Archive for November, 2010
Warren Buffett and trickle down
Warren Buffett is indeed a very rich man. Unlike most of his peers and most of those who spend their lives trying to attain wealth of a similar magnitude, he would appear to be, above all else, an honest human being.
At a time when the sentiments and actions of those who are positioned to inform, shape and fashion public opinion in the United States and far beyond appear unswervingly committed towards the entrenchment of policies that would serve to sustain and further widen income inequality (currently at levels not seen the 1920’s), a billionaire who is forthright enough to go on national TV and say, “I think that people at the high end, people like myself, should be paying a lot more taxes; we have it better than we’ve ever had it”, is indeed an honest human being.
When Mr Buffett was asked by the program hostess how he was able to reconcile his stated position with the conventional wisdom that the very wealthy needed tax cuts to spur business and capitalism, Mr Buffett responded, “The rich are always going to say that you know, just give us more money and we’ll go out and spend more and then it will trickle down to the rest of you. But that has not worked the last ten years and I hope the American public is catching on.”
It is not only the American public that needs to catch on to the colossal failure of the trickle down concept as a credible approach to sustainable economic development.
Here in the Cayman Islands, every elected official over the past three decades, regardless of group or party affiliation, every major opinion shaper, regardless of the economic sector he/she represents, has committed themselves to the shaping and promotion of policies that are rooted in the trickle down concept.
The reality on the ground suggests it is not a viable approach to the attainment of sustainable development for the “rest of us”.
Not unlike the United States, “the rest of us” here in the Cayman Islands would be naïve to believe that the entrenched power block is likely to exhibit the forthrightness and honesty of Mr Buffett any time soon.
As Mr. Buffett suggested, one would sincerely hope the Caymanian public is catching on.
New hospital charity begins long road to $8.7 million
(CNS):
A new charitable foundation which intends to raise cash for much needed equipment and improvements for government hospitals has now been formally launched and has collected its first $35,000 — a very small step towards the almost $9million it hopes to eventually raise. The Caring for Life Foundation (CFLF) will be like similar foundations in Europe and North America, operating independently of the HSA and government and working as a charitable trust with a board of advisers assessing needs and expenditures, Bruce John, the founder of the trust said.At the official launch of the foundation last Wednesday week, John who is a Scotiabank Director cited a five-page list detailing $8.7 million in needed equipment and improvements.
He said the foundation would seek equipment, “for the medical, maternity and surgical wards, the operating theatre, accident and emergency, dialysis, pathology laboratory , the hospital’s plant and facilities, and the critical care unit, just to name a few”.
The CFLF will also work closely with the Cayman Islands Cancer Society, the Heart Fund and the Kidney Foundation to raise money for equipment, enabling them to perhaps “focus their attention on education, research and assisting” patients who can’t afford treatment. “Many of the best hospitals in North America and Europe became world-class medical centres through donations made by the public to foundations established to invest in their health care,” John said.
The HSA’s Chief Executive, Lizette Yearwood said she was thrilled about the creation of the foundation and welcomed John’s efforts. “This is a tremendous boost to our efforts, the work of the HSA and, in fact, the entire healthcare industry in the Cayman Islands,” she said. “The foundation will provide enormous and much-needed support for the health and well-being of the population and will help us to keep pace with developments locally and internationally.”
The health minister has also thanked John, saying the efforts of the CFLF would contribute to the well-being of everyone in the Cayman Islands, and greatly assist the HSA in procuring much-needed equipment and possibly even building improvements. “It is very difficult for the HSA, given its mandate, to procure new equipment and building improvements, particularly during these difficult financial times’” Scotland said at last week’s launch. “This is truly a gift to all the people of the Cayman Islands, and we are deeply grateful for the efforts of Mr John, his board of advisers and the dedicated group of concerned individuals who worked so hard in the last three years to make this possible,” Mark Scotland said.
The Governor of the Cayman Islands Duncan Taylor gave his blessing to the foundation at a ceremony at Government House where John thanked the Foster family, Walker’s Attorneys-at-Law, the Pink Ladies and Scotiabank organisations for pledging the first $35,000 that evening.
