Model – Page 55 – Go Lean…Caribbean

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A Lesson in History – SARS in Hong Kong

Posted on March 24, 2015 in Economics, Government, Implementation

Go Lean Commentary

Sadly, we report – though it is only a reminder – that there is no cure for the common cold; nor its more debilitating “Big Brother”, influenza or “the flu”.

Sometimes the flu is just the flu. Symptoms may include cough, sore throat, fever, myalgia (muscle pain), and lethargy (fatigue or drowsiness, or prolonged sleep patterns). Unfortunately this normal start for influenza may morph into more serious concerns. For example, consider the SARS epidemic of 2003; see Appendix A. The same symptoms, above, were the applicable descriptors at the start of the SARS outbreak.

Why would anyone think of anything more than the common/annual flu? How can a community – the Caribbean region in this case – manage such an epidemiological crisis?

For this, we have a well-documented lesson from Hong Kong in 2003. There is much for us to learn from this lesson in history.

The people, institutions and governance of the Caribbean need to pay more than the usual attention to the lessons of SARS in Hong Kong, not just from the medical perspective (see Appendix B), but also from an economic viewpoint.

During the “heyday” of the SARS crisis, travel and transport to Hong Kong virtually came to a grinding halt! Hong Kong had previously enjoyed up to 14 million visitors annually; they were a gateway to the world. The SARS epidemic became a pandemic because of this status. Within weeks of the outbreak, SARS had spread from Hong Kong to infect individuals in 37 countries in early 2003.^[3]

Can we afford this disposition in any Caribbean community? Consider this VIDEO:

VIDEO: SARS on Hong Kong’s Economy – BiA Fall 2013 – https://youtu.be/l0rSJhUaCU8

Published on Dec 5, 2013 – Documentary of the impact of the 2003 SARS period in Hong Kong and on its economy. (Business in Asia presentation clip)

Consider how this history may impact the Caribbean region. SARS in Hong Kong was 12 years ago. But last year the world was rocked with an Ebola crisis originating from West Africa. An additional example local to the Caribbean is the Chikungunya virus that emerged in Spring 2014. The presentation of these facts evinces that we cannot allow mis-management of any public health crisis; this disposition would not extend the welcoming hospitality that the tourism product depends on. Our domestic engines cannot sustain an outbreak of a virus like SARS (nor Ebola nor Chikungunya). Less than an outbreak, our tourism economic engines, on the other hand, cannot even withstand a rumor. We must act fast, with inter-state efficiency, against any virus.

This is the goal as detailed in the book Go Lean … Caribbean as it serves as a roadmap for the introduction of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). The vision of the CU is to ensure that the Caribbean is a protégé of communities like the US and EU states, not a parasite. This roadmap is an anti-parasite campaign. A virus, like SARS, is a parasite! This commentary is the factual lesson:

Medically, there are effective remedies for SARS; (thank you Hong Kong for teaching this lesson); see Appendix B.

Antibiotics are ineffective, as SARS is a viral disease. Treatment of SARS is largely supportive with antipyretics (fever reducers), supplemental oxygen and mechanical ventilation as needed.

Suspected cases of SARS must be isolated, preferably in negative pressure rooms, with complete “barrier nursing” precautions taken for any necessary contact with these patients; (protective gear: masks, gloves, etc).

The full details of the Hong Kong experience is provided here:

Title: SARS legacy still felt in Hong Kong, 10 years on
By Katie Hunt, BBC News; posted 20 March 2013

Hong Kong – Bathed in low evening light, Amoy Gardens is a hive of activity. People duck in and out of noodle joints, fast food chains and convenience stores before heading home to the warren of apartments nestled in the estate’s nineteen tower blocks.

But 10 years ago, this densely populated Hong Kong apartment complex, home to 19,000 people, was an eerie ghost town.

Two hundred residents had contracted a deadly respiratory disease, now known as SARS, within a week and no-one knew how it was spreading.

Rats and cockroaches were touted by the press as possible culprits.

“Taxi drivers refused to come here,” Yip Hing Kwok, a long-time resident and now a local councillor, recalls of the deadly 2003 outbreak.

Alarm turned to panic on March 31 when residents of block E, which experienced the densest concentration of cases, woke up to find that they were unable to leave their building as police and medical staff clad in protective suits enforced an emergency quarantine order.

Police were ordered to chase down those who had already left and residents were later moved to two holiday camps.

“We tried to improve the cleaning of the estate but the number of cases kept increasing,” says Mr Yip, who did not live in the blighted block. “The situation was uncontrollable.”

Starring role
Amoy Gardens played an unwanted starring role in the 2003 SARS epidemic that infected 8,096 worldwide, and killed 744. The disease, from the same family of viruses as the common cold, emerged in southern China at the end of 2002.

It was carried to Hong Kong by a doctor, whose one-night stay in the Metropole Hotel resulted in seven other guests being infected. These guests then jumped on planes, spreading SARS around the world.

While the disease appeared to spread fast, the number of people killed by the virus was relatively small, especially compared with the half a million people who died of influenza in the same year.

But these facts were not known until the disease had come under control in the summer. In March and early April of 2003, as the epidemic seemed to spiral out of control, Hong Kong was a city gripped by fear.

Surgical masks became hot commodities and the city’s usually crowded shopping malls, restaurants and mass transport emptied. Expats fled, schools closed and those who could worked from home.

Back then, working as a reporter in the city, I recall being urged by a contact to head straight for the airport as Hong Kong was to be declared an infectious port and sealed from the outside world. A teenager was later arrested in what turned out to be an April Fool’s Day stunt.

On the same day, a hugely popular singer and actor, Leslie Cheung, committed suicide by jumping from the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental hotel in the middle of the financial district, plunging an already anxious Hong Kong into mourning.

Of course, Hong Kong was not the only place to suffer during the epidemic.

Singapore, Taipei, Beijing and Toronto were hard hit and China’s citizens were kept in the dark about the outbreak as the country’s leaders initially refused to acknowledge the extent and severity of the disease.

But it is perhaps in Hong Kong, the city that suffered the greatest number of casualties, that its legacy is felt most keenly.

Praise and criticism
Hong Kong earned praise for its transparency in reporting the spread of the disease, in sharp contrast to the cover-up in China.

Like the rest of the city, I was glued to the daily 4.30pm televised press conference during the outbreak that detailed the latest death toll and new cases.

However, the government was criticised for its early handling of the outbreak, particularly at Amoy Gardens, where 42 died and 329 were infected.

Hong Kong has taken the lessons to heart, both in its approach to managing new diseases and maintaining hygiene.

Ten years after the outbreak, apartment and office blocks still boast of how many times daily they sanitise lift buttons, hand rails, door knobs and almost all public surfaces. Masks are de rigueur if you have a cold, and a sneezing or coughing fit on public transport meets with disapproving glances.

Kindergartens, like the one my daughter attends, require parents to record their child’s body temperature in a special notebook each morning. If we forget, a note comes back admonishing us.

The threat of a new outbreak is taken extremely seriously and measures are taken that might seem excessive elsewhere. In 2009, the city quarantined 286 guests staying at a downtown hotel for seven days after a Mexican traveller was confirmed as contracting swine flu.

And the city is closely monitoring the emergence of a new SARS-like illness after rumours, later proved unfounded, of a case in Hong Kong in February. The disease has infected 12 and killed six people worldwide.

Bounced back?
Amoy Gardens, like the rest of Hong Kong, has recovered from the SARS outbreak and the economic downturn it triggered with the panache typical of this fast-paced city.

The apartment complex and shopping plaza has since had a HK$60 million (5.1m; $7.7m) facelift, including changes to the drainage and sewage system that was ultimately found to have played a role in the quick spread of the disease at the estate.

Two-bedroom apartments that once struggled to find buyers in the outbreak’s aftermath now fetch HK$3.9m (0.33m; $0.5m) – beneficiaries of a recent property boom.

On a tour of the infamous block E, Mr Yip proudly points out the air purifiers in the marbled lobby, where a cleaning lady stands with detergent and a grey cloth poised to wipe away any germs left by visitors.

But the memories are harder to erase.

Mr Yip said many residents, fed up with the stigma attached to their address, left after the outbreak, and those that remained have asked him to deflect the media attention the 10-year anniversary has attracted.

In the residents’ committee office, Mr Yip flips through a binder of old newspaper clippings and stops on a picture of a young quarantined boy peering from a window at the armed policemen encircling the entrance to his home – a photograph he says made a particular impression on him at the time.

“l felt so helpless,” he tells me. “We want to forget our unhappy image.”
BBC News Website (Posted 20 March 2013; Retrieved 24 March 2015) –
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-21680682

Prior to this SARS outbreak, the WHO had developed a Pandemic War Plan, reserved for the worst situations; see Appendix C. This features strategies and tasks to identify, isolate and eradicate a major virus outbreak … at the start. But the War Plan presents a cautionary warning: should the disease ever escape the isolation attempts, the result could be socio-economic disaster, with millions dead.

The possibility of this warning is the motivation of this commentary and the Go Lean movement.

In general, the CU will employ its own “War Plan”; its strategies, tactics and implementations to impact its prime directives. These prime directives are defined with the following 3 statements:

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

The issue in this commentary relates to economics, security and economic security; in effect this is a governance issue. This is an issue of business continuity for the region. Early in the Go Lean book, this need for careful technocratic stewardship of the regional Caribbean economy was pronounced (Declaration of Interdependence; Page 12 – 13) with these acknowledgements and statements:

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

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

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

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

The Go Lean book, and previous blog/commentaries, stressed the key community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies necessary to regulate and manage regional threats and emergencies. These points are detailed in the book as follows:

Community Ethos – Privacy versus Public Protection	Page 23
Community Ethos – “Crap” Happens	Page 23
Community Ethos – Lean Operations	Page 24
Community Ethos – Cooperatives	Page 24
Community Ethos – Non-Government Organizations	Page 25
Community Ethos – Ways to Improve Sharing	Page 35
Community Ethos – Impact the Greater Good	Page 37
Strategy – Vision – Non-Sovereign “Unified” Proxy Entity	Page 45
Strategy – Customers – Residents & Visitors	Page 47
Strategy – Agents of Change – Globalization	Page 57
Tactical – Confederating a Permanent Union	Page 63
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy	Page 64
Separation of Powers – Emergency Management	Page 76
Separation of Powers – Disease Control & Management	Page 86
Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change	Page 101
Implementation – Security Initiatives at Start-up	Page 103
Implementation – Ways to Deliver	Page 109
Implementation – Ways to Foster International Aid	Page 115
Implementation – Ways to Benefit from Globalization	Page 119
Planning – Ways to Improve Failed-State Indices	Page 134
Planning – Ways to Measure Progress	Page 148
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy	Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Healthcare	Page 156
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Governance	Page 168
Advocacy – Ways to Better Manage the Social Contract	Page 170
Advocacy – Ways to Foster Cooperatives	Page 176
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Justice	Page 177
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Homeland Security	Page 180
Advocacy – Ways to Mitigate Terrorism	Page 181
Advocacy – Ways to Improve for Natural Disasters	Page 184
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Emergency Management	Page 196

The Go Lean movement posits that wisdom, prudence and best practices can be adopted by careful study of complex matters. This is defined in the Go Lean book and subsequent blogs as a hallmark of a technocracy. The points of effective, technocratic stewardship gleaned from facts in history were further elaborated upon in these previous blog/commentaries:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4166	A Lesson in History: Panamanian Balboa
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2809	A Lesson in History: Economics of East Berlin
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2670	A Lesson in History: Rockefeller’s Pipeline
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2585	A Lesson in History: Concorde SST
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2480	A Lesson in History: Community Ethos of WW II
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2297	A Lesson in History: Booker T versus Du Bois
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1531	A Lesson in History: 100 Years Ago – World War I
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=798	Lessons Learned from the American Airlines merger

The Go Lean book reports that previous Caribbean administrations have failed miserably in managing regional crises. There is no structure for cooperation, collaboration and coordination across borders. This is the charge of the Go Lean/CU roadmap. To effectuate change in the region by convening all 30 Caribbean member-states, despite their historical legacies or governmental hierarchy.

The CU is not designed to just be in some advisory role when it comes to pandemic crises, but rather to possess the authority to act as a Security Apparatus for the region’s Greater Good. This is the mandate as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Page 11) related to climate change, but it applies equally to pandemics, to …

“protect the entire region it is necessary to prepare to insure the safety and security of life, property and systems of commerce in our geographical region. As nature recognizes no borders in the target of its destruction, we also must set aside border considerations in the preparation and response to these … challenges”.

Legally, each Caribbean member-state would ratify a Status of Forces Agreement that would authorize this role for the CU agencies (Emergency Management and Disease Control & Management) to serve as a proxy and deputy of the Public Health administrations for each member-state. This would thusly empower these CU agencies to quarantine and detain citizens with probable cause of an infectious disease. The transparency, accountability and chain-of-command would be intact with the appropriate checks-and-balances of the CU’s legislative and judicial oversight. This is a lesson learned from Hong Kong 2003 with China’s belligerence.

SARS was eradicated by January 2004 and no cases have been reported since. ^[4] We must have this “happy-ending”, but from the beginning. This is the lesson we can learn and apply in the Caribbean. This exercise makes our Caribbean elevation quest conceivable, believable and achievable.

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

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

———

Appendix A – SARS Definition / Timeline

What is SARS? SARS stands for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and was the name given to the respiratory disease by the World Health Organization on March 15, 2003. Like the common cold, it belongs to the coronavirus family.

Scientists think the disease jumped from civet cats, a delicacy in southern China, to humans. It has also been linked to bats.

Timeline – SARS Outbreak 2003:

January 23 – Health authorities in China’s Guangdong province produce a report on cases of atypical pneumonia occurring in the province. The report is not shared with the WHO or Hong Kong government
Feb 21 – A medical professor from Guangzhou checks into the Metropole Hotel in Hong Kong for one night, bringing the virus to Hong Kong. He infects other guests, who spread the virus to Vietnam, Singapore and Toronto
March 12 – Hong Kong reports 23 cases of the disease at one hospital.
March 15 – WHO names the new disease as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and says cases have been found in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam
March 31 – Amoy Gardens Block E isolated and residents quarantined
April 5 – China apologises for its slow response to the SARS outbreak amid allegations that officials have covered up the true extent of the spread of the disease
April 16 – WHO announces that a new pathogen, a member of the coronavirus family never before seen in humans, is the cause of SARS
May 23 – Research teams in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China detect several coronaviruses closely related to SARS in masked palm civet and raccoon-dog at a market in southern China selling wild animals for human consumption
June 4- WHO says the outbreak is in decline
June 11 – Hong Kong’s last SARS case reported

——–

Appendix B – Referenced Citation

The SARS epidemic in Hong Kong: what lessons have we learned [medically]? Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine; August 2003; retrieved March 24, 2015 from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC539564/

———

Appendix C – VIDEO: Additional homework – BBC Horizon: SARS, The True Story (2003)

Link: https://youtu.be/MXPaee0uEQM

(This VIDEO length is 45 minutes)

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Health, History, Model, Security, Tourism

Tobago: A Model for Cruise Tourism

Posted on March 18, 2015 in Economics, Locations, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

The Caribbean is composed of 30 member-states: countries, territories, and commonwealths. There are a lot of differences (5 colonial legacies, 4 different languages – even more dialects), and yet just one economy…primarily. The economic driver for most of the region is focused first on tourism.

