Archive for April, 2009
The Susan Boyle phenomenon
(Christian Science Monitor): It was to her elderly mother, sometime before she passed away, that Susan Boyle pledged she would "do something" with her life. Two years on from that loss, she honored that promise with a now almost legendary appearance on a British television talent show. A video clip of the Scot winning over skeptical judges and a cynical crowd with a rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream." from the musical "Les Misérables" has been viewed more than 40 million times, making it one of the most popular YouTube videos ever posted. The youngest of nine, Ms. Boyle is an unlikely global star. Or is she?
Mystery ‘space blob’
(BBC): It might not look like much, but this image represents one of the most distant objects astronomers have ever seen, 12.9 billion light years away. It is a "Lyman-alpha blob" and is 55,000 light years across – as large as present-day galaxies. Though younger such blobs have been found, "Himiko" confounds the idea that such large objects grew more recently by the merger of smaller ones. Current cosmology models hold that between 200 million and one billion years after the Big Bang, the first colossal stars formed, emitting radiation that stripped light elements of their electrons and turned the Universe into a soup of charged particles.
Disaster planning seminar
(CNS): Over 45 Government Departments and agencies gathered at the George Town Hospital Conference room on Wednesday, 15 April, for a workshop on Hazard Management Plan Development. The planning session was led by Hazard Management Cayman Islands (HMCI) Director, Dr Barbara Carby. HMCI Deputy Director McCleary Frederick gave an overview of the proposed disaster management legislation which, when passed into law, will require all Cayman Islands Government entities to develop such plans.
In a release from HMCI Carby explained, “The Cayman Islands Government now requires all Government agencies to have in place disaster response and continuity of operations plans (COOP), and many Government agencies already have these plans in place; however plans require review and amendments, and ongoing training is necessary to keep staff current on their roles and responsibilities.”
The (COOP) plans are important because they are designed to ensure that government agencies continue to provide essential functions during and after an emergency. These plans also help to protect staff, equipment, records and other vital assets.
Emergencies that require activation of the plans can take many forms such as a fire or a flood; however it is hurricanes that pose the number one threat in Cayman. The Cayman Islands have been threatened and impacted by a number of hurricanes since Hurricane Ivan struck in 2004, andsince that time there has been increasing recognition that work needs to be done to reduce or mitigate the disruptions that can result to government operations following a disaster or emergency. Government also needs to achieve a timely and orderly recovery following an impact.
Candidates to discuss sexual assault
(CNS): 2nd UPDATE 11:35 am: Nine candidates have so far accepted an invitation to participate in a public discussion on sexual assault, where voters will be given the opportunity to learn where political candidates stand on the issue. The ‘Breakfast with the Candidates’ event will take place on Saturday, 25 April, at the Church of God Chapel Family Life Centre from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. All political parties and independent candidates in the upcoming election have been invited to participate in this event and the public is invited to attend.
The first 10 candidates that respond to the invitation will be given a seat on the panel, and so far nine candidates have accepted, two from UDP, one from PPM and six independent candidates. They are: Gilbert Mclean, Eddie Thompson, Theresa Lewis Pitcairn, Wailing Whittaker, Sandra Catron, Perlina McGaw-Lumsden, Julie O’Connor-Connolly, Alfonso Wright, and Dr Frank McField has now also joined the list, leaving just one spot open.
The political participants will be given the opportunity to provide their solutions and plans to address sexual violence in the Cayman Islands if elected, and the audience will then be given the opportunity to ask questions to the panel of candidates.
The Cayman Islands Crisis Centre (CICC), in partnership with the Estella Scott-Roberts Foundation (ESRF), will be hosting this historic discussion with political candidates that will focus on discussing solutions to the issue of sexual violence. According to a release from the foundation, the event is being organized as a part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), which is internationally observed in April. This and other SAAM activities provide an opportunity to educate individuals and communities on the topic of sexual violence and how to prevent it.