The bank, he said, had allocated additional money for an annual golf tournament, to be inaugurated on 26 November at the North Sound Golf Club with initial sponsorship from Princess World Jewelers. All monies raised will be donatedto the CFLF.
“We have a dedicated, caring and talented group of professionals and staff in our public hospitals, and the CEO and the Board of the HSA have made significant progress in improving the quality of care over the last few years, but they are in need of our help,” he said.
College to expand as work starts on new block
(CNS): As student numbers at the International College of the Cayman Islands continues to grow space is becoming a premium on campus so the recent ground breaking for the new business block comes just in time. John Cummings, president of ICCI said demand for more business classes was expected to further over the next year, particularly for accounting, finance banking and MBA courses to keep up with the competitive job market. “We have even converted offices into classrooms to fit in more business courses but it is at the point where we have simply run out of classroom space,” he said adding that each year, more students who are juggling work and families are enrolling at the college.
ICCI broke ground on at its campus in Savannah-Newlands on Friday, 19 November. With an estimated completion date of April 2011, the new facility will be named in honour of the International College alumni Carlyle and Martha McLaughlin.
“We chose to name the building after Carlyle and Martha McLaughlin for their generosity over the years in both time and funds as students, alumni and trustees to the International College,” said Cummings. “It is also significant because Carlyle McLaughlin’s career and public service are evidence that it is possible to get a high quality college education in the Cayman Islands. Naming the business building after Carlyle and Martha McLaughlin is our way of thanking them for all they have done and been to the college and the community.”
As the retired senior partner from Ernst & Young and former chairman of Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, McLaughlin credits his bachelors degree in business at the International College in 1976 as the stepping-stone that launched his 25-year career in accounting.
“My wife and I are both proud alumni of the International College as well as one of our daughters so it is a privilege to have the new business building named after my family,” McLaughlin said. “I also want to point out the enormous impact the Cummings family and International College has had on our lives and is the driving reason for our support. Both Martha and I trust that this new building will allow the International College to continue its purpose to educate a new generation of young people in the Cayman Islands.”
The new business building which includes two high tech classrooms that have been sponsored by the Cayman Islands Society of Professional Accountants and the Cayman Islands Fund Administrators Association have each sponsored a classroom. Each will be equipped with a smart board, an interactive tool that combines the power of a computer with the simplicity of a whiteboard.
“Smart board technology is expected to continue to gain a presence in board rooms so it is good tool for both instructors and students to adopt in their class presentations and then use it in the business environment,” Cummings added.
Phoenix Construction was awarded the contract to build the new block which will cost $218,000.
Judge sends teen to US bootcamp
(CNS): A 16-year-old boywho pleaded guilty to possession of an unlicensed firearm is facing an alternative to prison after a judge revealed he wanted to send the troubled teen to a specialist wilderness programme in the US. Justice Smith said he believed the youngster should be given one more opportunity to change his behaviour and felt he would benefit from the specialist programme. The judge directed crown council to consult with the attorney general for a certificate of approval for the Second Nature Wilderness programme in Georgia, where he recommended the juvenile attend a programme before going on to a boarding school in Utah.
Explaining his decision for the order in the Grand Court on Friday morning, which is believed to be the first of its kind in the Cayman Islands, the judge said, “ It is my own view that we must give this youngster one more opportunity to make good on his life.”
Justice Smith said he felt the specialist rehabilitation programme could deal with his behaviour, anger management and substance abuse problems better than a probation order. He noted that although there may be no precedent in the jurisdiction for his choice of sentencing, the court should not be deterred from trying to find the most appropriate course of action.
The judge said he wished to see if the young offender “could be placed on the right track to make something of his life.” In his ruling Justice Smith noted that the young man had pleaded guilty and expressed a deep regret over the place he had found himself in and wanted an opportunity to change his lifestyle. He said that the young offender’s parents had identified the programme which the young man’s social worker had agreed would be of benefit to him.
