...the death of former Argentine president Néstor Kirchner last year was probably the best thing that could have happened to the political career of his wife and current president Cristina Fernández

Cristina, magnanimous in victory?

By David Roberts

It may sound like a cruel thing to say, but the death of former Argentine president Néstor Kirchner last year was probably the best thing that could have happened to the political career of his wife and current president Cristina Fernández.

Without a doubt, the sympathy that the passing of "Mr K" generated for his widow, along with her communication skills in nurturing that sympathy and courting popularity, played a major role in her overwhelming reelection at the polls on October 23. Of course it wasn't the only factor. The failure of the fractured opposition to put up a strong candidate also weighed in, as did the strong economic growth Argentina has enjoyed in recent years. But the turning point was Kirchner's death, and immediately afterwards Fernández's ratings in opinion polls shot up and have stayed there since.

The country's economic success - growing at some 8% annually in recent years - has been largely consumer and export-driven, especially by agricultural exports such as soy for animal feed and vegetable oil, along with natural resources. Perhaps ironically, it has been the initially highly unpopular export taxes on agricultural products, which a few years back led to large-scale protests against the Fernández government, that have provided the funds for social programs which in turn have helped her gain popularity.

Winning a second term in office is, however, only the beginning for Fernández. She now faces major challenges in solidifying Argentina's economy, introducing the structural changes that are needed to ensure long-term stability and wealth that flows, rather than trickles down, to the general population and thereby develops a strong domestic market. There is still far too much poverty, and lack of basic services, in Argentina, a country with so much unfilled potential for so long.

The underlying jitters facing the economy are reflected in the high level of capital flight, estimated at US$3bn a month as more Argentines move their assets abroad, perhaps fearing another economic meltdown. This was something recognized by the government in ordering foreign oil, gas and mining companies to repatriate 100% of export revenues, and in the measures being taken to prevent speculative foreign exchange transactions.

Another major challenge for Fernández is political - she needs to cut out the cronyism, not to mention corruption, we all know riddles Argentina's political scene, among the multitude of both pro-government and opposition parties and all their factions. This seeps through to the country's social fabric and creates the potential for instability, and carries with it the threat that Argentina will once again suffer the "boom to boost" scenario.

But now that Fernández and her allies also have control of the country's congress, the opportunity to face these challenges is there for the taking. A good place to start is to reach out to the opposition and strive to form a national consensus, which she can now do from a position of strength, even dominance. The first signs from the reelected president were positive in this sense, as she appeared to be changing her abrasive "kirchnerista" style to a more conciliatory tone in her post-victory remarks.

bnamericas

The Bahamas: ...it must be made clear that there will be zero tolerance for police brutality in any form going forward, and all officers must be made to understand they will be held accountable for their actions

Time to tackle police brutality

By PACO NUNEZ
Tribune242 News Editor

Nassau, The Bahamas


A young man is at the wrong place at the wrong time. He walks into a grocery store right after it's been robbed and the cashier shot.

Overturned carts, frantic shoppers running about aimlessly, a pool of blood spreading across the floor; the shock of it all sends him bolting back through the door - right into the arms of a responding policeman.

Three hours later, the young man finds himself tied to a metal chair in a small, hot room, trying desperately to suck in air through a taught plastic bag as a burly officer pulls it taught yet again, while his colleague demands to know the name of the accomplice, the one who made off with the gun and the money.

In the end, terrified and exhausted, the young man signs a confession.

Such scenes are the stuff of a thousand detective novels and suspense movies. They are also a regular feature of the real life drama unfolding every day in our court system.

As a staff reporter I spent a year on the court beat, but can't bring to mind a single murder or armed robbery trial where the accused hadn't signed a confession while in police custody.

But when the court date came, they almost always pleaded not guilty. Their explanation? They are innocent, but the confession was beaten out of them.

As grim as violent crime trials can be, the presence of the same two officers, fingered by virtually every alleged victim of police brutality, waiting on the witness bench to tell yet another jury that, no, they didn't beat the accused, became the joke of the day among the Bank Lane press corps.

Of course, we knew that most of the sob stories were pure fiction. But we also knew that some of them had to be true.