Breakfast will be served immediately following the event, and there will be an opportunity for the audience and candidates to continue dialogue after the formal panel discussion has concluded. For more information on this free event or other SAAM activities, please contactthe Cayman Islands Crisis Centre at 949-0366 or email renee.grate@cicc.ky or the Estella Scott-Roberts Foundation at esrfoundation@gmail.com.
Brackers ride for charity
(CNS): Over $5000 dollars was raised which will go into the Rotary Club of Cayman Brac’s Paloma relief fund when 55 Brackers got on their bikes for the club’s 27th annual Bike-a-thon on Saturday, 28 March, who rode the 11 mile course from Spot Bay to the West End Community Park. First past the post again this year was Michael Hundt, who finished in 29 minutes, but he faced stiff challenge from a pack of 5 or 6 serious cycling enthusiasts.
A release from the club notes that it was especially pleasing to see so many parents out riding with their children. The prize for the biggest family riding went to the Fredericks of West End. The oldest rider was Wallace Platts and youngest 5 year old Caleb Frederick. Winners for the school aged riders were Simon Watson, Shanelle Frederick, Eval Miller and Camille Brown. The fastest lady prize went to Vivian Williams. This year the trophy for the school which collected the most sponsorship went to Creek and Spot Bay.
The club wishes to thank all those who donated funds to the riders, and special thanks to the sponsors who helped to make the day such a success. Prizes were sponsored by Jim Bollinger, Lime, Texaco and Casa Bracca. Refreshments and food for the riders were sponsored by Dr Charles Reid, Billy’s Supermarket, Ed’s Place, and The Shoppe.
The club also received a generous donation of helmets to give to all the riders from Pamela Skull of the Young Marines of California.
Moderating the comments
One of the most glaring impediments to progress in the Cayman Islands is the fact that large sections of society feel intimidated about speaking publicly on issues, and this is never so apparent as during election time.
A few years ago, both local newspapers decided to insist that letter writers give their names and contact details. CNS has on several occasions been urged to adopt the same policy but I do not feel that the Cayman Islands is ready for this while recriminations – real or perceived – for weighing in on the issues of the day exist.
To start with, free speech is denied to civil servants, who are expressly forbidden to show support for a particular candidate, or to make public their views on candidates or political issues. Most people living here on a work permit, as well as business owners who depend on work permit holders, are allowed to voice their opinions but nevertheless are reluctant to do so, believing that their livelihoods would be threatened, and whether their fears are legitimate or not is less relevant than the fact that their voices are silenced.
Many residents are unwilling to draw criticism by identifying themselves in what is still a small community, and in some cases fear actual physical harm. An exchange on one thread by single mothers expressing their fears about the rising violence for themselves and their children was particularly poignant, and was yet another conformation that a platform in which people can write freely and anonymously is much needed in these islands.
On the other hand, while free speech is a cherished right in any democracy, it is never without some qualifiers, and every country that sees itself as democratic must try to find a balance between free speech and other rights, such as the right not to be the target of hate speech, discrimination, defamation of character, etc. (See this New York Times article about the different approaches to this in the US, Europe and Canada)
However, without any laws in the Cayman Islands governing hate speech or discrimination, the threat of a libel suit appears to be the only restriction as to what is published in the media. Therefore, it is up to the individual media houses to determine what is acceptable and what is not.
Which brings me to the comments on CNS and how they are moderated. Our comment policy is posted here. However, it probably needs a little elaboration, not to mention the opportunity for readers to comment on the policy and its application.
As the policy says, a comment that is made by someone who has the courage to put their name to it has much greater impact and we encourage those who really care about the Cayman Islands to stand up for what they believe in. Still, for all the reasons listed above, most people comment anonymously, Sadly, when people are brave enough to use their own name they are often rewarded with some pretty nasty responses. Therefore, following a discussion with Twyla, one of our most frequent commenters, we have developed a new rule: you can disagree with people who identify themselves … but be nice, especially if you hide behind anonymity.
