Jamaica's Politically Incorrect

Another record year

2010-01-09T10:47:00.002-05:00

"The only thing necessary for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing."
Edmund Burke

Jamaica seems to have become the perfect example of Burke's quote.There were (according to police figures) 1,680 murders last year, the highest number ever recorded in Jamaica.

One thousand, six hundred and eighty. That's two giant Airbus A380s chock full of people. That's a Coaster and a Hiace full of people killed each week. That's a car load of people murdered every day. That's unacceptable.

The police force has many shortcomings, which I've pointed out on several occasions and which most, if not all, of us see very regularly, but the members of the JCF are not the "good men" in Burke's quote. That dubious honour belongs to all of us who, through our silence and apathy, allow criminals to be brazen enough to shoot a woman in Half-way-tree in the middle of the day or to invade a party, shoot somebody 30 times and torch 6 houses.

Evil is flourishing because Jamaicans of all classes and creeds simply look the other way. Whether it's rampaging gunmen or someone breaking in to the house next door, we have allowed ourselves to be paralyzed by fear and this has, in turn, impacted the ability of the JCF to investigate and solve crimes. No police force in the world, no matter how much CSI technology they employ, can effectively combat crime without the cooperation of citizens.

There are those who say that the reason for the lack of cooperation is that fact that people are afraid that the very same policemen who the information is passed along to are in league with the criminals. This collusion may be true, as we've seen in recent cases, but there are anonymous avenues such as Crime Stop and Operation Kingfish through which information can be passed on to the police.

As I pointed out in a previous post, Jamaica is a country of contradictions. We berate the JCF and the Minister of National Security for the high murder rate, but are unwilling to do our part to help bring it under control. The root of the murder problem isn't violent lyrics or video games or the incompetence of the JCF or politicians, it's us. It's the "informer" stigma we cling to and the "me nuh business" attitude which we have towards gang members and murderers. Until we good men decide to do something, evil will continue to flourish and we'll continue to break records.

Resolutions Politicians Should Make (And Keep) In 2010 and Beyond

2010-01-01T11:26:00.000-05:00

Have consistent positions on issues
A tax or policy that's okay when you were/are in power doesn't magically become evil when you aren't, and vice versa. This applies to things like gas taxes, borrowing money from the NHT and garrison constituencies.

Country first
Vote according to your conscience, not whatever the party line is. If you agree with a Government bill when you're in Opposition then vote for it. If members of your party aren't performing then replace them with people who will. Party-line voting helped to get the country into the hole it's in, it sure as hell won't help get it out.

Attend all sessions of Parliament/Senate/Committees
Because it's your damn job.

Stop wasting time in those sessions
The country doesn't want to see or hear grown men and women bickering about who called who what name when the country is rushing headlong towards becoming a failed state. Grow the fuck up. This isn't high school.

Stop thinking that the country is stupid
We all know when you're bullshitting us, whether it's about why you fired the governor of the BOJ or the real reason you want to protest against new taxes. Just stop. Transparency (when coupled with intelligent decision making) will get you far more support and respect than spin.

Make the right decisions, even if that decision means losing political capital
There are decisions which have to be made by people on both sides of the political divide which will prove to be unpopular with their respective parties and party donors but which need to be made for Jamaica to make any significant progress.

Any other resolutions you'd like to see politicians make (and keep)?

To Be, Or Not To Be

2009-12-31T22:17:00.002-05:00

We claim to be anti-gay but flock in droves to roots plays to watch Shebada.

We hate that politicians are corrupt but we're always trying the beat the system.

We want crime to go down but aren't willing to testify.

We give superb customer service to tourists but could care less about serving our own countrymen.

Baby Cham and Vybz Kartel record immensely popular songs glorifying fellatio but Lisa Hype gives head and is chastised.

No wonder we can't run the fucking country. We have no idea who we are or what we want to be.

New Year, New Style, New Tax a Lick

2009-12-31T21:21:00.003-05:00

The new tax package which the PM announced on December 23rd takes effect tomorrow morning and everyone's bracing themselves for the "wicked" and "unjust" package. Yes, more taxes suck, but probably not half as much the rest of the "bitter pill" that Jamaica and Jamaicans will have to swallow when the rest of the IMF conditions are revealed.
I think the taxes are necessary given the corner that the country has painted itself into, but I also think that the PM and his team could have, and should have, done a much better job of communicating the taxes to the country. The mishandling of the situation, coupled with the predictably populist and politically motivated reaction of the opposition, leads me to believe that nothing has changed in Jamaican politics, and that is the bitterest pill of all.

Shock and "eew"

2008-11-14T22:29:00.008-05:00

I was pretty happy to read in today's Observer that a step has been made towards fixing the Bogue intersection. Work should be completed within a year and the contractor says that he plans to do a lot of the work at night, which should help to minimize the disruption.

On another note, the issue of abortion has kind of been a hot topic these days, with pro-lifers playing shock-and-"eew" videos in a bid to convince parlimentarians not to legalize abortion.

Personally, I don't understand why pro-lifers want to dictate to the rest of the country what a woman should do with an unwanted pregnancy. Okay, so they believe that life begins at conception and that it's murder to abort a fetus, even within the first trimester. I get that. What I don't get is why they think that everyone else should subscribe to their belief. If you think abortion is immoral, then don't have one. Don't donate money to or support abortion rights groups. Why should the thousands of other women who don't share your belief be forced to carry a pregnancy to term, regardless of whether or not the mother and/or father are emotionally or financially able to provide a decent quality of life for the resultant child or if the pregnancy was a result of rape, incest or molestation?

