Tag: Model

European Reckoning – China seeks to de-Americanize the world’s economy

Posted on January 18, 2019 in Economics, Industries, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

How did the world measure money and wealth in the past? Simple: Gold.

Then in 1971, the US changed from the Gold Standard … to a Non-Gold Standard or Fiat money. (The Gold Standard refers to the monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. Most nations abandoned the gold standard as the basis of their monetary systems at some point in the 20th century). Now the value of American money is measured by “American money” (declared value). But wait, wait: the rest of the world’s money is also now measured by American money – the world measures money and wealth by US Dollars! (See the Appendix VIDEO below).

Even in Europe; when the Euro currency was launched in 1999, it was pegged close to the US dollar 1-to-1.17. Today, the world’s economy is measured by US Dollars (USD) and the Euro, which continue to be the primary reserve currency of most commercial and central banks[54]. The Dollar is first and the Euro is the second most widely held international reserve currency. As of August 2018, with more than €1.2 trillion in circulation, the Euro has one of the highest combined values of banknotes and coins in circulation in the world, having surpassed the U.S. dollar.[13]

Now the rest of the world – China most definitely – wants to de-Americanize the world’s economy. The world’s population is nearly 7 billion people, while the combined populations of the US and the EU is a little less than 1 billion; (340 million + 508 million respectively). There are some Big countries and Big economies at stake: think China with their 1.3 Billion people or India with their 1.2 Billion.  It is therefore logical to contemplate de-Americanizing the world’s economy – it makes so much sense. In addition, at the time of this writing, the US is in the midst of a federal government shutdown … again.

It is therefore plausible, viable and prudent for non-American stakeholders to want to be shielded from American chaos. See this reasoning in this White Paper here; published by the Government of Canada:

Title: Chimerica – The Beginnings of a New Regional Reserve

What is it?
Chinese concerns over the ability of the U.S. to manage its debt have led to recent calls by China to “de-Americanize” the world economy and seek an alternative to the U.S. dollar as the international reserve currency.1 As far back as 2008, China proposed the need for a new international currency reserve which would limit the importance of any one national currency.2

In recent times, the U.S. economy has avoided a debt crisis by raising the debt ceiling level. Any adjustment has the potential to impact the Chinese economy, given the level of exposure to U.S. securities. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has amassed US$3.5 trillion in foreign reserves – largely U.S. Treasury securities. The fact that a single institution wields so much influence over global macroeconomic stability has caused considerable anxiety, with doomsayers predicting that doubts about U.S. debt sustainability will force China to sell off its holdings of U.S. debt. This would drive up interest rates in the U.S. and ultimately could trigger the dollar’s downfall.

However, selling off U.S. Treasury securities may not be in China’s interest, as it would drive up the renminbi’s (RMB) exchange rate against the U.S. dollar, diminishing the domestic value of China’s reserves and undermining the export sector’s competitiveness. Indeed, a U.S. Defense Department report last year on the national security implications of China’s holdings of U.S. debt concluded that “attempting to use U.S. Treasury securities as a coercive tool would have limited effect and likely would do more harm to China than to the [U.S.].”3

U.S. debt is only one side of the coin. Economist Robert Shiller believes that the real estate bubble is a serious problem in China.4 According to Shiller, people are buying apartments in the expectation that house prices will continue to rise. This gambling mentality is leading them to make completely irrational buying decisions. Slowing economic growth and exports has the potential to expose a serious financial bubble in the Chinese housing sector. The banking sector in China would need to be recapitalized should the Chinese housing bubble burst.

Why is it important?
The symbiotic relationship between Chinese export-led growth and U.S. consumption is such that should one economy falter the other will follow. Both of these disruptors exist against a backdrop of rising bilateral trade using national currencies and a call by the International Monetary Fund for a new global currency to replace the U.S. dollar.5

Research by AMRO-Asia, the chief economists of ASEAN+3, finds that while the U.S. remains the anchor currency in the Asian region, the U.S. dollar has “seemingly lost its dominating status.”6 At the same time, the weight of the RMB in regional currency baskets has been increasing since 2005.7  8 The rise of the RMB as the Asian regional reserve has implications for regional trade and global growth. In the long run, the success of the U.S. economic pivot to Asia is likely to be slowed by the rise of the RMB and the corresponding decline in U.S. economic power. Over the last decade, U.S. growth has been facilitated by Chinese holdings of U.S. securities. Questions remain as to whether a decoupling in the long run will have a positive outcome for China and the U.S. as well as global growth.

References

  1. Puzzanghera, J. “Upset over U.S. Fiscal Crisis, China Urges a ‘de-Americanized World’.” Los Angeles Times. October 2013. http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-china-debt-limit-shutdown-de-americanized-economy-20131014,0,1990632.story#ixzz2mwhEb6II(link is external)
  2. Landler, M. “Seeing its Own Money at Risk, China Rails at U.S.” The New York Times. October 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/16/us/politics/china-rails-over-us-fiscal-crisis-seeing-its-own-money-at-risk.html?_r=0(link is external)
  3. Morrison, W. and M. Labonte. “China’s Holdings of U.S. Securities: Implications for the U.S. Economy.” (CRS Report for Congress.) Congressional Research Service. August 2013. http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL34314.pdf(link is external)
  4. “2013 Nobel Prize winner: China’s real estate bubble is serious.” People’s Daily Online. October 2013. http://english.people.com.cn/business/8427784.html(link is external)
  5. Snyder, M. “Shift From U.S. Dollar As World Reserve Currency Underway – What Will This Mean For America?” munKnee. http://www.munknee.com/shift-from-u-s-dollar-as-world-reserve-currency-underway-what-will-this-mean-for-america/(link is external)
  6. Chen, C., R. Siregar and M Yiu. “RMB as an Anchor Currency in ASEAN, China, Japan and Korea Region.” ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office. April 2013. https://www.cb.cityu.edu.hk/ef/doc/Conference%20on%20Renminbi%20and%20the%20Global%20Economy/papers/Chuling%20Chen.pdf(link is external)
  7. Chong, F. “Is RMB Approaching Safe Haven Status?” Asia Today International. June 2013. http://asiatoday.com.au/content/rmb-approaching-safe-haven-status(link is external)
  8. Irwin, N. “This one number explains how China is taking over the world.” Washington Post. December 2013. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/12/03/this-one-number-explains-how-china-is-taking-over-the-world/

Source: Government of Canada – Posted September 28, 2018; retrieved January 17, 2019 from: http://www.horizons.gc.ca/en/content/chimerica-%E2%80%93-beginnings-new-regional-reserve

This commentary continues a 5-part series on European Reckoning. This entry is 2 of 5 in this series from the movement behind the book Go Lean … Caribbean in consideration of the past, present and future of European interactions. While the Caribbean were all settled and organized by European powers, the lack of organizational efficiency for our benefit is a glaring concern. We have 30 member-states in the Caribbean region and yet, there is no coordinated regional stewardship of the economic, fiscal and monetary affairs of our communities. The other commentaries in the series are cataloged as follows:

  1. European Reckoning: IMF Apologies
  2. European Reckoning: China seeks to de-Americanize the world’s economy
  3. European Reckoning: Settlers -vs- Immigrants
  4. European Reckoning: Christianity’s Indictment
  5. European Reckoning: Black “Greco-Roman” Wrestler victimized for his hair

In the first submission of this series, the European Great Powers were also identified as the Western Alliance. It’s comprised of only White/Christian European nations and North America (US & Canada). It is understandable therefore if Asian, African or Latin American people do not feel adequately represented in the governance of the world’s economy. Yes this status quo is flawed. The US, being the dominant currency in global trade has proven fraught with deficiencies. The aft-mentioned “shutdown” – when Congress fails to pass sufficient appropriation bills or continuing resolutions to fund federal government operations and agencies, or when the President refuses to sign such bills or resolutions into law – is not the first one. In fact, there have been these previous shutdowns in the last 40+ years:

Since 1976, when the current budget and appropriations process was enacted, there have been 22 gaps in budget funding, 10 of which led to federal employees being furloughed. – Source: Wikipedia

The world must not wait for the US to get their political house in order before we can do business. China is a strong advocate for this de-Americanizing effort. Does this mean they want to supplant the US Dollar for their own Renminbi? (This is the currency of the People’s Republic of China, the basic unit of which is the yuan). If the answer to this question is Yes, then that would be China’s prerogative to address the needs of their economy.

Our focus in the Caribbean, must be first and foremost the Caribbean.

The advocacy of the movement behind the Go Lean book is to implement the institutional solutions to do the heavy-lifting ourselves to manage our own economic, fiscal and monetary affairs.

  • Not to be a parasite of the United States of America or Europe.
  • Not to be a parasite of China.

The proposed solution is the Caribbean Central Bank (CCB); this is structured as a formal “cooperative” among the region’s existing Central Banks. The CCB is modeled upon the European Central Bank (ECB), the same as the Caribbean Union is modeled upon the European Union. This CCB institutional strategy also calls for the introduction of a regional currency, the Caribbean Dollar (C$). The CCB will therefore be the sole controlling agent of the monetary policies of this regional C$ currency.

Introducing and implementing a new currency is a Big Deal. But yes, we can succeed! We have a proven track record – the Euro – to model and learn from. This theme of technocratic monetary and currency stewardship has been detailed in many previous Go Lean commentaries; see a sample list here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=15923 Industrial Reboot – Payment Cards 101
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14248 Leading with Money Matters – Almighty Dollar
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13744 Failure to Launch – Economics: The Quest for a ‘Single Currency’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13365 West African Case Study: ECOWAS to Launch ‘Single Currency’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10585 Two Pies: Economic Plan for a New Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10513 Transforming ‘Money’ Countrywide – Lessons Learned from India
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8704 Lessons Learned from NYC’s Transit Currency: MetroCard
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8381 Caribbean Economic Fallacy: Casino Currency US Dollars Only
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7034 The Future of our Money – C$ Currency & Mobile Payment Systems
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4425 Caribbean Dollar Reality: Cash/Coin, Payment Cards and iPhone
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3814 Lesson Learned from the Swiss Currency Management
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=906 Implementing a Regulatory framework to dissuade ‘risky’ currecy
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=833 One currency, divergent economies
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=360 Why need local/regional currency? To Create Money from Thin Air

Having the American Dollar regulate the world economy has not been good … for anyone but America, when “they” are operating in a Situation Normal. But today, and 22 times in the last 43 years that they have had government shutdowns, it is Situation Normal All Foul Up (SNAFU). Moving that currency functionality to the Euro may be more of the same: there is also discord in the Euro lands – think Brexit and the Greece Sovereign Debt crisis.

What about moving the “world currency” functionality to China, or India, or Japan? Again, while these moves may be good for those countries, they may not necessarily be as good for the rest of the world, or our world in the Caribbean. This is what independence should mean to us: taking care of our own economic, fiscal and monetary needs. Even better than independence would be a regional interdependence among just our Caribbean neighbors.

Now is the time for the Caribbean region to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation and the Caribbean Central Bank, as described in the book Go Lean … Caribbean. The benefits of this roadmap are vast and varied, but first we stop being a parasite of these European-North American (White) World Powers; not parasites, we become protégés instead.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 … 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 … member states and the Federation as a whole.

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

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

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

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

—————–

Appendix VIDEO – How The U.S. Dollar Shaped The World Economy – https://youtu.be/EbJk1za74kE

NBC News
Published on Dec 21, 2014 – The official currency of the United States, the Federal Reserve Note, marks 100 years since it was first printed. Matt Rivera tracks the rise of the world’s reserve currency.

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How The U.S. Dollar Shaped The World Economy | Long Story Short | NBC News

—————–
See an alternative yet relevant VIDEO here: https://youtu.be/CQMiNu6FI4M

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European Reckoning – Reconciling the IMF’s Past, Present and Future

Posted on January 17, 2019 in Economics, Ethos, Government, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

If you had a benefactor – think scholarship for your college education – and your benefactor files for bankruptcy, should you be concerned, weary and/or pessimistic that future monies will continue to flow?

That would be stupid!

It is only logical that you would be expected to find another benefactor. (This is not just academic – in 1991 when the Soviet Union dissolved, the Caribbean country of Cuba was left out in the cold).

Europe, the continent, the countries and the people have been the Caribbean’s benefactor for many years in our history. It is time now to reckon with that! We must review, reflect and reconcile this past, present and our future interactions, especially when it comes to economic crises, escalations and bailouts.

When we refer to reconciling Europe’s past, we refer to the Imperial Conquests, Slave Trade, Slavery, Colonialism and Post-Colonialism.

When we refer to Europe’s present, we refer to all the recent developments in modern day Europe, as in the events of the recent economic crises; think Sovereign Debt Crisis with Greece and others.

When we refer to Europe’s future, we are referring to the tenuous status in their integration movements – think European Union (EU), IMF, and the resultant unrest on the European mainland.

This commentary opens a 5-part series on European Reckoning. This entry is 1 of 5 in this series from the movement behind the book Go Lean … Caribbean in consideration of root history of Caribbean colonialism and how modern reconciliation developments are exacerbating our communities. We are all mostly independent and sovereign countries in the Caribbean, so it is expected that we would now be mature and responsible; we must now be protégés not parasites of the European world. The other commentaries in the series are cataloged as follows:

  1. European Reckoning: IMF Apologies
  2. European Reckoning: China seeks to de-Americanize the world’s economy
  3. European Reckoning: Settlers -vs- Immigrants
  4. European Reckoning: Christianity’s Indictment
  5. European Reckoning: Black “Greco-Roman” Wrestler victimized for his hair

In this series, reference is made to the Great Powers of the Western Hemisphere, sometimes called the Western Alliance. This refers to the White/Christian European nations and North America (US & Canada). In fact, sometimes the Western Alliance is cross-labeled with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) also called the North Atlantic Alliance; this is an intergovernmental military alliance between 29 North American and European countries.

