I'd like to take a moment to commmend the JCF for the impeccably planned and perfectly executed operation that was carried out in Montego Bay in the early hours of Monday morning.
The detention of 109 men in pursuit of 2 wanted men is not only an impressive 1.8% conversion rate of detainees to actual suspects, but shows an exceptional understanding of community relations - after being detained for almost an entire day, the men will inarguably now hold the police in high esteem and will be confident in the police force's crime fighting prowess and their ability to serve the public interest.
To those who wonder why the police didn't appear to have a picture of the wanted men, which would have made it easier to identify the men at the scene of the operation instead of carting 109 men down to the police station with scant regard for their time or freedom I say phooey! Why would the police need a photograph? Why not have the men take a tour of the police station (with an extended tour of the holding cells) to foster better community relations? Kill two birds with one stone to rass!! Brilliant!!
Superintendent McGregor, you deserve a promotion - no, I'm serious. What you and your men have done embodies the type of forward thinking that the police force needs and will go a long way to help the police gain the trust of the people that Mark Shields and the grammatically challenged CCN officers implore almost daily to come forward with information about crimes. I have no doubt that you'll have people lining up to give you information after this latest operation.
Great job supe, great job.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
The Coalition speaks!
Well, not really. More like "The Coalition sends an email that really doesn't say anything!"
In my last post, I told you that I had sent emails to all the members of the Coalition of Corporate Sponsors asking them to make a statement regarding an incident involving Bounty Killer. To date, only one company has responded to my email.
Maxine Whittingham, the Head of Corporate Relations at Red Stripe had this to say on the matter:
Dear Mr Thomas,
Thank you for your email addressed to our Marketing Communication Manager regarding Bounty Killer's recent endorsement of Stone Crusher.
As a member of the Coalition of Corporate Sponsors we are indeed aligned to the position that as a united force we can in fact influence and, over time, change popular culture to reflect positive, uplifting messages. There are many ways in which this can be achieved. However from our interaction with the dancehall industry, we have come to agree that a confrontational approach is, at best, the least effective.
It is for this reason that you will not always see the Coalition making direct, public statements about issues, but at the same time it should not suggest that the Coalition is doing nothing to make the change.
We appreciate your concern and wish to assure you that as a group of responsible corporate citizens we are indeed 'on the case'.
Thank you.
Maxine Whittingham
Head of Corporate Relations
Red Stripe, a Diageo Company
214 Spanish Town Road
Kingston 11
To which I replied:
Dear Ms. Whittingham,
Thanks for taking the time out to answer.
I can understand that one may not always want to take a confrontational approach but "justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done".
I applaud the fact that you are "on the case", as you put it, and I think that the wider public would be more appreciative of your efforts if something was said publicly. As it stands now, the public generally views the Coalition as a bunch of corporate hypocrites and this may make your campaign less effective.
Thanks again for your time.
Nigel Thomas
Let's see who else answers. Keep those emails going.
In my last post, I told you that I had sent emails to all the members of the Coalition of Corporate Sponsors asking them to make a statement regarding an incident involving Bounty Killer. To date, only one company has responded to my email.
Maxine Whittingham, the Head of Corporate Relations at Red Stripe had this to say on the matter:
Dear Mr Thomas,
Thank you for your email addressed to our Marketing Communication Manager regarding Bounty Killer's recent endorsement of Stone Crusher.
As a member of the Coalition of Corporate Sponsors we are indeed aligned to the position that as a united force we can in fact influence and, over time, change popular culture to reflect positive, uplifting messages. There are many ways in which this can be achieved. However from our interaction with the dancehall industry, we have come to agree that a confrontational approach is, at best, the least effective.
It is for this reason that you will not always see the Coalition making direct, public statements about issues, but at the same time it should not suggest that the Coalition is doing nothing to make the change.
We appreciate your concern and wish to assure you that as a group of responsible corporate citizens we are indeed 'on the case'.
Thank you.
Maxine Whittingham
Head of Corporate Relations
Red Stripe, a Diageo Company
214 Spanish Town Road
Kingston 11
To which I replied:
Dear Ms. Whittingham,
Thanks for taking the time out to answer.
I can understand that one may not always want to take a confrontational approach but "justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done".
I applaud the fact that you are "on the case", as you put it, and I think that the wider public would be more appreciative of your efforts if something was said publicly. As it stands now, the public generally views the Coalition as a bunch of corporate hypocrites and this may make your campaign less effective.