This is good!

Non-renewal resources are not exhausted, exploited or consumed.

This is bad!

The mono-industrial reality overly depends on the prosperity of foreign countries.

It is what it is!

The book Go Lean…Caribbean addresses the economic needs of all the Caribbean, including the dimensions of the tourism sector. There are two options for visiting the Caribbean: stay-overs and cruises.

Scarborough, Tobago

Beach scene on Tobago

From a strictly economic consideration, stay-overs are preferred. The visitors consume more of the local culture and spend more monies on amenities like hotels, taxis, restaurants, shopping and excursions. On the other hand, cruise passengers consume most of these amenities onboard the ships, with just spin-off revenues to the local port cities.

The experience of tourism in the Caribbean is that there has been a sea-change since 2008; the crisis of the Great Recession deeply impacted the region as prosperity in the foreign countries – source markets – became spurious. Yes, the high-end tourist resorts have flourished since the Great Recession, but properties catering to the general middle class have floundered. The one exception being the emergence of the cruise industry as a viable vacation option for the general American population. The CU therefore plans to empower the industry directly, and to elevate the cruise industry’s impact on Caribbean society.

Plus, cruise lines are an effective way to introduce and grow a tourism product “from scratch”. This is the model for the island of Tobago, the secondary island (population of 62,000) in the federated Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Tobago’s main economy is based on tourism, fishing, and government spending, with government spending being the largest; (the local governing body – the Tobago House of Assembly – employs 62% of the labor force). Tourism is still a fledgling industry on the island and needs to be further developed. There are no casinos, just two golf courses, and perhaps just one hotel classified among the Caribbean resort-variety; but the island boast great eco-tourism opportunities.

See this article here referring to the pending expansion of cruise operations to Tobago:

1. Title: More on Carnival’s Tobago Plans
By: The Caribbean Journal staff; retrieved from: http://www.caribjournal.com/2015/03/16/more-on-carnivals-tobago-plans/

Carnival Cruise Lines has already announced its plans to visit Tobago next year, and now the company has revealed more information on its schedule.

The cruise line began visiting Tobago in February 2015, part of a longer itinerary that includes St Maarten, Dominica, Barbados, Scarborough, Grenada, Martinique, St Kitts and St Thomas.

“Based on feedback from our guests and travel agent partners, we’re delighted to offer these longer length voyages which provide vacationers an opportunity to visit some of the world’s most breathtaking destinations while enjoying all the wonderful on-board innovations and features found aboard Carnival’s ships,” said Terry Thornton, senior vice president of itinerary planning at Carnival.

The cruise line’s arrival will bring an estimated 10,642 Carnival passengers to the island next year.

VIDEO: Top 5 Beaches of Tobago – https://youtu.be/lpIg_6kzW0Q

Published on Dec 22, 2014 – Check out Tobago’s Top 5 Beaches as listed in the 2014 Tobago International Cycling Classic show which aired on ESPN in November. Tobago is one of the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean and it’s many beaches is one of the reasons.

The Go Lean book posits that this strategy is not enough; it is deficient to support a growing economy; to state better: an economy that should be growing. In general, the Caribbean economy is in crisis. Communities that are too dependent on tourism have suffered since 2008, directly and indirectly. Directly, the communities are deriving fewer returns from the tourism investments, especially where cruise operations are concerned. Indirectly, the crisis has driven many young ones to flee the region, setting their sights on foreign shores as the destination for their dreams and aspirations.

While Tobago is looking to expand its cruise traffic, as a way to springboard its nascent tourist industry, other communities are looking at ways to expand the yield from the existing cruise tourist traffic.

Consider this second news article here relating the efforts in Jamaica (and elsewhere) to increase the per-passenger average “spend” amounts:

2. Title: Jamaica unhappy with cruise pax spending
By: Gay Nagle Myers; Travel Weekly Magazine – Industry Periodical – Posted September 25, 2012; retrieved 03/18/2015 – http://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Jamaica-unhappy-with-spending-levels-of-cruise-passengers/

Jamaica’s cruise numbers saw solid growth last year, but tourism authorities there are not pleased with the level of per-passenger spending, which trails most other major cruise destinations in the Caribbean.

Data about Jamaica’s cruise industry are contained in the recently released Annual Travel Statistics 2011, a hefty document published by the Jamaica Tourist Board that examines all facets of visitor arrivals, hotel occupancy by room size category and visitor expenditure.

Tourism data were compiled from embarkation/disembarkation cards filled out by visitors arriving by air and by exit surveys at the airports and at cruise ship piers.

Data on cruise ship arrivals were obtained from the ships’ manifests.

In many instances, the current figures are compared to figures for the years since 2007 to illustrate how well or poorly certain tourism segments are faring.

Jamaica had solid cruise growth in 2011, welcoming more than 1.1 million passengers, a jump of 23.7% over 2010.

The main contributing factor to the turnaround in passenger arrivals was the opening of the Falmouth pier in Trelawny in February 2011.

In the 11 months that followed, the port of Falmouth hosted 110 cruise ship calls and was the entry point for 456,442 cruise ship passengers, or 40.6% of all passengers arriving in Jamaica. That included 21 calls by Royal Caribbean International’s Oasis of the Seas, accounting for 125,023 passengers.

The port of Ocho Rios, which in the past provided the largest share of Jamaica’s cruise arrivals, accounted for 417,520 of total cruise passengers in 2011, or 37.1%.

The port of Montego Bay accounted for 250,491 passengers, or 22.3%. The problem lies in how much those passengers spent in their ports of arrival. Overall gross visitor expenditure in 2011 was estimated at just over $2 billion, an increase of just 0.4% over 2010.

Foreign visitors arriving by air spent $1.85 billion, while cruise passenger spend totaled $80 million, and nonresident Jamaicans visiting friends and family contributed $76 million.

This means that the average tourist on holiday spent $115.74 per person per night, while cruise passengers strolling the streets of Falmouth or the vendor stalls in Montego Bay spent just $71.27.

The level of cruise passenger spend is not sitting well with tourism officials. It represents a drop of 20%, or $16 per passenger, the lowest in 10 years, according to the JTB annual report.

This is a disappointing payback following the opening of the much-touted Falmouth pier.

William Tatham, vice president of the Port Authority of Jamaica, said tourism officials would like to see a 70% jump in the cruise spend per passenger, to $120 per person, in the coming cruise season.

That goal could be realized with the opening of Margaritaville Falmouth at the cruise pier later this year.

The planned $7 million, 17,000-square-foot attraction will include a pirate ship with a pool and water slide, a zipline and a Jacuzzi right on the dock, according to Ian Dear, CEO of Island Entertainment Brands, which operates 27 Margaritaville venues, four of them in Jamaica.

Even if Jamaica should reach its goal of passengers spending $120 a day, the island still will trail the Bahamas and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Caribbean’s two top-volume cruise ports, when it comes to per-passenger spend.

The Bahamas welcomed 4.1 million cruise passengers in 2011, up 9.4% from the 3.8 million it welcomed in 2010.

The average spend of a Bahamas cruise passenger in 2012 is $111, up from $73 in 2011, according to Carla Stuart, director of cruise development for the Ministry of Tourism.

“The Bahamas remains the leader in the cruise industry in the region,” Stuart said. “For the first quarter of 2012, we saw more than an 11% increase in cruise arrivals compared to the same period in 2011. We expect this growth will continue throughout the year, bringing in significant revenue to small businesses and individuals employed directly and indirectly in the tourism sector.”

The USVI cruise numbers stood at 2 million in 2011, up 8.1% from 1.8 million in 2010, putting it third in cruise volume in the Caribbean region. (If Cozumel, Mexico, an island port in the Western Caribbean off Mexico’s Riviera Maya region, is factored into the Caribbean cruise data, it actually outranks the USVI with 2.8 million cruise arrivals in 2011, down 1.4% from the 2.9 million in 2010.)

Passengers disembarking in St. Thomas and St. Croix outspent those in Nassau and Freeport, Bahamas last year, dropping $156 per person on duty-free items, island tours, banana daiquiris at Mountaintop in St. Thomas or Buck Island snorkeling tours in St. Croix.

However, the 2011 figure fell from the 2010 figure of an average spend of $167 per cruise passenger, according to the Department of Tourism.

Projected cruise passenger spend for the U.S. Virgin Islands during the 2012-2013 cruise season is $165 per person.

The Caribbean region needs to focus on growing the economy and creating jobs. The Go Lean book asserts that this effort is too big a task for any one Caribbean member-state alone, that Jamaica, Tobago and other port cities need to convene, confederate and collaborate with the other regional member-states. As such, 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 including Tobago. 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.
Improvement of Caribbean governance – including local government – to support these engines.

The Go Lean book (Page 193 – 10 Ways to Impact Cruise Tourism) makes this simple assertion that the unification of the region into a Single Market will allow for collective bargaining with the cruise industry; no one nation-state would have the clout of a unified market. The industry needs the Caribbean more than the Caribbean needs the industry. The ports-of-calls need to be able to generate more revenue from the visiting passengers, but the cruise line have embedded rules/regulations designed to maximize their revenues at the expense of the port-side establishments. There is a better way!

Yet still, the strategies and tactics of the Go Lean roadmap are not to be contrarian for the region’s business stakeholders, but rather to promote and facilitate more business options, even for the cruise lines – we are cheerleaders. The cruise lines will have a partner in this Trade Federation for facilitating the best Caribbean experience for their passengers. We want to make the Caribbean better … to live, work and play for visitors and residents alike. And when something goes awry, the CU’s Emergency protocols will be engaged to facilitate a quick recovery.

A win-win…

The book stresses (early at Page 11 & 14) the need to be on-guard for opportunities to expand cruise industry performance in these pronouncements in the Declaration of Interdependence:

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

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 tourism dynamics and the region’s own job-creation efforts. Here is a sample of earlier blogs:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4263	State of Aruba’s Mono-Industrial Economy
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4145	The African Renaissance Monument – Model for Art Tourism
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4058	The Bahamas missed tourism marketing in New York due to the New York Times focus on immigration dysfunction.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3743	Trinidad cuts budget as oil prices tumble – Perils of a mono-industrial economy.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2750	Disney World – Role Model for Touristic Self-Governing Entities
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2571	More Business Travelers Flock to Airbnb
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2207	Bad Model – Hotels making billions from Resort Fees
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1984	Casinos Changing/Failing Business Model for Tourism activities
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1943	The Future of Golf; Vital for Tourism, but failing badly
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=510	Florida’s Snowbirds Chilly Welcome – Bad Model for managing a great demographic and market potential.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=273	10 Things We Want from the US – #2: Tourists
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=242	The Erosion of the Middle Class
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=235	Tourism’s changing profile

The Go Lean book and accompanying blogs posit that for the Caribbean tourism is undergoing change due to … a changing world:

“If we do what we have always done, we will no longer get what we always got”.

The world is now considered flat, because it is digital and connected. The region must explore all the marketing opportunities there-in. This is the charge of the Go Lean…Caribbean roadmap, to do the heavy-lifting, to implement the organizational dynamics to optimize Caribbean tourism here and now. The following are the community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations 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 – Job Multiplier	Page 22
Community Ethos – Lean Operations	Page 24
Community Ethos – Ways to Improve Negotiations – Cruise Collective Bargaining	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 – Facilitate transportation options for passengers and cargo	Page 46
Strategy – Agents of Change – Technology	Page 57
Strategy – Agents of Change – Globalization	Page 57
Anecdote – Carnival Corporation Strategy Report	Page 61
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Tourism Promotion and Administration	Page 78
Implementation – Assemble Regional Organs	Page 95
Implementation – Ways to Deliver	Page 109
Implementation – Ways to Impact Social Media – Tourism Outreach	Page 111
Implementation – Ways to Benefit from Globalization	Page 119
Implementation – Ways to Promote Independence	Page 120
Planning – 10 Big Ideas for the Caribbean – Confederate to Single Market	Page 127
Planning – Ways to Improve Trade	Page 128
Planning – Lessons Learned from 2008	Page 136
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 Local Governance – Help communities like Tobago	Page 169
Advocacy – Ways to Reduce & Mitigate Crime – Against Tourist Protected Class	Page 178
Advocacy – Ways to Enhance Tourism – Regional promotion and facilitation	Page 190
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Cruise Tourism – 10 specific steps/actions for improvement	Page 193
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Transportation – More efficiency in moving people	Page 205
Advocacy – Ways to Preserve Caribbean Heritage … and Culture	Page 218
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Trinidad & Tobago – More can be done	Page 240
Appendix – Lessons Learned – Trinidad & Tobago – Floating the T&T Dollar	Page 316

Cruising in the Caribbean is a great experience; we must grow this business. Staying-over in the Caribbean is even better, allowing more time to enjoy sun, sand, sea, surf, savor, salsa and smoke; (savor as in foods; salsa as in dance and smoke as in cigars). We can definitely grow this business with more technocratic deliveries. The Go Lean book provides 370 pages of turn-by-turn directions on how to accomplish this grandiose goal.

Now is the time for all of the Caribbean – the people, business and governing institutions – to lean-in to this Go Lean … Caribbean roadmap. This plan is conceivable, believable and achievable to make the region better places to live work and play. 🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

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The ‘Luck of the Irish’ – Past, Present and Future

Posted on March 17, 2015 in Social, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

Today (March 17) is Saint Patrick’s Day. Why do people wear green?

It’s a move of solidarity for Irish people and culture.

This is a big deal considering the real history.

This subject also has relevance for the Caribbean as Saint Patrick’s Day is a public holiday in the British Caribbean Territory of Montserrat, in addition to the Republic of Ireland,^[10] Northern Ireland,^[11] and the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. While not a holiday elsewhere, this day is venerated by the Irish Diaspora around the world, especially in Great Britain, Canada, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. See a tribute here from an American job site:

Title: Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Southfield, Michigan – We hope you are showing your Irish spirit by wearing green!

Here are 5 fun facts about St. Patrick’s Day:

1. Of course with St. Patrick’s Day comes the massive appearance of shamrocks. Shamrocks have definitely become a central symbol for this day. In the olden days in Ireland, the shamrock was seen as sacred. The four leaves of the clover represent faith, love, hope, and of course, luck.

2. Good luck finding a four-leaf clover. The odds of finding a four-leafer on your first try are 1 in 10,000.

3. St. Patrick’s Day was traditionally a dry holiday. Irish law between 1903 and 1970 made St. Patrick’s Day a religious holiday for the entire country, which meant pubs were closed for the day. Today, St. Patrick’s Day is arguably one of the largest drinking holidays with an estimated $245 million spent on beer for March 17.

4. Green or Blue? Though green is a very popular color on St. Patrick’s Day, the original color that was very popular and often related back to St. Patrick was not green, but blue. In Irish folklore, green is known as being worn by immortals, and often signified new life and crop growth.

5. The Irish flag. The flag representing Ireland is green, white and orange. The green symbolizes the people of the south, and orange, the people of the north. White represents the peace that brings them together as a nation.

Source: Credit Acceptance Internal Staff Intranet site; retrieved March 17, 2015.

This subject also provides a case study for the Caribbean, as the Irish Diaspora is one of the most pronounced in the world. This is the model of what we, in the Caribbean, do not want to become.

