EU to outline next step in letter to Cayman
George Town Harbour
(CNS): The Cayman Islands has just twelve months to address the issues that caused the EU to include this jurisdiction among the 47 on its ‘grey-list’, after it managed to avoid being placed on the black-list of countries that European leaders regard as uncooperative when it comes to financial and tax transparency. According to documents and information coming from the Council of the European Union and other sources Wednesday, Cayman has committed to addressing the question of “real economic activity” and the EU has said it will be sending letters outlining what it wants from the countries it has included on the grey ‘cooperative’ list.
Cayman and five other offshore financial centres (OFCs) have been asked to address the issue of “economic substance” or “substantial presence”, and according to a memo summarizing the process, the country’s progress on what it has agreed to will be assessed throughout next year. Officials said the EU member states had agreed to not black-list jurisdictions if they committed to addressing the deficiencies that were found during the screening process. Instead they were put on a cooperative list but will be monitored to ensure they meet the commitments made.
“These commitments had to be made at high political level …and give a clear domestic timeline for implementing the changes,” the memo stated. Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey the Isle of Man, Jersey and Vanuatu are all listed as having committed to “introduce substance requirements”.
While CNS has struggled to get any comment from the premier or the industry about what this means to the jurisdiction, veteran offshore legal expert and former CIMA board chair, Tim Ridley, was able to shine some light on the issue and offer some advice to government about the situation.
“The devil is in the details and the precise requirements are to be spelled out in a letter to each jurisdiction on the grey-list,” he told CNS. “It is to be hoped that the government will release this letter for consideration and discussion locally. In the meantime, one can surmise that, since the EU would really like Cayman and all OFC’s to sink without trace, it will continue its efforts to achieve this goal. In the vain hope that this outcome will improve their domestic tax revenues.”
Ridley explained that the immediate test for Cayman was to show there is real economic substance to businesses domiciled here.
“Cayman needs to play the long game and play it well,” he said. “Efforts and resources should be devoted to encouraging real business substance here. That simplistically means businesses, ideally the top company in a group whose shares are publicly traded, with real executives, in real offices making real decisions in Cayman.”
He said that could and should be a win-win outcome. “We already see many of the buildings in Cayman with such businesses and there is plenty of space for more to come, and for their top executives to live here. The SEZ (special economic zone) and Cayman Enterprise City have a real role to play in this. And should up their game. Likewise, government needs to streamline the immigration process for these businesses and their top executives. If we achieve progress as outline above, the EU will doubtless continue to quibble. So be it. But Cayman will be in a strong position to ‘grin and bear it’,” Ridley added.
His sentiments were supported by other offshore experts, who are still working in the field and so wanted to remain anonymous. They called on government to be much more transparent about its plans and exactly what they committed to during the recent talks with EU officials. One local representative of the sector urged the government to tell the country what the long-term strategy is regarding the navigation of the choppy global waters, as the industry — the driving force behind our GDP — faces myriad challenges.
But both the government and the offshore sector have remained stubbornly silent about what it means for the Cayman Islands to be placed the grey-list until we address this issue of “substance”, and how that will affect our financial services sector.
Following the publication of the EU Council’s report on Tuesday, CNS tried to get either the offshore sector or Premier Alden McLaughlin to explain what exactly Cayman has committed to and what needs to happen. Instead McLaughlin attacked CNS for not promoting strongly enough the government’s spin that it was not on the black-list, and concluded on the basis of what he considered a negative headline, that staff at this news organisation have an agenda to destroy the country.
McLaughlin refused to outline the commitments Cayman has made or what it can do to address the identified issues in the EU report. He said he was not “in the practice of knowingly showing my hand to my country’s enemies”, as he suggested that Cayman would prevail and survive the continued assaults.
The offshore sector representatives who responded to CNS inquiries directed us to Cayman Finance for comment, and we are still waiting on answers to questions. However, in a short statement yesterday, the non-profit body that represents the financial services industry said it had worked hard with the government to address the concerns the European Union has raised.
