailed.[2]

As of 2017, passport holders could either have ECR status (emigration check required) in which case they need to obtain emigration clearance, or have ECNR status (emigration check not required) in which case they do not need to obtain emigration clearance.[3] The ECR/ECNR distinction does not appear to have been stated in the original language of the Emigration Act, 1983, which seems to suggest that anybody emigrating for work is required to obtain emigration clearance.[2] The requirements for getting to ECNR status have been progressively relaxed over time, starting from being restricted to people such as graduates and income tax payers and now applying to a much wider set of people including those who have completed matriculation (class 10 of school).[5][6]

Source: Retrieved May 23, 2018 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emigration_Act,_1983

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‘Climate Change’ Reality!? Numbers Don’t Lie

Posted on May 20, 2018 in Government, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

It’s simple: Numbers don’t lie!

There are many subjective topics: best this, greatest that! If a company thinks they are successful – i.e. one of the fastest growing firms – but they do not have money in the bank, they are “in the RED”, then frankly their Balance Sheet simply doesn’t lie, they are insolvent.

The same for the subjective topic of Climate Change. Is Global Warming real? Is the planet getting warmer?

There is no longer any doubt, the Numbers don’t lie: the earth has had 400 straight warmer-than-average months. See the full story of this actuality here:

VIDEO – This weather event hasn’t happened since 1984 – https://www.usatoday.com/videos/weather/2018/05/17/weather-event-hasnt-happened-since-1984/618961002/

Published May 17, 2018 – NOAA climate scientists say April 2018 marked the planet’s 400th consecutive month with above-average temperatures. USA TODAY

———–

Title: Earth just had its 400th straight warmer-than-average month thanks to global warming

It was December 1984, and President Reagan had just been elected to his second term, Dynasty was the top show on TV and Madonna’s Like a Virgin topped the musical charts.

It was also the last time the Earth had a cooler-than-average month.

Last month marked the planet’s 400th consecutive month with above-average temperatures, federal scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday.

The cause for the streak? Unquestionably, it’s climate change, caused by humanity’s burning of fossil fuels.

“We live in and share a world that is unequivocally, appreciably and consequentially warmer than just a few decades ago, and our world continues to warm,” said NOAA climate scientist Deke Arndt. “Speeding by a ‘400’ sign only underscores that, but it does not prove anything new.”

Climate scientists use the 20th-century average as a benchmark for global temperature measurements. That’s because it’s fixed in time, allowing for consistent “goal posts” when reviewing climate data. It’s also a sufficiently long period to include several cycles of climate variability.

“The thing that really matters is that, by whatever metric, we’ve spent every month for several decades on the warm side of any reasonable baseline,” Arndt said.

NOAA’s analysis found last month was the 3rd-warmest April on record globally. The unusual heat was most noteworthy in Europe, which had its warmest April on record, and Australia, which had its second-warmest.

Portions of Asia also experienced some extreme heat: In southern Pakistan, the town of Nawabshah soared to a scalding 122.4 degrees on April 30, which may have been the warmest April temperature on record for the globe, according to Meteo France.

Argentina also had its warmest April since national records began there in 1961.

North America was the one part of the world that didn’t get in on the heat parade. Last month, the average U.S. temperature was 48.9 degrees, 2.2 degrees below average, “making it the 13th-coldest April on record and the coldest since 1997,” NOAA said.

For the year-to-date, the Earth is seeing its 5th-warmest start to the year.

A separate analysis of global temperature data from NASA also found last month was the third-warmest April on record.

Another milestone was reached in April, also related to the number “400”: Carbon dioxide — the gas scientists say is most responsible for global warming — reached its highest level in recorded history at 410 parts per million.

This amount is highest in at least the past 800,000 years, according to the Scripps Institute of Oceanography.

Source: Retrieved May 18, 2018 from: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/05/17/global-warming-april-400th-consecutive-warm-month/618484002/

Once we accept the facts, then we can move on to debating solutions.

Perhaps there was some debate when it was 4 straight months, or 20 straight months; but 400 straight months is an abundance of obvious. Our argument should not be whether Climate Change is real, it should be:

What are we going to do about it?

Option A or Option B?

i.e. There are serious debates for terminating the use of fossil fuels immediately! There is no doubt “we” must employ solar, wind and tidal power generating solutions now. But that is still not enough! How do we fill the gaps in the vacuum for power generation?

  • Option A: Nuclear.
  • Option B: Natural Gas.

Pro’s and Con’s abound!

Anyone who still argues the incontrovertible facts of the reality of Climate Change, should just be ignored, ridiculed and rendered to the “trash heap” of history.

Wait, what?! The US President, Donald J. Trump, is a Climate Change denier, so what are we saying?

Yes, we should ignore, ridicule and render his policies to the “trash heap” of history, while we move forward with our Climate Change abatement.

While this commentary is from the movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean, these words to ignore-ridicule-render Trump are also the declaration of …

Climate Change is one of the biggest threats for the Caribbean region. The region must therefore work to mitigate this threat. Yes, we can! We have many successful track records of effecting environmental changes.

Hurricane Season 20018 is about to begun; (June 1).

Climate Change can exacerbate storms… These represent a Clear-and-Present Danger for the Caribbean … for many US communities as well. The US President should not be so dismissive.

In the previous blog-commentary, it was asserted …

The reality of Caribbean life: we must contend with natural disasters, not of our making, “again and again”. The situation can be described as “Rinse and Repeat“.

The book Go Lean…Caribbean – available to download for free – serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), to reform and transform all of Caribbean society – all 30 member-states. There is the need to shepherd our communities to abate for Climate Change episodes – before and after storms. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

Fixing Climate Change in the US is out-of-scope for this Go Lean…Caribbean effort. Our scope is the Caribbean only. But we must not be hypocritical … or parasitic. We must do our own heavy-lifting and fix our own communities, in preparation for a global abatement initiative – no matter how small we may perceive our impact may be because of our small size in the grand scheme of the planet’s population. How else do we shame the Big Polluters?!

The Go Lean movement has previously detailed many related issues and advocacies for Climate Change awareness and abatement. Consider this sample of previous blog-commentaries:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14832 Manifesting Environmental Change
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13985 EU Assists Barbados to Go Green
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11858 Looking and Learning from the Cautionary Tale of Kiribati
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9455 Fix ‘Climate Change’ – Yes, We Can
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7103 COP21 – ‘Climate Change’ Acknowledged
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6893 A Meteorologist’s View On Climate Change
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4673 ‘Climate Change‘ Merchants of Doubt … to Preserve Profits!!
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2465 Book: ‘This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2276 Climate Change May Affect Food Supply Within a Decade
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1883 Climate Change May Bring More Kidney Stones
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1817 Caribbean grapples with intense cycles of flooding & drought
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=915 Go ‘Green’ … Caribbean

The Go Lean book and roadmap stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean’s societal engines to abate Climate Change is possible; it is conceivable, believable and achievable. But this is heavy-lifting.

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to prepare and respond for Climate Change-infused storms. This quest is the actual title of one advocacy in the Go Lean book. Consider the specific plans, excerpts and headlines here from Page 184, entitled:

10 Ways to Improve for Natural Disasters

1 Lean-in for the Caribbean Single Market and Economy
This allows for the unification of the 30 member-states into one market, thereby spreading the risk and premium base across a market of 42 million people. The Caribbean member-states have Hurricane Katrina styled disasters (relatively speaking) every year.
2 Caribbean Emergency Management Agency – Federal Disaster Declarations

Modeled after FEMA in the US, this agency will be charged with the preparation, response and reconstruction for the regions for the eventual manifestations of hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding and other declared disasters, natural and man-made like medical epidemic, drought, pollution, oil spills, terrorism, etc.
3 Support Services for First Responders

Training, licensing and standards for Emergency Managers, Paramedics, Firefighters, Search and Rescue resources. For major disasters, some of these resources will come from international origins; they will need the support services (language translation, guides, maps, etc.) and coordination to maximize their results.
4 Animal Partner Training and Development

Maintain plantations for the training, development and boarding of “search & rescue” dogs, cadavers dogs and other service animals (horses, mules, pigs, etc.) so that there will be local resources within the region. (We cannot always depend on international responses in light of other regions experiencing their own disasters). These animals need not be owned by any one member-state, they can be on loan from CU resources
5 Siren Warnings & Notifications
6 Airlift & Sealift Authorizations

The CU Emergency Management Agency can license, regulate and authorize (air & sea) vessels and vehicles for emergency deployment in a disaster zone, before during and after the disastrous event.
7 JUA-style Insurance Fund

The fiduciary management of premiums and claims to allow the immediate response for reconstruction after disasters. These financial services, sidecars traded in markets can be direct or indirect as in reinsurance or insurer-of-last-resort.
8 Economic Crime Enforcement During and After Disasters
9 Disaster Declaration Loans
10 Building Codes and Standards

The Numbers – 400 straight months of above-average temperatures – tell the truth! We do not have a choice to just ignore this reality. We must prepare! Any Caribbean community leader who do not endorse proactive measures of a regional disaster apparatus needs to be ignored, ridiculed and rendered to the “trash heap” of history.

We need serious leaders … only! Climate Change can be abated, remember Acid Rain. We urge all Caribbean stakeholders to lean-in to this Go Lean roadmap for change, to make our homeland safer. This is a necessary step in forging a better homeland to live, work and play. 🙂

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

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

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Africa: Past, Present and Future of Caribbean Relations

Posted on November 30, 2017 in Ethos, Social, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

“How good and how pleasant it would be before God and man,
To see the unification of all Africans”
– Bob Marley’s Song Africa Unite; see Appendix VIDEO below.

These rhyming words of this song are shaping up to be more than just platitudes. There is an actual movement to forge an integrated, united Africa … at least economically. This is the movement for a Free Trade area for the whole continent of Africa. (A previous commentary detailed a continental security apparatus for Africa that the Caribbean should model).

Wow! That would be a start to fulfilling the dream of people like Bob Marley … and others (think: Marcus Garvey).

What is amazing is that these two late-great role models where movers-and-shakers for Africa, though they were natives, citizens and residents of the Caribbean.

This is because there is a historic Africa-Caribbean relationship that transcends time; there is a Past, Present and Future to Africa-Caribbean Relations, and it is more than just song-and-dance.

Past
The link between the Caribbean and Africa has always been one of interconnection. Yes, there is the ugly history of the African Slave Trade, but after that East-West human-capital flow ended (1807) the flow had since shifted to West-East between the two regions. (Think: Freetown, Sierra Leone and Liberia).

Following the Slave Trade, there was the legacy of colonialism and White Supremacy (think: South Africa’s Apartheid) until finally the post-colonial period arrived after World War II. This allowed for independence movements and nationalism, but not the integration and unity that Marley sang of.

Caribbean stakeholders where not just the singers and dreamers; no, they were fighters and soldiers as well. There is the one example of the southern Africa country of Angola. During their post-colonial independence drive, there were dissenting movements: one for a minority rule Apartheid-style system and one for majority rule democratic socialism. The Cuban Army helped to defeat the Apartheid-style regime.

This was the Caribbean reaching back and helping Africa.

Present
Today, the southern African region is at peace, liberated and striving for the best way to advance their societies on the world’s stage. Though still trailing, they have made some progress.

Congratulations to Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Africa who was crowned Miss Universe 2018 on November 26, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.[12] (Miss Jamaica finished 3rd). This is the fourth time a contestant from the African continent has been crowned with this honor; the others include: 2011 Miss Angola, 1999 Miss Botswana and 1978 Miss South Africa (Apartheid-era).

Africa has “come a long way, Baby”.

That “Dark Continent” may be the cradle of mankind and the Motherland for many people in the Caribbean, but “she” is playing catch-up in a lot of areas of modernity. For this reason, all embedded countries are considered “developing”. With 1.2 billion[1] people as of 2016, it accounts for about 16% of the world’s human population. (The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos). It contains 54 fully recognized sovereign states (countries), nine territories and two de facto independent states with limited or no recognition[3] (Western Sahara and Somaliland); a potential of 65 member-states.