That decision should rest with the mother, since she's likely going to be responsible for that child for the better part of the next 20 years, and not with some lobbyist who feels like a bunch of 10 cells is a human life.

Now I'm not supporting abortion as a preferred method of birth control, I think it should be a last resort, but the option shouldn't be taken off of the table because of the beliefs of a group of citizens. Banning abortions tramples on woman's reproductive rights and is just as bad as forcing women to have an abortion.

Legalizing abortion, with some measure of oversight, lets both sides have their way. Those who think it's wrong can feel free to not have one, and those who want or need that option are free to go down that road.

Rain, rain go away

2008-11-05T19:35:00.009-05:00

The rains that lashed Montego Bay on Friday night (Oct. 31st) have brought to light, once again, the chaos that is Montego Bay's infrastructure. Horror stories about journeys that should take 30 minutes taking upwards of 5 hours were relayed by text message, phone calls and status messages on Facebook. Commuters were stranded downtown for hours because the taxis were stuck in traffic that finally cleared up at around 11pm.

Every time it rains the city comes to a standstill. Why is that?

In my opinion, there are two main causes. The first is the testament to short-sightedness and lack of forward planning that is the Fairview intersection. I've ranted about this eighth wonder of the world in a previous post, so let's just say despite all the lobbying that has been done, despite the fact that the government started work on the intersection and promised to complete it by a date that's long gone, it's still there and still creating headaches for commuters.

The second cause is the fact that Mobay drivers in general, and Mobay taxi drivers in particular, are among the worst in the world, bar none. They run red lights, create three or four lanes on roads meant for one, refuse to wait in the turning lane, overtake around corners only to come to a screeching halt in the midddle of the road three seconds later when the lady walking down the road kinda look like she want a taxi, don't use indicators or have brake lights and on top of it all, tell you all manner of bad wud when you refuse to let them cut into the line of traffic that you've been patiently waiting in for three hours.

What that behaviour means is that, in addition to a poorly designed traffic system, you have a legion of "drivers", and I use the term very loosely, who, among other things, clog intersections by refusing to obey the traffic lights, and overtake by any means necessary to get one car length ahead. The resultant effect is what happened on Friday, and what happens on a smaller scale every rush hour.

So what's the solution? Immediately ban all drivers found breaching certain sections of the road code from owning, operating or even looking at a car for five years? Tempting. Very tempting.

The first step is to lobby Mike Henry to stop the damn foolishness and fix the traffic system in Mobay. Not just the Fairview intersection, but the whole traffic system. It's retarded. There's a traffic center that's close to a "highway" but you can only turn one way onto the highway, which means that hundreds of taxis and buses make a u-turn at the traffic light down the road, which blocks the intersection.

There are intersections with two turn signals when only one lane should turn, which creates confusion. There are intersections with turn signals for roads that are used once or twice a year. Most of the signals seemed to be timed rather than triggered bythe presence or absence of traffic.

Once we fix that, THEN we can ban all drivers found breaching certain sections of the road code from owning, operating or even looking at a car. Zero tolerance should be the order of the day.

You drove on the sidewalk? Banned!

You overtook a line of traffic around a corner while carrying eight passengers in your five seater? Banned!

You have more than one ticket for driving without brake lights? Banned!

You operating a taxi without the necessary road license? Banned!

You drove while you were banned? Straight prison!

The safety and sanity of all us require that something be done now. Email Mike Henry at clarendon-c@jamaicalabourparty.com and let him know how you feel.

If anyone has another email address for him please let me know.

What's wrong with this picture?

2008-10-14T19:36:00.004-05:00

Does anyone else remember when you could go down to Negril, drive right onto the beach and spend the day relaxing? When you could have a picnic at one of the scenic views on the way? Now many of Jamaica's best beaches are "private property" and if you aren't staying at a hotel you can only walk along the water's edge. We can't even enjoy a scenic view anymore.

Shouldn't our children be guaranteed access to Jamaica's beaches? Don't we owe it to them not sell any more of our beaches outright to developers, whether local or foreign, for the sake of investment?

Did you know that in Barbados access to all beaches is a right, and that you can only own land up to the high water mark? Why isn't it the same in Jamaica?

Mike Henry's visit to Mobay

2007-10-15T18:30:00.000-05:00

He came, he saw, and there's no money in the budget so it looks like we'll be stuck in traffic for a loooong time. Thanks Omar!

One gun salute

2007-10-03T20:13:00.000-05:00

After reading about a police officer's gun salute for his fallen colleague, two questions came to mind.

The first was "if a police officer broke the law so brazenly in the presence of the commissioner, what has he been doing when no one was around?" The answer to that question can probably be be found somewhere in the plethora of stories about extra-judicial killings, bribery, murder-for-hire, drug-running, and various other illegal activities "allegedly" carried out by the police.

The second question was "why did the commissioner have to order other police officers to arrest the trigger happy cop?" You would have thought that, given the number of police officers that must have been at the funeral, the man would have been arrested before the shells hit the ground!

The underlying issue here is the calibre of people that are recruited into the police force and the resultant behaviour of the graduates of the academy. Any man on the street can tell you some kind of story about the police, whether it's suffering a beating or worse for no apparent reason, being called "bwoy" by a cop 20 years younger than you are, being asked to "buy a rounds fi the squaddies" in lieu of a speeding ticket, or suffering the piss poor customer service that most Jamaicans have sadly come to expect from police on all levels. I say most because, as we all know, if you're rich or related to a police officer then things are very, very different.

