Democracy Missing, feared dead - Jamaica

Crime Reports

THE CONSTABULARY COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK. CCN

The Constabulary Communications Network (CCN) liaison officer for Kingston reports that Democracy, a long standing resident has gone missing and feared dead.

Reports reaching the CCN are that on October 18, the Jamaica Observer newspaper published a photograph of the Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller doodling while the opposition, Jamaica Labour Party presented its no confidence motion against her government in Parliament.

In an obvious response to the slight created by the publication of the photograph, a move was made to further bar journalists from sections of Gordon House, by erecting and locking a door between the press box and the Hansard section. It is believed the offending photograph was taken from the Hansard section.

Since then attempts by the Opposition and media representatives to have a discussion on the new restrictions in parliament have failed to materialize, and Democracy has not been seen since.

The CCN understands that this is not the first time an attempt has been made on Democracy’s life by this government.

Reports are that in 2004, Democracy’s life was threatened when movement restrictions were placed on the media in Gordon House. Witnesses said that after the contentious vote in Parliament, when Portia Simpson Miller broke ranks with the government and refused to vote on the issue of granting more money to the fire service, members of the media heard when then minister of Foreign Affairs, KD Knight launched into a profanity laced tirade at Simpson Miller. The media witnesses reported the matter and were subsequently barred from areas of Parliament where the government assembled.

The police are looking at Prime Minister Simpson Miller and Speaker of the House Michael Peart as persons of interest into the investigation on Democracy’s disappearance.

If anybody has any information regarding Democracy’s whereabouts please contact your nearest polling station. A reward of change of government will be given to those whose information helps in locating Democracy.

Skettels r us!

Thursday, October 26, 2006, very early in the morning. Prime Minister's residence, uptown, Kingston, Jamaica.

A voice shrieks from a distant upstairs bedroom
"Errald! Errald! Errald! Come here, come here right now!"
Errald in the kitchen shakes his head and mumbles under his breath, "is what happen now?" as he heads towards his frantic sounding wife.
"Yes P, what is it, and lower yuh voice its too early in the morning!"
"Look at what dem have inna di Observer now?, Look at it Errald! Just look at it!"
Errald reaches over and takes a copy of the newspaper from his visibly upset wife. The headline, "PM slights EU President" blares at him.
"Errald, why dem hate me? Is wha me do dem? Why dem hate me? Why is it every ting me do is wrong fi dem Errald? Why?"
"Calm down P. Calm down - dat is how di media is and yuh know dem have yuh under a microscope, suh just be calm."
"Be calm Errald, is dat all yuh can tell me! Be calm! Dis newspaper hate me and I never do dem nutting. Just last week di front page of dis same paper have di photo of me doing me likkle drawings dem.
"P, is not the same paper since dis is a new edition of di newspaper and di paper is published daily."
"Errald, I don't have time fi dis foolishness yuh know what me mean. Is dis same Observer did harass me last week. Now dem come back again. If dem nah draw di likkle pictcha dem of me, dem a tek photo or dem a write story! Errald why dem won't leave me alone?"
"P, first of all yuh need to calm down, you cannot allow dem to ruffle yuh up like dis man. You are di Prime Minister now."
"So why dem don't respect me as di Prime Minister? Eeeh? Why? Dem never do dis to P.J yuh know! And dem couldn't try it wid Eddie, cos well him woulda lock dem down same time and dem know it."
"P, you know sey as di Prime Minister yuh have to keep a level head and we need to think through this properly and come up wid di appropriate response."
"Yes, I am going to response alright. Call me lawyer! Call Phillip...I want him over here right now! And where is Colin? I did tell unnu I never want him to go, now who is going to advise me? I going to own the Observer newspaper by the time I done. Watch and see!"
"P, it is only 6:45 in the morning, we not going to call anybody and we going to be calm about dis. We will deal wid dis when yuh go into the office later on."
"Go into the office!!! Errald, yuh mad? I not going into the office, you don't see sey Princess sick, yuh want me to leave me one and only shitzu?"
Errald sighs and shakes his head. "P, you are the Prime Minister, you have to go into the office. Remember there are elections around the corner, we have to be ready. We need to start planning."
"I bet is dat damn dundus Golding is a part of this. I bet him have some likkle operative a work inna mi government. I want every labourite fired from mi government. I don't want dem fi get work not even as a street sweeper! Me tiad of dem now man. Errald yuh not mekking di phone calls?"
"Ok dear let me mek a phone call." Errald takes up the cordless phone and leaves the room as he dials.
He listens as it rings on the other end, then a gruff but kindly voice answers, "Hello"
"Yes, Aggrey, is Errald. Look nuh, we need fi give mi wife a higher dosage cos she really vex dis mawning. ...Is dem damn people at di Observer...yes please come quick yah man cos me waan guh back guh watch me cricket. How much India mek so far?"
The conversation ends and Errald calls out to his housekeeper. "Milly, is di last time ah gwine to tell yuh, P, is not to read any copy of di Observer in dis house yuh hear me. Whenever she ask fi newspaper give har di Gleaner!"
He storms away muttering under his breath, "Ah man cannot get peace and quiet in his own home pon a Thursday mawning, and see it deh India just lose one next wicket. Come West Indies, mek we eat dem food!"