“We are at the forefront of regulatory and tax compliance and information exchange. The Cayman Islands meets or exceeds the highest global financial standards, sharing the same OECD rating as many EU Member States. As an early adopter of international best practice in standards for transparency and cross-border cooperation, we will continue to work closely with our colleagues in tax and law enforcement authorities around the world. We are confident that we will be able to address the areas where the EU requires some further clarification.”
In a press release issued later on Tuesday, EU officials confirmed that the next steps in the process involved a letter being sent to all jurisdictions on the EU lists, explaining the decision and what they can do to be de-listed.
“The Commission and Member States (in the Code of Conduct Group) will continue to monitor all jurisdictions closely, to ensure that commitments are fulfilled and to determine whether any other countries should be listed in the future. A first interim progress report should be published by mid-2018.”
Pierre Moscovici, Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs, said the EU would keep up the pressure on listed countries to change their ways. Blacklisted jurisdictions will face consequences in the form of dissuasive sanctions, while those that have made commitments must follow-up on them quickly and credibly.
“Promises must be turned into actions. No one must get a free pass,” he said. “Countries that are not on the blacklist will only be fully off the hook once they have fulfilled their commitments.”
See new documents from the EU in the CNS Library
Category: Politics
As stated by the premier “he is not in the practice of knowingly showing his hand to his countries enemies”…interesting statement and choice of words and sounds like something said at a poker table? If you gamble Alden that’s your business but Cayman’s future ain’t no game. Maybe you need stand up or ‘fold’ your hand to the EU! This list is bull as the biggest culprits aren’t even listed!
I would like to put Germany on a blacker than black list for allowing tenths of thousands of undocumented “refugees” to infiltrate the country, having no clue who a large portion of those people are and what they have been up to or what their connections are, and for the complete failure of deporting those who have been rejected for asylum.
Yes, bigots who deflect their own mediocrity by exhibiting prejudices against weak to have such views.
8:01am, Dunce! Ask yourself countries/bloc of countries’ cruel actions forced many of those people out of their homelands in the first place. Lights on? Thought not!
Kind of ironic 8.01 that during the last war they were responsible for the death of so many….life seems to have gone full circle. Ultimately, both proved to be not the best ideas, in fact possibly the worst.
They do the same thing every time. They don’t put us on the worst list; it’s always the second-worst list called ‘cooperative but needs to improve’. Failure to improve is then failure to cooperate, and the black list comes next. So the gray list isn’t really a status to brag about. Picking up the phone when they call keeps you off the gray list.
Appalling in the Premier’s response! Frankly Alden, you would have been better off to say no comment and deferred it to an official press statement, which would have bought you time to compose a more professional response, instead of again showing your arrogance and narcissistic persona. And you are the Government’s leader? Shame on you Alden! Kudos to CNS for asking and writing real stories and not sugar coating anything. Yes, we all now know that we aren’t on the EU blacklist but we are on the gray list….. so that isn’t much better. Be real and admit it…. why just focus and publish all over social media about we’re not on the blacklist… like we made it on the white list when we didn’t. Now the mystery is what did Cayman commit to doing by the end of 2018????
Are we gonna see the letter eventually?
This is the PPM led government who ran on transparency so probably not, either way don’t hold your breath
Nah.. it will never happen… not while Alden the Premier! #lookingforwardtohisretirement
This is the same EU (now 27 countries plus Canada and Russia) through the Paris-headquartered Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control that (as recent as 2004) had Cayman registered and regulated ships on it “Grey List”.
The Organisation considered this grey listing justified because of weak regulatory practices in respect of the quality of these ships, the working conditions of their crews, weak environmental management and security systems, etc. All of these “black (grey) marks” were supported by a EU-coordinated system of on-site and remote inspections/monitoring of Cayman registered and regulated ships entering these ports by the EU states plus Canada and Russia.
Cayman focused; both public and private sectors.
By 2005, Cayman registered and regulated ships were “White Listed” and has remained on the Paris “white list” for 12 successive years.
Cayman kept working: both private and public sectors.
