It’s the middle of the year and the middle of a hot summer, however there is a certain relief in :-

The pundits, notably Portmore loudmouth Garnet Roper, stop trying to get a rise out of the PM (glad you noticed guys, she’s a female she doesn’t have one….) and start haranguing the general populace. This week, if you were the least bit interested, Garnet tells us why the PNP and the toll road will receive his continued support……..Mark Wignall, taking his mind off his own legal problems , has something to say about the deacon……Personally, I want the pastor of the Dayton Avenue Church, that retired Court of Appeal judge, arrested for failing to protect a child…..talk about supposed to know better……

“Beyond Sex Roles: What the Bible Says About a Woman’s Place in Church and Family” (Gilbert G. Bilezikian)

“Sex, Priests, and Secret Codes: The Catholic Church’s 2,000-Year Paper Trail of Sexual Abuse” (Thomas P. Doyle, A.W. R. Sipe, Patrick J. Wall)

The much discussed Portmore section of the toll road opens, and thousands chose to use it rather than sit in traffic for hours on Mandela highway. Kudos to Trevor Jackson of the Highway 2000 management who respectfully pleaded with Portmore residents not to boycott his bridge, although he has been in Jamaica long enough to know that a successful boycott was unlikely (some of us just tired of a three hour daily commute….)

“Looking for America on the New Jersey Turnpike” (Angus K. Gillespie, Michael Aaron Rockland)

“The Toll Gate” (Gordon Donnell)

Omar Davis stops pretending that he’s going to take his ball and go home. In the five months since his failed bid for the Presidency of the PNP, Omar has waited in vain for that lucrative local or international job to be offered – you know, the one that was going to allow him to leave office trailing clouds of glory and a repentant PNP………He has had time to reflect that he does not now, nor has he ever had, a Ph.d in Economics (his Ph.d is in Geography) and younger, lovelier, more qualified candidates (she’s called Rosalea Hamilton and has a Ph.D in Economics, a degree in law and a seat on the Board of the Bank of Jamaica) are ready to step into his job, and his constituency, about 2 and 1/2 seconds after he decides to leave it……..

Dr. Rosalea Hamilton

“How to Get a PhD – 4th edition (Study Skills S.)” (Estelle Phillips, Derek.S. Pugh)

“The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time” (Jeffrey Sachs)

In the wider world (yes, I mean outside Jamaica) Portia’s hug and kiss methods receive endorsement from two unlikely sources. According to the London Times, the new leader of the Opposition Tory party, and cute-can’t-done David Cameron, advocates a love-thy-teenager approach to the U.K.’s disaffected young people, and the U.S. Army issues a new field manual for soldiers that suggests a kinder, gentler approach to the insurgents (apparently the “if you have them by the balls their hearts and minds will follow” approach hasn’t been working…..)

“The Political Thought of the Conservative Party Since 1945” (Palgrave Macmillan)

“21st Century U.S. Military Survival Manuals and related Army Field Manuals: Including Survival, Evasion, and Recovery; Combatives; Combat Skills; Camouflage; … Visual Signals, and more” (Department of Defense)
And elsewhere in the Middle East, Arab states finally face up to their new reality (supporting anti-Israel and anti-U.S. forces like Hezbollah and Hamas may be popular, but may also make Hezbollah-puppeteer, Iran, the sole power broker in the region).

“Hezbollah” (Hala Jaber)

“The Palestinian Hamas” (Shaul Mishal, Avraham Sela)

Finally, in bad news for our local rent-a-dreads Charlotte Rampling opens in a new movie, “Heading South” featuring American women who pay, wait for it, Haitian gigolos for sex…… As if anywhere in Haiti could match up to the white sands of Negril and our dreadlocked charmers !!!! The Jamaica Tourist Board needs to get its’ act together !!!!

“The Night Porter – Criterion Collection” (Liliana Cavani)

“The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More” (Chris Anderson)

[posted with ecto]

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