Occasionally we get comments that cross the line in some parts but are otherwise interesting. In these cases I replace the offending sections with “XXXXXXX” instead of deleting the whole thing. Comments written in bold, which somehow suggests that it is more important than other comments, are changed to normal, and comments written with the caps lock on, which is annoying, are generally just deleted. Otherwise, comments are not edited and spelling and grammar are left as they are written. If a comment is unintelligible – the litmus test; I read it twice and have no clue what it means – it is deleted. Strangely, a lot of comments posted late Friday or Saturday night fall into this category.
By running for public office, politicians and would-be politicians open themselves up to greater scrutiny than other citizens, but as we get closer to election time and emotions start to run high, deciding what is legitimate opinion or dissent and where to draw the line is often a hard decision. Added to this, as a few people have noted, some comments supposedly written by regular CNS readers may in fact be written by the campaigns themselves. And while, if true, this is reprehensible, it is impossible to prove and hard to eliminate. Nevertheless, I have deleted some anonymous comments that seem ridiculously puerile, that anonymously accuse candidates or incumbents of corruption, or if I feel fairly certain that it was “planted”.
Public figures – a difficult term to define in such a small community – are legitimate subjects of public dialogue, especially if they accept a large salary from the public purse. Given the perception that some high level government positions are filled for reasons other than merit or that sometimes foreigners are given senior civil service jobs that could be filled locally, a free public discussion of senior appointments and their performance is justified. But just as the line between opinion and insult can be hard to pinpoint, so too can the difference between information and gossip, and whether I have always made the right decision is likely also open for debate.
When it comes to crime, moderating the comments can be particularly difficult. For one thing, people always seem to know more than the police have released. However, if the police ask us not to post such comments I comply with the request, at least until that information is made public.
Suspects of high profile crimes are always reviled in comments, but however damning the evidence appears to be (and whatever people believe to the contrary) people are innocent until proven guilty under the law and I cannot approve comments that assume their guilt – though some of them are heartbreaking in their grief and the writers have my fullest sympathy. I would ask people to word their comments carefully at such times. Comments about the victims or the victims’ families are sometimes deleted just because they seem to be unduly hurtful to people who are already suffering.
If I could make one request to those posting comments – if you are unwilling to use your real name it would be helpful to give yourself a “user name”, since arguments between a bunch of people who sign themselves “Anonymous” can get confusing.
Public dialogue is an essential part of the democratic process and the CNS comments seem to have becomean important tool for debate between the people who live here. Perhaps the proportion of commenters who use their real name as opposed to those who remain afraid to do so can become a gauge of the progress freedom of expression in the Cayman Islands.
Sailing clinic for kids
(CNS): Fourteen young sailors attended the 2nd International Optimist Clinic, held at the Cayman Islands Sailing Club and National Sailing Centre over the Easter weekend and run by Allan Coutts, an America’s Cup sailor and Cayman Islands high performance Optimist coach. The clinic focused on boat speed and boat handling and the sailors practised in the North Sound and just outside the reef near Stingray City. (Left: Local sailor Tristan Connault)
The Optimist is a one-person dinghy for children. It is the most popular dinghy in the world and as a result more Olympic medalists learn to race in the Optimist than any other sailboat.
According to the CISC, the The Cayman Sailing Team members who participated were: Tristan Connault, Matthew Courtis, Alex Robertson, Iain Robertson, Ben Williams, Jamie Williams and Niklas Wolfe, and there were also seven youngsters from the United States. The clinic is one of the many international coaching events run at the Sailing Centre throughout the year.
Sailing Director Mike Weber was pleased with the clinic. “Once again Mr Coutts’ coaching was very well received by the sailors and we saw tremendous improvement” he said.
“The Cayman Islands is growing as a sailing tourism destination,” says Weber. “We are getting more interest from foreign sailors to come to Cayman to train and we look forward to hosting more sailing events in the future.”
For more information on sail training opportunities in the Cayman Islands, please contact Mike Weber at sailing@sailing.ky or visit www.sailing.ky
Education changes recognised
(CNS): It would not have come as any surprise that education was a key issue during Tuesday night’s Chamber Candidates District Forum with the minister responsible appearing in the line up. What was surprising was the acknowledgements given for the work done so far from his fellow panellists. Not only did Alden McLaughlin’s PPM colleague, Lucille Seymour, back his work but so did independent candidates Eddie Thompson and Walling Whittaker, and even the UDP opposition candidate Jonathan Piercy said some strides had been made.