Thanks again for your time.
Nigel Thomas
Let's see who else answers. Keep those emails going.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Take a stand
Tonight I did some things I should have done a long time ago but didn't get around to doing. I sent a email to Cable and Wireless asking them to stop using Bounty Killer as one of their spokespersons and to issue a statement condemning both Bounty's actions at the Aquasol theme park in Montego Bay and his subsequent refusal to apologize. I also sent emails to the other members of the Coalition of Corporate Sponsors (Red Stripe, Cable & Wireless, Supreme Ventures, Digicel, Courts, the Jamaica Tourist Board and J. Wray & Nephew Ltd) and to Solid Agency (Bounty Killer's management company) asking that they insist that Mr. Pryce issue an immediate apology to the people of Jamaica for his poor judgment.
The are a couple of reasons for my requests and the first one is pretty obvious - Bounty Killer not only offended an entire city by paying homage to a criminal gang on stage, but has further infuriated many by refusing to apologize, deciding instead to issue a poorly worded and even more poorly delivered statement which was published today in the Evening Star (isn't it funny how this issue has received very little attention from the main media houses?).
The second reason is that Cable and Wireless was/is a member of the Coalition of Corporate sponsors who got up on their high horses in 2005 and declared that they would no longer sponsor, among other things, "acts or events whose live performances endorse or incite violence" after Beenie Man used profanity and violent lyrics during a Carnival performance in April of 2005. There was a big hullabaloo - the coalition stopped sponsoring events and then, like most other issues in Jamaica, the ban was forgotten or rescinded and everyone was back in business. One would think that if they made such a big stink about a couple of so-called "bad" words and two gun tune that the Coalition would be up in arms at Bounty's recent gaffe. After all, this wasn't a violent tune aimed a industry rival, this was the endorsing of an extremely violent, ruthless criminal enterprise. What was the coalition's response?
Not. A. Peep. According to the Star, Cable and Wireless had no comment on the matter when contacted almost three weeks after the incident. No other coalition member has, as far as I know, issued a statement condemning the "bigging up" of the Stone Crusher gang.
It looks like the lives of the mostly poor black people the Stone Crushers have killed, robbed and maimed are not even worth the time it would take to prepare a statement, much less the expense of having to hold a press conference.
It's time for the hypocrisy to stop. Please email or call these companies demanding that they speak out and hold Bounty Killer and anyone else who endorses gangs that kill Jamaicans accountable to the standards they set so vociferously when it was good PR. Email Bounty Killer and demand an apology and condemnation of the Stone Crushers on behalf of all those who have lived (and died) in fear of the gang.
If any of you have email addresses for any execs at the companies, please pass them along.
The are a couple of reasons for my requests and the first one is pretty obvious - Bounty Killer not only offended an entire city by paying homage to a criminal gang on stage, but has further infuriated many by refusing to apologize, deciding instead to issue a poorly worded and even more poorly delivered statement which was published today in the Evening Star (isn't it funny how this issue has received very little attention from the main media houses?).
The second reason is that Cable and Wireless was/is a member of the Coalition of Corporate sponsors who got up on their high horses in 2005 and declared that they would no longer sponsor, among other things, "acts or events whose live performances endorse or incite violence" after Beenie Man used profanity and violent lyrics during a Carnival performance in April of 2005. There was a big hullabaloo - the coalition stopped sponsoring events and then, like most other issues in Jamaica, the ban was forgotten or rescinded and everyone was back in business. One would think that if they made such a big stink about a couple of so-called "bad" words and two gun tune that the Coalition would be up in arms at Bounty's recent gaffe. After all, this wasn't a violent tune aimed a industry rival, this was the endorsing of an extremely violent, ruthless criminal enterprise. What was the coalition's response?
Not. A. Peep. According to the Star, Cable and Wireless had no comment on the matter when contacted almost three weeks after the incident. No other coalition member has, as far as I know, issued a statement condemning the "bigging up" of the Stone Crusher gang.
It looks like the lives of the mostly poor black people the Stone Crushers have killed, robbed and maimed are not even worth the time it would take to prepare a statement, much less the expense of having to hold a press conference.