While none of the 29 NATO members include any Caribbean independent states, 16 Caribbean Overseas Territories are thusly aligned as dependents of the American (2), British (6), Dutch (6) and French (4) imperial powers. Plus with the Caribbean Basin Security Pact, the full Caribbean – except Cuba – is aligned with NATO members: United States and Canada.

The reference to Europe in this series of commentaries is to “White Westerners”. This special sub-group had wielded absolute power on the planet. It is time now to look back at that history and “call a spade a spade”!

In this first submission of this series, the overt favoritism of economic bailouts toward White Westerners was exposed and commiserated. This reflects the need for reconciliation. For the Caribbean, considering our European history, presence and future, we need to participate in this reconciliation. See this article here addressing the flawed favoritism of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), (the intergovernmental financial institution composed of 189 countries working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world”[1]). It appears that the ‘International’ in the brand IMF has not been as global as they claimed. The full article is presented here:

Title: IMF admits disastrous love affair with the euro and apologises for the immolation of Greece
By: Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
The International Monetary Fund’s top staff misled their own board, made a series of calamitous misjudgments in Greece, became euphoric cheerleaders for the euro project, ignored warning signs of impending crisis, and collectively failed to grasp an elemental concept of currency theory.

This is the lacerating verdict of the IMF’s top watchdog on the fund’s tangled political role in the eurozone debt crisis, the most damaging episode in the history of the Bretton Woods institutions.

It describes a “culture of complacency”, prone to “superficial and mechanistic” analysis, and traces a shocking breakdown in the governance of the IMF, leaving it unclear who is ultimately in charge of this extremely powerful organisation.

The report by the IMF’s Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) goes above the head of the managing director, Christine Lagarde. It answers solely to the board of executive directors, and those from Asia and Latin America are clearly incensed at the way European Union insiders used the fund to rescue their own rich currency union and banking system.

The three main bailouts for Greece, Portugal and Ireland were unprecedented in scale and character. The trio were each allowed to borrow over 2,000pc of their allocated quota – more than three times the normal limit – and accounted for 80pc of all lending by the fund between 2011 and 2014.

In an astonishing admission, the report said its own investigators were unable to obtain key records or penetrate the activities of secretive “ad-hoc task forces”. Mrs Lagarde herself is not accused of obstruction.

“Many documents were prepared outside the regular established channels; written documentation on some sensitive matters could not be located. The IEO in some instances has not been able to determine who made certain decisions or what information was available, nor has it been able to assess the relative roles of management and staff,” it said.

The report said the whole approach to the eurozone was characterised by “groupthink” and intellectual capture. They had no fall-back plans on how to tackle a systemic crisis in the eurozone – or how to deal with the politics of a multinational currency union – because they had ruled out any possibility that it could happen.

“Before the launch of the euro, the IMF’s public statements tended to emphasise the advantages of the common currency,” it said. Some staff members warned that the design of the euro was fundamentally flawed but they were overruled.

“After a heated internal debate, the view supportive of what was perceived to be Europe’s political project ultimately prevailed,” it said.

This pro-EMU bias continued to corrupt their thinking for years. “The IMF remained upbeat about the soundness of the European banking system and the quality of banking supervision in euro-area countries until after the start of the global financial crisis in mid-2007. This lapse was largely due to the IMF’s readiness to take the reassurances of national and euro area authorities at face value,” it said.

The IMF persistently played down the risks posed by ballooning current account deficits and the flood of capital pouring into the eurozone periphery, and neglected the danger of a “sudden stop” in capital flows.

“The possibility of a balance of payments crisis in a monetary union was thought to be all but non-existent,” it said. As late as mid-2007, the IMF still thought that “in view of Greece’s EMU membership, the availability of external financing is not a concern”.

At root was a failure to grasp the elemental point that currency unions with no treasury or political union to back them up are inherently vulnerable to debt crises. States facing a shock no longer have sovereign tools to defend themselves. Devaluation risk is switched into bankruptcy risk.

“In a monetary union, the basics of debt dynamics change as countries forgo monetary policy and exchange rate adjustment tools,” said the report. This would be amplified by a “vicious feedback between banks and sovereigns”, each taking the other down. That the IMF failed to anticipate any of this was a serious scientific and professional failure.

In Greece, the IMF violated its own cardinal rule by signing off on a bailout in 2010 even though it could offer no assurance that the package would bring the country’s debts under control or clear the way for recovery, and many suspected from the start that it was doomed.

The organisation got around this by slipping through a radical change in IMF rescue policy, allowing an exemption (since abolished) if there was a risk of systemic contagion. “The board was not consulted or informed,” it said. The directors discovered the bombshell “tucked into the text” of the Greek package, but by then it was a fait accompli.

The IMF was in an invidious position when it was first drawn into the Greek crisis.  The Lehman crisis was still fresh. “There were concerns that such a credit event could spread to other members of the euro area, and more widely to a fragile global economy,” said the report.

The eurozone had no firewall against contagion, and its banks were tottering. The European Central Bank had not yet stepped up to the plate as lender of last resort. It was deemed too dangerous to push for a debt restructuring in Greece.

While the fund’s actions were understandable in the white heat of the crisis, the harsh truth is that the bailout sacrificed Greece in a “holding action” to save the euro and north European banks. Greece endured the traditional IMF shock of austerity, without the offsetting IMF cure of debt relief and devaluation to restore viability.

A sub-report on the Greek saga said the country was forced to go through a staggering squeeze, equal to 11pc of GDP over the first three years. This set off a self-feeding downward spiral. The worse it became, the more Greece was forced to cut – what ex-finance minister Yanis Varoufakis called “fiscal water-boarding”.

“The automatic stabilisers were not allowed to operate, thus aggravating the pro-cyclicality of the fiscal policy, which exacerbated the contraction,” said the report.

The attempt to force through an “internal devaluation” of 20pc to 30pc by means of deflationary wage cuts was self-defeating since it necessarily shrank the economic base and sent the debt trajectory spiralling upwards. “A fundamental problem was the inconsistency between attempting to regain price competitiveness and simultaneously trying to reduce the debt to nominal GDP ratio,” it said.

The IMF thought the fiscal multiplier was 0.5 when it may in reality have been five times as high, given the fragility of the Greek system. The result is that nominal GDP ended 25pc lower than the IMF’s projections, and unemployment soared to 25pc instead of 15pc as expected. “The magnitude of Greece’s growth forecast errors looks extraordinary,” it said.

The strategy relied on forlorn hopes that the “confidence fairy” would lift Greece out of this policy-induced nose-dive. “Highly optimistic” plans to raise $50bn from privatisation sales came to little. Some assets did not even have clear legal ownership. The chronic “lack of realism” lasted until late 2011. By then the damage was done.

The injustice is that the cost of the bailouts was switched to ordinary Greek citizens  – the least able to support the burden  – and it was never acknowledged that the true motive of EU-IMF Troika policy was to protect monetary union. Indeed, the Greeks were repeatedly blamed for failures that stemmed from the policy itself. This unfairness – the root of so much bitterness in Greece – is finally recognised in the report.

“If preventing international contagion was an essential concern, the cost of its prevention should have been borne – at least in part – by the international community as the prime beneficiary,” it said.

Better late than never.

Source: Posted July, 29 2016 ; retrieved January 10, 2019 from: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/07/28/imf-admits-disastrous-love-affair-with-euro-apologises-for-the-i/

The foregoing article highlights: “Asian and Latin American stakeholders are clearly incensed at the way European Union insiders used the [IMF] fund to rescue their own rich currency union and banking system”. Maybe just maybe, Europeans are not as egalitarian and pluralistic as they claim. Maybe just maybe, when push comes to shove they first look after their own before supporting others, even though they are contractually obligated to do so.

This is Tribalism 101…

Tribalism is the state of being organized by, or advocating for, tribes or tribal lifestyles. Human evolution has primarily occurred in small groups, as opposed to mass societies, and humans naturally maintain a social network.
In popular culture, tribalism may also refer to a way of thinking or behaving in which people are loyal to their social group above all else,[1] or, derogatorily, a type of discrimination or animosity based upon group differences.[2]

This ‘Tribalism’ is the reckoning that Europe is doing right now regarding the IMF. They are reconciling their past, present and future and recognizing that they now have to build trust, anew – see the Appendix VIDEO below.

This is also the reckoning that we, in the Caribbean, must do. How should we deal with fiscal/monetary escalations – rescues of our currency and banking systems? The conclusion from this commentary is that we need to do the heavy-lifting ourselves and facilitate our own solutions for economic and fiscal management. The proposed solution: the Caribbean Central Bank (CCB) as a formal “cooperative” among the region’s Central Banks. The CCB will be the sole controlling agent of the monetary policies of a regional currency union: Caribbean Dollar. When there is economic dysfunction and a need for “receivership”. That role would be assumed by the CCB, not the IMF.

This theme of technocratic monetary stewardship aligns with previous Go Lean commentaries; see a sample list here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=16210 In Defense of Trade – Currency Assassins: Real Threat
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=15796 Lessons Learned from 2008: Righting The Wrong
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=15787 Lessons Learned from 2008: Too Big to Fail –vs- Too Small to Thrive
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14248 Leading with Money Matters – Almighty Dollar
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13744 Failure to Launch – Economics: The Quest for a ‘Single Currency’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6563 Lessons from Iceland – Model of Banking Recovery
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3858 European Central Bank unveils 1 trillion Euro stimulus program
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3814 Lesson Learned from the Swiss unpegging their currency: Franc
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3582 For Canadian Banks: Caribbean is a ‘Bad Bet’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=833 One currency, divergent economies
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=467 Barbados Central Bank records $3.7m loss in 2013

Now is the time for the Caribbean region to lean-in for this roadmap described here-in the book Go Lean … Caribbean. The benefits of this roadmap are too alluring to ignore: emergence of an $800 Billion economy, with solid technocratic management of a regional currency union. Finally, we will have the opportunity to stand-up as a protégé to our North American and European counterparts. We will not be looking to them to bail-us-out; we will forge our own growth and clean-up and own mess. We will be mature … finally.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 … 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 … member states and the Federation as a whole.

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

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

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

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

—————–

Appendix VIDEO – IMF’s Christine Lagarde: Truth and transparency are key to rebuilding trust – https://youtu.be/0Iia6FUzVc4


CNBC International TV
Published on Apr 22, 2018 – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) welcomed calls from the U.S. that it should push for more transparency in global trade and lending, the Fund’s boss said Sunday.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said she’s “delighted” U.S. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin wants the Fund to increase transparency on trade imbalances and debt sustainability in countries like China, an effort she said is already underway. “It’s clearly a project that we have been working on, that we will continue to work on, and I’m delighted that he’s supporting us,” Lagarde said in an interview with CNBC’s Elizabeth Schulze at the IMF Spring Meetings [2018] in Washington.

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On Martin Luther King’s 90th Birthday – America is still ‘Dreaming’ – ENCORE

Posted on January 16, 2019 in Ethos, Social

Today – January 15, 2019 – would have been the 90th birthday for American Civil Rights hero Martin Luther King (1929 – 1968). Though an American drama, MLK was impactful for the entire world and every Civil Rights struggle. An assassin’s bullet ended his life of sacrifice on April 4, 1968.

“I have a dream …”

In contemplating the life and legacy of MLK, a great question comes to mind:

Has America achieved that vision of racial equality or is the country still dreaming?

This is an important question for the Caribbean, as more and more of our people “break down the door to get out” of their homeland to flee to America. Of our entire Diaspora, estimated between 10 and 25 million people, the United States of America is the Number 1 destination.

This question was asked and answered comprehensively in a previous blog-commentary on January 18, 2016. It is only appropriate to Encore that submission now, as follows:

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

Go Lean Commentary – Street naming for Martin Luther King unveils the real America

We join the nation today to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. This day is an opportunity to honor Dr. King and his legacy.CU Blog - Street naming for Martin Luther King unveils the real America - Photo 1

Born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. King was a well-respected activist, scholar, pastor and humanitarian. Although his life was brief, Dr. King’s accomplishments in the civil rights movement and social justice are echoed throughout the world still today. Considered to be one of the greatest non-violent leaders in world history, Dr. King’s exceptional achievements used the power of legislation and social change.

As an advocate for freedom and non-violent resistance, Dr. King offered the power of words through public protests, grassroots organizing, and powerful sermons to achieve nearly insurmountable goals. He fought against racial segregation and poverty, advocated for international peace, and eliminated lasting barriers to voting for African-Americans.

In honor of his work, Dr. King received numerous awards during his lifetime including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. He continues to be remembered as one of the most lauded African-American leaders in history, often referenced by his 1963 speech, “I Have a Dream.” – Corporate Intranet Website for Credit Acceptance Corporation, Southfield (Detroit), Michigan; retrieved January 18, 2016.

“Ditto”, for the promoters of the book Go Lean … Caribbean and accompanying blogs advocating for change in the Caribbean. Dr. Martin Luther King proved that “one man can make a difference” – a frequent theme of this Go Lean movement. He thusly serves as a role model for current and future Caribbean advocates, activists and humanitarians hoping to impact the Greater Good in their homeland.

Based on these accomplishments, one would think honoring Dr. King with a street-naming would be a simple task.

One would think!

Let us see how far America has progressed regarding race relations, in the naming of streets after Martin Luther King, in one town after another!

Consider this encyclopedic source – a website:

Title: A street fit for a King?
Website: Politics of Naming Streets for Martin Luther King, Jr. – Retrieved January 18, 2016: http://mlkstreet.com/

Naming streets is one of the most widespread and contentious ways of commemorating Martin Luther King Jr.  Debates over whether to name a street for King and which specific street to identify with him have led to the boycott of businesses, protest marches, court actions, petition drives, the vandalizing of roads, and even activists chaining themselves to street signs.