A big part of the solution to Jamaica's crime problem is getting citizens to cooperate with the police. That won't happen if the police continue to treat the lives and issues of the very people they're sworn to protect with contempt. Simply increasing the size of the force or giving them bigger guns or more cars or giving them a raise of pay won't solve the problem. The fact of the matter is that we need better police officers.

We need more police officers who have more than just a basic education. We need more police officers who can speak standard English. We need more police officers who truly want to serve the citizens of Jamaica. We need more police officers who know how to act professionally and responsibly, even when the people they're interacting with don't. We need more police officers who will do the job for which they were hired - to "serve, protect and reassure with courtesy, integrity and proper respect for the rights of all."

The eighth wonder of the world

2007-09-29T09:54:00.000-05:00

The amount of thought put into urban planning in Jamaica never ceases to amaze me. Case in point - the Fairview intersection in Montego Bay. This is the finest example of traffic engineering and planning that I've seen in quite some time.

Imagine this; you have two lanes of traffic coming from Alice Eldemire Drive and two lanes coming from another road (no, I don't know the name of the other road - sue me) all trying to get out of Montego Bay. In a feat that would astound Pierre-Charles L'Enfant, the designers of the highway have managed to merge four lanes of traffic into one in a distance of about a hundred feet!

There are a few side effects caused by this eighth wonder of the world, but turning a five minute commute from Freeport to Bogue into a thirty minute journey, causing a buildup of traffic that stretches from Bogue to the airport on the other side of the city, and forcing commuters to sit in traffic for two hours on a Friday afternoon (four if it rains) are quite acceptable when compared to the sheer brilliance of the intersection's design.

Indeed, even the police officers assigned to direct traffic at the intersection during rush hour (7 -10 am and 4 - 8 pm) seem awestruck by the design, so much so that they are rendered incapable of directing traffic effectively and can only feebly wave cars on while sitting on their bikes or talking on their cell phones. They are often so overcome with emotion that they have to leave the intersection early, knowing that the hundreds of people who have been waiting in line for hours will understand.

Mr. Henry, please come to Mobay and make it a point to visit the intersection any time after 4 pm. You'll be glad you did!

A new course?

2007-09-28T23:22:00.000-05:00

So Mr. Golding has taken the reins of power with promises of a new, better course, a course that will take Jamaica to a place where "not everyone may be rich, but no-one has to be poor." One hopes that the swearing in of this government will mark the start of a new chapter in Jamaican politics where there is more positive action than rhetoric and one in which the rights and interests of the Jamaican people will be protected and pursued respectively. We've all heard lots and lots of promises in the past from both parties, and the first hundred days of Mr. Golding's stewardship will be watched closely by the public, many of whom suspect that he may have bought his license and are therefore doubtful of his "driving ability".

To his credit, Orett appears to be on the right track so far, with promises of reducing government red tape and abolishing transfer taxes scoring him brownie points with the private sector and the middle class and plans to work more closely with the opposition than previous administrations silencing some of his detractors for now. It's still early though, and we'll all be watching the construction of Mr. Golding's course very closely to see if it turns out to be an eight lane highway to prosperity or a dirt track to the politics of yester-year.

Tesha Miller and bail

2007-05-04T22:25:00.000-05:00

I was pleased to see the JCF being proactive and arresting Clansman gang leader Tesha Miller as soon as he landed in the island after being deported from the US. I did wonder though, how the fuck did someone who was arrested and charged for a triple murder, got bail, and was arrested and charged with murder AGAIN, get bail AGAIN??? Is it just me, or is there something seriously wrong with that picture?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that suspects should be denied bail, but c'mon!! Arrested for a total of four murders and still granted bail??? Parliament needs to start looking at these issues and fixing them instead of bickering and grandstanding. The police force has its shortcomings, but the blame for this one lays squarely at the feet of the politicians. They have the power to amend the Bail Act and should do so, as well as whatever else they can to help the JCF overcome the challenges they face. Portia, the time you and Omar spent figuring out where the fuck you're going to find $250 million a year to finance free health care for minors (probably by increasing the user fees for adults, no such thing as a free lunch) could have been spent identifying outdated laws that desperately need amending and starting dialogue with the relevant parties on the fastest way to initiate those changes.

It would get you more votes than dishing out 1000 lbs of chicken back and rice ever could. And guess what? It would be something that actually helps the country. Imagine that!

Waste not, want not

2007-05-04T22:13:00.000-05:00

It seems as if someone's finally getting serious about holding people accountable for littering, which, by the way, is one of my pet peeves. The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) has started a new programme aimed at reducing the number of litterbugs and increasing public awareness on the topic. I think it's good idea and am curious to know how they plan to scale the program and how they track the people who've been warned instead of ticketed.
I'm a bit concerned about this aspect of the program - if someone doesn't have an ID or the warnings aren't tracked then how will the officers ensure compliance? Come to think of it, how do they ticket people without ID?

One can only hope that all these challenges were resolved before the programme was rolled out and that the program will be a success.

Great Job JCF...

2007-04-25T21:39:00.000-05:00

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.

The Coalition speaks!

2007-04-25T21:05:00.000-05:00

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.

