The UN decolonisation committee is warming up again. I am critical of the UN’s current efforts as many of the countries on its list for liberation are not colonies of the invaded or oppressed; they are small countries who decide it is in their best interest to retain an affiliation with a larger power. The [...]
Entries from October 7th, 2008
World Tourism Summit
October 7th, 2008 · Comments Off · Tourism
How soon we forget. Last year at this time, Bermuda co-sponsored the World Tourism Summit in China as a “Strategic Global Partner” with great fanfare and expense. The likelihood of this event generating real tourists for Bermuda seemed, well, unlikely. The widely held local suspicion was that the event was just a ploy to make [...]
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Thank You Vesey Much
October 6th, 2008 · Comments Off · Development
As we all know, Bermuda’s open space is disappearing quickly, putting pressure on our wildlife as well as limiting recreation alternatives for our people. The Bermuda National Trust and the Audubon Society have a programme called Buy Back Bermuda [pdf] that seeks to acquire land and preserve open space from development. That programme has purchased [...]
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Slump and Fizzle
October 5th, 2008 · Comments Off · Tourism
Government’s Statistics department revealed on Friday the shocking news that Bermuda’s air arrivals in the second quarter were the lowest since 1980, while visitor spending plummeted by $18 million in just three months. Contrast this with the Premier’s overheated spin of just a few days ago, when he announced that “August 2008 air arrivals were [...]
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Transparency and Corruption
October 3rd, 2008 · Comments Off · Accountability, Transparency
Transparency International has released it’s annual Corruption Index. The blog Political Ideals and Information Rights points out that countries that have freedom of information laws also tend to have low perceived levels of public-sector corruption.
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Prisoners’ Dilemma
October 1st, 2008 · Comments Off · Bermuda Politics
With its polarisations between UBP or PLP, and black or white, Bermuda is trapped in the classic “Prisoners’ Dilemma”. The Prisoners’ Dilemma is used in game theory to illustrate the difficulties of cooperation. Two parties can choose between two moves, either “cooperate” or “betray”. The idea is that each player gains when both cooperate. But [...]
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Non-Partisan Government
October 1st, 2008 · Comments Off · Accountability, Bermuda Politics, Reform
Once again, major Government announcements are being made from the PLP party website instead of through official channels. The controversial layoff of nine civil servants from the Department of Tourism’s New York office was announced on the PLP website last night. The Royal Gazette e-mailed Dr.Brown’s Press Secretary Glenn Jones and the Tourism Ministry’s press [...]
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