The Reign of Fatal Error
During the pre-colonial era in many West African traditional societies, mass democracy operated in a very disciplined way towards poor leadership. Political leaders were venerated, and they were bequeathed divine status, as divine kings. They embodied the best traditions of the society and were perceived to be the links between the ancestors and existing humanity.
However, if the leader became ill or incapacitated, or made fatal political errors, he would be forced to commit suicide or even be executed by someone within the "inner circle."
In southern Nigeria, the elders who represented the people would seek an audience with the leader, indicate the people's dissatisfaction, and hand the leader an emptied "gobi," or calabash. The empty shells would signify a vote of "no confidence" and death. This ancient custom was a form of tyrannicide and an internal check against abusive and ineffective leadership.
Should we send a few emptied gobis to our local leaders? Today, the Virgin Islands is an unincorporated territory which is based on the U.S. model of liberal democracy. The people/electorate removes leaders through elections, and, if it desires, the electorate recalls political leaders. Three incumbent senators from the 23rd Legislature were recipients of gobis on Nov 7. Even more, the legislature can impeach the chief executive if he makes fatal blunders. In essence, our system provides for political deaths/suicides – not the rough stuff that our ancestors implemented.
The U.S. system seeks stability at all costs, and it avoids physical elimination or violence within the three branches. Our gobis can be ballots on election day. Despite the propaganda of a few politicos, the Virgin Islands government has been collapsing (I hope that is the correct verb construction). The official line seems to be that payrolls are being kept; therefore, we have not collapsed yet.
Virgin Islands politicians are unique in their ability to proclaim danger and crisis openly on one side of their mouths and then inform the public that things are "better" and "turning around" on the other. Anyone who openly questions their forked tongues are accused of being "nay sayers" and people with "agendas." What is impressive is that I have heard three consecutive administrations use these same adjectives to identify attentive citizens whose only crime is to say the government is in trouble, broke or collapsed!
Well, if our ancestors were alive, they would send a bag full of gobis to the legislative and executive branches! Why? Essential services are collapsing, and the fiscal crisis worsens. On Sept. 15, 1999, the American Federation of Teachers in the St. Thomas-St. John district shook up the Turnbull-James administration and the 23rd Legislature when a relatively large delegation of teachers walked out of classes and paid the legislature a militant visit. The jumbis/ancestral spirits of Buddhoe and Queen Mary were there. With menacing postures and explicit hostility, teachers shut down the legislature that Wednesday morning.
This was a dress rehearsal for the Oct. 10-27, 2000, strike. Here, the teachers withheld their labor from the government for 17 days. Their mood has been clear: principled austerity for all residents, or there will be no cooperation with the administration.
Two senators in the St. Croix district lost their seats due to the public furor over the present crisis. Surprisingly, the vast majority of senators kept their seats, but the people overwhelmingly voted for reducing the legislature to nine seats. What does this mean? The people demand true leadership and public service. They do not desire anointed shepherds, messiahs or visions.
They want loyal, devoted people who will put the community's collective interests first and their individual political careers last. They demand the unconditional devotion to the needs of this society and its aspirations. They demand the immediate cessation of the ongoing personality and petty conflicts that hog-tie our political systems. They demand that all political leaders create the political consensus and will to solve our social, economic and political crises.
By voting for a reduction in the number of senators from 15 to nine, the electorate has sent six emptied gobis. If the 24th Legislature does not solve the present crisis, the people might send six more. And if the Turnbull-James administration cannot solve anything, either, they too might receive a few. The elders are watching, and the people are impatient.

Editor's note: Malik Sekou is a member of the political science faculty at the University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas campus.

Dear Source:
I hope that our heritage is not being destroyed. The recent discovery of a couple of anchors while dredging was going on in the Charlotte Amalie harbor brings up an issue. Anchors are about the most durable artifacts that might be found under the sea. Other items require greater care before they join us on the shore.
Historically, when the Charlotte Amalie harbor was dredged, it was required and enforced that artifacts be recovered undamaged. I have not heard that we are taking similar efforts with the current dredging efforts. Our government routinely pours toxic waste into our waters, and the Port Authority considers itself a law unto itself — I suspect the worst.
I have no doubt that much greater treasures than a couple of anchors are resting on the floor of our harbor. There is some question about where the anchors will end up. What about other treasures that might be found? Who owns discoveries from publicly funded dredging? Is anyone liable for the destruction of our treasures resulting from great haste?
I hope that someone tells me that I have it all wrong.
Charles Balch
St. Thomas

Booklet sales for the Crucian Christmas Festival start today.
Call 778-9257 for more information.

