Donald ‘Zekes’ Phipps is taking his community leader skills to prison for life (or 30 years, whichever is shorter). His lawyer, Churchill Neita, evidently was disappointed enough in the sentence to blame “foreign cops” for Zekes conviction and sentencing.

Zekes

Yes, Mr. Neita, it seems likely that it took the presence of foreign cops for the police force to be able to gather enough evidence for Zekes to come to trial. And, yes, you are correct that many people are now scared to use their cell phones, especially if they are using them to order a murder.

As for lawyer Neita saying “community leaders such as Zeeks are necessary in the inner city communities to bring order and stability ”, this indicates that Mr. Neita believes that inner city residents are not worthy of order and stability brought about by an effective police force, an absence of dons and gangs, high employment, adequate housing etcetera. Sounds like libel to me.

Churchill Neita

Mr. Neita should not despair of the Jamaican justice system however. Have you noticed how many of our “most wanted” are being captured alive and are going to trial ? As opposed to being killed “in a shootout” ? Doubtless due to all those foreign cops in the police force.

But as dead men need no lawyers, and live gangsters can’t have too many, Mr. Neita could end up thanking DCP Mark Shields for all the new business he’s sending his way…..(yes, I know: not very likely)

“Dead Men Walking” (Lee Jackson, Baz Gascoyne)

“Prison Ministry: Understanding Prison Culture Inside and Out” (Lennie Spitale)

“Life, death and Sex in Prison” (Jimmie)

Oliver Clarke on crime

The owner of the Daily Gleaner, Oliver Clarke, has noticed that the “Commission for the Prevention of Corruption has been ”an abject failure“ as it has not been bringing the guilty to book”. (The Commission, you will recall, was supposed to prevent civil servants from retiring at age 45 as J$ billionaires….)

I think the PNP under PJ Patterson long ago lost its’ enthusiasm for any sort of accountability for public servants. However, all may not be lost. The new Prime Minister could still encourage the Jamaican courts to follow the route of the Texan and South Korean judiciaries which have fearlessly convicted, and will almost certainly lock up, Messrs Lay and Skilling of Enron, and the erstwhile founder (and detroyer) of Daewoo, Kim Woo-Choong.

Just imagine what could happen here if the police began to arrest, and juries to convict (and judges to send to prison) Board Chairmen and company founders for tax evasion, or fraud, or just plain tief.

We could have whistles being blown right, left and centre. We could have senior officers of Stock Exchange companies testifying against the Board of Directors. We could have girlfriends (and boyfriends) detailing their personal expenses for officers of the court.

In fact, the more I think about it, the more fun it seems likely to be. So Portia, don’t delay. Don’t waste time worrying about who among your PNP flock, or who at the Ministry of Finance, or who on which State Board, should be arrested. Do what you can do. Be what you can be.

Call Oliver Clarke right away. Come up with a list. (A list is vital.) And now, at last we have a job for SSP Adams. Give him the list and tell him to get going. Show those tax evaders no mercy, SSP !!!

“The Trial of Gangster Al Capone: A Headline Court Case (Headline Court Cases)” (Karen L. Trespacz)

“The Untouchables (Special Collector’s Edition)” (Brian De Palma)

The World Cup

Zidane with World Cup Mascot Goleo (from the BBC)

Only just over nine days to go before the first matches, so it’s not too early to start checking out the different websites being offered for keeping us 100% informed and involved. The UK Guardian has a slow but informative flash site up with past World Cup info. The BBC is of course offering every kind of coverage 24/7 – radio, TV, web, mobile.

The official FIFA World Cup site is a bit disappointing – the match schedules are confusing and pictures of players aren’t up yet. (Apparently, they couldn’t find a picture of Ronaldo!)

The best downloadable World Cup match calendar I’ve seen so far is here.

A German site is offering an extension for Firefox browser users called FootieFox – this will stream the results of World Cup matches at the bottom of your screen. (Before downloading, please read the comments from users of a previous version over on the Firefox site).

Total football fanatics with lots of money can load up with portable media players, wrist TV’ s and PCTV sticks here. Gamblers can start checking the odds here.

In the absence of the Reggae Boys, Jamaicans can support the Soca Warriors from Trinidad and Tobago. Check out todays post at the Soca Warriors website !

