Guest Writer
Guest Writer's Latest Posts
Trinidad Central Bank suspends Motor & General
(Trinidad and Tobago Guardian): Motor and General Insurance Company was suspended from carrying out most of its operations yesterday by the Central Bank, said Carl Hiralal, Inspector of Financial Institutions.“Earlier this morning, the Central Bank took regulatory action and intervened to protect the policyholders by suspending the operations of Motor and General Insurance Company Ltd. The suspension is for an initial period of 60 days. Based on the results of our monitoring, this has become a necessary step to protect policyholders.” Hiralal made this disclosure yesterday at the Financial Stability Report mid-term review at the Central Bank, Independence Square, Port-of-Spain. Giving reasons why this action was taken, Hiralal said the company did not comply with basic regulations.
From Kabul to Kingston
(The Guardian): For two weeks, the Jamaican army and police have fought gun battles in Kingston. The many allegations of human rights abuses committed by the security forces – including extrajudicial killings and the disposal of bodies – have received almost no international attention. Nor have the linkages between the Jamaican crisis, the security establishments in the US, Britain and Canada, and the mutations of the "war on terror".
Scuba diver reunited with camera lost six months ago
(The Telegraph): When Dick de Bruin lost his camera during a scuba diving expedition off the Caribbean island of Aruba, he held out little hope of seeing it again. The Royal Dutch Navy sergeant could only watch helplessly as it floated away while he and his dive team explored a wreck. Yet seven months, 1,100 miles later and one hungry turtle attack later, the camera is back with Mr de Bruin after an extraordinary ocean odyssey, and all thanks to the tireless investigative skills of a Florida coastguard. Paul Shultz spotted the bright red Nikon camera pounding against the rocks of a marina in Key West, Miami, on May 16. It was covered in six months’ worth of crusty sea growth and at first Mr Shultz mistook it for a rotting tomato.
One Laptop per Child updates design for older pupils
(BBC): The so-called $100 laptop has undergone a facelift in order to be used by secondary school children. The machines, designed by One Laptop per Child (OLPC), are based on the original XO laptop, which was built for primary school children. The new computers feature a larger keyboard and upgraded software. Uruguay, which has already distributed nearly 400,000 XO laptops to primary schools, has ordered 90,000 of the new laptops, known as the XO-HS. It has also ordered 10,000 machines designed by rival Intel, which makes the Classmate PC, also developed for children.
‘Shady’ porn site practices put visitors at risk
(BBC): Visitors to porn sites are at serious risk of being exploited by cyber criminals, a study has suggested. It found that many sites harboured malware or used "shady" practices to squeeze money out of their visitors. By creating their own porn sites researchers found that many consumers were vulnerable to known bugs and loopholes. Competition among porn sites makes the online adult industry ripe for abuse by hi-tech criminals. "They have almost inadvertently created a whole ecosystem that’s easy to abuse for cyber crime on a large scale," said Dr Gilbert Wondracek, a computer security expert.
High meat diet ‘linked to early periods’
(BBC): Girls who eat a lot of meat during childhood tend to start their periods earlier than others, a study suggests. UK researchers compared the diets of more than 3,000 12-year-old girls. They found high meat consumption at age three (over eight portions a week) and age seven (12 portions) was strongly linked with early periods. Writing in Public Health Nutrition, the researchers said a meat-rich diet might prepare the body for pregnancy, triggering an earlier puberty. During the 20th Century, the average age at which girls started their periods fell fairly dramatically, although it now seems to be levelling off.
Schools Projects
The multiple new and highly extravagant schools were clearly embarked upon without any concern for costs. Those responsible were obviously much more interested with enshrining their own legacy in concrete and steel. They were also guilty of rushing to get them all built at the same time and entering into legally binding construction contracts that were less than satisfactory. True, it’s a crying shame but it is not the purpose of this viewpoint.
The new minister of education inherited this difficult situation and the subsequent issues with the contractor leaving the job have added further complications. The latter situation, however, does have its up-side. With that I mean there is now surely the opportunity to revise as much of the finishing specifications as possible to reduce unnecessary costs. Listening to people in the know, it is absolutely mind boggling to hear the gold plating excesses that were part of the approved design.
What is also particularly concerning at this time are the issues surrounding the award of the contract to get the schools moving again towards completion. The new minister may have erred when he made unnecessary public comments on talk radio that suggested he would be surprised if the local coalition of contractors could not provide a good bid. Comments like this could potentially send the wrong message, especially in advance of the bidding process having being completed.