The boy had been charged with the offence following his arrest during a police operation in West Bay in May of this year. The defendant was with a crowd of other young people in front of an open garage in the Mount Pleasant area who all fled when police approached the location. One officer chased the teenage boy and stated that he saw the young man throw an object into a yard. The object turned out to be a load semi-automatic hand gun, which the teen told police belonged to an older boy in the crowd.
The young defendant said after his arrest that it was the first time he had ever seen the firearm that day and he did not know it was loaded. He stated that he had been told to pick it up and hide the gun behind the property by the older boy when the police approached the garage and he was too afraid not to do as he had been asked
Although firearms offences carry a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years imprisonment when a guilty plea is entered under the 2005 Firearms Law, the judge said that as a juvenile that statute did not apply in this case.
Justice Smith indicated that he believed the youth justice law guided this case. The judge said that had the country’s legislators intended that the firearms law to over ride the law’s governing the prosecution of young offenders they would have indicated that in the legislation.
As a result the judge was free to impose a sentence under the youth justice law and said he felt that a rehabilitation order was the best way of dealing with the teen. Justice Smith adjourned the court for two weeks in order for the crown to inspect the centre in Georgia where the judge has indicated he would like to seen the young offender sent.
Humane Society helps pets find homes for Christmas
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Humane Society (CIHS) is holding an Adopt-A-Thon on Saturday 20 November starting at 12 pm. The non-profit organization has teamed with more than 3,500 shelters from around the world to participate in the annual ‘Iams Home 4 the Holidays’ pet adoption campaign, founded by Helen Woodward Animal Center and supported by pet food company, Iams. CIHS is participating in the campaign from now through 4 January 2011 to help place 1.5 million pets into homes.All dogs, cats, puppies and kittens adopted during Iams Home 4 the Holidays will be receiving a free Iams Adoption Kit. The kits are expected to arrive in the island in December.
Included in each kit are information tips to help the new parent and their furry friend get off on the right paw.
“With as many as 8 million homeless pets in the US and a significant amount here in the Cayman Islands it is important everyone get involved to help save an orphaned animal this holiday season,” said Twila Escalante. “We’re proud to be a part of this amazing campaign and are dedicated to helping reach our pet adoption goal so that as many homeless animals as possible can experience a happy life with their new, loving family. The team here at the Humane Society is specially trained and can help families choose the perfect pet for their personalities and lifestyles,” said Twila.
The Adopt-a-thon will be held at the CIHS Shelter on North Sound Road. CIHS staff and volunteers will be on hand throughout the afternoon to introduce animals to prospective owners, discuss animal welfare needs in the community and different ways individuals can help. All members of the community, whether current pet owners, people interested in owning a pet, those interested in volunteering, or individuals just curious about CIHS are invited to stop by. There will be special deals available on adoption fees, opportunities to meet and interact with the animals and volunteers available to help and assist.
Winners crowned in karting league
(Cayman Karting): Motorsport action down at the Cayman Karting track continues to come thick and fast. The Autumn Premier League has reached its penultimate week whilst the new Tag Heuer Corporate League begins in two weeks time. The Premier League was designed to test the best karters on island. Qualification required team members to able to drive sub-35 second laps and the six round league included a variety of new driving challenges. Particularly demanding were the two races which took place in purposely wet conditions, one each on the Regular and Reverse Tracks. (Photo – DARR Racing League Winners)
These wet races proved a thorough examination of racing skill with the racing line drying out during the 70 lap race forcing the drivers to adapt to constantly changing track conditions. To focus minds a four spin-out rule meant that the any team leaving the track four times over the 20 laps qualifying or 70 lap race was disqualified. The league also included driving on the High Speed OuterLoop format of the track for the first time. This layout takes out the twisty inner section of the track and employs the pit lane to complete an outer loop. The new format was debuted in a time trial where each team drove the same kart in turn and tried to register the fastest lap on the new circuit.