Everyone knows suspects are beaten while in police custody; this country is far too small for that kind of thing to remain a secret. And I don't mean officers using force to secure a prisoner who lashes out or attempts to escape, I mean the use of violence to extract a confession, or sometimes just for fun.

Now, many Bahamians don't have a problem with this. This is a society plagued by crime and violence at unprecedented levels and many feel the justice system is just too soft on offenders; someone has to give them what they deserve.

The police are up against men who are little more than animals, and understand only violence, the argument goes.

And, we can be confident the right guy is taking the beating, because we have faith in the integrity of our police force.

But were the people who hold this attitude to pause and really think about it for a moment, they might come to some different conclusions.

Let us leave to one side for the moment abstract ideas of justice, lofty notions of human rights and the presumption of innocence, psychologists' arguments about how violence begets violence, and look at the matter the way a seasoned police officer would: in terms of good old-fashioned law and order.

CONSIDER:

* that while some of us, usually those with more to lose, do have confidence in the integrity of the police, a large and growing segment of the population doesn't - the very segment that concerns us: young men from inner city neighbourhoods, roughly between the ages of 15 and 35.

* that this is probably due in part to the fact that the victims of interview room beatings are usually drawn from this same demographic.

* that these young men, their relatives and friends are precisely the social group the police are taking great pains to reach out to as they continue to push the message that they can't solve crime alone.

* that if your son, nephew or family friend tells you horror stories about their treatment at the hands of police, you're probably less than likely to want to help officers with an investigation.

* that police are competing for the hearts and minds of inner city communities against a host of contrary influences, among them: a drug trade that promises money, popularity and power; a ghetto gun culture imported from the inner cities of our neighbour to the north; and various Caribbean subcultures that see the police as an instrument of oppression.

* that information secured by beatings or under torture is unreliable, as people will say anything to cause the pain to stop. Therefore, it is inevitable that sometimes the police will get a confession from the wrong man, leaving the real violent criminal loose on the streets.

With all this in mind, it isn't difficult to see how police brutality does far more harm than good, promoting the very culture of lawlessness and antagonism towards authority that are at the root of our crime problem in the first place.

Perhaps even more significant is a secondary effect: it erodes the faith in the police of the "majority in the middle", those who are neither the fans of "tough" policing of this kind, nor friends of the criminals.

Do countless suspects name the same two or three tormentors and describe an identical torture room in the bowels of CDU headquarters because they are telling the truth, or because there is a vast conspiracy amongst criminals?

Will officers really beat a man they suspect might be innocent, just because they're under pressure to get a confession?

Questions such as these muddy the waters of right and wrong, and lead many a law-abiding citizen to wonder if it isn't better to just avoid becoming involved at all - which, in turn, leaves the police with even fewer allies in the fight against crime.

How far this attitude can be justified is hard to say.

Senior officers do acknowledge that beatings happen, but put it down to the work of a few "bad apples."

Rogue cops certainly exist, but it is also true that fear and violence are considered important tools of the trade in certain units of the force.

A few years ago, the lead officer in a murder trial admitted to me that the case would be difficult to crack, because unlike most of the matters he handles, the witnesses and suspects were from wealthy families, came to police interviews with expert lawyers on hand, and therefore couldn't be questioned in the normal way.

"We can't beat 'em," he said when asked to elaborate.

Speaking to this officer at length, I got the impression that he genuinely wanted to do all he could to protect the public from criminals, but simply lacked the skills to conduct an investigation in any other fashion.

Officers

Yet police officers around the world employ a variety of reliable, efficient, methods of detection and interrogation that do not involve violence.

The government has made its move in the war against crime, bringing a raft of anti-crime Bills to parliament for debate this month.

It is high time the police force followed suit and acknowledged that a dramatic change is necessary if they want to win the confidence of the public and unite all facets of this society against crime.

The top brass should move immediately to identify the cutting-edge tools and techniques used in other countries that would be best suited to the Bahamas, and either send Police College staff to learn these methods, or bring the appropriate trainers in from overseas.

Most importantly, it must be made clear that there will be zero tolerance for police brutality in any form going forward, and all officers must be made to understand they will be held accountable for their actions.

