New Media – Page 4 – Go Lean…Caribbean

Tag: New Media

Intelligence Agencies to Up Cyber Security Cooperation

Posted on January 22, 2015 in Government, Planning

Go Lean Commentary

Cyber Security has been all the rage in the news as of late, affecting governments (both sides of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans), corporations and regular citizens. Consider these recent headlines*:

N.S.A. tapped into North Korean networks before Sony attack

China suspected of cyber-attack on Microsoft

19,000 French websites suffered cyber attacks

North Korea’s official news website serves malware

Sony hack – by North Korea – corporate cyberwar game changer

It is therefore not surprising that governments are ramping up their cyber-security defenses. The following news story relates a bilateral effort by the US and the UK. This is of importance to Caribbean stakeholders as there are 2 US Territories in the region (Puerto Rico & Virgin Islands) and 18 British affiliates (Overseas Territories and Commonwealth nations). The article is as follows:

Title: UK and U.S. intelligence agencies to up cyber security cooperation
Reporting by: Kylie MacLellan; Editing by: Dominic Evans

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain and the United States will increase cooperation on cyber security, Prime Minister David Cameron said, setting up “cyber cells” to share intelligence and conduct simulated attacks to test the defences of organisations such as banks.

Cameron is on a two-day visit to Washington focused on the economy and security, and is due to have a second meeting with President Barack Obama on Friday at the White House.

“We have got hugely capable cyber defences, we have got the expertise and that is why we should combine as we are going to, set up cyber cells on both sides of the Atlantic to share information,” Cameron told the BBC in an interview aired on Friday.

The cooperation between Britain’s GCHQ eavesdropping agency and the U.S. National Security Agency will include joint war games, with the first exercise later this year to involve the Bank of England and commercial banks in both the City of London and Wall Street, the BBC reported.

“This is a real signal it is time to step up the efforts and to do more,” said Cameron.

The British leader said he also planned to discuss with Obama how the two countries could work more closely with big Internet companies such as Facebook and Google to monitor communications between terror suspects.

The overriding theme of the foregoing news article is the cyber-security is not automatic; it takes heavy-lifting on behalf of stakeholders to ensure the appropriate protections.
Reuters News Wire Service (Posted January 16, 2015; retrieved January 23, 2015) –
http://news.yahoo.com/uk-u-intelligence-agencies-cyber-security-cooperation-090538081–finance.html

What are the Caribbean protections? Are we prepared?

These questions are being considered in connection of the new book Go Lean…Caribbean. The book calls for the elevation of Caribbean society by means of economic optimizations, security provisions and enhanced governance. The issues in the foregoing article are all security related; but this cyber-security is a new battleground, so everything is different: the weapons, tools, and even the enemies are different. This is a changed, scary world!

But this new world must be embraced and mastered. The Go Lean book hails the advantages that technology can bring to small countries. The book relates (Page 127) how Internet & Communications Technologies (ICT) can be a great equalizer in competition with the rest of the world. This embrace of ICT must include e-Government and e-Delivery (outsourcing and in-sourcing for member-states systems), Mobile, Social Media, Postal/Electronic Mail, e-Learning and wireline/wireless/satellite initiatives. Technology brings good, bad and ugly repercussions.

The book Go Lean…Caribbean posits that the region must prepare its own security apparatus for its own security needs, including cyber-security. So the request is that all 30 Caribbean member-states confederate and create the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), complete with the authority to establish and execute a security apparatus. In fact, this Go Lean book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the CU and 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, authorized by a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), to protect the resultant economic engines.
Improve Caribbean governance, including a separation-of-powers between CU federal agencies and member-states’ governments, to support these engines.

The book contends, and the recent news reports confirm, that bad actors will also emerge to exploit any economic successes in the world. This point is pronounced early in the book with the Declaration of Interdependence (Page 12) that claims:

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

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

So while the CU is set to optimize Caribbean society through economic empowerment, with a heavy emphasis of technology, the Go Lean roadmap posits that the security dynamics (and cyber-security) of the region must be linked to this same endeavor.

The strategy is to confederate under a unified entity made up of the Caribbean to provide homeland security and intelligence gathering-and-analysis for the Caribbean. But this Homeland Security for the Caribbean will have a different meaning than for our American and British counterparts. Though we must be on defense against military intrusions like terrorism and piracy, we mostly have to contend with threats that may imperil the region’s economic engines, like tourism. This includes online fraud scheme and breaches that may undermine the integrity of our institutions and establishments. Imagine a “hack” that harvests credit card account numbers used at area hotels; if those fall into the wrong hands, the experience could tarnish the goodwill of the Caribbean brand.

There is also the need for vigilance against natural and man-made concerns like hurricanes, earthquakes, oil/chemical spills, enterprise corruption and narco-terrorism. These episodes create the need for intelligence gathering-and-analysis to manage the right resource for the right time and right place. All in all, the goal of CU intelligence must be public safety and economic security!

The Go Lean roadmap thusly calls for permanent professional Naval and Marine expeditionary forces, plus a robust Intelligence Agency (including Cyber-security). The CU Trade Federation will lead, fund and facilitate these entities. This effort will be “Step One, Day One” in the Go Lean roadmap, with the full facilitation and accountability.

This effort is defined in the book and blog commentaries as Unified Command-and-Control (UCC). The Go Lean book details a series of community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies necessary to establish and succeed with UCC structures in the Caribbean region:

Economic Principle – Consequences of Choices Lie in Future	Page 21
Community Ethos – Privacy –vs- Public Protection	Page 23
Community Ethos – Intelligence Gathering	Page 23
Community Ethos – “Crap” Happens	Page 23
Community Ethos – Cooperatives	Page 25
Community Ethos – Ways to Foster Genius	Page 27
Community Ethos – Ways to Improve Sharing	Page 35
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good	Page 37
Tactical – Confederating a non-sovereign union	Page 63
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy	Page 64
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Homeland Security	Page 75
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Emergency Management	Page 76
Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change	Page 101
Implementation – Start-up Foreign Policy Initiatives	Page 102
Implementation – Start-up Security Initiatives	Page 103
Implementation – 10 Trends in Implementing Data Centers	Page 106
Implementation – Ways to Impact Social Media – www.myCaribbean.gov	Page 111
Implementation – Ways to Foster International Aid – Military Aid	Page 115
Implementation – Ways to Benefit from Globalization	Page 119
Planning – 10 Big Ideas – #3: Homeland Security Pact	Page 127
Planning – 10 Big Ideas – #8: Cyber Caribbean Efforts	Page 127
Planning – Ways to Model the EU – Sharing	Page 130
Planning – Ways to Make the Caribbean Better	Page 131
Planning – Ways to Improve Failed-State Indices – Intelligence	Page 134
Planning – Lessons from East Germany – Regional Security	Page 139
Planning – Lessons from the American West – Law & Order	Page 142
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy	Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Governance	Page 168
Advocacy – Ways to Better Manage the Social Contract	Page 170
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Leadership	Page 171
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Justice	Page 177
Advocacy – Ways to Reduce Crime	Page 178
Advocacy – Ways to Improve for Gun Control	Page 179
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Homeland Security	Page 180
Advocacy – Ways to Mitigate Terrorism	Page 181
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Intelligence Gathering/Analysis	Page 182
Advocacy – Ways to Improve for Natural Disasters	Page 184
Advocacy – Ways to Protect Human Rights	Page 220
Appendix – Failed-State Definition: Security Apparatus Oversight	Page 273

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

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3713	NEXUS: Facilitating Detroit-Windsor Border Security & Commerce
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3662	Migrant flow from Caribbean spikes and threaten US Border Security
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2684	Role Model for Justice-Intelligence-Security: The Pinkertons
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1965	America’s Navy – 100 Percent – Model for Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1554	Status of Forces Agreement = Security Pact
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1531	A Lesson in History: 100 Years Ago – World War I
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1487	Here come the Drones … and the Concerns
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1076	Trinidad Muslims travel to Venezuela for jihadist training
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=960	NSA records all phone calls in Bahamas, according to Snowden
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=809	Muslim officials condemn abductions of Nigerian girls
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=789	America’s War on the Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=535	Remembering and learning from Boston
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=392	Jamaica to receive World Bank funds to help in crime fight
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=273	10 Things We Want from the US: #4 – Pax Americana

Cyber-security is now en vogue; everyone understands the complexity and necessity to secure personal data, data centers and online privacy. “Art is now imitating life” in this regards, as a new television show is about to be launched in the US on the CBS network; see VIDEO below.