Honoring King with a street name is often controversial when the road in question challenges long-standing racial and economic boundaries within communities.  While few scholars have studied the King street naming phenomena, the naming process is an important indicator of local political tensions as well as broader debates about race, memory, and place in America.

CU Blog - Street naming for Martin Luther King unveils the real America - Photo 2I have studied the politics of naming streets after King for the past several years, seeking to understand the obstacles that face street naming proponents and the various strategies that communities have pursued in finding a street fit for remembering King. In many instances (but not all), public opposition has led King’s name to be socially and geographically marginalized within cities, which has worked to stigmatize these streets and create public anxiety about renaming more prominent streets.  As a cultural geographer, my work stresses the importance that location–the street’s site, situation, and scale within the city’s larger social landscape–plays in shaping the meaning of King’s commemoration.    Believing that my research and perspectives can be of some help to the public, I have set up this web page as a resource for engaging and assisting the movement to remember the civil rights leader.

Below (Appendix A) are some research papers that I have written about naming streets for King as well as some questions that I frequently encounter in my discussions with journalists and street naming stakeholders (proponents and opponents).  If you have a question not listed here, email me and I will try to provide some feedback.

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Site established to spread information and commentary on the (re)naming of streets for slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. with the hope of informing public debate.

If you use any information or statistics from this site, please cite the source (Appendix C) as: Derek Alderman, Professor of Geography, University of Tennessee, Knoxville TN.

To the uninitiated, one would think the year is 1956, rather than 2016; see the VIDEO (Appendix D) of the documentary “MLK Streets Project”. One would think that such a racially-charged society was only representative of the America of old; that now America has transformed, to the point that the President is of African-American descent. But it must be concluded that the more things change, the more they remain the same.

The issue in the foregoing encyclopedic source (and the below VIDEO) relates the true disposition of the America many Caribbean citizens emigrate to, or want to. There is a great lure for Black-and-Brown Caribbean immigrants to come to America. But these portrayals/depictions would be the atmosphere that the new arrivals would have to navigate. Perhaps the shining light of that Welcome Sign should be dulled a little.

This consideration is brought to focus by the book Go Lean … Caribbean. The book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the economic optimization in the region. One mission of the roadmap is to minimize the “push-and-pull” factors that contribute to the alarming high abandonment rate of Caribbean citizens – one report reflects a 70% brain drain rate.

The Go Lean book posits that when the economic engines are not sufficient that people will flee, abandon their homelands, despite the love of family, friends and culture and endure all obstacles to secure a better livelihood. This has been the reality for all of the Caribbean, even the American member-states (Puerto Rico & Virgin Islands). So is the “grass greener”, is life in the American urban communities better that the status quo in the Caribbean? Considering the actuality of Caribbean emigrants, and the fact that there is no migration in the opposite direction, the answer must be true.

Sad! If only, there would be a better option for the Caribbean?

The book and movement Go Lean…Caribbean present that option!

This CU/Go Lean roadmap provides the turn-by-turn directions with the following 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.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines.

The roadmap posits that the United States of America should not be viewed as the panacea for Caribbean ailments; that when the choices of a challenge is “fight or flight” that Caribbean society must now consider the “fight” options. (No violent conflict is being advocated, in emulation of Martin Luther King, but rather a strenuous effort, heavy-lifting, to compete and win economic battles).

Are there social issues in America that are more important than street naming?

CU Blog - Street naming for Martin Luther King unveils the real America - Photo 3Proponents for naming streets for King often encounter the argument that African Americans should concern themselves with civil rights issues “more important” than street naming.

No doubt, there are a large number of worthy social and economic issues in need of addressing. At the same time, it is worth thinking about how the naming of roads is not necessarily separate from the larger racial/social justice picture. Naming streets for King can signal something very important about the willingness (or unwillingness) of the larger community to invest in African Americans, thus providing (or failing to provide) a platform on which to bring about more “substantive” change and improvement. When that community refuses to do something as seemingly minor as naming street, what does that say about the degree to which the community is really ready or willing to take on the “tough” issues?

I have argued in my research that the street naming issue is about the struggle to be seen and heard within public space, an important civil right in and of itself and one arguably necessary for other rights to be realized. Plus, we can also think about how street naming can be coupled with other larger and “more important” social and economic campaigns on streets in America, such as community redevelopment.

The problem is NOT that street naming is inherently less important. Rather it is the limited ways in which we imagine street naming as a social and political tool.  The photo above, from a street naming struggle in Melbourne, Florida, captures the deep emotions that proponents and opponents attach to the street renaming issue.  Street naming proponents in Melbourne were especially vocal about how honoring King was part of a larger campaign against racism. – Professor Derek Alderman.

As related in the foregoing article/VIDEO, America is not so welcoming a society for the “Black and Brown” populations from the Caribbean – and yet they come, they are in the USA and their numbers cannot be ignored. Here is the need for the heavy-lifting, to effect change to dissuade further brain drain and in reverse to incentivize repatriation. While not ignoring the “push” reason that cause people to flee, the book stresses (early at Page 13) the need to be on-guard for this fight in the following pronouncements in the Declaration of Interdependence:

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

xx.    Whereas the results of our decades of migration created a vibrant Diaspora in foreign lands, the Federation must organize interactions with this population into structured markets. Thus allowing foreign consumption of domestic products, services and media, which is a positive trade impact. These economic activities must not be exploited by others’ profiteering but rather harnessed by Federation resources for efficient repatriations.

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

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

This commentary previously related details of the Caribbean Diaspora experience, the “push-and-pull” factors in the US, and the American record on Civil Rights. Here is a sample from earlier Go Lean blogs:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7204 ‘The Covenant with Black America’ – Ten Years Later
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6722 A Lesson in History – After the Civil War: Birthright Mandates
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6434 ‘Good Hair’ and the Strong Black Woman
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5527 American Defects: Racism – Is It Over?
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5333 American Urban Segregation Legacies: Cause and Effect
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2297 A Lesson in History – Booker T versus Du Bois
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2222 Sports Role Model – Playing For Pride … And More
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1896 American “Pull” Factors – Crisis in Black Homeownership
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1596 Book Review: ‘Prosper Where You Are Planted’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1433 Caribbean loses more than 70 percent of tertiary educated to brain drain
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=546 Book Review: ‘The Divide’: American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=209 Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight

For the Caribbean Diaspora, fleeing from their homelands to reside in the US is akin to “jumping from the frying pan into the fire”. While we may not be able to change American society, we can – no, we must – impact our own society. How? What? When? Why? All of these questions are valid, because the answers are difficult. The Go Lean book details the heavy-lifting answers with a roadmap to implement new community ethos, strategies, tactics and operational advocacies to effectuate this goal:

Community Ethos – Deferred Gratification Page 21
Community Ethos – People Respond to Incentives Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Systems Influences Choices & Incentives Page 21
Community Ethos – The Consequences of Choice Lie in the Future Page 21
Community Ethos – Job Multiplier Page 22
Community Ethos – Minority Equalization Page 24
Community Ethos – Lean Operations Page 24
Community Ethos – Ways to Foster Genius Page 27
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good Page 37
Strategy – Vision – Make the Caribbean the Best Address on Planet Page 45
Strategy – Mission – Repatriate Diaspora Page 46
Strategy – Mission – Dissuade Human Flight/“Brain Drain” Page 46
Tactical – Ways to Foster a Technocracy Page 64
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Federal Government versus Member-States Page 89
Implementation – Ways to Deliver Page 109
Implementation – Reasons to Repatriate Page 118
Planning – Lessons Learned from the Year 2008 Page 136
Planning – Lessons from the US Constitutional Laws and Processes Page 145
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs Page 152
Advocacy – Ways to Impact the Diaspora Page 217
Advocacy – Ways to Preserve Caribbean Heritage Page 218
Advocacy – Battles in the War on Poverty Page 222
Advocacy – Ways to Help the Middle Class Page 223
Advocacy – Ways to Impact US Territories Page 244
Appendix – Analysis of Caribbean Emigration Page 269
Appendix – Puerto Rican Population in the US Page 304

The scope of this roadmap is to focus on the changes we have to make in the Caribbean, not the changes for American society. The Caribbean can be the world’s best address. This success is conceivable, believable and achievable.  Now is the time for all of the Caribbean, the people and governing institutions, to lean-in to this Go Lean … Caribbean roadmap.

This is a big deal for the region. This roadmap is not just a plan, it’s a Dream. We want the same sense of possibility that was manifested by Dr. Martin Luther King. We too, have a dream that one day … [we would be] “free at last, free at last; thank God almighty we are free (and home) at last”. 🙂

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

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Appendix A – Publications Related to MLK Place/Street Naming

Mitchell, Jerry and Derek H. Alderman. 2014. “A Street Named for a King: A Lesson in the Politics of Place-Naming.” Social Education 78(3): 137-142.

Alderman, Derek H. and Joshua F.J. Inwood. 2013. “Street Naming and the Politics of Belonging: Spatial Injustices in the Toponymic Commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr.” Social & Cultural Geography 14(2): 211-233.

Dwyer, Owen J. and Derek H. Alderman. 2008. Civil Rights Memorials and the Geography of Memory.  Book from Center for American Places and University of Georgia Press.

Alderman, Derek H. 2008. “Martin Luther King, Jr. Streets in the South: A New Landscape of Memory.” Southern Cultures 14(3): 88-105.

Alderman, Derek H., Steve Spina, and Preston Mitchell. 2008. “A Bumpy Road: the Challenges of Naming Streets for Martin Luther King, Jr.” Planning 74(1): 18-21. Contribution to American Planning Association magazine.

Alderman, Derek H. and Preston Mitchell. 2007. “A Sign of Changing Times: A Street Renaming Lesson from Chapel Hill, North Carolina.” Public Management  89(6): 37-38. Contribution to International City/County Management Association magazine as part of special feature entitled Street Naming: Not as Easy as You Might Think.

Mitchelson, Matthew, Derek H. Alderman, Jeff Popke. 2007. “Branded: The Economic Geographies of MLK Streets.” Social Science Quarterly 88(1): 120-145.

Alderman, Derek H. 2006. “Naming Streets after Martin Luther King, Jr.: No Easy Road.” In Landscape and Race in the United States, Routledge Press (edited by Richard Schein), pp. 213-236.

Alderman, Derek H. 2003. “Street names and the scaling of memory: The politics of commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr. within the African-American community.” Area 35 (2): 163-173.

Alderman, Derek H. 2002. “Street Names as Memorial Arenas: The Reputational Politics of Commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr. in a Georgia County.”  Historical Geography 30: 99-120.

Alderman, Derek H. 2002. “School Names as Cultural Arenas: The Naming of U.S. Public Schools after Martin Luther King, Jr.” Urban Geography 23(7): 601-626.

Alderman, Derek H. 2000.  “A Street fit for a King: Naming Places and Commemoration in the American South.”  Professional Geographer 52(4): 672-684.

Alderman, Derek H.  1996. “Creating a New Geography of Memory in the South: The (Re) Naming of Streets in Honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.”  Southeastern Geographer 36(1): 51-69.

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Appendix B – MLK Street Naming Educational Pamphlet

Electronic copy (pdf) of community outreach pamphlet on MLK street naming (produced 2005). Note data is now old. Pamphlet distributed to various schools, activists groups, and civil rights; national meetings of the NAACP and SCLC; and MLK Historic Site in Atlanta, Georgia.

Outside cover of pamphlet

Inside content of pamphlet

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Appendix C – About Professor Derek Alderman

Professor of Cultural and Historical Geography and Head of the Department of Geography, University of Tennessee-Knoxville (formerly affiliated with East Carolina University)

CV/Resume

Homepage

Academia.edu Page 

Book on Civil Rights Memorials and Street Naming

Email at: dalderma@utk.edu

Follow on: @MLKStreet

———

Appendix D – Trailer MLK Street Project – https://youtu.be/dE73UMlqaIs


Uploaded on Sep 28, 2010 – Trailer for the documentary “The MLK Streets Project”. A film by One Common Unity and Straight No Chaser Productions

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Transforming Hindus versus Women – What it means for us?

Posted on January 7, 2019 in Ethos, Government, Social

Go Lean Commentary

The responsibility to assuage these bad behaviors must lie first with the religious institutions. But any failure to deliver protection by these institutions would truly mandate that the “State” (government) step in and deliver.

Separation of Church and State be damned!

Separation of Church and State has been the standard for governments ever since the Enlightenment Age. In fact, the governing standard – the Social Contract – is a concept that was codified during that period. That contract states:

Citizens surrender some of their freedoms and submit to the authority of the State in exchange for protection of remaining natural and legal rights. – Book  Go Lean…Caribbean Page 170.

Christianity! Islam! Guilty … of failing to protect their congregants and adherents from the bad orthodoxies in their communities!

Now its Hinduism time to secede to civil “protections of natural rights”. There are abuses that are victimizing segments of their population. It is no longer acceptable to tolerate such abuse.

Change has come to the world, Separation of Church and State is now suspect! Sometimes the “Church” is the problem; so the State is therefore expected to step in and break that Separation shield. See how this is playing out in India right now. See the full news article here:

Title: Hindu hardliners clash with police over women at shrine

NEW DELHI (AP) — Hindu hardliners vandalized shops, shut businesses and clashed with police in a southern state Thursday to protest the entry of two women in one of India’s largest Hindu pilgrimage sites, police said.

Police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse the protesters who also blocked roads by placing burning tires and concrete blocks in key towns, including Kozhikode, Kannur, Malappuram, Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram.

Pinarayi Vijayan, the state’s top elected official, accused supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party of triggering violence that reportedly claimed one life.

Most state-run buses kept off roads after several were damaged by protesters.

Supporters of Modi’s party held protest marches in the state as part of a strike call by Sabarimala Karma Samithi, an umbrella organization of Hindu groups.