If you’re not interested in football, but don’t want to be completely left out of the conversation, you could try this New York Times “soccer blog”. They’ll be covering the heavy duty stuff like why Holocaust denier President Ahmadinejad of Iran shouldn’t risk making the trip to Germany – not even if his team make the finals….

“Ronaldinho:The Best Player in the World” (Digital Latina)

“El Diego: The Autobiography of the World’s Greatest Footballer” (Diego Maradona)

“The Story of the World Cup: The Essential Companion to Germany 2006” (Brian Glanville)

Technorati Tags: Corruption, crime, Jamaica, Jamaican

Donald ‘Zekes’ Phipps is taking his community leader skills to prison for life (or 30 years, whichever is shorter). His lawyer, Churchill Neita, evidently was disappointed enough in the sentence to blame “foreign cops” for Zekes conviction and sentencing.

Zekes

Yes, Mr. Neita, it seems likely that it took the presence of foreign cops for the police force to be able to gather enough evidence for Zekes to come to trial. And, yes, you are correct that many people are now scared to use their cell phones, especially if they are using them to order a murder.

As for lawyer Neita saying “community leaders such as Zeeks are necessary in the inner city communities to bring order and stability ”, this indicates that Mr. Neita believes that inner city residents are not worthy of order and stability brought about by an effective police force, an absence of dons and gangs, high employment, adequate housing etcetera. Sounds like libel to me.

Churchill Neita

Mr. Neita should not despair of the Jamaican justice system however. Have you noticed how many of our “most wanted” are being captured alive and are going to trial ? As opposed to being killed “in a shootout” ? Doubtless due to all those foreign cops in the police force.

But as dead men need no lawyers, and live gangsters can’t have too many, Mr. Neita could end up thanking DCP Mark Shields for all the new business he’s sending his way…..(yes, I know: not very likely)

“Dead Men Walking” (Lee Jackson, Baz Gascoyne)

“Prison Ministry: Understanding Prison Culture Inside and Out” (Lennie Spitale)

“Life, death and Sex in Prison” (Jimmie)

Oliver Clarke on crime

The owner of the Daily Gleaner, Oliver Clarke, has noticed that the “Commission for the Prevention of Corruption has been ”an abject failure“ as it has not been bringing the guilty to book”. (The Commission, you will recall, was supposed to prevent civil servants from retiring at age 45 as J$ billionaires….)

I think the PNP under PJ Patterson long ago lost its’ enthusiasm for any sort of accountability for public servants. However, all may not be lost. The new Prime Minister could still encourage the Jamaican courts to follow the route of the Texan and South Korean judiciaries which have fearlessly convicted, and will almost certainly lock up, Messrs Lay and Skilling of Enron, and the erstwhile founder (and detroyer) of Daewoo, Kim Woo-Choong.

Just imagine what could happen here if the police began to arrest, and juries to convict (and judges to send to prison) Board Chairmen and company founders for tax evasion, or fraud, or just plain tief.

We could have whistles being blown right, left and centre. We could have senior officers of Stock Exchange companies testifying against the Board of Directors. We could have girlfriends (and boyfriends) detailing their personal expenses for officers of the court.

In fact, the more I think about it, the more fun it seems likely to be. So Portia, don’t delay. Don’t waste time worrying about who among your PNP flock, or who at the Ministry of Finance, or who on which State Board, should be arrested. Do what you can do. Be what you can be.

Call Oliver Clarke right away. Come up with a list. (A list is vital.) And now, at last we have a job for SSP Adams. Give him the list and tell him to get going. Show those tax evaders no mercy, SSP !!!

“The Trial of Gangster Al Capone: A Headline Court Case (Headline Court Cases)” (Karen L. Trespacz)

“The Untouchables (Special Collector’s Edition)” (Brian De Palma)

The World Cup

Zidane with World Cup Mascot Goleo (from the BBC)

Only just over nine days to go before the first matches, so it’s not too early to start checking out the different websites being offered for keeping us 100% informed and involved. The UK Guardian has a slow but informative flash site up with past World Cup info. The BBC is of course offering every kind of coverage 24/7 – radio, TV, web, mobile.

The official FIFA World Cup site is a bit disappointing – the match schedules are confusing and pictures of players aren’t up yet. (Apparently, they couldn’t find a picture of Ronaldo!)

The best downloadable World Cup match calendar I’ve seen so far is here.

