In June the British House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee recommended that the Bermuda Government strengthen its transparency measures by ending the practice of House of Assembly committees sitting behind closed doors.

Apparently the committee needs the permission of Speaker Stanley Lowe to conduct these open meetings. He should grant it enthusiastically.  If he will not, he must explain why.

Let’s face it, we need more bipartisan work in our Parliament. And only bipartisan cooperation will make a dent in many of Bermuda’s problems. This committee seems to be cooperating well, and it’s topic is of substantial public interest.

Open the doors!

Even an idiot can see that this is not sustainable.

Silver lining:  the long term parking lot will expand by an acre.
Murky puddle:  was this substantial project put out to bid? Building Blocks does not appear to be (at least by that name) an incorporated company.

Bermuda in general, and its politics in particular, are already overloaded with suspicion. A long history of power and prejudice based on race, on class and on nationality - not to mention a long tradition of secrecy - made this inevitable.

It has left our current generation of leaders with the difficult but absolutely essential task of doing everything in their power to reduce suspicion.

That means they have to work in the open, and deal respectfully with each other even when they have profound personal differences.

And it means playing strictly by the rules, even when they seem burdensome, bureaucratic and unnecessary: If you are dealing with people who are very suspicious of you, it’s the least you can do.

In our divided, diverse little world, our leaders need to work together, respect each other, listen respectfully to opposing views, and follow the rules and procedures with scrupulous honesty.

In the first 8 weeks that its four sensors have operated, the system has issued up more than 1,580 violations, each bringing a fine of between $750 to $1,000. 

Based on that performance, it’s likely that TCD’s previous estimates that up to 5,520 vehicles are not licensed or insured are high as it’s hard for actively used vehicles to avoid passing through the Paget roundabouts or Blue Hole Hill. 

They are also having problems getting scofflaws to ‘fess up, which is no surprise.  Apparently when an unlicensed vehicle is found, TCD contacts the last known owner by phone and ask them to come in to accept a summons.  It appears that many are providing false information - which is precisely the same problem that traffic police encounter in road stops.

I am of mixed emotions about this system, which cost $2.4 million.  On one side, in this little island with its bad driving habits, all vehicles should be licensed or insured.  As the Police have not adequately enforced vehicle registrations, we must do something.  However, simple periodic sweeps of parking lots with a clamp would probably have the same effect.  And, while the fine revenue is high now, it is likely to tail off very rapidly.  I guess we’ll call it a draw.

TCD reveals also that they plan to use the RFIDs on bikes, where the number of unlicensed or uninsured vehicles are possibly even higher.  As 15-20 vehicles are stolen in Bermuda every week, with a poor recovery rate, the RFIDs could even help track those vehicles (if the tags were bonded to the chassis). 

They also state that up to 16 additional readers will be placed around the island - in other words, at least two per parish with some extras for Hamilton.  One reader in Southampton and one on North Shore would probably suffice.  A vastly expanded system is no longer a licensing enforcer.  It is probably a tracking and toll system.

Typically, a SWAT team is a paramilitary police force designed to provide superior assault firepower in confrontations, such as bank robberies or hostage situations.

To put it bluntly, a SWAT team would not be a useful tool against most of the major crimes that have plagued our community recently.  A SWAT team is of little use in a drive-by shooting or a mugging-turned-murder.

We need a more effective Police force much more than we need a specialist unit scrambling for precious budget dollars.   Prevention is better than purgative.

This will be interesting given Dr. Brown’s pre-election hints about a pro-PLP newspaper.

In other news, PLP Newswire has announced it will relaunch on September 1.

Update:  the Royal Gazette is reporting that Senator Walton Brown is behind VistaMar Ltd.

Umm, that creativity with numbers is part of Bermuda’s problem!  You mean we can expect to add creative numbers on top of our funny accounting?

Bermuda is in negotiations with several cruise lines in hopes of garnering new business, Cruise Industry News has learned. The island is courting Celebrity Cruises, which “has always been good partners” with Bermuda, as well as Holland America Line, said Larry Jacobs, transportation coordinator for the Bermuda Ministry of Tourism and Transport. Jacobs also hinted that MSC Cruises, which is only making one Bermuda call in 2009, is another possibility. “We are looking at companies that have smaller ships,” he said. Bermuda’s new pier at the Royal Naval Dockyard, which is expected to be completed in May 2009, will give the island “more possibilities,” when it comes to accommodating cruise ships, Jacobs added.

The project, which has been fully funded by the UK Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, will produce a report to help create a framework for “filling in” the remaining laws to protect various rights in each territory.

Bermuda is the only territory planning to abstain from the exercise.

Why?

Also, Wayne Burgess is making love em/leave em comments to the press again about the UBP.  Here’s the problem:  while the PLP continue to gird for war, the UBP sound like a committee of wimps.  Christian’s commentary is better than I have energy to type.  Oh the dog days of summer. Got beers to drink and a roof to paint.  OK, maybe not in that order.

But here’s my word of advice:  the PLP is well funded and its core group of puppeteers are driven.  Don’t think that by peeling off the UBP into a happy and well-intentioned group of independents that you’ll win favour with the electorate.  It’s not likely to happen.

It turns out that, of the $200,000 spent by the charity in 2006, only $15,000 went to charitable causes.

By comparison, $80,000 went to paying rent for use of office space in Dr. K Brown’s medical practice.