Future
There is the proposal for all countries on the African continent to convene and confederate and form a Single Market among the member-states. This would be transformative. See the full news article here:

Title: Op-Ed: How Africa can create a Continental Free Trade Area
By: Aboubaker Omar Hadi, Chairman of Djibouti Ports and Free Zone Authority

Ours is a continent rich in resources. From the coffee beans and cotton to mineral ores and oil wells, Africa is world-renowned for its raw materials.

However, exporting raw materials alone will not allow Africa to reach its potential. Indeed, the recent slump in global commodity prices has served as a harsh reminder that our traditional reliance on raw materials needs to evolve. It is only by transforming our commodities into value added goods that Africa will reap the full benefits of our natural strengths. Transforming our resources will create larger profit margins, growth and jobs. This transformation will, however, require a big industrialisation drive across the continent to foster trade and growth.

In the wake of Africa Industrialisation Day, which this year reflected on how to accelerate Africa’s progress towards the creation of a Continental Free Trade Area, we must also consider the supporting infrastructure required to make this pre-eminent objective a reality. All economies – on the global scale, but also on the regional and local level – demand a high level of circulation, which is only possible through the development of the necessary infrastructure.

In Africa, the lack of infrastructure is one of the greatest inhibitions preventing transformative growth. Ours is the only continent in the world without a transcontinental railway; in a continent where 16 out of 54 countries are landlocked, this is a real issue. Our infrastructure development therefore needs to be multimodal, ensuring that our coastlines are connected to our railways, airways and highways so that in-land countries and coastal countries are sharing in each others’ successes.

Beyond our transport links and trade zones, we also need to develop one further key aspect in our infrastructure framework: energy production. Around 600 million Africans still live without power on a daily basis. Not only is this unsustainable for our own populations but it is untenable if we are to attract foreign investors. To truly be players on the global stage, Africa needs to make sure that it has the capacity to support the industrial needs of the best of business from around the world.

As the Chairman of the Djibouti Ports and Free Zone Authority, I’ve made this industrial transformation, of both my country and the surrounding region, a priority. In the last year, we have completed and opened three state-of-the-art port facilities which have the capacity to welcome over 30,000 ships every year. As Djibouti sits on two of the world’s busiest maritime trade routes, our country has a key role to play in regional development, by ensuring our neighbours also benefit from this strategic location. Thus, the recently launched Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway will allow the continent’s fastest growing economy,

Ethiopia, to profit from our maritime façade. Already, over 90% of Ethiopia’s trade passes through Djibouti and infrastructure development is vital in ensuring that these trade routes are as efficient as possible.

In terms of our energy infrastructure, Djibouti has developed strong partnerships to strengthen investment in vital gas projects. Only last week, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Djibouti and the Chinese company Poly CGL. This MoU is the start of an important process which will see investment in a gas pipeline, a liquefaction plant and an export terminal in the south of the country, in Damerjog.

Industrial transformation is a long term effort. We will only achieve it with methodical determination and cooperation, as we enter a turning point for the continent. Africa is the second most populated continent in the world with over 1.2 billion inhabitants. By 2050, it is estimated that around a quarter of the world’s population will be living on the African continent. Several African countries are among the fastest growing in the world in terms of economic growth. Out of the 10 fastest growing economies in the world, 3 of them are located in East Africa: Ethiopia, Djibouti and Tanzania. Now is the moment at which we must work hard to keep pace with the rate at which our continent is transforming.

Source: CNBC Africa; posted November 24, 2017; retrieved November 29, 2017 from: https://www.cnbcafrica.com/insights/2017/11/24/africa-potential/

——–

The Caribbean will “pay more than the usual attention” to these developments of 65 member-states for Africa. We have our own roadmap for integration, convention and confederation here in the Caribbean region. This quest is projected in the book Go Lean … Caribbean as it serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). This would be the administrator – a federal government – of a regional Single Market of the Caribbean’s 30 member-states.

With the same goal, the same heavy-lifting is necessary. This is true for Africa and the Caribbean; there would be the need to forge “Pluralistic Democracies” in each region. Imagine the diverse languages, religions, tribes, ethnicities and colonial heritage.  This is the epitome of pluralism, the recognition and affirmation of diversity within a political body. Success or failure with the African pluralism efforts can provide a lot of lessons for the Caribbean effort.

This CU/Go Lean roadmap does more than just forge a Single Market; it has a charter to elevate all the societal engines. As there is the need to assuage the societal defects and deficiencies in the region – there are many. The following are the 3 prime directives designed to elevate society and assuage deficiencies:

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

Wow, for the BIG ideas of fostering a Single Market … to elevate the economic engines for 1.2 billion people in Africa and 42 million people in the Caribbean.

The Go Lean book has a scope of the Caribbean only. Though we will pay attention to Africa, there is no effort to impact that region with strategies, tactics or implementations. We must sing the song, but have our own twist:

Africa Unite!

‘Cause the children wanna come home.
Not to fight your wars, but to love your shores.

Our limited scope is to “observe and report” on Africa and the rest of the world, while we “serve and protect” the Caribbean. The Go Lean book presented BIG ideas for reforming and transforming the economic-security-governing engines for the 42 million people in our 30 Caribbean member-states. The book stresses that our Caribbean effort must be a regional pursuit. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13):

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

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

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

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

There have been a number of previous blog-commentaries by the Go Lean movement that have highlighted lessons-learned from Africa. Consider this sample here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13365 West African Case Study: ECOWAS to Launch ‘Single Currency’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8262 UberEverything in Africa
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7119 Role Model: African Standby Force
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5123 A Lesson in History – Royal Charter: Zimbabwe -vs- South Africa
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4971 A Lesson in History – Royal Charters: Truth & Consequence
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4145 The African Renaissance Monument

In summary, shepherding the continental region of Africa is no simple task. It requires the best practices of skilled technocrats. Hopefully the African member-states will thrive with this effort.

We will be watching!

Hopefully too, the Single Market efforts in our region – Caribbean Single Market & Economy – will proceed. This subject was detailed in the Go Lean book (Page 15); consider this sample:

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

1. Deepening economic integration by advancing beyond a common market towards a Single Market and Economy.

2. Widening the membership and thereby expanding the economic mass of the Caribbean Community (e.g. Suriname and Haiti were admitted as full members in 1995 and 2002 respectively).

3. Progressive insertion of the region into the global trading and economic system by strengthening trading links with non-traditional partners.

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

The benefits of a Single Market are too alluring to ignore: larger market, expanded trade, leveraging economic shocks across a larger base naturally associated with a Free Market economy.

Let’s do this … more earnestly in the Caribbean region.

We need to follow through on the words of Bob Marley – “African Unite” – and apply them here at home:

Caribbean Unite: ‘Cause the children wanna come home.

We urge all Caribbean stakeholders – government officials, residents and Diaspora – to lean-in for the empowerments detailed in this Go Lean roadmap. Yes, we can!  We can make our homeland a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

How good and how pleasant it would …

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

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

———–

Appendix VIDEO – Africa Unite – https://youtu.be/QMS5vKarzO0

Published on Jun 24, 2009 – Lyrics

Africa, Unite
‘Cause we’re moving right out of Babylon,
And we’re going to our Father’s land, yea-ea.

How good and how pleasant it would be before God and man, yea-eah! –
To see the unification of all Africans, yeah! –
As it’s been said a’ready, let it be done, yeah!
We are the children of the Rastaman;
We are the children of the Iyaman.

So-o, Africa unite:
‘Cause the children (Africa unite) wanna come home.
Africa unite:
‘Cause we’re moving right out of Babylon, yea,
And we’re grooving to our Father’s land, yea-ea.

How good and how pleasant it would be before God and man
To see the unification of all Rastaman, yeah.
As it’s been said a’ready, let it be done!
I tell you who we are under the sun:
We are the children of the Rastaman;
We are the children of the Iyaman.

So-o: Africa unite,
Afri – Africa unite, yeah!
Unite for the benefit (Africa unite) for the benefit of your people!
Unite for it’s later (Africa unite) than you think!
Unite for the benefit (Africa unite) of my children!
Unite for it’s later (Africa uniting) than you think!
Africa awaits (Africa unite) its creators!
Africa awaiting (Africa uniting) its Creator!
Africa, you’re my (Africa unite) forefather cornerstone!
Unite for the Africans (Africa uniting) abroad
Unite for the Africans (Africa unite) a yard! [fadeout]

  • Category: Music 
  • License: Standard YouTube License

 

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Caribbean proposes new US-Caribbean trade initiative

Posted on October 12, 2017 in Ethos, Government, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples’ money. – Margaret Thatcher CU Blog - Caribbean Island proposes new US-Caribbean trade initiative - Photo 1

Many Caribbean member-states feature a governmental structure of democratic socialism; (see Appendix below).

In some places, socialism is a bad word – think Venezuela – but other states feature an advanced prosperous country despite the socialism tag – think Canada. In general, socialism can be depicted as a scale with leftist communism on one end and right-wing capitalism on the other end. The observation and analysis of these varying states during good times and bad times is that the left-leaning socialism countries tend to suffer from a lot of societal abandonment, especially when things go bad, for the reason as described by Margaret Thatcher above. (Consider for example, the Caribbean island of Barbuda, before their recent disaster, there was no private land-ownership).

So many Caribbean member-states have “run out of other people’s money”, thus ensuring a crisis. Alas, this …

… crisis is a terrible thing  to waste – American Economist Paul Romer

The crisis in the Caribbean region right now is in response to Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017 that have devastated many islands – think Puerto Rico, Barbuda and Dominica. It is a good time to re-think the affinity for democratic socialism. These natural disasters are forcing our region to re-think one of the hallmarks of capitalism; our policies on …

… Trade; American Trade to be exact.

Yet still, it becomes obvious what the problem is for so many Caribbean member-states, they seem to “just” want to spend other people’s money rather than do the heavy-lifting – Big Deal – of growing their own economy/wealth. Notice this theme in the news article here from the St. Lucia Times daily newspaper regarding the urgings of their Prime Minister Allen Chastanet:

Title: Prime Minister Chastanet proposes new US-Caribbean trade initiative

CU Blog - Caribbean Island proposes new US-Caribbean trade initiative - Photo 2On the side-lines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Prime Minister Allen Chastanet has been speaking to the American business network CNBC.

Prime Minister Chastanet discussed the recent hurricanes that have devastated parts of the Caribbean, rebuilding the Caribbean and Caribbean – US relations.

He said recent events have showed that the Caribbean needs to diversify in terms of its sources of food, pointing to a shutdown of the American hub for several days.

“The support has had to come from the south because while we were going through this, you had two hurricanes heading up north. And literally Miami was on a shutdown. So unfortunately the American hub got shutdown almost for ten days out of Miami.  And so it really has shown us that we need to diversify ourselves a bit and maybe look a bit more to Panama in terms of supplies of food,” Chastanet.

Chastanet said the resilience of the Caribbean is very strong and the region will band together to recover from the disasters.

Chastanet proposed the establishment of a new private sector led initiative what would allow US companies to invest in St Lucia tax free and have their resources sent back home without facing heavy US government taxes.

He said there are great investment opportunities in the Caribbean for American companies.

“Can we not get an incentive, and that’s what we’re in discussions with the US about, that if US companies invest into the Caribbean, that those investments in our books are always tax free that the US allow those funds to be repatriated back into the US tax-free, only on those investments. So 1, it accomplishes getting the funds back into the United States of America. It creates an avenue for the private sector to participate in this growth and brings a lot of money to the table, Chastanet said.

Prime Minister Chastanet is expected to address the UN General Assembly today.