Take a stand

2007-04-20T23:04:00.000-05:00

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 taxman cometh

2007-04-15T10:52:00.000-05:00

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.

Chris Dehring responds

2007-04-15T10:34:00.000-05:00

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.

What will they think of next?

2007-04-12T21:37:00.000-05:00

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.

Shame on you Rodney!

2007-04-04T18:43:00.000-05:00

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.

Finally, some accountability!

2007-04-04T18:37:00.000-05:00

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.

"Radical" teacher asked to resign. WTF?

2007-04-01T16:47:00.000-05:00

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.

Miss P's Patty Shop

2007-03-29T21:15:00.000-05:00

Some interesting points of view came out of the luncheon hosted by 'Butch' Stewart this week, views that have been echoed by countless groups at countless luncheons over the years. The government should invest more money in education, more in crime fighting and prevention and create a tax environment that will foster growth, et cetera, et cetera.

One would think that by now the government would seriously explore or, at the very least, look at some of the ideas being presented. After all, these dudes are very successful businessmen in a not-so-successful country. They might have good ideas about making money and investing it successfully, ideas that the current government seems to need pretty badly, especially given their decision to spend billions on the ICC World Cup while the country is in a decrepit moral, educational and physical state.

Both sides of Gordon House would serve the country in a much needed way if they spent more time exploring feasible solutions to the country's problem instead of arguing about who wears short pants and other asinine topics. The country needs to be run like a business and not like Miss P's patty shop. In a well run business executives are given specific targets to meet and are held accountable for not meeting those targets. Accountability is, and has been for a very long time, non-existent in the Jamaican government's vocabulary. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the only minister that I can think of who has resigned or been fired because of the non-performance of his ministry is K. D. Knight, and he was simply reassigned to another ministry. We need to start choosing the right people for the right jobs and holding these people accountable. This means making the Minister of National Security someone who actually has experience in that field and not some politician who has no fucking clue about what to do about crime. The same goes for all the other ministries. I firmly believe that this step must be implemented to get us out of the quagmire we're currently in. Too bad the same politicians who refuse to hold themselves accountable are the ones who'll have to implement it.

Jamaicans for justice?

2007-03-25T07:19:00.000-05:00

As we all know, the local news has become a bastion of monotony in recent years. Newscasts more often than not unfold like this: people protesting because of a lack of running water; roadblocks mounted by frustrated citizens over the deplorable conditions of the roads; police see a "suspicious party" during a routine patrol and accost the party, the party opens fire which the police return and one or more members are found suffering from gunshot wounds. The wounded are taken to the nearest hospital where they are pronounced dead. Citizens of the community take to the streets in outrage at the "murder" of an innocent person.

Throw in some international news and sports, blend for 60 minutes and you have a perfect newscast.

Some residents of Bull Bay ruined the recipe when they took to the streets (again) in support of three police officers charged with murdering Noel Barnes back in 1999. Their claim is that Barnes was a "terrorist" and the community is glad that he's dead. The policemen, they say, are "heroes" and should be released.

While I can understand the sentiments of the Bull Bay residents, if Barnes was in fact guilty of the charges leveled against him, the fact remains that we can't pick and choose who we want policemen to kill. We can't demonstrate because one victim of the police is an "area leader" and then rejoice when another is an alleged criminal. Murder is murder. Acceptance of one extra judicial killing, if this is what the Barnes case turns out to be, is an acceptance of all extra judicial killings. Our justice system, as fucked up as it is, is still a far sight better at determining guilt or innocence than a group of policemen who are out to eradicate a menace, whether perceived or real. I don't care if the policemen catch someone in the act - unless someone's life is in direct jeopardy then all efforts should be made to arrest the culprit and bring him to justice. Who reviews the evidence the long rumoured police hit squads use to determine who lives and who dies? Jamaicans need to wake up and realize that they could very easily be a victim of an extra judicial killing and vigorously support the prosecution and conviction of any policeman who unlawfully kills any member of our society.

Policemen will complain about being frustrated and at the end of their ropes because people they arrest repeatedly are set free by the courts, often for lack of evidence. My response? Do your fucking jobs properly! I know that resources are limited, but it used to amaze me to watch the news and see all and sundry walking through crime scenes, or see policemen displaying recovered guns to television crews minutes after a raid with nary a latex glove or evidence bag in sight. I'm glad that someone in the JCF finally watched CSI and realized that the proper processing of crime scenes is crucial to ensure the conviction of suspects and is much more effective than swooping into a community, rounding up suspects and then trying to beat a confession out of them.

Residents of Bull Bay, be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.

Justice?

2007-03-17T11:16:00.000-05:00

I found an article in the Jamaica Observer about a man who claimed that his hunger drove him to steal three live chickens amusing in a depressing sort of way. That is, until I remembered reading about a man who beat his wife to a pulp. Wondering what the connection is?

The chicken thief plead guilty to one charge of simple larceny and got thirty days in jail. The wife-beater plead guilty to two charges, occasioning bodily harm and unlawful wounding, for which he received ten days each - to run concurrently.
The chicken thief stole three live chickens, which were recovered unharmed. The wife-beater punched his wife in the face, dislocated two of her teeth, and punched and kicked her all over her body.
The chicken thief's reason for stealing? Hunger.
The wife-beater's reason? His wife entertained a conversation with their child about cooking stew-peas with pig's tail (he's a Rastafarian). She didn't attempt to buy, cook, prepare, or consume the pig's tail, nor did she even agree to do so. She simply told the child that pig's tail was too expensive.