It's time for the hypocrisy to stop. Please email or call these companies demanding that they speak out and hold Bounty Killer and anyone else who endorses gangs that kill Jamaicans accountable to the standards they set so vociferously when it was good PR. Email Bounty Killer and demand an apology and condemnation of the Stone Crushers on behalf of all those who have lived (and died) in fear of the gang.
If any of you have email addresses for any execs at the companies, please pass them along.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
The taxman cometh
Omar Davies has yet again presented the latest version of the "run-Jamaica-into-ruin" plan, also known as "the budget". Of course, not many believe that the budget that Omar presented is the final version. This is simply the election version, with more taxes and borrowing to come after the elections that should be called later this year and that, my friends, is pretty scary.
The government is increasing taxes and focusing on collecting outstanding taxes but has still not created an environment in which small and medium sized businesses can flourish (which would increase tax revenue) or an environment in which most people want to pay their taxes because they can see their tax dollars at work, whether it be in the form of (properly) fixed roads, better schools, better health care or more affordable housing.
As it is, the average Jamaican gives up almost 50% of their salary to the taxman. 25% to income tax, 16.5% to GCT and another couple percent to the various statutory deductions. What do we have to show for it? Not much, except for a cycle of borrow because we don't have enough tax revenue to finance the budget then tax more to pay back the loans.
I can't wait to see what Omar the three card man announces after the elections this year - the Observer's editorial cartoon hit the nail on the head.
The government is increasing taxes and focusing on collecting outstanding taxes but has still not created an environment in which small and medium sized businesses can flourish (which would increase tax revenue) or an environment in which most people want to pay their taxes because they can see their tax dollars at work, whether it be in the form of (properly) fixed roads, better schools, better health care or more affordable housing.
As it is, the average Jamaican gives up almost 50% of their salary to the taxman. 25% to income tax, 16.5% to GCT and another couple percent to the various statutory deductions. What do we have to show for it? Not much, except for a cycle of borrow because we don't have enough tax revenue to finance the budget then tax more to pay back the loans.
I can't wait to see what Omar the three card man announces after the elections this year - the Observer's editorial cartoon hit the nail on the head.
Chris Dehring responds
In a letter to the media the chief organizer of the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup, Chris Dehring, finally responded publicly to accusations that he and his team bungled their job and misled host countries as to the amount of money that they would be making from the World Cup. The letter gives a synopsis of the host selection process and the information that was relayed to the countries who bid for the opportunity to host matches.
As I said in my last post, all the agreements were signed years ago and for governments to be blaming the Host Venue Agreements (HVAs) now means one of two things; they either didn't read the 298 page "Bid Book" and the HVA (which would mean that they're totally and completely incompetent since they didn't do due diligence), or they read the documents, found them to be completely unsatisfactory and signed them anyway.
I'm not sure which one is worse.
Read the full text of Dehring's letter here.
As I said in my last post, all the agreements were signed years ago and for governments to be blaming the Host Venue Agreements (HVAs) now means one of two things; they either didn't read the 298 page "Bid Book" and the HVA (which would mean that they're totally and completely incompetent since they didn't do due diligence), or they read the documents, found them to be completely unsatisfactory and signed them anyway.
I'm not sure which one is worse.
Read the full text of Dehring's letter here.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
What will they think of next?
Our parliamentarians have, in their infinite wisdom, decided to rearrange the schedule of the budget debate to accommodate, of all things, ICC Cricket World Cup fixtures. Why? Shouldn't the running of the country take precedence over a cricket tournament that's already cost us an arm, a leg, a kidney and a significant portion of our digestive tract? This announcement comes a mere week after Dr. Davies was bitching to Parliament about the revenue sharing agreements and ICC demands that the host nations were "forced" to comply with - agreements that one Prime Minister described as more intrusive than the IMF.
I suppose that anyone with half an ounce of common sense would wonder why nine Caribbean countries agreed to such horrible, unfair terms. They might also wonder why all these concerns and complaints are being brought to light only now, years after the documents were signed and when the tournament is almost over. I have two words for you. Blame game.
It seems that the revenue projections for host countries are falling faster than West Indian wickets. Originally estimated at US$500 million, the host countries will probably only see about US$80 million total which means that a lot of governments will have a lot of explaining to do to a lot of voters. Rather than admitting to a error of stupendous proportions, our governments are doing what they seem to do best - blaming everyone else. Blaming the fans for not turning out to support the tournament (never mind that ticket prices were, in many instances, more that a week's pay for minimum wage earners), blaming the Pakistani and Indian teams for dropping out in the first round and robbing the tournament of fans, and blaming the ICC for coercing us into signing agreements. But they aren't blaming the governments that were apparently more concerned with hosting the tournament than with changing the Host Venue Agreement.