According to information retrieved from Wikipedia, since 1700 between 9 and 10 million people born in Ireland have emigrated, including those that went to Great Britain. This is more than the population of Ireland at its historical peak in the 1830s of 8.5 million. From 1830 to 1914, almost 5 million went to the United States alone.

After 1840, emigration from Ireland became a massive, relentless, and efficiently managed national enterprise.^[1] In 1890 40% of Irish-born people were living abroad. By the 21st century, an estimated 80 million people worldwide claimed some Irish descent; which includes more than 36 million Americans who claim Irish as their primary ethnicity. ^[2]

The city of Chicago, Illinois dyes the river green in tribute for St. Patrick’s Day

The White House in full St. Patrick Day tribute mode

London; on the Thames River

The Diaspora, broadly interpreted, contains all those known to have Irish ancestors, i.e., over 100 million people, which is more than fifteen times the population of the island of Ireland, which was about 6.4 million in 2011.

In July 2014, the Irish Government appointed Jimmy Deenihan as Minister of State for the Diaspora.^[3]

Why this history?

In 1801 Ireland acceded to the United Kingdom (UK).

The Irish Parliament, charged with the heavy burden of directing Ireland’s destiny, was abolished in 1801 in the wake of the Republican United Irishmen Rebellion and Ireland became an integral part of a new United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Act of Union. Without the power to direct their own affairs, the island found itself victimized by fate and bad fortune.

The Great Famine of Ireland during the 1840s saw a significant number of people flee from the island to all over the world. Between 1841 and 1851 as a result of death and mass emigration (mainly to Great Britain and North America) Ireland’s population fell by over 2 million. In the western province of Connacht alone, the population fell by almost 30%.

The Go Lean … Caribbean book relates that this is also the current disposition of so many of the Caribbean Diaspora; (10 million abroad compared to 42 million in the region). These ones love their country and culture, but live abroad; they want conditions to be different (better) in their homelands to consider any repatriation. The book details where in Puerto Rico, their on-island population in 2010 was 3,725,789, but Puerto Ricans living abroad in the US mainland was 4,623,716; (Page 303).

In a previous blog/commentary, a review of a book highlighted some strong lessons from Ireland’s past that are illustrative for the Caribbean’s future. The book is by Professor Richard S. Grossman entitled: Wrong: Nine Economic Policy Disasters and What We Can Learn from Them. The following excerpt is extracted from the book review by the London School of Economics:

As an example, we can take a closer look at the chapter on the Irish Famine, (1 of the 9 lessons), which took place from 1845-1852. Grossman not only describes what happened, but puts it into the perspective of other famines, starting from the BCE period. In terms of absolute numbers, the Great Hunger in Ireland was not the worst famine recorded but it did tragically lead to the death of twelve per cent of Irish population, forcing many others to emigrate. The author details how the potato – which originated in the Americas – arrived to a fertile Ireland, and that the poorest third of the Irish population consumed up to twelve pounds of potatoes per day (per capita). Only after this introduction the economic policy is mentioned. Grossman compares the responses of two Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom to the famine: Sir Robert Peel and Lord John Russell. Russell was so committed to the limited government intervention that he refused to buy food for the starving masses in order not to disturb the free formation of prices in the market. Similarly, he refused to increase the scale of public works that would give jobs to Irish workers so as not to disturb the free labour market. The paradox is that when the Great Famine occurred, Ireland was not a poor country. The Famine would not have been so ‘great’ if it were not for the free market ideology followed by the policymakers at that time. As it turns out, leaving things to the invisible hand of market is not always an optimal solution.

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 30 member Caribbean states. The quest is to provide a better direct stewardship, applying lessons-learned from case studies like Ireland in the 1800’s.

Ireland has fared better since those dire days of the potato famine, but still its people, the Diaspora, endured a lot of misery, resistance and discrimination in their foreign homes. As reported in this previous commentary, the usual path for new immigrants is one of eventual celebration, but only after a “long train of abuses”: rejection, anger, protest, bargaining, toleration and eventual acceptance. Wearing green today – or any other March 17^th’s – is a statement of acceptance and celebration of the Irish; as a proud heritage for what they have endured and accomplished.

The island of Ireland today is comprised of 2 countries: the independent Republic of Ireland and the territory of Northern Ireland, a member-state in the United Kingdom, with England, Wales and Scotland; (last year Scotland conducted a referendum in consideration of seceding from the UK; the referendum failed).

The Republic of Ireland ranks among the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of GDP per capita.^[11] After joining the European Union, Ireland enacted a series of liberal economic policies that resulted in rapid economic growth. The country achieved considerable prosperity from 1995 to 2007, during which it became known as the Celtic Tiger. This was halted by an unprecedented financial crisis that began in 2008, in conjunction with the concurrent global economic crash.^[12][13] Today, the primary source of tourism to Ireland – a primary economic driver – is from their Diaspora; see VIDEO in the Appendix below.

There are a lot of lessons in this issue for the Caribbean. Ireland did need better societal engines, economic-security-governance; this was accomplished with their assimilation into the EU. If only that option was available in the past.

This is the exact option being proposed now by the Go Lean roadmap, to emulate and model the successes of the European Union with the establishment of the Caribbean Union. It was not independence that brought success to Ireland, but rather interdependence with their neighboring countries “in the same boat”. This is the underlying theme behind the Go Lean movement, to “appoint new guards” to make the Caribbean homeland a better place to live, work and play. This Declaration of Interdependence is pronounced at the outset of the Go Lean book (Pages 11 & 13):

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

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.

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

The Go Lean movement declares solidarity with the culture and the people of Ireland.

We too have endured a lot of misery in our foreign abodes. We would rather prosper where we were planted at home in our homeland, but due to economic, security and governing dysfunctions have had to emigrate.

The Go Lean book details a roadmap with turn-by-turn directions for transforming our homeland. The following is a sample of the community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to impact the Caribbean region for this turnaround:

Community Ethos – Economic Principle – Economic Systems Influence Choices & Incentives	Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Principle – Consequences of Choices Lie in the Future	Page 21
Community Ethos – Job Multiplier	Page 22
Community Ethos – Lean Operations	Page 24
Community Ethos – Ways to Promote Happiness	Page 36
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good	Page 37
Strategy – Vision – Confederating a Non-Sovereign Union	Page 45
Strategy – Mission – Keep the next generation at home	Page 46
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy	Page 64
Tactical – Tactics to Forge an $800 Billion Economy	Page 67
Tactical – Separation of Powers	Page 71
Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change	Page 101
Implementation – Ways to Deliver	Page 109
Implementation – Reasons to Repatriate to the Caribbean	Page 118
Implementation – Ways to Promote Independence – Interdependence	Page 120
Planning – 10 Big Ideas – A Single Market in the G-20	Page 127
Planning – Ways to Make the Caribbean Better	Page 131
Planning – Ways to Better Manage Image – Not as Unwanted Aliens	Page 133
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 Enhance Tourism	Page 190
Advocacy – Ways to Impact the Diaspora	Page 217
Advocacy – Ways to Impact the British Territories	Page 245

The Go Lean book posits (Page 3) that the Caribbean islands are among the greatest addresses in the world. But instead of the world “beating a path” to these doors, the people of the Caribbean have “beat down their doors” to get out; despite the absence of any famine, or war for that matter. This abandonment must stop … now!

May we learned from the history of Ireland in our quest to make our homeland a better place to live, work and play. And may we have the luck of the Irish, as conveyed in this Classic Irish Blessing:

May you always have…

Walls for the winds

A roof for the rain

Tea beside the fire

Laughter to cheer you

Those you love near you

And all your heart might desire.

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

——–

Appendix- VIDEO: Happy St Patrick’s Day from Discover Ireland – https://youtu.be/J680_aKF5zc

Uploaded on Mar 8, 2011 – This short film is an ode to Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day (which means we used a little bit of poetic licence!). Hope you all enjoy it. Happy St Patrick’s day!
http://www.discoverireland.com/

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Burlington, Vermont: First city to be powered 100% by renewables

Posted on March 16, 2015 in Implementation, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

The idea of transforming to 100% renewable energy has been a dream for the Caribbean. It would accomplish 2 important objectives: environmental protection and economic efficiency.

Instead of dreaming, the following VIDEO demonstrates that it is no dream, but rather …

… energy based on 100% renewables sources is being done … now!

Title: Running on renewable energy, Burlington, Vermont powers green movement forward – http://video.pbs.org/viralplayer/2365415796

“Burlington, Vermont, the state’s largest city, recently became the first in the country to use 100 percent renewable energy for its residents’ electricity needs. In a state known for socially conscious policies, the feat represents a milestone in the growing green energy movement. NewsHour’s William Brangham reports on the implications for the country’s green movement.”

This is the energy-mix summary from this VIDEO:

35% – from Bio Mass – Burning renewable wood pulp
20% – Wind
5% – Solar
40% – Hydro-electric … from dams on 2 area rivers

No doubt, these renewables bring many benefits in arresting “Climate Change”, but the economic benefits cannot be ignored. The City of Burlington, Vermont is expected to save $20 million over the next few years. But the biggest economic benefit is on the household level: no power price increases since 2009.

The environmental focus may be considered the primary focus of the Green movement. So be it!

This Green movement is a concept, a commitment and a cause that needs some assimilation in the Caribbean. The abundance of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere has been attributed to the devastating effects of Climate Change. The book Go Lean…Caribbean initiates with the pronouncement that our region is in crisis, one reason being Climate Change. The pressing need to be aware of this phenomena is pronounced early in the book in the Declaration of Interdependence (Page 11), with these words, (the first of many “causes of complaints”):

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

The motivation behind the Go Lean book is to serve as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). This Go Lean roadmap has 3 prime directives that are above and beyond combating Climate Change. They are defined as follows:

Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy.
Establishment of a security apparatus, including energy security, to protect the resultant economic engines.
Improvement of Caribbean governance to support these engines.

This is where the ‘Lean’ comes into play for this roadmap. According to the foregoing VIDEO, the strategy for renewables improves all the other societal engines: economic, [energy] security and governance. For the purpose of this Caribbean empowerment effort, ‘lean’ is more than just a description, it’s a noun, a verb, an adjective and an adverb. It is also a concept, commitment and cause in which the entire Caribbean region is urged to embrace and ‘lean in’.

The Caribbean is struggling with the costs and reality of energy. The Go Lean book relates (Page 100) that this region pays one of the highest rates in the world; averaging US$0.35 /kWh. The motivation of the Go Lean energy is to optimize energy options. The book posits that the average energy costs can come down to US$0.088/kWh with just a better mix of fossil-fuels and renewables.

The member-states in the Caribbean are not the only communities envisioning a 100% renewable strategy; consider Denmark here. This is en vogue right now, despite the different geographies.

Imagine 100% renewable; as it has happened in this US City of Burlington.

There is so much to benefit from a consideration of Burlington. Demographics-wise, it is so similar to many Caribbean towns. It is the largest city in the State of Vermont. It is international and regional, situated on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain, north of Shelburne Bay. It lies 45 miles south of the U.S.-Canadian (Vermont-Quebec) border and 94 miles south of Montreal. The City has a direct population of 42,417 (2010), but as the hub of the metropolitan area, consisting of the three northwestern Vermont counties has an effectual population of 213,701, approximately one third of Vermont’s total.^[7]

If this city can get to 100% renewables, despite harsh winters for 3 months every year, imagine how much more so the Caribbean communities can with their near-365 days of sunshine. The mix for the Caribbean renewables will actually be different than Burlington, (or Denmark). Instead of wood pulp and hydro-electric, the Caribbean can consider tidal and geothermal (“Geyser”) steam-turbine energy (see Appendix below), in addition to the classic renewables of solar and wind.

These initiatives will take some strenuous effort on the part of Caribbean communities and governmental institutions. This heavy-lifting is part-and-parcel of the Go Lean roadmap. The roadmap details a series of community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to foster the progress in the pursuits of green energy generation. The following list applies:

Community Ethos – Economic Systems Influence Individual Choices	Page 21
Community Ethos – The Consequences of Choices Lie in the Future	Page 21
Community Ethos – Lean Operations	Page 24
Community Ethos – Return on Investments	Page 24
Community Ethos – Cooperatives	Page 25
Community Ethos – Regional Taxi Commissions – to push renewables	Page 25
Community Ethos – Non-Government Organizations	Page 25
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Future	Page 26
Community Ethos – Ways to Improve Negotiations	Page 32
Anecdote – Pipeline Transport – Strategies, Tactics & Implementations	Page 43
Strategy – Harness the power of the sun/winds/tides	Page 46
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy	Page 82
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Energy Commission	Page 82
Anecdote – “Lean” in Government – Energy Permits	Page 93
Anecdote – Caribbean Energy Grid Implementation	Page 100
Implementation – Ways to Develop Pipeline Industry	Page 107
Implementation – Ways to Improve Energy Usage	Page 113
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Public Works	Page 175
Advocacy – Ways to Foster Cooperatives	Page 176
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Monopolies	Page 202

The Caribbean energy needs are undeniable. The effects of fossil-fueled-driven Climate Change are undeniable. The Caribbean energy options are vast. There is simply the need for the commitment. The Go Lean roadmap shows that commitment. It is the quest to make this region a better place to live, work and play. This has been a constant theme of many other Go Lean commentaries; see this sample:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4294	The US trying to lead the Caribbean to energy security and energy independence; but rather their self-interest is pronounced.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3743	The need for Trinidad to diversify from an oil-based mono-industrial economy; change is coming.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3326	M-1 Rail: Alternative Green Motion in the Motor City
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3213	Gas prices drop below $2.00 – The world tire of gasoline price cycles
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2769	DC Streetcars – Green Manifestation and Model For Caribbean Re-development
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2585	A Lesson in History: Concorde SST inefficient fuel reality doomed innovative project
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2465	Book Review: ‘This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2276	The need for renewable – Climate Change may affect food supply within a decade
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2119	Cooling Effect – Oceans and the Climate
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1883	Climate Change May Bring More Kidney Stones
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1817	Caribbean grapples with intense new cycles of flooding & drought
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=926	Conservative heavyweights have solar industry in their sights
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=915	*Go Green* Caribbean** – Renewable energy pursuits in the region
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=623	Only at the precipice, do they change

The Go Lean book opened (Page 3) with the job description for the CU technocracy to make better provisions for the region’s basic needs (food, clothing, energy and shelter), and then be in position to supply the rest of the world. There are energy (oil) exporting countries in the Caribbean (Trinidad & Tobago, Belize). Despite this reality, petroleum (gasoline and diesel) is very expensive in the region. Plus with the world’s fixation to graduate from fossil fuels – green movement – there is the need now to fully embrace renewable energy options, maybe even for 100%.

Now is the time for all of the Caribbean, the people, businesses, institutions and governments, to lean-in for the optimizations and opportunities described in the book Go Lean … Caribbean.

This is now more than just a dream. 🙂

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

————

APPENDIX – The Geysers – 50 Year Anniversary – https://player.vimeo.com/video/58388803

The Special Properties of Geothermal Sites – Drill deep enough and the earth is hot everywhere, but converting that heat to power is a challenge. Sites such as The Geysers in Northern California USA, where the heat is close to the surface and deep rock layers are fractured to allow water to percolate through, are quite rare.

