A Minority Report....

That's just the title I could think of. Perhaps Tom Cruise's film [of the same title] was on my mind...

Oh well, what do you think of the counter report that the CNMI government is now scrambling to produce in order to provide a separate report on the veracity and credibility of the Federal Ombudsman's Office Report on the 20,000 migrant workers present in the islands?

Saipan Tribune reports:

"The Fitial administration has concerns about the data gathered by the Federal Labor Ombudsman, as well as the survey of only 10 Saipan Chamber of Commerce members to decide the fate of the CNMI economy, among other things.

“There are two main issues here-Interior's failure to meet the consultation requirement, and the credibility of data used to determine the future of the Commonwealth. One of the major tasks is to identify the potential impacts on the economy of these decisions...."

While the 20,000 legal aliens in the CNMI firmly clasp their hands in utter hope that they will finally be given permanent status in the CNMI or US citizenship, the rest of us can't help but think that this will be once again an uphill battle.

As the old adage goes appropriate for the islands, "Patience is indeed a vir-chew..."

Benedetto

It has now been reported that Ombudsman Jim Benedetto will soon be joining the U.S. Attorney's office in Saipan to be a federal prosecutor. Although this was first reported in the press very recently, it has been widely known around the island for some time. For quite some time, a number of anonymous commenters on this blog and others had been savaging the "Ombudsperson", accusing him of all sorts of misdeeds and attacking his character. Shortly after news that Benedetto would be joining the U.S. Attorney's office hit the coconut wireless, those anonymous commenters abruptly changed their tune and started giving Benedetto (well deserved) compliments for his integrity, fairness and commitment to the CNMI. Wow, what a coincidence!

For the record, Jim Benedetto has been an outstanding, dedicated and able public servant. He has always been fair, and has demonstrated that he cares deeply for all of the people of the CNMI. We wish him the best of luck in his new position, and commend U.S. Attorney Leonardo Rapadas for having the guts to make such an outstanding choice. And, unlike some of those Benedetto-obsessed anonymous commenters, we're not just saying that because we're afraid of pissing him off!

Meetings Left and Right

"To the left, to the left...Don't you ever for a second get to thinking you're irreplaceable...." Beyonce.

This Grammy nominated song plays in the background as my mind rambles with questions why have there been meetings with nonresident workers left and right. This week, the local government met with the contract workers group trying to convince them that the Reform Law is a good thing for every one. Then, we've heard that the office of the Ombudsman also met with the nonresident workers. Then, I got these calls from nonresident workers asking me the time of supposed meeting with the same office tonight.

What's going on? Well, I could hear the excitement from these callers like there have been epiphanies of hope for a brighter future. However, again this could also bring false hopes to some...

What's going on?

The Reveler

Ombudsman vs the Governor

Isn't this better than the usual WWF or the Ultimate Warrior tourney that we see on TV?

The CNMI governor was raving mad about the newspaper article that came out a week ago that featured a report from the federal ombudsman's office. Apparently, the governor was hurt with that report prompting him to write a letter to David Cohen, DOI Deputy Secretary, last week and he ranted about the ombudsman's report, saying that the report jeopardizes tourism business in the CNMI.

Question is, why would the local government intervene with the federal office just to make the CNMI look good when in fact it is deteriorating? Enlighten me with this.

Just wondering.

The Reveler