To reflect the stricter standards of the Premier Leagues the Cayman Motorsports Association took over race supervision. Sixmarshals on the track ensured that high standards of driving were enforced. Bobby Hulse, CMA President, said “CMA was happy to play a part in making the Premier League a success. We hope to see karting as a teaching tool for the youth as well as a fun outlet for all.” Alasdair Foster of Cayman Karting replied, “We are very grateful to the CMA volunteers who came out to help prep the track and supervise the racing – they ensured a very professional level of competition. We are also extremely appreciative for the continued support from AI Rentals.”
The entrants in the Premier League included a number of corporate teams including Maples and Calder, Harneys and Premier Wines as well as several groups of friends who came together to form teams. Interestingly the league also saw two drivers go solo with one man teams. Stan Zholnin and Furius Whelan confounded sceptics by proving they were up to the endurance test of driving 90 laps in one session. Both drivers have produced some solid performances that leave them lying fourth and seventh in the league table.
One team has dominated the league and their four wins and one second place over the first five races allowed them to wrap up the title with a race to spare. DARR Racing consists of Daron Mclean, Alexander Conolly, Richard Crawshaw and Richard Johnson with reserve driver Jordan Seales. This has brought together a mixture of youth and experience: Daron is still studying, Alexander, Jordan and Richard Johnson all work at Butterfield Bank whilst Richard Crawshaw is an independent director. Daron proved once again to be the fastest driver on the regular track whilst Alexander was the fastest man and new record holder for the High Speed Outer Loop. The fastest man on the reverse track was however local racing legend Andy Bodden from the Caymaniacs team.
Holding on to second position is the constantly improving Harneys team of Kieron O’Rourke, Jenny Deacon, Nik Fox, Tim Clipstone and Steve Staatz. Jenny Deacon set a new fastest female lap time for the reverse track and the team will present a formidable challenge when the new corporate league begins. Behind them sitting in third is Team Valvoline comprising the considerable racing talents of Keith Tibbetts, Ajoni Ambersley, Michael Weatherford, Chad Phillips, Josh Rivers, Britney Nelson and Kelcey Huggins.
Next up at Cayman Karting is the Winter Corporate League which has been sponsored by TAG Heuer and Harbour Drive Jewellers. To add further incentive to the racing one member of the winning team will now receive a luxury TAG Heuer Formula 1 watch. Sign-up deadline is 29 November and the league will start on 6 December. Two weeks of racing will take place before a break for Christmas and the league will then continue until early March. New race formats for the TAG Heuer league will include a 100 lap endurance race, a night with two races where the grid for the second race will be the reverse of the first race’s finishing positions. There will also be a social night mid-league with food and music when a time trial on the Reverse High Speed Outer Loops will take place. This league will split mid-way through the season into two divisions so teams will be racing against similarly matched competition. Division One racers will, like their Premier league counterparts, have to face up to some races on a deliberately wet track. Further information is available on www.caymankarting.com.
New chair for WP board
(CNS): Government officials have confirmed a reshuffle on the country’s key immigration board after the departure of the chair and the removal of two members. Local attorney Sherri Bodden-Cowan, who currently heads the Immigration Review Team, has been appointed the new chair of the work permit board in the wake of the resignation of Lemuel Hurlston. McCarron Morris McLaughlin and Dorothy Davis have also been replaced as a result of conflicts which made them unable to continue, according to government sources. Gary Rutty and John Foster have taken up the two empty seats on what is considered to be one of the country’s most important boards.
The changes which were made during last week’s Cabinet meeting following recent comments by the country’s premier that he wanted to change the make up of the board, as he said decisions were being made that hindered the country’s economic development. Speaking in the Legislative Assembly earlier this month, McKeeva Bush warned that he intended to review the membership of the work permit board. “We are going to change the people on the board, whether they are government supporters or not,” he said. “The tail cannot wag the dog.”
The board in question is responsible for granting temporary and permanent work permits to all foreigners working on the islands as well as decisions regarding who is granted key employee status.
The newly appointed chair is no stranger to the complex and controversial issues surrounding work permits as well as and key employee status. Bodden-Cowan is not only chair of the current IRT but one of the major players in the formation of Cayman’s immigration policies over the last decade. She was one of the architects of the original 2003 immigration law which introduced the seven year work permit limit and has long been an advocate of a flexible immigration policy.