Source: Posted September 21, 2017; retrieved October 11, 2017 from: https://stluciatimes.com/2017/09/21/prime-minister-chastanet-proposes-new-us-caribbean-trade-initiative

As related, the Prime Minister of St. Lucia – also Chairman of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States and a governing stakeholder of CariCom – wants to “count America’s money”! He is lobbying for a law – in the US – in which American investors will have tax concessions on their tax obligations to the US Treasury. (There would be no benefit to the US in this scheme).

He is the Chief Executive of a Caribbean member-state urging the US government to skip on their revenue collections so as to benefit the Caribbean; in effect he is “counting” America’s government revenues. See the full interview in the Appendix VIDEO below.

It should be noted that there is no such bill in the US Congress proposing these measures; so this is not lobbying. Rather the imagery of this whole appeal is just that of a foreign Head of Government begging for money with a sign that reads:

“Will NOT work for food”.

CU Blog - OECS diplomat has dire warning for Caribbean countries - Photo 3

No, this is not the branding or image we should want to project to the watching world. But rather, the Honorable Prime Minister’s earlier words reflect the ethos we really need to portray:

Chastanet said the resilience of the Caribbean is very strong and the region will band together to recover from the disasters.

Rather than looking to the US to solve our problems, we want to band together – an interdependence – and work for our own remediation. This is the theme of the book Go Lean…Caribbean and the accompanying blog-commentaries. “Band together” should have been the only appeal at the United Nations. These words should have been echoed in public forums and private discussions with other Caribbean leaders. The Go Lean movement describes this “banding” as a confederation of the 30 Caribbean member-states, including the 2 US Territories of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. This formation of a Single Market and accompanying Security Pact would usher in the economic empowerments and security/emergency optimization that the region needs.

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

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

The book stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines can be successful, but only if it is a regional pursuit – all the member-states band together. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13):

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

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

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

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

Our appeal to the PM of St. Lucia and to the leaders of all the other member-states:

This is not our first hurricane nor will it be our last. We must recover from these ones and be prepared for others, a lot more of them. “Begging” should not be our recovery plan!

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

The branding of the CU is a Trade federation, so there is emphasis for optimizing trade for the Caribbean region. Yes, there is tactical plan to establish trade routes beyond Miami-to-the-Caribbean. The Go Lean roadmap posits that with the close proximity of Trinidad to the South American country of Venezuela (7 miles), there could be an elaborate network of transportation options to facilitate the shipment of goods (and passengers) into the Singe Market.

This roadmap is a Big Deal / Big Idea for the Caribbean region; in many ways, the community commitment for the Caribbean may be similar to the American commitment in the 1960’s to Go to the Moon. The Go Lean book relates this on Page 127:

The Bottom Line on Kennedy’s Quest for the MoonOn 25 May 1961, US President John F. Kennedy announced his support for the American Space program’s “Apollo” missions and redefined the ultimate goal of the Space Race in an address to a special joint session of Congress:

  • “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth”.

His justification for the Moon Race was both that it was vital to national security and that it would focus the nation’s energies in other scientific and social fields.

This quest was succeeded. At 10:56 pm EDT, on 20 July 1969, the first human (American Astronaut Neil Armstrong) ventured out of the Apollo 11 landing craft and set foot on the Moon declaring: “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind“.

Other countries have had subsequent moon landings.

Can we get the support of the Prime Minister of St. Lucia and the other Heads of Government throughout the whole region for our “Moon Shot” equivalent, our Big Deal / Big Idea? This is the actual title of one advocacy in the Go Lean book. Consider the specific plans, excerpts and headlines here from Page 127, entitled:

10 Big Ideas … in the Caribbean Region

1

 Lean-in for the Caribbean Single Market
The CU is a big idea for the Caribbean, our parallel of the American “moon quest”, allowing for the unification of theregion into one market of 42 million people. This creates the world’s 29th largest economy, based on 2010 figures.The pre-ascension GDP figures are actually less that $800 Billion, but the aggregation into a Single Market willmanifest the economic “catch-up” principle, in 5 years. Further, after 10 years the CU’s GDP should double andrank among the Top 20 or G20 nations.

2

 Currency Union / Single Currency

3

 Defense / Homeland Security Pact

4

 Confederation Without Sovereignty

5

 Four Languages in Unison

6

 Self-Governing Entities (SGE)

7

 Virtual “Union Atlantic Turnpike” Operations
Ferries, Causeways/Bridges, Pipelines, Tunnels, Railways and limited access highways will function as “blood vessels to connect all the organs” within the region, thus allowing easier transport of goods and people among the islands and the mainland states (Belize, Guyana or Suriname) – See Appendix IC Alaska Marine Highway [on Page 280].

8

 Cyber Caribbean
Forge electronic commerce industries so that the Internet Communications Technology (ICT) can be a great equalizer in economic battles of global trade. This includes e-Government (outsourcing and in-sourcing for member-states systems) and e-Delivery, Postal Electronic Last Leg mail, e-Learning and wireline/wireless/satellite initiatives.

9

 e-Learning – Versus – Studying Abroad

10

 Cuba & Haiti

There have been a number of blog-commentaries by the Go Lean movement that highlighted the art and science of optimizing our eco-system for “Trade and Transport”. See a sample list here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13140 Region-wide Industrial Reboot of Caribbean Pipelines
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=12322 Ferries 101 – Launch of a Region-wide Inter-Island Ferry System
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9179 The Vision of Ferries for Snowbirds to Head South
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4897 Plan for Natural Gas Distribution for Caribbean Consumption
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3225 Caribbean is Less Competitive Due to Increasing Aviation Taxes
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=829 Facilitating Trade with Trucks and Trains
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=673 Future Model: Ghost Ships – Autonomous Cargo Vessels

In summary, it is only logical to expect any stewards of society to “corral” the resources, assets and people of the community to effect change, to elevate. On the other hand, it is not logical to expect others to do it for us. This is a child’s expectation for his/her parents. This is inappropriate for independent Caribbean member-states. The aforementioned Economist, Paul Romer, asserted the appropriate strategic plan:

“Economic growth occurs whenever people take resources and re-arrange them in ways that are more valuable”.

Obviously, this economist was advocating a capitalist agenda, in contrast to the democratic socialism practice in the region.

There is only a 7-mile strait between the Caribbean island Trinidad of and its southern neighbor. It is only logical to consider that trade route when the northern route – Miami – is impeded. Such a tactical plan will allow for resiliency for post-disaster scenarios. A potpourri of transportation options – Union Atlantic Turnpike – to facilitate interstate commerce among the islands and coastal states is a better plan than begging for other people’s money.

To all you Caribbean leaders: Do not be surprised when a hurricane hits. Count on it! There will be more … such scenario’s. Climate Change is undeniable! Destructive storms will manifest! Bad actors will emerge. There is a need for security empowerments along with economic empowerments. The economic solution for the Caribbean cannot be: Counting other people’s money.

Now is the time for all of the Caribbean – the leaders and the people – to lean-in for the empowerments described here in the book Go Lean…Caribbean. It is conceivable, believable and achievable to prosper ourselves where planted here in the region; to reform and transform and make our own homeland a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

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

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

———–

Appendix VIDEO – Saint Lucia PM Allen Chastanet: Caribbean Needs To Diversify Search For Relief | CNBC – https://youtu.be/asg87s29c4E

Published on Sep 20, 2017 – Allen Chastanet, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, talks about rebuilding the hard-hit Caribbean after recent storms left the islands devastated. Also Prime Minister Chastanet addresses insurance coverage.

———–

Appendix – Democratic Socialism

Democratic socialism is a political ideology that advocates political democracy alongside social ownership of the means of production, often with an emphasis on democratic management of enterprises within a socialist economic system.

Democratic socialists see capitalism as inherently incompatible with the democratic values of liberty, equality and solidarity; and believe that the issues inherent to capitalism can only be solved by superseding private ownership with some form of social ownership. Ultimately, democratic socialists believe that reforms aimed at addressing the economic contradictions of capitalism will only cause more problems to emerge elsewhere in the economy, that capitalism can never be sufficiently “humanized” and that it must therefore ultimately be replaced with socialism.[1][2]

Democratic socialism is distinguished from both the Soviet model of centralized socialism and from social democracy, where “social democracy” refers to support for political democracy; the nationalization and public ownership of key industries but otherwise preserving and strongly regulating, private ownership of the means of production; regulated markets in a mixed economy; and a robust welfare state.[3] The distinction with the former is made on the basis of the authoritarian form of government and centralized economic system that emerged in the Soviet Union during the 20th century,[4] while the distinction with the latter is made on the basis that democratic socialism is committed to systemic transformation of the economy while social democracy is not.[5]

The term “democratic socialism” is sometimes used synonymously with “socialism” and the adjective “democratic” is often added to distinguish it from the Leninist, Stalinist and Maoist types of socialism, which are widely viewed as being non-democratic in practice.[6]

Democratic socialism is not specifically revolutionary or reformist, as many types of democratic socialism can fall into either category, with some forms overlapping with social democracy, supporting reforms within capitalism as a prelude to the establishment of socialism.[7] Some forms of democratic socialism accept social democratic reformism to gradually convert the capitalist economy to a socialist one using pre-existing democratic institutions, while other forms are revolutionary in their political orientation and advocate for the overthrow of the bourgeoisie and the transformation of the capitalist economy to a socialist economy.[8]

…

Relation to economics

Democratic socialists have espoused a variety of different socialist economic models. Some democratic socialists advocate forms of market socialism where socially-owned enterprises operate in competitive markets and in some cases are self-managed by their workforce. On the other hand, other democratic socialists advocate for a non-market participatory economy based on decentralized economic planning.[38]

Democratic socialism has historically been committed to a decentralized form of economic planning opposed to Stalinist-style command planning, where productive units are integrated into a single organization and organized on the basis of self-management.[39]

Contemporary proponents of market socialism have argued that the major reasons for the failure (economic shortcomings) of Soviet-type planned economies was the totalitarian nature of the political systems they were combined with, lack of democracy and their failure to create rules for the efficient operation of state enterprises.[40]

Source: Retrieved October 11, 2017 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_socialism

CU Blog - Caribbean Island proposes new US-Caribbean trade initiative - Photo 3

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ENCORE: Managing a ‘Clear and Present Danger’

Posted on September 6, 2017 in Ethos, Government

Oh, Oh! We have a problem bearing down on us. Hurricane Irma seems ominous. This is definitely a “Clear and Present Danger”.

This is a familiar declaration for us; one that requires desperate measures in the response to a desperate situation. We have had to contend with this before, many times in the past. We have also defined what is a Clear and Present Danger … and how to contend with it.

It is only apropos to Encore our previous blog-commentary on this subject from April 23, 2015. See it here-now:

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

Go Lean Commentary – Managing a ‘Clear and Present Danger’

A ‘Clear and Present Danger’ sounds ominous…

- Photo 4

There should be no question as to intent or consequence if the situation goes unimpeded.

The ‘Clear and Present Danger’ doctrine is a concept in jurisprudence, which has bearing on everyday life for everybody. It refers to not just a potential danger but one that will likely cause a catastrophe if not immediately obstructed or neutralized.

This phrase was suggested as a test of harmful speech by the US Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes in the 1919 case of Schenck v. United States. In delivering the court’s unanimous decision upholding the conviction of a Socialist Party Officer (who encouraged resistance to the World War 1 Draft) under the Espionage Act (which suppressed Free Speech), Justice Holmes noted that the “character of every act depends upon the circumstances in which it is done.” He went on to say that, “when a nation is at war many things that might be said in time of peace are such a hindrance to its effort that their utterance will not be endured so long as men fight and that no court could regard them as protected by any constitutional right.” (Source: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/clear-and-present-danger.html)

How would this concept in jurisprudence relate to the everyday life for the average person in the Caribbean?

