Hashtag: #RolfeCommissiongColumns

Column: ‘Year Of Monumental Change In West’

Column: ‘Year Of Monumental Change In West’

[Opinion column written by Rolfe Commissiong] The new year is likely to usher in a year of monumental change in the West, including Bermuda and the world at large; and not all will be of the feel good, cuddly variety. How could it be with Donald J. Trump set to assume the office of President of the United States? Consider this, a man who remains temperamentally... Read more of this article

Column: ‘Time Of Risks, But Also Opportunity’

Column: ‘Time Of Risks, But Also Opportunity’

[Opinion column written by Rolfe Commissiong] What was largely left unsaid during the recently concluded Presidential election campaign that saw the election of Donald J. Trump, was that trade treaties and their impact was not the whole picture when it came to the issue of the decline of good well-paying jobs in manufacturing to those without a college... Read more of this article

Column: Rolfe Commissiong On A ‘Rich Legacy’

Column: Rolfe Commissiong On A ‘Rich Legacy’

[Opinion column written by Rolfe Commissiong] On November 13th Ms. Carolyn Young, the wife of labour icon, Mr. Kenyatta Young who predeceased her, was laid to rest at St. John’s Church in Pembroke. Sister Carolyn may not have been known to some Bermudians but I can assure you that to most black Bermudians over a certain age, whose families were touched... Read more of this article

Column: MP Commissiong On Britain’s Brexit

Column: MP Commissiong On Britain’s Brexit

[Opinion column written by Rolfe Commissiong] The political scientist and theorist Francis Fukuyama in a 1989 essay once wrote that with the triumph of Western Liberal values – the precursor of neo-liberalism at the end of the cold war – that that would signal an end to history itself. Well on the 23rd of June, 2016, millions of British voters... Read more of this article

Column: Tackle Underlying Causes To Halt Trend

Column: Tackle Underlying Causes To Halt Trend

[Opinion column written by Rolfe Commissiong] A little more than a year-and-a-half ago, a reporter asked me and other political and community leaders whether the abatement, or lull, in gun violence in Bermuda then signaled that that horrific trend had come to its long overdue end. I essentially said no. Realizing then that one season does not a year... Read more of this article

Rolfe Commissiong’s Tribute To Muhammad Ali

Rolfe Commissiong’s Tribute To Muhammad Ali

[Opinion column written by Rolfe Commissiong] “Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights? No I am not going 10,000 miles from home to help murder and burn another poor... Read more of this article

Column: ‘Outrage Growing’ Over Airport Project

Column: ‘Outrage Growing’ Over Airport Project

[Opinion column written by MP Rolfe Commissiong] Charles Asnavour and Frank Sinatra once wrote a ballad called “Young at Heart” and the opening lyrics to the legendary song say that “…fairytales can come true; they can happen to you…” Certainly the Canadian re-developers of the airport comprised of the Canadian Crown Corporation, [CCC]... Read more of this article

Column: Commissiong On Polls, Politics & More

Column: Commissiong On Polls, Politics & More

[Opinion column written by MP Rolfe Commissiong] We all know that polls are only snapshots of a certain point in time. And we also know that politicians usually say that to comfort themselves when a particularly dismal poll result proves to be, unflattering at best and a devastating indictment at worst. So imagine right now what the OBA and Premier... Read more of this article

Column: ‘Hardened The Political & Racial Divide’

Column: ‘Hardened The Political & Racial Divide’

[Opinion column written by MP Rolfe Commissiong] “One side represents heavens glory; the other, ruins abyss,” - Author unknown Certainly, the proposal to open the flood gates of immigration by Minister Fahy and his One Bermuda Alliance Government to allow unprecedented numbers of largely white long terms residents to obtain status has hardened... Read more of this article

Column: “Sent A Powerful Message To OBA”

Column: “Sent A Powerful Message To OBA”

[Opinion column written by MP Rolfe Commissiong] The election on Thursday marked the day when the petals firmly came off the fading red rose that is the One Bermuda Alliance government. This loss by their candidate, Andrew Simons to now MP and former Senator Diallo Rabain was by any measure extraordinary and sent a powerful message to the OBA and their... Read more of this article

Column: 21st Century Workforce Development

Column: 21st Century Workforce Development

[Opinion column written by Shadow Minister for Human Affairs, Rolfe Commissiong] On Wednesday the 16th of September I had the distinct honour in speaking to the members and guests of the venerable Sandys Rotary Club. The invite which was facilitated by Sir John Swan and extended by the President of the Club, Mr. Dennis Tucker, provided an intimate forum... Read more of this article

MP Rolfe Commissiong On Unemployment Rate

MP Rolfe Commissiong On Unemployment Rate

[Opinion column written by MP Rolfe Commissiong] The Finance Minister’s recent press statement contained the following: “Changes in the black working population and white population are indeed significant and are something of note.” This tidbit came after the Minister and his government found themselves under inordinate pressure to publicly release... Read more of this article

Part II Opinion: Commissiong On Unemployment

Part II Opinion: Commissiong On Unemployment

[Opinion column by PLP MP Rolfe Commissiong, a follow on from Part I which can be read here] I guess the question I must pose to all of you is, how is that “shared sacrifice” idea that the OBA has been touting, been working out for you lately? Certainly, we know that with regard to significant numbers of the unemployed – most of whom are black... Read more of this article

Opinion: Commissiong On Black Unemployment

Opinion: Commissiong On Black Unemployment

[Opinion column by PLP MP Rolfe Commissiong] The data entry in the Workforce Survey on unemployment produced by the Department of Statistics and which reflected the 2013 numbers, said it all. Black unemployment stood at a persistently high 9% in Bermuda last year, while unemployment levels for whites and PRC holders had dipped to 2%. In other words... Read more of this article