This fact mandates that the Social Contract between Caribbean citizens and their governments now automatically assumes that data protections are in place. Yet, the foregoing article helps to appreciate the cutting-edge advances being promulgated on both sides, benevolent and malevolent. The Go Lean roadmap posits that the challenges for the Caribbean to compete, even in the fields of cyber-security, may be too big for any one Caribbean member-state to tackle alone, rather, shifting the responsibility to a region-wide, professionally-managed, deputized technocracy will result in greater production and greater accountability. This deputized agency is the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

Underlying to the prime directives of elevating the economics, security and governing engines of the Caribbean, is the desire to make the Caribbean homeland, a better place to live, work and play. We do not want a few “bad actors”, high-tech or low-tech, disrupting the peace and integrity of Caribbean institutions. Therefore all Caribbean stakeholders – residents, Diaspora, visitors, businesses and governments – are hereby urged to lean-in to the Go Lean roadmap, this plan for confederacy, collaboration and convention. 🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

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Appendix *Source Reference: http://www.telos.com/news-and-events/cybersecurity-news/

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APPENDIX VIDEO: Trailer of new CBS TV Show: CSI Cyber – https://youtu.be/cWMcSiRcbC8

Published on Jan 9, 2015 – CSI Cyber premieres March 4th, 2015 at 10pm on CBS.
Property of CBS ©. No copyright infringement intended or implied.

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ICT, New Media, Security

State of the Caribbean Union

Posted on January 21, 2015 in Government, Planning

Go Lean Commentary

You are invited to watch the State of the Union address that President Barack Obama delivered to the US Congress on Tuesday night (January 20, 2015). You are urged to listen carefully and count the number of times the Caribbean is referred to. The answer:

Once!

The reference to the restoration of diplomatic relations with Cuba.

That’s it!

(The Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is a perpetual leased US territory; so it will not count as Caribbean-specific).

No reference to the US Territories (Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands); no reference to the Dutch Caribbean; nor to the French Caribbean; and especially not to the English-speaking Caribbean member-states.

The truth of the matter is that the Caribbean is out-of-scope for Obama. It was the State of the Union of the United States of America. Not the State of the Caribbean Union. Even the US territories have to be concerned. They have a voice in the US Congress, but no vote. (A lesson in American Civics teaches that territories have Congressional representation that can vote in committees, but not vote in full Congress).

So all the President’s focus on job creation, energy independence, growing the economy, controlling healthcare costs, securing the homeland, and optimizing government was directed to his American constituency and not to the Caribbean member-states.

VIDEO Title: The State of the Union (SOTU) 2015 – http://youtu.be/cse5cCGuHmE
Watch President Obama’s 1-hour remarks during his 6^th SOTU address and learn more below.

Published on Jan 20, 2015
President Barack Obama delivers his sixth State of the Union address, at the United States Capitol, January 20, 2015.

We, the Caribbean, are required to focus on the State of our own Union.

The people, the 320 million Americans, elect a President to pursue their best interest, not the world’s best interest. Though the US tries to be a Good Neighbor, there may be times when the priorities of the US conflict with the priorities of the Caribbean, or the rest of the world. In those scenarios, the President is under charge to pursue the American best option.

The 42 million people of the Caribbean homeland are not in his scope!

The foregoing VIDEO and this commentary is being brought into focus in a consideration of 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 elevation of Caribbean society. 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 protect the resultant economic engines.
Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines.

The Go Lean book (Page 3) makes a simple assertion regarding the State of our Union: the Caribbean is in crisis. The book details that there is something wrong in the homeland, that while it is the greatest address in the world, instead of the world “beating a path” to these doors, the people of the Caribbean have “beat down their doors” to get out.

Why do people leave? The book identifies a number of reasons, classified as “push-and-pull”. There are economic (jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities), security and governance issues.

One mission of the Go Lean roadmap is to minimize these “push-and-pull” factors that contribute to this alarmingly high abandonment rate of Caribbean citizens – one report reflects a 70% brain drain rate.

Considering “pull” factors, the roadmap posits that the United States of America should not be viewed as the panacea for Caribbean ailments; that when the choice of any challenge is “fight or flight” that Caribbean society must now consider anew, the “fight” options. (No violence is implied, but rather a strenuous effort, heavy-lifting, to compete and win economic battles). One strong reason for cautioning Caribbean emigrants is that America is not so welcoming a society for the “Black and Brown” populations from the Caribbean. This was not addressed by Obama; he has to address the needs of all Americans – not just “Black and Brown” – racial discrimination have not been as high a priority among his initiatives, to the chagrin of many in the African-American communities, including the Caribbean Diaspora.

On the other hand, the Go Lean book does not ignore the “push” factors that cause many Caribbean people to flee. The book stresses (early at Pages 12 – 13) the need to be on-guard for “push” factors in these pronouncements in the Declaration of Interdependence:

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

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 Caribbean emigration and their experiences (Diaspora), the “push-and-pull” factors in the US, and our region’s own job-creation efforts – State of Our Own Union. Here is a sample of earlier blogs:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3780	National Sacrifice: The Missing Ingredient – Caribbean people not willing to die or live in sacrifice to their homeland
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3694	Jamaica-Canada employment program pumps millions into local economy
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3662	Migrant flow into US from Caribbean spikes
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3446	Forecast for higher unemployment in Caribbean in 2015
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3050	Obama’s immigration tweaks – Bad for the Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2547	Miami’s Success versus Caribbean Failure
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2251	What’s In A Name? Plight of “Black and Brown” in the US
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1896	American “Pull” Factors – Crisis in Black Homeownership
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1698	American “Pull” Factors – STEM Jobs Are Filling Slowly
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=1296	Remittances to Caribbean Increased By 3 Percent in 2013
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1256	Traditional 4-year College Degree are Terrible Investments for the Caribbean Region Due to Brain-Drain

The Go Lean book and accompanying blogs posit that for the Caribbean Diaspora, fleeing from their homelands to reside in the US is akin to “jumping from the frying pan into the fire” in terms of effort to succeed and thrive in a community. The message of the Go Lean movement is that it takes less effort to remediate the Caribbean than to fix a new adopted homeland. While the Go Lean planners may not be able to change American society, we can – no, we must – impact our own society. This is the charge of the Go Lean…Caribbean roadmap, to do the heavy-lifting, to implement the organization dynamics to impact Caribbean society here and now. The following are the community ethos, strategies, tactics and operational advocacies to effectuate this goal:

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 Improve Negotiations	Page 32
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 – Separation of Powers – Union versus Member-States	Page 71
Implementation – Assemble CariCom, Dutch, French, Cuba and US Territories	Page 95
Implementation – Enact Territorial Compacts for PR & the Virgin Islands	Page 96
Implementation – Foreign Policy Initiatives at Start-up	Page 102
Implementation – Ways to Deliver	Page 109
Implementation – Reasons to Repatriate	Page 118
Implementation – Ways to Benefit from Globalization	Page 119
Implementation – Ways to Promote Independence	Page 120
Planning – 10 Big Ideas for the Caribbean	Page 127
Planning – Lessons from the US Constitution	Page 145
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy	Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs	Page 152
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Governance	Page 168
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Homeland Security	Page 180
Advocacy – Ways to Impact the Diaspora	Page 217
Advocacy – Ways to Preserve Caribbean Heritage	Page 218
Advocacy – Ways to Re-boot Cuba	Page 236
Advocacy – Ways to Impact US Territories	Page 244
Appendix – Interstate Compacts	Page 278

This Go Lean book accepts that the current State of Our Own Union is not a permanent disposition. We can do better. This roadmap is a 5-year plan to effect change, to make our homeland a better place to live, work and play. From Day One/Step One, positive change emerges. The roadmap therefore serves as turn-by-turn directions for what-how-when-where-why to apply the needed remediation, mitigations and empowerments.