This consideration is presented in conjunction to mitigations and remediation for protecting the Caribbean homeland. The assertion in the book Go Lean … Caribbean (Page 23) is that with the emergence of new economic engines, “bad actors” will also emerge thereafter to exploit the opportunities, with good, bad and evil intent. But the book warns against more than just bad people, rather “bad actors”; thusly referring to corporate entities, natural disasters (hurricanes are assigned people names) and other “random acts” (think “red tides”, pandemics, etc.). The book relates that this is a historical fact that is bound to be repeated … again and again.

This point is pronounced early in the book with the Declaration of Interdependence (Page 12) that claims:

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

ii.    Whereas the natural formation of the landmass for our lands constitutes some extreme seismic activity, it is our responsibility and ours alone to provide, protect and promote our society to coexist, prepare and recover from the realities of nature’s occurrences.

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

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

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

The Caribbean appointing “new guards”, or a security pact to ensure public safety includes many strategies, tactics and implementations considered “best-practices”. We must be on a constant vigil against these “bad actors”, man-made or natural. This necessitates being pro-active in monitoring, mitigating and managing risks. Then when “crap” does happen, the “new guards” will be prepared for any “Clear and Present Danger“. The Go Lean book describes an organization structure with Emergency Management functionality, including Unified Command-and-Control for Caribbean Disaster Response, Anti-crime and Military Preparedness.

Wait! Wasn’t this done before? Didn’t the Caribbean region member-states come together – September 1, 2005 – and establish a security apparatus so as to assuage public safety risks and threats?

Yes, this is part of the CariCom (Caribbean Community) effort. The Go Lean book and these blogs commentaries have consistency railed against the ineffectiveness and inefficiency of CariCom and its regional organs.

The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA)[1] is an inter-regional supportive network of independent emergency units throughout the Caribbean region; see Appendix below. Originally formed as the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) it under-went the name change to CDEMA in September 2009.

See Photo below for a listing of the CDEMA functionality:

- Photo 1

The participating member states and agencies of the CDEMA include:

Country

Organization
Anguilla Department of Disaster Management (DDM)
Antigua and Barbuda National Office of Disaster Services (NODS)
Bahamas Disaster Management Unit
Barbados Department of Emergency Management
Belize National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO)
British Virgin Islands Department of Disaster Management
Dominica Office of Disaster Management (ODM)
Grenada National Disaster Management Agency (NaDMA)
Guyana Civil Defense Commission
Haiti Civil Protection Directorate
Jamaica Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM)
Montserrat Disaster Management Coordination Agency
Saint Kitts and Nevis National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)
Saint Lucia National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO)
Suriname National Coordination Center For Disaster Relief (NCCR)
Trinidad and Tobago Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM)
Turks and Caicos Islands Department of Disaster Management & Emergencies

What about regional defense?

There is a regional initiative branded the Regional Security System (RSS); it is an international agreement for the defense and security of the eastern Caribbean region. The Regional Security System was created out of a need for collective response to security threats, which were impacting on the stability of the region in the late 1970s and early 1980s. On 29 October 1982 four members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States—namely, Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent & the Grenadines—signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Barbados to provide for “mutual assistance on request”. The signatories agreed to prepare contingency plans and assist one another, on request, in national emergencies, prevention of smuggling, search and rescue, immigration control, fishery protection, customs and excise control, maritime policing duties, protection of off-shore installations, pollution control, national and other disasters and threats to national security. Saint Kitts & Nevis joined following independence in 1983, and Grenada joined two years later.

These two initiatives CDEMA and RSS constitutes the regional security solutions for the Caribbean. “Our thimble runneth over!”

What is the problem with CDEMA, RSS and CariCom? For starters these regional efforts, the Caribbean Community, does not represent the full community of the Caribbean; not even half of the Caribbean. Consider here:

CU Member states not included or participating in CDEMA, RSS or CariCom:

  • Cuba
  • Dominican Republic
  • US Territories (Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands)
  • Dutch Territories (ABC Islands: Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao; SSS Islands: Saba, Saint Marteen; Saint Eustatius)
  • French Territories (Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Barthélemy, St. Martin)

Secondly, CariCom has extreme funding challenges; the regional construct depends on income derived almost exclusively from grants from the American federal government (US-AID), Canadian agencies and the EU’s Development Fund (EDF). After 40 years of CariCom, it can be concluded that the CariCom Secretariat and regional organs fail to meet the needs of the Caribbean people, even for the people in its participating member-states. They are a great “talking head”; nothing more. The Go Lean book quotes an internal report (Page 92) complaining of the severe weaknesses of the regional construct, stating their tendency to announce decisions over new initiatives as if full implementation were imminent, resulting in a so-called “implementation deficit”.

Obviously, the established security solution is not fully established and does not really solve any threats; therefore the region is not secured.

This reality is pronounced early in the Go Lean book (Page 8) with this declaration regarding the promoters of the Go Lean movement, that they are …

… not affiliated with the CariCom or any of its agencies or institutions. This movement is not an attempt to re-boot the CariCom, but rather a plan to re-boot the Caribbean… This movement was bred from the frustrations of the Diaspora, longing to go home, to lands of opportunities. But this is not a call for a revolt against the governments, agencies or institutions of the Caribbean region, but rather a petition for a peaceful transition and optimization of the economic, security and governing engines in the region.

The Go Lean book is a petition for change and optimization, serving as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). The CU would roll the charters of CDEMA, RSS and CariCom into one consolidated, integrated and collaborated effort. The CU is set to optimize Caribbean society through economic empowerment, and also homeland security in the region, since these are inextricably linked to this same endeavor.

Therefore the Go Lean roadmap has 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 protect the resultant economic engines and theCaribbean homeland.
  • Improvement of Caribbean governance to support these engines.

The CU Homeland Security forces have to always be “on guard”, on alert for real or perceived threats. The legal concept is one of being deputized by the sovereign authority for a role/responsibility in a member-state. So when “crap” happens these CU forces are expected to aid, assist, and support local resources in these member-states when called on. But, when a member-state is the problem, in terms of malfeasance, misfeasance or nonfeasance, the “Clear and Present Danger” mandate should be invoked. As a security apparatus, there should also be certain defined threats that would be designated as primarily assigned to the CU; this would apply in a Declaration of War against a known state-sponsored enemy.

But the world has now changed; there is the new threat of an unknown, non-state-sponsored enemy: the scourge of terrorism. Consider the situation in the United States, we all know of the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001, but since then terrorist attacks have actually been a constant threat in the US. In a recent blog/commentary, it was reported that there were 17  terrorist attacks against the American homeland in this decade alone, since 2010. Surely the threat of terrorism is a “clear and present danger” in the US.

The CU treaty calls for the mitigation of terrorism to be a constant charter for the CU Homeland Security forces.

For most of the Caribbean, we are allied with the US; we even have two US Territories “smack-dab” in the middle of our archipelago. So the American terrorist-enemies are very much our enemies. Therefore the CU/Go Lean roadmap posits that the region must prepare an optimized security apparatus for its own security needs. This time for real!

The request is that all Caribbean member-states empower a security force to execute a limited scope on their sovereign territories. The legal basis for this empowerment is a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), embedded at the CU treaty initiation, thereby authorizing the CU Homeland Security Department for its role and responsibility for all the “crap” that could happen to the peace and prosperity of the Caribbean people. The CU Trade Federation would lead, fund and facilitate a security force, even encapsulating existing armed forces (full-time or part-time/reserves) as needed, at the discretion of the CU Commander-in-Chief.

The existing Caribbean Security initiatives have failed the region. Despite the existence of agencies like the CDEMA and RSS, the CariCom has not ascended to prominence in local communities. Most people do not even know these agencies exist. It is not seen, heard or felt. This is not the level of governance the Caribbean region needs; we need more; we need better. Previous Go Lean commentaries have meticulously detailed the overall failure of CariCom.

Perhaps the problem is economics (funding)? Or perhaps the security enablement (legal authorization to act)? Or perhaps, its the governance and administration? There are many questions; the only answer that matters is the solutions must address the Clear and Present Dangers.

Consider these monumental episodes and events in the Caribbean region that have occurred in the recent past; the expectation is that they would have invoked the “Clear and Present Danger” clause for engagement from the CDEMA entity. The following list is the Top 20 disasters in CDERA member states, according to the CDEMA published database and sorted by total losses:

No

Date

Year

Country

Event

Killed

Affected

Losses US$

1

 20-Dec

2005

 Guyana Flood

37

274,774

2,674,322,175
(Details)

2

 7-Sep

2004

 Grenada Tropical Cyclone

28

81,883

895,199,567
(Details)

3

 9-Sep

2004

 Jamaica Tropical Cyclone

17

369,685

592,971,569
(Details)

4

 2-Sep

2004

 The Bahamas Tropical Cyclone

0

8,000

356,983,000
(Details)

5

 25-Sep

2004

 The Bahamas Tropical Cyclone

2

28,000

350,886,000
(Details)

6

 4-Aug

1980

 Saint Lucia Tropical Cyclone

9

0

92,592,593
(Details)

7

 9-Sep

1994

 Saint Lucia Tropical Cyclone

3

0

85,185,185
(Details)

8

 14-Jul

2005

 Grenada Tropical Cyclone

1

39,085

75,478,163
(Details)

9

 21-Nov

2004

 Dominica Earthquake

0

19,527

45,150,614
(Details)

10

 12-Nov

2004

 Trinidad
(Details) 		Mudslide

2

1,200

33,333,333

11

 7-Sep

2004

 Saint Lucia Tropical Cyclone

0

0

10,464,720
(Details)

12

 26-Oct

1996

 Saint Lucia Tropical Cyclone

0

0

4,444,444
(Details)

13

 7-Sep

2004

 St Vincent Tropical Cyclone

0

0

4,110,037
(Details)

14

 10-Jul

1960

 Saint Lucia Tropical Cyclone

6

0

1,421,481
(Details)

15

 7-Sep

1967

 Saint Lucia Tropical Cyclone

1

0

740,741
(Details)

16

 9-Jun

1955

 Saint Lucia Fire

3

0

462,963
(Details)

17

 1-Aug

1966

 Saint Lucia Tropical Cyclone

0

0

277,778
(Details)

18

 25-Sep

1963

 Saint Lucia Tropical Cyclone

0

0

277,778
(Details)

19

 21-Oct

1998

 Saint Lucia Tropical Cyclone

1

0

230,185
(Details)

20

 1-Feb

1990

 Saint Lucia Earthquake

0

0

214,813
(Details)
Total

110

822,154

$5,224,747,139

Was there a noticeable Caribbean-Regional presence in response to these disastrous events?

There are also examples of Industrial Incidents – Chemical Spills – not on the CDEMA list; (the exclusion is inexcusably surprising). These would have gotten the attention of CU Emergency Management agencies, as these also pose a “Clear and Present Danger”. This sample list is just for Jamaica:

Year

 Activity Location Details

2005

 Use/Application Hotel Explosion from inflammable gas; cause due to management failure

2003

 Road Transport Road Tanker Trailer Oil Spill in Montego Bay

1981

 Storage Port Sabotage/Vandalism of the Oil Tanker Erodona at Port Kaiser

The presence of this regional construct has not been felt in most of the Caribbean member-states. They have emerged more as an after-the-fact data collector. The burden of direct remediation, beyond the direct member-state, is elusive in the Caribbean homeland. Consider this short-list of emphatic disasters that, to date, have remained unmanaged and unresolved, despite the  “Clear and Present Dangers”:

Member-State Event/Episode
Bahamas Freeport – Hawksbill-area Industrial Plants Spill-Closure-Relocation
Bahamas Nassau – 2013 Rubis Gas Station Underground Tank leakage; need for relocation and remediation.
Haiti January 2010 Earthquake – Long drawn-out inadequate response from local, national and foreign stakeholders.

There is a difference between effectiveness and efficiency. It is easy for an individual or small group to simply deliver on a plan; that is efficiency. Effectiveness would be to get the buy-in from all stakeholders, so as to complete the needed collaboration, consensus-building and compromise. That is heavy-lifting.