She has spoken frequently of the need to balance the demands of Cayman’s dynamic work force and the numbers of people who can rightly become eligible for Caymanian status.
Immigration has become one of the key elements in the current government’s goal to improve the country’s economic fortunes. Bush has said on a number of occasions that the country needs tobe more flexible when it comes to immigration and more welcoming to people from overseas who could help to generate wealth for Cayman. The premier has turned his attention in particular to the financial services sector where he is keen to see swifter decisions on staff to facilitate the industry’s growth.
Co-chair of the UDP, Bodden-Cowan has played a key role in piloting the new accreditation system, which is about to be rolled out for the financial sector and is being lauded as key to improving the efficiency of the work permit application process. She recently stated that the new system would not only offer employers a more efficient way of getting the people they needed but would offer better protection to local workers as well.
Bodden-Cowan is also a supporter of reducing the rollover period, which is currently twelve months but she has warned that government could face legal challenges if the break in stay for foreign workers is reduced too much. However, the premier recently announced he was considering reducing the rollover break to as little as one month based on advice he had received from UK counsel.
Six deaths drive clamp down
(CNS): One of Cayman’s top traffic cops has said that the current poor driving on the country’s roads has to be challenged. In the wake of the sixth road death of the year, last weekend, Inspector Adrian Barnett of the RCIPS Traffic Management Department is encouraging everyone to be responsible and realise that their actions have consequences as the police begin a road safety crackdown for the Christmas season. He said that if the community didn’t challenge the bad driving more familieswould be burying loved ones as a result of avoidable fatalities on the roads. The clamp down starts Monday and cops warn they will be focusing on drink-driving and speeding. (Photo Dennie Warren Jr)
“The fact is that drinking and driving and speeding cost lives,” said Inspector Barnett. “Too many people still take chances with their own safety and the lives of others on our roads by getting behind the wheel of a car when they are drunk, using our roads as race tracks or, in many cases, a combination of both.”
Barnet said that the latest road fatality was also the fourth hit and run when a driver made off from the scene, since the beginning of the year. “That’s why the driving behaviour we see day after day in this country needs to be challenged head-on. If we do not collectively challenge it the death and destruction on our roads will continue and more families will have to go through the heartache of burying their loved ones,” he added.
The traffic cop called on everyone in the community to join with the police and play their part in the forth coming campaign. “If you know someone who drinks and drives encourage them to use a taxi or a designated driver, if they don’t – call us; if you see anyone driving dangerously – call us. That call could help save a life.”
The RCIPS holds a road safety crackdown during the festive season every year and the 2010 seven week campaign of enforcement and education for all road users which will challenge bad driver behaviour and enforce the ‘don’t drink and drive’ message starts on 22 November.
High visibility patrols, static road checks, unmarked vehicles, radar stops and targeted operations will all take place throughout the campaign period to discourage and detect those who drink and drive, or engage in other inconsiderate or illegal road activities.
A programme of education will also take place and police officers will deliver road safety presentations in schools throughout the Islands in an effort to make young people more aware of how they can stay safe on the roads while on foot, on a bicycle or travelling in a car, police said.
Scientists counting Cayman’s cryptic creatures
(CNS): A team of NOAA marine researchers have been visiting the Cayman Islands this week as part of a global research project examining the importance of organism diversity to the resilience of coral reefs. The researchers have installed three ARMS boxes close to reef systems on the western side of Grand Cayman which they hope will attract different ‘cryptic’ creatures which are not normally observable to divers examining reefs with the naked eye. Part of the Sea Reef Census these special boxes will be removed after two years and the different species of cryptic organisms will be counted and indentified giving scientists a better understanding of the smaller life forms that could be crucial to the survival of reef systems.
Kerry Grimshaw and Max Sudnovsky from NOAA joined local department of environment staff this week to install the Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS) which are some of the first to be installed in the Caribbean region. The sites chosen are already part of the DoE’s reef monitoring programme where coral cover, fish biomass and the presence of large invertebrates such as shrimps, crabs and lobsters are being measured. This special equipment however, will measure the creatures that are not easy to see as they are hidden deep within the corals on the reefs.