The scope of this roadmap is change for the Caribbean, not change for American society – though there is the need for some lobbying of American authorities for Interstate/Foreign Compacts (Page 278).

That’s lobbying, not begging…

As for the Caribbean US territories – the great American Empire – having a voice, but no vote is disadvantageous. A Congressman from Nebraska would not negotiate with a Congressman from Puerto Rico because there is no vote to offer, compromise or “horse-trade”. American territories are therefore just traditional colonies, parasites and subjective to their imperial masters.

The Caribbean strives to be protégés, not parasites! We can be the world’s best address. How glorious the day when we can declare that as the State of the Caribbean Union!

Now is the time for all of the Caribbean, the people and governing institutions, to lean-in to this Go Lean … Caribbean roadmap. 🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

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[Top]

Sports Role Model – espnW.

Posted on December 8, 2014 in Social, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

Introducing a network without the “network”. This is espnW, the ESPN (see Appendix below) channel, without a channel, specifically catering to women’s sports; this network is delivered via the internet only.

Wow, how the world has changed.

So this commentary is a melding of ICT (Internet & Communications Technology), sports, television, gender equality and economics – this is a big deal for the Caribbean to consider.

espnW…

espnW’s mission is to serve women as fans and athletes. espnW.com provides an engaging environment that offers total access to female athletes and the sports they play, takes fans inside the biggest events, and shares a unique point of view on the sports stories that matter most to women.

Founded in July, 2010, espnW lives across television, films, events, digital and social platforms. The annual espnW: Women + Sports Summit is the leading event of its kind in the sports industry. The Women’s Sports Foundation is a charity of choice for espnW.
ESPN W. – About Us Page – Official Website (Retrieved December 7, 2014) – http://espn.go.com/espnw/v1/about

VIDEO: espnW at the 2012 Olympic Games – http://youtu.be/z7vGVQAatig
Published on Aug 14, 2012
Alex Morgan sits down with Julie Foudy to talk about what it feels like to have her first Olympic gold

The Caribbean does not currently have an eco-system for sports business … for men nor women. There is no viable sporting enterprises, other than baseball development/winter leagues in Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Communist Cuba. There is absolutely no intercollegiate athletics arrangements. Only Amateur athletics abound in the region.

While so much of the sports business infrastructure is missing, the Caribbean is awash in the underlying assets: the athletes. The Caribbean supplies the world with the best-of-the-best in the sports genres of baseball, basketball, track-and-field, soccer-FIFA-football and other endeavors. This athletic supply applies equally to men and women.

The book Go Lean…Caribbean book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), a technocratic federal government to administer and optimize the economic/security/governing engines of the region’s 30 member-states. The roadmap recognizes and fosters the genius qualifiers of many Caribbean men and women. The goal now is to foster the local eco-system in the homeland so that those with talent would not have to flee the region to garner the business returns on their athletic investments.

This Go Lean economic empowerment roadmap strategizes to create a Single Media Market to leverage the value of broadcast rights for the entire region, utilizing all the advantages of cutting edge ICT offerings. The result: an audience of 42 million residents (plus 10 million Diaspora) across 30 member-states and 4 languages. ESPN and espnW provides a great role model for this execution, see Appendix below, facilitating television, cable, satellite and internet streaming wherever economically viable.

At the outset, the roadmap recognizes the value of sports, for all genders, in the roadmap with these statements in the Declaration of Interdependence (Page 13 & 14):

xxvi.      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.

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

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

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

The Go Lean roadmap calls for the market organizations and community investments to garner economic benefits of sports and talented athletes, men and women. One of the biggest contribution the CU will make is the facilitation of sports venues: arenas and stadia. Sports can be big business (and great educational opportunities) for the athletes, promoters, vendors and landlords. Still, even fans get great benefits: image, national pride, and entertainment. (The E in ESPN means Entertainment). The eco-system of sports is therefore inclusive in the roadmap’s quest to make the Caribbean region a better place to live, work and play.

Now is the time for all of the Caribbean to lean-in to the following community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies detailed in the book Go Lean…Caribbean to deliver the solutions to elevate the Caribbean region through sports:

Community Ethos – People Respond to Incentives in Predictable Ways	Page 21
Community Ethos – Return on Investments	Page 24
Community Ethos – Ways to Foster Genius	Page 27
Community Ethos – Promote Intellectual Property	Page 29
Community Ethos – Ways to Promote Happiness	Page 36
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good	Page 37
Strategic – Vision – Consolidating the Region in to a Single Market	Page 45
Strategic – Staffing – Sporting Events at Fairgrounds	Page 55
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy	Page 64
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Sports & Culture Administration	Page 81
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Fairgrounds Administration	Page 83
Implementation – Steps to Implement Self-Governing Entities (Fairgrounds)	Page 105
Implementation – Ways to Deliver	Page 109
Planning – 10 Big Ideas – #5 Four Languages in Unison / #8 Cyber Caribbean	Page 127
Planning – Ways to Make the Caribbean Better	Page 131
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy	Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs	Page 152
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Education – Reduce Brain Drain	Page 159
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Local Government – Parks & Recreation	Page 169
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Events	Page 191
Advocacy – Ways to Promote Fairgrounds	Page 192
Advocacy – Ways to Foster Technology – Intellectual Property Protections	Page 197
Advocacy – Ways to Empower Women	Page 226
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Youth	Page 227
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Sports	Page 229
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Urban Living – Sports Leagues	Page 234

The book Go Lean…Caribbean, and aligning blog commentaries (highlighted throughout this page in bold), asserts that the region can be a better place to live, work and play; that the economy can be grown methodically by embracing progressive strategies in sports and sports broadcasting/streaming at all levels: professional, amateur and intercollegiate.

The Go Lean…Caribbean roadmap is bigger than just sports, its a concerted effort to elevate all of Caribbean society, for all genders: men and women. The CU is the vehicle for this goal, this is detailed by 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 (21,000 direct jobs at fairgrounds and sport venues).
Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines.
Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines.

This roadmap adheres to economic principles of supply-and-demand. Similar to the foregoing website on espnW, the roadmap looks for the opportunities to foster interest that may exist in specific endeavors, in this case women’s sports, and then explore the business opportunities around servicing that demand. This is not limited to the domestic Caribbean, but rather can refer to local interest in sports abroad and foreign interest in Caribbean sports and athletes.

This is heavy-lifting. This is the quest of Go Lean/CU, to do the heavy-lifting to make the Caribbean homeland a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the book Go Lean…Caribbean now!

———

Appendix – Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESPN)

ESPN is a U.S.-based global cable and satellite television channel that is owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) and Hearst Corporation (which holds the remaining 20% interest). The channel focuses on sports-related programming including live and recorded event telecasts, sports news and talk shows, and other original programming.

ESPN broadcasts primarily from studio facilities located in Bristol, Connecticut. The network also operates offices in Miami, New York City, Seattle, Charlotte, and Los Angeles. While ESPN is one of the most successful sports networks, it has been subject to criticism, which includes accusations of biased coverage^[1] (not showing enough hockey or Women’s athletics), conflict of interest, and controversies with individual broadcasters and analysts.

As of August 2013, ESPN is available to approximately 97,736,000 pay television households (85.58% of households with at least one television set) in the United States.^[2] In addition to the flagship channel and its seven related channels in the United States, ESPN broadcasts in more than 200 countries,^[3] operating regional channels in Australia, Brazil, Latin America and the United Kingdom, and owning a 20% interest in The Sports Network (TSN) as well as its five sister networks and NHL Network in Canada.