And that's not even the best part of this story. Both offenders appeared in front of the same judge - who's a woman!!! Yes, RM Judith Pusey heard both cases in the Half Way Tree Resident Magistrate's Court.

Something is inherently wrong with either the law or the judge (probably both) when the theft of three chickens attracts a greater penalty than beating someone to a pulp. Then again, maybe the judge just didn't like stew peas with pig's tail.

Is it worth it?

2007-03-03T06:39:00.000-05:00

As the true cost of hosting the ICC Cricket World Cup begins to emerge with the tabling of the supplementary estimates in Parliament, one continues to seriously wonder about the decision making skills of our eminent leaders. Jamaica has, so far, spent J$9 billion on the World Cup, money that could have and should have been spent tackling the plethora of problems that Jamaica currently faces. Yes, I know that the World Cup is one of the largest sporting events in the world and yes, I know that the fact that Jamaica was successful in its bid to host is an honour and yes, I know that it gives us much wanted exposure, but is that really worth J$9 billion (and counting)?

Why spend J$9 billion when there are only seven police cars to cover a parish of 814 sq. km.? Why spend J$9 billion when police reports are still handwritten? When police and fire stations are decrepit. When many parts of rural Jamaica still have no running water. When only 32% of Jamaican CXC students managed to pass Mathematics and only 42% passed English.

Why build a 25,000 seat stadium when there's a shortage of high schools? When babies die at the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay (the largest hospital in western Jamaica) because there's only one incubator.

Maybe I'm missing something, but those decisions seem to be conspicuously unintelligent. Is the World Cup really worth it?

Pharisees and hypocrites

2007-02-25T18:37:00.000-05:00

Hyacinth Bennett, the former leader of the National Democratic Movement (NDM), has taken aim at a group of Christians who have volunteered to clean up Kingston in preparation for the impending Creator of White Elephants, the ICC Cricket World Cup.
She seems to think that, because they did nothing prior, they are "hypocrites and Pharisees".

I'm almost tempted to agree with her, but will withhold judgement until the group, who calls themselves HOPE 2007, unveils its plans (if they have any) for cleanup activities on a continuing basis after the World Cup. I think that's only fair since, after all, they're out on the streets cleaning up and not standing in a church calling people names.

We're back!

2007-02-25T18:16:00.000-05:00

After an almost two year hiatus, during which everything and nothing changed in Jamaica, I've started blogging again. This time I plan to put serious effort into maintaining the blog and hopefully watch it grow into a very active commentary site. If you're new to the site, please take some time to read the archived posts and let me know what you think, either via a comment or via email. Opposing viewpoints are, of course, welcome provided they address the issue being discussed.

"Corporate Alliance" where are you?

2005-06-17T22:56:00.000-05:00

So I'm flipping through the channels looking for something mildly interesting to watch at 10:45 on Friday night, when I come across highlights of a recent fashion show on CVM. The girl dem look good (although nuff a dem mawga), so I stop for a few.

I'm nodding my head to the beat of the background music, when I realise that it's "Wait", by the Ying Yang Twins. Nice tune, but it's the unedited version.

Heh.

I wonder if the "corporate alliance" is going to threaten to boycott any event put on by the producers of the show, and boycott CVM for broadcasting the "offensive" material. It wasn't live, so they can't use that excuse.

I sent an email to Elaine Bryan, the programmes manager at CVM, advising her of the incident and asking her to review the material and let me know what actions will be taken. Anyone care to make a wager as to how long it'll take her to answer? Anyone?

The Sound of Silence

2005-06-16T22:19:00.000-05:00

It was the night before the 15th and all through the house not a creature was stirring not even a mouse. And then the 15th came... and went without fanfare or drama. Surprising? I think not.

The Private Sector Organisation who gave the ultimatum uttered not a word. The Prime Minister who is a man of calculated words had nothing to say. The Leader of the Opposition whom all would expect to say something considering that an election year is around the corner also had no comments. And are we surprised by this speechlessness from the leaders of this society? I think not.

There was however one thing that was clearly brought to the fore in this, that everyone had mud to sling and even the self righteous were brought low. Still the ripple effects of the problems continue the murder rate is now approaching 800 that would mean that within the space of 3 weeks over 100 people have died. Still we hear the deafening sound of silence. And the voices of the victims of crime and violence echo even more loudly in the silence. But what is the message that it sends to the rest of the nation? Apathy, fear, inertia, or just the calm before we storm the bastion of crime, corruption and immorality?

Well all voices returned when Asafa broke the 100 meter world record I am very proud of his accomplishments.

Thank God for sports. Do you think that maybe we could get another public holiday?
Oops... here we go again with the silence.

Bullshit CCN!!

2005-06-07T10:57:00.000-05:00

The Constabulary Communication Network (CCN) has, once again, decided to stop releasing weekly crime statistics, ostensibly because of a heart attack suffered by the head of its statistics department. They'll still send out crime information three times a day, but will refrain from releasing weekly crime statistics.

Said Supt. Ramsay-Nelson, head of the CCN, "I think I have the responsibility to relieve the stress. We compile information and send out releases three times a day. Must we turn around at the end of the week and send the information back to you? Each newsroom has to develop its system to compile the information from now on."

I don't know what method the CCN uses to compile its info, but if the method which the rest of the police force uses is any indication, it probably involves a shit-load of hand written paper-work. I can just imagine the variation in figures produced by each newsroom. Maybe that's exactly what the JCF wants. Then they can just pick the lowest figure and work with it.