What do you think?

pnunez@tribunemedia.net

October 31, 2011

tribune242 Insight

At last Haiti has a minister of tourism to match its potential

Haiti’s potential to become a tourist destination is immense

By Jean H Charles


I wrote a column two years ago where I stated that I have found in Haiti three women who deserved the gold standard of summum bonum: Martine Deverson, who created Artisanal en fete, by bringing together once a year all the Haitian artists under one roof; Stephanie Balmir Villedrouin, who almost individually gave life to the ATA, the association of hotel owners; and Danielle St Lot, who put the Haitian artists, the culinary specialists and the organic plant growers together.

President Joseph Michel Martelly and his Prime Minister Garry Conille were smart enough to select one of them, Stephanie Balmir Villadroin, as their minister of tourism. Haiti will have at last a minister of tourism to match its potential!

Indeed, Haiti’s potential to become a tourist destination is immense. I was at the Club Med in the Dominican Republic at the Romana, when I met a group of tourists from Brittany in France, who share our common culture; we have been educated by the priests and the religious brothers and sisters from Brittany, as such creating a natural bond. One of them told me upon knowing that I was from Haiti, he wished he was in a Club Med in Haiti, because the culture is stronger, the hospitality is larger and the view is better.

It has been a common opinion of the travel connoisseurs that Haiti, in spite of its pitfalls, is a destination that can rival Bali in Indonesia or Valencia in Spain. Haiti’s governance has been so delinquent in its performance that it could not achieve, nay, come close to its potential in tourism. The last minister of tourism as well as his general director was bartering for the last eight years a master plan that never reached the stage of application even at the elementary level.

Yet the calendar of cultural activities that the Haitians themselves have developed is rich in ritual, in meaning and in significance for the Diaspora as well as for the foreigners.

Take a peek.

From May 1st to November 1st, the day of All Saints as well as the following day, the Day of the Dead, Haiti is alive with a vibrant succession of religious festivals for the patron saint of the cities, the towns and the rural villages. This phenomenon is reminiscent of the medieval era where the pilgrims in penitent clothing travelled from St Jacques of Compostello, Spain, to the Saint Sepulcher in the Holy Land, Israel. The pilgrims would keep the Christian face intact except that voodoo syncretism has crept into the celebration, giving colour, sometimes squalor to the fiesta, repulsive for some and amusing for others.

Haiti did not leave the medieval era, the clock has stopped there.

From November 2nd to Christmas Day we enter into the season of Noel that could be as splendid and as festive as our neighbour next door in the Dominican Republic. The Dominicans, those from home as well as those from the Diaspora, started their weekend on Wednesday during that season with all the party and the fireworks that go along with it.

From December 26th to January 12th, the country should institute an International Solidarity period with Haiti. It was only two years ago that a strong earthquake destroyed the capital and the surrounding areas. To commemorate that event, when more than 300,000 persons perished, the rest of the world can demonstrate its solidarity with the people of Haiti by visiting with and performing some charity works in the country, with specific projects worked out in advance by the ministries of tourism, culture and social affairs.

From the second Sunday of January to Ash Wednesday, Haiti enters into the Carnival season that was cancelled only twice during in its lifetime. One of them was during the year of the earthquake in 2010.

Trinidad and Tobago, eat your heart out! Haiti is coming after you to rival the throne that you occupied for so long during carnival time! Young and old, rich and poor give themselves up to enjoy, party and make merry all weekend. Haiti has a president that used to be the king of the band leader during carnival time; will he lead the parade of the revelers? Come to Haiti during Carnival to find out!

From Ash Wednesday to Good Friday, the Rara season, or the carnival of the peasants, take place. It is an underground movement that is frowned upon by the good people of God. Indeed the Rara revelers in their songs and their dance blame God and their government for keeping them in such a destitute state. No one pays attention to their supplication. Maybe this government will; it has already taken the necessary measures to institute free education for all children, rural and urban! It has also promised to the farmers, low cost fertilizer for their produce.

It is already Easter and May1st is around the corner to mark the cultural calendar which, as the sun, will rise to shine for all those who cherish life and happiness.

Ms Villedrouin, am I certain will be as the Minister of Tourism of St Lucia, Mr Allan Chastanet or the Minister of Tourism of Jamaica, Mr Bartlett, amongst the best in the field. She has the stamina, the creativity, the simplicity and the humility to start with what can be done now, and achieve later the potential of where Haiti can reach!