A German site is offering an extension for Firefox browser users called FootieFox – this will stream the results of World Cup matches at the bottom of your screen. (Before downloading, please read the comments from users of a previous version over on the Firefox site).

Total football fanatics with lots of money can load up with portable media players, wrist TV’ s and PCTV sticks here. Gamblers can start checking the odds here.

In the absence of the Reggae Boys, Jamaicans can support the Soca Warriors from Trinidad and Tobago. Check out todays post at the Soca Warriors website !

If you’re not interested in football, but don’t want to be completely left out of the conversation, you could try this New York Times “soccer blog”. They’ll be covering the heavy duty stuff like why Holocaust denier President Ahmadinejad of Iran shouldn’t risk making the trip to Germany – not even if his team make the finals….

“Ronaldinho:The Best Player in the World” (Digital Latina)

“El Diego: The Autobiography of the World’s Greatest Footballer” (Diego Maradona)

“The Story of the World Cup: The Essential Companion to Germany 2006” (Brian Glanville)

Technorati Tags: Corruption, crime, Jamaica, Jamaican

Amazingly enough, it seems that good sense may yet prevail in the case of the Pinero Group and their 2,000 room hotel at Pear Tree Bottom. Their license to build was quashed in the courts on the grounds that the responsible Government of Jamaica agencies had failed to follow their own procedures, and, according to the Pinero Group, millions of pesetas immediately went up in smoke or down the drain or washed into the wetlands…

The victorious environmentalists, the Jamaica Environment Trust and the Northern Jamaica Conservation Association, were then subjected to the type of abuse normally reserved for opponents of motherhood, chastity and the Christian church.

Yet it seems that both parties have been able to rise above the level of their supporters and detractors, and may yet reach an out-of-court agreement on how the wetlands and wildlife will be conserved even with the Bahia Principe hotel in their midst.

(If you missed all the hot air, you can read it here and here and here and here and here)

“Sea Turtles : A Complete Guide to Their Biology, Behavior, and Conservation” (James R. Spotila)

“Wetland Ecology : Principles and Conservation (Cambridge Studies in Ecology)” (Paul A. Keddy)

“Saving Louisiana?: The Battle for Coastal Wetlands” (Bill Streever)

[posted with ecto]

Technorati Tags: environment, hotel, Jamaica, Jamaican

Amazingly enough, it seems that good sense may yet prevail in the case of the Pinero Group and their 2,000 room hotel at Pear Tree Bottom. Their license to build was quashed in the courts on the grounds that the responsible Government of Jamaica agencies had failed to follow their own procedures, and, according to the Pinero Group, millions of pesetas immediately went up in smoke or down the drain or washed into the wetlands…

The victorious environmentalists, the Jamaica Environment Trust and the Northern Jamaica Conservation Association, were then subjected to the type of abuse normally reserved for opponents of motherhood, chastity and the Christian church.

Yet it seems that both parties have been able to rise above the level of their supporters and detractors, and may yet reach an out-of-court agreement on how the wetlands and wildlife will be conserved even with the Bahia Principe hotel in their midst.

(If you missed all the hot air, you can read it here and here and here and here and here)

“Sea Turtles : A Complete Guide to Their Biology, Behavior, and Conservation” (James R. Spotila)

“Wetland Ecology : Principles and Conservation (Cambridge Studies in Ecology)” (Paul A. Keddy)

“Saving Louisiana?: The Battle for Coastal Wetlands” (Bill Streever)

[posted with ecto]

Technorati Tags: environment, hotel, Jamaica, Jamaican

Despite Prime Minister Patterson informing the the U.K. based Guardian newspaper in 1999 that Jamaica would become a republic within 5 years (that is, by 2003), the Queen is still with us.

Not only do we still have the Queen, but it looks as though we may have the Privy Council for a while longer. The former leader of the Opposition, Edward Seaga, who is now making his contribution to society as an academic and Gleaner columnist, tells us why. You can read his article here.

Seaga explains clearly why the Privy Council is insisting that any new final Court of Appeal must be entrenched in the Constitution – this has to be done in order to prevent any future Government from abolishing the court if it makes any decisions that it doesn't like.

Entrenching the Caribbean Court of Justice as our final Court of Appeal will require (1) a referendum and (2) a majority of Jamaicans voting in favor of the new court.

Seaga thinks this will never happen. I think it won't happen any time soon.

What a relief !

Does this mean we get to keep the Queen ?