The two women entered the temple to pray early Wednesday, triggering protests. They were escorted by police because it is “the government’s constitutional responsibility to give protection to women,” Vijayan said.

Women of menstruating age were forbidden to pray at the temple until the Supreme Court lifted the ban in September. The ban was informal for many years but became law in 1972.

Some devotees have filed a petition saying the court decision revoking the ban was an affront to the celibate deity Ayyappa.

Vijayan said Thursday that 39 police officers were injured while trying to control the protesters, who damaged 79 state-run buses in the state.

The Press Trust of India news agency reported that a 55-year-old passer-by died after being injured amid rock throwing by protesters in Pandalam.

Source: Associated Press posted January 3, 2019; retrieved January 5, 2019 from: https://news.yahoo.com/hindu-hard-liners-paralyze-indian-state-over-women-090122760.html

The concept is simple for “States“, while they must allow for Freedom of Religion, they cannot allow religious intimidation of their citizens. No More!

This is an issue of Orthodoxy and it is not only a concern in India. Even here in the Caribbean we have to make progress. Clearly we understand the oppression, suppression and repression experienced in India prohibiting women to pray in the Temple, and so there is the acceptance that it is right for that State to act against continued abuse. There has always been a need for States to legislate morality in society over the years; consider these examples:

  • Slavery – The Pope approved African Slavery in 1491; but it took the Protestant and Enlightenment movements to unravel the end of the Slave Trade and eventually the institution of Slavery itself. By the mid-1800’s all European Powers ended slavery in their New World territories.
  • Indian Widows – As detailed in a previous blog-commentary, the “Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act of 1856” legalized the remarriage of Hindu widows in all jurisdictions of India under British rule. Upper-caste Hindu society had long disallowed the remarriage of widows, even child and adolescent ones, all of whom were expected to live a life of austerity and abnegation. The law provided legal safeguards against loss of certain forms of inheritance for remarrying a Hindu widow.
    See the Appendix VIDEO below.
  • Drunk Driving – A classic example is that in France where Evan’s Law regulated alcohol advertising; advertising affected alcohol demand; so the end result on alcohol consumption was that in 1960, the average adult in France consumed 30 liters of alcohol while that figure is down to 13.5 liters today. Drunk Driving incidences naturally declined.

The assertion of the movement behind the book Go Lean … Caribbean (Page 20) is that there must be a new regime for our region; one that is apolitical and religiously-neutral. The community ethos – underlying sentiment that informs the beliefs, customs, or practices – that must be pursued by this new Caribbean regime is that of the Greater Good; that it can be pursued despite any religiosity. This book defines this Greater Good community ethos as follows:

“It is the greatest good to the greatest number of people which is the measure of right and wrong”. Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)

In the Caribbean, we have adherents to many religions: Christianity, Islam, Hindu and indigenous animism. We must insist on a clear “Separation of Church and State” in order to mold the behavior and character development we want to see in our communities. Seeing the default orthodoxy in these religions, it is obvious that our ideals must be Greater.

For one, we must protect and promote women in our communities. This is a charge that we must execute whether it is popular or not. This theme – protecting and promoting women in society – aligns with previous Go Lean commentaries; see a sample list here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=16408 Bad Ethos on Home Violence leads to more “Stranger” Abuse
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14482 UN’s International Women’s Day – Protecting Rural Women
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13664 High Profile Sexual Harassment Accusers – Finally Believed?
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13063 Gender Equity without a ‘Battle of the Sexes’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8306 Women Get Ready for New Lean-In Campaign
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6937 Women in Politics – Yes, They Can!
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2709 Caribbean Study: 58% Of Boys Agree to Female ‘Discipline’

This is the Year 2019 and we are still talking about women being suppressed, oppressed and repressed in society. Change just doesn’t happen because the ‘clock is ticking’. No, people have to forge change, overcome the obstacles and embed the needed new value systems to get improvements institutionalized instead of just a passing trend. Change takes heavy-lifting.

This is what the lessons from India mean to us here-now in the Caribbean.

So many women in our communities flee due to the lack of protections and promotions for them. We want that bad trend to now end, so we must do the heavy-lifting ourselves. We must lower the “Push and Pull” factors that have plagued our society and caused abandonment.

We must do this! Women are half of our population; and they are beloved. This is how we can make our homeland a better place to live, work and play for all.  🙂

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Appendix VIDEO – The Horrible Plight of India’s Widows – https://youtu.be/CS8euwO4o8k

Published on Aug 20, 2007 – India Widows (2007): In many conservative Indian families, widows are seen as a liability. Cast out of the family home, they live the rest of their lives in poverty and isolation.

For downloads and more information visit http://journeyman.tv/57526/short-film…

“She becomes a zero and all her powers are lost”, states Dr Giri, explaining how some women’s status change when their husband dies. With no where else to go, thousands come to Vrindavan, city of widows. It was the childhood home of Hindu God, Krishna, who championed downtrodden women. “They come here in search of death”, explains Dr Giri, in the hope they will have a better afterlife” – ABC Australia – Ref. 3587

Journeyman Pictures is your independent source for the world’s most powerful films, exploring the burning issues of today. We represent stories from the world’s top producers, with brand new content coming in all the time. On our channel you’ll find outstanding and controversial journalism covering any global subject you can imagine wanting to know about.

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Hamilton – “History has its eyes on you”

Posted on January 2, 2019 in Ethos, Industries, Social

Go Lean Commentary

This is a memorable line from the hot Broadway play Hamilton:

Immigrants, we get things done!

This is what all the rave is about with this fascinating play; it tells the story of America’s founding fathers through the eyes of the immigrant experience. (This writer saw Hamilton on December 28, 2018 at the Broward Performing Arts Center in Ft Lauderdale, FL).

As was true with all these founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton was White; (“Bastard son of a Scotsman”); Aaron Burr was White; so too George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and others portrayed in this song-and-dance production. But all the participating actors – in the Broadway edition, plus all the other touring companies – are Black-and-Brown minorities – many of them immigrants themselves.

The theme of Hamilton – historic immigrants thriving in America – aligns with the 2013 book Go Lean…Caribbean. The book was written and published by members of the Caribbean Diaspora living and thriving in America. There is a full acceptance that Caribbean immigrants can thrive in the US, as did Hamilton in his historical context. But many more immigrants arrive everyday, and there is now less tolerance for them, especially for those of the Black-and-Brown populations from the Caribbean. In fact, the current President of the US, Donald Trump, even derisively referred to Haitians as coming from a “shit-hole” country.

So while we can thrive, the question – by the movement behind the Go Lean book – is whether we should. The Hamilton play makes this point, as was related in a previous Go Lean blog-commentary:

When the word got around, they said “this kid is insane, man”
Took up a collection just to send “him” to the mainland
“Get your education, don’t forget from whence you came”
And the world gonna know your name …

It is an established fact that any difficult topic can be more easily communicated if backed-up by a catchy melody and rhyming words. An underlying theme of Hamilton is that nobody does it alone, there must always be community help and support; its like a community investment. There should also be a return on the investment. This point was communicated brilliantly in this news-commentary by a Social Justice Advocate; she stated that “self-made men are never independent of others’ help”. See the full article here:

Title: History Has Its Eyes On Us: Lessons from Hamilton the Musical
By: Courtney Kidd LCSW
Obsession. That’s the only way to describe the feelings of Hamilton followers, and once you’ve seen the show you’d understand why. Hamilton is a punch in the face, spellbinding transport through the life of one of the least well-known founding fathers, but by far one of the most interesting. And the best part? It’s done through the lens of hip-hop music and a cast of almost exclusively non-white actors-including our own dear Alexander Hamilton. While this caused confusion for some, who began to question their 8th grade history memory, it stands as one of the most powerful examples of today’s racial divide and the movements to correct it.

I’ll admit, I was skeptical going into the play. My friend and I had gotten tickets when they first went on sale almost 9 months before opening night. We saw it in its first month on Broadway after the success off-Broadway. I remember sitting in my chair prior to the curtain rise, uncertain of whether I’d like a modern take on a history. Could it reach across the aisle of race? Could it hold attention of a subject most forget about? Would I get it? Did I really wait 9 months and spend hundreds of dollars for something that might just be weird? It took exactly 1 minute until those questions left my mind and instead I was entrapped, enamored, enthralled with this play that lives up to one of the numbers “non-stop.” It was a non-stop journey, filled with humor, and anguish, and longing. I was converted. I was in love.

I went to see it a second time a few months, later, unable to wait until the soundtrack was finally released, I bought a resale ticket at far too high of an amount for my poor social work status. But I had to go, the play had brought about a plague within me; this wasn’t just a good show, it was something far beyond. Much like its creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, I began what has still been obsessive task of reading book after book on Hamilton, and the rest of those influential individuals who shaped the country. I wake up with the music in my head, and despite my best efforts, can’t stop listening to the songs. And then it hit me. This isn’t just a great musical and it’s not just because it is new and different, it’s because despite almost 300 hundred years since this man stood with the revolution, its relevant. And not in the way you think.

Over the past few years we have seen a second wave of the civil rights movement in America. Sadly, Despite the year, minorities, immigrants, and even women are still seen and treated differently than the white male counterpoint. Feelings and reactions peak and overspill in areas like Ferguson and Baltimore. Huge movements such as Black Lives Matter rise up demanding justice in the country that fought and promised a land of freedom and equality. Hamilton isn’t just play to see, it’s a needed reminder. Alexander Hamilton was an immigrant who fought for the revolution, becoming one of Washington’s most trusted aides, rising to one of the highest positions in our military and later our government. From a remarkably young age, he was an abolitionist in a time when that word would be as shocking as to claim you’re an alien. He never allowed his birth and his circumstances to define him, and instead fought his entire life for the beliefs he had, including a strong central government and financial plan that allowed America to be self-sufficient and play with the “big boys” for trade and commerce. Hamilton saw first-hand the potential risks of weak governments while dealing with the military forces. He understood even then that we had to be the United States in order to succeed in this revolutionary experiment. And he wanted those rights for every individual who was here.

Hamilton was a true American Dream hero, but despite what a lot of modern people claim, self-made men are never independent of others’ help. Many wish to believe that they rose to where they are because only due to their remarkable abilities, and for some that is true, but much more often than not there was help along the way. Our founding father is no exception. Although known as a uniquely bright youth on the island of Nevis where he was orphaned at a young age, Hamilton might never have risen to the station he once held without the help of many. Yes, he showed himself to be a studious and adept learner when put in charge of the local trading company-and may have stayed on as a success employee had the Hurricane not hit Nevis with a colossal force. Hamilton, always a writer, penned a poem of what he witnessed, and a local man who believed Hamilton had the capacity for more forwarded it to the influential of the island. Despite the devastation they made an investment in one of their own, raising enough to send our future Secretary of Treasury and war hero to the colonies(America) to pursue a real education. To sum up, if those with means didn’t decide to put forward an investment for an orphan with potential Alexander Hamilton would have mostly likely lived his life and died having never left a small, impoverished island. For a poor, orphan of questionable birth and heritage, that would not have left many surprised, and yet the island rose together to support him.

We’re looking at a similar issue in today’s world. Do we invest in the future, on education, on sustainability for those who can go on to do greatness despite the circumstances of their birth, or do we claim that we got to where we were without assistance from anyone? Hundreds of years after Hamilton discussed the need for equality we are still in the midst of revolutions to save the ideals of our nation. Each person is shaped by those around them, and it is of no surprise that the haves are able to gain a lot more opportunity than the have-nots. For this reason, many assume it is laziness that prevent people from working their way up. Hamilton was the antithesis of lazy, but if it wasn’t for one influential patronage who connected him to the elite, our country may never have gained the footing it needed to be a competitive economy.

We have a responsibility to those around us and who come next to shape the world into a better place for us all, not just for ourselves. We saw yesterday what happens if we don’t stand against those who would spread hatred, and instead hold onto love. As Mr. Manuel so eloquently put:

“…We chase the melodies that seem to find us until they’re finished songs and start to play when senseless acts of tragedy remind us that nothing here is promised, not one day. This show is proof that history remembers. We live through times when hate and fear seem stronger. We rise and fall, and light from dying embers, remembrances that hope and love last longer and love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love cannot be killed or swept aside…”

And if you need more convincing, join me in line for some tickets to Hamilton, you won’t be disappointed(seriously if you know how to get reasonable tickets you know how to contact me).

“I consider civil liberty, in a genuine unadulterated sense, as the greatest of terrestrial blessings. I am convinced, that the whole human race is intitled(entitled) to it; and, that it can be wrested from no part of them, without the blackest and most aggravated guilt.”- Alexander Hamilton

*Authors note*- Should Mr. Miranda see this, congrats on the Grammy, call me for unlimited praise and begging for interviews. Your PR man is too good at polite declines.

**Update- And your UNREAL number of Tony nominations and wins!! [See Appendix below].

Source: Social Justice Solution Online Site – posted February 23, 2016; retrieved December 30, 2018 from: http://www.socialjusticesolutions.org/2016/02/23/history-has-its-eyes-on-us-lessons-from-hamilton-the-musical/

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VIDEO – 70th Annual Tony Awards ‘Hamilton’ History has its eyes and Yorktown – https://youtu.be/5upLudfimso



Undercover Celebs
Published on Nov 4, 2016 – 70th Annual Tony Awards ‘Hamilton’ History has its eyes and Yorktown by the cast of Hamilton at the 2016 Tony Awards where the musical won 11 awards.