Alfred "Carno/Too Sweet" C. Danielson of #1-A St. Peters died Wednesday, Nov. 22. He was 76.
Funeral services will be held at the Bethel A.M.E. Church, Christiansted at 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 30. A viewing will begin at 9 a.m.
He is survived by his daughters, Beryl D. Handy and Enid Danielson; son, Warren Danielson; adopted son, Guillermo "Gigi" Encarnation; grandchildren, George Handy Jr., Jerome Danielson, Kyle A. Samuel, and Kareen Lake; great-grandchildren, Melissa Handy, Charles Handy, and Stella Jill Danielson.
He is also survived by his sisters; Consuela M. Danielson, Esther D. Thomas, and Florine D. Barnes; brother, Orid Danielson; daughter-in-law, Sue Ann Danielson; son-in-law, George Handy Sr.; sisters-in-law, Mary H. Danielson, Sarah Danielson, and Lizbertina Quinland; brothers-in-law,
Arnold Barnes and Peter Thomas; along with other relatives and friends
Interment will follow the funeral services at Kingshill Cemetery.
Funeral arrangements are in the care of James Memorial Funeral Home.

The annual Christmas tree lighting will be held on Friday, Dec. 1 from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Havensight Mall.

The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating a close call between a barge-towing tugboat and a Jet Ski in Christiansted Harbor over the weekend.
USCG Lt. Keith Pelletier said an outbound tugboat towing an empty fuel oil barge in the Water and Power Authority channel Saturday afternoon had to make several quick maneuvers to avoid the Jet Ski.
The quick right and left turns caused the barge to ride up and bump the tug, Pelletier said.
But the main problem occurred when the slack tow line became tangled in the tug’s left propeller. The tug’s crew was able to control the vessel with the right propeller but had to shut that down when divers went into the water to check damage.
With no power, the tug drifted slowly into the sandy edge of the channel dredged through the harbor for vessels to have access to the WAPA fuel dock.
Pelletier indicated that because of the sandy bottom in the area, damage to the tug was minimal. The barge didn't run aground and no oil spillage was reported from either.
The Coast Guard will interview the operator of the Jet Ski as part of its continuing investigation.