And by the way, for all you Seaga haters out there, he is a much better columnist that he ever was a politician. And had he been at the University of the West Indies all these years, it is hard to believe that the Faculty of Social Sciences would not now have an international reputation, instead of being a local brand of “intellectual ghetto”…….

“The Republic (Penguin Classics)” (Plato, Rachana Kamtekar)

“The Trial of Socrates” (I.F. Stone)

[posted with ecto]

Technorati Tags: Edward Seaga, Jamaica, Jamaican, Privy Council, Queen elizabeth II

Amnesty International (AI) has released its 2005 report. It has nothing new to say regarding Jamaica – our police kill with impunity, we murder gays and lesbians, men rape and murder women and girls etcetera. Nothing new, but all true.

"Unspeakable Truths: Facing the Challenge of Truth Commissions" (Priscilla B. Hayner)

The responses have been predictable – Jamaicans for Justice and other human rights organizations have added their voices to AI's call for change….………
A.J. Nicholson, our irrelevant Attorney General, has complained that he has been prosecuting policemen right, left and centre and AI is unreasonable to expect convictions as well…..

Let's recall that it is not the business of AI to give prizes for progress. Inasmuch as the things they measure – namely extra-judicial killings – have NOT declined, they do not need to congratulate us on the things that have changed, namely:-

Murder rates are down since last year.

Three dons – Andem, Richie Poo and Zekes – have been tried, convicted and are now serving long sentences. (Unfortunately, others – Bulbie, Andrew Hope, Chen Chen – were shot to death by policemen or citizens unknown….)

High profile policemen (Reneto Adams) and high profile citizens (Danhai Williams) have been before the courts, even if this has not resulted in jail sentences. (Remember Danhai Williams telling the BBC that he could never go to jail in this here Jamaica……)

I want to predict 2 things to happen if present trends continue:-
1. As murder rates fall, and conviction rates rise, policemen will start to be convicted for extra-judicial killings. A populace, and a judiciary, numbed by years of violence, have given and will continue to give the police the benefit of doubt. Once the justice system restores public confidence by locking up murderers, thieves and rapists, look for juries to be willing to lock up a few policemen…..

2. As the Mark Shields/Scotland Yard method of policing is increasingly effective, look to hear less "bigging up" of thugs and killers in police uniform (Yes, Reneto Adams, I mean you…..). Also look to Dr. Carolyn Gomes, Yvonne McCalla Sobers and Amnesty International to start getting the respect from the local politicians and political pundits that their work already commands internationally. (This may, of course, be wishful thinking on the part of one who could quite happily never hear from A.J. Nicholson again……)

Here's hoping that in the same way that Amnesty International and our local human rights groups have forced the Government of Jamaica to make a serious effort to deal with crime in a legal and democratic manner (as opposed to the methods used in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly), the recent success of the JET and the NJCA in exposing the craven incompetence of the government environmental protection agencies with respect to the hotel development at Pear Tree Bottom, will force the Government to start protecting our reefs, beaches and (is it too much to ask ?) the rights of Jamaicans to enjoy our beautiful island……

Bottom line: Whether we're talking about crime or hotels, it's all about the environment.

"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" (Sergio Leone)

"Keepers of the Flame: Understanding Amnesty International" (Stephen Hopgood)

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Technorati Tags: Attorney General, Corruption, crime, environment, hotel, Jamaica, Jamaican

Lee Malvo

Lee Boyd Malvo gave testimony today in another trial on his participation in the sniper killings in the Washington region in October 2002. Searching his testimony, and the testimony of those attending the trial, left me still wondering if there is some motive for his actions that has not yet been revealed.

Minister Phillip Paulwell

Yesterday, the Cabinet of Portia Simpson Miller was similarly engaged in trying to thrash out the motive for Minister Phillip Paulwell's refusal to use the brains that God evidently gave him…..His spectacular failures as a Minister are balanced by his intuitive understanding of the local political scene (almost alone among his peers he supported the winner in the 1992 AND the 2006 PNP Presidential elections), and by the apparent lack of consequences of his most horrible mistakes…..

Despite the Intech Fund debacle, we do in fact have a thriving and competitive telecommunications sector (witness Digicel, Flow, and a finally-awake Cable and Wireless) and a thriving call centre business (Patrick Casserly et al carrying the flag and making lots of money and jobs).