The prime directive of the Go Lean book is to empower, elevate and facilitate a better Caribbean society. We want to be able to thrive right here at home – to prosper where planted – thus lowering the motivations to emigrate. In fact, the declarative statements of the prime directive are as follows:

Puerto Rican descendant Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator, writer and original cast member as Alexander Hamilton is well-known for his advocacy for the Caribbean region in general and Puerto Rico in particular. He accomplishes his mission to effect change in the American eco-system through music/song and entertainment. The book Go Lean…Caribbean strives to accomplish its mission with the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). Lin-Manuel Miranda is hereby recognized as a role model that the Caribbean can emulate. He has provided a successful track record of forging change, overcoming incredible odds, managing crises to successful conclusions and rebooting failing institutions. See these previous blog-commentaries that detailed his accomplishments:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14101 Wait, ‘We Are The World’
In September 2017, Hurricane Maria devastated several Caribbean member-states; Puerto Rico was gravely impacted. In the mode of ‘We Are The World‘, many artists – led by Lin-Manuel Miranda – assembled and recorded a song to aid Puerto Rico, entitled ‘Almost Like Praying‘ by Artists for Puerto Rico.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7963 ‘Like a Good Neighbor’ – Being there for Puerto Rico
The US Territory of Puerto Rico needs a Good Neighbor right now. They do not need State Farm; they need the US Government to change the laws to allow them to re-structure their heavy debt “load”. In effect, this community is in crisis, facing financial disaster and needs a helping hand. Lin-Manuel Miranda was on a mission to help Puerto Rico by getting Congress to change Bankruptcy Laws to apply to PR again.

Mr. Miranda has now retired from performing in Hamilton …

… but atlas, he will reprise his role for the highly acclaimed Puerto Rico run in January 2019. See more on that story here:

Title: Puerto Rico Engagement of Hamilton, Starring Lin-Manuel Miranda, Will Sell $10 Tickets Through Lottery and Rush

Sub-title: Over 10,000 tickets will be released through the popular #Ham4Ham initiative, exclusively to island residents.

The upcoming Puerto Rico premiere of Hamilton, in which Tony- and Pulitzer-winning creator Lin-Manuel Miranda will reprise his performance in the title role, will offer island residents a chance to purchase tickets priced at ten dollars.

As previously reported, the blockbuster musical will play San Juan’s Teatro UPR at the University of Puerto Rico (Río Piedras Campus) January 8 through January 27, 2019, before the company (sans Miranda) embarks on a third national tour. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

A total of 10,000 tickets will be sold at the low price in Puerto Rico as an extension of the blockbuster musical’s popular #Ham4Ham initiative, with 1,000 going to college students (with valid ID) for the January 9 matinee. All remaining tickets for that performance and two subsequent Wednesday matinees will be sold for $10 via digital lottery. Over 200 tickets will be sold to residents via lotto for all other performances.

“Bringing [Hamilton] to Puerto Rico is a dream that I’ve had since we first opened at The Public Theater in 2015,” Miranda said at the time of the initial announcement. “When I last visited the island, a few weeks before Hurricane Maria, I had made a commitment to not only bring the show to Puerto Rico, but also return again to the title role. In the aftermath of Maria we decided to expedite the announcement of the project to send a bold message that Puerto Rico will recover and be back in business, stronger than ever.”

Source: PlayBill Magazine – Posted August 28, 2018; retrieved January 2, 2018 from http://www.playbill.com/article/puerto-rico-engagement-of-hamilton-starring-lin-manuel-miranda-will-sell-10-tickets-through-lottery-and-rush

In the CU/Go Lean roadmap to change the Caribbean, music and theater gets it’s due respect. This point is detailed in the  Declaration of Interdependence at the outset of the book, pronouncing this need for regional solutions (Page 14):

xxxii. Whereas the cultural arts and music of the region are germane to the quality of Caribbean life, and the international appreciation of Caribbean life, the Federation must implement the support systems to teach, encourage, incentivize, monetize and promote the related industries for arts and music in domestic and foreign markets. These endeavors will make the Caribbean a better place to live, work and play.

We are looking forward to more art-based accomplishments: the arts can truly empower the community – “the community rallies around art creating a unique energy; and art ‘dynamises’ the community, in a very unique way”. What more can the stewards of the Caribbean do to effect change in the region using the arts and music? The Go Lean book provides a lot more details on Page 230 under the title “10 Ways to Improve the Arts“; see one detail here:

#1: Lean-in for the Emergence of the Caribbean Union
Embrace the advent of the CariCom Single Market Initiative and the Caribbean Union Trade Federation. This will allow for the unification of the region into a Single Market of 42 million people. This size supports the proliferation of ‘art’ (visual/fine, music, performance & film) as an industry. The CU will promote the art exhibition eco-system – allowing marketplaces for artists to congregate and monetize their talents. Structures will also be deployed for media companies to monetize film & performance art. The CU will facilitate the marketing of travelling exhibitions, and touring companies of stage productions. For the region, art can be a business enabler, and expressions for civic pride and national identity.

“History Has Its Eyes On Us” is the title of a song in the Hamilton Play – see Appendix VIDEO – and also a truism. There are lessons we must learn from the history of Alexander Hamilton. We must, like he did, fight for change and progress; as conveyed in the foregoing article:

From a remarkably young age, he was an abolitionist in a time when that word would be as shocking as to claim you’re an alien. He never allowed his birth and his circumstances to define him, and instead fought his entire life for the beliefs he had, including a strong central government and financial plan that allowed America to be self-sufficient and play with the “big boys” for trade and commerce. Hamilton saw first-hand the potential risks of weak governments …

The Go Lean roadmap accepts that the burden is too big for any one Caribbean member-state alone to effect change, thusly it advocates for a collaboration among all member-states. The strategy is to confederate all the 30 member-states of the Caribbean despite their language and legacy, into an integrated Single Market. The Go Lean/CU roadmap details all the strategies, tactics and implementation to forge the Single Market solutions. With these efforts and investments, the returns will be undeniable. We can dissuade our people from leaving in the first place – Alexander Hamilton never returned to British-controlled Nevis after leaving for college. (He did revolt against the British).

We want change in the Caribbean without a revolt. This was proclaimed from the outset of the Go Lean book:

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. – Go Lean book Page 8.

The Go Lean roadmap has a simple quest: make the Caribbean a better place to live, work and play. One man, or woman, can make a difference in this quest. Thank you for that model Hamilton. Thank you for that model Lin-Manuel Miranda. Now to foster the next generation of movers-and-shakers, whether it is politically, economically or in “song-and-dance”. We can impact our homeland with many fields of endeavor.

We urge all Caribbean stakeholders – artists and patrons alike – to lean-in to this roadmap to elevate Caribbean society. Yes, we can! Our quest 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 VIDEO – Why History Has Its Eyes On Hamilton’s Diversity | TIME – https://youtu.be/xWrRP6vRGhQ

TIME
Published on Dec 15, 2015 – In 2015, Lin-Manuel Miranda, a man once not known to many outside his circle of Broadway legions, shed light on another man once not known to many outside a circle of knowledgeable historians. But Miranda took one of America’s founding fathers and turned him “and thus, himself” into a star. The Broadway show Hamilton uses rap and hip-hop to tell the story of Alexander Hamilton’s rise to power during the American Revolution. The show broke multiple records for its cast recording and notched record-breaking sales of $32 million before it even hit Broadway. But the cast makes history in different ways, too, with men and women of color playing characters who were all white. There’s an African-American Vice President Aaron Burr, a biracial George Washington and a Chinese-American Mrs. Alexander Hamilton. Subscribe to TIME ►► http://po.st/SubscribeTIME

Category: News & Politics

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Appendix – 70th Tony Awards

The 70th Annual Tony Awards were held on June 12, 2016, to recognize achievement in Broadway productions during the 2015–16 season. The ceremony temporarily returned to the Beacon Theatre in New York City after three years at Radio City Music Hall and was broadcast live by CBS.[1] James Corden served as host.[2]

Hamilton received a record-setting 16 nominations in 13 categories, ultimately winning 11 total.[3] The revival of The Color Purple won two awards. The Humans won four awards, and the revival productions of plays Long Day’s Journey into Night and A View from the Bridge each won two awards.

…

Source: Retrieved December 31, 2018 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/70th_Tony_Awards

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News on the 8’s – Review of Impactful Years … ending in 8 (1918 – 2018)

Posted on December 24, 2018 in Ethos, Government, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

The Year 2018 is now over, and what an impactful year it has been. In fact, an analysis over the annals of time shows that all years ending in “8” seems to be impactful, especially in the last 100 years. We are truly able to concur with the American Media (Radio and TV) tagline: “News on the 8’s“.

This review is not just world history, but for specific events-issues-episodes that affected us in the Caribbean.

This is important … for us here and now!

The 2013 book Go Lean…Caribbean – available to download for free – serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states. The book, among its 370 pages, asserts that there are important lessons for the Caribbean region to learn from a consideration of the recent history of the economics, security and governing engines of other times and places. This exercise is analogous to reaping crops from the harvest. In fact the book features formal Lessons from History as follows:

  • West Indies Federation – Page 135
  • Year 2008 – Page 136
  • East Germany – Page 139
  • Detroit – Page 140
  • Indian Reservations – Page 141
  • The American West – Page 142
  • Egypt – Page 143
  • The Bible – Page 144
  • The US Constitution – Page 145
  • Canada’s History – Page 146
  • Caribbean Currencies – Page 149
  • Nuyorican Movement – Page 303
  • European Conquest of the Guianas – Page 307

And now … for consideration of the Year 2018; (the hyperlinks refer to previous blog-commentaries):

  • December: The 41st US President George H.W. Bush dies  The memorial and obituaries reminded the Caribbean, and the world, that reasonable accommodations for Persons with Disabilities is good for all of society.
  • November: The Mid-Term Elections in the US proved the actuality of a bitter lesson in democracy: “Bad things happen when Good people do not participate (vote); the opposite of justice is not injustice; it’s apathy, indifference and inaction”. So many people that did NOT vote in 2016 came out in force for 2018, to take back the direction of their country.
  • October: The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report that we only have 12 years to adopt any Climate Change abatements, otherwise that dire consequences that have been warned and feared will be unavoidable.
  • September: A girl with Caribbean heritage (a meld of Haitian and Japanese), Naomi Osaka, shocks the world and became the US Open Tennis Champion. Yes, we can … produce greatness in our region.
  • August: Caribbean member-state Saint Lucia set in motion to ban Styrofoam and plastics in their sovereign territories therefore setting a model for how the rest of the Caribbean can be responsive to the realities of global pollution. Next up: we must confederate to abate Climate Change.
  • July: The world celebrated 100 Years of Mandela; we, in the Caribbean, did too and should have made more of a Big Deal about it. Mandela taught us all how to co-exist with colonialism bloody past and still work towards a prosperous future with native citizens, expatriates and Direct Foreign Investors alike.
  • June: Regional Tourism stewards declared that there must be regional coordination of their tourism product. This is an affirmation of the confederation quest for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation. Hurricanes always affect one part of the Caribbean region, while sparing the other parts, leaving them “open for business”. But geographic misconceptions are hurting Caribbean economies that are completely unscathed by a hurricane. This actuality cries out for regional stewardship.
  • May: As related and released by a university study, there is “No Love for Puerto Rico in Life or in Death“. The American government apparatus under-counted the true counts of deaths attributed to Hurricane Maria in September 2017. This is just proof positive that PR need to divorce the US and elevate from it’s parasite status and emerge as a protégé. This is the quest of the Go Lean/CU movement.
  • April: a. A Caribbean Political Leader – Senator, the Honorable Dr. Adrian Augier, a St. Lucian Economist – advocated for better outreach to the Diaspora. He lamented how most member-states adopted the lazy approach of just asking for the Diaspora’s money (investments); Dr. Augier, on the other hand, is asking for their outright return.
    b. Cuba’s Raul Castro retires, thus ending the reign of a Castro in the Presidency of Cuba for the first time since 1959; though Raul remains as Chairman of the Communist Party.
  • March: Young students seek to change America by “Marching for their Lives“  to change gun laws and protections. This was in response to senseless shootings, one which occurred in Parkland, FL where 17 children were slain by an ex-student. One of the victims was of the Caribbean Diaspora (Jamaica) who’s parents had sought refuge in Florida from economic distress in their homeland.
  • February: The movie Black Panther, casted with many Caribbean actors, proved the prospect of forging change in an African-majority society and transforming the societal engines is a cause than we can conceive, believe and achieve.
  • January: From the “abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” – this biblical proverb was validated when it was revealed that the US President Donald Trump called Haiti and other Latin American countries “shit holes”. This also vindicates the cause of the Go Lean/CU movement to reform and transform Caribbean society to not be parasites of an unappreciative America.

2018 was an impactful year indeed. This year was also fodder for comedians and satirists alike. See the VIDEO here by the Daily Show:

VIDEO – The Daily Show’s The Yearly Show 2018: Weird Trump, Things You Forgot Happened & 911 Calls – https://youtu.be/nsm9aL-7s8E

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
Published on Dec 19, 2018 – In The Daily Show’s final show of the year, the team looks back on how weird Donald Trump was in 2018, the stories that everyone has forgotten about and all the white people who couldn’t call 911 enough.

Subscribe to The Daily Show: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwWh…

About The Daily Show: Trevor Noah and The World’s Fakest News Team tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and pop culture. The Daily Show with Trevor Noah airs weeknights at 11/10c on Comedy Central.

