On Wednesday night fire gutted a storeroom on the construction site of the Bahia Principe hotel at Pear Tree Bottom.
This follows on the collapse of the lobby of the new hotel; the crushing to death of a worker; riots over pay; a run-in with environmental groups (the hotel is being built on the breeding ground of sea turtles) and a partial collapse of the building last year.
Of course, these misfortunes are all the consequence of incompetent Government regulation, poor labour relations and poor construction practices, but let’s just call it “THE CURSE OF THE SEA TURTLE”……..
Sea turtle on the beach
from The Panama News
“Into the Sea” (Brenda Z. Guiberson)
Not so Love-ly Tourism
In a month when the local and foreign papers are carrying stories about the charms of Jamaica’s rent-a-dreads (otherwise known as male prostitutes – women only section), a young Australian tourist was murdered in his Montego Bay hotel, apparently after taking a local female prostitute up to his room to smoke ganja.
It’s bad news for the Gloucestershire Hotel which is old, charming and right across the road from Montego Bay’s best beach, Doctor’s Cave. But what to do ?
Like every other hotel on the island (that caters to tourists) the Gloucestershire has notices advising that “unregistered guests” are not allowed in the rooms. You can carry your new friend to the bar, but not to the room…..For obvious reasons, the hotel staff never go to the trouble of explaining to visitors why this is, and hence many visitors just ignore the rule………
The right time to retire ? Andrew Young ! Al Sharpton ! The time is now…….
It’s always nice to live long enough to become a total embarrassment to the next generation. You get to sit on the veranda and tell outrageous stories and have young people shake their heads at your outdated ideas and your ridiculous prejudices….Little later you can get yourself a drink – beer or rum, tea or cocoa, or whatever – and sit down in front of the TV and watch the news, all the time tut-tutting at the state of the world…..
Andrew Young (from Santa Clara University)
The time has come for Andrew Young to take his seat on the veranda – he’s well over seventy (he was a friend of Dr. Martin Luther King) and earlier this year made threats to sue Bruce Golding, Jamaica’s Opposition Leader ( I forget why – something ridiculous). Now he’s resigned as a consultant to Walmart, after saying Walmart was better for blacks than Jews, Arabs and Koreans…..Wonkette has the best take on it….
The whole story is sad, not because he revealed that black people are just as racist as any other group of people (any Indo-Trinidadian or Indo-Guyanese could have told you that ), but because there’s only so long anyone can make a living solely off being a famous black man….and, come on, admit it, you had a little problem remembering what he’s famous for (Mayor of Atlanta long time ago, civil rights long time before that…..)……
Then Andrew, you should make some room on the veranda for another famous black man, the Reverend Al Sharpton. Uncle Al went to talk to the National Association of Black Journalists this week and complained about Hollywood and the recording industry making young black men think Gangsta is glamorous. According to Al, this leads to young black people thinking that the only way to be black is to be Gangsta……
Confused ? So am I. Here I was thinking that Al Sharpton had made a career out of defending black people’s right to riot, cuss and carry on bad (Crown Heights, Tawana Brawley etc.) and that this has had a bad(or good) effect on young men like 50 Cent who have made careers out of, and become very, very rich out of carrying on bad…….
Al Sharpton is only 52 years old, and is talking about running for President in 2008. But no matter. Andrew, go get your buddy a drink and then have a little chat to him about Senator Barack Obama – you know the black kid who’s actually managed to get elected to the Senate, and, unlike you, Al, has an outside chance of becoming President some day…
Senator Barack Obama
Come on Al, you really want to embarrass a nice young man like that ?…..When there’s all this room on the veranda ?
“An Easy Burden: The Civil Rights Movement and the Transformation of America” (Andrew Young)
“Al on America” (Al Sharpton, Karen Hunter)
Good luck better than money (good timing, Asafa)
Asafa Powell
Jamaica’s so-far-absolutely-squeaky-clean Asafa Powell went to Zurich and equalled his own world record on the same day that American sprinter Marion Jones was finally caught by a drug test (and while one-time Asafa rival Justin Gatlin waits to hear how long he’ll be banned for failing a drug test in April)……..
Just to make things sweet, Sherone Simpson (yes, she’s Jamaican too !) won the women’s 100 metres.
Sherone Simpson
Congrats, guys. You made our weekend !
Accomplish what you will !
It was Marcus Garvey’s birthday this week, and the Government of Jamaica is working to clear his name in the U.S. (he was framed for mail fraud in 1923). Why is this important ? He’s a Jamaican National Hero. Next time you get the chance, visit the Garvey Museum in Liberty Hall (76 King Street, Kingston). It’ll make you proud.
“The American Experience – Marcus Garvey: Look for Me in the Whirlwind” (Stanley Nelson)
“Garvey, His Work and Impact” (Rupert Lewis)
[posted with ecto]
Technorati Tags: Andrew Young, Bahia Principe, Bruce Golding, environment, hotel, Jamaica, sex tourism, Sharpton
Jamaica and the world 
You’re mocking the like sof Andrew Yuong sand Al Sharpton for their racism, but lauding genocidal racist Marcus Garvey? What am I missing here?
You’re mocking the like sof Andrew Yuong sand Al Sharpton for their racism, but lauding genocidal racist Marcus Garvey? What am I missing here?