Up to the sky! No limit in sight!

October 31, 2011

caribbeannewsnow

The rise of femicide and women in drug trafficking

by Andrea Mares, COHA Research Associate



While men have predominantly run drug trafficking organizations (DTOs), women have participated in them since the 1920s. Their role may have appeared miniscule compared to that of their male counterparts, but they have played key roles such as drug mules and bosses.

According to an interview with Howard Campbell, professor of anthropology at the University of Texas-El Paso, conducted by the Latin American Advisor, women, such as Ignacia Jasso de González (alias ‘La Nacha’) and María Dolores Estévez Zuleta (aka ‘Lola La Chata’) were prominent figures in drug dealing and trafficking in the 1920s and 1950s. [1]. Although women have been active in DTOs for many years, even at times taking on dominant roles, only in the past ten years have they become increasingly visible in the media.

The notion that women do not regularly participate and are not affected by DTOs is demonstrably obsolete. Women today are acting as equal partners in all aspects of drug trafficking, from running crews to laundering funds, resulting in the rise of incarcerated and violently treated women. [2] A glance into women’s association with DTOs reveals an increased crime rate, as well as the adversities that drug trafficking predictably brings upon them, and a clear lack of solutions to these often dangerous conditions.

Direct Effects of Drug Trafficking

In this era, it comes as no surprise that women have become more involved in the drug business. In the past, women could be counted on to struggle for their right to be loosely a part of a male-dominated world, not only in Latin America, but also around the globe. Over time, women have tended to enter many industries that were previously appealing to men. The same is true with drug trafficking, a very profitable business, with between $18 and $35 billion in drug earnings per year, according to US authorities. [3] It is not surprising that women gradually have increased their degree of participation. Once men started recruiting women as paid mules, their involvement escalated, as did the degree of violence.

Government efforts to impede drug smuggling have only increased the level of women’s participation in the business because women were less likely to be associated with drug trafficking and, therefore, could sneak past security with relatively small amounts of narcotics in their chests, or swallow pellets containing drugs. This second method of transportation could be highly lethal if the “swallower”, as they are known, does not make it to the destination in a timely matter, as the packet will disintegrate causing an overdose. [4]

Because a woman could use her appearance to bypass security officers, DTO affiliates began attending beauty pageants held in Latin America in order to approach contestants with the lures associated with drug trafficking and the income it is capable of providing. One example of an extremely successful woman is famed Colombian beauty queen and lingerie model, Angie Valencia, who was supposedly using other young, beautiful models to transport drugs in an international cocaine ring. [5]

Unfortunately, many women are willing to become a part of the drug industry because of their dire economic situations, and the fact that these dangerous missions were capable of rewards of thousands of dollars. The possibility of easily obtaining money to sustain a deluxe life style for their families is appealing to many women who consider drug trafficking as the one way they can gain access to a spectacular life. In addition, women are probably drawn to the excitement, mystery and power of drug trafficking. [6] By way of narcotic smuggling, some women are able to attain opulent lifestyles.

While some women are able to reach a high rank in DTOs, most women who get involved are taken advantage of because they lack alternative economic opportunities. These women are often easily convinced to act as drug mules and are assured it will be a quick and easy trip. The risks are not adequately explained, and, in fact, some women are even sent on missions, totally unaware that they are carrying drugs. What is even more distressing is that women continue to involve themselves in the business, blind to the consequences or too preoccupied with the chance to escape a life of degradation. Coletta Youngers, an expert on the subject finds that, “many of these women are single and poor mothers. The fear they may be ending up in prison or getting involved in the drug business is trumped by their need to provide for their families.” [7]

Indirect Effects of Drug Trafficking

Government crackdowns on drug cartels not only affect women directly, impacting those who may be working as bosses or mules, but also indirectly through a resulting increase of prostitution and sex trafficking. [8] These industries present an alternative when governments place heightened scrutiny on DTOs. According to the International Organization for Migration, sex trafficking alone can produce $16 billion a year in revenue in Latin America. [9] With such high profits, they are obvious choices to mobilize in the midst of increased government control.