Welcome to the November BRAINSTORM. Here are some ideas I hope you'll find stimulating.
1. THE SECRETS OF BREAKTHROUGHS
What's the secret of major breakthroughs in the sciences? Roger Hollingsworth's study of institutions that have won the Nobel and other Major prizes yielded some answers:
* Flexibility is essential. The winning institutions tend to be organised loosely and can respond quickly to new developments.
* Cross-fertilisation. Communication and collaboration between different departments has been crucial.
* Enthusiasm for the work. Often breakthrough ideas have come up outside of working hours. The most dedicated scientists think about their studies all the time, even dream about them.
* Curiosity. The winning scientists don't dismiss interesting "mistakes" or unexpected outcomes, they pursue them.
IDEA: Even though you're probably not working in the sciences, take a moment to consider how these keys to success could work for you:
Are you and your company sufficiently flexible, or do you tend to do things by habit or by the book?
Do you get enough input from people, publications, and other sources outside your immediate speciality?
Are you sufficiently enthused about your work? If not, how could you awaken (or re-awaken) your enthusiasm? When things go wrong, are you sufficiently curious to see whether something
useful might come out of mistakes or unexpected events?
2: DEADLINES: THE MOTHER OF INVENTION
The patents granted in the United States are given for a limited time (17 years) and expire unless they are used commercially within that period. Seventeen years after World War II, many companies faced the expiration of their patents on wartime inventions with great potential. They recruited inventors, designers, and others to come up with commercial applications quickly—and the result was a boom in new products.
IDEA: We tend to come up with the goods when we're under a deadline. If you're facing a personal or business challenge, or have a great idea but haven't acted on it because there's no urgency, try committing to a deadline of your own. In advance, determine a reward for yourself if you make the deadline, and a penalty if you fail to meet it, and put both of them under the control of a friend or colleague (that way you can't later decide "it was all just make-believe anyway").
3. DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT! CASE STUDY
The Problem: A group of crime writers wanted to get more attention for their work.
The Strategy: Seven of them formed a group called Murder Squad. They made their first public appearance at the opening of a Borders book store. They also printed a full-colour brochure offering their services for readings, workshops, and talks at book shops, libraries, and literature festivals.
The Outcome: Although the group has not been together for long, they have garnered considerable publicity and have been invited to a variety of events at which they have promoted their books.
The Lessons: Sometimes there is power in numbers where publicity is concerned. In this case, the group was smart enough to give newspaper and magazine editors a good visual: a group photo with the members dressed up in dark outfits a la Reservoir Dogs, and all wearing sunglasses. Even though each member cares most about promoting his or her books (the group consists of four men and three women), they recognized that a joint effort would pay off for them all.
Questions to Ask Yourself:
1. What kind of publicity pay-off might come from banding together with a group of similar people or businesses?
2. How could the group have visual appeal? Possibilities include a mascot, a common logo, and a colorful outfit.
3. Are there other benefits that could come from joining together—for example, discounts on bulk purchases made by the group?
4. CREATIVITY SECRETS
Some time ago Fast Company magazine asked a variety of people for their creativity secrets. Here are three of our favorites:
DAVID HARDY, Snr. Manager, Creativity and Innovation, Institute for Learning Bank of Montreal: "The key to creativity is clarity. Never work on a creative challenge without first writing down a problem statement in the form of a question."
PAULA SCHER, Partner, Pentagram Design, New York: "In my work, I always try to adopt the perspective of a first-time user. If I'm designing a package, a book, or a magazine, I approach it as if I've never heard of it before. If it's signage or an identity project, I approach it as if I were a foreigner and didn't speak the language."
SUZANNE MERRITT, Senior Creatologist, InsightOut, Cambridge, Massachusetts: "I suggest posing four questions at three different levels: person, team, and organization: What am I here to create? What talents and abilities are my natural resources? What might I have to let go of to create what I want? What real need in the world will be met by what I create?"
5. AND A QUOTE FROM A GREAT BOOK
I've just read a great new book called "The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life," by orchestra conductor Benjamin Zander and his therapist wife, Rosamund Stone Zander. One of the anecdotes in it concerns the fact that Ben Zander often gives his music students an automatic "A" grade at the beginning of the term, as long as they write him a letter dated the following May (the end of the term), in which they detail the story of what will have happened to them by then that is in line with this extraordinary grade.
One day one of his Asian students, from a culture where competition is intense, raised his hand with the following comment about this "A" policy:
"In Taiwan," he said, "I was Number 68 out of 70 student. I come to Boston and Mr Zander says I am an A. Very confusing. I walk about, three weeks, very confused… One day I discover much happier A than Number 68. So I decide I am an A."
Zander comments, "He had realized it's all invented, it's all a game. The number 68 is invented and the A is invented, so we might as well choose to invent something that brightens our life and the lives of the people around us."
By the way, I've just checked: It turns out you're an A, too.
We would like to hear from you. You can send e-mail to BstormUK@aol.com.