And by June 2016, the same Paris-based organisation finally listed Cayman as Number 1 on its “white list”
Maritime services in Cayman is minuscule compared to its financial services. Financial services is complex. Being “grey listed” is rough. Remain focused. There is great opportunity here to develop a more sustainable future for Cayman’s financial services industry.
Rgds,
An EU/Caymanian in France ……
People don’t want reasonable regulations they want Us vs Them, Cayman the little engine that could etc etc
Cayman, the little parasite that could.
Go back home then lol… Oh yeah that’s right, home sucks!
Sit down, shut up and get back to your daily grind chump.
Cayman pays a premium to people willing to leave the first world behind. Every dollar in the bank is a little boost when it is time to choose to move on.
9.17 some people, such as 11.54 just do not get that what goes on here is totally legal and transparent. Long gone are the days of John Grisham type stuff. Hell, have you tried opening a bank account here recently? If you want the racy illegal type of stuff you have to go to the good old US of A, Delaware, Nevada or such places where you can have totally anonymous dealings. Those kind of people-well, its like talking to a wall, a complete waste of time.
Legal, yes. Transparent, no. Immoral and unacceptable in the modern global economy, absolutely.
And big fleas have little fleas, right?
HEY EU CAYMAN BREDREN: would have been nice if you expounded on the so
‘great opportunity” you refer to. is it a STATE SECRET:? your cayman bredren want to/need to know.
This is the problem with being a parasite, namely being vulnerable to the defences of the host victim.
The Premier should have told the EU to go stuff it!. If they want a level playing field where taxes are concerned they can implement our system of “tax free” . Why would we copy theirs when it is not working for them. The EU is in shambles, why would we follow them. We are a British crown colony, so we are doing the Brexit thing too!!
9.17am I think what you meant “This is what bullying of small,defenseless populations by large , extremely powerful peoples looks like”. This is BULLYING in it’s purest form, by countries so weak they were totally unable to stop North Korea’s nuclear programme, or who stood by and watched Russia annex Ukrainian Territory and did absolutely nothing. Now these people would have you believe that they are for fair and equitable treatment of persons,yet as “adults” and “mother countries” they have no problem abusing small defenseless territories.Here is a suggestion EU: Why not study Guernsey, Cayman Is., Bermuda etc and see if there is a lesson to be learned and applied in your home countries. Maybe to increase revenue collection , you need to make it affordable and attractive to more of your clients (populace). Lenard Whittaker.
Short study, that model does not work for real countries. It only works for crappy little economies that can survive on the income generated by stealing revenue streams from larger economies.
11:55am, Dunce! Do you understand that these revenues are encouraged to go International to “crappy little economies” as a result of the supporting legislation in the very same countries that these revenues are coming from? Get it? Thought not!
Oh, if only you were as smart as you think you are. You are funny.
9:17am, you are so right! The EU, the parasite that feeds off of defenseless citizens while wasting taxes to feed the behemoth.
The EU should not be directing what other countries do with their domestic tax regimes. Especially none members. Clearly this is a attack on the U.K. And her territories. Seen by the refusal to include some European states on the grey list. The EU is a post modern neomarxist organization that is ruining Europe. Best thing the world can do is turn its back on it.
The EU can tell those that do business in the EU the conditions of access one of the world’s most significant markets. It is no different that the US telling companies dealing in that market what they can and cannot do vis a vis Cuba.
They are setting rules for doing business with them. They dont have to deal with you if they dont want to. Dont cooperate with them if you dont like their rules.
They can also force their citizens to not do business with us. Maybe they should try that instead of trying to force us to change our system. They will then see how much their countries benefit from our tax neutral regime. If I was going to represent Cayman that is what I would say. In fact I would not even go, just sent them a text to that effect. What can they do jail us?
There is a certain “ Trumpian “ ring to the premier’s annoyance that your first article didn’t focus on praising him for Cayman not being on the Black List. Meanwhile, this is a “ holding the baby “ situation – hang on to it too long, and it will eventually start screaming.
Exactly my point
Glad I am not the only one who noticed the similarity
Diogenes
I have a suggestion, when the immoral EU start addressing their issues only then will Cayman start addressing these external issues.