Here's an idea Supe, how about using a simple MS Excel workbook that'll calculate all those weekly, and yearly, statistics automatically from your daily entries? Anyone with rudimentary knowledge of Excel can set it up. Shit, I'd come do it for you for free.

How about "relieving the stress" on your statistics department that way, instead of witholding information from the country, or releasing it only to "media practitioners and persons who already had police approval"?

This whole story reeks of bullshit. It appears as if the CCN is just trying to contain the growing dissatisfaction of the general public at the skyrocketing crime rate by only releasing figures once a month, especially since this announcement comes after one of the worst months in Jamaica's history. 167 people were murdered in May 2005.

Find another solution Supe, this one is woefully inadequate.

Another one bites the dust

2005-06-05T10:29:00.000-05:00

On May 29th, I wrote in praise of Mr. Laurence Heffes' apparently brave stand against extortionists. Unfortunately, what seemed to be a case of one man facing down extortionists with only his courage and unflinching stand as weapons seems to have dissolved into something far different. Apparently, Mr. Heffes has known Donald 'Zeeks' Phipps and his family since the early 1970's, and is the godfather of one of Zeek's daughters. For those of you who don't know, Zeeks is the "reputed" don of Matthews Lane, a PNP enclave in the middle of a JLP garrison. It has also come to light that Mr. Heffes' wife posted bail for Zeeks last year, claiming, quite rightly, that the posting of bail makes no presumption of guilt or innocence.

And now he's changing his fucking tune! If bailing Zeeks last year implied no presumption of innocence or guilt, Mr. Heffes, why wouldn't you bail him now, if asked? How is it a different ball game now? Perhaps you know something the rest of us don't about the "alleged activities"?

Didn't it ever occur to you that you could "run way" extortionists and help other businessmen deal with their problems because the extortionists knew of your close association with Zeeks, or were subsequently made aware of it???? I mean, come on dude! We were all under the impression that you made the stand with no "backative" other than your moral convictions. Having a don on your side kinda changes the fucking playing field, don't you think?

One man's fight.......yeah, right.

The talk continues.....

2005-06-02T00:09:00.000-05:00

So our esteemed PM has now declared that all 36 PNP MP's will be required to sign the "Emancipation Park declaration". Good move PJ. I hope that those who don't sign, or those who sign but fail to live up to the declaration, will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Oops, wait a minute, it isn't legally enforcable, is it? Well, I at least hope that the PM will treat it as if it were enforceable, and punish transgressions with the same harsh penalties brought against those MP's who fail to follow laws such as the one requiring them to declare their assets. No, scratch that, bad example.

Hmmm.....

Ok, I've got it! Any PNP MP who breaks his committment to the declaration should suffer the same fate as those PNP MP's or ministers who were involved in scandals. Yes, that's it. They should suffer the same punishment meted out to those who were involved in the zinc scandal, the furniture scandal, the shell waiver scandal.........hang on. Wasn't that last one PJ?

What's that you say?
Oh, he resigned.
But was elected PNP president less than a year later?
And sworn in as Prime Minister two days after being elected PNP president???

I guess the MP's have nothing to worry about.

Things Fall Apart

2005-06-01T18:26:00.000-05:00

Things fall apart; the center cannot hold…
The best lack conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity
"The Second Coming" by W.B. Yeats

As the count down continues we see what appears to be the Public Sector Organisation of Jamaica’s initiative to fight crime in the country unraveling at the seams. Let us replay the focal points of this stance to see why the thread is thinning.

On the first day of the infamous protest the masses cried out that they were not in support of this movement why?

They too have been having crimes inflicted upon them for many years and the elites of the business sector did not seek to protest with them.
No one asked for their say in the top down approach to fighting crime.

The members of Parliament as well as the PSOJ debated that the masses were losing sight of the big picture and were not thinking of the country only of themselves. Point duly noted.

Next was the request that politicians disassociate themselves from criminals what was the outcome of this furor in the house.

Members of Parliament protested that politicians were being made scapegoats in the private sector's current protest against rising crime.
Legislators criticised the prime minister and the opposition leader for agreeing to a set of demands made by private sector leaders
Private sector has also done a lot to encourage criminality in this country.

The PSOJ and the masses could equally say that the members of parliament are also losing sight of the big picture and are thinking only of themselves.

The fact is as always that all parties have lost sight of the big picture. The big picture was never the escalating crime rate this was only a symptom of the bigger picture. The bigger picture has always been the erosion of the moral fabric of this society in the struggle for power and money.

At the risk of using clichés, when will we all see that the whole can become greater than the sum of the parts. We need to unite as a collective and attack this problem together. The big picture is not about the private sector jumping up to take the reigns and the glory of performing this feat that the state has been unable to do, it is not about the state failing to protect its citizens, it is not about the citizens who are now filled with a sense of apathy. It is about everyone saying “we have all sinned”. We have all contributed to the decadence and we are all going to work together to make the change.

The Time has come the Walrus Said to Speak of Many Things

2005-05-31T12:37:00.000-05:00

“A New Era in Politics” was the headlines heralded in today’s Gleaner. There was a meeting of the ruling People’s National Party (PNP) and the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) with the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) to discuss the strategies for combating the escalating crime rates in the country.

What were the outcomes of this discussion heralding the dawn of a new time?