Women also get coerced into joining DTOs because of rivalries between competing cartels. As reported in The Guardian, “the big rise in the number of women working for Mexico’s cartels comes in the context of the drug wars raging between different trafficking organizations and between them and the authorities.” [10] These violent altercations often result in deaths of loved ones, usually a boyfriend, husband, or other family member who was providing an income from drug trafficking.

When this occurs, the woman in the relationship is often forced to take over as the breadwinner. Trying to get a legitimate job may be very difficult if the woman has little to no experience or is uneducated; in this scenario, she will most likely enter the drug business and carry on where the deceased member left off, since she may already have easy access into the business.

According to Howard Campbell, drug trafficking affects women indirectly even when “women do not smuggle drugs but are negatively impacted by the male smugglers with whom they are associated.” [11] If a woman’s husband or boyfriend is in a DTO and storing narcotics in the household, he may very well be under suspicion from the authorities, and his house could be raided at any given time. The woman may be held responsible for the drugs if the true owner is not present, regardless of the circumstances.

This was the situation for Veronica Vasquez, who was interviewed by the Los Angeles Times on women in the drug war. Vasquez said her husband “wasn’t at home the night the army came calling and didn’t have time to dispose of the bags of cocaine he had hidden in the bedroom. Now she’s serving five years in the crowded prison in Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa, and he’s still free.” [12]

Overflow of Women in Prisons

The increased involvement of women in the drug industry is not only a problem for the women themselves; it affects the region’s crime rate and prison systems as well. Prisons in Latin America are quickly becoming filled with women imprisoned for drug trafficking; The New York Times reported that since 2007, there has been a 400 percent increase in the number of women jailed in Mexico for activity mostly linked to organized crime. [13] Considering that many countries in Latin America lack proper laws to deal with drug crimes, it is no surprise that women are overflowing the prisons. In some countries, a drug mule can face the same amount of time in prison as a murderer. [14]

There is a critical need for more government intervention and clarification on punishment for drug trafficking, particularly since there now appears to be more women imprisoned for drug-related crimes than men. A study conducted in 2010 concluded that overall, there are more men than women in the Latin American prisons, but a higher percentage of women in prison for crimes involving drugs. [15] As is evident, women will continue to be jailed for drug related crimes and the prison system will suffer overcrowding and worsening conditions unless legislation is adopted that can more forcefully control drug trafficking and related violence. More importantly, this legislation must be properly enforced.

Femicide Emerges

The rise of the number of women in prisons and the surge in their crime rate are symptoms of a prominent issue in Latin America, known as femicide. Femicide refers to the mass killings of women, and reflects the excessive masculinity that is associated with the drug industry.[16] The use of women is often resorted to modes of retaliation against the government for its crackdown on drug trafficking, or as a threat to other DTOs. In May 2011, a 20-year-old woman’s decapitated head was found inside a phone booth, with a message warning the government to stop policies aimed at impeding criminal activity. [17]

Drug trafficking seems to heighten the attitude that women are easily disposable, even though women often hold the family together in these societies. Femicides destroy family structures, forcing children to grow up in an entirely unstable environment. Furthermore, increased violence toward women creates an image that it is acceptable.

Although femicide remains an issue for all of Latin America, it has a greater presence in parts of Central America. For example, the amount of murdered women has tripled in four years, from 2005-2009, in many Mexican states from 3.7 to 11.1 per 100,000,[18] and María Virginia Díaz Méndez, of the Center of Women’s Studies in Honduras, states that, “Honduras comes in second to Guatemala for the highest femicide rate”. [19] Despite growing trepidation of femicide throughout the region, it appears as though there are little to no consequences for committing such crimes.

Where can we go from here?

From big-name beauty queens to poverty stricken women, drug trafficking has the potential to affect every woman’s life in Latin America. Drug trafficking is no longer a man’s world, and it continues to involve women at an increasing rate. As drug trafficking increases, it promotes violence against women and further cripples the legal system.[20] It is a very difficult issue, as policies aimed at cutting down drug trafficking seem only to exacerbate the victimization of women. Nonetheless, there is a need for better laws and efficient enforcement to curb the many pressing issues that drug trafficking poses.