Jamaica - the greatest country in the world!

Guess how much the next general elections in Jamaica will cost? Well if you've been keeping up on your news, you'd know the answer to that... a mere two billion dollars.

Oh well we can afford it can't we?

After all, Jamaica does have the best education system in the world, every child leaves primary school literate; all of our students perform above average at the CXC's, A-Levels and CAPE. Every Jamaican child leaves school at 18 with a solid education and is able to be a worthy contributor to our society. And why shouldn't they? We certainly do have a reputation for having the best paid teachers in the Western Hemisphere, in fact only the oil rich nations of the Middle East pay their teachers more than we do.

And our health care system, well what's not to love about it? We have people flying into Jamaica from all over the world to be administered to by our world renowned doctors who are always on the cutting edge of medicine and work in hospitals that are admittedly the best in the world. And of course every Jamaican has access to free health care!

And people let's not even talk about our infrastructure? Have you ever in your life seen a country so clean? Have you ever seen roads this beautiful? People, let's just be honest isn't the Jamaican public transportation the best you have ever seen in the world? I mean for those of us who travel, its always a culture shock to see what passes for public transport in places like New York, those people using their trains, subways and buses and what not. Puhlease, they need to come to JA to see how a real public transportation system is run!

And crime, now I think that's really where Jamaica needs to take a bow. Wasn't it just yesterday, that some world body said that Jamaica is the safest country in the world. I mean you're more likely to be speared by a sting ray than to be mugged or shot in Jamaica.
Of course you'd expect all of this since justice is always swift and fair in Jamaica, and our police officers, well they go around the world training other cops - that's just how good they are.

And let's not even talk too much about our economy. What would you expect when nobody lives below poverty? And why should they? The Jamaican dollar and the Euro are at 1-1! Boy, that Omar was a god send. But really its because Jamaica is the perfect climate in which to do business, hence we clearly export far more than we import and when you look at those G.D.P and G.N.P figures you just have to be amazed that a country of our size is able to do so much!

But where I really think Jamaica has outdone herself is with the quality of our public officials. They are the fairest, most honest, hard-working public officials in the world! So you know what, of course we can afford 2 billion dollars for elections, heck why don't we just double the figure since Jamaica is the greatest place in the world to live, and we fixed our problems a long time ago!

WHAT THE ?!!!!

(Photo Caption: Behold the saviour of Jamaican Football - BORA!!!)


Ok, so Jamaica didn't do so well in our last quest to play at the FIFA World Cup Finals. As a matter of fact since becoming the first country from the English speaking Caribbean to make it to a World Cup Final ( France '98), the dream of returning to another one has remained just that - a dream; and after our performance "on the road to Germany" it seemed an ever fleeting one at that.

So in our quest to go back to the World Cup Finals we've tried several things including changing the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF's) administration, and changing coaches almost as many times as Jeffrey Maxwell has changed teams. Of course none of it has worked and the JFF is now more broke than Mike Tyson.

And Jamaicans being Jamaicans have sworn that the only way we'll get back to another FIFA World Cup Final is to get a "farin" coach. Logical, in part, since we got to France in '98 with the able assistance of the lovable Brazilian Rene (Jesus Saves) Simoes.

So "farin" coach names were being bandied about including, Sven Goran Eriksson of big side England fame no less. Yes, Jamaicans like to aim very high, "we likkle but we tallawah". But, alas, we couldn't afford him, as he wanted close to the equivalent of our country's entire budget!

But not to be deterred on the quest for the "farin" coach- we saw, we aimed at and we shot for a popular Serbian coach lovingly called "Bora".
And by George, would you believe we got him!!!

He's taken teams like Mexico, Costa Rica and U.S.A to the World Cup, so he's the business! But guess what...Jamaica cannot afford him!!!