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Role Model: Innovative Educator Ron Clark

Posted on March 15, 2015 in Economics, Government

Go Lean Commentary

There are many empowerment plans to elevate communities; these have many different strategies, tactics, and implementations. But one thing is always consistent: Education. More education always benefits individuals and communities; it brings social mobility and facilitates new economic opportunities.

The book Go Lean…Caribbean asserts that education must be transformed and reformed to glean the full benefits for the Caribbean region. The region has often failed at education; and education has often failed the region. There is the need for new education systems and role models, for primary, secondary and tertiary institutions.

We have to rise above the failures and garner some success. We need the upward mobility that education can generate.

While there is a consideration for adult, vocational and on-the-job education in the Go Lean book, the focus of this commentary is directed more towards young people.

We now have the privilege to study other role models; this time an innovative educator Ron Clark of Atlanta; see Appendix A below and VIDEO here:

VIDEO: Innovative educator Ron Clark inspires passion for learning – http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/innovative-educator-ron-clark-inspires-passion-for-learning/

March 13, 2015 – Math and history are just some of the subjects at the Ron Clark Academy. The Atlanta middle school teaches everything from eye contact to the value of friendly competition. It’s a method that makes kids want to attend class. Mark Strassmann reports on how the founder maintains the fun under a cloud of 55 strict rules. (VIDEO plays best in Internet Explorer).

From a strictly micro, or individual perspective, education is great for the individual. Research by Economists have established that with every additional year of schooling, an individual increases their earnings by about 10%. This is a very impressive rate of return. The Go Lean book quotes these proven economic studies, showing the impact that these additional years of college education have on individuals’ earning power (Page 258). But from the macro perspective – the community – the experience is different for the Caribbean; rather than gains, the Caribbean has experienced losses because of an incontrovertible brain drain. Previous blogs/commentaries on education subjects relate to this theme of empowering education; see sample list here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4263	Aruba’s economy and education brain drain to the Netherlands
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4240	Immigration policy exacerbates further the worker productivity crisis due to education deficiencies
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2183	Bad American Model: Education Textbooks – Case of price-gouging
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1698	The need for more specialized education – STEM jobs are filling slowly
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1634	Book Review: ‘Chasing Youth Culture and Getting It Right’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1433	Caribbean loses more than 70 percent of tertiary educated to brain drain
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1112	Bad Model: Zuckerberg’s $100 Million for Newark’s schools wasted
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=459	Caribbean Examination Council and an UK education publisher hosting workshops in Barbados
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=228	Egalitarianism versus Anarchism – The latter is best for Education

The foregoing VIDEO is not a focus on college/tertiary education, but rather primary-secondary education (middle school) and how the embrace of advanced teaching “arts & sciences” can level the playing field for those enabled or disadvantaged for societal progress. The VIDEO relates this anecdote of just one role model. This aligns with the Go Lean book’s assertion (Page 122) that one motivated person can make a difference in society. We truly need many advocates, many more “Ron Clarks”.

This book Go Lean… Caribbean, serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). While education policy is a direct responsibility of individual member-state/territory governments, the CU will make an impact as it represents change/empowerment for the region’s societal engines, corresponding with the prime directives, as follows:

Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy.
Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines.
Improvement of Caribbean governance, including member-states educational administrations, to support these engines.

The Go Lean book posits that education is a vital consideration for Caribbean economic empowerment, but there have been a lot of flawed decision-making in the past, both individually and community-wise. (Consider one example of Government grants and scholarships for students that never return “home”). The vision of the CU is a confederation of the 30 member-states of the Caribbean to do the heavy-lifting of championing better educational policies. There is the structure of a separation-of-powers between CU agencies and the individual member-states.

The Go Lean roadmap provides turn-by-turn directions on how to reform the Caribbean education systems, economy, governance and Caribbean society as a whole. This roadmap asserts that the Caribbean is in crisis, and that this “crisis would be a terrible thing to waste”. As a planning tool, the roadmap commences with a Declaration of Interdependence, pronouncing the approach of regional integration (Page 12 & 14) as a viable solution to elevate the region’s educational opportunities:

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 …

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 (O.J.T.) 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.

Ron Clark, in the foregoing VIDEO, is a role model for the Caribbean to emulate. While we cannot duplicate him personally, we can duplicate his creation and the passion of his academy; defined as follows, retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Clark_(teacher):

Ron Clark Academy

History
The Ron Clark Academy is a non-profit middle school, housed in a renovated red brick warehouse^[5] and is located in southeast Atlanta, Georgia, and accommodates fifth through eighth grade students. Students are from low wealth to high wealth families. Clark had planned to build the school for ten years before construction began. Along with the proceeds of his two books The Essential 55 and The Excellent 11, Clark raised additional funding for the project which eventually cost over $3.5 million. Clark then went on an interviewing rampage for students and faculty and established his team and the academy was established on June 25, 2007. Classes began for students on September 4, 2007. The Ron Clark Academy hosts a Model United Nations conference in Atlanta, called the Ron Clark Model UN. The conference does not accept pre-written resolutions, instead requires position papers. Ron Clark gave a speech during the opening ceremonies about how he and his students raised $12,000 for an ad in USA Today, and then how he raised the money for bus fares to Washington. “The Academy has received both national and international recognition for its success in educating students with academic rigor, passion, and creativity balanced by a strict code of discipline”.^[6] The mission of the academy is “to deliver the highest quality educational experience where global citizens are born through advanced rigor, engaging teaching methods, and a passionate climate and culture”.^[6]

A collection of business professionals make up the Board of Trustees.^[7] The Coca Cola Foundation is among its “Founding Sponsors” and The Atlanta Hawks is one of its “Head of the Class” donors.^[8]

Atmosphere
The overall atmosphere of the academy is fun, electrified, and blissful. All the students are very welcoming with greetings of hugs and smiles. There is music playing all throughout the school; kids and teachers are all dancing and jumping on a trampoline. The walls are painted with bright colors and there’s a huge slide right in front of the door going from the second floor to the first floor, welcoming the children, which is “a reminder to the kids that anyone can learn in their own way”.^[9]

Test scores
Ron Clark is best known for raising test scores, his improvements of scores are as followed. In 2013, the students at the academy had a high percentage of growth in their test scores in all subjects. This helped students receive scholarships for high schools in Georgia. “In Reading, the test scores went up by 19%, in Math they went up by 29%, Language Arts was increased by 15%, Science 15% and Social Studies 20%”.^[6] Ron was able to raise his students test scores by encouraging everyone to try harder. Ron Clark also always had faith in the kids and tried to build them up and not put them down. The fun learning atmosphere also helped the growth of test scores.

Teaching styles
All the teachers at the academy have their own way of teaching, including Clark, but all the teachers share the passion of what they do. The educators not only teach the students the necessary subjects, they also teach them manners and how to be a better person. The whole school just has a great atmosphere which carries on into the classroom and makes the students excited to learn. The kids and the teachers are always up dancing and always moving. Boring moments are one thing that do not exist at the academy. The students are very involved and are very uplifting to each other, for example, when a kid gets a question right all the other students applaud.

Technology and facilities
Each classroom provides students with technology such as notebook computers, interactive whiteboards, digital cameras, projectors, and audio-video equipment. In addition to the technologically-equipped classrooms, the school provides students with accessible amenities such as a recording studio, a darkroom, a two-story vaulted ceiling library, a gymnasium, and a dance studio.

The Ron Clark Academy uses donated computers in all classrooms and offices.^[10] As a result, students will be able to study photography, music production, and business leadership.

Student population
The students that attend The Ron Clark Academy come from a range of backgrounds, including students from high wealth families. Students must go through an application process in order to be accepted into the school. Only 50 students were accepted out of 350 applications the first school year. Students must be nominated for the school and then must apply. Students’ applications are then reviewed by Ron Clark and other teachers and students are selected to be interviewed by the school. If accepted, students’ parents must sign a Contract of Obligation in which parents agree to volunteer 40 hours of their time each quarter. They also will have to allow their child to go on mandatory field trips essential to the curriculum.^[11]

Media attention
Students in debate class at Ron Clark Academy created a song about the 2008 U.S. presidential election, “Vote However You Like”, to the same beat and melody of “Whatever You Like” by [Hip Hop Artist] T.I. A performance of the song by 6th and 7th graders was posted on the internet and drew national attention. The video had now been viewed over 2 million times.^[12] T.I., himself, paid a surprise visit to the Academy after learning of their remake of his song to watch them perform it in person.^[13] On October 31, 2008, the “Students of Ron Clark Academy” were named the ABC Person of the Week by ABC World News Tonight.^[14] They were also invited to perform at the 2009 Inauguration.^[15] [Subsequently, the Academy repeated this effort for the 2012 Presidential election, see the VIDEO in Appendix B].

In December 2008, Oprah Winfrey donated $365,000 to Ron Clark, for the Ron Clark Academy, for his profound dedication to teaching.

There is much for the Caribbean to glean considering this model of Ron Clark and his Academy. For starters, the Go Lean roadmap details a plan for Charter Schools. This allows for Public-Private-Partnerships in the education arena. This would force a new regime on the region’s educational landscape.

Change has now come. The driver of this change is technology and globalization. Under the tenants of globalization, the Caribbean labor pool is a commodity; their talents are subject to the economic realities of supply-and-demand. The Go Lean book posits therefore that the governmental administrations of the region should invest in better education options, and as much technological educational advances (e-Learning) as possible, for its citizens. The bottom-line motive should be the Greater Good not profit or emigration.

How exactly do we accomplish this goal? The book details new education policies; and other community ethos to adopt, plus the executions of the following strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to impact the education arena in the region:

Foreword – Lean On Me Film – Inspiration for Educational Reform	Page 5
Community Ethos – Deferred Gratification	Page 21
Community Ethos – People Respond to Incentives	Page 21
Community Ethos – Job Multiplier	Page 22
Community Ethos – Lean Operations	Page 24
Community Ethos – Return on Investments (ROI)	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 – Incubator Training	Page 28
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Education Department	Page 85
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Labor Department – O.J.T. Oversight	Page 89
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy	Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs	Page 152
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Education	Page 159
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Student Loans – Forgive-able for incentives	Page 160
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Governance	Page 169
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Libraries	Page 187
Appendix – Education and Economic Growth	Page 258
Appendix – Measuring Education with Standardized Testing	Page 266

Now is the time for all of the Caribbean, the people and governing institutions, to lean-in for the empowerments described in the book Go Lean … Caribbean. We welcome role models like Ron Clark and others with a desire to empower young people in their communities, especially disadvantaged minorities. Except that we would want this empowerment done in the Caribbean so as to benefit the Caribbean. No more societal abandonment; no more brain drain!

This is the quest of the Go Lean/CU effort. The roadmap contains the complete solution to elevate the Caribbean through education. This will thusly help the region to be better place to live, work, learn and play. 🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

———

Appendix A – Ron Clark Profile:

Ron L. Clark, Jr. (born 1972)^[1][2] is an American educator – currently teaching in Atlanta, Georgia – who has worked with disadvantaged students in rural North Carolina and Harlem, New York City. He is best known for his ability to raise test scores and his books on teaching children in middle schools. Clark is a New York Times bestselling author and has been interviewed by many TV personalities including Oprah Winfrey. He is also a speaker who goes from school to school talking to educators about all of his thoughts and opinions on inspiring his educators.

Background
Clark was educated at East Carolina University through the North Carolina Teaching Fellows program. After graduation he got a job and saved up enough money to buy a plane ticket to London. When he arrived in London he got a job at a restaurant where he was a singing and dancing waiter. He then started traveling from country-to-country.^[3] He then flew home to North Carolina and accepted a job in Aurora, North Carolina. Four years later he departed for Harlem to take a job teaching elementary school in an inner-city setting. Clark’s latest project is the Ron Clark Academy, a private non-profit school in Atlanta, Georgia where students follow a unique curriculum. The school also gives students opportunities for international travel and offers training workshops for teachers to learn more about Clark’s teaching methods.

Accolades
Clark is known for his ability to raise test scores by using unique methods that incorporate innovation, creativity and 55 classroom rules. He has appeared on many national TV shows, including two appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show, where Ms. Winfrey named him as her first “Phenomenal Man.”

Clark received the 2000 Disney Teacher of the Year award^[4] from Disney, which owns Hyperion Books.

Clark’s first year spent in Harlem was the focus of a 2006 made-for-TV movie, The Ron Clark Story, starring Matthew Perry, which garnered an Emmy nomination for Executive Producers Howard Burkons, Adam Gilad and Brenda Friend. See the trailer/VIDEO in Appendix C.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Clark_(teacher); retrieved March 14, 2015.

———

Appendix B – VIDEO: “Vote Like That” 2012 Election Song – The Ron Clark Academy – https://youtu.be/9hqme4X1b7E

Published on Oct 25, 2012 – The students of the Ron Clark Academy perform “Vote Like That”, a parody of Cher Lloyd’s “Want U Back” designed to encourage everyone to vote.

———

Appendix C – VIDEO: Ron Clark Story Music Video – https://youtu.be/E-oSgrEaVd0

Uploaded on Dec 30, 2006 – This made-for-TV movie starring Matthew Perry is truly inspiring movie. This music video previews the film. The entire film (90 minutes) is available here: https://youtu.be/xVsld1Wls10

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Model, Sales, Transform

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Big Salt: Short-term Benefit; Long-term Damage

Posted on March 5, 2015 in Ethos, Government, Industries

Go Lean Commentary

“What good is a birthright when I’m starving now?” – Bible Drama of Esau and Jacob; Genesis 25: 19 – 34.

A subject like snow removal should have no significance in the tropical climate of the Caribbean. Right?

Yet, this commentary is more attuned to Big Business than it is related to snow removal. The subject of impetuous governance is of extreme importance to the Caribbean. For this reason, the art and science of snow removal teaches a lot of lessons for tropical destinations.

During winter months in northern climates, snow is the reality. The snow (and ice) must be managed and removed. Roads and pavements will ice over, making them slippery and dangerous to drive and walk on. So local authorities will often remove snow/ice from major roads, by plowing and de-icing. The most common de-icer is rock salt.

Halite, the most common form of rock salt, is a brittle, isotropic sediment that can be found in evaporated piles left in lake beds, playas, seas, oceans, and mined from underground. It forms cubic crystals that can be broken up and refined for numerous purposes, though one of the most common is for its use as a de-icing agent. Rock salt is relatively inexpensive, abundant, and mostly for these reasons is used extensively by local authorities to de-ice the roads. In Detroit-USA, locally mined rock salt is Big Business.

When rock salt is placed in snow, or on top of ice, it will naturally form a bond and become brine, a mixture of water and salt. Brine has a lower freezing point than water, meaning the mixture will melt and remain unfrozen, an effect called freezing point depression, unless the temperature drops significantly.

While the freezing point for water is 32 °F (0 °C), the freezing point for salt is −6.02 °F (−21.12 °C).

Another good reason that rock salt is used to clear roads is to improve traction for road vehicles. Rock salt is grainy and therefore allows the tire tread of vehicles to get a better grip on the road surface.