All in all, the failures of CariCom, CDEMA and RSS are attributable to this one premise: “Too little, too late”.

It is time for more and better. By contrast, the CU‘s requirement for the SOFA is “Step One, Day One” in the Go Lean roadmap. The CU organization must be empowered for proactive and reactive management of natural disasters, industrial accidents, bacterial & viral pandemics and terrorism-related events. The Go Lean book details the series of community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to provide the proactive and reactive public safety/security in the Caribbean region:

Community Ethos – Economic Systems Influence Individual Choices Page 21
Community Ethos – Consequences of Choices Lie in Future Page 21
Community Ethos – Privacy –vs- Public Protection Page 23
Community Ethos – Intelligence Gathering Page 23
Community Ethos – Whistleblower Protection Page 23
Community Ethos – “Crap” Happens Page 23
Community Ethos – Cooperatives Page 25
Community Ethos – Ways to Manage Reconciliations Page 34
Community Ethos – Ways to Improve Sharing Page 35
Community Ethos – Ways to Promote Happiness Page 36
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good Page 37
Strategy – Vision – Confederating a non-sovereign permanent union Page 45
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy Page 64
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Coast Guard & Naval Authorities Page 75
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Ground Militia Forces Page 75
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Emergency Management Agency Page 76
Tactical – Separation of Powers – CariPol: Marshals & Investigations Page 75
Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change Page 101
Implementation – Start-up Foreign Policy Initiatives Page 102
Implementation – Start-up Security Initiatives Page 103
Implementation – Ways to Foster International Aid Page 115
Planning – 10 Big Ideas – #3: Consolidated Homeland Security Pact Page 130
Planning – Ways to Make the Caribbean Better Page 131
Planning – Ways to Improve Failed-State Indices – Escalation Role Page 134
Planning – Lessons from the American West – Needed Law & Order Page 142
Planning – Lessons from Egypt – Law & Order for Tourism Page 143
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy – Quick Disaster Recovery Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Governance Page 168
Advocacy – Ways to Better Manage the Social Contract Page 170
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Justice – Policing the Police Page 177
Advocacy – Ways to Reduce Crime – Regional Security Intelligence Page 178
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Homeland Security Page 180
Advocacy – Ways to Mitigate Terrorism Page 181
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Intelligence Gathering & Analysis Page 182
Advocacy – Ways to Improve for Natural Disasters Page 184
Advocacy – Ways to Improve for Emergency Management Page 196
Advocacy – Ways to Protect Human Rights – Watchful World Page 220

Other subjects related to security and governing empowerments for the region have been blogged in other Go Lean…Caribbean commentary, as sampled here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4809 Americans arrest 2 would-be terrorists – a Clear and Present Danger
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4741 Vanuatu and Tuvalu Cyclone – Inadequate response to human suffering
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4720 A Lesson in History: SARS in Hong Kong
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4360 Dreading the ‘Caribbean Basin Security Initiative’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2614 The ‘Great ShakeOut’ Earthquake Drill / Planning / Preparations
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2397 Stopping a Clear and Present Danger: Ebola
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1076 Trinidad Muslims travel to Venezuela for jihadist training
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1003 Painful and rapid spread of new virus – Chikungunya – in Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=960 Lessons from NSA recording all phone calls in Bahamas
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=809 Muslim officials condemn abductions of Nigerian girls
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=535 Remembering and learning from Boston
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=273 10 Things We Want from the US – #4: Pax Americana
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=87 Fact, not fiction: 6.5M Earthquake Shakes Eastern Caribbean

The concept of “Clear and Present Danger” is conveyed in the following VIDEO, a “trailer” for a movie of the same name. This is art imitating life:

Title: Clear and Present Danger – Movie Trailer  – https://youtu.be/900kPg1lomU

Published on Jun 19, 2012 – This is the third film based on Tom Clancy’s high-tech espionage potboilers starring CIA deputy director Jack Ryan. Harrison Ford, returning to the Ryan role after his first go-round in 1992’s Patriot Games, is assigned to a delicate anti-drug investigation after a close friend of the President (a Reaganesque Donald Moffat) is murdered by a Colombian drug cartel. When Ryan discovers that the President’s wealthy friend was in league with the cartel, the President’s devious national security adviser (Harris Yulin) and an ambitious CIA deputy director (Henry Czerny) send a secret paramilitary force into Colombia to wipe out the drug lords. The force is captured and then abandoned by the President’s lackeys. It falls to Ryan to enter Colombia and rescue them, aided only by a renegade operative named Clark (Willem Dafoe), with both his life and career on the line.

The adoption of a “Clear and Present Danger” mandate is reflective of a technocratic work edict and community ethos. We can and must do better!

The advocacy to adopt the structure of a technocracy is reflective of this commitment to do better. The term technocracy is used to designate the application of the scientific method to solving social and economic problems. The CU must start as a technocracy, not grow into a technocracy – too much is at stake – lives are involved; see Appendix B below of Haiti’s Earthquake Photos.

All of the Caribbean is hereby urged to lean-in to this roadmap, to make the Caribbean safer and make the region a better destination to live, work and play.

🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

————

Appendix – CDEMA Role / Responsibilities:

Specific Roles and Responsibilities of the CDM Coordination and Harmonization Council:

  • Contribute to and provide recommendations for the development and implementation of a CDM monitoring and evaluation framework.
  • To consider reports on CDM implementation and provide guidance towards sustainability.
  • Identify and Provide recommendations for the integration of ongoing initiatives as well as planned initiatives that will support the achievement of the outcomes enshrined in the enhanced CDM Strategy
  • Discuss and address issues and opportunities to further good governance of the CDM
  • Nurture opportunities for synergies between development partners, participating states, representatives of the private sector, civil society and other relevant stakeholders responsible for the mainstreaming of the CDM strategy in development planning.
  • Provide policy guidance for the maintenance of the CDM database to ensure effective sharing of CDM knowledge.
  • Share annually  with the CDM Programming Consultation meeting, progress on CDM implementation
  • Identify a technical committee to support the planning process for the CDM Conference

The CDM Coordination and Harmonization Council comprise development partner representatives, sector leaders, participating states and private sector. The group includes:

  1. Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (Chair),
  2. Caribbean Development Bank (CDB),
  3. Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA),
  4. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),
  5. United States Agency for International Development (Development Arm and OFDA),
  6. United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID),
  7. European Union (EU),
  8. CARICOM Secretariat,
  9. Organization of American States (OAS),
  10. Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS),
  11. University of the West Indies (UWI),
  12. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO),
  13. Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO),
  14. Pan American Health organization (PAHO),
  15. Caribbean Electric Utility Services Cooperation (CARILEC),
  16. Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CPDC),
  17. United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM),
  18. Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC),
  19. Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce (CAIC),
  20. Four representatives of CDERA Participating States – one representative from each sub-region.

—————-

Appendix B – Haiti Earthquake Photos – Evidence of a Clear and Present Danger

- Photo 2

- Photo 3

 

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State of the Union: Self-Interest of ‘Americana’

Posted on July 20, 2017 in Government, Implementation, Locations

Go Lean Commentary

CU Blog - State of the Union - Americana - Photo 0

Question: “Where does an 800-pound gorilla sleep? Answer: Anywhere he wants!”

The United States of America is the “800-pound gorilla” or the BIG DOG of the Western Hemisphere; (in fact, the US is the last Super Power in the world).

  • There are two US Territories in our Caribbean: Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
  • The US is the Number 1 Single Market economy in the world
  • The US is the Number 1 military (in terms of troop size, armament and defense spending).
  • The US is also the Number 1 destination for the Caribbean Diaspora.

We cannot avoid the influence of the American system – Americana – on our Caribbean region…

“Resistance is futile!”

As the 800-pound gorilla, the US can “sleep wherever it wants” and take whatever it wants. They can … and do. Despite the appearance of benevolence and the “rule of law”, the US does at times emerge as a “Bad Actor”. They may at times use their influence and domination of the hemisphere to effectuate policies not always in the Caribbean’s best interest. The influence of Americana affects different aspects of Caribbean society; it affects our …

  • Economics – with the domination of US dollar
  • Security dynamics – with the reality of Pax Americana
  • Governance – the President of the US is considered the Leader of the Free World.

This theme aligns with the movement behind the book Go Lean … Caribbean, where the assertion is that while America is dominant in the hemisphere, we must fight-resist to not be parasites of this BIG DOG American host; rather we must strive to be protégés. The Go Lean book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). As a protégé, our quest is not to be America; our goal is to be better!

How?

First we start by recognizing our status quo-disposition and then to recognize American motivation and influences. This – completing our assessment – is an important first step in reforming and transforming our regional society. This is commentary 5 of 5 from the movement behind the Go Lean book on the subject of the State of the Caribbean Union. Our dire disposition has been assessed in the Go Lean book and many technocratic solutions provided there-in. The full entries of all the blog-commentaries in this series is as follows:

The Caribbean has a universal problem with every member-state throughout the region; there is a propensity for our people – especially the youth – to leave the Caribbean homeland; they abandon their ancestral countries and flee to foreign shores; the Number 1 destination is the US.  As related in the first submission in this blog-commentary series, the young people in the region need the vision of “something better” or Hope and Change in order to be inspired to participate in the future of their homeland. We cannot have a future without these young people, so these solutions – strategies, tactics and implementations – are not optional.

These commentaries draw reference to the Go Lean book, as it details the quest to transform the Caribbean; it features a how-to guide and roadmap for elevating the region to be an American protégé rather than a parasite; so as to optimize our societal engines for economics, security and governance. But there are stakeholders in the Caribbean that would like to be more independent and agnostic of the American influence – consider the current Venezuela crisis and the response of the St. Vincent Prime Minister wanting full autonomy separate from the US. This is wishful … and ignorant of history – “those who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it”. This was the case of …

Despite the passage of time, the US will not compromise on being the only BIG DOG-Alpha Male in this hemisphere. This is referred to as the Monroe Doctrine. See more here:

Reference Title – Monroe Doctrine
CU Blog - State of the Union - Americana - Photo 1The Monroe Doctrine was a United States policy of opposing European colonialism in The Americas beginning in 1823. It stated that further efforts by European nations to take control of any independent state in North or South America would be viewed as “the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States.”[1] At the same time, the doctrine noted that the U.S. would recognize and not interfere with existing European colonies nor meddle in the internal concerns of European countries. The Doctrine was issued in 1823 at a time when nearly all Latin American colonies of Spain and Portugal had achieved or were at the point of gaining independence from the Portuguese and Spanish Empires.

President James Monroe first stated the doctrine during his seventh annual State of the Union Address to Congress. The term “Monroe Doctrine” itself was coined in 1850.[2] By the end of the 19th century, Monroe’s declaration was seen as a defining moment in the foreign policy of the United States and one of its longest-standing tenets. It would be invoked by many U.S. statesmen and several U.S. presidents, including Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan. The intent and impact of the Monroe Doctrine persisted with only minor variations for more than a century. Its stated objective was to free the newly independent colonies of Latin America from European intervention and avoid situations which could make the New World a battleground for the Old World powers, so that the U.S. could exert its own influence undisturbed. The doctrine asserted that the New World and the Old World were to remain distinctly separate spheres of influence, for they were composed of entirely separate and independent nations.[3]

After 1898, Latin American lawyers and intellectuals reinterpreted the Monroe doctrine in terms of multilateralism and non-intervention. In 1933, under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the U.S. went along with the new reinterpretation, especially in terms of the Organization of American States.[4]

Source: Retrieved July 19, 2017 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monroe_Doctrine

——

Reference Title – Organization of American States
The Organization of American States (Spanish: Organización de los Estados Americanos, Portuguese: Organização dos Estados Americanos, French: Organisation des États américains), or the OAS or OEA, is a continental organization founded on 30 April 1948, for the purposes of regional solidarity and cooperation among its member states. Headquartered in the US Capital of] Washington, D.C.,[1] the OAS’s members are the 35 independent states of the Americas.