Why is it that we feel the need to discredit what people outside our group say by using arbitrary morals.
When will the tribalism end, modern day society is supposed to be made up of one species of humans the Us vs Them bullshit needs to stop
And how is their morals beneficial to us? ?
It might help us appreciate how to ensure our verbs agree with their subject?
? LOL
What exactly are our morals? Perhaps you could enlightent us O holy one, Incest? Alcoholism? Rampant Adultery and illegitimate Children?
Shall I go on
The EU is headed to the dustbin of history and it shouldn’t be legislating to any country on taxes or how a financial regime should operate. Get your own house in order first before formulating BS black, white and gray lists.
Tinfoil Hat FM
If you want to be influenced and controlled by “unelected” bureaucrats halfway around the world in Brussels that have little or no credibility, please knock yourself out. #Brexit
Immoral? Hahaha. Look around you.
This is not just about Cayman, this is about all BOT’s and they, with the UK need to challenge this in court. The US has already (to my understanding) said “bo**ocks” to this, and so they should. If the US, China and Russia are not on the list, all of whom have serious issues with transparency and dare I say it, Money Laundering, so who then who are the EU going to blacklist? Do they want to just trade with themselves? The fact that those large countries are not on the blacklist will essentially win our court cases for us, as it demonstrates that the list is biased, unfairly drawn up and is mostly about punishing the UK for wishing to leave this kind of BS!!
Feel free to add Canada to that list.
I would take the letter from the EU and stamp it “Return to Sender” and just ignore any of their future saber rattling.
Yep. the moral worth of one financial center with its godly principles of 0% tax and fair customer service, can never be compared to the collectivism of an unelected body that wants to further control their citizens and tax them to death!
Except the Bible endorses both taxes in the form of tithes, and a system social safety nets and services (ironically using the tax money the churches collect) and since the churches do not provide what is necessary the state took up the task. Do you actually read it or, did your parents just brainwash you and teach you all the basic arguments so you can sound good in theory but in actuality not have a clue what you are talking about. Don’t even get me started on all of the portions of the bible that talk about the wealthy (and anyone who is in a position to give) giving charity to support the poverty stricken (aka wealth redistribution which is another support for taxes).
The system you support by your own standards is in fact immoral, by eliminating taxes and regulations you will encourage the accumulation of wealth among persons and what is it the bible says about the rich again?
“For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” Luke 18:25
Every time you leave a comment you solidify my beliefs by pointing out the fallacies in your own.
My friend, with me, this has nothing to do with the Bible, nor being a charitable person. Yes, we should be a light to the world.
But wealth distribution should never be the role of the State. The State has no human heart. How can the State replace what churches or charitable groups suppose to do??? So when that happens the State acts like god, and start taxing and using force on people and business. What was intend for the common good, ends up limiting freedom, encouraging laziness, and destroying the free market. Meanwhile, the State grows powerful and becomes a corrupt socialist entity.
You are so clueless
Religions answer to a valid point. “Unless you agree with me, you are wrong”. Also known as ignorant bullying.
You guys will be fine. The EU is not the whole world. If they black list you, then you withdraw from the tax information agreements you have with them. The threat of that may sober them up. If not, as long as you have free access to UK and US banks, you will be ok.
Not the whole world only collectively the second biggest economy in the world and a great source of business transactions for the islands
Not really the second biggest after you subtract the UK, and it is not really a single economy.
7% of our business…
Exactly, they they thrive on fearmongering.
Hmmm … the finger pointing has begun ?
Just what happened? Was the previous news stories biased? Is CNS sticking to the facts only, reflecting our culture; or, their own culture? Is CNS reporting here taking a side and there is an attempt to sway readers to that side?
Of course, this story and other subjects are very sensitive ones because certain readers can draw negative conclusions about the Cayman Islands and its government. I think it is unavoidable, that you will reactions from government officials.
But (although not my field), as far as I know, professional journalism has a way of outlining the facts just like a Police Constable would outline his facts in his Investigation Journal before the courts. It should be a strick presentation of a contemporaneous timeline of what happened so the public jury can be properly informed and make decisions. Leave, I say, the rest to divine providence.