Apparently Bora, says he wants 3.5 million euros, which is equivalent to almost 270 million Jamaican dollars. We're told he's not getting that, but we haven't been told what he is getting.

But let's just say that Bora has accepted a million euros, guess what, Jamaica still cannot afford him.

But hey maybe the private sector has decided to do something for "Jamaica" and says look we'll pay him his one million euros, he deserves it and its for our country! Ok, fine, its their money, they robbed, cajoled, conned and connived every last bit of it from Jamaicans so they can do with it as they please.

Ahhmm, hold up, as that's apparently not the case, the Private Sector will only be footing part of Bora's bill.

It's being reported in several sectors that the Jamaican Government - let's revise that- the "broke" Jamaican Government is going to be paying US$500,000 of Bora's salary! And to that I say somebody is drinking mad puss piss!

This is the same government that has extorted MOU's, two to be exact, from its civil servants. The same government who has said it simply cannot pay it's teachers, nurses and policemen more!
The same government who can't afford to fix the nation's pot hole laden roads.
The same government who can't afford to better equip our public hospitals so that pregnant women won't be forced to lose their babies because of failing equipment.
The same government who can't afford to put money into its education system so that every Jamaican child gets an equal opportunity at learning.

Do you know how much US $500,ooo could do in a country like Jamaica?

Do you know what half of that money could do for all sports in Jamaica, much less. Imagine it could build proper and first class training facilities for our world rated track and field athletes. It could promote swimming, a sport in which we've shown some inclination, but get's no support. It could help us find and develop the next Courtney Walsh in the primary school system. Hell, a quarter of that money could rehabilitate the now defunct Dragon Gym and probably help us put our next Mike McCallum and Lennox Lewis on the world scene.

But hey, I guess all that we've mentioned above is certainly not as important as making certain, that Jamaica is at the FIFA World Cup Finals in 2010!

Oh yeah, and here's a question for all those who think Bora is the second coming of Christ, how certain are they that he'll be able to do it? After all the last time I checked, it wasn't the technical director who took a team to the World Cup, but the players and a proper working Football Federation that had devised a sound football programme.

Playing More to Get Better - A perspective on Windies Cricket!!

Today we take a momentary break from the ongoing soap-opera called Trafigura and the PNP to focus our energies on something equally important - cricket, lovely cricket. Which if you're a West Indian, hasn't been all that lovely in the past 10 years, but here's a thought on how we could bring it back to the days when members of the West Indian cricket team were gods.

Photo Caption: Chris Gayle, one of those players who can take the West Indies back to its glory days - but he needs to play more.

Once every blue moon or so, the West Indies cricket team shows glimpses of what it is capable of just before imploding in another embarrassing display. They are the only team I know that constantly manages to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. They lose so often it seems they go out of their way to lose matches even those where the victory is theirs for the taking.

Take, for example, in the recent DLF Trophy when they were in a commanding position against world champions Australia during the preliminary rounds but ended up losing. They were something like 196 for 1 chasing 273, I believe. Inexplicably, they lost their last nine wickets for just over 20 runs.

Still, they go on to beat Australia in and India in consequent matches and got to the finals. However, once they get there, and again putting themselves into a commanding position, they self-destructed and handed Australia victory. Chasing something like 240 runs, they crumbled to 113 all out. This is a team with the likes of Chris Gayle, Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Dwayne Bravo, players, who despite what the rankings say, are among the best in the world.

Now, here they are again in India as defending champions of the ICC Trophy but having to qualify for the final rounds only because their record had been so abysmal since they won the tournament in dramatic fashion in England two years ago.

So far, they have been impressive dismantling Zimbabwe and Bangladesh the way they are supposed to. They play Sri Lanka later this week and their dwindling fan base must be crossing all their fingers and their toes, hoping for yet another impressive victory.

What, though, is wrong with this talented team? Why can’t the wins come more consistently?

These questions have been debated a billion times since they were toppled as world kingpins by Australia in 1995.

It’s not the coaching, not entirely anyway because they won for a bit under Roger Harper and despite what people think they have shown noticeable improvement since Bennett King’s arrival.

But here’s a thought. Perhaps they just need to play more. Of all the major Test playing nations, the West Indies, I believe plays the least amount of cricket. In between tours, and depending on the time of the year, except for one or two players, most of the West Indies team members do not play enough cricket at a high enough level. And this is why, I feel, they don’t improve.

We all know that no matter how much you practice in training, unless a player can apply what he learns in practice over and over again in ‘match-like’ situations, those training sessions are nothing more than a waste of time. This is why there is physical fitness and then there is ‘match’ fitness, the ability to consistently apply what is learnt in training in actual game situations.