A committee headed by the Political Ombudsman to begin implementing recommendations contained in the report on National Committee on Political Tribalism, (Kerr Report)

A Joint Select Committee on Security to consider further capacity enhancing measures as well as material support for the security forces.

Pardon my cynicism but this does not hit me as any new feat in the political arena. We have had committees from the dawn of Jamaican politics who have been commissioned to investigate and address the “crisis of the day” we have even had committees to investigate and monitor the committees that have been formed. What then differentiates these committees from their predecessors?

Could it be the fact that both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition have agreed to have their elected Members of Parliament declare in writing their commitment not to knowingly associate with criminals, nor accept financial support from them?

If my memory has not failed me have we not seen these very same leaders of politics associating with criminals and then disavowing having any knowledge of the fact that these men that they associate with were criminals? Come on!

This is not a new era in politics this is old rhetoric. Let us not continue to dabble in insignificant ramblings. Let us not continue to treat the symptom and not the cause. Let us not be afraid to break the bones, even though it will hurt, in order for healing to take place. The time has come to speak out on what really is plaguing this country let us not waste it by delving in the ineffective syntax of yesterday.

Bill Clarke on "Impact"

2005-05-29T20:15:00.000-05:00

Bill Clarke and Cliff Hughes had an interesting discussion tonight. Too bad Mr. Clarke skipped around the issue everyone wanted to hear him address, namely the response of the PM to Mr. Clarke's "failed state" comment. Cliff tried his best, but was unable to get Mr. Clarke to adequately defend his comment in the wake of PJ's observation that one the largest commercial banking conglomerates in the hemisphere mainitains Jamaica as a profit center (referring to the Bank of Nova Scotia, of which Mr. Clarke is the president and CEO), and, as such, how could Jamaica be a failed state? I was hoping that Mr. Clarke would have called the PM out on this, but I can understand his reluctance. Don't want to mess up the relationship between the PM and BNS, do we? Not when BNS has made in excess of JMD$1 billion profit for the first quarter of 2005. One must tread carefully. Maybe next time he'll be braver.

He did make some good points though. He raised the question of exactly who the PSOJ was demonstrating against, since the government and opposition announced their support for the initiative. Perhaps it was the criminals Mr. Clarke. They would certainly be moved to change their ways by an ineffectual demonstration, even though our politicians have not been so inclined thus far.

The "stand" against crime

2005-05-29T09:45:00.000-05:00

It was heartening to read in today's Observer of businessmen who not only refuse to give in to the demands of extortionists, but also help other businessmen who have received letters demanding "protection money" or "donations to community activities" and have the balls to follow through by reporting it to the police and testifying . One hopes that Mr. Heffes' story will encourage other businesses to take a real stand against extortion. I wonder how long it'll take the government and opposition to pass legislation prescribing stiffer penalties for extortionists.

My mood was quickly darkened, however, at the bullshit emanating from the mouth of Sameer Younis, who stated that while he was against extortion, he would never encourage others not to pay because of the risk of them being killed. What...the....fuck?!?! This is exactly the attitude which allows the extortionists to thrive.

While we're at it Mr. Younis, perhaps we shouldn't encourage people to report police corruption, since they might be killed. Or to report drug trafficking. Or any other crime which may result in bodily harm coming to the person making the report. Let's all just do what is best for our "own conscience and safety" regardless of whether or not it's supporting illegal activites.

Only slightly better was the the bullshit from Bev Lopez. Mrs. Lopez's statement s at a recent press conference seem to imply that she is the one who isn't living in the "real world". In the "real world", people unfortunately do get killed for standing up to criminals, no matter how good the police force is. While I agree with her view that the state has failed to protect the citizenry effectively, Mrs. Lopez must realize that no police force in the world can "ensure that there will be no repercussions" from the reporting of extortion. Extortion cannot be prosecuted without a specific report from the person being extorted. The charging of someone with extorting a specific business gives the criminals all the information they need to carry out a reprisal, if they so desire. Witholding cooperation in this matter from the police only serves to make the criminals bolder and the police weaker. So for all the rheotric, the stance of the PSOJ on extortion has come down to simply encouraging persons not to pay, rather than encouraging them to report it.

So, Mrs. Lopez, when businesses refuse to pay and an owner/staff member is attacked or killed, what then? There will be no police report on attempted extortion which could have been used to identify suspects. I suppose there'll be another outcry about the impotence of the police force.

On a lighter note, it seems as if the West Indies will finally win a test match! After sitting through many, many agonizing defeats, perhaps there's a glimmer of hope. Let's hope that it's the beginning of a reversal of fortune.

18 DAYS TO GO AND THE BUCK IS PASSING

2005-05-27T13:30:00.000-05:00

Below are the responses of political representatives of Jamaica to the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica’s (PSOJ) emancipation park declaration ultimatum. The declaration demanded that political representatives sever ties with gunmen and other criminal elements in their constituencies, and gave the politicians until June 15, 2005 to do so publicly. It also called for the dismantling of political garrisons.

Karl Samuda (JLP General Secretary)
"We are prepared to do all we can to reduce crime, but we do not want to be held responsible for what is really the responsibility of the elected government, and the nation ought not to lose sight of that fact."

Omar Davies (Finance Minister)
Omar Davies, whose South St Andrew seat is considered as one of the main garrisons of the governing People's National Party (PNP), said yesterday that he had taken concrete steps to de-tribalise his constituency, including bringing warring factions together in "Rema" and promoting peaceful interaction with their former enemy - Tivoli Gardens - through football matches and other initiatives.
"I have gone way beyond a letter, I have opened up the constituency."