But CNS, continue with the professional reporting. That is what we need at this time and always?
50 shades of grey which one are we?
Globalization is a bit$h, isn’t it? I would gladly return into 18th century. Nicola Tesla was born too early, for humanity was and still is in its infinite mental stage.
Shouldn’t the test of substantive economic presence be a parameter of the respective G20 tax code that currently allows this activity? We don’t write their laws and can’t be expected to amend defects in their tax language.
There is no G20 tax code.
Respective tax codes
A “minds and mgmt” component would be bullish for Cayman Islands work permit revenues at least.
Every single month the EU appears more like Napoleon’s Blockade and Hitler’s European dream come true. It is time to say enough is enough! What are they going to do us? Arrest us? Make the seas dry up?
This is precisely why we have BREXIT. The EU is about achieving by Deception what Germany failed to do by War.
The EU with their flatline economies should not be dictating what the rest of the world does financially .
Flat-lining isn’t a negative considering they are flat at the top of the list of economies, sure they are slower than developing nations (which is explained by a simply economic principle) but they have stable and permanent growth. Once innovation resumes (which it will) who will benefit the most the person struggling to catch up or the person waiting specifically for the moment to capitalize on the opportunity?
The EU 27 real GDP growth in 2017 was about 2.2%. That is much better than the UK’s growth or US growth. So not sure what your point is, other than to exhibit your outdated prejudices.
Unemployment rate in the EU is 7.6 %. A good chunk over 10%. Youth employment is at even higher numbers. A very small number of winners in the EU and a lot of losers. Failed State. #notimportantEU. #ByeBye
Yes, the world’s second biggest economic market that includes the major financial centres of Frankfurt, Paris and Milan is an irrelevance to the capital markets work on which Cayman’s b business is based. #Seeyaloser
Shame that the whole point about being an exempt company is that they don’t do substantial business in Cayman. This is a short trip to the black list.
“6:19 am” don’t you understand the difference between a company not doing “substantial BUSINESS in Cayman” (your words), and a company that does not have substantial presence in Cayman?” Two different things. If the company’s prime decision-makers are actually physically in Cayman “doing their thing” for individuals or entities elsewhere from a base here, then surely they have substantial presence here but they aren’t providing much in the way of goods or services to entities in Cayman. Then isn’t that the very sensible “point about being an exempt company”? Are you suggesting there is something sinister about our laws making provision for exempt companies? Are you suggesting that just because Cayman had the good sense to make provision for such companies and to regulate them different than for “non-exempt” companies, that Cayman deserves to be on the blacklist?
Dancing on pinheads won’t work with the EU. If a company qualifies as an exempt company it won’t have a substantial presence to the EU.
The EU’s goal is to develop a socialist empire. Anybody outside of it has two choices, be emasculated or seek its patronage.
Do explain. Did you learn all this from Tinfoil Hat FM?
Not sure what Tinfoil Hat FM is. I base my statement on reading the goals of certain influential EU leaders ie Juncker, Barnier, Macron and now Schulz (likely coalition partner of Merkel). Reading Hayek – The Road to Serfdom and reviewing with interest the behavior of the EU against the UK in its Sisyphean quest to leave the bloc.
Hayek? That was politics 101 first week reading list. But inane and superficial now. What is fair too say is that the EU has an aim of a federal Europe that is not built on Anglo-Saxon models, beloved of the US and, to some extent, the UK. But your post was about those outside the EU, and the EU is perfectly entitled to regulate who can trade on what basis within its borders and across its borders, there is nothing wrong with that principle.
So the Premier refused to give a statement to one of the largest news publications on the Islands, because he didn’t like the way they titled or wrote their article? The government has it’s own “news” publications and PR team and ways to release information. (CIGTV and other publications and social media platforms)
CNS how did you not devote an entire article to this? This is in my mind a major statement by the Premier, and a major move in the three dimensional chess game that the CIG seems to be playing with free speech and freedom of the Press. We are one move closer to an authoritarian theocracy when the leader of the Government concerns himself with not getting enough positive praise or a positive slant on what is clearly still a negative story. Being “grey-listed” is only delaying the danger that they have been warning about for ages and pretending this is anything but “kicking the can down the road” on the threat of the potential blacklisting of the jurisdiction would be a monumental mistake.