Those following West Indies cricket for more than 20 years should notice that the decline in the West Indies fortunes coincided with the period when the people who run the domestic leagues in England found a way to keep West Indies players out by introducing regulations governing the numbers of overseas players that a county is able to sign.

Prior to that period every member of the West Indian team was playing county cricket, Clive Lloyd, Viv Richards, Joel Garner, Michael Holding, Colin Croft, Joel Garner, you name the player from back then and you could also name the county he represented.

Back then players could practice what they learned under different playing conditions at a sufficiently high level and by doing so, honed their skills to a very fine degree. As a result when they came together, they were a team of players with very developed skills and levels of discipline, virtually invincible.

That is not the case these days.

There are a couple of ways out of this scenario. The West Indies Cricket Board could aggressively campaign to get its players signed by teams in Australia, South Africa and England where the levels of competition are consistently high.

It could also be arranged so that the players could be released in time for them to participate in the local domestic seasons here in the Caribbean thus giving our players at least eight months of solid cricket every year. As a condition of these agreements, players would contribute say 25 per cent of their salaries as kind of an ‘agent’ fee to the WICB.

Under such an agreement everyone benefits.

Or failing that, the WICB could with the help of private businesses across the region, and perhaps from across the world, set up their own domestic league. I am sure the WICB could pitch a convincing argument to R. Allen Stanford and other like-minded businessmen to finance a four or five-month season for say 10 or twelve teams made up of the best in the region and a number of quality players from other countries.

These new stadia being built for the ICC Cricket World Cup would come in handy for such a tournament. If such a competition is run in a manner similar to how American sport franchises are run, each team would within a year or two be self sufficient and revenue could be earned by selling the product to cricket markets like England, Australia, India and Pakistan where the game is more like an addiction. Revenues from television rights could then be evenly distributed among the teams and the WICB.

But even more importantly, such an arrangement would get our players playing enough cricket that would certainly get them ready to take on the very best in the world.

Something's rotten in the state of Jamaica!!!

Photo Caption: (Foreground) Former Minister of Information and Development and P.N.P General Secretary, Senator Colin Campbell fades into political obscurity, while Minister of Commerce, Science and Technology with Industry Phillip Paulwell sits in wait!



Well it's over, for Colin Campbell that is, or is it? He has become the first casualty of this nasty Trafigura Beheer/PNP contribution/commercial arrangement, depending on who's telling the story.

But has the governing PNP done enough by getting rid of Campbell? What of the other party functionaries who met with Trafigura Beheer in August? What of the Chairman of the party and Deputy Prime Minister, Robert Pickersgill, shouldn't he go too?

And while we're calling for heads shouldn't Phillip Paulwell resign. Let's look at this for a minute, how did Campbell manage to have a meeting with Trafigura in the first place? Wouldn't that meeting have been set up by the portfolio minister, Paulwell?

And should the Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller resign and take her entire government with her over this matter?

Why has the Prime Minister stayed mum on the matter? How many other "contributions/ commercial arrangements " has the PNP and its functionaries been invloved in?

Can the PNP recover from this one?

Campbell's resignation has raised more questions than answers and just points out yet again
that something is truly rotten in the state of Jamaica.

The Writing is on the wall!

Prime Minister Portia Lucretia Simpson-Miller has found herself in a real spot of bother this time around.

And you know what, even the biggest political dunce in the world could have seen this one coming.

You see, Prime Minister Simpson Miller rather unwisely allowed some very unsavory horses to hitch themselves to her bandwagon, and now it seems that those horses are intent on derailing whatever momentum she has left.

Back when she threw her hat into the ring for PNP party president and ultimately Prime Minister of Jamaica, many pundits questioned the choice of some members of her campaign team.

Two names always stood out like a homosexual at a rastafarian libation - Phillip Paulwell and Colin Campbell.

Paulwell is Minister of Commerce, Science and Technology with Industry and M.P. for Kingston East and Port Royal, and is arguably the worst performing Government minister of the past three PNP administrations. Paulwell, who was said by former Prime Minister P.J Patterson to suffer from this striking malady called "youthful exuberance" was the central figure in the 700-million-dollar IT fiasco called NetServ. And, as if that was not bad enough, somehow he seemed to find himself smack dab in the middle of the ongoing struggles between the Petroleum retailers and the marketing companies, and the still yet unquantifiable fall out in the cement industry caused by faulty production by Carib Cement. In other words, Paulwell seems to be a scandal magnet.