The worst part about this whole fiasco is that the people who will be most affected by the negligence of our governments are not Prime Ministers or members of the Local Organizing Committees or members of our cricket team (and I use the words "cricket team" very loosely - they play more like a rounders team) but the minimum wage earners and the lower middle class who couldn't even afford to go the World Cup.
I suppose that anyone with half an ounce of common sense would wonder why nine Caribbean countries agreed to such horrible, unfair terms. They might also wonder why all these concerns and complaints are being brought to light only now, years after the documents were signed and when the tournament is almost over. I have two words for you. Blame game.
It seems that the revenue projections for host countries are falling faster than West Indian wickets. Originally estimated at US$500 million, the host countries will probably only see about US$80 million total which means that a lot of governments will have a lot of explaining to do to a lot of voters. Rather than admitting to a error of stupendous proportions, our governments are doing what they seem to do best - blaming everyone else. Blaming the fans for not turning out to support the tournament (never mind that ticket prices were, in many instances, more that a week's pay for minimum wage earners), blaming the Pakistani and Indian teams for dropping out in the first round and robbing the tournament of fans, and blaming the ICC for coercing us into signing agreements. But they aren't blaming the governments that were apparently more concerned with hosting the tournament than with changing the Host Venue Agreement.
The worst part about this whole fiasco is that the people who will be most affected by the negligence of our governments are not Prime Ministers or members of the Local Organizing Committees or members of our cricket team (and I use the words "cricket team" very loosely - they play more like a rounders team) but the minimum wage earners and the lower middle class who couldn't even afford to go the World Cup.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Shame on you Rodney!
I often get worked up when writing about an issue that pisses me off, but Bounty Killer’s and Movado’s “big ups” at a recent concert really blood claat grieve me! How could this self-styled “poor people governor” (sic) really go on stage and proclaim “nuff respect to Stone Crushers”???
My first reaction was that maybe someone just asked him to big them up and he did it without really knowing who the “Stone Crushers” were, which would have been bad but marginally defendable, but the Warlord continued to put his foot in his mouth by declaring that “police have dem work fi do and bad man have them ting fi do."
I would love Mr. Pryce to tell me what the fuck he was thinking when he decided to pay homage to a criminal gang that has been terrorizing Montego Bay for the past three years. This is not a “militia” that protects a community from “outside forces”, or an “area leader” that helps children to go to school. This gang has been involved in murder-for-hire, extortion, robbery, and other heinous acts in communities where it is based as well as the rest of Montego Bay.
It’s one thing to talk about violence in your songs but it’s quite another to endorse a group who is helping to keep people in the same poverty Bounty claims to wage war on. How can school children “pressure them book” when they can’t go to school because of curfews or are afraid to stay for extra lessons because the lessons finish after dark? How will people in the depressed communities of Montego Bay ever lift themselves out of poverty if people are afraid to hire them because of the reputation that their community has acquired due to the activities of gangs like the “Stone Crushers”? I completely agree with a member of the Community Organisation for Management and Sustainable Development’s opinion that Bounty is a “traitor to….. (his) country.”
Bounty, you need to apologize for the statement you made and make some kind of meaningful effort to stop the criminal activities of the group that you endorsed. It won’t change my opinion of you, but it may actually help the people you claim to be representing.
On another note, why are people still being charged for using "bad" words under some ancient law? If you don't want to hear a certain type of music or language then don't go to the damn show! It's high time that Parliament throws that law out or, at the very least, amends it.
My first reaction was that maybe someone just asked him to big them up and he did it without really knowing who the “Stone Crushers” were, which would have been bad but marginally defendable, but the Warlord continued to put his foot in his mouth by declaring that “police have dem work fi do and bad man have them ting fi do."
I would love Mr. Pryce to tell me what the fuck he was thinking when he decided to pay homage to a criminal gang that has been terrorizing Montego Bay for the past three years. This is not a “militia” that protects a community from “outside forces”, or an “area leader” that helps children to go to school. This gang has been involved in murder-for-hire, extortion, robbery, and other heinous acts in communities where it is based as well as the rest of Montego Bay.