At this rate soon he’ll be talking about “fake news” and the “establishment” attacking him in the media.
We have already seen how the CIG reacts to news they don’t like whether it is the Speaker’s new veiled threat against the media (most likely cause by the widespread reporting of his little summer incident in the casino) or the CIG arresting, charging & imprisoning artists for obscenity while sponsoring bacchanalian events like Batabano and Pirates week, and now this? Who could forget the CIG’s dispute with the Compass in the past, while some of it was justified it still shows the lengths they will go to, to avoid what they perceive as negative coverage.
Dark days are ahead and it may get worse before it get’s better especially with the egos in the LA and high up in the bureaucracy, or maybe I’ve just read 1984 one too many times?
*1984 is a masterpiece 10/10, would recommend any and everyone to read it*
Just my humble thoughts
Diogenes
do you have another one of those tin foil hats?
Get a free one with every purchase of George Orwell’s “1984” <3
You're welcome
Diogenes
I think he was not speaking to you.
Not speaking to him but he left a comment under his comment?
Makes sense
Can anyone tell me how this white, gray or black list affect me as a poor Caymanian in my daily life?
Because if it doesn’t, I say a hell with them!
You need to get out a little more…
EU is the second biggest economy in the world (collectively) the EU has representation on in the WTO, G20 and G7. Probably not a good idea to just ignore them. But this is clearly a case of them wielding their economic influence to try to manipulate the economic policies of other jurisdictions.
Can’t do a thing to Cayman. Wealth is always created from natural resources and talent. There are alot of that around us ?
And we know alot of people who have it. The EU has no control over this clear as day reality. Socialists think wealth comes by a quantity. Thats why they are after rich successful people. Money is their god.
Money is not true wealth ?
Our Natural resources are what? Beaches and sunlight, dive sites relatively warm weather? All can be found elsewhere in the Caribbean and the Pacific in arguably more exotic locales.
And most of our “talent” is from overseas, the only reason they are here is because our laws were set up in a way to attract them to facilitate business here between other jurisdictions. Something that other jurisdictions are working on emulating.
I understand Caymanians don’t like to downplay Cayman and our “industries” but what we have is out of sheer luck and could end at a moments notice, I feel like we are one of the towns set up in the US during the gold rush in the West. One day booming and bustling and soon to be abandoned.
How many tourists are going to come to the island if we are hit and devastated by a large hurricane like one of the many we saw this year.
How many of our financial services employees and “talent” are going to stay here if their office building gets destroyed. I guarantee you they will be on the first plane out of ORIA and we the Caymanian people will be left to pick up the pieces in the hope of attracting them back again like flies to a corpse.
Even if you don’t like these truths you have to admit they are truths nonetheless
You obviously missed out on Ivan and the resilience of Cayman and Caymanians.
I was alive and well, how many time do you think Cayman can survive something like that? What if multiple storms hit in quick succession like we saw this year in other parts of the Caribbean or what if we have multiple years with singular devastating hits which is possible.
It took years to fully recover from Ivan, and as soon as we were finished recovering (or even during recovery) another hurricane could have hit and sent us back to the stone age.
Think for yourself, just because you don’t like the answer doesn’t mean it isn’t true
I lost my home and lived in my office for months. My office was untouched. My home was rebuilt, better, stronger and higher. That is the point. Core elements of our infrastructure will survive. Most everything built since Ivan will be fine. Being without air conditioning for a few weeks is not the Stone Age.
we got ins tho turn up and some domestic consumption n tax avoidance that has gone on since feudal times….
Except Diogenes, instead of the Orwellian’ thought survellance to police and censor, today its a thought engineering drive via the use of screens. Our children are the target!
All like the android or “cell” phones, the internet that global “web” are tools to catch and mentally imprison or cripple critical, absolute moral, and realistic thinking. This too, is part of leftist’s atheistic, religious, and materialistic drive. The “web” is a large one covering every aspect of our lives. The EU Commission is just one aspect.