And then there is Colin Campbell, former East St. Andrew M.P. and PNP Deputy General Secretary. As a politician, this former journalist is not all that successful. After all, his loss to the JLP's St. Aubyn Bartlett in 2002 was not a vote against the PNP, but a vote against him. He tried to recover some political ground by trying to win representation rights for Western St. Andrew and was beaten by Anthony Hylton (who is not known as the best politician, but a very good statesman) and to make matters worse, Campbell was the PNP's Deputy General Secretary at the time and the decision was being made by PNP delegates. In other words, he's not liked even within his own party.
Campbell's reputation was not helped by allegations made by Jamaica's former Most Wanted Man, Joel Andem, who claimed that his gang provided security for Campbell when he was East St. Andrew M.P., a claim Campbell has vehemently denied. Still, the damage had been done.
But at any rate, in her bid to reward those who helped her win the PNP presidency and become the first female prime minister of Jamaica, Prime Minister Simpson Miller appointed Campbell a senator and gave him the Ministry of Information with Development. She also allowed Paulwell to stay on as a Government minister and entrusted him with even greater responsibility, industry.

Now it seems as if these two men by their actions have seriously hurt her bid to get win her first election as prime minister and by extension the party's a fifth consecutive term in power.

How uncanny is it that a scandal should erupt over a 'campaign donation' from a multi-national entity that does business with the government and the central names are Colin Campbell, in whose name the account with which said 'campaign donation' was made, and Phillp Paulwell.

And the very thing the pundits warned Madame P.M. about, seems to be happening.

You see this Trafigura thing just will not go away. The Sunday Observer is reporting that former P.M. Patterson wants heads to roll including that of Campbell's!

Strange hearing that from PJ since he never sacked anybody in his life, certainly not as P.M. and he had quite a few to kick out including Madame P.M herself!

Scandals are nothing new to the ruling PNP. In the past six years alone they've had to weather the storms of NetServ, Operation Pride/NHDC, NSWMA Pts. I and II, Cementgate, Sandals Whitehouse, Kennedy Grove Housing Scheme Flooding, Portmore Toll road and a less than acrimonious hand over of power.

The PNP, like the country cannot tolerate another scandal. Their arrogance in the way they handled most of these situations - apparently coming from a feeling of invincibility after 17 years in power - has left a bad taste in the mouths of all well thinking Jamaicans.

The only way Prime Minister Simpson Miller and the PNP can save face on this one and secure their much desired fifth term, is to shed the dead weight and show the country that this is a new PNP, a new government, with a new modus operandi.

The writing is on the wall; for all of our sakes, let's hope she can read it!

UPDATE!!!!
Folks, she can read. P.M Portia Simpson Miller is literate and Colin Campbell is out of the cabinet. Check back tomorrow for the updates!!!!!

Who Pays The Piper?

"The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) set off a firestorm on Tuesday with the headline grabbing allegation that the PNP had accepted a donation of more than $30 million from the oil trading company Trafigura."

Source: www.radiojamaica.com


So this whole thing is really about party campaign financing. How the politicians get their money to launch lavish political campaigns and even more lavish political conferences and thus ultimately gain power.

In the Jamaican political financing game, the ruling PNP seem to be a ways ahead what with $30 million ($441,176 US) from the oil company that also has an oil trading arrangement with the Government!

Imagine if every company that has a contract with Jamaica gives $30 million to the PNP...damn that would probably make the PNP the single richest entity in the country!

And well that would make the JLP certain of yet another election loss. Remember that four and six record we spoke of yesterday? Well that would quickly become five and seven!

So the JLP has blown the whistle! And the PNP's response is basically "'bite me' we've done nothing wrong."


And unfortunately, they're not wrong!

You see J.A has been discussing campaign financing since independence. It came to a head in the tumultuos '70's, when the JLP accused the PNP of going communist and getting help from communist countries. While the PNP accused the JLP of getting assistance from the U.S.

The then leaders of the parties, Michael Manley (PNP) and Edward Seaga (JLP) never came to any decision on the matter. The former is dead and the latter has retired from active politics.

And today, almost 30 years later we're still discussing this!

The issues are quite simply:
1) who is allowed to give money to a political party?
2) should political party financing be a strict responsibility of the state?
3) is it time for a decided on code of ethics for political parties?

Three questions with a variety of opinions, and opinions which change depending on who's in power!

If this were a JLP government with Bruce Golding at the helm, would he turn down 30 million dollars from a company that does business with his government? And how would the PNP react?

