Archive for July 3rd, 2010

Dan Scott to chair special legal commission

Cayman News | 03/07/2010 | 16 Comments

(CNS): The commission which will advise the governor on the country’s top judicial jobs will be chaired by Ernst & Young’s managing partner, Dan Scott. The Judicial and Legal Services Commission was created under the Cayman Islands Constitution 2009 to advise on the appointments of the chief justice, grand court judges, the court of appeal president and judges, the attorney general, and magistrates, the new post of director of public prosecutions and other legal offices in the public service. Scott was appointed by the governor in consultation with the premier and the leader of the opposition. Officials said the seven members of the commission will be named shortly.

The commission will also advise the governor on disciplinary matters relating to people working in these offices, should there be a need.

Dan Scott is the Regional Managing Partner and Asset Management Sector Leader for the Bahamas, Bermuda and Cayman Islands region of Ernst & Young’s Financial Services Office. He is also a member of the Ernst & Young Global Hedge Fund Steering Committee, which provides strategic direction to the global practice.

Scott has been with the company for more than 25 years; among his area of focus are audit and advisory services, including structuring and servicing complex global and offshore funds.

He received a B.S. in accounting from the University of Tampa and is a member of American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Scott is currently a Board Member of the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange and also a Member of the Cayman Islands National Security Council. He is a past President of the Cayman Islands Society of Professional

Clinton warns democracy being crushed

Cayman News | 03/07/2010 | 0 Comments

(Yahoo): Intolerant governments across the globe are "slowly crushing" activist and advocacy groups that play an essential role in the development of democracy, U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clintion said Saturday. She cited a broad range of countries where "the walls are closing in" on civic organizations such as unions, religious groups, rights advocates and other nongovernmental organizations that press for social change and shine a light on governments’ shortcomings. "Some of the countries engaging in these behaviors still claim to be democracies," Clintonsaid at an international conference.

"Democracies don’t fear their own people. They recognize that citizens must be free to come together, to advocate and agitate."

President Barack Obama, in a statement released in Washington, said the United States is particularly concerned about "the spread of restrictions on civil society, the growing use of law to curb rather than enhance freedom and widespread corruption that is undermining the faith of citizens in their governments."

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Net News publisher dies

Cayman News | 03/07/2010 | 72 Comments

(CNS): Desmond Seales, the owner and publisher of Cayman Net News, has died after a heart attack while in hospital in Miami in the United States. Seales had been airlifted to Miami on 23 June for treatment as a result of a serious heart problem. Earlier this week a family spokesperson said he was making good progress after emergency surgery. However, sources have confirmed that Seales died after suffering a heart attack around 8 am this morning (Saturday 3 July). Net News staff were said to be attending an emergency meeting on Saturday regarding the future of the newspaper and online news site.

Seales, who was 71 years old had been publishing in Cayman for almost 40 years. The creator of the Nor’wester magazine in the 1970s, he was also involved in Cayman’s early television service. He introduced Cayman Net News in 2000 which had experienced a decade of mixed fortunes.

Tories support London’s Gay Pride parade

Guest Writer | 03/07/2010 | 0 Comments

(The Guardian): When the Conservatives last had their hands on the tiller of power, none of their MPs would admit to being homosexual, they voted against lowering the age of consent for gay sex, and invented a law which made it illegal for schools to mention homosexuality. How things change: tomorrow, eight years after Alan Duncan became the first Tory MP to come out of his own volition, Nick Herbert, the openly gay Conservative policing minister, will give a speech at Pride London about "how the Tories have come a helluva long way".

Former F1 engineer unveils new city car

Guest Writer | 03/07/2010 | 1 Comment

(CNN): His most famous car has a top speed of 240 miles per hour. With a top speed of 80 mph, Gordon Murray’s latest design isn’t likely to trouble too many speed cameras, but it shouldn’t worry environmentalists either. The former Formula One engineer who created the iconic McLaren F1 supercar has officially unveiled the T.25 — his idea for a new class of city car. At less than eight feet long and a little over four feet wide, the T.25 is smaller than Daimler AG’s popular Smart car, and a petrol engine model will retail for around $9,000. The price tag isn’t exactly Formula One, but the technology employed to create the T.25 certainly is.