Despite the adult humor, this VIDEO was spot-on for the laughable premise of anyone expecting American leadership for global (and Caribbean) affairs. For the last 100 years, the years ending in “8” – 2018, 2008, 1998 … 1918 – have been the most impactful in modern history. Just consider the following subjective analysis; consider the News on the 8’s for the other years, here as follows:

  • 2008 – Great Recession – This economic disaster imperiled the world’s economy; what’s worse is that it is still imperiling the Caribbean region even today, despite recoveries elsewhere. Why so long for us in the Caribbean to elevate our economic landscape? We are not “too big to fail” but rather “Too Small to Thrive“.
  • 1998 – Clinton Impeachment – This American-only drama had a far reaching arch on the Caribbean: The Haitian eco-system resented the role of the Clinton Foundation in Haiti’s post-2010 Earthquake recovery-rebuild. The Haitian Diaspora, and many others disillusioned with the Clinton brand, took out their angst on presidential candidate Hillary Clinton … resulting in a win for the candidate Donald Trump, an anti-Caribbean actor.
  • 1988 – George Bush Election was an affirmation for the continuation of policies by Ronald Reagan. These policies incentivized Caribbean citizens, especially the professional classes, to emigrate away from the homeland to US soil.
  • 1978 – Jonestown, Guyana – This tragedy took place right here in the Caribbean member-state of Guyana. This evil act is on us! Have we learned? Have we reformed and transformed? Do we still tolerate a Climate of Hate? Are we overly protective of orthodoxy?
  • 1968 – Olympics’ Proudest Moment & Movement – The cause for Human Rights had it biggest impact at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. The winners of the 200 meters Track-and-Field race – including the Bronze-medal winner with Caribbean (Cuban) roots, John Carlos – shocked the world by standing in solidarity with minority civil rights around the world.
  • 1958 – West Indies Federation – This attempt at integration had the potential to consolidate and confederate all the Anglo-Caribbean under a Single Market, single currency and a unified government. But despite the good intentions, this construct reflected a deficient foundation; the Federation failed 4 years later, though some remnants persist even today: i.e. BWI Airlines, University of the West Indies and the West Indies Cricket Federation.
  • 1948 – a. United Nations Human Rights Declaration  – The Human Rights standard we take for granted now was not always en vogue. It started in this year as a Lesson Learn from World War II.
    b. Windrush Departure – This London-bound ship started the bad trend of emigration from the Caribbean homeland.
  • 1938 – a. Start of Jewish Persecution in Nazi Germany; this is the lesson for where Climate of Hate leads a society.
    b. Joe Louis Wins Heavyweight Championship over a German, Nazi-backed boxer. This is the forerunner for Muhammad Ali and Boxing’s potential to shook the world.
  • 1928 – a. Birth of Mickey Mouse and the start of the Disney Empire Dream. The Black-n-White cartoon film Steamboat Willie was the start of the media enterprise. The current Orlando resort is a model for us in the Caribbean for Self-Governing Entities.
    b. Penicillin – as the start of antibiotics; this meant the end to mortality for many tropical diseases; still evolving today.
  • 1918 – End of WW I – The Great War was the start of the End of Colonialism. At the time of this global conflict the European powers over the Caribbean included Denmark, who subsequently ceded the Virgin Islands to the US.

This commentary serves as a review of the highlights of 2018, the same as was conducted for 2017 with 2017 Review – Mr. Trump shows the ‘Wrong Way’ and for 2016 with  How to make sense of 2016. But the purpose of these commentaries is not just to highlight the news, but rather to highlight the need for a new Caribbean regime, the Go Lean roadmap for the CU Trade Federation. Accepting the philosophical principle that “a crisis is a terrible thing to waste“, then there is a strong motivation to reboot, reform and transform the Caribbean eco-systems.

This is the quest of the Go Lean/CU roadmap; it features these 3 prime directives:

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

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

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

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

The Go Lean book provides the turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society. One advocacy on Page 131 is particular is entitled 10 Ways to Make the Caribbean Better. The rationale for this advocacy is summarized well in the first tactic (Way), as follows:

Lean-in for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU).
This treaty allows for the unification of the region into a single market, thereby expanding to an economy of 30 countries, 42 million people and GDP of over $800 Billion (based on 2010) figures. The mandate of the CU, (despite the references to advanced technical concepts of economic empowerment, homeland security and emergency management), is simply to make the Caribbean a better place to: a). Live b). Work and c). Play.

This triple threat impacts daily Caribbean life and ultimately, our children’s future.

Yes, we can learn form the historic “8” years and from this year then make our homeland a better place to live, work and play. This quest 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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5 Years Later – Technology: Caribbean countries fully on board

Posted on December 20, 2018 in Ethos, Industries, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

You will be assimilated! Strength is irrelevant. Resistance is futile. …
We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own.– Movie Quote: Star Trek – The Next Generation (TV Series).

Change happens … ready or not here it comes. Agents of Change will overrun you and transform you into its mold.

In a previous Go Lean commentary from May 12, 2018, this commentary confessed this actuality:

Today, it is clear that mainstream society has been assimilated by the counter-culture revolution with previously debated New Morals. Some people even claim that this New Morality is the same Old Immorality. For instance, consider recreational drugs, marijuana in particular; counter-culturists have always “pushed” for the freedom of marijuana use; … Despite all the efforts to outlaw it, authority figures are now starting to just accept, tolerate and legitimize its usage.

Technology has also pounced on the modern world, the Caribbean included; what started as a counter-culture revolution – nerds, geeks and techies – has become mainstream and normal. People today are walking around with a computer in their pockets (smart-phones) that far exceeds Big Mainframe systems (Big Iron) from 30 years ago; think 1 terabyte of memory-storage; 3.5 GigaHertz processor chips; global communication networks with interconnected devices around the world.

This change is not all bad! The whole world – the people, media and information – is now accessible at our finger tips!

There are only a few small groupings of people even attempting to “live off the grid”. Everyone else has fully embraced the grid and is living their life in kind – waiting for the next technological advances – they have been assimilated.

There used to be a Caribbean exception, Cuba! Due to the 1959 Revolution, Cuba had previously rejected Western technology advances; choosing to freeze their technological consumption at 1959.

But based of the summary of this news article, that actuality is no more:

Title: Communist-run Cuba starts rolling out internet on mobile phones
By: Sarah Marsh

HAVANA (Reuters) – Communist-run Cuba has started providing internet on the mobile phones of select users as it aims to roll out the service nationwide by year-end, in a further step toward opening one of the Western Hemisphere’s least connected countries.

Journalists at state-run news outlets were among the first this year to get mobile internet, provided by Cuba’s telecoms monopoly, as part of a wider campaign for greater internet access that new President Miguel Diaz-Canel has said should boost the economy and help Cubans defend their revolution.

Analysts said broader web access will also ultimately weaken the government’s control of what information reaches people in the one-party island state that has a monopoly on the media. Cuba frowns on public dissent and blocks access to dissident websites.

“It’s been a radical change,” said Yuris Norido, 39, who reports for several state-run news websites and the television. “I can now update on the news from wherever I am, including where the news is taking place.”

Certain customers, including companies and embassies, have also been able to buy mobile data plans since December, according to the website of Cuban telecoms monopoly ETECSA, which has not broadly publicized the move.

ETECSA has said it will expand mobile internet to all its 5 million mobile phone customers, nearly half of Cuba’s population, by the end of this year. ETECSA did not reply to a request for more details for this story.

Whether because of a lack of cash, a long-running U.S. trade embargo or concerns about the flow of information, Cuba has lagged behind in web access. Until 2013, internet was largely only available to the public at tourist hotels in Cuba.

But the government has since then made increasing connectivity a priority, introducing cybercafes and outdoor Wi-Fi hotspots and slowly starting to hook up homes to the web.

Long before he took office from Raul Castro in April, 58-year-old Diaz-Canel championed the cause.

“We need to be able to put the content of the revolution online,” he told parliament last July as vice president, adding that Cubans could thus “counter the avalanche of pseudo-cultural, banal and vulgar content.”

Cuba could use subsidies to encourage the use of government-sponsored applications, analysts said. Last month, ETECSA launched a free Cuba-only messaging application, Todus, while Cuba’s own intranet with a handful of government-approved sites and email is much cheaper to access than the wider internet.

In a 2015 document about its internet strategy that leaked, the Cuban government said it aimed to connect at least half of homes by 2020 and 60 percent of phones.

But many Cubans are skeptical. ETECSA President Mayra Arevich told state-run media in December it had connected just 11,000 homes last year.

“I’ve been many times to the ETECSA shop to ask if they can give us home access,” said Yuneisy Galindo, 28, at a Wi-Fi hotspot on one of Havana’s thoroughfares. “But they tell us they still aren’t ready and will call us.”

Most mobile phone owners have smartphones, although Cuba is only now installing 3G technology, even as most of Latin America has moved onto 4G, with 5G in its final testing phase.

“This rollout will expand slowly at first and then more quickly, if the government is increasingly confident that it can control any political fallout,” said Cuba expert Ted Henken at Baruch College in the United States.

The price could prove the biggest restriction for many, though. Hotspots currently charge $1 an hour, compared with an average state monthly wage of $30.

It was not clear what most Cubans will pay for mobile internet, but ETECSA is charging companies and embassies $45 a month for four gigabytes.

—

Additional reporting by Nelson Acosta, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien

Source: Reuters News Service – Posted July 16, 2018; retrieved December 20, 2018 from: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-internet/communist-run-cuba-starts-rolling-out-internet-on-mobile-phones-idUSKBN1K62U7

The conclusion from this commentary is that the Caribbean member-states are now all ready to embrace this Technology Agent of Change confronting our world. The 2013 book Go Lean…Caribbean – available to download for free – prepared the region for this eventuality. The book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states. The book identified these 4 Agents of Change – Globalization, Climate Change, Technology and the Aging Diaspora – and declared that we were failing to compete because of our inability to adopt and thrive in this changed environment.

Adopt, compete and thrive …

While it has been 5 years since the publication of the Go Lean book, the pronouncements are more important now than before. It was asserted that the entire Caribbean region – all 30 member-states, Cuba included – must unite in order to adopt, compete and thrive in this new technological world. In the book’s opening, and early motivation, there was this Declaration of Interdependence that, among other things, proclaimed (Page 14) the following:

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

The Go Lean book declares that our lives and livelihoods are at stake. Our societal engines – jobs, education, healthcare, governance, etc. – all depend on how well we adopt, compete and thrive with today’s technology. So the Go Lean/CU roadmap presents these 3 prime directives:

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

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

Community ethos; what is community ethos? The book defines it as “the fundamental character or spirit of a culture; the underlying sentiment that informs the beliefs, customs, or practices of a group or society”.

The Go Lean book presents new community ethos that must be adopted in order to compete and thrive with the world with regards to technology:

  • Lean Operations
  • Return on Investments
  • A quest to respect and Promote Intellectual Property
  • A quest to Impact Research & Development
  • A quest to Bridge the Digital Divide

In addition to the ethos, one notable advocacy that is presented, on Page 197, is entitled: 10 Ways to Foster Technology. Notice the summaries, plans, excerpts and headlines from the book here:

1 Lean-in for the Treaty for a Caribbean Single Market
This treaty allows for the unification of the region into one market of 42 million people, across 30 member-states and an economic impact for a GDP of over $800 Billion (circa 2010). The CU will lead the industry efforts to create economies-of-scale to deploy technological investments, (such as Libraries and other Community Technology Centers), and generate justifiable benefits. The CU governance also provides the intellectual property protections such as patents and copyrights, and ensures their enforcement both locally and abroad. The technology initiatives are designed to include everyone in the region: the technically-savvy and the technically-ignorant. In addition to the CU providing community education services like the CTC’s, the CU incentivizes Not-For-Profit agencies, NGOs and Foundations to help the community efforts.
2 e-Learning Facilities and Industries
3 STEM Charter Schools and STEM Teacher Recognitions
4 e-Government Services
The CU Trade Federation will provide government services. Where ever possible, these services will be delivered with the embrace of Internet and Communications Technologies (ICT). Therefore, Caribbean citizens can request and interact with CU government services via web & phone portals (contact centers), and when personal visits are mandated, service level agreements (SLA) will be implemented to set expectations for quality and timely response.
5 Public Access Wi-Fi
Regional ISP’s will be regulated at the federal level, and encourage to provided free Wi-Fi to the public. Successful business models can be facilitated thru ads-supported browsers and videos.
6 Incubators, Venture Capitalists Funds and IPO’s
7 Tax Credits for Technological Investments
8 Technology Expositions
9 Centers of Excellence
10 Whistleblower Protections

The Go Lean book was written 5 years ago as a 5 Year Plan to reform and transform the Caribbean region. Had the plan been adopted by the regional stakeholders then, the Agents of Change would have been better addressed all the while. But instead, this plan, or roadmap, to introduce and implement the Caribbean Union Trade Federation is still reeling; still not even started.

The embrace of technology must not be optional. This technology factor is analogous to a vessel/ship that can take “us” to a better destination.

Adopting, thriving and competing with technology advances is the answer for reforming and transforming the Caribbean. In these 5 short years since the publication of the Go Lean book, technology has escalated the region further and now all the member-states are fully “on board” this vessel for change, empowerment and improvement.

While the other Agents of Change are equally import, this Technology cause is perhaps the one Agent of Change that we have made the most progress with. This disposition is presented in the other commentaries in this series, cataloged here:

  1. 5 Years Later: New Post Office Eco-system – Globalization issues ‘loud and clear’ now.
  2. 5 Years Later: Climate Change – Coming so fast, so furious.
  3. 5 Years Later: Technology – Caribbean fully on board.
  4. 5 Years Later: Aging Diaspora – Finding Home … anywhere.

At least now we have a more receptive environment for the embrace of the Go Lean roadmap in Cuba, than we did 5 years ago. Back then, Fidel Castro, though retired as President, still ruled as the Chairman of the Communist Party; his brother Raul ruled as President. Today, Fidel is dead; and Raul is retired – though now the Chairman of the Party. Cuba is now ready for change. The foregoing news article has conveyed that Cuba is ready for mobile Internet and Communications Technologies.

This is the start that we need. This allow us the opportunity to adopt, compete and thrive. Let’s lean-in to the Go Lean/CU roadmap now. We have more to do; more to accomplish; more people to impact; more jobs to create; and more lives to improve.