Source References:

Geography lesson: Breaking down the bias in ESPN’s coverage, ESPN.com, August 15, 2008.
Seidman, Robert (August 23, 2013). “List of How Many Homes Each Cable Networks Is In – Cable Network Coverage Estimates As Of August 2013”. TV by the Numbers. Zap2it. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
ESPN Inc Encyclopedia Britannica.

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Sports Role Model – Turn On the SEC Network

Posted on August 24, 2014 in Economics, Government, Social

Go Lean Commentary

There is a new religion in the South (United States). It is SEC football. For many in the South, football is life, “everything else is details”. Now, (starting August 28) the SEC adherents can worship 7-24-365 on the SEC Network cable channel. This is a melding of sports, television, southern culture and economics – this is big business – and a religious-like devotion.

The SEC (South East Conference) is the Number 1 (American) football conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Their revenues, attendance, championships, NFL draft picks and TV ratings are the best-of-the-best of all other conferences. This last subject is the focus of this commentary: TV ratings and broadcast rights.

Title: Turn On the SEC
By: Jon Saraceno

In a melding of two powerful sports brands, cable-television behemoth ESPN and the football-crazed Southeastern Conference have joined forces to form the SEC Network, debuting August 14. ESPN Radio host Paul Finebaum, a veteran observer of all things SEC, believes audience response will be rabid. That view seems particularly valid given that college football is the unquestioned autumnal king of the South.

“SEC fans are an interesting bunch,” Finebaum observes. “They don’t like being subjected to other leagues [that have TV networks], like the Big Ten or the Pac-12. Now they can say, ‘Nothing else exists but us — the rest of the world can vaporize, for all we care.’ It is as irritating to non-SEC fans as it is pleasing to a son of the South.”

Finebaum understands the parochialism. The Memphis, Tenn., native worked for three decades in Birmingham, Ala., before relocating to Charlotte, N.C., as the SEC Network’s first on-air hire when ESPN announced the formation of the network last year. The network launches with a well-timed countdown to the start of the 2014 football season. Blastoff is Aug. 28, when Texas A&M travels to South Carolina. Brent Musburger, one of several marquee on-air hires, will call the game. But the SEC Network’s most popular personality might be former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow.

Programming for the 24/7 multiplatform channel will be highlighted by 45 SEC football games. The network also will showcase men’s basketball (an estimated 100 games), women’s basketball (60 games) and baseball (75 games), along with select coverage from the league’s 21 sports. In all, more than 1,000 events will be aired across the network’s digital platform.

Following ESPN’s time-tested formula of bracketing programming and analysis around live events, the SEC Network will televise studio shows and live-event days such as spring football games and national signing day for college-football recruits.

Beyond content, the marriage between ESPN and the conference should be a match made in financial heaven. Disney-owned ESPN expects to reap untold hundreds of millions in advertising revenue during the 20-year deal. Increased exposure and lucrative media rights bode well for all 14 SEC schools.
American Way August 2014 – American Airlines Inflight Magazine –
http://hub.aa.com/en/aw/turn-on-the-sec

The Caribbean does not currently have an eco-system for intercollegiate athletics. The book Go Lean…Caribbean, and aligning blog commentaries, asserts that the region can be a better place to live, work and play; that the economy can be grown methodically by embracing progressive strategies in sports at all levels: professional, amateur and intercollegiate.

While the Caribbean may not have the sports business eco-system, we do have the underlying assets: the athletes. The Caribbean supply the world, including the NCAA, with the best-of-the-best in the sports genres of basketball, track-and-field, soccer-FIFA-football and other endeavors. The Go Lean book recognizes and fosters the genius qualifiers of many Caribbean athletes.

The goal now is foster the local eco-system in the homeland so that those with talent would not have to flee the region to garner the business returns on their athletic investments.

The Go Lean book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), a technocratic federal government to administer and optimize the economic/security/ governing engines of the region’s 30 member-states. At the outset, the roadmap recognizes the value of sports in the roadmap with these statements in the Declaration of Interdependence (Page 13 & 14):

xxvi. 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.

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

The Go Lean roadmap calls for the market organizations to better garner the economic benefits of sports. One of the biggest contribution the CU will make is the facilitation of sports venues: arenas and stadia. Sports can be big business! But even when money is not involved, other benefits abound: educational scholarships, image, national pride, and something more, something non-tangible yet of utmost importance for the Go Lean roadmap: less societal abandonment. A mission of the CU is to reduce the brain drain and incentivize repatriation of the Diaspora.

Another area of the Go Lean economic empowerment roadmap that relates to the foregoing article is the strategy is to create a Single (Media) Market to leverage the value of broadcast rights for the region, the resultant consolidated market would cover 30 member-states, 4 languages and 42 million people. The successful execution of this strategy will elevate the art, science and genius of sport enterprises in the region. Now is the time for all of the Caribbean to lean-in to the following community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies detailed in the book Go Lean … Caribbean to re-boot the delivery of the regional solutions to elevate the Caribbean region through sports:

Community Ethos – People Respond to Incentives in Predictable Ways	Page 21
Community Ethos – Return on Investments	Page 24
Community Ethos – Ways to Foster Genius	Page 27
Community Ethos – Ways to Improve Negotiations	Page 32
Community Ethos – Ways to Promote Happiness	Page 36
Strategic – Vision – Consolidating the Region in to a Single Market	Page 45
Strategic – Staffing – Sporting Events at Fairgrounds	Page 55
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy	Page 64
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Sports & Culture Administration	Page 81
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Fairgrounds Administration	Page 83
Implementation – Steps to Implement Self-Governing Entities (Fairgrounds)	Page 105
Implementation – Ways to Deliver	Page 109
Planning – Ways to Make the Caribbean Better	Page 131
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy	Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs	Page 152
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Education – Reduce Brain Drain	Page 159
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Local Government – Parks & Recreation	Page 169
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Events	Page 191
Advocacy – Ways to Promote Fairgrounds	Page 192
Advocacy – Ways to Foster Technology Expositions	Page 197
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Youth	Page 227
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Sports	Page 229
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Urban Living – Sports Leagues	Page 234

The Caribbean is the best-of-the-best address on the planet, but there are certain missing features, such as intercollegiate athletics… and jobs. The foregoing article aligns with this Go Lean…Caribbean roadmap to fill these voids. This effort is bigger than sports; this is about Caribbean life; we must elevate our own society. The CU is the vehicle for this goal, this is detailed by 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 Go Lean roadmap anticipates 21,000 direct jobs at fairgrounds and sport venues throughout the region; plus 40,000 new jobs by re-optimizing the region’s educational engines, including colleges & universities.

Now is the time for all of the Caribbean, the people and governing institutions, to lean-in for the empowerments of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation. Now is the time to make this region a better place to live, work and play.

Download the book Go Lean…Caribbean now!

APPENDIX – SEC Conference Schools/Teams

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Caribbean Jobs – Attitudes & Images of the Diaspora

Posted on August 17, 2014 in Economics, Ethos, Social

Go Lean Commentary

“Make fun of our work ethic. I dare you. I double dare you.”

The experience of new Caribbean Diaspora members is that their work ethic is appreciated by employers. So if an employer has a tie in decision-making to fill a job with Caribbean candidate or an African American candidate, the Caribbean prospects wins out.^[a]

The foregoing VIDEO/TV show from the 1990’s was a production by African Americans (Wayans brothers of Keenen, Damon, Kim, Shawn and others) for an African American audience. They laughed at Caribbean immigrants in Urban America. This is a population that have no basis to berate others. They have suffered since the 2008 Great Recession with a 21% unemployment rate^[b]; even worse among Black youth where the unemployment rate is 49%^[c].