It’s one thing to talk about violence in your songs but it’s quite another to endorse a group who is helping to keep people in the same poverty Bounty claims to wage war on. How can school children “pressure them book” when they can’t go to school because of curfews or are afraid to stay for extra lessons because the lessons finish after dark? How will people in the depressed communities of Montego Bay ever lift themselves out of poverty if people are afraid to hire them because of the reputation that their community has acquired due to the activities of gangs like the “Stone Crushers”? I completely agree with a member of the Community Organisation for Management and Sustainable Development’s opinion that Bounty is a “traitor to….. (his) country.”
Bounty, you need to apologize for the statement you made and make some kind of meaningful effort to stop the criminal activities of the group that you endorsed. It won’t change my opinion of you, but it may actually help the people you claim to be representing.
On another note, why are people still being charged for using "bad" words under some ancient law? If you don't want to hear a certain type of music or language then don't go to the damn show! It's high time that Parliament throws that law out or, at the very least, amends it.
Finally, some accountability!
Although it was saddening to read about yet more children dying in house fires, I was glad that the authorities finally seem to be taking action against negligent parents. The mother of the children who died tragically on March 30, 2007 is under investigation to determine whether she breached the Child Care and Protection Act.
As I said in my very first post, parents who endanger the welfare of their children by leaving them alone at home should be held accountable for their gross negligence. There have been too many cases of children who have died or been abused because their parents were too busy doing important things like playing dominos or selling cigarettes. If it isn’t already, these investigations should be standard operating procedure in all cases involving children being injured, abused or killed.
As I said in my very first post, parents who endanger the welfare of their children by leaving them alone at home should be held accountable for their gross negligence. There have been too many cases of children who have died or been abused because their parents were too busy doing important things like playing dominos or selling cigarettes. If it isn’t already, these investigations should be standard operating procedure in all cases involving children being injured, abused or killed.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
"Radical" teacher asked to resign. WTF?
The news that Cornwall College asked a science teacher who presented an alternate theory to the immaculate conception myth during a lesson to resign is infuriating, to say the least. This was a SCIENCE teacher, teaching students about reproduction. Granted, he may not have presented it in a toned down manner, but asking him to resign is, in my not-so-humble opinion, absolutely ridiculous!
Would the school's board have taken the same course of action if a Muslim teacher had taught the same lesson and included something like, "I know that I've taught you that all humans must have sexual intercourse to reproduce, but Mary (peace be unto her), mother of Jesus (peace be unto him) was different. She was impregnated by Allah himself! Allah Akbar!!" Or if a Christian fundamentalist (of which there are hundreds of thousands in Jamaica) injected his religious beliefs into the science lesson?
Had the situation been reversed and a Christian teacher been asked to resign for expressing their views, every church from West End to Morant Point would have been up in arms and running their mouth about freedom of speech and freedom of religion.
I would agree that any class outside of Religious Indoctrination...I mean Religious Education is not be the right forum to express one's beliefs, or lack thereof, but the parents' reaction and the school's action smacks of intolerance, something that we already have too much of in this country.
Even more infuriating is the Observer's headline, which labeled the teacher as "radical". A science teacher who applies rational thought and logic to a topic is "radical"???? No wonder half our students can't pass their CXC's and we have Prime Ministers who believe that a god elected them.
Would the school's board have taken the same course of action if a Muslim teacher had taught the same lesson and included something like, "I know that I've taught you that all humans must have sexual intercourse to reproduce, but Mary (peace be unto her), mother of Jesus (peace be unto him) was different. She was impregnated by Allah himself! Allah Akbar!!" Or if a Christian fundamentalist (of which there are hundreds of thousands in Jamaica) injected his religious beliefs into the science lesson?
Had the situation been reversed and a Christian teacher been asked to resign for expressing their views, every church from West End to Morant Point would have been up in arms and running their mouth about freedom of speech and freedom of religion.
I would agree that any class outside of Religious Indoctrination...I mean Religious Education is not be the right forum to express one's beliefs, or lack thereof, but the parents' reaction and the school's action smacks of intolerance, something that we already have too much of in this country.
Even more infuriating is the Observer's headline, which labeled the teacher as "radical". A science teacher who applies rational thought and logic to a topic is "radical"???? No wonder half our students can't pass their CXC's and we have Prime Ministers who believe that a god elected them.
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