At 5 years in, though its a late start, it is still not too late to succeed in making our homeland a better place to live, work and play.  🙂

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

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

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5 Years Later – They can hear you now about the Post Office – ENCORE

Posted on December 15, 2018 in Government, Implementation, Industries

5 years ago, the book Go Lean … Caribbean was introduced; the publication date was November 2013.

The book scanned the landscape in the Caribbean and found a lot of deficiencies in the economics, security and governance in the region. For example, for those 5 years the movement behind the Go Lean book have been telling people that there is an overriding need for a technocratic postal solution in the Caribbean region. This is how to keep up with the demands of globalization.

People – the audience – have only yawned.

Now the Caribbean member-state of The Bahamas has a crisis with their postal facility. The people there should now be ready, willing and able to consider alternatives and improvements to their regional governance.

Title: Wells confirms “undeliverable” mail was shredded
NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Addressing allegations that mail at the General Post Office had been shredded, Minister responsible for the post office, Renward Wells, confirmed on Thursday that the most recent and deliberate destruction of “undeliverable” mail was on November 1 and 2, upon the authorization of the Postmaster General.
…
The Bahamas has membership in the United Postal Union (UPU) and it is therefore required to ensure that delivery of mail among countries follows consistent rules and standards.
…
The General Post Office is in the process of being relocated to the Town Centre Mall in early 2019.

Wells outlined in his statement that the standards of the Post Office will be restored to one that will regain the respect of international partners.

“Postal workers and the Bahamian public have been in excess of three years without an adequate means for providing this essential service,” he said.
…
Source: Posted December 14, 2018; retrieved December 15, 2018 from: https://ewnews.com/wells-confirms-undeliverable-mail-was-shredded

This commentary is the first of a 4-part series from the movement behind the Go Lean book in consideration of the 5 year anniversary of the book’s publication. The theme on these 4 submissions is “5 Years Later and what is the condition now“. The focus here is on the Agents of Change that the book identified: Globalization, Climate Change, Technology and the Aging Diaspora.

Have the problems lessened, or have they intensified? The other commentaries in the series are cataloged as follows:

  1. 5 Years Later: New Post Office Eco-system – Globalization issues ‘loud and clear’ now.
  2. 5 Years Later: Climate Change – Coming so fast, so furious.
  3. 5 Years Later: Technology – Caribbean fully on board.
  4. 5 Years Later: Aging Diaspora – Finding Home … anywhere.

The Go Lean book was written 5 years ago as a 5 Year Plan to reform and transform the Caribbean region. Had the plan been adopted by the regional stakeholders, then the Agents of Change would have been mostly assuaged. The plan, or roadmap, to introduce and implement the Caribbean Union Trade Federation is still outstanding to even start. We now need to push the leaders – Top Down – and the subjects – Bottoms’s Up – to execute the strategies, tactics and implementation prescribed in this book.

This approach – rebooting the postal eco-system – had been relayed in a previous blog-commentary from January 23, 2018; it  is appropriate to Encore that blog-commentary here-now:

——————–

Go Lean Commentary – First Steps – A Powerful C.P.U.

The movement behind the book Go Lean … Caribbean wants to deploy an “apolitical technocracy” in the Caribbean. What is an apolitical technocracy?

Quite simply, an organizational structure designed to just deliver.

Sounds familiar? Frankly, the Post Office is a powerful example of an apolitical technocracy:

They just deliver the mail …

… “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds”.

(While the Postal Service has no official motto, the popular belief is that these words are tribute to America’s postal workers).

Technocracies are supposed to be automatons, a machine that just chugs-and-chugs. Think computers; think C.P.U.. But in the case of this Go Lean scheme, C.P.U. does not mean Central Processing Unit, no, it means Caribbean Postal Union.

The book Go Lean book – available to download for free – serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU) and the Caribbean Postal Union, 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 and create new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

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

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

All of these commentaries relate to “how” the Caribbean can finally get started with adapting the organizational structures to optimize the region’s societal engines. Whereas all the previous submissions addressed the need for reform at the Top. This commentary addressed the automation, the technocratic C.P.U.. This is designed to affect every man-woman-child in the Caribbean region, to just deliver. This simple functionality will do wonders for the quest of this roadmap: make the Caribbean member-states better places to live, work and play.

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

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

xv. Whereas the business of the Federation and the commercial interest in the region cannot prosper without an efficient facilitation of postal services, the Caribbean Union must allow for the integration of the existing mail operations of the governments of the member-states into a consolidated Caribbean Postal Union, allowing for the adoption of best practices and technical advances to deliver foreign/domestic mail in the region.

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

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

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society. One advocacy in the book is entitled “10 Ways to Improve Mail Service … in the Caribbean Region“; this detailed the best practices for postal mail and logistics; (Page 108). See this Bottom Line introduction:

The Bottom Line for the Caribbean Postal Union
Without a regional hub-and-spoke system, mail from one island to another can take weeks – such a business climate cannot breathe success with this lack of efficiency. The purpose of the CU is to facilitate the economic engines of the region. Therefore postal communications between individuals, households, businesses and governmental institutions must be efficient and effective – establishments must be able to connect with their customers and governments to its constituents. The Caribbean Postal Union (CPU) will operate as a private business, a multi-national corporation, owned by CU member-states, chartered to employ best practices and world class methods in the execution of the fulfillment side of the e-Delivery model. A mark of success: delivery of first-class mail in 3 – 5 days.

Improving the postal mail eco-system in the Caribbean can have a transformative effect on regional society. CPU is mostly an e-Logistics enterprise. Imagine the following (global) trends that wait in the balance:

Imagine a Caribbean reality with flat-rate envelopes and flat-rate boxes. Imagine the automation, the robotic technologies, the scanning and sorting. The brand CPU would really be apropos – more software, e-Commerce and Internet Communications Technology – as opposed to the neighborhood mail-carrier. See this industrial shift in the related news article in the Appendix below. In fact, the company www.Stamps.com provides a model for the CPU to emulate. See this Introductory VIDEO here:

VIDEO – Welcome to Stamps.com, USPS Postage Software Overview – https://youtu.be/wCCAkRkUWE0

Stamps.com

Published on Apr 23, 2013 – Welcome to Stamps.com, USPS Postage Software Overview This video shows new customers how Stamps.com software works. Highlights include how to buy and print postage stamps and shipping labels, e-commerce shipping features, postage spending reports plus many more features.

In addition, previous Go Lean blog-commentaries detailed the width-and-breadth of the mail-logistics business model for the Caribbean; see these prior submissions here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13627 Amazon as a Role Mode: Then and Now
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9839 Alibaba Cloud stretches global reach with four new facilities
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7991 Transformations: Caribbean Postal Union – Delivering the Future
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3187 Amazon Role Model – Robots helping tackle Cyber Monday
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2488 Alibaba – A Chinese Role Model for the C.P.U.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1416 Amazon – An American Role Model for the C.P.U.

Forging change is heavy-lifting for the CU/Go Lean roadmap, but conceivable, believable and achievable? Why because so many other entities have executed these action plans before. We do not need to “re-invent the wheel”; we only need to conform to the published best-practices. This applies to the Caribbean Postal Union and all other societal engines.

Yes, we can succeed in forging change and assuaging the crises in the Caribbean. We have the existing organizations constructs of the CariCom, British Overseas Territories, US Territories and the EU. We can use these to “touch” every country-establishment-person in the region. This will lead to the success of our goals, to make the Caribbean 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 Title: Important: USPS making changes to First-Class Mail International Flats

January 21, 2018 Update: Stamps.com has launched a new International Flat service.  Get more info on how to ship merchandise with International Flats.

Merchandise No Longer Allowed in First Class Mail International Flats
If you ship merchandise abroad using USPS First Class Mail International Flats, there’s a new rule going into effect soon that you need to know about. Effective Sunday, January 21, 2018, First Class Mail International Large Envelope/Flat service for merchandise will NO LONGER be available from the USPS. First Class Mail International Flats will only be approved for use when sending documents. This change is occurring to comply with Universal Postal Union requirements.

Here are some examples of what USPS considers a document (still OK to ship using First Class Mail International Flats):

  • Audit and business records
  • Personal correspondence
  • Circulars
  • Pamphlets
  • Advertisements
  • Written instruments not intended to be resold
  • Money orders, checks, and similar items that cannot be negotiated or converted into cash without forgery.

Here are examples of items that will NO LONGER be allowed to be shipped as First Class Mail International Flats, effective Jan. 21, 2018:

  • CDs, DVDs, flash drives, video and cassette tapes, and other digital and electronic storage media (regardless of whether they are blank or contain electronic documents or other prerecorded media)
  • Artwork
  • Collector or antique document items
  • Books
  • Periodicals
  • Printed music
  • Printed educational or test material
  • Player piano rolls
  • Commercial photographs, blueprints and engineering drawings
  • Film and negatives
  • X-rays
  • Separation negatives

These goods are dutiable and must be must be shipped using First Class Package International Service. Once this change goes into effect, shippers will need to include Customs Forms and the recipient could pay a duty or tax to receive the product.

Cost Savings Using First Class Mail International Flats
Moving from First Class Mail International Flats to First Class Package International Service will have a big impact on shippers.

Source: Posted December 26th, 2017; retrieved January 21, 2018 from: http://blog.stamps.com/2017/12/26/important-usps-making-changes-first-class-mail-international-flats/ 

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When ‘Elizabeth’ Dies …

Posted on December 11, 2018 in Government, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

Long Live the Queen!

But at her ripe age of 94, the ‘long” part needs a realistic assessment. At some point, soon, that dreaded day will come, Queen Elizabeth II will die. This is an important consideration as she is the monarch of the United Kingdom and Head of State, Head of the Commonwealth for 18 of the 30 Caribbean member-states. So these entities and institutions need this consideration.

  • What will happen?
  • What should happen?
  • What change will this death bring to the Caribbean?
  • What change – the ideal – that should be considered?

The truth of the matter is  that there is a formal comprehensive plan in London for this eventuality; (there should be one in the Caribbean as well). See the details of this British plan in this VIDEO here:

VIDEO – What Happens When The Queen Dies | Vanity Fair – https://youtu.be/v61JI6h423E

Vanity Fair
Published on Aug 16, 2018 – After nearly 66 years on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II is the longest reigning monarch in British history and has been a constant and calming force amidst the fast-paced changes their country has faced, making it even more inconceivable to think about what happens when she dies.
Since Buckingham Palace doesn’t shy away from procedure, it’s no surprise there’s already a comprehensive plan in place for what happens after she passes, known as Operation London Bridge. On the day Queen Elizabeth II dies, her death will elicit a comprehensive plan that has been in place since the 1960s. What will happen when Her Majesty’s reign comes to an end and how will Britain mourn the loss? Here is what we know so far.

Now is the time to ask ourselves: should the British neo-colonial status continue? Is it time to consider a formal exit?

While there is love for the current British monarch – Queen Elizabeth – her death should be viewed as a checkpoint in our sovereignty considerations.

The British eco-system is not working for all non-British-Isles stakeholders; consider Brexit; this is a nationalistic expression of “Britain First”.

With that reality, could their be any hope for maintaining the status quo in the Overseas Territories?

It is London’s claim that “they” will sustain their commitments and priorities. See a related Press Release here:

Overseas Territories meet in London for annual Joint Ministerial Council
Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon, Foreign Office Minister of State for the Overseas Territories, hosted political leaders from UK Overseas Territories on 4-5 December 2018. The discussions covered a range of topics, including Brexit, trade and investment, financial services, safeguarding, disaster management and constitutional issues.

See the remaining of the article at the source here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/overseas-territories-meet-in-london-for-annual-joint-ministerial-council

Can we truly expect the UK Territories status quo to continue? This is a shocking concern, worthy of skepticism!

Wasn’t a similar commitment-promise made to the EU?

The movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean – available to download for free – asserts that it is past-time for the Caribbean member-states to “throw off the shackles of colonialism” – whichever European power – we must now reform and transform our society to better deliver, ourselves, for the future for our citizens.

No more parasitical dependence! We must be protégés rather than parasites.

But, these European territories (colonies) in our region are too small to effect change alone; therefore there is the need to convene, collaborate and confederate as regional neighbors. Of the total (30 member-states), there are 18 that reflect some British neo-colonial stance (overseas territory or commonwealth member). In addition there are 6 direct territories (Aruba and the 5 formerly branded Netherlands Antilles) with active governance from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, 4 embedded in the Republic of France, and 2 American territories.

Some of these lands are small territories, i.e. Anguilla, Montserrat and St. Barthélemy have less than 10,000 people in each island. Rather than these standing alone as a small island, these territories need to stand united with their regional brothers. Yes, the Go Lean book stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be a regional pursuit – for all 30 member-states. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13):

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

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

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

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

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

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

It is the urging here that upon the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the 12 British Commonwealth countries should exit the commonwealth – its a voluntary  club with no benefits; security is enforced by NATO, not the Commonwealth. Plus too, the 6 British Overseas Territories should petition for full membership in this new CU Trade Federation. The Go Lean book opens with this explanation (Page 4):

There is no expectation of sovereignty with this entity, so a commitment to the goals and aspirations of this Federation must be voluntary. The member-states of the region must therefore lean-in, to embrace the values, hopes and dreams of an integrated brotherhood of neighbors.