Despite the endless criticism on the hustings of the minister and what has been described as a failure to get results in education over the last four years, when asked what they would do if they did not support the new policies all of them said they would continue with the new law and the recently implemented national curriculum. Thompson said he strongly supported the policies going forward as well as the new law. He also emphasised his own feelings of how important education is to addressing all Cayman’s social ills. ”We also need an education campaign that tells everybody every day that education is important,” he said. “I strongly support what has been put in place.”
Whittaker also said he thought the minister has made noble strides in education and deserved recognition for it, though there was still work to do. He said education was not just about fancy buildings and his concern was that the bullying and toxic environment in the existing schools should not be transferred into the new schools.
Piercy reluctantly acknowledged that strides have been made but still said the buildings were excessive and described some of the curriculum and policies as experimental. Speaking about the need for a vocational school he later admitted that he did not know that the policy included plans for the George Hicks campus to be turned into a vocational college once the new schools were complete, despite the fact that the proposal has been in the public domain for more than twelve months.
Seymour said one of the great things about the revised education law and the policies was that it was all driven by the stakeholders and that with a 21st Century curriculum you needed a 21st century environment. “The whole education system has had to change and we can’t teach kids in rectangular schools anymore,” she added.
McLaughlin listed just some of the changes he had implemented and explained how everything linked together, including the buildings, although he said they were yet to be completed and were not the current focus. The minister explained that the changes for education sprang from the national education conference and had been driven by those working in education. He said professional development had been improved with more than 90% of teachers now engaged in further training, that special educational needs programmes were in place, that the number of counsellors had been ramped up, that learning and behaviour support assistance was in place, and that for the first time a national literacy and numeracy strategy had been implmented, along with many other things.
The panel also discussed small business development, financial services, parking wardens, the George Town port (with mixed response and little full support), and a minimum wage (supported by three of the panellists but not Whittaker or Piercy). A discussion on new revenue measures saw Whittaker support the legalisation of ‘numbers’ and Seymour a tax on remittances, while the other three focused on enhancing existing measures and better management of government expenses.
When it came to problems regarding the need to reform the country’s immigration system and its link with labour, Piercy pushed the idea of a human resource authority, as put forward in the UDP manifesto. They all acknowledged there were problems and Thompson spoke from experience as a previous member of a related board. He said it was inexcusable that the Department of Employment Relations doesn’t communicate with the boards, and thought that immigration should be protecting borders and notdealing with labour. “There is reason why the DER can’t review the applications,” he said.
Whittaker noted that three different boards and the chief immigration officer could all grant permits and it was very confusing and bureaucratic and above all not efficient. “What we need is to restructure the process concentrating on a national manpower office,” he said, adding that Caymanians needed to be up-skilled and there was a need for a coordinating agency that was aware of the needs of the workforce as well as who was unemployed. McLaughlin said he was behind the new accreditaiton system which was being explored.
The panel was also asked if they approved of the new constitution as set out in the referendum question. Thompson said that while he did not think the document was perfect he was going to vote yes, as having been at the talks he felt it was “a heck of a lot better” than the current document. Seymour also urged voters to say yes as she said it was the first time that the country’s constitution actually empowered the people, allowing civic society to sit on relevant councils and establishing the principle of a people-led referendum. Whittaker, however, said he had numerous concerns and felt the people did not understand it and he couldn’t advise people to vote yes if they didn’t get it. Piercy said that the UDP was committed to working with the document if the people voted for it or working for new negotiations if they did not, but he refused to tell the audience what he thought of it and if he was voting for it or not.