Despite the cement debacle, it seems likely that, in fact, all our stadiums and villas will be ready in time for the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

But what could be Phillip Paulwell's motive for repeated cupidity/stupidity? If we are to credit him with the brains he evidently needed to get through law school and become a successful young politician, then we have to think that he simply waits for one of the contending parties to offer him a huge amount of money to decide in their favour, and it is this approach which has produced embarrassing, but possibly very lucrative (for him) policy failures……

"Sniper Trading: Essential Short-Term Money-Making Secrets for Trading Stocks, Options and Futures" (George Angell, George Angell)

On the other hand, if we agree he is just plain stupid, then what ? If the Prime Minister is going to start firing people because they are stupid, who on the back benches will survive to run in the next election ? Which Cabinet Ministers could survive scrutiny for signs of idiocy ?

Is Paulwell spectacularly stupid or just spectacularly corrupt ? I'm inclined to go with spectacularly corrupt. Paulwell was an early supporter of PJ Patterson, who came into the Prime Minister's office swamped by scandal (Shell waiver, Luana, etcetera, etcetera). I'm assuming that Paulwell has just taken PJ Patterson as his role model, and fully expect that he will be first in line to lead the PNP when Portia gets ready to retire…..

As for Lee Boyd Malvo, he wants us to think that he's a not-too-bright, fatherless kid who was taken down an evil path by the wrong role model – a crazy, murderous older man. I dunno. He claims to have known it was wrong to be shooting pregnant women and children on the basis that they were in a rich, white neighbourhood, yet he went along with it……. And one imagines that Malvo's current testimony is driven by his hopes to get out of jail at some point in the future, after "mad" and "coward" Muhammad is safely 6 feet under.

"Three Weeks in October : The Hunt for the Washington Sniper" (Charles A. Moose, Charles Fleming)

If Malvo was female, it would occur to me that he was simply afraid of being killed by Muhammad and went along for that reason. Unfortunately boy children who can use a gun, as Lee Boyd evidently could, are suspected of having no problem killing a father/authority figure, if that's what they want to do…

While we can safely leave Malvo to the U.S. justice system, we cannot ignore what is being put forward as his "motive" – I'm just a poor, mixed up kid with no dad around….

While this might suit the prejudices of some Americans, let us hope that in Jamaica we will continue to insist that having no dad is no excuse for murder. Because if we don't, God help us. Or rather, God won't help us….

And sometime soon (perhaps before the ascension of Minister Paulwell to the Prime Minister ship) we should get around to insisting that wanting money is no excuse for stealing it from the taxpayers…..

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[posted with ecto]

Technorati Tags: Corruption, crime, Jamaica, Jamaican

Today 2 small environmental groups, the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) and the Northern Jamaica Conservation Association (NJCA) won an unusual victory in the courts against the Government of Jamaica and the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA).

JET and the NJCA had sought a judicial review of the environmental permit granted to the Pinero Group to construct a 2,000 room hotel in the wetlands at Pear Tree Bottom, near Runaway Bay.

Mangrove coast, Jamaica(from hofstra.edu)

This is one development that has been consistently opposed by Jamaica's environmentalists. Read or (at least skim) the review of the EIA for the salient points, and find out what has been happening at Pear Tree since Tankweld originally proposed to develop the area in 1992.

Since this triumphant declararion by the former Prime Minister in October 2005:

"Recently, I broke ground at Pear Tree Bottom in St. Ann, for our largest ever tourist resort which will be constructed by the Pinero Group of Spain – an investment of US$200 million which will create permanent direct employment for 2000 workers and indirect employment for several thousand others. During the construction period, some 3000 workers will be employed. This will make a vast and positive difference to the standard of living of the people from this area."

the development has suffered 2 major hiccups – the teargassing of workers last November and the collapse of part of the building earlier this month.

Perhaps the Pinero Group should have a chat with those American hotel people over at the Ritz-Carlton, who found out last year, surprise, surprise, that a river runs through it……That probably wasn't in their Environmental Impact Assessment either…..

"The Sea, the Storm, and the Mangrove Tangle" (Lynne Cherry)

"Caribbean Literature And the Environment: Between Nature And Culture (New World Studies)" (University Press of Virginia)

"Environment And Development In The Caribbean: Geographical Perspectives" (University Press of the West Indies)

Technorati Tags: Jamaica, environment, hotel

Mount Merapi in Indonesia is spewing smoke and hot gases. Expect a similar performance from President Bush this evening. He will attempt to completely obscure all issues on immigration in a bid to take back his chosen role as “The Decider”.