With the boxes installed on the sea bed close to existing reef systems scientists say the marine life will migrate towards the boxes and set up home. Then after two years they will be carefully removed with the creatures inside and taken to a lab where scientists will identify and count the various organisms.
The data collected from the ARMS will allow scientists to improve their understanding of reef systems and better monitor or predict ecological impacts of global climate change, ocean warming and acidification.
John Bothwell from the DoE explained that the project will be a boost to the information that the Cayman Islands is trying to collect about reefs. Importantly, he added that the researchers from NOAA will be able to do the specialist lab work which he said the DoE did not have the technical resources to do, to DNA test the organisms to identify what are expected to be a great, diversity of species.
He said that once the boxes were removed and the organisms collected it could reveal new information about which organisms are important to reef survival, which organisms are missing when there is a problem, whether it is the variety of creatures or a specific creature that is key to resilience in reef systems and other as yet unknown information.
“This will expand what we know about our reefs,” Bothwell said. “It is often not until a particular organism has dyed out or disappeared from a reef that we find out how important a species was. With this we can get to understand before it’s too late. …..We are looking at things we don’t even know are there.”
Grimshaw said that where NOAA has already begun measuring these cryptic organisms in other parts of the world a single ARMS box has been found to contain over 350 different species.
The project is being privately funded by a number or sponsors and the DoE became involved when Bothwell attended a symposium on coral reefs and heard the project leaders were looking for suitable sites in the Caribbean. Bothwell said Cayman was able to offer the location and in return the researchers from NOAA are supply the technical expertise which will, two years from now, add to the knowledge the DoE has about the diversity of the country’s reefs and help in the battle to protect and enhance them.
For more on the ARMS see the NOAA project website
UK pledges to represent OT’s interests
(CNS): Following the Overseas Territories Consultative Council (OTCC) in London this week the UK’s minister with responsibility for the territories has promised to represent their interests on the international stage. Henry Bellingham MP a Conservative member of the coalition government said the UK government was determined to improve and strengthen its relationship with the OTs. He also noted that the various departments of the UK government would also now be more closely involved in work relating to the overseas territories. The main council meeting took place on Wednesday when the OT leaders and the UK talked about rising crime, environmental issues and public finances.
In his communiqué about the OTCC Bellingham said the UK government valued its relationship with the Overseas Territories. “I had meetings with all the Territory leaders on Tuesday and chaired my first Overseas Territories Consultative Council on Wednesday. I was pleased to welcome over 250 guests to a reception that I hosted in honour of Territory leaders. Our discussions at the Consultative Council meeting have been wide-ranging, open and at times, frank,” the new FCO minister said.
“This week has been a clear demonstration of the desire of both the UK and the Territories to work closely together towards the security and prosperity of the Territories. I know that view is shared by my Ministerial colleagues. I am glad that no less than seven of my Ministerial colleagues from across Government were able to attend the Consultative Council. This clearly demonstrates that the Overseas Territories are a priority right across the Government, and not just in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office,” he added.
All parties agreed on the need to work together to help the commercial and economic development of the territories during the meeting a release from the governor’s office stated.
During their separate session on financial services and public finances, the UK and the Caribbean Territories and Bermuda agreed the importance of complying with international financial sector standards (on tax transparency, financial regulation and anti-money laundering/counter terrorism financing) and that these standards must be applied without discrimination. They also spoke of the importance of continuing to take action to return public finances to a sustainable footing and to work on a framework for fiscal responsibility.
In the criminal justice session in which all OTs took part there were discussions about rising crime including the issue of drugs and organised crime and about possible UK technical assistance to the territories in these areas. In the session on transport there were discussions about maritime and aviation safety regulations and the importance of meeting international safety standards. Territory leaders raised concerns about the cost of this and about Air Passenger Duty.
The environment was also an important topic of conversation and it was agreed that territory governments and relevant UK departments would work together to help manage the natural environment and the impact of climate change.