These are all short-term benefits. The list of long-term damage is extensive; see the following blog/article here:

1. Title: Worries on the use of rock salt as a winter de-icer (One Blogger’s Views)
(Retrieved 03-05-2015: http://www.rocksalt-alternative.com/2014/02/my-worries-on-the-use-of-rock-salt-as-a-winter-de-icer/)

The spreading of rock salt as a de-icer for our roads is something that has been undertaken every year in the UK for as long as I can remember. Local authorities up and down the country have a responsibility to keep our roads clear of ice and snow, as much as is practically possible. It was obviously decided some time ago that this was the most cost effective method of doing so.

False economy
As a pure costing method measured solely against the alternatives this probably was the best way to ensure value for money for tax payers but there would seem to have been no account taken of the substantive consequential costs that come with using a toxic and corrosive substance on our roads. Rock salt consists primarily of sodium chloride (salt) and it is the sodium and the chloride that cause the problems.

The real costs
The major problem in my view is the damage salt can cause to our water sources and water based eco systems. When the snow and ice melts the sodium chloride in the rock salt doesn’t just disappear, it contaminates water supplies whether by direct run-off into surface water drains or by moving through the soil and groundwater into streams and other natural water locations. To put the contamination in perspective, just one teaspoonful of rock salt will permanently contaminate five gallons of water and once it is in the water it cannot be removed unless by expensive methods. The rock salt therefore can eventually damage our drinking water and affects aquatic life and other organisms that have not adapted to living in salt water.

A problem that is close to my heart in relation to the use of rock salt is the risk to pets. Rock salt can cause severe irritation and inflammation to pets’ paws and when the natural reaction of your pet is to lick the affected area then this can cause sickness and other related problems. If the rock salt is directly ingested, and this can easily happen from a build-up of residue at the side of roads, then this is highly toxic and can lead to severe reactions and even death.

Another significant problem with rock salt is the corrosive nature of salt and the effects it has on cars and the under carriage components of cars such as brake pipes are well known to motorists. This damage also applies to road structures such concrete and metal structures such as bridges. Rock salt causes ongoing damage in these areas the cost of which can only be substantive.

If you have ever put salt down to kill weeds then you will fully understand the damage it must be doing to plants, vegetation and the soil itself of all areas adjacent to roadways. It is also harmful to insects and small animals that inhabit the roadway eco systems.

Spread the word, not the salt
If the real cost of using rock salt was to be determined I am sure it would cease immediately as the costs would far outweigh the benefits and an alternative would be used. The point is that there are alternatives to rock salt; we just need to make the authorities aware of this. If you want to check out one source for an alternative you can visit www.rocksalt-alternative.com.

——-

2. Encyclopedia Reference for Snow/Surface Treatment
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_removal)

For snow removal, roads are also treated by spreading various materials on the surface. These materials generally fall into two categories: chemical and inert. Chemical (including salt) distribution induces freezing-point depression, causing ice and snow to melt at a lower temperature. Chemical treatment can be applied as a preventive measure and/or after snowfall. Inert materials (i.e. sand, brash, slag) make the surface irregular to improve traction. Both types can be applied together, but the inert materials tend to lower traction once snow/ice has melted.

Chemical treatment materials include:

Sodium chloride (common table salt, NaCl)

Calcium chloride (CaCl₂)

Potassium chloride (KCl)

Magnesium chloride (MgCl₂)

Ammonium nitrate (NH₄NO₃)

Ammonium sulfate [(NH₄)₂SO₄]

Potassium acetate (CH₃COOK)

Urea [(NH₂)₂CO]

Propylene glycol (C₃H₈O₂)

Calcium magnesium acetate (C₄H₆O₂Ca      and C₄H₆O₂Mg)

Sodium ferrocyanide (hydrous, Na₄Fe(CN)₆•10H₂O)

Methyl alpha-D-glucopyranoside      (C₇H₁₄O₆) ^[21][22]

In the European Union, 98% of chemical treatment materials used in 2000 were sodium chloride in various forms. For colder temperatures, calcium chloride (CaCl₂) is added to NaCl in some countries, but deployment is limited as it costs about 6 times as much as sodium chloride. Other substances were used rarely and experimentally. Alternative substances (urea, alcohols, glycols) are often used at airports.^[23] In recent years, Geomelt, a combination of salt brine and beet juice that is otherwise considered a waste product has been used for pretreatment.^[24]

Inert spreadings can be:

sand

brash, rubble,  crushed slag, etc.

slag

wood ash  (for household use only)

sawdust

The choice of treatment may include consideration of the effect on vegetation, pets and other animals, the local watershed, and effectiveness with regard to speed and temperature. Some chemicals can degrade concrete, metals, and other materials. The resulting meltwater and slush can cause frost heaving if it re-freezes, which can also damage pavement. Inert materials can damage vehicles and create dust.

As an example, in the Czech Republic during the winter season of 2000/2001, net material expenditure for road treatment was: 168,000 tonnes of salt (mostly NaCl), 348 000 tonnes of sand and crushed stone and 91 000 tonnes of other materials like slag. In Ireland, the annual expenditure of salt was 30 000 tonnes. Switzerland reports their annual expenditure as 600 grammes of salt to every square metre of roads on average.^[23]

Side effects
De-icing chemicals and inert materials need to be selected and applied with care.

Chemicals may react with infrastructure, the environment, and vehicles. Chlorides corrode steel and aluminum in reinforced concrete, structures and vehicles. Acetates can cause asphalt stripping, weakening the bond between asphalt binder and aggregate. Sand and grit can clog pavement joints and cracks, preventing pavement from expanding in the summer and increasing stress in the pavement.^[25]

Salts can be toxic to plants and aquatic life. Sand can alter aquatic habitats where roads are near streams and lakes. Acetates can reduce oxygen levels in smaller water bodies, stressing aquatic animal life. Sand can be ground by tires into very fine particulate matter and become airborne, contributing to air pollution.^[26][27]

While this may appear to be an issue of local roads, and subsequent damage – see VIDEO in the Appendix as it relates to damages to cars – it can be argued that actually this is an issue of Crony-Capitalism.

One consequence of Crony-Capitalism is that it short-changes the future for immediate gains, or profits. This paradox has been a constant concern of this commentary. Like Esau in the Bible drama above, many impetuously ignore their birthright – or the birthrights of their children – for immediate benefits.

Sometimes too, the immediate benefits are no benefit at all. Consider again the Detroit scenario. Their roads are in total disarray; (the whole State of Michigan for that matter). Use of rock salt causes direct (and almost immediate) damage to roads. Solutions are being sought to assuage the challenge, but relief must come on the backs of the everyday man: increases to gas taxes and the issuance of new bonds.

(In North Texas, the transportation officials do not use salt to de-ice their roads and highways. They use sand only.)

This consideration aligns with the book Go Lean … Caribbean; this book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). This empowerment effort represents a change for the region, calling on all 30 member-state governments in the region to confederate and provide their own solutions in the areas of economics, security and governance. The book directly advocates for lean facilitation of infrastructural needs. The subject for roads and bridges fit under the category of Public Works for the Greater Good; so decisions in this regards should never be based on short-term benefits only or lining someone’s pocket.

The CU/Go Lean roadmap defines these 3 prime directives as follows:

Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy.
Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines against “bad actors”.
Improvement of Caribbean governance to support these engines.

The purpose of this commentary is to draw reference to the governing principles used in northern communities regarding snow removal and how best-practices are ignored just to placate some immediate need; and immediate profits. Considering the long-term effects on the environment, the next generations’ birthright is being sold for a “bowl of soup”.

This is not an issue of “snow”; this is an issue of ethos.

Just who is the influence behind the “salt” decisions? Big Mining operations and Road Construction companies. This group can collectively be referred to as Big Salt. This is just another example of Crony-Capitalism, where public-long term benefits are shortchanged for private-short-term gains. Is Big Salt a conspiracy or just a coincidental fact of modern life in colder climates? While it is only honorable to give Big Salt the benefit of any doubt, the anecdotal account is consistent in one big American, Canadian and European city after another.

Consider the issues being debated in Michigan at this time. The State (plus counties and cities) must find new monies to pay for the overdue maintenance on the roads, tunnels and bridges. The infrastructure is collapsing.

Just “follow the money” is a constant refrain among conspiracy theorists. Besides, many sources – including this Go Lean book and accompanying blogs – have reported on the “bad intent” in the American eco-system, associated with Crony-Capitalism. (Though the use of rock salt is not just an American issue).

This negative community ethos is an example for the Caribbean to avoid in emulating American society.

The book Go Lean…Caribbean asserts that the Caribbean region must do better; we must not allow the US to take the lead for our own nation-building, that American capitalistic interest tends to hijack policies intended for the Greater Good. This assessment is logical considering the realities of so many of these “Big Corporate Bullies” where public policy is set to benefit private parties. The subject of Big Salt is just another example. Consider this chart of well-documented cases of bad corporate behavior:

Big Media	Cable companies conspire to keep rates high; kill net neutrality; textbook publishers practice price gouging; Hollywood insists on big tax breaks/subsidies for on-location shooting.
Big Oil	While lobbying for continuous tax subsidies, the industry have colluded to artificially keep prices high and garner rocket profits ($38+ Billion every quarter).
Big Box	Retail chains impoverish small merchants on Main Street with Antitrust-like tactics, thusly impacting community jobs.
Big Pharma	Chemo-therapy cost $20,000+/month; and the War against Cancer is imperiled due to industry profit insistence.
Big Tobacco	Cigarettes are not natural tobacco but rather latent with chemicals to spruce addiction.
Big Agra	Agribusiness concerns bully family farmers and crowd out the market; plus fight common sense food labeling efforts.
Big Data	Brokers for internet and demographic data clearly have no regards to privacy concerns.
Big Banks	Wall Street’s damage to housing and student loans are incontrovertible.
Big Weather	Overblown hype of “Weather Forecasts” to dictate commercial transactions.
Big Real Estate	Preserving MLS for Real Estate brokers only, forcing 6% commission rates, when the buyers and sellers can meet without them.

The Go Lean book, and accompanying blog commentaries, go even deeper and hypothesize that American economic models are dysfunctional from the Caribbean perspective. The American wheels of commerce stages the Caribbean in a “parasite” role; imperiling regional industrialization even further. The US foreign policy for the Caribbean is to incentivize consumption of American products, and serve as a playground for their leisure.

The Go Lean roadmap provides turn-by-turn directions on how to forge the elevation of the Caribbean region from parasite to the preferred role of protégé. This point is made early in the Declaration of Interdependence (Page 11) with these statements:

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

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

The Go Lean book purports that the Caribbean can – and must – do better than Crony-Capitalism. The vision of the CU is a confederation of the 30 member-states of the Caribbean to do the heavy-lifting of optimizing economic-security-governing engines. We can weld more power and influence collaborating and consolidating Public Works projects. The
Go Lean book details the community ethos to adopt, plus the executions of the following strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to elevate Caribbean society, and make our homeland a better place to live, work, play:

Community Ethos – Deferred Gratification	Page 21
Community Ethos – Consequences of Choices Lie in the Future	Page 21
Community Ethos – Privacy versus Public Protection	Page 23
Community Ethos – Anti-Bullying and Mitigation	Page 23
Community Ethos – Lean Operations	Page 24
Community Ethos – Ways to Improve Sharing	Page 36
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good	Page 37
Strategy – Vision – Unified and Integrated Single Market	Page 45
Strategy – Mission – Prepare for the Eventuality of Natural Disasters	Page 45
Strategy – Mission – Protect the Homeland’s Natural Resources	Page 45
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Emergency Management	Page 75
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Public Works & Infrastructure Oversight	Page 82
Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change	Page 101
Implementation – Ways to Benefit from Globalization – Interdependence	Page 119
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy	Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs	Page 152
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Governance	Page 169
Advocacy – Ways to Better Manage the Social Contract	Page 171
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Public Works	Page 177
Advocacy – Ways to Improve for Natural Disasters	Page 184
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Wall Street – Finance Public Works	Page 200
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Main Street	Page 201
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Urban Living	Page 234
Appendix – Caribbean (Puerto Rico) Diaspora in Northern States	Page 304

The cited news article about Michigan struggles to find money to repair its salt-damaged roads is a topic of serious concern for Caribbean planners. This is another example of the benefit of observing and reporting on the turn-around of the once great City of Detroit.

While the US is the world’s largest Single Market economy, we want to only model some of the American example. We would rather foster a business climate to benefit the Greater Good, not just some special interest group. There are many Go Lean blog commentaries that have echoed this point, addressing the subject of the Caribbean avoiding American consequences. See sample here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4381	Net Neutrality: It Matters Here …
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4337	American Study: Homes Marketed via the MLS Sell for More
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4076	American Media Fantasies versus Weather Realities
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3397	A Christmas Present for the Banks from the Omnibus Bill
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3326	Detroit’s M-1 Rail – Finally avoiding Plutocratic Auto Industry Solutions
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2522	The Cost of Cancer Drugs
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2465	Book Review: ‘This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2259	The Criminalization of American Business
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2183	A Textbook Case of Industry Price-gouging
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1143	Health-care fraud in America; Criminals take $272 billion a year
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=798	Lessons Learned from the American Airlines merger
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=709	Student debt holds back many would-be home buyers
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=273	10 Things We *Don’t* Want from the US – American Self-Interest Policies

While the Caribbean region does not have to contend with snow removal tactics, we do have to manage the edicts associated with infrastructure (road) maintenance, industrial waste and environmental by-products. It’s important that we always consider the long view.

The book Go Lean…Caribbean posits that many problems of the region are too big for any one member-state to solve alone, that there is the need for the technocracy of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation. The purpose of this Go Lean/CU roadmap is to conquer the problems/challenges of modern day life and make the Caribbean homeland, a better place to live, work, and play.

Climate change is one such challenge.

We know that the short-term actions we do now, have long-term consequences. So we must act right!

Though we are on the frontline of the onslaughts of climate change weather challenges – think, hurricanes – we must demonstrate best-practices to manage our environment well and send the world the right message of prudence.

The Go Lean roadmap calls for some integration of the regional member-states, a strategy of confederation with a tactic of separation-of-powers between CU federal agencies and member-states’ governments. The roadmap calls for the integrated role for infrastructure planning, financing and maintenance. Surely there will be many maintenance decision where the short-term “pro and con” will have to be weighed against the long-term “pro and con” It is hoped we will always consider the long-term and not “sell out our birthright”.

The people and governing institutions of the Caribbean are hereby urged to take heed the exhortations in this commentary; and also to learn more, and do more, by leaning-in to this Go Lean roadmap for Caribbean empowerment.

🙂

Download the book Go Lean…Caribbean now!

———

Appendix – Road salt damages car undercarriage – http://youtu.be/EBw1JhccgCU

Published on Jan 9, 2014 – A simple substance that is supposed to protect you while driving in a winter storm could actually be costing you money. Reported for Omaha’s KETV NewsWatch 7.

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Crony-Capitalism, Detroit, Model, Power

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Probe of Ferguson-Missouri finds bias from cops, courts

Posted on March 4, 2015 in Ethos, Government

Go Lean Commentary

“What you’re looking for, you gonna get!” – Bahamian idiom.

Yet, the thoughts conveyed by this expression are universal. Even the Bible says: “If errors was what you watch, who could stand” – Psalm 130:3 (New World Translation)

The subsequent news article is insidious. The law enforcement officials in the City of Ferguson, Missouri seem to have targeted the African-American community, more so than any other ethnic group; this classic racial profiling has only one outcome: chaos. This was their (negative) community ethos. What’s worst? They got away with it; because the justice institutions, the courts, clerks and the like, backed up these immoral police activities.