McLaughlin noted that he would never understand how it was that the UDP were at the negotiation table, where they fought hard for changes – which they got, and now they have come back home to say they won’t back it. He said the country desperately needed a new constitutional framework and that was fundamentally illustrated by the issue of the special investigation. “I believe this document will move the country forward as well as restrain the excess of Her Majesty’s representative and put Caymanians more in control of our own destiny. I support it and urge everyone to support it.”
One question which achieved complete agreement from the candidates was the proposed reduction of MLAs salaries by 15%, although Seymour noted that she was hoping they wouldn’t cut her food as well.
Man injured in explosion
(CNS): A man has been injured during a home explosion that occurred in a one-bedroom concrete residence in Northward this morning (Wednesday 22 April), according to reports from the Cayman Islands Fire Service. The property on Fig Tree Drive is said to have received extensive damage as a result of a home propane stove burner being left on, and the man is currently in hospital receiving treatment. CIFS said that it received a call at 7:33 am from a Northward resident reporting the explosion.
The caller stated that there were no longer signs of fire or smoke but one person had been injured by the explosion. A fire vehicle was dispatched from Central Fire Station, arriving at the scene at 7:50 am. CIFS investigators report that the structure’s windows were blown out, the roof was lifted from the belting, and doors were blown off their hinges and destroyed.
An investigation into the cause of the explosion is been carried out but preliminary findings indicate that a stove burner, which was apparently left on, caused an accumulation of gas that ignited. Officers are testing the gas line for leaks, as well as the stove.
This is the third residential propane incident this year involving a kitchen appliance. Chief Fire Officer Dennom Bodden said residents using gas stoves must ensure that gas lines and appliances are in proper working condition. Propane tanks, including the small portable tanks, should be storedoutdoors. If any scent of gas is detected, residents should not turn on electric lights or any other possible igniters, CIFS said. The area should be ventilated, and the gas source turned off. Residents should leave the building and contact the fire service if necessary. Smoke and gas detectors should also be installed.
For more information on preventing and detecting residential fires, contact the Fire Services’ Deputy Chief Fire Officer Doorley McLaughlin who has responsibility for the Fire Prevention Unit.
Hernandez resigns from CAL
(CNS): Offering few details as to what caused her resignation, Cayman Airways has today said that Angelyn Hernandez has resigned from her position as the chairperson of the airline’s Board of Directors, along with fellow board member Dax Foster. The airline said in a statement that the resignations were effective immediately and that Deputy Chairman, Capt. Johnny Brown, would assume the role of Acting Chairman. Charles Clifford, Minister with responsibility for Cayman Airways, expressed his gratitude for the contributions made by Hernandez and Foster but did not give any reason for their sudden departure.
In the statement Hernandez was said to be “stepping down for personal reasons” and said she was "honoured and humbled to have been given this opportunity to serve Cayman Airways and my country for almost four years. I will carry with me a deep affection and respect for what CAL does and represents,” she added.
Cayman News Service has contacted both Hernandez and Foster for comment regarding their resignations and Hernandez said having served for almost 4 years to the best of here abilities because, “that is the only way I believe you can serve,” she said that she held CAL and its entire staff close to her but, “it is simply time to leave.”
The minister noted CAL’s many achievements during her tenure, including the completion of the airlines for Cayman Airways, the fleet modernization, the completion of efficiency audits and related action plans, successful route launches to New York and Washington DC, the rebranding campaign and the purchase of equipment dedicated to serve the Sister Islands. He said he was confident that CAL, as led by the Acting Chairman Capt. Johnny Brown, and under the continued guidance of its Acting CEO Gilles Filiatreault and CEO (Designate) Capt. Olson Anderson, would continue to build upon the company’s legacy of success.
Hernandez was appointed to the board in 2005 and became chair in July 2006. While the CEO post has changed hands three times during that time the board has remained stable. Patrick Strasburger, took up the post at the national flag carrier in March 2007 replacing Mike Adam who left the airline after more than 20 years the previous December. Strasburger resigned some 16 months later and was replaced by Acting CEO Gilles Filiatreault and CEO (Designate) Capt. Olson Anderson. Vice President ofCommercial John Wrightington also resigned his position after one year.