This following video harmonizes with the book Go Lean…Caribbean which posits that Caribbean image should be monitored and guarded against defamation and disparaging stereotypes. While the VIDEO/TV show was produced in 1990, this Go Lean effort is recent, composed November 2013. The negative image aside, the following VIDEO is funny:

The sketch comedy television show In Living Color debuted on FOX-TV in September 1990. This skit emerged in Season 1 Episode 7 depicting a hardworking West Indian family (Father, Mother, Son and Daughter) all with multiple jobs.

The underlying issue in this consideration is jobs. There is the need for more jobs – in the US urban communities and in the Caribbean. But there are more issues in consideration of this book. A compelling mission of the Go Lean book is to lower the “push and pull” factors that lead many to abandon the Caribbean homeland for American shores. The book posits that the region must create jobs so that its citizens do not have to leave to become aliens in a foreign land, to be ridiculed for their accents, hairstyles (dreadlocks) and work ethic. This goal is detailed in the Go Lean book as it serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). So the CU would be set to optimize Caribbean society, starting with economic empowerment. In fact, the Go Lean roadmap has 3 prime directives:

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

The Go Lean roadmap calls for many changes and empowerments. One such example is the infrastructure of Self-Governing Entities (SGE), to allow for industrial developments in a controlled environment. There is so much that can be accomplished with the right climate, entrepreneurial spirit, access to capital and willing work force.

There are so many other defects of Caribbean life that need to be addressed. We do not want to be the “laughing stock” of the developed world. We want to be recognized as protégés, not parasites! This point is pronounced early in the book with the Declaration of Interdependence (Page 12) with many statements that demonstrate the need to remediate Caribbean communities and enhance the Caribbean world-wide image:

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.

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

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

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, pre-fabricated 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.

It is the strong urging of every Caribbean empowerment plan to minimize the size of the Diaspora. We would prefer to keep our people and our educated work force “home” in the homeland. But it is what it is. Wishing alone will not accomplish this goal – there must be real solutions. This is the purpose of the Go Lean…Caribbean roadmap: to compose, communicate and compel solutions back in the Caribbean homeland. How, what, when? The Go Lean book also details a series of community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to impact the region, member-states, cities and communities economic prospects:

Community Ethos – Deferred Gratification	Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Principle – Economic Systems Influence Choices & Incentives	Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Principle – Voluntary Trade Creates Wealth	Page 21
Community Ethos – Job Multiplier	Page 22
Community Ethos – Lean Operations	Page 24
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Future	Page 26
Community Ethos – Ways to Foster Genius	Page 27
Community Ethos – Ways to Help Entrepreneurship	Page 28
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact Research & Development	Page 30
Community Ethos – Ways to Promote Happiness	Page 36
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good	Page 37
Strategy – Mission – Facilitate Job-Creating Industries	Page 46
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy	Page 64
Tactical – Tactics to Forge an $800 Billion Economy – High Multiplier Industries	Page 70
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Self-Governing Entities	Page 80
Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change	Page 101
Implementation – Steps to Implement Self-Governing Entities	Page 105
Implementation – Ways to Deliver	Page 109
Implementation – Reasons to Repatriate to the Caribbean	Page 118
Planning – Ways to Make the Caribbean Better	Page 131
Planning – Ways to Better Manage Caribbean Image	Page 133
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy	Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs	Page 152
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Emergency Management Processes and Systems	Page 196
Advocacy – Ways to Foster Technology	Page 197
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Hollywood	Page 203
Advocacy – Ways to Impact the Diaspora	Page 217
Appendix – Job Multipliers	Page 259

With some measure of success, we should be able to reduce the size of the Diaspora, repatriating many to return to the homeland. Even more so, we should reduce the “push and pull” factors that lead many to abandon the region in the first place. We want North America (and Europe) laughing with us, not at us!

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

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2003	Where the Jobs Are – One Scenario for Creating Caribbean Jobs
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1698	STEM Jobs Are Filling Slowly
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1683	British public sector workers (Afro-Caribbeans) strike over ‘poverty pay’
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=1256	Traditional 4-year Colleges – Terrible Investment for Region and Jobs
http://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=857	Caribbean Image: Dreadlocks
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=398	Self-employment on the rise in the Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=273	10 Things We *Don’t* Want from the US – Discrimination of New Immigrations

The purpose of this roadmap is to make the Caribbean homeland, a better place to live, work and play. Comedy falls under the “Play” category. With all the emphasis on jobs, work ethic, image and opportunities, there is room for fun too, or better stated: funny. This dialogue from the skit in the foregoing VIDEO is just plain funny:

Father: “What happened to that boy you were dating with those 100 jobs?”
Daughter: “Him dead now”
Father/Mother: “What?! That means there are 100 jobs open”.
Father: “Where’s my newspaper?”

If only we were not the “butt” of the joke!

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

—————————————————————————

Appendix – Cited References

a. Posted September 26, 2012; retrieved August 17, 2014 from:
http://m.ibtimes.com/caribbean-americans-invisible-minority-seeking-identity-affirmation-795709

b. Posted August 6, 2013; retrieved August 17, 2014 from: http://newsone.com/2662081/black-unemployment-rate-2/

c. Posted November 2013; retrieved August 17, 2014 from: http://www.laprogressive.com/african-american-teen-unemployment/

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How to Whitelist Blog Emails

Posted on May 18, 2014 in Planning, Social

Are you missing any Blogs?

You use your Google Account to receive daily Blogs from Go Lean…Caribbean. You receive them Day 1, 2, and 3 but by Day 4 you all of a sudden stop getting them and don’t know why. You check your Spam/Bulk/Promotions Inbox/Folder and there they are; 4 days worth of blogs that you thought disappeared into thin air.

While this scenario is bad, SPAM filters are good. It is important to keep your SPAM filter active in order to wean out the emails that are truly SPAM-ish. But what about the legitimate emails that you truly want to receive? You will not want them caught in an overactive SPAM filter? In addition to a SPAM designation, they may be categorized in a different folder in your email system? This could cause you not to receive important emails daily, such as Go Lean…Caribbean blogs.

Whereas SPAM is considered Blacklist, you can add emails from trusted senders to your Whitelist so that they can pass easily through your spam filter (or junk folder) across the different email clients and internet security platforms. Whitelisting specifically allows emails from a specific source, such as Go Lean…Caribbean, to be allowed into your email inbox.

The following is a list of steps for programs and email in alphabetical order:

AOL 7.0 & 8.0

1. Open a message from the Go Lean…Caribbean

2. Click the Add Address icon on the right side of the window.

3. Click the Save button

AOL 9.0 and Up

1. Open a message from the Go Lean…Caribbean

2. Click the Add Address icon on the right side of the window

3. Click the OK button

AOL Mail

1. Open a message from Go Lean…Caribbean

2. Click Show Images: Go Lean…Caribbean

AT&T Webmail and BellSouth

1. In your mailbox, click Options.

2. Go to Mail Options, select Filters. Click Add Filter.

3. Go to From Header and select Contains. Enter the trusted address or domain (email or website) in the box provided.

4. Go to the drop down menu at the bottom with the option Move the message to. Select Inbox.

5. Click Add Filter

Comcast SmartZone

1. Click Address Book

2. Click New. Select New Contact

3. Add email address.

4. Click Save

Cox Email

1. Click Preferences.

2. Go to General Email Preferences and click Blocked Senders.

3. Type address or domain to add to the Exceptions list.

4. Click Add. Click Save.

EarthLink

1. Click on Address Book (it’s over on the left, below your Folders).

2. When your Address Book opens, click the Add new contact.

3. On the Add Contact screen, find the Internet Information box.

4. Enter the Go Lean…Caribbean address into the top Email box.

5. Click Save.

Earthlink Total Access

1. Open a message from the Go Lean…Caribbean

2. In the From field, right-click the email address

3. Click the Add to Address Book link in the menu

4. Click the Ok button

Gmail

1. Open a message from Go Lean…Caribbean.

2. Click Always display images from (senders address).

1. Open a message from Go Lean…Caribbean.

2. Click the arrow next to reply on the top right.

3. Click Add sender to contact list.

Hotmail

1. Open a message from the Go Lean…Caribbean.

2. Click Mark as safe next to the From name and address.

3. Now click Add contact.

Mac Mail

1. Open a message from the Go Lean…Caribbean

2. Go to Message in the top tool bar

3. Click Add Sender to Address Book from the drop-down menu

McAfee SpamKiller

1. Go to Friends and click Add.

2. Type the trusted address or domain in the space provided. Click OK.

MSN

1. Click on Help & Settings

2. Click Email Settings

3. Click on Safe List

4. In Add an item to this list, type the specific email address or use @xxxx.com to whitelist the domain (note: xxxx has to be replaced with the domain)

