· May, 2006

Stories about Bermuda from May, 2006

Bermuda: Parliamentary alibis

  31 May 2006

The Limey cites several examples of equivocation on the part of Bermuda's MP's over their failure to debate an important amendment to the Human Rights Act last week, and reports that a rally is being organised to protest the lack of debate among the MPs. Christian Dunleavy reproduces on his...

Bermuda: Auditor general “under attack”?

  30 May 2006

Is Bermuda's government “engaging in a direct attack” on the independent auditor general? “Any doubts … should be put to rest,” says Christian S. Dunleavy. “This move ranks the tops in total stupidity. So high in fact that it wreaks of scandal,” says IMHO.bm.

Caribbean: What blogging is for

  30 May 2006

“Blogging … challenges the elitism that pervades the Caribbean and is a great experiment in the democratization of data,” says Geoffrey Philp in a thoughtful essay on the potential role of blogging in the region. “Blogging provides the kind of freedom that is anathema to many gatekeepers who want to...

Bermuda: Breaking news: gay rights amendment defeated

  26 May 2006

Bermudan MP Renee Webb's private member's bill proposing the amendment of the Human Rights Code to include sexual orientation has just been defeated in the House of Assembly, reports Christian S. Dunleavy. “The Bill was defeated in committee, therefore there was no formal vote in the House and therefore —...

Bermuda: Drag queen defies parade ban

  26 May 2006

“Local drag artist Mark Anderson joined Bermuda's Heritage Day parade [on Wednesday 24 May] despite a Government prohibition,” reports A Limey in Bermuda. “Good for him…. Mr. Anderson is a gay Bermudian and homosexuals are as much a part of Bermudian society as majorettes and the Bermuda Regiment.” Christian S....

Caribbean: Hurricane outlook

  22 May 2006

Over at the West Indies Cricket blog, Ryan Naraine cites the NOAA’s 2006 Atlantic hurricane season outlook, which says there is “an 80% chance of an above-normal hurricane season, a 15% chance of a near-normal season, and only a 5% chance of a below-normal season.”

Caribbean: A West Indian anthem?

  22 May 2006

Kyk-Over-Al links to a column in Guyana's Stabroek News criticising the new West Indian anthem adopted recently by CARICOM (the Caribbean Community), and the Caribbean Beat blog asks its readers how Caribbean leaders should have gone about choosing an anthem. “Via a competition, soliciting entries from the region's best composers...

Bermuda: “Hate speech” complaint rejected

  18 May 2006

Bermuda's Human Rights Commission has rejected a complaint against Senator David Burch, who used an offensive racial term in a radio broadcast last year. The HRC had no choice, says the Limey; “Burch's comment was disgusting. But unfortunately not illegal.” But Sean at IMHO.bm is “enraged”, especially because the HRC...

Caribbean: The meaning of “excellent service”

  17 May 2006

Jamaican Francis Wade at Chronicles from a Caribbean Cubicle thinks about customer service in the Caribbean. “There is not a single island I have visited in which there is a local company giving excellent service to local people.” He tries to understand why, and congratulates the Sandals resort chain for...

Bermuda, Cayman Islands: Freedom of Information legislation

  17 May 2006

“In the time it’s taken Bermuda to produce a discussion paper on freedom of information, the Cayman Islands has already started debating some actual draft legislation,” says the Limey, who points out that it's nearly two years since Bermuda's premier promised to table the appropriate legislation.

Bermuda: Signs of an election

  16 May 2006

Christian S. Dunleavy looks at the recent activities of Bermuda's ruling Progressive Labour Party (PLP) and suggests that “the planets are clearly lining up (or being lined up) for an election sooner rather than later.”

Caribbean: New West Indies anthem

  11 May 2006

At the Trinidad & Tobago World Cup blog Stacy-Marie Ishmael parses some of the mixed reactions to the new West Indies anthem, which was sung for the first time at yesterday's Trinidad & Tobago v. Peru football match in Trinidad.

Bermuda: Public access to information

  10 May 2006

The Limey‘s appeal to the Bermuda government to reveal the cost of the Tourism Minister's stay at a seven-star hotel in Dubai continues to be ignored. “It was an interesting exercise, not for what it revealed about the Minister’s expenses, but for what it revealed about the Government’s attitude to...

Caribbean: Regional Telecom Penetrates French DOMs

  2 May 2006

“For 155 million dollars, Denis O'Brien's Digicel Group just acquired Bouygues Telecom Caribbean, the second wireless network in the French Caribbean DOMs i.e. about 160,000 subscribers and 80 employees,” says (FR) Internetrapide.com. Digicel is now present in 20 Caribbean countries, explains the blogger.

Bermuda: Civic values

  2 May 2006

The Limey's guest blogger, Stuart Hayward, outlines a program designed to instil civic values in young Bermudians.