It was perhaps inevitable that women would become involved in the drug trafficking industry. As Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, an assistant professor of government at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College, observed, “globalization, technology and modernization have facilitated the incorporation of women into…drug trafficking activities.” [21] Although foreseeable, no one could have predicted how tragically it would affect women, and it has now escalated into a seemingly immutable situation. Perhaps the only solution is to forcefully push government officials in Latin America to take more aggressive action against the human rights violations that inevitably crop up and the violence that emerges from drug trafficking. Until then, the future faced by growing numbers of women affected by drug trafficking violence remains bleak.

Source: Ethan S. James

References for this article can be found here.

The Council on Hemispheric Affairs, founded in 1975, is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan, tax-exempt research and information organization. It has been described on the Senate floor as being "one of the nation's most respected bodies of scholars and policy makers." For more information, visit www.coha.org or email coha@coha.org

October 29, 2011

caribbeannewsnow

Bahamas Blog International

I want to see "WELCOME TO THE REPUBLIC OF JAMAICA" at my airports by 2015

Let's become a republic

By Franklin Johnston





I want to see "WELCOME TO THE REPUBLIC OF JAMAICA" at my airports by 2015. Let us put this on the agenda of the next Parliament. It won't make us more independent or more prosperous, but it has collateral benefits. The Queen is a good scapegoat to blame, but a republic is not about her. She is head of the Commonwealth and head of state for only a third of members so we join the majority. Some 75 per cent of Australians voted to change her, yet out of respect they give her a royal train to ride before the Perth conference next week. The Queen doesn't mind, nor do we, so who benefits from a republic? Politicians? Voters?

PJ Patterson said we would be a republic come 2007, and Bruce Golding raised it too when they were prime ministers. What is the attraction? More power for them? For us? Ideology? The arguments are esoteric; our manhood is threatened by the Queen wearing "the pants" in our house; but we know she is a cipher as she can do only what Cabinet tells her. So who benefits?

What is a republic?

Many things: rules-based governance, no king or hereditary sons or daughters - no relative takes over and no MP or PM can leave the seat to his chosen son. The seat is the voters's. A Russian president is powerful but has term limits so he puts a proxy in place, leave for a time to circumvent the law and comes back after. The US president gets two terms - end of story! And back to real life. I like it, a powerful president with checks and balances in the constitution and Parliament. So what should our republic be like? Here:

An elected House of MPs whose job is to represent and develop their constituencies. No more "PM pressure mi, too busy to see constituents!" They are lawmakers not ministers.

An elected Senate: One senator elected by each parish plus seven independent "wise men" from farming, business, the professions. At present, the Senate is "upper" house in name only, as most members are partisans who obey their paymasters in the "lower" house.

An elected president: After 2012 we want no PM imposed on us by a party. We are 50 and can choose. We want a directly elected president to serve a maximum of two terms. We will assess the achievements, plans and character of new people and old ones in a three-month primary. The PNP wanted a president with power and the JLP a ceremonial one. Powerful presidents as Hitler moved uneducated people to oppress others. In my inbox I see comments from people who can read and write every week, but reasoning, the "fourth R", is far from them. A bad president could really create havoc, so let's educate all our people!

A judiciary ring fenced in the constitution with our Supreme Court at the apex is the key to good law, good practice, prompt justice for all and tamper proof courts. Amen!

The Executive: These are doers. Talkers are in the House. The president is CEO of Jamaica Ltd, responsible for results, so he needs a team of top managers and choice to appoint the best - it's his neck. Jamaica is small, people know you or your work. A good manager cannot hide so the president will appoint men and women who have track record in the private and public sectors or from the diaspora. If they are good we see them on the news.

Fixed election date: We need pre-set election dates - MPs, senators and president. This is for us not parties! Let's kill the old view; "what is good for the party is good for the nation".

Voters are the "demos" in our democracy and the roots of freedom. Election dates are for voters not parties. We matter! Some people don't vote. I don't deal with them as they disrespect the elders' struggle. Let us match MPs' résumés against the job; see their voting record on ganja, JPS, hanging, contracts, etc, and judge him on performance. Some say one thing in the constituency and quietly vote for another in the House.