Too harsh a criticism?

Yet, the injustice was so blatant that the town burst into protest – (literally burst into flames) – when one of their citizens – an unarmed, surrendering Michael Brown – was killed by a police officer. Then the whole country burst into protest when the subsequent Grand Jury decided not to indict in that situation. The protesters decried: “No Justice; No Peace”.

It is one thing to study this from afar; it is another to live it every day. This was the constant complaint of residents of Ferguson, especially those of the Black-and-Brown persuasion. See news article here and VIDEOs below:

By: Eric Tucker, AP
WASHINGTON — A Justice Department investigation found sweeping patterns of racial bias within the Ferguson, Mo., police department, with officers routinely discriminating against blacks by using excessive force, issuing petty citations and making baseless traffic stops, according to law enforcement officials familiar with its findings.

The report, to be released as soon as today, marks the culmination of a months-long investigation into a police department that federal officials have described as troubled and that commanded national attention after one of its officers shot and killed an unarmed black man, 18-year-old Michael Brown, last summer.

It chronicles discriminatory practices across the city’s criminal justice system, detailing problems from initial encounters with patrol officers to treatment in the municipal court and jail. Federal law enforcement officials described its contents on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly before the report is released.

The full report could serve as a road map for significant changes by the department, if city officials accept its findings. Past federal investigations of local police departments have encouraged overhauls of fundamental police procedures such as traffic stops and the use of service weapons. The Justice Department maintains the right to sue police departments that resist making changes.

The City of Ferguson released a statement acknowledging that Justice Department officials supplied a copy of the report to the mayor, city manager, police chief and city attorney during a private meeting Tuesday in downtown St. Louis. The statement offered no details about the report, which the city said it was reviewing and would discuss today after the Justice Department makes it public.

The investigation, which began weeks after Brown’s killing last August, is being released as Attorney General Eric Holder prepares to leave his job following a six-year tenure that focused largely on civil rights. The findings are based on interviews with police leaders and residents, a review of more than 35,000 pages of police records and analysis of data on stops, searches and arrests.

Federal officials found that black motorists from 2012 to 2014 were more than twice as likely as whites to be searched during traffic stops, even though they were 26 percent less likely to be found carrying contraband, according to a summary of the findings.

The review also found that blacks were 68 percent less likely than others to have their cases dismissed by a municipal court judge. And from April to September of last year, 95 percent of people kept at the city jail for more than two days were black, it found.

Of the cases in which the police department documented the use of force, 88 percent involved blacks, and of the 14 dog bites for which racial information is available, all 14 victims were black.

Overall, African-Americans make up 67 percent of the population of Ferguson, about 10 miles north of downtown St. Louis. The police department has been criticized as racially imbalanced and not reflective of the community’s demographic makeup. At the time of the shooting, just three of 53 officers were black, though the mayor has said he’s trying to create a more diverse police force.

Brown’s killing set off weeks of protests and initiated a national dialogue about police officers’ use of force and their relations with minority communities. A separate report to be issued soon is expected to clear Darren Wilson, the officer who shot Brown, of federal civil rights charges. A state grand jury declined to indict Wilson in November, and he resigned from the department.

Benjamin Crump, the attorney for the Brown family, said that if the reports about the findings are true, they “confirm what Michael Brown’s family has believed all along — and that is that the tragic killing of an unarmed 18-year-old black teenager was part of a systemic pattern of inappropriate policing of African-American citizens in the Ferguson community.”

The report says there is direct evidence of racial bias among police officers and court workers, and details a criminal justice system that issues citations for petty infractions such as walking in the middle of the street, putting the raising of revenue from fines ahead of public safety. The physical tussle that led to Brown’s death began after Wilson told him and a friend to move from the street to the sidewalk.

The practice hits poor people especially hard, sometimes leading to jail time when they can’t pay, the report says, and has contributed to a cynicism about the police on the part of citizens.

Among the report’s findings was a racially tinged 2008 message in a municipal email account stating that President Obama would not be president for very long because “what black man holds a steady job for four years.”

The department has conducted roughly 20 broad civil rights investigations of police departments during Holder’s tenure, including Newark, Cleveland and Albuquerque. Most such investigations end with police departments agreeing to change their practices.

Justice Department officials were meeting with Ferguson leaders on Tuesday about the findings, a city official said.

Several messages seeking comment from Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson and Mayor James Knowles III were not returned. A secretary for Jackson said he is not doing media interviews. Knowles has previously said the city is attracting a large pool of applicants to police jobs, including minority candidates seeking the position left vacant by Wilson’s resignation.

John Gaskin III, a St. Louis community activist, praised the findings, saying, “Ferguson police have to see the light in how they deal with people of color.

“It’s quite evident that change is coming down the pike. This is encouraging,” he said. “It’s so unfortunate that Michael Brown had to be killed. But in spite of that, I feel justice is coming.”
Associate Press – News Wire Service – Posted March 4, 2015
http://www.northjersey.com/news/probe-of-ferguson-mo-finds-bias-from-cops-courts-1.1281621

The events of this small Midwest American town, a suburb of St. Louis – see Appendix-Demographics below – have a huge bearing on the efforts to elevate Caribbean society. There is a direct impact: many in the Caribbean Diaspora living in the US face the same dynamics, daily. Yet, our Caribbean citizens – mostly Black-and-Brown – beat down the doors to try and expatriate to the US; then they have to contend with these same attitudes and prejudices. There are also indirect lessons for the Caribbean to learn and apply: our region struggles with a lot of the same challenges, especially with discriminations and prejudices towards immigrant “minority” groups.

The book Go Lean…Caribbean identifies these issues as among “push-and-pull” factors contributing to our excessive societal abandonment rate. While the purpose of the book is to serve as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU) to elevate the region’s economic engines, the security (public safety) issues are not ignored. Even more so, governance in the Caribbean member-states is a prime focus. In fact, the Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

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

The assertion of the Go Lean book is that the Caribbean region must prepare its own security apparatus for its own security needs; we must proactively and reactively address crime. But we must do it judiciously and with proper regard for human and civil rights. For this reason, we should dread any American leadership in this regards. Considering Ferguson, they (America) have their own issues to contend with. According to the book’s opening Declaration of Interdependence (Page 12), we must take our own lead for our own solutions; we must appoint our own “guardians” with our self-interest in mind; prioritizing the community ethos for the Greater Good. The actual declaration statements are pronounced as follows:

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.

The Caribbean appointing “new guards” or a security pact to ensure public safety calls for permanent justice institutions sanctioned by all 30 CU member-states. The CU Federation or federal justice’s institutions must operate differently than the US Department of Justice. While the separation-of-powers edict is the same – between the US and the CU – the Go Lean roadmap calls for more “strings attached” to security funding for community policing in the member-states. These strings include fair and equitable treatment of all citizens.

There are so many economic considerations from these issues. Consider the experience in Ferguson. The economic data reports that for White Americans there, the unemployment rate was just 6.2%; but the best figures available for the Black community shows 26% (for the entire St. Louis County in 2012). Overall, this Fortune magazine article reports: “while the Ferguson and St. Louis regional economies have been on the upswing, the gains have not been equally shared among White and African Americans. The St. Louis County 20 percentage point gap between the unemployment rate of African Americans and White Americans is the largest of any city in America, according to the Census. So, the fact that protests against the treatment of Black Americans have erupted there is not a coincidence”. [And maybe not a surprise].

The primary economic engine in Ferguson, Missouri is the company Emerson Electric. How have they fared in the midst of all this social turmoil?

As the conflict in Ferguson, Missouri intensified, this one Fortune 500 company (ranked 121) headquartered there stayed out of harm’s way. Despite the ongoing protests, the curfew implemented by Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, and the arrival of the Missouri National Guard to quell acts of violence, the company said “it was business as usual”.

This is a powerful lesson for Caribbean consideration, the need for continuity in economic engines. About 1,300 Emerson employees work at the Ferguson headquarters; there is the perception of a “disconnect” between its status as a Fortune 500 corporation and the city’s dysfunctional urban realities. The company has established a Charitable Trust for its outreach into the local community, funding campaigns through local ($2.5 million) and national ($33 million) philanthropic endeavors. The local NAACP chapter has lauded Emerson’s contributions and involvement.

This type of success in Caribbean communities will require a heightened level of economic-security-government engagement. This is the prime directive of the CU. The Homeland Security requirements are mostly related to threats that may imperil the region’s economic engines, and crime remediation and mitigation: Public Safety! While there is some community responsibility for corporate stakeholders, the full burden – heavy-lifting – is not the obligation of local corporations, like Emerson in Ferguson. The Go Lean roadmap invites philanthropic participation but assumes the heavy-lifting itself to transform Caribbean society. The CU is an expression of that transformation, an entity to serve as a deputy for law enforcement agencies for each Caribbean member-state. (This is the theme of the treaty to empower the CU). The treaty – a Status of Forces Agreement in International Legal circles – calls for all Caribbean member-states to confederate – unite and empower – a security force to execute a limited scope on their sovereign territories. (This effort also includes the US Territories as well, under the legal guise of an Interstate Compact).

The Go Lean roadmap calls for a lot of proactive activities to remediate and mitigate crime. Like the data analyses, performed by the US Department of Justice in the foregoing article, trends of racial profiling and violations of civil rights become obvious from a macro computation of arrest and prosecution records. It is very important to have the intra-regional review of Caribbean justice institutions. This point was strongly urged in the same opening Declaration of Interdependence (Page 12), as follows:

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

The Go Lean roadmap identifies gang and organized crime-related activities – including drug trafficking accompanied by epidemic levels of gun violence – as threats to the law-and-order fabric of Caribbean society. (Between 2005 and 2008, the Caribbean Community registered 9,733 homicides, the highest rates in the world). Had Ferguson been in some Caribbean member-state during this new Caribbean regime, the CU would be active and involved. If not for the marshaling against economic crimes, then at least the oversight of the existing Justice institutions in the member-states. It is therefore apropos that we apply careful review of these troubling events from our northern neighbors (US in general and Missouri in particular); and also to be on guard against any such dysfunctions in our region. But the community ethos for the Caribbean must be based on the Greater Good. This covers both the letter and the spirit of laws to serve-and-protect the community.

The Go Lean book details additional community ethos to ensure the right attitudes to serve-and-protect Caribbean communities; plus strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to provide increased public safety & security in the Caribbean region:

Economic Principle – Economic Systems Influence Individual Choices	Page 21
Economic Principle – Consequences of Choices Lie in Future	Page 21
Community Ethos – Privacy –vs- Public Protection	Page 23
Community Ethos – Witness Security & Protection	Page 23
Community Ethos – Intelligence Gathering	Page 23
Community Ethos – Anti-Bullying and Mitigation	Page 23
Community Ethos – Minority Equalization	Page 24
Community Ethos – Cooperatives	Page 25
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 – Justice Department – CariPol	Page 77
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Federal Courts – Court of Justice	Page 90
Implementation – Assemble “Organs” into a Security Apparatus	Page 96
Implementation – Start-up Security Initiatives	Page 103
Planning – 10 Big Ideas – # 10: Haiti and Cuba	Page 127
Planning – Ways to Make the Caribbean Better	Page 131
Planning – Ways to Improve Failed-State Indices	Page 134
Planning – Lessons from the American West	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 Impact Justice – No Justice; No Peace	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 Impact the Prison Industrial Complex	Page 211
Advocacy – Ways to Protect Human Rights	Page 220
Advocacy – Ways to Impact the One Percent – Philanthropic Causes	Page 224
Appendix – CariCom Organs: IMPACS & Court of Justice	Page 244
Appendix – Interstate Compacts	Page 278
Appendix – Philanthropic Giving Pledge Signatories	Page 292

Other subjects related to crime remediation and empowerments for the region have been blogged in other Go Lean commentaries, as sampled here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4360	Dreading the American ‘Caribbean Basin Security Initiative’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4308	911 – Emergency Response: System for First Responders in Crisis
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3881	Intelligence Agencies to Up Cyber Security Cooperation
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3662	Migrant flow / Border incursions / Threats from Caribbean into US spikes
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2782	Red Light Traffic Cameras, other CCTV Deployments can Impact Crime
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2684	Role Model for Justice, Anti-Crime & Security: The Pinkertons
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1674	Obama’s $3.7 Billion Immigration Crisis Funds – A Homeland Security Fix
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1554	Status of Forces Agreement = Security Pact
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1487	Here come the Drones … and the Concerns
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=960	NSA records all phone calls in Bahamas, according to Snowden
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=341	American Hypocritical Human Rights Leadership Slams the Caribbean

An underlying goal of the Go Lean movement is to make the Caribbean homeland, a better place to live, work and play so that our citizens are not lured to abandon their homeland for American (or Canadian or European) shores. There are many reasons people emigrate! Many times, the reasons are economic in nature. Sometimes though, security failings spur expatriation. We must address both issues with the efforts of this Go Lean movement.

America should not be considered the land of destination for the Caribbean population. Income inequality and racial inequality persists, though they don’t always go hand in hand. The fact that members of different races in America continue to receive different, unequal economic and security treatments has contributed to the rise in inequality overall in the US. We can do better in the Caribbean homeland. The issue of being Black-and-Brown is neutralized by the fact that the majority of the population is Black-and-Brown.

However, we still have minority issues to contend with.

There is a consistent problem for much of the Caribbean in contending with its illegal immigration problems, particularly from near-failed states like Haiti, Cuba and Jamaica. Their nationals tend to be unwelcomed and scorned upon in host countries; (see the experience of Haitian living in the Bahamas). In these scenarios are the best opportunities to apply the lessons learned from Ferguson and other case studies in dysfunction; (the Go Lean book details lessons from Detroit, East Germany, Egypt and Indian Reservations). We must ensure that our security personnel are just in their dealings with a minority-immigrant population. Otherwise, this undermines all the positives being pursued by this roadmap; onlookers and bystanders will simply label us as hypocrites.

“See how the world, marks the manner of your bearing” – verse from the Bahamas National Anthem.

Under this dreaded scenario, many people make plans to abandon their homelands further because of their perception of unchecked injustice.

We must do better!

We know that “bad actors” will emerge in all situations: good, bad and ugly. We must be prepared and on guard. Yet we must maintain transparency, accountability, and constant commitment to due-process and the rule-of-law. Everyone, the people, institutions and government officials are encouraged to lean-in to this roadmap; to Go Lean.

🙂

Download Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

——

Appendix – Demographics:

The racial composition of Ferguson has shifted over the decades. In 1970, 99% of the population of Ferguson was White and 1% African American. In 1980, the proportion of White residents went down to 85%, whereas the proportion of African American rose to 14%. In 1990, residents of Ferguson who were identified in the U.S. Census as White comprised 73.8% of the total, while those identified as Black made up 25.1%.^[23] (The remainder, 1.1%, identified with other racial categories.) In the 2000 census, 44.7% were White and 52.4% were African American.

As of the 2010 census, ^[3] there were 21,203 people, 8,192 households, and 5,500 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,425.4 inhabitants per square mile (1,322.6/km²). There were 9,105 housing units at an average density of 1,470.9 per square mile (567.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 67.4% African American, 29.3% White, 0.5% Asian, 0.4% Native American, 0.4% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races. Hispanic and Latino of any race were 1.2% of the population.