5. Click Add

Thunderbird / Netscape 6 or 7

1. Open a message from the Go Lean…Caribbean.

2. In the From field, right-click the email address.

3. Click the Add to Address Book link in the menu.

4. Click the OK button.

NetZero

1. Go to Options and click Safe List.

2. Type the trusted domain or address in Add Address to Safe List.

3. Click Add then click Save.

Norton AntiSpam

1. Go to the Status & Settings tab and click AntiSpam.

2. Click Configure and go to the Allowed List tab.

3. Click Add and type the trusted address or domain in the Email Address box.

4. Click OK.

Outlook 2003 – 2007

1. Open a message from the Go Lean…Caribbean.

2. Go to the Actions option in the top tool bar.

3. Select Junk E-mail from the drop down menu.

4. Select the Add Sender to Safe Senders List option.

Outlook 2000 / Outlook 11

1. Open a message from the Go Lean…Caribbean

2. In the From field, right-click the email address

3. Click the Add to Contacts link in the menu

4. Click the OK button

Outlook Express 6

1. Open a message from the Go Lean…Caribbean

2. In the From field, right-click the email address

3. Click the Add to Address Book link in the menu

4. Click the OK button

Road Runner

1. Open Junk Mail folder.

2. Select emails you wish to add to your whitelist.

3. Click Mark as Not Spam.

Spam Assassin

1. In your hard drive, find your Spam Assassin folder. Click the folder.

2. Open the file named user_prefs with a text editor or Notepad. (If the file does not exist you can create it using the instructions on Spam Assassin’s website.)

3. Make a new line with the text whitelist_from and the trusted address or domain you wish to add.

4. Save the file and close it.

Verizon

1. Go to Options and select Block Senders.

2. In the Safe List, type your trusted address or domain.

3. Click OK.

Windows Live

1. Open a message from the Go Lean…Caribbean

2. Click Mark as safe next to the From name and address

3. Now click Add contact

Yahoo!

1. Open a message from the Go Lean…Caribbean.

2. Now click Add contact next to the From name and address.

Tutorial Source: http://www.whatcounts.com/how-to-whitelist-emails/- Retrieved 5/14/2014

Don’t forget to add Go Lean…Caribbean to YOUR Whitelist!!!

Download the Book- Go Lean…Caribbean Now!!!

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Bob Marley: The legend lives on!

Posted on May 11, 2014 in Ethos, Implementation, Social

Go Lean Commentary

“Let’s get together and feel alright” – Bob Marley’s Song: One Love

This song is identified in the below article as being designated Song of the Millennium by the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation). Today, 11 May 2014, is the 33rd anniversary of Bob Marley’s death. (The number 33 is the “rev” speed for music-album playback).

The book Go Lean … Caribbean identifies 169 different musical/national combinations of genres throughout the Caribbean. Of them all, Reggae is by far the most impactful of a Caribbean sound; even more so than Calypso, Soca, Merengue or any of the many Afro-Cuban varieties (Conga, Mambo, Salsa, etc). One cannot speak of Reggae music though without recognizing the iconic role of Bob Marley. The Go Lean book speaks directly of Bob Marley in recognizing him, along with other advocates, in the way in which his contributions resonated in the world. As follows, an excerpt from that rendering (Page 133):

The majority of the Caribbean population descends from an African ancestry – a legacy of slavery from previous centuries. Despite the differences in nationality, culture and language, the image of the African Diaspora is all linked hand-in-hand. And thus, when Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali and Bob Marley impacted the world with their contributions, the reverberations were felt globally, not just in their homelands. It is hard for one segment of the black world to advance when other segments have a negative global image. This is exemplified with the election of Barack Obama as US President; his election was viewed as an ascent for the entire Black race.*

The following article, from the Daily Independent Newspaper of Nigeria, posits that the legend and legacy of Bob Marley lives on, to this day and beyond.

“My music will go on forever. Maybe it’s a fool say that, but when me know facts me can say facts. My music will go on forever.” – Bob Marley

The above statement made by Bob Marley of his music, is a living testimony of his continued legacy and legend. Since his demise on May 11, 1981, the influence of his music on global culture has become unparalleled as evidenced by ever increasing list of accomplishments, honours and awards.

In June 1978, he was awarded the ‘Peace Medal of the Third World ’ from the United Nations. He was voted as one of the greatest lyricists of all time by a BBC poll. In 2006, a blue plaque was unveiled at his first UK residence in Ridgmount Gardens, London, dedicated to him by Nubian Jak community trust and supported by Her Majesty’s Foreign Office.

Bob Marley was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994; in December 1999, his 1977 album “Exodus” was named Album of the Century by Time Magazine and his song “One Love” was designated Song of the Millennium by the BBC.

Since its release in 1984, Marley’s “Legend” compilation has annually sold over 250,000 copies, according to Nielsen Sound Scan, and it is only the 17th album to exceed sales of 10 million copies since SoundScan began its tabulations in 1991.

Bob Marley’s music was never recognised with a Grammy nomination, but in 2001 he was bestowed The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. That same year, a feature length documentary about Bob Marley’s life, ‘Rebel Music’, directed by Jeremy Marre, was nominated for a Grammy for ‘Best Long Form Music Video’ documentary. In 2001 Bob Marley was accorded the 2171st star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame by the Hollywood Historic Trust and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, in Hollywood, California. As a recipient of this distinction, Bob Marley joined musical legends, including Carlos Santana, Stevie Wonder and The Temptations.

In 2006, the State of New York renamed a portion of Church Avenue in the section of Brooklyn, “Bob Marley Boulevard “.

Recently, the popular TV show, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, commemorated the 30th anniversary of Bob Marley’s passing with an entire week (May 9-13) devoted to his music, as performed by Bob’s eldest son, Ziggy, Jennifer Hudson, Lauryn Hill, Lenny Kravitz and the show’s house band, The Roots. These triumphs are all the more remarkable considering Bob Marley’s humble beginnings and numerous challenges he overcame attempting to gain a foothold in Jamaica ‘s chaotic music industry while skillfully navigating the politically partisan violence that abounded in Kingston throughout the 1970s.

In celebration of what would have been his 68th birthday, the 2013 Grammys featured an all-star Bob Marley tribute including some of music’s hottest stars.

One of the 20th century’s most charismatic and challenging performers, Bob Marley’s renown now transcends the role of reggae luminary: he is regarded as a cultural icon who implored his people to know their history “coming from the root of King David, through the line of Solomon,” as he sang on “Blackman Redemption”; Bob urged his listeners to check out the “Real Situation” and to rebel against the vampiric “Babylon System”. “Bob had a rebel type of approach, but his rebelliousness had a clearly defined purpose to it,” acknowledges Chris Blackwell, the founder of Island Records, who played a pivotal role in the Bob Marley biography by introducing Marley and the Wailers to an international audience.