Small constituencies breed garrisons: We spend millions to elect and pay an MP to represent 20,000 plus voters - a travesty! We need 45 MPs with 100k people in constituency for good governance. Larger constituencies have a critical mass of taxpayers, schools, public works, churches, businesses, so a proper constituency development plan is feasible. A small voter base means it's easy to buy 3,000 votes or fewer to win. Large constituencies dilute a garrison. Tivoli would be lost in a large constituency, neutralised after two terms and absorbed in three. As we reject "rum bar" politics and embrace media-driven politics the garrison will disappear or have little effect on elections.

A president is the CEO. Some say former President Reagan was an actor so we do not need a good manager as PM. Bulls! He led a nation that was prosperous for generations and has well-established systems. He just had to steer and pursue enrichment projects. We are ground zero; we are not, were never prosperous and our systems suck. We need good managers to get us airborne. The US finds $1b a week to fight in Iraq and it was not in their budget. We can't find teachers pay and it's in our budget. So none of the first eight PMs were known top managers. Are you happy with the results? So in 2012 you elect one just like the others and expect a different result? We need a republic so we can vote for a president. Our PM is an important icon. Great as Bob and Usain are, it is the PM who shows off our gravitas to the world. Scrutiny of a president also means we do the same for political appointees as chairs of boards, high commissioners who are not civil servants. We need the best. Our PM knows the people who can build our prosperity because they build it in other fields. A republic means he can appoint a Don Wehby as minister to do the job directly, not to mentor an MP. In our first 50 years lawyers, trade unionists, sociologists tried to build our economic independence. The second 50 is for managers, engineers, scientists and innovators to take us to prosperity. When we are full throttle like America, any actor or trade unionist can steer the ship and even think of some nice project - an ice skating rink - to put the icing on the cake.

Joyful

Prime Minister Andrew Holness touched good bases in his speech; his bright young family was a joyful touch; we welcome him! Whether he is "more of the same" or the "special one" we will soon see. It is a hard job, thankless (unless you succeed in building prosperity) but well rewarded as no one runs from it - enjoy! Stay conscious, my friend!

Dr Franklin Johnston is an international project manager with Teape-Johnston Consultants currently on assignment in the UK. franklinjohnstontoo@gmail.com

October 28, 2011

jamaicaobserver

Bahamas Blog International

The Cuban Five for Alan Gross: A swap that may make preeminent sense

by Faizaan Sami, COHA Research Associate



Thirteen years after their imprisonment, the ill-fated Cuban Five have been looked upon, depending on one’s perspective, as either tragic figures or infamous conspirators. Consisting of five Cuban intelligence officers, the detainees were convicted in 1998 of spying on U.S. military installations, a charge vehemently denied by Havana, which claimed that their role was to monitor Miami-based “terrorist” exile groups that were regularly plotting and carrying out attacks against their homeland. On October 7, 2011, one of the Five, René González, was released from federal prison after serving his sentence. However, according to the terms of his release, one could argue that only the nature of his confinement has changed. González, who has dual U.S.-Cuban citizenship, will be forced to serve three years under supervision in the U.S. This could expose him to threats from extremist exile terrorists based in Florida, undoubtedly adding to the misery weighing on González and his family. Since her husband’s detainment, González’s wife has not even been allowed entry into the U.S., still another disturbing aspect of the Obama administration’s already crumbling Cuba policy.

The failure to take the positive step of allowing González and the remaining members of the Cuban Five to return to the island has been met with outrage as well as storms of criticism back in Cuba on all levels of Cuban popular opinion. Campaigning on the grounds of humanitarianism and fundamental social justice, scores of groups including the African National Congress, the Cuban Parliament, as well as the International Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban Five, have urged President Obama to grant the unconditional release of the Cuban intelligence officials.

While González is the first of the Cuban Five to be released, the main question that remains then is how the would-be ‘carrot’ that has now been dangled before the Castro administration can be made to influence the status of Alan Gross, a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contractor imprisoned for alleged espionage activities in 2009, who the White House would love to see released. Since González was released from detention, the president of the Cuban Parliament Ricardo Alarcón has dismissed the notion of a unilateral gesture that would bring about the early release of Alan Gross. In a stinging attack, Alarcón described former UN Ambassador Bill Richardson’s diplomacy as “amateur,” adding that he has “entangled everything” by suggesting a direct swap of González, who was close to finishing his sentence, with Alan Gross, who has only begun his.