CU Blog - State of the Union - Americana - Photo 2

CU Blog - State of the Union - Americana - Photo 3

As of 26 May 2015, the Secretary General of OAS is Luis Almagro.[2]

The member-states are as follows:

Antigua Argentina Bahamas Barbados Belize
Bolivia Brazil Canada Chile Colombia
Costa Rica Cuba (Suspended) Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador
El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Guyana Haiti
Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama
Paraguay Peru St. Kitts St. Lucia St. Vincent
Suriname Trinidad United States Uruguay Venezuela (Withdrew)

Source: Retrieved July 19, 2017 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_of_American_States

As depicted in the foregoing, the Monroe Doctrine is alive and well. Today, it is expressed through the American tutelage for the modern expression of multilateralism with the “Organization of the American States” (OAS). Since the purpose of the OAS is regional solidarity and cooperation, it automatically assumes a defensive posture. There is no active cross-border war in the Americas at this time; (there was only a Civil War / Domestic Terrorism campaign in Colombia). The US is using its BIG DOG status to force international peace in this hemisphere. This exercise of the American security mandates is casually referred to as “Pax Americana”.

But, the reality of living in the shadows of America means that we have to be aware of American self-interest and what it means to our hemispheric community – Resistance is Futile. Scanning the landscape of the region’s economic, security and governing engines, we see these obvious expressions of American self-interest … conveyed in previous blog-commentaries:

Economics

According to the Go Lean book, the CU is designed to be a technocratic intergovernmental entity that shepherds the Caribbean region’s economic interest. As the “800-pound gorilla” in the hemisphere, the evidence of American self-interest cannot be ignored. Notice the samples-examples in these scenarios:

Security

Depending on Pax Americana means ignoring many security best practices in the region. The US works to ensure security on their homeland, while ignoring the Caribbean. See how this thesis is presented in these sample blog-commentaries here:

Governance

There are a lot of expressions of American governance that is evident that American self-interest overrides common sense and the Greater Good. Consider these samples-examples:

———-

The movement behind the Go Lean book wants to help reform and transform the Caribbean. But we recognize that there will be no chance for success in the Caribbean region if our efforts go against American economic/security/foreign-policy interest.

The Go Lean/CU roadmap employs a tactic of a “Separation-of-Powers between CU federal agencies and Caribbean member-state governments”; so the limitations of national laws in a member-state does not have to override the CU. The CU constitution would apply to the installation of Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) and Self-Governing Entities (SGE) that operate in controlled bordered territories like campuses, industrial parks, research labs and industrial plants. Lastly, there is the power of “peer pressure” where progress by one Caribbean state would incline others to follow suit. In total, the Go Lean/CU roadmap will employ strategies, tactics and implementations to impact its prime directives; identified with the following 3 statements:

The Go Lean roadmap seeks to prepare the Caribbean region to be a protégé of Americana, not a parasite. While this is easier said than done, it is conceivable, believable and achievable. This quest, optimizing the entire Caribbean economic/security/governance eco-system, was the motivation of the Go Lean movement. This vision is defined early in the book (Page 12) in the following pronouncements in the Declaration of Interdependence:

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

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

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

The Go Lean book posits that dysfunctional Caribbean communities can be reformed and transformed if they adopt the community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies as depicted in the Go Lean roadmap. The book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” so as to turnaround the societal engines of Caribbean society. For one, the recommendation is to reform and transform Caribbean foreign-policy – i.e. 10 Foreign Policy Initiatives at Start-up on Page 102 of the book. – from parasite to protégé.

The Caribbean can succeed in our efforts to improve our dependence of Americana. Consider this sample of previous blog-commentaries that delve into aspects of transforming the Caribbean region to a protégé status, away from a parasite status:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11759 Understand the Market, Plan the … Change
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10216 Waging A Successful War Against Societal Defects – A Series
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10043 Integration Plan for Greater Caribbean Prosperity
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9595 Vision and Values for a ‘New’ Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7646 Going from ‘Good to Great’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7628 ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6993 Forging Change: ‘Something to Lose’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1596 Transforming to where we can ‘Prosper where Planted’

This commentary completes the 5-part series on the subject of the State of the Caribbean Union, (notwithstanding future sequels). Our region is really hurting! We are near-Failed-State status now. Our societal defects abound, whether we are among the big islands (Cuba, D.R. and/or P.R.) with the big populations, or whether we are among the small volcano islands, waiting for the next eruption. All in all, the Caribbean status quo is not successful and what little societal cohesion we have cannot be sustained, alone … for long. We must act now and seek refuge, but that refuge is not Americana, as our Caribbean interest is not American interest. 🙁

The reality of Americana is that “there will always be winners and losers” … in their society.

This sounds so familiar! This was the lyrics of the Rock-n-Roll song – Pink Houses  – by John Cougar Mellancamp, where he scorched the hypocrisy of the American eco-system – see VIDEO and Song Lyrics in the Appendices below; with this sample here:

And there’s winners and there’s losers
But they ain’t no big deal
‘Cause the simple man, baby
Pays for thrills
The bills the pills that kill

American self-interest dictates making the winners from some American special interest groups, at the expense of the Greater Good. It is hard for the winners to be foreigners, or the Black-and-Brown of the Caribbean. No, the American “game is rigged”; the winners represent the Crony-Capitalists in American society. In the Caribbean, we can … and must do better. We urge all Caribbean stakeholders – governments, citizens, residents and Diaspora – and all those who love the Caribbean region to lean-in to this vision described within this Go Lean roadmap.

The vision for a new Caribbean is one that is not a parasite of the US; but rather a protégé!

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

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

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

————-

Appendix VIDEO  – John Mellencamp – Pink Houses – https://youtu.be/qOfkpu6749w

Published on Oct 5, 2009 – Music video by John Mellencamp performing Pink Houses. (C) 1983 John Mellencamp under exclusive license to the Island Def Jam Music Group.

  • Category: Music
  • License: Standard YouTube License

————-

Appendix – John Mellencamp – “Pink Houses” Lyrics

There’s a black man with a black cat
Livin’ in a black neighborhood
He’s got an interstate
Runnin’ through his front yard
You know he thinks that he’s got it so good
And there’s a woman in the kitchen
Cleanin’ up the evenin’ slop
And he looks at her and says, hey darlin’
I can remember when you could stop a clock

CHORUS:
Oh, but ain’t that America
For you and me
Ain’t that America
Something to see, baby
Ain’t that America
Home of the free, yeah
Little pink houses
For you and me
Oooh, yeah
For you and me

Well, there’s a young man in a t-shirt
Listenin’ to a rockin’ rollin’ station
He’s got greasy hair, greasy smile
He says, Lord this must be my destination
‘Cause they told me when I was younger
Said boy, you’re gonna be president
But just like everything else
Those old crazy dreams
Just kinda came and went

[CHORUS]

[Instrumental Interlude]

Well, there’s people and more people
What do they know, know, know
Go to work in some high rise
And vacation down at the Gulf of Mexico
Ooh, yeah
And there’s winners and there’s losers
But they ain’t no big deal
‘Cause the simple man, baby
Pays for thrills
The bills the pills that kill

[CHORUS]
Ooooh, yeah…

Source: Retrieved July 19, 2019 from: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/johnmellencamp/pinkhouses.html

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Commerce of the Seas – Extraction Realities

Posted on June 14, 2017 in Economics, Government, Implementation, Industries

Go Lean Commentary

According to the book Go Lean…Caribbean, ‘Luck is the destination where opportunity meets preparation’ – Page 252.

Well, opportunity is awaiting the Caribbean … for mineral extraction and oil exploration.

CU Blog - Commerce of the Seas - Extraction Realities - Photo 1The book also alerts the Caribbean region that Climate Change is raging forward, with a lot of repercussions in its wake. Global warming is resulting in higher sea levels, due to the melting of the polar ice craps/icebergs. A repercussion is:

Beach erosion.

Beaches are gravely important for the American East Coast. (They are important to Caribbean communities as well). So many communities depend on beach vacation and traffic during the spring/summer months (think Spring Break and the commercial summer season of Memorial Day to Labor Day). So when oil spills or predictable storms endanger beach sand, it becomes an urgent imperative for communities to assuage the crisis, even replace the sand; consider these recent News Articles/Summaries here:

Title: Beach Erosion on the US East Coast

Extraction - Photo 2

Extraction - Photo 5

Extraction - Photo 4

1.  http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/florida/sfl-us-has-ok-to-study-bringing-bahamas-sand-to-florida-beaches-20170102-story.html

    January 2, 2017: A possible solution for replacing sand on South Florida beaches is buying it from the Bahamas. The US federal government has now loosened rules to make this possible.

2.  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-causes-beach-erosion/

    The Art-and-Science of beach management is now being challenged – “Unfortunately for beach lovers and owners of high-priced beach-front homes, coastal erosion in any form is usually a one-way trip. Man-made techniques such as beach nourishment—whereby sand is dredged from off-shore sources and deposited along otherwise vanishing beaches—may slow the process, but nothing short of global cooling or some other major geomorphic change will stop it altogether.”

3.  http://abcnews.go.com/US/deepdive/disappearing-beaches-sea-level-rise-39427567

    DISAPPEARING BEACHES – A Line in the Sand – A tragic story of a family that buys a beach house in 1982, but today, they have to abandon it because of the eroding sands, and bedrock under the house.

4.  AUDIO: http://www.npr.org/2014/09/18/348985568/a-coastal-paradise-confronts-its-watery-future

    September 18, 2014 – There is ‘Trouble in Paradise’. Beachfront communities are finding the waters rising more and more due to global warming.


——–

Title: Oil Exploration and Drilling

http://www.npr.org/2015/03/12/392383373/plans-to-explore-for-oil-offshore-worry-east-coast-residents
March 12, 2015

    March 12, 2015 – As the [US federal government] administration opens the door to offshore drilling, the oil industry is promising more jobs and less reliance on foreign oil. … Coastal towns and cities in several states are formally opposing offshore drilling and oil exploration.

——–

Everyone has a price! So if the price goes up high enough, there may be interested parties among Caribbean member-states to take the money for allowing mineral/oil extraction in their offshore vicinity. There is a need to be alarmed at such proposals, as dredging sand or drilling for oil may endanger protected reefs or other underwater marine features.

With greater demand – imagine post hurricanes – the Laws of Supply-and-Demand will mandate that the prices for extracted minerals will only increase.

It will get more and more tempting!

The movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean wants to add other types of economic activities to the Caribbean landscape; we urgently want to use the sea as an industrial zone. This is because the Caribbean region is badly in need of jobs. The book urges communities to empower the economic engines of the Caribbean Sea, as in mineral & oil extraction.

The region’s economic driver is tourism. Tourism and “mineral extraction or oil exploration” are incompatible activities. Thus there is the need for the cautions in this commentary. The challenge is to embrace the commerce of mineral extraction for the positives, while avoiding the negatives.

Challenge accepted!

The book Go Lean…Caribbean serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). This would be the governmental entity for a regional Single Market that covers the land territories of the 30 member-states, and their aligning seas; (including the 1,063,000 square miles of the Caribbean Sea). The Go Lean/CU roadmap features this prime directive, as defined by these 3 statements:

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

This commentary posits that there are opportunities for the Caribbean to better explore the “Commerce of the Seas”, to deploy International Maritime Organisation-compliant offshore mineral/oil extraction and dredging operations. There are so many lessons that we can learn from the Economic History of other communities and their exploitation of extraction on the high seas. This commentary previously identified a series of 4 commentaries considering the Lessons in Economic History related to “Commerce of the Seas”; this entry is a 5th entry. The full series is as follows:

  1. Commerce of the Seas – Stupidity of the Jones Act
  2. Commerce of the Seas – Book Review: ‘Sea Power’
  3. Commerce of the Seas – Shipbuilding Model of Ingalls
  4. Commerce of the Seas – Lessons from Alang (India)
  5. Commerce of the Seas – Extraction Reality

The reference to “Commerce” refers to the economic interest of the 30 member-states in the Caribbean region. There is the need for more commercial opportunities that would impact the community with job and entrepreneurial empowerments.