Two influences of Marley’s music are his Rastafarian belief and his love for marijuana. The pan-African consciousness, progressive political ideologies and deep spiritual convictions heard in Bob Marley’s music were derived from his firmly rooted commitment to Rastafarian beliefs and its attendant lifestyle. Marley did not just enjoy weed as a recreational habit. He was instead a staunch supporter of the plant’s meditational, spiritual and healing abilities, and a fierce opponent to those who tried using marijuana as a vehicle for oppression, and to keep certain groups of people out of the societal mainstream.

In his early years, February 1962, Marley recorded four songs, Judge Not, One Cup of Coffee, Do You Still Love Me? And Terror. One Cup of Coffee was released under the pseudonym, Bobby Martell.

The following year, Bob Marley, Bunny Wailer, Peter Tosh,Junior Braithwaite, Beverly Kelso and Cherry Smith called The Teenagers, later changed the name to The Wailing Rudeboys, then to The Wailing Wailers and finally to The Wailers. In 1966, Smith, Kelso and Braithwaite left the Wailers leaving Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer. Marley, that same year married, Rita Anderson.

In an attempt to commercialise The Wailers sound, between 1968 and 1972, Bob and Rita Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer re-cut some old tracks with JAD Records in Kingston and London.

After signing with CBS Records in London, Marley in 1972 embarked on a UK tour with American musician, Johnny Nash. The Wailers returned to Jamaica to release its first album, Catch a Fire. The eight track album was followed the same year by the album, Burnin, which included the song, I Shot the Sheriff. Eric Clapton was given the album by his guitarist, George Terry, for his enjoyment, but Clapton was so impressed that he recorded a cover version of, I Shot the Sheriff, which became his first US hit after [the song] Layla.

It is pertinent to note that during this period, Blackwell, Marley’s record company, gifted his Kingston residence and company headquarters to Marley. The property housing Tuff Gong studios, became not only his office, but also his home. Finally, The Wailers broke up in 1974 with each of the three members pursuing solo careers.

Though born a Catholic, Marley converted to Rastafari and began to grow dreadlocks. With new members in his solo career, Marley continued recording as ‘Bob Marley and The Wailers’ as the ‘I Threes’ comprising Marcia Griffiths, Judy Mowatt and Marley’s wife, Rita provided backing vocals.

Marley rose to fame internationally in 1975 with his first hit track, No Woman No Cry from the Natty Dread album. This was followed by Rastaman Vibration, his breakthrough album in the US.

Of significance was an assassination attempt by unknown gunmen on December 3, 1976, two days before, a free concert, tagged, ‘Smile Jamaica’, organised by the Jamaican Prime Minister, Michael Manley in an attempt to ease tension between two warring political factions. Marley, his wife and manager, Don Taylor were wounded in the assault. However, injured Marley performed after the attack. At the end of 1976, Marley left Jamaica and after a month of recovery and writing, he arrived [in] England, where he spent two years in self imposed exile. While in Queen Elizabeth’s country, he recorded the albums, Kaya and Exodus. For 56 consecutive weeks, Exodus stayed on the British album charts. It also included four UK hit singles – Exodus, Waiting in Vain, Jamming and One Love (a rendition of Curtis Mayfield’s hit, People get Ready).

In an effort to calm warring parties, when Marley returned to Jamaica in 1978, he performed at another political concert, the One Love Peace Concert which saw the two heads of the factions shook hands on stage.

A defiant and politically charged album, Survival, was released in 1979 with such tracks as, Zimbabwe, Africa Unite, Wake Up and Live and Survival reflected his struggle for Africans. Bob Marley’s final studio album, Uprising in 1980 is regarded as one of his most religious productions. It includes, Redemption Song and Forever Loving Jah.

Confrontation was released posthumously in 1983, contained unreleased songs recorded during Marley’s lifetime. It includes the hit song, Buffalo Soldier and new mixes of singles previously available only in Jamaica. 11 albums, four live albums and seven studio albums were achieved under the name Bob Marley and the Wailers.

In July 1977, Marley was found to have a type of malignant melanoma under the nail of a toe. Citing his religious beliefs, he turned down his doctors’ advice to have his toe amputated. Despite his illness, he continued touring.

His Redemption Song track is in particular considered to be about Marley’s coming to terms with his mortality. He appeared at the Stanley Theatre in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania on September 23 1980, unfortunately, it would be his last concert.

Shortly afterwards, his health deteriorated, the cancer had [spread] to his lungs and brains. Marley sought treatment at the Bavarian clinic of Josef Issels where he received an unusual therapy. After fighting the disease unsuccessfully for eight months, he boarded a plane for his home in Jamaica but he never made it. He landed in Miami, Florida, USA and was taken to Cedars of Lebanon, hospital for immediate medical attention.

On May 11, 1981, Robert Nesta Marley, born on February 6, 1945 on the farm of his maternal grandfather in Nine Mile, Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica to Norval Sinclair Marley and Cedella Booker gave up the ghost. He was aged 36.

After his death, he seems to loom larger than life as his legacy continues to grow. Marley received a state funeral in Jamaica on May 21, 1981 which combined elements of Ethiopian Orthodoxy and Rastafari tradition. On his religious life, Marley was a vegetarian who was affiliated with the Twelve Tribes Mansion. He was in the denomination of the Tribe of Joseph. Shortly before his death, Marley was baptised into Christianity by Archbishop Abuna Yesehaq of the Ethiopian Orthodox church in Kingston, Jamaica on November 4, 1980.

In April 1981 Bob Marley was awarded Jamaica’s third highest honor, the Order of Merit, for his outstanding contribution to his country’s culture.

Marley had a number of children: three with his wife Rita, two adopted from Rita’s previous relationships and several other others with different women.

Irrespective of race, colour, creed, the Bob Marley’s revolutionary yet unifying music, challenging colonialism, racism, and the rest has had profound effects even in country’s where English is not widely spoken.

In August 2008, two artists from Serbia and Croatia , unveiled a statue of Bob Marley during a rock music festival in Serbia; the monument’s inscription read “Bob Marley Fighter for Freedom Armed with A Guitar”.

A statue was inaugurated, next to the national stadium on Arthur Wint Drive in Kingston to commemorate him.

Internationally, Marley’s message also continues to reverberate among various indigenous communities.

The Daily Independent – Nigerian Daily Newspaper – Retrieved May 11, 2014 from: http://dailyindependentnig.com/2014/05/bob-marley-legend-lives/

The book Go Lean…Caribbean serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). This CU strives to advance the Caribbean culture with these 3 prime directives:

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

This roadmap recognizes that a prerequisite for advancing society is a change in the Caribbean community ethos. Early in the book, the contributions that music can make is pronounced as an ethos for the entire region to embrace, (Declaration of Interdependence – DOI – Pages 14) with these statements:

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.

Bob Marley was the embodiment of all of these above values. He impacted the music, culture and economics of the region. He set a pathway for success for other generations of talented, inspirational and influential artists – musical geniuses – to follow. Other artists of Caribbean heritage are sure to emerge and “rock the world”; we are hereby “banking” on it, with these CU preparations (DOI – Page 13):

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.

The CU represents the change that has come to the Caribbean. The people, institutions and governance of the region are all urged to “lean-in” to this roadmap for change. We know there is a “new” Bob Marley somewhere in the Caribbean member-states, waiting to be fostered. We salute this one with the words of this Bob Marley composition Redemption Song, (from this writer’s favorite album “Uprising”):

But my hand was made strong
By the hand of the Almighty.
We forward in this generation
Triumphantly.

Won’t you help to sing
These songs of freedom?
‘Cause all I ever had,
Redemption songs,
Redemption songs.

Emancipate yourself from mental slavery,
None but our self can free our minds.
Have no fear for atomic energy,
‘Cause none of them can stop the time.
How long shall they kill our prophets,
While we stand aside and look?
Some say it’s just a part of it,
We’ve got to fulfill de book.