The prospects of anything good coming out of sending the National Guard to the border as “back-up” ? Zero.

The prospects of this boosting Bush’s popularity – now somewhere down at his ankles at 29% ? Who knows ? Americans are diverse and can be perverse when it comes to rating their President……..

“Krakatoa (World Disasters Series)” (Don Nardo)

Technorati Tags: immigration

Update : Chief Justice in Trinidad tried to influence Basdeo Panday case !!!!
Those Trinis ! How shocked our Attorney General will be when he hears of this !

Our irrelevant Attorney General A.J. Nicholson will most likely spend this Monday regretting his recent attack on the JLP crime report.

Senator A.J.Nicholson Colonel McMillan
He has suggested that the report makes an unwarranted attack on the integrity of the judiciary, and has urged the compilers to come forward with proof of bad behaviour by judges. Unfortunately for the Attorney General, Colonel Trevor McMillan has agreed to do just that.

Colonel McMillan, you will recall, is the last Jamaican policeman to inspire widespread public confidence. (Reneto Adams inspired confidence in those who believe in the Clint Eastwood model of policing – ie. a minority, no matter how vocal).

Colonel McMillan was unceremoniously removed from his post as Commissioner of Police when the PNP rank and file rebelled at the prospect of having to deliver an election victory with Colonel McMillan watching the ballot boxes……

Those were the naive old days when we believed that one person could make a difference. Time has delivered some of those things which the early days of the McMillan era promised, namely:
The Electoral Office of Jamaica and CAFFE have had considerable success in cleaning up our local, general and internal party elections. (Could Portia have even been elected if the PNP had been running the delegates election as they did in 1992, when an ungrateful nation was presented with PJ rather Portia ?)
The Privy Council is still with us, as they have asserted our constitutional right to change our Court of Final Appeal only by a referendum of the entire voting population of Jamaica.
The wilingness to explore new crime fighting methods seem to be bearing fruit under Commissioner of Police Lucius Thomas ( new methods = importing police officers from Scotland Yard).
Commissioner Lucius Thomas
However, Colonel McMillan no doubt feels some very understandable regret that Lucius Thomas and Mark Shields are getting the credit for that which he could probably have done himself if only, if only, he had had the political support. Instead he had that walking disaster and crude imitation of a Minister of National Security K.D. Knight…..
DCP Mark Shields
Well, Colonel McMillan, this is the right moment to put the Pandora’s Box of the Caribbean Court of Appeal back in the cupboard unopened.

Let’s hope that you are able to bring forward enough evidence of judicial corruption to shame our Attorney General into at least shutting up about the unmatched integrity of our local judges.

And with any luck we won’t hear anymore from A.J. Nicholson’s generation of “legal minds” who seem to have spent so much time dreaming about their post-Independence glory being capped by a rejection of the Privy Council that they don’t seem to have noticed how the local justice system has festered and rotted under their very noses….

“Police and Crime Control in Jamaica: Problem of Reforming Ex-Colonial Constabularies” (Anthony Harriott)

Technorati Tags: Attorney General, Corruption, crime, Jamaica, Privy Council

The beating in Half-Way Tree:

The front page of the Jamaica Observer today shows a woman "resisting arrest". Our Commissioner of Police, the very respectable Lucius Thomas, has been touting new technology as one of the ways of upgrading police work in Jamaica. He may not have realised that new technology (digital cameras, camera phones) will also force the police to become more accountable.

Possibly the only thing that prevented this from being a one night wonder (our murder rate is way too high for beatings to get much media time) is the Prime Minister ordering a report on the incident.

Good move, Portia. Did any one else listen to August Town discussing the beating this afternoon on "The Corner" (Newstalk 93) ?

Talk about deep divisions between men and women……women still see themselves as entitled to all the consideration of the British idealised "weaker sex"…..i.e. the police were totally, totally out of order….Whereas men feel that the women they see flocking on the streets, yelling and screaming, boxing and kicking, after every incident in the inner city are, well, ballbusters ( to use the parlance of our neighbours to the North)….

That was fast:

Justin Gatlin took the world 100m record from Asafa today. Asafa Powell held the record for less than a year.

