Viewpoint

Right now, somewhere in Grand Cayman, three or four young Caymanian men are sitting together in a room talking about revenge. They are putting together a plan to kill another young Caymanian. These boys lack the internal values or good sense that would lead them to pause and think this through.

The young children in our society are crying for attention and proper upbringing. The parents and the community are ignoring them! They go to school – the teachers have so many on their hands, they are unable to meet them one-on-one, yet we want to cut their salaries.

Avert your eyes, children. Turn away, Grandma. These are not exactly glorious days for politics in the Cayman Islands. During challenging times, a nation’s leaders either rise or shrink. Many of ours, it now seems clear, have decided to become tiny, very tiny.

I post quite often. Sorry. But sometimes you can't help it. You feel compelled to say something and express an opinion. Since the advent of CNS, I have noticed that many others have the same attitude. For us, sometimes it's a release. But more than that, and more profound, is that we as citizens have found a forum in which we can express opinions and read what others have to say.

While one is reluctant to kick a country when it’s down, sometimes it needs to be done. The Cayman Islands—specifically Grand Cayman—feels like a society on the brink these days and we are long overdue for some frank talk. We are too down the road now to worry if feelings may be hurt.

The CIDOT arrivals statistics for 2009 state that the Cayman Islands welcomed 1,520,372 cruise ship passengers. The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) states an average spend of $96.78 per passenger, totaling $126.4 million dollars into the local economy. The cost of attracting these guests to Cayman, in marketing dollars, was nil.

It is not surprising that the recent announcement that witnesses will soon be able to give evidence to the courts anonymously has been well received, given the current escalation in violent crime. However, the legislative proposal is by no means a silver bullet for our crime problems and may even cause more problems than it hopes to solve.

From what I can tell, the argument in favour of publishing comments that may seem racist or prejudiced is that unearthing such perspectives is preferable to having them uttered behind closed doors and that in being allowed to voice their feelings, those making such comments will be exposed to alternative viewpoints and, correct me if I'm wrong, the implication is that this can only be good for society in a broad sense.

Isn’t it heartwarming to see Christian organizations and Christian volunteers working hard to help earthquake survivors in Haiti? How nice. How charitable. How Christian. How insane.

After years of grumbling about the sacrilegious horror of grown men cross dressing as flamboyant 18th century pirates in the streets of Grand Cayman every October, the government finally threw a bone to the fundamentalist Christian community. Premier McKeeva Bush promised last year that Pirates Week will walk the plank.

This letter is in response to an Editorial which appeared in the January 27th edition of The Caymanian Compass. The Editor referred to comments made by “one radio talk show host” in an editorial entitled “Media Relations 101”. Let me confirm that I was that host and I take full responsibility for the opinion expressed.

The Human Rights Commission (which replaces the former Human Rights Committee) was established under section 116 of the new Constitution with a mandate of “promoting understanding and observance of human rights in the Cayman Islands.” However, the reputation of the Commission has been brought into question with the recent appointment of members who have a poor track record in the promotion and protection of equal rights for all.

It seems pretty simple. The Turtle Farm was, and is, an exclusive and unique thing with no equal worldwide. It was interesting, relevant and as important internationally as both a scientific and environmental facility as it was a tourist attraction. It was ahead of its time, in that environmental and/or educational tourism wasn't really a big thing until relatively recently.

Ultimately, the Cayman Islands Government (any Government at the given time) needs to decide if we will continue to market these islands only to the wealthy and not to the 'bread & butter' tourists - as stated by Jim Bodden in the 1970's.

Most politicians in the Cayman Islands, with the exception of Ezzard Miller, have generally refrained from offering full support to the idea of shaking off the UK’s colonial chains. However, the premier came very close on Friday to suggesting that it might not be a bad idea.