Reluctant to talk with the mean ole media, the Premier has posted a brief justification on Facebook for granting a two-year sole source contract extension to GlobalHue, despite legitimate concerns over the success of the agency in attracting tourists to Bermuda and complaints from the Auditor General regarding the agency’s billing practices. Yes, on Facebook. [...]
Entries from May 19th, 2009
Parliamentary Dereliction of Duty
May 17th, 2009 · Comments Off · Bermuda Politics
On Friday night, debate in the House of Assembly was rapidly wound up after Opposition MP Patricia Gordon Pamplin criticised Government’s mishandling of the Berkeley performance bond which has cost the taxpayer more than $15 million dollars. PLP MPs threw an absolute screaming hissy, giving the Speaker the opportunity to close the debate. I’d like [...]
Tags:BIU·House of Assembly
S&P Drops Bermuda Ratings Outlook
May 15th, 2009 · Comments Off · Business
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services revised its ratings outlook on Bermuda to negative from stable, citing concern about risks to the island nation’s external and fiscal position from its banking system. Bermuda’s two main industries, international financial services and tourism, have both felt the effects of the global recession. Two weeks ago, Moody’s Investors Service [...]
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Liars, Horsetheives, and Politicians
May 15th, 2009 · Comments Off · Bermuda Politics
Predictably the PLP website is spinning Government’s failure to collect on the $15 million owed to it as some sort of magical achievement … rather than the gross management failure and dereliction of responsibility it really is on the part of both the BIU and the PLP. The level of dishonesty and cynicism is pretty [...]
Tags:BIU·Spin Doctor
Berkeley Fallout Continues
May 14th, 2009 · Comments Off · Accountability, Bermuda Politics
The Premier has just announced that Government will not pursue collection of the $6.8 million bond owed to it by a subsidiary of the BIU related to the troubled Berkeley Institute redevelopment. As normal, he’s spinning the number. The sum actually due to Government was in excess of $15 million when interest was counted. Plus, [...]
Tags:BIU·Contracting
Soft Censorship
May 12th, 2009 · Comments Off · Media
The wrong-headedness of the Bermuda Government’s recent attempts to muzzle the media in Bermuda is attracting more external attention: More trouble in paradise for the staff of Bermuda’s Royal Gazette and its sister newspaper, the Mid-Ocean News, after premier Ewart Brown bizarrely responded to their campaign for more government transparency and a freedom of information [...]
Tags:Spin Doctor
Corrective Action
May 12th, 2009 · Comments Off · Accountability, Bermuda Politics
The Premier has taken a vocal stand in support of the discredited Government of the Turks & Caicos Islands, which is soon to be replaced by an interim government while the extensive allegations of corruption and official misconduct are investigated. Many have asked why he is taking this stance, and how Bermuda stands to benefit [...]
Tags:Turks & Caicos
Opportunity Missed
May 11th, 2009 · Comments Off · Bermuda Politics
On Friday, following seven hours of speeches, the House of Assembly unanimously passed a motion put forward by Wayne Furbert (past leader of the UBP and recently declared Independent): “We affirm our wholehearted commitment to the cause of reconciliation between all races; and that we ask for forgiveness for the role that this House has [...]
Tags:race
PATI at Work
May 11th, 2009 · Comments Off · Accountability
There’s a massive scandal in the UK where MPs have been found to “work the system” for extra payouts from the Government. It is deeply embarrassing to both parties, and will inevitably lead to reform in this area. It may interest you to know that the alleged sleaze was uncovered using requests under the UK [...]
Queen’s Birthday
May 10th, 2009 · Comments Off · Bermuda Politics
Last year, when the PLP announced that Bermuda would drop the Queen’s Birthday in favor of a new National Hero’s Day in October, the news was met with pissed off shrug. The June holiday is very popular – for obvious reasons. It was taken as another PLP social engineering exercise – which, as usual, ignores [...]
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