Bruce Golding and Goodworks International:

See this article about Goodworks contract with Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and note the casual way that Goodworks representatives apparently threaten to sue whenever they are asked any embarrassing questions about conflicts of interest.

All looks like Bruce Golding is on the right track with this Mirant story.

In case they don't know, let us remind Goodworks International that the wheels of the Jamaican justice system grind exceeding slow, and by the time they get their day in court Bruce Golding will probably have just retired from being Prime Minister for 10 years and having succeeded Portia who would have retired after serving her 3 terms……

In fact, now we think about it, Bruce should just go back to worrying about how to win the next General Election and Andrew Young et al should just take PJ Patterson and go back to Atlanta (and keep themselves quiet)……

Britain's youngest mother:

An 11 year old girl is about to make her 34 year old mother a granny. The baby father is 15, and is in court for impregnating the girl while they were both drunk (the children's ages rather than consent seem to be the issue).

Last week the British media were exercising themselves over a 63 year old woman becoming a mother (the father is her elderly and to-date childless new husband). However, the UK's youngest mother is making all that righteous outrage seem ridiculous.

Soon-to-be-proud-parents

Instead of worrying about whether 63 year old middle class women with medical degrees and husbands will make good parents, maybe we all should have been getting excited about NOT-UP-TO-THE-JOB younger mothers ……

The good news ? All the publicity will give heart to (1) the church – the 11 year old CHOSE not to abort her baby, and is looking forward to becoming a mother (2) CHAVS who will welcome the attention to their so-called subculture – this hard drinking and hard smoking little girl is clearly a CHAV

"Chav! A User's Guide to Britain's New Ruling Class" (Mia Wallace, Clint Spanner)

Time longer than rope:

Guess what ? Americans think Bill Clinton was a better president than the present incumbent.

Despite all previous protestations to the contrary, the Government has added some meat to its' Memorandum of Understanding soup. This had to be done before any more unions leave the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU)…..

There's a prudent silence from a certain quarter. This is

( Princess Anne's one boy pickney )

the only Peter Phillips in the news lately…..

[posted with ecto]

Technorati Tags: Bruce Golding, church, Jamaica, Jamaican, Portia Simpson Miller, abortion

I listened to the Prime Minister's budget presentation yesterday (something I have not done in years – the voice of PJ Patterson hit my own personal Snooze button and I'd just wake up hours later, groggy and bad tempered…).

At the conclusion, it was clear that while she had done well enough for PM Portia (lovable, huggable and well….. we just can't get enough of her) there was no question that Leader of the Opposition, Bruce Golding's speech last week was better. Golding was impressive on virtually every topic, and especially good on corruption, Government waste and the need for fiscal responsibility.

And it wasn't surprising that the evening news casts all made the same point – the Prime Minister disappointed. Her delivery was stilted, she didn't have appear to have a clear grasp of the issues etcetera, etcetera, etcetera….

So it was a bit surprising to read the newspapers this morning which contained nary a word to indicate that she might not have done as well as any of her predecessors or that she wasn't fully in command of her material. (Her material, by the way, was homes for the poor and elderly, money for small businesses – all good, all Portia)

"Demeaned but Empowered: The Social Power of the Urban Poor in Jamaica" (Obika Gray)

Over on The Breakfast Club, our 2 elderly Oxford-educated pundits tiptoed round the issue, each trying to say what they meant without committing that cardinal offense of "insulting a lady".

Anthony Abrahams (who, by refusing to chair the PSOJ sponsored TV debate intended to humiliate her, probably had as much to do with putting her in power as the delegates ) finally came out with this devastating critique," I think Bruce Golding's speech was a little bit better. In substance."

Oh Tony ! Say it ain't so !

But Bruce Golding and the JLP must be reading the papers, listening to the talk shows and inwardly digesting this unpleasant truth: The honeymoon continues.

Better pray that this is still just the honeymoon and that time and tide will give the citizenry some reason, some moderation regarding their new Prime Minister….

Because right now, prayer looks like the only useful option. When Oliver Clarke (He who owns the Daily Gleaner) and Butch Stewart (He who owns the Jamaica Observer) are united in giving PM Portia a free ride, woe betide him who attacks her ….

"Selected Writings and Speeches of Marcus Garvey (Dover Thrift Editions)" (Marcus Garvey)

[posted with ecto]

Technorati Tags: Bruce Golding, corruption, Jamaica, Jamaican, Portia Simpson Miller

Updated: CIA
Seems Porter Goss, CIA boss, did leave because of his predilection for gambling and hookers.