Judging by the failed, but not necessarily useless humanitarian visits to Cuba by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Richardson, the point is being driven home to President Obama that he will have to make substantive rather than illusionary concessions to mend frayed U.S.-Cuban relations. The release of René González could be a constructive bilateral gesture, though its impact has now been somewhat mitigated by the spat surrounding its conditions. At the same time, Obama might respond to global voices calling for the release of the jailed Cubans and use his constitutional powers to offer executive clemency to the Five as part of a deal for Alan Gross’ release.

Both countries seem stuck in a fallow Cold-War scenario, reluctant to lose what could prove to be only pseudo leverage over one another. If Obama wants to stay true to his words relating to his vision of a new beginning with Cuba, he might start by eliminating useless bromides from his rhetoric and offer a serious deal to Havana that would provide a self-respecting government grounds for acceptance.

October 27, 2011

caribbeannewsnow

Bahamas Blog International

The Economist magazine's Intelligence Unit predicts that the governing Free National Movement (FNM) party in The Bahamas will win the 2012 general election

Magazine predicts FNM will win in 2012


By CELESTE NIXON
Tribune Staff Reporter
cnixon@tribunemedia.net

Nassau, The Bahamas



THE analysis arm of a renowned financial publication has predicted the FNM will win the 2012 election.

The latest update by The Economist magazine's Intelligence Unit said that while the global economic outlook remains pessimistic, 1.8 per cent growth is expected in the Bahamas in 2011 and 2.3 per cent in 2012 - which should put the FNM in a favourable position for the next general election.

The report said: "With economic conditions improving and the opposition discredited by its own scandals, The Economist Intelligence Unit expects the FNM to retain a majority in the election."

The Intelligence Unit, a sister organisation to The Economist, provides forecasting and advisory services that help "business leaders prepare for opportunity, empowering them to act with confidence when making strategic decisions."

According to the report, the political scene in the Bahamas will be dominated by campaigning for the general election over the next six months.

It said: "The Free National Movement (FNM) led by the prime minister, Hubert Ingraham, has a small but workable majority in parliament and the election will indicate to what extent the FNM's support base has been eroded by the sharp economic contraction in 2008-09 and the government's privatisation programme, which is unpopular among much of the population.

"We forecast growth to pick up in 2012-13, although the more pessimistic outlook for the global economy and particularly the US, which will impact negatively on tourism, will hamper more rapid growth.

"We expect activity to expand by 1.8 per cent in 2011 and 2.3 per cent in 2012. Growth will pick up further thereafter, in line with more benign global conditions.

"Stronger growth will boost tax receipts, but spending will increase in the run-up to next year's election, causing the fiscal deficit to widen to 3.5 per cent of GDP in fiscal year 2011/12.

"The current-account deficit will start to narrow in 2012, as an easing of commodity prices offsets a rise in demand for imports."

The report also spoke of the government's efforts to crack down on crime, noting that on October 3, Mr Ingraham announced the establishment of two new courts to deal with crimes relating to drugs and illegal firearm possession, and a 30-day gun amnesty programme.

It said: "The ability of magistrates to hand down tougher sentences has also been strengthened, with the possibility of sentencing offenders -- including those on drugs and weapons charges -- to up to seven years in prison (raised from five years previously).

"Mr Ingraham also announced that amendments to the Firearms Act and the Dangerous Drugs Act are in the planning stage and that new legislation will strengthen law enforcement powers to address the sale of stolen goods and the proceeds of crime via third parties."

The Intelligence Unit described the new measures as "long overdue".

The unit said: "Considering the country's heavy dependence on tourism, there is widespread concern over the impact that such a deterioration in the security situation will have on the struggling economic recovery."

When informed of the report, FNM chairman Carl Bethel said: "While I have not seen it, let me say that we welcome any confidence from The Economist or other well respected institution, and are gratified that after examining our record the Intelligence Unit came to the same conclusion that we have: that the Bahamian people respect the good governance of the FNM and will reward it in the next general election."

October 25, 2011

tribune242

Bahamas Blog International