Mineral extraction and oil exploration could be providential! Consider these foregoing source references.

In a previous blog, Guyana prioritized oil exploration and drilling as an economic activity in their Exclusive Economic Zone…

… the oil industry/eco-system could be a dizzying ride, up and down, complete with exhilaration and anxiety, especially for communities with mono-industrial economic engines. Trinidad is once such community. Now Guyana is entering that fray.

There are other countries seeking to join these ranks: Haiti, Jamaica, and the Bahamas.

A key consideration in this commentary is the concept of Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ). Every Caribbean nation with no immediate neighbor within the 200 miles has this exclusive territory to exploit; the previously identified blog-commentary from May 25, 2015 detailed the encyclopedic details, shown here again in Appendix A.

The EEZ is factored in for mineral extraction and oil exploration. This is both a simple and a complicated issue. There is a lot of heavy-lifting involved to balance the needs of commerce and environmental protection.

This is the guidance from the book Go Lean … Caribbean. The CU federation is designed to employ best practices for economics, security and governance. The CU/Go Lean roadmap posits that “Extractions” (Oil and minerals like Rare Earths) must be a significant tactic for the Caribbean region to elevate its society.

The implementation of the CU allows for the designation of an enlarged Exclusive Economic Zones – requiring special approval from an United Nations Tribunal – consolidating existing EEZ’s and the technocratic cooperative-administration of Extractions within that space. This vision was embedded in the Go Lean’s book’s opening Declaration of Interdependence. See the need for regional coordination and integration pronounced these sample stanzas (Page 11 – 13):

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

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

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.

xxvi. Whereas the Caribbean region must have new jobs to empower the engines of the economy and create the income sources for prosperity, and encourage the next generation to forge their dreams right at home, the Federation must therefore foster the development of new industries, like that of ship-building…. In addition, the Federation must invigorate the enterprises related to existing industries like … fisheries … – impacting the region with more jobs.

The Go Lean book provides a 370-page guide on “how” to optimize the eco-system for mineral extraction and oil exploration in an integrated Caribbean region, for the geographic area of the Caribbean Sea. This is the “Commerce of the Seas”.

The Go Lean/CU roadmap asserts that as the confederation for the region’s 30 member-states, the CU, will be the administrator of this EEZ. Step One / Day One of the roadmap calls for awarding contracts for oil exploration and other extractions in the EEZ – this is one of  the methods for financing the CU; this is how to Pay For Change.

The Go Lean roadmap details a series of community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to foster development, administration and protections in the Caribbean EEZ. Consider this sample except (headlines) from the book’s Page 195:

10 Ways to Impact Extractions

Case Study: The Bottom Line on the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
The disaster (also referred to as the BP Oil spill or the Macondo blowout) was an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP operated Macondo Prospect, considered the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry. Following the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, which claimed 11 lives, a sea-floor oil gusher flowed for 87 days, until it was finally capped on 15 July 2010. The total discharge is estimated at 4.9 million barrels (210 million gallons), resulting in a massive response ensued to protect beaches, wetlands and estuaries from the spreading oil utilizing skimmer ships, floating booms, controlled burns and 1.84 million gallons of Corexit (a chemical oil dispersant). After several failed efforts to contain the flow, the well was declared sealed on 19 September 2010. Due to the months-long spill, along with adverse effects from the response and cleanup activities, extensive damage to marine and wildlife habitats, fishing and tourism industries, and human health problems have continued through this day, 2013. Three years after the spill, tar balls could still be found on the Mississippi coast. …

[See Trailer of the resultant 2016 Movie-Storytelling in the Appendix B VIDEO below.]

1

 Lean-in for Caribbean Integration
The CU treaty unifies the Caribbean region into one single market of 42 million people across 30 member-states, thereby empowering the economic engines in and on behalf of the region, including many public works projects and the emergence of many new industries. The new regional jurisdiction allows for mineral extraction (mines), oil/natural gas exploration in the Exclusive Economic Zone and some federal oversight for domestic mining/drilling/extraction operations, especially where systemic threats or cross-border administration are concerned. One CU mandate is to protect tourism. This is just one of the negative side-effects to be on guard for, see Appendix ZK (Page 334) for other concerns.

2

 Oil – Mitigation Plan
The concept of oil exploration is very strategic for the CU, as there are member-states that are oil producers. With energy prices so high, this is a lucrative endeavor. But there is risk, tied to the reward equation; the CU cannot endure a Deepwater Horizon-style disaster. Risk management and disaster mitigation plan must therefore be embedded into every drilling permit. The CU will oversee this governance and provide transparent oversight, accountability & reporting.

3

 “Rare Earth” Rush – Minerals Priced higher than Gold (Year 2010: $1,000 a pound; $2,200 per kilogram)
There is a “rush”/quest to harvest rare earth elements. These include lanthanide elements (fifteen metallic chemical elements with atomic numbers 57 through 71, from lanthanum through lutetium) for metals that are ferromagnetic, this means their magnetism only appear at low temperatures. Rare earth magnets are made from these compounds and are ideal in many high-tech products. The CU will foster the regional exploration and extraction of these pricey materials.

4

 Pipeline Strategy/Tactical Alignment

5

 Emergency Response / Trauma Center
The CU accedence grants authority for federal jurisdiction on oil exploration/drilling projects. This is due to the environmental concerns, systemic threats and the strategic implications for energy security. So CU Emergency (Risk, Disaster, and Medical Trauma) Managers will audit and test shutdown, mitigation and emergency procedures annually.

6

 Exclusive Economic Zone Oversight / Research and Exploration

7

 State Regulated Mining – Peer Review

8

 Precious Metals – Exclusive to Caribbean Dollar

9

 Treasure Hunting in EEZ – CU must grant Excavation “Permits”

10

 Ferries Schedule for Transport to Offshore Rigs

The CU will foster “Extractions” as an industrial alternative to tourism. We have the natural resources (in the waterscapes), the skills and the passionate work-force. We only need the Commerce of the Seas. The Caribbean people are now ready for this industrial empowerment as mineral/oil extraction is both good … and bad!

The Go Lean roadmap asserts that economic needs are undeniable and tempting. While the region sorely needs the economic empowerments, this roadmap also details the mitigations and security measures to guarantee environmental protection.

There is much at stake when communities get the Art-and-Science of mineral extraction wrong!

This commentary ends this deep, long review of the Commerce of the Seas discussion. We have considered many different industries: Tourism, Cruise Lines, Shipping-Trade, Shipbuilding, Ship-breaking and now, Extractions. That is a lot of details to get right! The optimizations of these areas are the hallmarks of a technocracy. Yes, we can … get this right!

Now is the time for all of the Caribbean, the people, business, institutions and governments, to lean-in for the technocratic deliveries of the Go Lean/CU roadmap. 🙂

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

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

———–

Appendix A – Exclusive Economic Zone

An Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is a sea zone prescribed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea over which a state has special rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources, including energy production from water and wind.[1] It stretches from the baseline out to 200 nautical miles (nmi) from its coast. In colloquial usage, the term may include the continental shelf. The term does not include either the territorial sea or the continental shelf beyond the 200 nmi limit. The difference between the territorial sea and the exclusive economic zone is that the first confers full sovereignty over the waters, whereas the second is merely a “sovereign right” which refers to the coastal state’s rights below the surface of the sea. The surface waters, as can be seen in the map, are international waters.[2]

Generally, a state’s EEZ extends to a distance of 200 nautical miles (370 km) out from its coastal baseline. The exception to this rule occurs when EEZs would overlap; that is, state coastal baselines are less than 400 nautical miles (740 km) apart. When an overlap occurs, it is up to the states to delineate the actual maritime boundary.[3] Generally, any point within an overlapping area defaults to the nearest state.[4]

A state’s Exclusive Economic Zone starts at the landward edge of its territorial sea and extends outward to a distance of 200 nautical miles (370.4 km) from the baseline. The Exclusive Economic Zone stretches much further into sea than the territorial waters, which end at 12 nmi (22 km) from the coastal baseline (if following the rules set out in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea).[5] Thus, the EEZ includes the contiguous zone. States also have rights to the seabed of what is called the continental shelf up to 350 nautical miles (648 km) from the coastal baseline, beyond the EEZ, but such areas are not part of their EEZ. The legal definition of the continental shelf does not directly correspond to the geological meaning of the term, as it also includes the continental rise and slope, and the entire seabed within the EEZ.

The following is a list of the largest Exclusive Economic Zones; by country with a few noticeable deviations:

Country EEZ Kilometers2 Additional Details
United States 11,351,000 The American EEZ – the world’s largest – includes the Caribbean overseas territories of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
France 11,035,000 The French EEZ includes the Caribbean overseas territories of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Martin, Saint Barthélemy and French Guiana.
Australia 8,505,348 Australia has the third largest exclusive economic zone, behind the United States and France, with the total area actually exceeding that of its land territory. Per the UN convention, Australia’s EEZ generally extends 200 nautical miles (370 km) from the coastline of Australia and its external territories, except where a maritime delimitation agreement exists with another state.[15]The United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf confirmed, in April 2008, Australia’s rights over an additional 2.5 million square kilometres of seabed beyond the limits of Australia’s EEZ.[16][17] Australia also claimed, in its submission to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, additional Continental Shelf past its EEZ from the Australian Antarctic Territory,[18] but these claims were deferred on Australia’s request. However, Australia’s EEZ from its Antarctic Territory is approximately 2 million square kilometres.[17]
Russia 7,566,673
United Kingdom 6,805,586 The UK includes the Caribbean territories of Anguilla, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Turks & Caicos and the British Virgin Islands.
Indonesia 6,159,032
Canada 5,599,077 Canada is unusual in that its EEZ, covering 2,755,564 km2, is slightly smaller than its territorial waters.[20] The latter generally extend only 12 nautical miles from the shore, but also include inland marine waters such as Hudson Bay (about 300 nautical miles (560 km; 350 mi) across), the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the internal waters of the Arctic archipelago.
Japan 4,479,388 In addition to Japan’s recognized EEZ, it also has a joint regime with Republic of (South) Korea and has disputes over other territories it claims but are in dispute with all its Asian neighbors (Russia, Republic of Korea and China).
New Zealand 4,083,744
Chile 3,681,989
Brazil 3,660,955 In 2004, the country submitted its claims to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) to extend its maritime continental margin.[19]
Mexico 3,269,386 Mexico’s EEZ comprises half of the Gulf of Mexico, with the other half claimed by the US.[32]
Micronesia 2,996,419 The Federated States of Micronesia comprise around 607 islands (a combined land area of approximately 702 km2 or 271 sq mi) that cover a longitudinal distance of almost 2,700 km (1,678 mi) just north of the equator. They lie northeast of New Guinea, south of Guam and the Marianas, west of Nauru and the Marshall Islands, east of Palau and the Philippines, about 2,900 km (1,802 mi) north of eastern Australia and some 4,000 km (2,485 mi) southwest of the main islands of Hawaii. While the FSM’s total land area is quite small, its EEZ occupies more than 2,900,000 km2 (1,000,000 sq mi) of the Pacific Ocean.
Denmark 2,551,238 The Kingdom of Denmark includes the autonomous province of Greenland and the self-governing province of the Faroe Islands. The EEZs of the latter two do not form part of the EEZ of the European Union. See Photo 4.
Papua New Guinea 2,402,288
China 2,287,969
Marshall Islands 1,990,530 The Republic of the Marshall Islands is an island country located near the equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the International Date Line. Geographically, the country is part of the larger island group of Micronesia. The country’s population of 68,480 people is spread out over 24 coral atolls, comprising 1,156 individual islands and islets. The land mass amounts to 181 km2 (70 sq mi) but the EEZ is 1,990,000 km2, one of the world’s largest.
Portugal 1,727,408 Portugal has the 10th largest EEZ in the world. Presently, it is divided in three non-contiguous sub-zones:

Portugal submitted a claim to extend its jurisdiction over additional 2.15 million square kilometers of the neighboring continental shelf in May 2009,[44] resulting in an area with a total of more than 3,877,408 km2. The submission, as well as a detailed map, can be found in the Task Group for the extension of the Continental Shelf website.