There were 8,192 households of which 39.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 29.6% were married couples living together, 31.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 32.9% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.12.

The median age in the city was 33.1 years. 28.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.2% were from 25 to 44; 25.3% were from 45 to 64; and 10.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 44.8% male and 55.2% female.

——

Appendix – VIDEOs:

VIDEO 1: Attorney General Eric Holder on the Ferguson Racial Bias –
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/holder-overwhelming-majority-force-ferguson-police-aimed-blacks-n317501

March 4, 2015 – Ferguson, Missouri. Police fostered a “highly toxic environment” of racism and misconduct that turned the city into a “powder keg” that was ready to explode after the fatal shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown last year, Attorney General Eric Holder said Wednesday — even though the officer who shot Brown was determined to have committed no crime.

VIDEO 2: DOJ Finds Pattern of Racial Discrimination in Ferguson Police –
http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/doj-finds-pattern-racial-discrimination-ferguson-police-n316736

March 3, 2015 – Report on Ferguson Exposes Broader Effort to Reform Municipal Courts – Ferguson officers routinely charge multiple violations for the same conduct, competing to see who can issue the most citations during a single stop. In one particularly egregious example, he cited the case of a woman For example, who received two parking tickets in 20078 that totaled $152. But so far, she has paid $550 in fines and fees, has been arrested twice for having unpaid tickets and has spent six days in jail — and “yet she still inexplicably owes Ferguson $541,” he said.

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Dreading the ‘Caribbean Basin Security Initiative’

Posted on February 26, 2015 in Government, Tactical

Go Lean Commentary

The United States of America is proud of its security commitment to their Caribbean neighbors, but the amount they devote is such a piddling – they prioritize 0.1968% of the total security budget towards the region – that the Caribbean should not be lulled into complacency. We need our own security solutions!

The US is the only remaining super power; it devotes massive amounts of finances to defense and homeland security. The ratio of Defense budget versus the total budget of $3.8 trillion (2014), far exceeds all other countries. The US also asserts that it will provide frontline protection for its neighboring countries, in this case the Caribbean Basin. Just how do we quantify that commitment? Budget percentage.

According to the subsequent news article, the US is proud of the security commitment to their Caribbean neighbors. But their efforts are a far cry from what is truly needed in the Caribbean! Yet, even these measly efforts have lulled the region into complacency. This commentary asserts that this is bad!

See an excerpt of the source article here:

By: Alexander Britell

It’s been six years since United States President Barack Obama made his first visit to the Caribbean, on the occasion of the Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, [Trinidad]. And it’s been four years since he visited Puerto Rico, his last visit to the region.

While Obama hasn’t made many visits to the nearby region, his administration has not been inactive, however, promoting plans like the wide-ranging Caribbean Basin Security Initiative and, more recently, his potentially transformative rapprochement with Cuba.

Now, with two years left in his term, it seems the Obama Administration is looking to ramp up its engagement with the region.

…

The story is found in its entirety at: Caribbean Journal Regional News Site; posted January 26, 2015; retrieved 02/25/2015 from: http://www.caribjournal.com/2015/01/26/barack-obama-new-caribbean-push/#

The US has committed $263 million in funding since 2010; see Appendix below; that’s 5 years combined. For easy arithmetic, divide that figure by 5 to yield $52.6 million a year in commitment. This is $52.6 million of someone else’s money being dedicated to us in the Caribbean. Showing the proper appreciation: “Thank you very much Washington”.

But this is just a “drop in the bucket” compared to the general American defense/security spending:

The 2014 Budget provides $526.6 billion for the Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) base funding in 2014, representing a decrease of $3.9 billion, or 0.7 percent, below the 2012 enacted level. – http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2014/assets/defense.pdf
According to the White House, the President’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 Budget Request for $59.9 billion for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reflects the continued commitment to the security of the homeland and the American public. (Source: http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/MGMT/FY%202014%20BIB%20-%20FINAL%20-508%20Formatted%20%284%29.pdf).

That makes a total of $586.5 billion for 1 year. Truly, “blood is thicker than water”; the US spends massively for its own and a piddling on its neighbors. Percentage-wise, the Caribbean Basin commitment is 0.0448% of the US Defense / Homeland Security budget (2014).

0.0448% – “Our thimble runneth over”!

The overriding theme of this commentary is the commitment of American society in providing for their own security; and how the Caribbean can emulate the US example; we want to be a protégé of American society, not a parasite.

This American experience is relevant for the Caribbean to consider; not only for the fact that two Caribbean member-states are American territories: Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. There are military bases in Puerto Rico, so obviously there is some Defense spending there. That figure amounts to $285 million in Defense contracts and $584 million in procurements and salaries (2004). There are no permanent military bases in the US Virgin Islands, but yet there are some spending for Defense contracts ($4.6 million), procurements and salaries ($17.5 million).

Assuming the same level for spending for 2014, the new calculation of Caribbean percentage of American Defense spending now totals: $1,154.1 million or 0.1968%

0.1968% – The cause-and-effect is still the same; a piddling!

The region is in crisis; at the precipice of Failed-State status. No doubt, there is an overriding need for the Caribbean to create its own regional security solution. This is the assertion of the book Go Lean…Caribbean, that the region must prepare its own security apparatus for its own security needs. For this reason, we should be dreading the formal Caribbean Basin Security Initiative as currently formulated. Obviously the heartfelt commitment, the devotion to the Caribbean homeland is not there for Washington, the White House or the Pentagon; see VIDEOs below. We must appoint our own “guardians” with our self-interest in mind; starting a new community ethos of National Sacrifice.

The news reports abound in the Caribbean: Gang and organized crime-related activities, including drug trafficking accompanied by epidemic levels of gun violence, threatens the democratic fabric of the Caribbean sub-region. Between 2005 and 2008, the Caribbean Community (CariCom) registered 9,733 homicides, the highest rates -per capita – in the world.

So the request is that all Caribbean member-states confederate – unite and empower – a security force to execute a limited scope on their sovereign territories. Yes, there is a need for a regional Caribbean security solution; which will include the US Territories as well; (Puerto Rico reports runaway crime statistics as well).

Homeland Security for the Caribbean has a different meaning than for our American counterparts. Though we must be on guard against military intrusions like terrorism and piracy, we mostly have to contend with crime – remediation, mitigation and threats that may imperil the region’s economic engines. The CU security goal is for public safety! 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 while the CU is set to optimize Caribbean society through economic empowerment, the security dynamics will be inextricably linked to this same endeavor. Therefore the Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

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

The book contends that “bad actors” will emerge as a result of economic successes. 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.

The Caribbean appointing “new guards”, or a security pact to ensure public safety is not so new an endeavor. There is currently a security pact; shared by 5 Eastern Caribbean member-states dubbed the Regional Security System. The Go Lean roadmap however calls for a permanent professional force with naval and ground (Marine) forces, plus an Intelligence agency. This security apparatus would be sanctioned by all 30 CU member-states, not just the current 5 and including the US Territories. The CU Trade Federation will lead, fund and facilitate the security force, encapsulating all the existing (full-time or part-time) armed forces in the region. This CU Homeland Security Force would get its legal authorization from a Status of Forces Agreement signed as a complement to the CU treaty. The Go Lean roadmap also calls for a greater commitment to Justice institutions: law enforcement and regional policing. In fact, the book’s 370-page turn-by-turn instructions present a plan with a lot of time, talent and treasuries focused on the comprehensive security vision.

This commentary posits that the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, from the foregoing article, should be coupled with these CU security initiatives; see VIDEOs below. This required security apparatus is “Step One, Day One” in the Go Lean roadmap, covering the approach for adequate funding, accountability and control.

The Go Lean book details a series of community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to provide increased public safety & security in the Caribbean region:

Economic Principle – Economic Systems Influence Individual Choices	Page 21
Economic Principle – Consequences of Choices Lie in Future	Page 21
Community Ethos – Privacy –vs- Public Protection	Page 23
Community Ethos – Witness Security & Protection	Page 23
Community Ethos – Intelligence Gathering	Page 23
Community Ethos – Anti-Bullying and Mitigation	Page 23
Community Ethos – Minority Equalization	Page 24
Community Ethos – Cooperatives	Page 25
Community Ethos – Ways to Improve Sharing	Page 35
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good	Page 37
Strategy – Vision – Caribbean an integrated and unified region	Page 45
Strategy – Mission – Enact a Defense Pact against systemic threats	Page 45
Tactical – Confederating a non-sovereign union	Page 63
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy	Page 64
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Homeland Security	Page 75
Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change	Page 101
Implementation – Start-up Foreign Policy Initiatives	Page 102
Implementation – Start-up Security Initiatives	Page 103
Implementation – Ways to Foster International Aid	Page 115
Planning – Ways to Model the EU	Page 130
Planning – Ways to Make the Caribbean Better	Page 131
Planning – Ways to Improve Failed-State Indices	Page 134
Planning – Lessons Learned from the West Indies Federation	Page 135
Planning – Lessons from the American West	Page 142
Planning – Lessons from Egypt	Page 143
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 Impact the Prison Industrial Complex	Page 211
Advocacy – Ways to Protect Human Rights	Page 220
Advocacy – Ways to Impact US Territories	Page 244

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

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4308	911 – Emergency Response: System for First Responders in Crisis
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3881	Intelligence Agencies to Up Cyber Security Cooperation
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3662	Migrant flow / Border Incursions / Threats spike for Caribbean into US
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3432	OECS diplomat has dire warning for Caribbean “Begging”
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2782	Red Light Traffic Cameras, other CCTV Deployments Can Impact Crime
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2684	Role Model for Justice, Anti-Crime & Security: The Pinkertons
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2259	The Criminalization of American Business – White Collar Interdictions
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1965	America’s Navy – 100 Percent – Model for Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1674	Obama’s $3.7 Billion Immigration Crisis Funds – A Homeland Security Fix
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=1143	White Collar-Health-care fraud in US; criminals take $272 billion a year
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

The planners of the new Caribbean, those in this Go Lean movement, are not ungrateful for the contributions of the US. We appreciate their support and invite even more assistance, cooperation and facilitation. After all, a leading factor in the regional threats the Caribbean contends with is derived from the US demand for illicit drugs. Many times, our small island states are just in the way of narco-terrorists trans-shipment plans. Plus a number of American states have now adopted new community ethos when it comes to drugs, legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana; sometimes declaring a “faux-medical” subterfuge. If the State says “OK”, it is very hard for parents, teachers and religious leaders to counter the arguments. So American vices are breaking Caribbean societal structures.

It is what it is!

An underlying goal of the Go Lean movement is to make the Caribbean homeland, a better place to live, work and play. (It is out-of-scope of Go Lean … Caribbean to fix America). While this roadmap includes a heavy focus on economics, the other areas of Caribbean society must get equal attention, like security and governance. A 0.1968% commitment is not the community ethos we advocate; in fact, at those piddling numbers, it is no commitment at all, it only constitutes a slight involvement – just sticking a “toe in the waters” when a wholesale bath is needed. In an illustrative depiction, it is just “milk or eggs to a recipe that requires bacon”. So we cannot expect Caribbean leadership to come from American sources.

Accepting the premise of “bad actors” inevitability means preparing counter-measures in earnest. There is nothing earnest about a 0.1968% commitment. Rather, a technocratic security apparatus for public safety is necessary to elevate the Caribbean homeland. This prime directive is front-and-center with the Go Lean effort. Now is the time for all of the Caribbean, the people, institutions and governance, to lean-in to this roadmap.

🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

——

APPENDIX A – VIDEOs: The Caribbean Basin Security Initiative Commission; 3rd meeting in St. Kitts; Oct 3, 2012.

1. Caribbean Basin Security Initiative – Francis Forbes – http://youtu.be/wUyOpOVT1ss

Francis Forbes, Executive Director – CariCom Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS)

2. VIDEO: Caribbean Basin Security Initiative – Liliana Ayalde – http://youtu.be/_uf5gEHkKac

At the time of this posting, Ms. Ayalde was the Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) for the United States State Department with responsibility for the Offices of Caribbean Affairs, Central American Affairs and Cuban Affairs. Today, she serves as the United States Ambassador to Brazil.

APPENDIX B – Official Communique: Caribbean Basin Security Initiative
(Source retrieved 02/26/2015 from: http://www.state.gov/p/wha/rt/cbsi/)

The Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) is one pillar of a U.S. security strategy focused on citizen safety throughout the hemisphere. CBSI brings all members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Dominican Republic together to jointly collaborate on regional security with the United States as a partner. The United States is making a significant contribution to CBSI, committing $263 million in funding since 2010.

The United States and Caribbean countries have identified three core objectives to deal with the threats facing the Caribbean:

Substantially Reduce Illicit Trafficking: through programs ranging from counter-narcotics to reducing the flow of illegal arms/light weapons.
Increase Public Safety and Security: through programs ranging from reducing crime and violence to improving border security.
Promote Social Justice: through programs designed to promote justice sector reform, combat government corruption, and assist vulnerable populations at risk of recruitment into criminal organizations.

These objectives are not just about drug interdiction. CBSI is a whole of government approach to citizen safety. Citizen Safety Focuses on:

Partnerships: A defining purpose of U.S. policy in the Western Hemisphere is to build effective partnerships to advance our common strategic interests—partnerships that can better develop, mobilize and apply the capacity of the region toward accomplishing shared objectives.
The Personal Element: Our commitment to broad partnerships that advance citizen safety signals that the U.S. understands that while security is a key priority throughout the region, people often understand security in a personal way on their street corners, on a bus to and from work, or in their markets.
Crime Linkages: Forging effective partnerships requires an understanding of and an ability to address fundamental links between local, transnational and “white collar” crime (e.g., corruption), and the nexus between these threats and the big social and economic challenges the region faces. We seek to improve public safety, improving security for each and every citizen through these partnerships.

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911 – Emergency Response: System in Crisis

Posted on February 23, 2015 in Government, Implementation

Go Lean Commentary

Emergency management, as defined in the book Go Lean…Caribbean, is an art and a science.

The Go Lean book embarks on the strategy to consolidate the Emergency Management (preparation and response) for the entire Caribbean region. Therefore the issue of Emergency Telephone Numbers is of serious concern; sometimes it’s a life-or-death matter.

Despite all the attendant issues – technology, standards, geography, legacy, and language – this is first-and-foremost an issue of life-and-death. Failure in this area is not an option. Consider here this example of short-comings in the US system:

VIDEO Title: Some 911 systems can’t find you in an emergency due to dated technology – http://www.today.com/video/today/57011057#57011057

Published on Feb 23, 2015 – Some 911 systems can’t find you in an emergency

Many 911 centers around the country still rely on dated cell tower technology instead of something as widely used as Google Maps, which means dispatchers may not be able to locate you in an emergency – and the consequences can be tragic. TODAY’s national investigative correspondent Jeff Rossen reports; (see transcript in the Appendix below).

There is no one world standard for Emergency Telephone Numbers. But the number is always intuitive; normally just a 3-digit code and applicable on a land-line or a mobile phone – this is an issue of technology. Normally neighboring countries share the same number, even if a dual overlap applies; so as to assuage any confusion for people when they absolutely have an emergency.