The following list details the community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to foster the next Bob Marley:

Community Ethos – Ways to Foster Genius	Page 27
Community Ethos –Promote Intellectual Property	Page 29
Community Ethos – Ways to Promote Happiness	Page 36
Community Ethos – Impact the Greater Good	Page 37
Strategy – Caribbean Vision	Page 45
Separation of Powers – Patents & Copyrights	Page 78
Separation of Powers – Culture Administration	Page 81
Implementation – Ways to Impact Social Media	Page 111
Advocacy – Ways to Make the Caribbean Better	Page 131
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Hollywood	Page 203
Advocacy – Ways to Promote Music	Page 231
Advocacy – Ways to Re-boot Jamaica	Page 239

For this occasion, the reader is hereby admonished to put on your favorite Bob Marley album, sit back, and feel the love, the “One Love”.

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

————–

Appendix Reference:

* Rampersad, Dr. Arnold (2008). “Race, History, and the Emergence of Obama”. Florida International University Dr. Eric E. Williams Memorial Lecture Series. BBC-Caribbean.com. Retrieved November 2013 from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/caribbean/news/story/2008/11/printable/081111_obama_rampersad.shtml

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Print is not dead yet

Posted on March 21, 2014 in Implementation, Industries

Go Lean Commentary

… well actually, one person’s opinion:

Print is not dead… yet? I almost didn’t notice!

If print is not dead yet, does that mean it is going to put up a fight? Will it make a comeback? I say “No”. It is just a matter of time. Print might experience only a slow death, but die … it will.

This is just an opinion of an Caribbean Diaspora member living in the US, who rarely buys newspapers and magazines only occasionally. But this does not mean that I’m ignorant of the news or the latest going-ons. I am completely up-to-date. Obviously I rely more on the electronic media for information, and entertainment.

The reference to electronic media does not only mean TV or radio. Rather the internet. A lot of consumers still read, just not in print, they now use internet websites, e-Readers, blogs and email. Even the radio and TV media is finding competition because of the internet. In the TV industries, more people are abandoning cable contracts for subscriptions services like Netflix and Hulu; they are still able to enjoy their favorite programming, just delivered by alternate means. For radio, the audience is shrinking due to the proliferation of mobile music options like Pandora, Rhapsody, Jango, Slacker, Roxio, etc.

The rate of change is fast!

I just started using the internet, email and Facebook two years ago. I’m obviously a late bloomer. During this time, I have not utilized any postal mail to connect with my Caribbean family. Instead of the weeks it took for a letter to arrive; I now connect in seconds.

I am not the only one. – SFE Foundation Stakeholder Leonora Hall.

Truly, you are “not the only one“! Change has come…to America and other countries. According to the American Library Association, in a 2008 report it stated that:

68% of Americans carry a library card, but they rarely use them to borrow books (print), but rather to use audio books, podcasts, digital references, and to consume computer time. They reported that since 2006 they have seen increases in internet usage (68%) for using email, chat, and IM; e-Books (52%); video (49%) and online instruction courses 43%). – (http://www.marketingvox.com/online-offerings-rise-at-us-libraries-68-of-americans-have-library-cards-041431/)

As stated in the below article, there is still a lot of upside to print, compared to electronic alternatives. A paper book is still a better experience compared to an e-Reader. But truth be told, there are no Research & Development (R&D) trying to make paper books better, but plenty of R&D activity for e-Readers. The article relates:

Title: Print is Not Dead Yet
By: Chandi Perera, CEO, Typéfi*

One of the earliest citations of the phrase “print is dead” comes from the 1984 movie Ghostbusters, but almost 30 years later, print is certainly not dead. Print publishing still drives on average 80% of revenues and close to 100% of the profits for general trade publishers. But among reference and science, technical and medical (STM) publishers, digital publishing was embraced quickly and openly at the expense of print.

Commercial digital products from large reference publishers started in the 1980s, and PDF was adopted as the preferred format for STM publishing in the 1990s. Digital-only publications were well-accepted by the turn of this century, and the PDF still holds unquestioned dominance. Digital production and distribution addressed a number of such publishers’ pain points, but print still maintains advantages for large trade publishers.

Take information that is published regularly, as in journals, or that must be kept up to date, like encyclopedias. Such information needs to be disseminated as quickly as possible. Print publications necessarily take longer to be produced and delivered than digital equivalents. But fiction titles, such as the Harry Potter series or The Da Vinci Code, have no information currency or updating requirements. Print still works for these books.

What about physical production and distribution costs? A typical reference or STM publisher could save tens to hundreds of dollars per unit by eliminating printing and mailing costs. For weekly journals this would be as high as $50-$100 per subscriber. The incentive to save on such costs is quite significant for publications containing information that is only valid for a limited time. However, large efficient trade publishers spend less than $2 to print and distribute a typical trade fiction book. Not much cost incentive for change there.

Or look at digital formats. STM publishers often use the same PDF file for both print and digital distribution. Trade digital delivery channels do not generally use PDF files, so a trade publisher needs to create an e-book file in addition to the print file. Complicating matters further, there are over 30 different popular device types, apps or file formats in use in the global publishing market. A publisher can achieve a basic level of compliance from creating one EPUB file and converting to other formats. But to take advantage of e-book device features for an exceptional reading experience, a publisher must invest in creating a dedicated file optimized for each device. The costs of doing this are substantial and in many cases are levels of magnitude above the print production cost.

Accessibility is one of the biggest advantages… of digital publishing from an STM reader’s perspective. With the rise of networked computers and the internet, readers no longer had to go to the library to access a publication. By the late 1980s most professional scientists had a networked desktop computer to access STM publications–usually for free as their institutional library would hold the subscription.

Accessibility is also a major advantage for digital trade publications. No longer will airline passengers have to settle for what the airport bookshop is selling before boarding the flight. They can purchase and download from online catalogs. However, unlike PDFs on desktops, the devices used to access this content are not ubiquitous, cheap (for the reader) or interchangeable.

In today’s e-book market, content purchased from some channels is only readable in devices linked in those channels. It is difficult for all but the most technically savvy to transfer a large iBooks collection to a Kindle or Samsung Galaxy device, and vice versa.

On the other hand, PDF provides a dependable rendering format for scholarly publications, regardless of technology upgrades and platform changes. The PDF user experience for reference and STM publications is no worse than the print product experience. Users could still do all they did with the traditional print product, with some added advantages , and none of the disadvantages (even on-screen reading, as many readers still print out the PDF for reading on paper).

But in trade publishing, the user experience of e-books is very different from print and varies from device to device; in almost all cases devices are more complex to use than a simple book. Even on popular devices like the Kindle, navigating through a book is cumbersome, unlike “flicking” back and forth. Even with perceived benefits like resizable text and backlit displays, it takes significantly more effort to use an e-book reader than a book.

Until there is more standardization of format, portability of libraries, and the reading experience is as good as, or better than, a physical book across devices, and until the cost and revenue equation makes sense for the publisher, print will have a long life yet in trade publishing. Nevertheless, there are many ventures seeking these outcomes, and technologies being developed to deliver them. Overall, digital publishing has a bright future.
Source: *Typéfi produces automated composition solutions for print and web. Visit http://www.Typéfi.com.
See http://www.oecd.org/internet/ieconomy/

This commentary therefore concurs with the article’s conclusion: Overall, digital publishing has a bright future.

Are these future prospects true for the Caribbean as well? The book Go Lean…Caribbean serves as a roadmap to elevate the Caribbean economic, security and governance engines. The book asserts that the “world is flat” and the globalization has taken its toll on Caribbean consumerism. This indicates that we must plan for more and more electronic consumption of news and information. But with electronic delivery come the need for electronic payment systems, and thus the Go Lean roadmap is to establish the complete eco-system so that all of the Caribbean can more easily consume electronic media content legitimately. The roadmap also calls for the deployment of more libraries into the communities so as to facilitate the need for internet connectivity.

Lastly, the Go Lean roadmap posits that as a region, we cannot only expect to consume, but that we must create/compose as well. The end result of this roadmap is a complete eco-system to foster a viable media industry.