In the Bermuda House of Assembly this morning, Opposition leader Kim Swan proposed a motion of no confidence against the Government led by Premier Ewart Brown. He said it was necessary as Bermuda is “increasingly subject to the politics of one man rule”. According to local media, Mr. Swan said: “Why have we moved a [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Reform'
No Confidence Motion Against Ewart Brown
June 12th, 2009 · Comments Off · Bermuda Politics, Reform
Tags:Uighurs
House of Asse… yawn tired whatever
June 5th, 2009 · No Comments · Bermuda Politics, Reform
House of Assembly met today with the usual poor communication with the public and lack of debate. The motor/traffic amendment passed 13-11. By my reckoning, that means Dr. Brown (who I think was not present) didn’t get 8 votes from his own side of the aisle … and a couple of UBP MPs were no [...]
Tags:House of Assembly
Anti-Corruption Legislation Now
June 5th, 2009 · No Comments · Bermuda Politics, Reform
Amazingly, Bermuda lacks anti-corruption legislation. Any public pressure for it is inevitably met with a scoff and the “Plantation shutdown” from the powers that be. With the constant circus of allegations and murky affairs, Bermuda needs anti-corruption legislation for its local sector. But we also apparently need it for our international sector. You know, if [...]
Tags:Anti-corruption
No Confidence
May 8th, 2009 · No Comments · Bermuda Politics, Reform
The House of Assembly reconvenes today. Not that you’d know as, per usual, there is no agenda for the general public. I understand that gambling was to be discussed again, but given the high degree of dissent amongst Parliamentarians, that’s unlikely to be put a vote. So, they’ll spend the time with self-gratifying waffle and [...]
Tags:Dissent·House of Assembly
Improve on the Milestones of Yesterday
May 1st, 2009 · Comments Off · Accountability, Bermuda Politics, Reform
Sure, I read The Worker’s Voice, if only to hear the PLP loyalists express their opinions in more than the short outbursts allowed by talk radio and internet blog. Sometimes though, I have to shake my head in wonder. The latest issue has an apologist view of the governance issues in our current Government, saying [...]
Tags:Anti-corruption
Slumpy
April 28th, 2009 · Comments Off · Reform, Tourism
US President John F. Kennedy once lectured the chairman of his Council of Economic Advisers about making public statements: “Forget those numbers. Numbers can come back to haunt you. Words can always be explained away.” In other words, bury the facts and statistics and talk about the Platinum Period™. You know that Bermuda tourism is [...]
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gam-BLING
April 23rd, 2009 · No Comments · Reform, Tourism
So, the dialogue is heating up over gambling again. Without making too much of a fuss, I am against gambling being legalised in Bermuda for the following reasons: I don’t think it will do anything for tourism. Gaming venues require a critical mass of hotel rooms to feed them and to create the buzz. Bermuda [...]
Scrambling for Good News
April 16th, 2009 · Comments Off · Reform, Tourism
The Premier released a statement coinciding with the Annual Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference being held in Bermuda. It was scrambling to put on a happy face. Describing the creativity used by the Ministry of Tourism to market Bermuda, he says: “Before the Club Med implosion there had never been an implosion in Bermuda.” [...]
Tags:Tuckers Point
Government Ponzi
April 10th, 2009 · Comments Off · Bermuda Politics, Media, Reform, Tourism
As time goes by, more and more distrust and frustration builds up within the unions and civil service against the PLP leadership. It’s not just the disillusion over promises made … and broken. It’s also the the constant allegations of meddling, shortcuts, and bullying. The media reports are normally angrily denied – but this is [...]
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Upwards Pressure
April 7th, 2009 · Comments Off · Business, Reform
The OECD just announced that the four countries named on its “tax haven blacklist” last week – Costa Rica, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Uruguay – have all cried UNCLE and agreed to the OECD information sharing principles. This means that all attention will now focus on the “greylist”, which includes Bermuda. Obviously, it behooves Bermuda [...]
Tags:G20·money laundering·OECD·tax haven