Rumble in the Jungle

I love a good fight! I really do! I like it when both fighters are equally matched in brawn, skill and wit. Like the 'Rumble in the Jungle' that was Muhammad Ali and George Foreman (October 30, 1974). Love it! Love it! Love it!

So some 32 years later, we have 'Rumble in the Jungle: Part Deux'
raging in JA.

Over in the orange corner: we have the PNP with a record of six wins (the last four of which were consecutive knockouts) and four losses at the National polls since independence...they are fighting to retain power and head towards their 25th anniversary of being in power.

And over in the green corner: we have the JLP whose four wins and six loss streak has made them the constant loser of an electoral battle. The last time, they saw Jamaica House, the Berlin Wall was still standing, the Cold War hadn't ended, and Osama was fighting the Russians in Afghanistan! So for them this is a must win battle!

Sounds like the makings of a good fight on paper right?

So why does it suck so much in reality?

The JLP leader, Bruce Golding, was shooting off at the mouth again yesterday that he has proof that members of cabinet, most notably Ministers Phillip Paulwell and Colin Campbell were getting kickbacks from a Nigerian oil company.

Well, as Mr. Golding has done before, he put the cart before the horse or mule (since they can't really afford a horse) and called a wrong name! Ahhh, he has been there before hasn't he. He's made erroneous statements about former P.M. P.J. Patterson and he did implicate, well, name another high ranking civil servant in some shady shenanigans, last year September. He had to back pedal on that one quickly!

And now Minister Paulwell, says enough!!!

"He has besmirched my character, impugned my integrity and blighted my good name! I am suing the bastard."

( Despite seeing the above in quotes, Anansi cannot verify that this is actually what the Minister said, since we weren't there and well he didn't talk to us!!! You get the drift)

But anyway, Paulwell is serious, he says he'll see Golding in court!!! The irony here of course is, a good many people would say, Paulwell has no good name to blight, no integrity to impugne and certainly no high character to besmirch!

And for reference look at the ongoing Carib Cement saga, the Netserv debackle and oh the fact that a former wife of his had to cut and run after four months of wedded bliss (please note sarcasm) and a five million dollar lavish nuptial!!!

But, unfortunately, Mssr. Golding is known for shooting off at the mouth or rather cumming too quick!!! Don't they have drugs for that? And, now if this matter does go to court, he just could lose and lose badly!!!

Looks like the PNP gets this one again!!!! And to think, Anansi had the Red Stripe well chilled, and the pop-corn popped, and the phone in hand to call Pizza Hut (all the necessities for fight night)!

MAN OH MAN!!!!

"Yes now Spanish Town" Remember that from Primary school days (big up to Shortwood)!

Anyway it seems that the ruling PNP are in a spot of trouble this evening. This after Opposition leader, and President of the JLP, Bruce Golding has revealed some damning information that Minister of Industry, Science and Technology (with Energy) {like can his portfolio get any longer}, Hon. Phillip Paulwell and Minister of Information and Development, Senator, the Hon. Colin Campbell have been receiving kick backs from a Nigerian oil company.

Word is, the Leader of the Opposition, has the cheques to prove said kick backs.

So if the Leader of the Opposition is to be believed members of the PNP, most notably high ranking government members are CORRUPT!!!!

And if the Leader of the Opposition is to be believed, then Prime Minister, the Right Hon. Portia Lucretia Simpson-Miller, might just become the first Jamaican Prime Minister in sixteen years to have to fire a government minister or two.

And if one chooses to believe the Leader of the Opposition, Portia also needs to start looking for two new ministers, while the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) has some investigations to commence!

And if the Leader of the Opposition is to be believed, the JLP just might be out of the wilderness as they might have finally fired the salvo to sink the PNP battleship!!!

Of course this is all if YOU believe the Leader of the Opposition, and really why would he lie about something like that????

Afterall, its not like the PNP are known for being involved in any kind of corruption. And the two ministers named by the Leader of Opposition are good, solid government officials whose names have never ever been whispered in any kind of scandal!

But as I say, that's if you choose to believe the Leader of the Opposition!