In the Caribbean region, like most places, everyone expects to pick up a phone and dial a 3-digit code – like 911 – and within short order be able to talk with an Emergency Management First-Responder for Police, Ambulance and Fire incidences.

Unfortunately for the Caribbean, we have 5 different legacies that rule the standards of day-to-day life: American, British, Dutch, French and the Spanish Caribbean. But geographically, since the region is physically located among all these cultures; all territories must comply with a consistent structure; that consistency is identified as the North American Numbering Plan.

So 911 rules…

But for countries with active European oversight, they normally go further and allow their European Emergency Phone Number configurations to also apply while in the Caribbean member-states. So the 3-digit code in the European Union – 112 – will also work in the Dutch and French member-states.

This issue reflects the regional oversight the book Go Lean…Caribbean envisions for the Caribbean region. The book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). This CU roadmap is designed to elevate Caribbean society by these prime directives:

Optimization of the economic engines; growing the regional economy.
Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines.
Improvement of Caribbean governance to support these engines.

All 3 of these features of the Go Lean roadmap relate to this topic of Emergency Telephone Numbers. There is the need for effectiveness and efficiency so as to protect the life and property of all Caribbean stakeholders: residents and visitors alike. The book posits that some issues are too big for any one member-state to manage alone – especially with such close proximities – there are times when there must be cross-border, multilateral coordination. This vision is defined early in the book (Pages 12 – 14) with these statements in the opening Declaration of Interdependence:

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Though the issue of “911” is primarily associated with the North American Numbering Plan; this discussion of emergency contacts is not just the focus for North America.

The following information is retrieved from Wikipedia regarding the universality of Emergency Telephone Numbers; (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_telephone_number):

In many countries the public telephone network has a single emergency telephone number (sometimes known as the universal emergency telephone number or the emergency services number) that allows a caller to contact local emergency services for assistance. The emergency number differs from country to country; it is typically a three-digit number so that it can be easily remembered and dialed quickly. Some countries have a different emergency number for each of the different emergency services; these often differ only by the last digit. In the European Union, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and others “112” was introduced as a common emergency call number during the 1990s, and as the GSM standard it is now a well known mobile telephone emergency number around the globe^[1] alongside the North American “911“.

Mobile Telephones
Mobile phones can be used in countries with different emergency numbers. This means that a traveller visiting a foreign country does not have to know the local emergency numbers. The mobile phone and the SIM card have a preprogrammed list of emergency numbers. When the user tries to set up a call using an emergency number known by a GSM or 3G phone, the special emergency call setup takes place. The actual number is not even transmitted into the network, but the network redirects the emergency call to the local emergency desk. Most GSM mobile phones can dial emergency numbers even when the phone keyboard is locked, the phone is without a SIM card, emergency number is entered instead of the PIN or there isn’t a network signal (busy network).

Most GSM mobile phones have 112, 999 and 911 as pre-programmed emergency numbers that are always available.^[15] The SIM card issued by the operator can contain additional country-specific emergency numbers that can be used even when roaming abroad. The GSM network can also update the list of well-known emergency numbers when the phone registers to it.

Some notable exceptions in the Caribbean neighborhood include:

Country

Police

Ambulance

Fire

Mexico
066

065

068

Bahamas
919 or 911

Haiti
114

118

115

Jamaica
119

110

Trinidad and Tobago
999

990

Guyana
911

913

912

Suriname
112

Considering the experiences from the foregoing VIDEO, the US needs better coordination with their Communications Regulator and Emergency Management Agencies. While it is out-of-scope for the Go Lean roadmap to change America, we can do better in the Caribbean. The CU is formed from a pledge for efficient, agile regional coordination. The Go Lean book describes this oversight as “lean”. The concept of “lean” is very prominent in the Go Lean book (and movement), even adopting the title, Go Lean, for this quest for excellence in Caribbean economic empowerment, security coordination and governing efforts. The label “lean” is therefore indicative of this quest; the word is used in the book as a noun, a verb and an adjective. This point is pronounced early in the book (Page 4) with these statements:

The CU will lean on, lean in, lean over backwards, and then lean towards…
The CU will embrace lean, agile, efficient organization structures – more virtual, less physical, more systems, less payroll.

This commitment to “lean” lends confidence to the coordination of the CU federal authorities. The Go Lean book hypothesizes that the Caribbean region can succeed in transforming our society in short order; the roadmap is a 5 year plan. Previous blogs/commentaries also exclaimed societal benefits from pursuits in regional coordination; consider this sample of previous blogs:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3881	Regional Coordination: Cyber Security Cooperation
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3834	State of the Caribbean Union’s Regional Society
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3760	Regional Proxy for Citizenship Programs
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3713	NEXUS – Model of Regional Border Control
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3594	Lessons for Regional Coordination for Queen Conch
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3582	Better Coordination for Regional Banks
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3432	Mitigating Regional Preponderance to Beg for Development Aid
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3354	Regional Call to End the US Embargo on Cuba
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3090	Model of Regionalism: Europe – All Grown Up
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2887	Caribbean Region Must Work Together to Address Rum Subsidies
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2614	The ‘Great ShakeOut’ Earthquake Drill for the Region’s Seismic Areas
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2435	Role Model for Caribbean Economy: Korea
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2359	Regional calls for innovative ideas to finance Small Island Development
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2171	SEC Network – Role Model for Regional Sports Broadcast Networks
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1965	America’s Navy – 100 Percent – Model for Caribbean Regional Security
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1554	Status of Forces Agreement for a Regional Security Pact
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=833	One currency, divergent economies – Model for the Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=479	PetroCaribe press ahead with plan to eradicate hunger & poverty in the region
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=318	Collegiate Sports Eco-System for the Caribbean Region
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=308	CARCIP – Regional Effort Can Foster Technology Innovations

The Go Lean book posits that communication technologies must be regulated at the regional level for the Greater Good of the Caribbean. There are too many instances with overlapping spectrum from one member-state to another. Citizens should not need to worry about border considerations during emergency incidences. There should be a smartphone mobile app for the Caribbean region from Step One/Day One of the CU implementation. In the present tense, this regional coordination is managed by bilateral treaties. A unitary confederation treaty – for all 30 member-states – would be better.

The Go Lean book details a series of community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to foster better regional coordination within the Caribbean neighborhood. This list provides a sample, as follows:

Community Ethos – People Respond to Incentives	Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Systems Influence Individual Choices	Page 21
Community Ethos – Security Principle – Privacy versus Public Protection	Page 23
Community Ethos – Governing Principle – Lean Operations	Page 24
Community Ethos – Ways to Bridge the Digital Divide	Page 31
Community Ethos – Ways to Improve Sharing	Page 35
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good	Page 37
Strategy – Provide Emergency Management Arts and Sciences for Disasters	Page 45
Strategy – Mission – Embrace the Advances of Technology	Page 46
Strategy – Agents of Change – Technology	Page 57
Strategy – Agents of Change – Climate Change	Page 57
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy	Page 64
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Homeland Security – Emergency Management	Page 76
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Communications and Media Authority	Page 79
Implementation – Assemble Regional Organs Under Umbrella Confederation	Page 96
Implementation – Security Initiatives at Start-up – Intelligence Collaboration	Page 103
Implementation – Ways to Deliver	Page 109
Implementation – Ways to Foster International Aid – Natural Disaster Relief	Page 115
Planning – Big Ideas – Homeland Security Pact	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 Governance	Page 168
Advocacy – Ways to Better Manage the Social Contract	Page 170
Advocacy – Ways to Improve for Natural Disasters	Page 184
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Communications	Page 186
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Emergency Management – Trauma Medicine	Page 196
Advocacy – Ways to Foster Technology	Page 197
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Main Street – Mobile Apps: Time and Place	Page 201
Advocacy – Ways to Protect Human Rights	Page 220
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Urban Living – Proximity to First Responders	Page 234
Appendix – Interstate Compacts – Model: Great Lakes Compact	Page 278
Appendix – Emergency Management – Service Continuity Management	Page 338
Appendix – Emergency Management – Trauma Medicine Principles	Page 339

The foregoing VIDEO and news article identifies the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as the regulator for US land-line and mobile telephone systems. Who assumes this role for the Caribbean? While the same FCC has jurisdiction over 2 Caribbean member-states (Puerto Rico & US Virgin Islands), there is the need for a deputized agency for the other 28 Caribbean member-states. The Go Lean roadmap calls for an Interstate Compact among the US Territories that is also ratified as an international treaty for all the other member-states. This constitutes the Caribbean Union treaty. Also, as many Interstate Compacts create independent agencies to administer the tenants of the multi-party agreements – think the New York/New Jersey Port Authority – the CU treaty will be administered by the region-wide, deputized technocracy, that is the Trade Federation, specifically the Commerce Department’s Communications and Media Authority.

The CU – with an agency within the Homeland Security Department – also doubles as the regional Emergency Management Agency.

This allows for better coordination of Emergency Telephone Numbers – 911, 919, 112, etc. – for the region. The Communications regulator and Emergency Management under the same “umbrella”: a better pairing!

The region needs this delivery; it makes the Caribbean a better place for emergencies. Now is the time to lean-in to this Go Lean roadmap; now is the time to deliver the Caribbean as a better place to live, work and play… for today and for the future. 🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

———–

Appendix: 911 System Crisis – VIDEO Transcript
Jeff Rossen and Charlie McLravy TODAY – February 23, 2015

It was shortly after 4 a.m. on the foggy morning of December 29 when Shanell Anderson took a wrong turn in the dark in a suburban Atlanta neighborhood.

The 31-year-old supervisor for a newspaper delivery service was substituting for an employee who had called in sick when she accidentally drove her SUV into a large pond. Her Nissan Xterra began filling with water, its doors held shut by hundreds of pounds of water pressure.

Anderson had nothing to break the windows with, but she did have a cellphone. She dialed 911.

“911, what is the address of your emergency?” the dispatcher answered. “Where’s your emergency?”

“I’m in a car in a lake,” Anderson replied.

“Where?” said the dispatcher. “Where are you?”

“The Fairway!” Anderson answered.

“Give me the address again, make sure I have it right.”

“The Fairway and Batesville.”

“Batesville and what?” the dispatcher asked.

“The Fairway is a street, ma’am.”

“The Fairway?” the dispatcher repeated. “I don’t have that.”

“Ma’am, I’m losing air very quickly,” Anderson said.

“Give me the address one more time, it’s not working,” the dispatcher asked.

“The Fairway!” Anderson yelled, and spelled the name. “F-A-I-R-W-A-Y!”

The 911 recording captured the dispatcher saying “I lost her” before the line went dead.

It took first responders nearly 20 minutes to get to the location and almost another nine minutes to find Anderson’s car 8 feet underwater. By the time they dove into the lake, broke into the completely submerged SUV and removed her from it, she was unresponsive.

Paramedics were able to restart Anderson’s heart. She was taken to the hospital, where she clung to life in a coma for a week and a half before her organs failed and she died.

The reason it took responders so long to find Anderson is because she was sinking into a pond in the next county. Her desperate call to 911 was picked up by a cell tower in Fulton County, but the pond she was trapped in was actually in Cherokee County. The 911 dispatcher who took her call couldn’t find Anderson’s location because the map on her system only showed Fulton County, where she worked — not nearby Cherokee County, where Anderson was.

The 911 center Anderson’s call was routed to is one of many around the country that still rely on dated cell tower technology instead of something as widely used as Google Maps. Wireless 911 calls get routed to the wrong call centers so often that many dispatchers have dedicated buttons to transfer callers to neighboring departments.

Brendan Keefe, chief investigative reporter for NBC Atlanta affiliate WXIA, was the first to report on the problem with the 911 system there. His report prompted NBC News and Gannett-owned news outlets across the country to launch their own investigations into the issue.

“It has one fatal flaw; it stops at the city line,” Keefe said of Atlanta’s 911 system. “If you hit a cell tower outside their jurisdiction, they don’t know where you are.”

“If the phone had automatically routed to the correct jurisdiction, this very well may have had a different outcome,” Carl Hall, chief of technology at the Public Safety Department in Alpharetta, Georgia (in Fulton County), told Keefe in an recent interview. Hall oversees one of the most advanced 911 centers in the nation, accredited in the top 2 percent and equipped with the latest gear.

“The address of that tower determines which 911 center that call goes to,” Hall told Keefe. “It’s not based on the location of the telephone; it’s the physical address of the tower, not the physical address of the phone.”

Adding to the delay, Fulton County’s 911 follows the industry standard of using proprietary maps instead of technology like Google Maps, which most of us have installed on our cellphones.

“That’s the whole point of 911— finding you quickly,” said Anderson’s mother, Jacquene Curlee. “But when it matters, when someone’s life is in danger, they can’t find you. That is absolutely absurd.”

To demonstrate the problem, TODAY national investigative correspondent Jeff Rossen visited a 911 center in Fairfax, Virginia, with Steve Souder, director of the Fairfax County Department of Public Safety Communications. Rossen dialed 911 from inside the center and asked the responding dispatcher to identify his location.

Consulting a computer, the dispatcher replied: “Showing 4610 West Ox Road.”

“Absolutely not,” Souder said. “That’s about a quarter of a mile from where we are.”

“And we’re inside a 911 center,” Rossen said. “And they still can’t find us.”

Responsibility for fixing the problem falls to the Federal Communications Commission. “We need to concentrate on the technologies that make cellphone information and location available to 911 centers instantly,” said Jamie Barnett, a former FCC official who now represents a coalition of emergency responders and 911 dispatchers who are pushing the commission and Congress to improve 911 systems. “The technology exists that can provide it within seconds.”

“It is unacceptable that I can make a wireless call and people can’t find me,” FCC chairman Tom Wheeler acknowledged to Rossen. “Local government controls what happens with 911; the wireless carriers have the technology, and we have the oversight, with jurisdiction over the carriers, but not over local government.

“And so our job is: How do we keep pushing?” Wheeler continued. “And what we’ve recently done is to come up with a new set of rules that have pushed further.”

The new rules “demand 40 percent accuracy within the next two years,” Rossen pointed out. “How bad is it right now, if in two years the goal is 40 percent accuracy? Which I think we can agree is not a great number.”

“We have to push to make sure that both the wireless carriers and the local 911 folks are prepared to be able to exceed that and to give the kind of expectation that you and I have a right to have when we call 911,” Wheeler replied.

Wheeler also revealed that the FCC is developing a 911 app — like Uber for 911. He said that there is no timetable yet for when the app will be ready.

But that is not good enough or fast enough for Shanell Anderson’s mother.

“Her death was so senseless,” Jacquene Curlee said. “Our 911 system doesn’t work.”

Source: NBC News – The Today Show – Retrieved February 23, 2015 from:
http://www.today.com/news/some-911-systems-cant-find-you-emergency-2D80503362

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A Lesson in History – Panamanian Balboa

Posted on February 10, 2015 in Economics, Government

Go Lean Commentary

America has surely changed over the past century!

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

Wink-wink …

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

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

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

A bit extreme?

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

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

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

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

The history of the Panamanian Balboa

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

Coins

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

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

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

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

Banknotes

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

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

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

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

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

On the surface!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

🙂

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

———

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

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Country	Police	Ambulance		Fire
Mexico	066	065		068
Bahamas	919 or 911
Haiti	114	118		115
Jamaica	119	110
Trinidad and Tobago	999	990
Guyana	911	913	912
Suriname	112