I find there’s a way out. You have many theories. But it is a hard one. It requires more within us a will-power to want to “be” ?
Difference between me and you Unison, my comment connections rational points to visible evidence from statements and actions from the CIG and the MLAs and COs.
While your comment is a collective group of assumptions and biases made by yourself and others with no grip or grasp on reality and not the slightest shred of evidence or rational thinking.
Please show your evidence and cite your sources on the “crippling of critical, moral and realistic thinking”. While you are doing that please include a scathing expose on the leftist’s/ EU’s agenda with the internet.
Also its funny how you seem to lump the EU in with the “leftists” but 2/3 leaders of the big three European nations are Conservative leaders (The UK having May and Germany with the flailing Merkel with the third being the newly elected Macron who is center left leaning) So which is it, the nonexistent global confederation of evil leftists or the EU, cause it can’t be both?
I don’t understand where all of this comes from to be perfectly honest, and reading your comment makes me feel like I am trying out for a Olympic mental gymnastics team, maybe this is all that “crippling of critical, moral and realistic thinking” you were going on about earlier honestly I have no idea.
Please provide evidence for any of your claims, I will wait, thanks
Diogenes the Confused Caymanian
You said, “I don’t understand where all of this comes from” I was replying to your mentioning of 1984, and gave you my observations of what you wrote.
The words, “mentally imprison or cripple critical, absolute moral, and realistic thinking” – means by what can happen to children (our future generation) who react or identify with what they see on their phones, the internet, tv or any screen for that matter. Eg. the violence or pornography you see on internet sites. What is that doing to people? What is it causing them to be like?
As for tying this to a “leftist’s atheistic, religious, and materialistic drive” and all like the EU, why yes, I am merely describing those who would promote these things. I see them first in the leftist’s atheistic lot. I see them in the controlling religious lot. They all support in some way “government control.” And internet and screens are used to make the people dependent on them.
Not everyone in the EU is behind or directly involved, but I am sure many are leftists.
Peace ?
* Don’t take words so seriously. Its just a game in gymnastics✌
If asked, I will draw up a set of profane gesture responses to these latest, envious, money-grubbing bullshit demands. The first one will contain a raised middle finger and a widely spread set of butt cheeks. Very widely.
What have you commited us to now Alden. I guess you will say nothing like the last time when you swore that there would not be any beneficial ownership data base but yet we have one today. SMH
The Premier Alden knows Cayman is in real trouble. Obviously he has no clue how to control or prevent the inevitable or address the real issues. Cayman needs to devise a comprehensive plan with all stakeholders working in the best interests of Cayman.
Instead of the typical arrogant and paranoid thinking that people are out to get him or he does not need help from those who do not fawn over his every thought and action now is the time for mature leadership.
It will take the country being united and all stakeholders working towards a common purpose to prevent the destruction of Cayman’s financial services industry and its main economic driver by those foreign entities who envy our success.
Yep…that about sums it up! Unfortunately the LA is more full of egos than humble effective statesmanship!
Interestingly, Hebrew prophecy in Dani’el 2 alludes to feet of iron and clay, almost like “coal and steel” of a male idol that the king of Babylon dreamt. Dani’el approached the king and interpreted the symbol to depict a kingdom in the “last days” that would seek to stay united, but because iron can’t mix with clay, it would be with difficulty. The outcome was at the end of the dream, a rock came from the sky and smashed the image into pieces. These prophecies may have been mere stories of powerful moral lessons, but today certain scholars say it is the EU, and the rock from the sky depicts something catastrophic or huge event will follow ?
Ready for the tin foil hat replies?
There is always one in the crowd who has to quote the fairytale scriptures. Can someone contribute with quotes from Alice in Wonderland, Goldilocks and the 3 Bears, or even Dr. Seuss?
Most people don’t know anything about Dr. Seuss, but they can relate with the Bible. It is part of our national heritage. Trust me, this “fairytale” is way more influencial than the combined works you mentioned.