The book proceeds to detail the following definitions and developments for Caribbean sovereignty:

  • Go Lean Strategy
    The Caribbean Union is not envisioned to be a sovereign “unified” state, but rather a Trade Federation, a proxy entity similar to a confederacy, a champion to “wage battle” on behalf of its member-nation-states. – Page 45
  • Fostering a Technocracy
    The Caribbean Union is a non-sovereign union, of which the right to rule remains with the member-states, in whatever constitutionality at the time of the CU accedence: Republic, Commonwealth, Department (French), Collectivity (French) Constituent Country (Netherlands) or Overseas Territory (USA and UK). The CU is therefore a confederation, a ”service provider”, acting on before and with the authority of the member-states. – Page 63
  • Caribbean Supreme Court
    With sovereignty not tied to the CU, there can also be the technical challenges as to whether the Caribbean Supreme is the final escalation of the judicial process. Consider an example of a case in Guadeloupe, a French Overseas Territory, a plaintiff may feel that the French courts maintain jurisdiction. A few test cases like this, early in the CU history should establish the precedence. – Page 90
  • Autonomous Rule for Territories
    The CU treaty includes the American, British, Dutch and French Overseas…. Though the legacy powers are among the world’s biggest economies, such prosperity has not always extended [here]. The CU only seeks autonomous rule from their legacies, not sovereignty, and receivership status in the case of any financial insolvency. – Page 120
  • Confederation Without Sovereignty
    The CU is only a trade and security bloc, so the sovereignty of island nations remains with its current possessors. So Puerto Rico remains with the US; the Caymans with the UK; Curacao with the Netherlands; Guadeloupe with France, etc. Yet there are still severe consequences for violating the mandates of the CU, that of economic sanctions. When a country’s currency is maintained by the regional bloc, they are less inclined to egregiously work against their best interest. (This is the EU model). For Cuba, a Communist country, their political structure remains their choice, as the CU is only the technocratic and economic engine that does their trade bidding. – Page 127
  • Ways to Model the EU
    The EU region has quite an ignoble history of contending with differences, spurning 2 World Wars in the last century. Yet they came together to unite and integrate to make Europe a better place to live, work and play. Just like the EU, the CU will not possess sovereignty; this feature remains with each member-state. – Page 130
  • White Paper [Excerpt]: “Towards A CariCom Parliament”
    The Caribbean … difficulty in establishing a common Parliament has to do with leadership. Because of their history as slave and indentured societies, it has been suggested that the leaders in the Caribbean were reluctant to transfer authority and cede their sovereign status. While these factors are no doubt valid, the paper argued that the major problem in the Caribbean may be the absence of a well- thought out federal political arrangement and the inability by the various countries to articulate clearly defined procedures and practices. …
    This paper concluded that given the global imperatives, the countries of the Commonwealth Caribbean must re-examine their options and perhaps extend CariCom to that of a CariCom Parliament. – Page 167
  • Economic Sanctions and Penalties
    Since the CU does not have sovereignty, the only legal response is sanctions for state governments not complying with CU mandates. The “death penalty” would be a Failed-State designation. The CU is the designated receiver/trustee. – Page 168
  • Spanish Integration
    The CU allows the reunification of Spanish Caribbean (PR, Cuba, DR) to one economic market, a reversal of European Imperialism of the 19th Century. There are no sovereignty issues with the CU…, so the neighbors get to integrate and scale with no political disparity. This is a lesson learned from the Samoa Islands experience. – Page 244
  • Ways to Impact British Territories
    The CU will allow for the unification of the region into one market, thereby creating a single economy of 30 member-states for 42 million people with the scale to effect change; the CU does not involve sovereignty. The treaty includes the British Overseas Territories of Anguilla, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Turks & Caicos and the Virgin Islands. Though the UK is one of the biggest (richest) economies, British economic prosperity has not always extended to these islands; many chose to just emigrate there. – Page 245

The Queen of England, Elizabeth II, does help to run the governments of England, Great Britain, United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. She serves as the Head of State and asks the political parties in the individual countries to form a government in her name. The theme of this style of governance – Westminster – has been detailed in previous blog-commentaries:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13993 First Steps – Following the ‘Dignified and Efficient’ British Model
The British model for governance – where Queen Elizabeth II is the Head of State – strives to provide the dual functions of “the Dignified and the Efficient”. There are lessons to learned regards the strengths and weaknesses of this scheme.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=12447 State of the Union: Deficient ‘Westminster System’
The Westminster structure of governance is not as efficient as we need for a new Caribbean. What are the defects and how do we fix our governance?
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11420 ‘Black British’ and ‘Less Than’
Any appeal of the British eco-system must be rebutted with the reality of life in the UK for the Caribbean’s Black-and-Brown. Racial supremacy and discrimination is still a concern. Our people are still considered “Less Than” there.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9485 10 Things We Want from the UK and 10 Things We Do Not Want
There is a “give and take” relationship between the Caribbean and the United Kingdom. They have given a lot to the Caribbean over the centuries: systems of commerce, systems of governance, education, language, art and culture. They also gave things we do not want: racism, mercantilism, global war, etc.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4840 Jamaican Poll: ‘Bring back the British!’
The island-nation of Jamaica requested and was granted independence from the UK in 1962. Now those days before independence seem now to be nostalgic for many older Jamaicans. They long for a simpler time: with more economic prosperity, more jobs, more security (less crime), and more governing efficiency.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1683 British public sector workers strike over ‘poverty pay’
For many of the Caribbean Diaspora that fled to England over the decades, the only employment option were with government agencies; this was due the blatant racism in the private society. But even those jobs were less than adequate with their poverty-level pay scales.

The death of Queen Elizabeth II will be an end of an era and a sad day …

… but  it does not have to be the end or our actuality; it could be a new beginning …

… for a new rebooted Anglo-Caribbean region.

Yet, still the end of Queen Elizabeth should equal the end of the Anglo-Caribbean and the start of the Unified Caribbean.

London has a plan in place for that dreaded day. The Caribbean has this plan here-in. This plan is for more than just post-Elizabeth, it is for a bright Caribbean future. One in which 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.

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Remembering George H.W. Bush and ADA

Posted on December 3, 2018 in Government, Planning, Social

Go Lean Commentary

Old age is justice; it is when able-bodied people and disabled people become equally disabled.

We are being reminded of this sad reality of aging by the life-and-death of the 41st President of United States of America. At the end of his life, this able-bodied man (former war hero) was bound to a wheelchair.

The United States is mourning the death of its ex-president (1989 – 1993), George H. W. Bush. Wednesday December 5, 2018 is set-aside as the National Day of Mourning.

“The best 1 term president in the history of the country” – as declared by George W. Bush, the eldest son and subsequent president (#43 2001 – 2009).

Who’s best? Who’s the greatest? These are all questions for historians to consider. But for one group of Americans – Persons with Disabilities – they will surely concur with the “best” and “greatest” tag to George H.W. Bush because of one reason, his passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The book Go Lean…Caribbean – available to download for free – presents this landmark ADA legislation as a model for emulation and adoption in the Caribbean. The book provided this ADA summary (Page 228):

The Bottom Line on the American with Disabilities Act (ADA)
This Act is a law that was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1990. It was signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H. W. Bush, and later amended with changes effective January 1, 2009. The ADA is a wide-ranging civil rights law that prohibits, under certain circumstances, discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made discrimination based on race, religion, sex, national origin, and other characteristics illegal. Disability is defined by the ADA as “…a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity.” The determination of whether any particular condition is considered a disability is made on a case by case basis. Certain specific conditions are excluded as disabilities, such as current substance abuse and visual impairment that is correctable by prescription lenses. [ADA is based on the premise of] reasonable accommodation – an adjustment made in a system to “accommodate” or make fair the same system for an individual based on a proven need. Accommodations can be religious, academic, or employment related. This provision is also prominent in international law as the United Nations has codified the principle in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. [There are many international signatories to these principles and resolutions].

The ADA allows private plaintiffs to receive only injunctive relief (a court order requiring the public accommodation to remedy violations of the accessibility regulations) and attorneys’ fees, and does not provide monetary rewards to private plaintiffs who sue non-compliant businesses. Unless a state law provides for monetary damages to private plaintiffs, qualified claimants do not obtain direct financial benefits from suing entities that violate the ADA. [Thus, no “professional plaintiffs”!]

Listen to this relevant AUDIO Podcast from today (December 3, 2018):

AUDIO Podcast – Americans With Disabilities Act Signed By George H.W. Bush Expanded Rights Of Millions –  https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2018/12/03/americans-with-disabilities-george-hw-bush

Published December 3, 2018 – President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act into law in 1990. It was landmark legislation that expanded rights and protections for millions of people. Bush, who died Friday at age 94, played a key role in its passage.

Here & Now‘s Jeremy Hobson talks with Marian Vessels, director of the Mid-Atlantic ADA Center in Maryland, who was at the ADA’s signing.

Unfortunately, the Caribbean has a terrible track record for accommodating Persons with Disabilities. The Go Lean book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states. 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 for all citizens and visitors.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

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

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

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

xviii. Whereas all citizens in the Federation member-states may not have the same physical abilities, reasonable accommodations must be made so that individuals with physical and mental disabilities can still access public and governmental services so as to foster a satisfactory pursuit of life’s liberties and opportunities for happiness.

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 – to benefit all people, able-bodied and the disabled. One specific advocacy addresses the needs of Persons with Disabilities. See the sample plans, excerpts and headlines from the book on Page 228 entitled:

10 Ways to Impact Persons with Disabilities

1 Lean-in for Treaty for a Caribbean Single Market
This treaty allows for the unification of the region into one market, thereby expanding to an economy of 26 countries, 42 million people and a GDP of over $800 Billion (per 2010). The CU will empower and enhance the economic engines for the participation and benefit of all people; this includes the number of citizens that may have some physical (deaf, blind, lame, etc.) or mental challenges. The CU’s vision is that this sector represents a critical talent pool that is underserved and underutilized. They will be included in this CU movement, with a Caribbean [Persons] with Disabilities (CDA) provision embedded in the treaty. In addition, to the economic missions, the treaty also establishes a security pact, with the mission to fortify homeland security and to mitigate regional threats including a strategic gun control policy.
2 Cruise Ships and Disability Tourism
Since most western democracies have Reasonable Accommodation provisions for their citizenry, many disabled people in the US, Canada and EU countries live full-functioning lives with jobs, disposable income and the manifestation of vacation needs. The CU will incentivize the Cruise industry and tourism properties to make their own “reasonable accommodations” to cater to persons with disabilities. This also applies to the Elder-Care population.
3 Public Transportation and Public Accommodations – Assurance on CU facilities
4 Government Buildings and Proceedings
5 Mental Disabilities and Gun Control
6 Tele-type Call Center Access
The CU advocates e-Government and e-Delivery of government services, therefore call centers will be a primary feature for service delivery. To accommodate deaf residents, guests and trading partners, the CU call centers will be equipped with “Tele-type” terminals and agents with related certifiable skills (including 911).
7 Autism Awareness – Opt-Out Accommodations
8 Braille Websites
9 Closed Captioning … for Television
As the regulator for cross-border radio spectrum, the CU’s Media Regulatory Authority will mandate that all broadcasters provide a closed-captioning option on their channels. This enables the hearing-impaired to have full access.
10 Public Awareness Campaign – Improve Image

The Go Lean movement (book and blogs) have maintained that there must always be the empowerments for Persons with Disabilities. This cannot be left to chance; it must be enacted in law. Thank you for this model President George H.W. Bush. The need for Caribbean empowerments for Persons with Disabilities has been alluded to in many previous blog-commentaries; consider this sample:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14480 Repairing the Breach: Mental Health Realities

Mental Health is a real concern for the population in general and for men in particular. One of the biggest problems is that men rarely want to admit to any problems or seek any help. Yet, the evidence of dysfunction is there: 1. Substance Abuse (Drugs and Alcohol) 2. Suicide
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11052 Managing the ‘Strong versus the Weak’ – Mental Disabilities

The creed to protect the Weak from being abused by the Strong is age-old as an honor code. All societies have those that are mentally weak; the Social Contract must allow for protection and remediation of these ones.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11048 Managing the ‘Strong versus the Weak’ – Model of Hammurabi

In every society, there are those that are able-bodied and those that are disabled. so there is the need for the authorities to ensure that the “strong should not harm the weak”. This is the legacy of the 3,800 year-old Hammurabi Code.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6836 Role Model – #FatGirlsCan

The Go Lean movement campaigns for reasonable accommodations so that persons in the Caribbean that are differently-abled can live a full and engaging life … and help to elevate their communities. This difference also includes those who are “fat”, overweight or obese.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5901 The Demographic Theory of Elderly Suicide

Failures in health delivery results in suicides. Among senior citizens, this prevalence is due to the fact that they may not consider themselves as relevant in modern society. We can learn from others on health remediation and solutions for Caribbean senior citizens.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5720 Role Model of a Disability Advocate: Reasonable Accommodations

With just a reasonable accommodation, persons with disabilities can live a full and engaging life … and help to elevate their communities and make “home” better places to live, work and play.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2105 Recessions and Public Physical and Mental Health

Mental Health disorders can spark when the economy sours. Public Health officials need to be “on guard” for Mental Health fallout during periods of economic recession.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1751 New Hope in the Fight against Alzheimer’s Disease

Everyone ages, and so Alzheimer’s disease is a guaranteed risk in every community. This is a Mental Health reality that must be planned for, so as to ensure the best outcomes for communities.

As related above, American society is at the matured level now in their Social Contract deliveries. They now expect the standard to be “reasonable accommodations” so that Persons with Disabilities can participate in and contribute to society. This was not always the case, and then George H.W. Bush came along and forge change in American society. This is not the standard in the Caribbean member-states … yet. But part of this reboot effort – the quest of the Go Lean roadmap – is to reform and transform the societal engines to benefit all members of the community, able-bodied or not.

President Bush’s motives with the ADA efforts where not selfish; his legacy of public service is being lauded today leading up to his National Hero’s Funeral. But lo and behold, at the end of his life, he needed the reasonable accommodations he enshrined into law.

In the Caribbean, we need to apply this same lesson: even able-bodied people become disabled; therefore reasonable accommodations need to be ensured in society. Yes, we can benefit ourselves from such empowerments. This will make our homeland a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

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

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

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