Dr Karl Blythe (PNP vice president)
Dr. Blythe said that he had no known association with any criminals and therefore could not disassociate himself. Blythe, the MP for Western Westmoreland and a former water and housing minister, also sought to explain the context in which he attended the funeral of reputed gangster, Willie Haggart a few years ago.

"As a politician you meet and shake hands with many people but I have not knowingly formed any such association. You know I come from a rural constituency, I was introduced to Willie Haggart as an influential community person, I didn't know anything about his reputation as a somebody with shady associations. It is when he died that I started to hear all sorts of things," said Blythe.

Taken from the Jamaica Observer May 28, 2005.

Old Rhetoric

2005-05-26T10:07:00.000-05:00

The PSOJ's 2005 Declaration of Emancipation Park contains nothing new. While I agree with all the points laid out in the declaration, various entities have been calling for these steps for years. What is different about this call? Does the PSOJ think that the government is going to make an about-face because of a half day shut-down?

I also find it interesting that the declaration contained this line: "Be it resolved that effective May 25, 2005, the citizens of Jamaica hereby unite to restore law, order and freedom from fear to our country." Has the PSOJ been talking to the man in the street? Do they realise that the overwhelming view is that this lockdown "only happen 'cause a big man dead....them no really care bout we." An initiative such as this cannot be successful if there is no groundswell of support from the average man.

The token gesture by Grace Kennedy of donating half a day's profit may serve to further alienate the average man from the PSOJ. Half a day's profit. Five million dollars. More money than the minimum-wage earning Jamaican will earn in 40 years, made in half a day. Why not contribute one day's profit a month? That'll only be 3.2% of the annual profit. A small price to pay to help get the country back on track.

There has to be much more of a sacrifice on the part of Jamaican corporations if they expect to garner a modicum of support at the grass-roots level. They have to show, in a meaningful, tangible way, that they are serious about tackling crime. Rhetoric and token gestures simply won't do.

The same goes for the statement issued by the Prime Minister. The government must lead by example, not by rhetoric. If only the PM got as worked up about crime and the current state of Jamaica as he did about the CCJ perhaps we'd be in a different situation today. The country is fed up of statements with no follow up.

What of the Fuel That Sustains the Revolution?

2005-05-25T18:59:00.000-05:00

"The hypocrisy began at 1 pm" was one of the many catch phrases thrown around on the internet today describing the stance by the PSOJ of Jamaica to shutdown the business in Jamaica for half a day to protest the escalating crime rate in the country.

As the PSOJ takes the initiative to launch an attack against crime and violence in the country I laud the initiative and extend my support to such a valiant effort. I am concerned however by the fact that to date they have not voiced the strategies that are going to be used to maintain this fiery outburst which has as its catalyst the death of two business men who reside in May Pen.

Surely Iwould like to think that if the fuel required to keep the momentum was the death of the citizens of the country then there is no question that the fires of this movement will not go out. The fact that protesters held a mass rally in the heart of the capital to read the names of more than 650 people murdered since the start of the year attests to this fact.

But where was the outcry when the other 648 people died? Where was the PSOJ taking its stance for the masses that they now ask to support them whole heartedly in their venture.

We would like to hope that the fire that keeps this revolutionary movement going would not be the death of another affluent citizen in the country as 642 deaths later I am sure that the fire would be out.

The shutdown

2005-05-25T17:58:00.000-05:00

The shutdown planned today by the PSOJ "to register the concern of the business sector over the deterioration of law and order in the country" is too little, too late. The call for the shutdown, coming as it did a few days after the brutal murder of two May Pen businessmen, seems more like a reflex reaction to murders so close to home than a genuine concern for the safety of the people of Jamaica. This, coupled with the apparent inability of the PSOJ and other entities to bring pressure to bear on politicians who sit in the front pews of area leaders' funerals to resign, area leaders whom many say were directly related to the crime which the PSOJ claims to be condemning, makes this gesture by the PSOJ woefully inadequate.

What is needed is not just a half-day lockdown, but a 24 hour shutdown of all businesses, schools, factories and churches. A march on the Prime Minister's office. A more vocal PSOJ, more vocal social entities. Vocal not only when one of their own is killed, but when any Jamaican, rich or poor, is murdered. The time for cozying up to the ineffective political and social leadership of this country is over.

Of fires and parents

2005-03-09T12:35:00.000-05:00

The charge of child neglect brought against Devon Pinnock after the death of his two year old child seems woefully inadequate. This isn't a case where the child broke an arm or a leg because of his neglect. A two-year old child was burnt to death becuase Mr. Pinnock was next door selling cigarettes! WTF? Negligent homicide, defined as "the killing of another person through gross negligence or without malice" and "unintentional killing(s) in which the actor(s) should have known they were creating substantial and unjustified risks of death by conduct that grossly deviated from ordinary care", would have been much more appropriate, but there is no such provision under the 'Offences against the Person Act' .

Under the 'Child Care and Protection Act 2003', an adult who has custody, charge or care of a child and wilfully assaults, physically and mentally ill-treats, neglects, abandons or exposes a child to suffer any of the above can be fined up to $500,000 or imprisoned with hard labour.

They should lock him, and anyone else who leaves 2 and 4 year olds in a house unattended, up and throw away the key.