Why are track and field athletes so disrespected

The Trinidad Express reported this week that Trinidadian sprinters Aaron Armstrong and Kevon Pierre, both of whom had been earmarked to benefit from the country's elite athlete programme are yet to receive any money from the relevant authorities. Both men were members of Trinidad's 4x100m relay silver medallists in the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland.
Armstrong, whose father also represented Trinidad at track and field, is now unsure whether he will be able to run next season because he has no money and is uncertain where funding will come from. I presume that Pierre may be having similar difficulties.
A few thousands miles northwest, in Jamaica, another country that produces world class athletes, in the last year alone, three of its best athletes have defected to other nations. At the root of each decision is money or the lack thereof.
Germaine Mason was ranked number two in the world the high jump when he blew out his knee representing Jamaica at the World Indoors. He had to pay for the surgery out of his own pocket despite being on national duties when he got hurt. After surgery and clearly in need of a sports psychologist Germaine could only think of his surgically repaired knee every time he tried to jump after he had healed physically.
He now represents Great Britain and has been placed in a programme that allows him to receive just over 20,000 Pounds each year to assist with training. He was quoted in the British media saying that athletes in Jamaica get nothing from Government.
Brandon Simpson now represents Bahrain after asking the Jamaica Amateur Athletics Association to release him. Word is that the straw that broke his back was when he was told that he had to pay his own way to the World Championships in Helsinki.
This is happening in a country where not so long ago the Government was thinking of spending about three million pound sterling to hire a soccer coach so that Jamaica can return to the World Cup in 2010. That is more than 300 million Jamaican dollars that is being targeted in a country where 70US cents of every dollar earned goes towards servicing and repaying debt. Yet, track and field athletes who have been flying Jamaica's flag high since 1948, go hungry and live in squalor while they train, some not even able to afford the basic amenities but of whom the country expects much each World Championship and Olympic Games.
Just ask Dorian Scott, the national shot putt record holder, who by recent reports cant even find money for food that will allow him to pack on the muscle mass he needs to take him to the highest level of the sport.
The reality is that no matter how much money Jamaica spends on its soccer programme, any team that it puts out will never win the World Cup but this is not to say that we should not try to. A well-organised a soccer programme will help produce players that the island can export to the different leagues around the world and provide opportunities for players who otherwise would not be able to 'make it' in life. So investing heavily in such a programme that will make the Jamaican soccer market more respected is a very healthy long-term investment for the future of the sport in the country. The question is, why can't the same be done for track and field?
The reality is that there are many children in Jamaica who are blessed with athletic talent but have no means by which to exploit that talent for the benefit of themselves and their families. Track and field athletes can make between tens of thousands and millions of dollars each year, why are we not affording more of our talent pool to realise these dreams? The benefits would not only be at an individual level but on a national level as well.

Multi-lingual Cops!!!

The word of the day folks is....Multilingual!!!!!

Multilingual, adj., means: ability to communicate in more than two languages.


Now, Jamaica's Minister of National Security, the Hon. Dr. Peter Phillips has announced that plans are afoot to make Jamaican cops multilingual, what with the influx of Hispanic (mainly Hondurans, Cubans, Colombians) and Haitians to our island shores. In short Jamaican cops will be learning, Spanish and Haitian Creole in order to help them better communicate with these people when they get on the rock.

Good idea!!!!!.... ON PAPER!!!!

You see the problem is - which I guess the goodly Minister did not take into consideration, and honestly might not be able to do much about anyway - Jamaican cops, by and large, don't know English!!!

Well, not the Queen's English we were allegedly taught in schools. Hence, they have barely any reasoning ability and a hard time communicating with the public at large.
That's why simple traffic stops can turn into shoot outs and why every release from Constabulary Communications Network (CCN)on a police shooting goes something like this: "The police were shot at by an armed man with a knife, who ran into the nearby bushes. The police returned the fire and the man was shot 365 times all over the body. He was pronounced dead at the hospital." Notice everytime there is a police shooting, there are nearby bushes! Even in New Kingston, there are nearby bushes!!!

Look, I applaud the Ministry of National Security's efforts to confront an increasing problem of foreign thugs, lord knows J.A. has enough of its own thugs, to deal with. But the issue is how you gonna teach new languages to people who are yet to master their own????

Just an opinion!

AND THE PROBLEM IS???????

So here we are again...the silly season is at hand! Politicians are chomping at the bit as the smell of power is in the air!!! Elections are looming, and the most coveted seat on all of earth, Jamaica House is up for grabs!!!

Anyway can somebody tell me what is it about Jamaica that so many people are willing to risk life and limb, (usually of their followers) to rule? Seriously now. Is it the people? Is it the land? Is it the ganja??? What is it???? Tell me cos, me clueless bad!!!

Anyway I say elections will be in late November!!!!

But while the politicians play, and threaten each other, we've got serious problems on hand!!! Like what's going on at the Victoria Jubillee Hospital!!!!

PROBE INTO BABY'S DEATH AT VICTORIA JUBILEE BEGINS

"The panel appointed to investigate the September 11 death of a newborn baby at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital is to hold its first meeting Saturday afternoon.