“The Master of Disguise : My Secret Life in the CIA” (Antonio J. Mendez)

Updated: Episcopal Church
The California’s Episcopal Church today in San Francisco elected the Bishop Suffragan of Alabama, Mark Andrus, as their new bishop. Relevant details : Married, 2 kids
So the doomsayers were wrong : voters put their church and the Anglican Communion first…. Amen. Amen. Amen.

“Traveling Mercies : Some Thoughts on Faith” (Anne Lamott)

Updated:DNA
Who cares who’s the baby mother ? This 63 year old is having a baby with someone else’s egg (most likely, they’re not exactly saying). The sperm is her husband’s – he wants to be a baby father, and has no kids at present. She already has 2 grown -up children. Is this love ? Or is she just nuts ?!!

“Fathers and Babies: How Babies Grow and What They Need from You, from Birth to 18 Months” (Jean Marzollo)

“Mother Time : Women, Aging, and Ethics” (Margaret Urban Walker)

[posted with ecto]

Technorati Tags: church

Updated: CIA
Seems Porter Goss, CIA boss, did leave because of his predilection for gambling and hookers.

“The Master of Disguise : My Secret Life in the CIA” (Antonio J. Mendez)

Updated: Episcopal Church
The California’s Episcopal Church today in San Francisco elected the Bishop Suffragan of Alabama, Mark Andrus, as their new bishop. Relevant details : Married, 2 kids
So the doomsayers were wrong : voters put their church and the Anglican Communion first…. Amen. Amen. Amen.

“Traveling Mercies : Some Thoughts on Faith” (Anne Lamott)

Updated:DNA
Who cares who’s the baby mother ? This 63 year old is having a baby with someone else’s egg (most likely, they’re not exactly saying). The sperm is her husband’s – he wants to be a baby father, and has no kids at present. She already has 2 grown -up children. Is this love ? Or is she just nuts ?!!

“Fathers and Babies: How Babies Grow and What They Need from You, from Birth to 18 Months” (Jean Marzollo)

“Mother Time : Women, Aging, and Ethics” (Margaret Urban Walker)

[posted with ecto]

Technorati Tags: church

Is it possible for Jamaica to have a political sex scandal ?!!! Perhaps that is too much to expect in a country where 85% of children are born out of wedlock…….

Today the head of the CIA resigned and the blogosphere is linking it to the emerging sex scandal where prostitutes were provided for Washington VIP's, including apparently Mr. Goss.

Could such a thing even raise a yawn here ?

While our idea of a sex scandal is debating whether homosexuals are even to be allowed to live, our big brother to the north is arguing about whether gays and lesbians can become bishops.

I think we should worry about whether we want to be allied with the mainstream in the U.S. (gays can live, vote, work without fear) or with these guys……

"No Future Without Forgiveness" (Desmond Tutu)

Instead we are worrying about the inconvenient American habit of asking for DNA tests on children being brought to the U.S. by their Green Card parents. Turns out that many a jacket has been revealed during the immigration process. ( Naturally we're blaming the mothers, although how a woman is supposed to know which sperm met her egg, I don't know.)

"How to Interpret Your DNA Test Results for Family History & Ancestry: Scientists Speak Out on Genealogy Joining Genetics" (Anne Hart)

I think the problem is that we hate to face facts. Especially facts damaging to our idea of ourselves as a country of nice, chaste, church -going women under attack by sex-obsessed men……

"Ten Stupid Things Men Do to Mess Up Their Lives" (Laura Schlessinger)

There's many a respectable church lady who has been hard put to explain how come neither of her two pickney turn out to be her husband's…… After he work so hard to bring them all to the States…..

We need to face facts about who all our studs are doing it with, and what that means for our concept of family……

"The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands" (Laura Schlessinger)

And talking about facing facts, Madam Prime Minister needs to face some regarding this party stalwart and this one. Pure corruption or sheer stupidity? These guys are probably guilty of both, but almost certainly of one or the other. We really tired to see them in the paper. Send them to them yard. PLEASE !!!

"Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study of Ethics and Politics (Library of Theological Ethics)" (Reinhold Niebuhr)

Technorati Tags: corruption, gay men, homophobia, immigrants, Jamaica