Spain disputes the EEZ’s southern border, maintaining that it should be drawn halfway between Madeira and the Canary Islands. But Portugal exercises sovereignty over the SavageIslands, a small archipelago north of the Canaries, claiming an EEZ border further south. Spain objects, arguing that the SavageIslands do not have a separate continental shelf,[45] citing article 121 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.[46] <<< See Photo 6 >>>
Philippines 1,590,780 The Philippines’ EEZ covers 2,265,684 (135,783) km2[41]. See Photo 5.
Solomon Islands 1,589,477
South Africa 1,535,538
Fiji 1,282,978 Fiji is an archipelago of more than 332 islands, of which 110 are permanently inhabited, and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of about 18,300 square kilometres (7,100 sq mi).
Argentina 1,159,063
Spain 1,039,233
Bahamas 654,715
Cuba 350,751
Jamaica 258,137
Dominican Republic 255,898
Barbados 186,898
Netherlands 154,011 The Kingdom of the Netherlands include the Antilles islands of Aruba. Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Maarten and Sint Eustatius
Guyana 137,765
Suriname 127,772
Haiti 126,760
Antigua and Barbuda 110,089
Trinidad and Tobago 74,199
St Vincent and the Grenadines 36,302
Belize 35,351
Dominica 28,985
Grenada 27,426
Saint Lucia 15,617
Saint Kitts and Nevis 9,974

(Source: Retrieved May 25, 2017 from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exclusive_economic_zone)

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Appendix B VIDEO – Deepwater Horizon (2016) Official Movie Trailer – ‘Heroes’ – https://youtu.be/S-UPJyEHmM0

Published on May 26, 2016 – Deepwater Horizon – Now Playing.
#DeepwaterHorizonMovie

CU Blog - Commerce of the Seas - Extraction Realities - Photo 6

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Commerce of the Seas – Lessons from Alang (India)

Posted on June 13, 2017 in Economics, Government, Industries, Tactical

Go Lean Commentary

Despite our beautiful vistas in the Caribbean – with our sun, sand and sea – not everywhere is paradisiac. Some locations are just plain ordinary, or even Less-Than. Tourism is the region’s Number 1 economic activity, but there are certain areas where tourists should not venture. This is true for agricultural areas and certain industrial zones.

The movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean wants to add another type of “not for tourists” industrial zone to the Caribbean landscape: Ship-breaking Yards.

Just that combination of words – “Ship” + “Breaking” – connotes some negative images. The lessons we learned from the Indian port city of Alang is that Ship-breaking is dirty; see the encyclopedic reference here:

Reference Title: Alang,  Indian State of Gujarat. 

CU Blog - Commerce of the Seas - Lessons from Alang - Photo 5Alang is a census town in Bhavnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. In the past three decades, its beaches have become a major worldwide centre for ship breaking. The longest ship ever built, Seawise Giant, was sailed to and beached here for demolition in December 2009. [1]

Marine salvage industry
The shipyards at Alang recycle approximately half of all ships salvaged around the world.[2] It is considered the world’s largest graveyard of ships.[3] The yards are located on the Gulf of Khambat, 50 km (31 mi) southeast of Bhavnagar. Large supertankers, car ferries, container ships, and a dwindling number of ocean liners are beached during high tide, and as the tide recedes, hundreds of manual laborers move onto the beach to dismantle each ship, salvaging what they can and reducing the rest to scrap.

The salvage yards at Alang have generated controversy about working conditions, workers’ living conditions, and the impact on the environment. One major problem is that despite many serious work-related injuries, the nearest full service hospital is 50 km (31 mi) away in Bhavnagar.

Alang - Photo 1

Alang - Photo 2

Alang - Photo 4

Future
Japan and the Gujarat government have joined hands to upgrade the existing Alang shipyard. The two parties have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which focuses on technology transfer and financial assistance from Japan to assist in the upgrading of operations at Alang to meet international standards. This is a part of the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor, a larger partnership between the Japanese and Gujarat government. Under this plan, Japan will address the environmental implications of ship breaking in Alang, and will develop a .marketing strategy. The project is to be carried out as a public-private partnership. The project’s aim is to make this shipyard the largest International Maritime Organisation-compliant ship recycling yard in the world.

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

The dirty nature of these industrial endeavors, as depicted in Alang, provides a negative lesson that we want to learn from to avoid all perilous consequences of doing this business in a “wrong” manner.

Another lesson we learn from Alang is that Ship-breaking work (jobs) is consistent and steady. There are many ships that have lived out their usefulness and now need to be dismantled for scrap; the more labor available, the more ships to break. This is such a positive lesson for us to learn right now, as the Caribbean region is badly in need of jobs. The economic engine involves salvaging the scrap metal (and other materials) for recycling.

The challenge is to embrace the commerce of Ship-breaking for the positives, while avoiding the negatives.

Challenge accepted! (The foregoing relates the welcoming support from Japan for clean ship-breaking).

The book Go Lean…Caribbean serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). This would be the governmental entity for a regional Single Market that covers the land territories of the 30 member-states, and their aligning seas; (including the 1,063,000 square miles of the Caribbean Sea). The Go Lean/CU roadmap features this prime directive, as defined by these 3 statements:

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

This commentary posits that there are opportunities for the Caribbean to better explore the “Commerce of the Seas”, to deploy International Maritime Organisation-compliant shipyards. There are so many lessons that we can learn from the Economic History of other communities’ exploitation of the high seas. This commentary is 4 of 4 in a series considering the Lessons in Economic History related to “Commerce of the Seas”. The full series is as follows:

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

The reference to “Commerce” refers to the economic interest of the 30 member-states in the Caribbean region. There is the need for more commercial opportunities that would impact the community with job and entrepreneurial empowerments. Ship-breaking could be providential!

Ship-breaking can provide high tech, mid tech and low tech jobs; especially if the salvage operation is executed in a technocratic manner. The Art & Science of technocratic ship-breaking versus dirty-breaking (i.e. Alang) was previously detailed in a blog-commentary on August 14, 2014. See some highlights from that blog in the excerpt here:

… ship-breaking activities in Third World countries, like Bangladesh, pose harm to the environment, workers and remaining systems of commerce. But when executed correctly, as in Brownsville-Texas, ship-breaking can be all positive. There are benefits in applying the appropriate best practices in handling hazardous materials. The tons of toxic waste (asbestos) can be properly managed and disposed of, with the proper eco-system surrounding the industry. The CU will facilitate the eco-system, especially with the Self-Governing Entities (SGE) concept for shipyards. This is covered in the Go Lean book under the auspices of “turn-around” industries, a federally regulated/promoted activity.

So there is a way to perform ship-breaking – one expression of maritime commerce – in a lean, clean manner while guaranteeing safety for the workers and profit for the investors.

This is the win-win … of the Go Lean roadmap.

The Go Lean book/roadmap was published in November 2013 with a vision for a new industrialization for the region. The quest is for the region to cooperate, collaborate and convene so as to accomplish more as a unified Single Market than may be possible alone. Not one of the Caribbean member-states – all Third World – can do ship-breaking right. It would quickly denigrate to the Alang and Bangladesh models. But together, leveraging the interdependence – so much more can be accomplished. This was the vision of the opening Declaration of Interdependence in the book. Here, the need for regional coordination and integration was pronounced as the basis of reforming and transforming Caribbean society.

See a sample of relevant stanzas from the Declaration here (Page 11 – 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.

xxvi. Whereas the Caribbean region must have new jobs to empower the engines of the economy and create the income sources for prosperity, and encourage the next generation to forge their dreams right at home, the Federation must therefore foster the development of new industries, like that of ship-building…. In addition, the Federation must invigorate the enterprises related to existing industries like … fisheries … – impacting the region with more jobs.

Reforming and transforming the Caribbean is the quest. The Go Lean book explains “how”, providing 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos for economic regionalism, and “how” to execute the right strategies, tactics, and implementations to reboot, reform and transform the maritime commerce to benefit Caribbean society.

The issue of fostering industrial developments in the Art-and-Science of the salvage industry has been a frequent subject for previous blog-commentaries; consider this list of sample entries:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10140 Lessons Learned: Detroit demolishes thousands of structures
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6760 A Lesson in ‘Garbage’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2953 Funding Caribbean Entrepreneurs – The ‘Crowdfunding’ Way
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2857 Where the Jobs Are – Entrepreneurism in Junk

All Caribbean member-states are islands or coastal territories – they can all be candidates for maritime salvaging (ship-breaking) operations – even all at the same time. While there is a large footprint of “cheap” ship-breakers in Asia, not as many proliferate in the Western Hemisphere. It is a perfect time to explore these opportunities.

This is not tourism! Ship-breaking activities are not paradisiac nor inviting so they should be limited to shipyards, not beaches.

Alang - Photo 3Imagine: towing an old ship from the Americas to the Caribbean, rather than across the Atlantic and Indian Oceans; see the experience of salvaging the “Love Boat” in the Appendix VIDEO below.

This is commerce!

There is a need to transform maritime commerce for the Caribbean region; we can get more economic activity from this sector; the Go Lean book projects 15,000 new direct jobs in the shipbuilding and/or ship-breaking activities. The possibility of these new jobs is hope-inspiring. At last we can arrest the societal abandonment where men and women leave the community looking for any kind of work.

This is Commerce of the Seas; we saw how previous generations of Caribbean people lived off the sea; we can again, with these creative expressions of maritime commerce.

This plan is conceivable, believable and achievable. We urge all Caribbean stakeholders – governments, business owners and workers – to lean-in to this roadmap for economic empowerment. We can make the Caribbean homeland and seas better places to live, work and play. 🙂

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

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

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Appendix VIDEO – The End of The Love Boat – https://youtu.be/lauAeMtzMYM

Published on Nov 5, 2016 – English Captions Available!!!
MS Pacific Princess is a voyage send possessed by Princess Cruises and worked by Princess Cruises and P&O Cruises Australia. She was inherent 1999 by the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France as MS R Three for Renaissance Cruises.

The vessel initially entered operation in 1999, with Renaissance Cruises. The ship was not claimed by the organization, ownership rather living with a gathering of French speculators, who rented the ship to the organization. In late 2001, the whole Renaissance armada was seized by lenders.

Pacific Princess in Yalta inlet.

In late 2002, Princess Cruises sanctioned the R Three, alongside sister transport R Four (now Ocean Princess). Both vessels entered operation before the end of 2002. The contract ended toward the end of 2004, at which time both vessels were acquired by Princess Cruises. Gabi Hollows renamed the ship Pacific Princess in Sydney on 8 December 2002.
This ship has been the subject of a state help choice by the European Commission: Decision 2006/219.
—
Princess Cruise Line Youtube channel: youtube.com/user/princesscruises
Cruise Ships Info Youtube channel: youtube.com/cruiseshipsinfo
Cruise Ships Info Facebook Page: facebook.com/cruiseshipsinfo
Cruise Ships Info Twitter Page: twitter.com/cruiseship_info
Cruise Ships Info Pinterest Page: pinterest.com/cruiseshipinfo

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Additional VIDEO – Jobs of Workers in Ship-breaking Industry –  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOGjYfBltZc

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