Then news breaks that an overseas firm has been selected and their bid was millions below the coalition group. There is some public outrage. Following this we hear the contract has not been awarded because of issues with the criteria used in the selection process and that there are ongoing discussions between the ministry of education and the central tendering agency. The premier in response to questions, also states that he wants the best deal for government regardless of whether the firm is from West Bay or the moon.
What we have now is a lot of speculation as to the machinations going on behind closed doors. Firms spend a considerable amount of time, resources and funds to prepare bids for such an extensive and complicated project like this and they deserve better. And the public do as well.
Government now has a vast amount of technical and professional data submitted from the various bidders as to costs, timelines and approach to the work. We hope that this individual proprietary information is not being used inappropriately in relation to the ongoing selection process. Should government now decide to do the project management themselves, after they have had the benefit of seeing the technical and financial submissions of the various bidders, this would also be highly unethical and could no doubt be subject to legal challenge.
Where is the new auditor general?
Cane toad threat spreads to Caribbean
(BBC): Cane toads, one of the world’s most destructive invasive species, have started killing native wildlife outside of Australia. Cane toads are poisonous, secreting a toxin that kills predators not adapted to eat them, and as a result the toads have caused a decline in native Australian reptiles and marsupials. Now scientists have discovered that the toads are also killing boa snakes in the West Indies, suggesting that other predators in the Caribbean and elsewhere may also be at risk. The cane toad is a large toad species, which secretes a powerful bufogenin toxin.
Householders to get rights of defence from intruders
(The Guardian): Householders who confront burglars are to be given greater rights to defend their families and homes. The justice secretary, Kenneth Clarke, is looking at increasing legal protection for people who use force to fight off intruders. The government is eager to "ensure that people have the protection they need when they defend themselves against intruders", a ministry of justice source told the Observer. Clarke will also examine the idea of increased legal protection for have-a-go heroes and passersby willing to "apprehend criminals". The move follows high-profile cases in which householders were given jail sentences after attacking burglars.
Cayman’s politicians silent on Gulf disaster
Do our politicians read newspapers? Watch television news? Visit news websites? Do they have any idea what is going on in the Gulf of Mexico right now? I wonder because so far none of them have taken the time to make a meaningful comment on what may prove to be the greatest human-caused natural disaster in history.
For those who may be geographically challenged, the Gulf of Mexico is close to the Cayman Islands. Jamaica and Cuba are not impenetrable barriers to oceanborne threats. The Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea may have different names but no walls separate them. The Cayman Islands may not be directly downstream from this crisis, but we cannot assume favorable currents will protect us from millions of gallons of oil in the coming months and years.
Estimates vary widely, but some credible scientists believe an amount of oil equivalent to the 1989 Exxon Valdez tanker spill is entering the water every four days. The ruptured seabed in the Gulf is spewing between 200,000 and 700,000 gallons of oil per day and this could continue all summer. By September it is possible that 100 million gallons will have been released. And it’s all happening next door to us. How can this not be worthy of a public statement of some sort by our political leaders?
Most of the oil that will contact land is projected to hit shorelines in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida, of course. But could some patches of it drift our way eventually? Yes. Credible projections by marine scientists show the bulk of the oil rounding the tip of Florida, moving up the East Coast, and large amounts “pooling” in the mid-Atlantic. If this happens, normal circulation patterns could send some muck our way several months from now. Less dramatic, perhaps, but more dangerous and long lasting will be the impact of millions of gallons of oil entering the food chain of Gulf, Atlantic and Caribbean waters.
How will the disruption to Gulf fishing and shrimping industries impact Cayman? We are an island society but much of our locally sold and restaurant-served seafood comes from the Gulf of Mexico. Shouldn’t we be concerned about health risks from Gulf seafood that may end up on our grocery store shelves and on our plates in restaurants? Are any of our MLAs worried about the potential impact to our local economy and health, or will they just be content to trust outside governments and companies to keep us safe?
Ourelected leaders’ lack of awareness and concern about the Gulf spill is stunning. During a recent rant on Rooster 101’s “Crosstalk” programme, for example, Premier McKeeva Bush brought up thetopic of oil. But he said nothing about the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Instead he groaned about how people had failed to support his desire to have an oil refinery built in Grand Cayman. Yes, the worst oil disaster in history is growing day-by-day right here in our region and our leader is talking about how heartbroken he is because he didn’t get his oil refinery.
Wow.