This is in keeping with instructions from Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller for a speedy investigation into problems at the Hospital. (What's with Portia and the probes anyway??? G-SAT Probe, Cement Probe, Toilet Paper Probe!!! What she needs to probe is her damned fowls which keep destroying di people dem expensive gardens up inna Millsborough)

Earlier this week, the Ministry of Health appointed attorney at-law Ethlyn Norton-Coke to lead an independent investigation into the circumstances which led to the baby's death six hours after it was born.

The panel is expected to complete its investigation and submit a report to the Ministry within three weeks.

The 41-year-old mother has claimed that the baby was delivered by cesarean section more than two weeks after the surgery was originally scheduled.

The delay in the surgery was linked to the fact that the hospital did not have a working steriliser.

However, the Health Ministry says preliminary investigations revealed that the baby did not die because of the delayed surgery."
STORY FROM radiojamaica.com

VICTORIA JUBILEE WHISTLEBLOWER UNDER PRESSURE AND PATIENTS PLAN TO SUE

The Consultant Obstetrician who raised the alarm concerning the malfunctioning autoclave at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital is under pressure.

RJR News’ sources say Dr. Lloyd Goldson has been taken before Permanent Secretary in the Health Ministry Dr. Grace Allen Young and Chief Executive Officer of Kingston Public Hospital Donald Farquarson.

It is understood that the doctor will at least be issued with a strongly worded letter about his decision to go public with his concerns.

However, the sources say in the face of the firestorm Dr. Goldson is standing his ground.

According to the sources other doctors at Victoria Jubilee Hospital are supporting him.

The doctors contend that his alarm has probably saved several lives.

They say they have concerns about other equipment needed at the hospital.

The doctors note that the hospital's elevators continue to malfunction, forcing mothers in labour to walk up to four flights of stairs.

The couple who lost their baby recently at the Victoria Jubillee Hospital while the facility was without a sterilising machine is considering legal action.

The baby died hours after it was born after the woman's cesarean section was postponed on four occasions.

41-year-old Caroline Brown and her husband had prepared for the birth of their first child.

The couple knew that at her age she was considered a high risk expectant mother.

That is why at 35 weeks, her private obstetrician referred her to the Victoria Jubilee Hospital for continued prenatal care and delivery.

Mrs. Brown says she was also diagnosed with pregnancy induced hypertension.

Her expected delivery date was September 5 but she was told surgery would be done two weeks before that date because of her high risk status.

Mrs. Brown says after a number of postponements of the surgery she told the medical staff that she was noticing diminishing activity from her unborn child.

Her baby was delivered by cesarean section on September 11, more than two weeks after the original date of surgery.

The baby died six hours later and now the couple is crying foul.

Her husband Leo says he is distressed at what he calls the gross carelessness of the hospital.

Last weekend the RJR News Centre broke the story of the malfunctioning autoclave after consultant obstetrician Dr. Lloyd Goldson raised the alarm.

Since then the Health Ministry has announced that the problem is being addressed.



Babies are dying people. And the Ministry of Health has an issue with the doctor who spoke out??? Am I the only one who has a problem with people who speak out on issues being persecuted?????

Something is sooooo wrong with this picture!!!!

Emergency we a suffer round here!!!!

And courtesy from our friends at RJR, this is what those who work in Jamaica's health care system have to say about it.

MEDICAL ORGANIZATIONS DECRY POOR STATE OF HEALTH SECTOR

The Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ) says it has repeatedly pointed the authorities to the many problems facing the island's hospitals and health centres.

President of the NAJ, Edith Allwood-Anderson says for years the nurses have been indicating that the system needs a serious overhaul.

Mrs. Allwood-Anderson says several health professionals are working without the basic tools needed to ensure proper patient care.

She says the matter has reached crisis proportions and must be addressed immediately.

Meanwhile the Jamaica Medical Doctors Association (JMDA) has joined other entities in pointing to what it says is a crisis at the island's public hospitals.

President of the JMDA Dr. Myrton Smith says the situation has reached an alarming level.

But Dr. Smith argues that it is difficult for the public purse to run an efficient public health sector.

He says the time has come for increased assistance from the private sector and from Jamaicans living overseas.


While I agree with Dr. Smith that it is hard to run an efficient public health sector, maybe if the di tiefing PNP wasn't involved in billion dollar scandals, like NSWMA, Scandals Whitehouse etc. etc. etc. maybe the money could stretch a little further... maybe elevators at Victoria Jubilee would be fixed! Just an opinion!