Like the Jamaican bobsled team of "Cool Runnins" fame, St. John resident Troy Billington hopes to represent the Virgin Islands in another uncharacteristic Caribbean sport, skeleton, at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
"Skeleton is similar to the Luge," Billington said, "the difference being you compete face down one inch from the ice—plus it's more dangerous."
Billington, 28, originally from Chicago, has called the Virgin Islands home for the past seven years. The onetime resident of St. Croix has lived on St. John since 1998.
" I love St. John, and its people, and it is for them that I will be competing in this race,'" Billington said earlier this month before leaving for Utah to begin qualifying competitions for the Olympics.
Skeleton originated in 1892 when an Englishman built a new metal sled whose skeletal shape became its namesake. The sport debuted at the 1928 Olympics but has been absent from Olympic competition since 1948.
Skeleton uses the same track and start as the bobsled. However, skeleton athletes ride down the one mile track at 80 miles per hour headfirst on their sled. Often their chins and face are one inch from the ice.
The keys to the skeleton race are the push and the athlete's driving technique. There is no steering device on a skeleton sled; instead racers use their shoulders and at times feet to guide and steer.
Billington at one time was a bobsledder but switched to the skeleton and is on the mainland undergoing qualifying competition and seeking sponsorship.
"So far I have two potential major sponsors: Black Enterprise Magazine and Black Entertainment Television (BET)," he said. St. John sponsors have also pitched in for his air transportation and accommodations this month.
According to Hans Laewetz, V.I. Olmpic Committee Chairman, "It is a very expensive sport, and atheletes have to qualify at limited tracks worldwide." A skeleton sled and equipment can cost upwards of $5,000.
Billington intends to spend at least six weeks competing in a World Cup Tour in order to gain points to be eligible for the Olympics.
Billington was a director of youth sports programs on St. Croix. Since relocating to St. John he has been in charge of an after-school recreational program at Guy Benjamin School and as a recreational counselor in a summer day-camp program.
"I love sports and the thrill of competition and when it's one man against the elements the challenge is more exciting," Billington said.

Lindsay I. Brockington, Miss UVI 2000-2001, has been selected as one of only 10 U.S. college queens who will represent the nation's more than 100 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) next month in the international Miss Malaika Beauty Pageant in Sun City, South Africa. The competition will be broadcast live to more than 380 million viewers worldwide.
The Miss Malaika Beauty Pageant is an international competition designed to celebrate and unite Africa and the people of the African diaspora through their rich, diverse culture and beauty. "Malaika" is the Swahili word for "angel." The competition is open to all young women between 18 and 30 years old who view themselves as of African origin and who are single, matriculated students with no children.
Ms. Brockington, a sophomore majoring in speech and theatre at the University of the Virgin Islands, will travel to South Africa on Dec. 8 with nine other U.S. contestants for the semifinals of the competition, which will be held on Dec. 16. The finals will take place in South Africa in March 2001.
"This is absolutely the best thing that could have happened," Ms. Brockington said of the opportunity to travel to South Africa for the pageant. "Apartheid is definitely over in South Africa, though only recently, and I look forward to observing the changes that have taken place there."
Ms. Brockington was picked to be a U.S. contestant by representatives of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund, which solicited applications from queens at each of its 40 member HBCUs. She was one of only five college queens chosen by the fund to participate in the Miss Malaika competition. The other five U.S. contestants were selected by representatives of the United Negro College Fund from each of their member schools.
In September, Ms. Brockington traveled to Atlanta where she was a finalist in the 2000 Black College Queens Competition, sponsored by the National Black Alumni Hall of Fame.
The Miss Malaika contestants will be judged in four categories: interview, tropical wear, traditional dress and formal wear. The winner of the competition will serve as an international spokeswoman for issues relating to AIDS, poverty and peace.
To assist with incidental expenses in connection with Brockington's trip to South Africa, please contact the UVI Office of Institutional Advancement at 693-1040.

A St. Thomas gun dealer is being held on assault charges today after a Sunday night shooting in Estate Bovoni.
Police sources have confirmed that Alphonso A. Wade III was arrested around 11:30 p.m. after a fight over a parked vehicle got out of hand.
Sources say that Wade and an unnamed man got into a physical confrontation after the man moved Wade's vehicle, which was illegally parked. Wade reportedly left the area at or about the same time as the man did, when he is alleged to have fired a shot from his licensed firearm striking a bystander.
Police detectives took Wade into custody on first-degree assault charges in connection with the shooting; bail was set at $75,000.
The unnamed victim suffered a gunshot wound to the right thigh and was hospitalized overnight.
Wade had been the owner of Wade Enterprises, a firearms and ammunition shop in Sugar Estate that went out of business about one year ago.