Cuban lightbulbs smash around Kern’s ears

To quote Michael Manley, “for the first time, at last,” a PNP politician (Kern Spencer, former Minister of State for former Super Minister Paulwell) has been charged with fraud. Some may think that former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson should have received that honour, and I think that Phillip Paulwell should have won the “first to be jailed in revenge for J.A.G Smith” award, but never mind. Kern wins on the basis of his monumental, most easily exposed fraud, or, to give a nod to the judicial process, let’s say he is much nearer the finish line than Patterson or Paulwell. Still, despite Paulwell being a lawyer, and despite him having handed Kern the rope to hang himself, I am not giving up on the new government sending Paulwell to prison for at least one of his tieferies….There is still time…….

Mr Vaz’s American citizenship

Perhaps because there is a another general election riding on it, our newish Portia-appointed  Chief Justice  Zaila McCalla has yet to say whether Minister of State Daryl Vaz is :

(a) a pretend American citizen (got his citizenship thru his mother, so everyone calm down and stop counting the days to the next general election)

(b) a real American citizen (general election on the way, everyone panic)

Crime rate

Up! Down ! Up ! Down !

Calling all male Jamaicans ! We love you ! We need you ! Stop acting like you’re irrelevant  and that it doesn’t matter whether you live or die !!!

Air Jamaica Death Watch

This will never be over……never….ever….

Abortion laws
 
Jamaicans are getting fed up with the pretense that we are a God-fearing people who have special and unique objections to killing foetuses. Mother Nature does it all the time. Some Jamaican doctors claim to have done it thousands of times.

Hope the Government has the courage of the Medical Association of Jamaica and passes an abortion bill similar to what prevails in the United Kingdom.

After that, how about Jamaicans stop memorizing passages out of Leviticus and start memorizing, “Love thy neighbour as thy self”. Shortly thereafter we could repeal our hateful, colonial-era sodomy laws…….

And, while we’re talking about changing the world as we know it

What are the chances of March 4, 2008 being the day that Senator Obama sends Senator Clinton home to dream about 2016 ?

I’m hoping and praying. I’m also wondering how many of Obama’s Jamaican boosters know that he has stood up in front of black congregations and told them that, as believing Christians, they should be ashamed of their hatred for gays………The guy is for real.

Cuban lightbulbs smash around Kern’s ears

To quote Michael Manley, “for the first time, at last,” a PNP politician (Kern Spencer, former Minister of State for former Super Minister Paulwell) has been charged with fraud. Some may think that former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson should have received that honour, and I think that Phillip Paulwell should have won the “first to be jailed in revenge for J.A.G Smith” award, but never mind. Kern wins on the basis of his monumental, most easily exposed fraud, or, to give a nod to the judicial process, let’s say he is much nearer the finish line than Patterson or Paulwell. Still, despite Paulwell being a lawyer, and despite him having handed Kern the rope to hang himself, I am not giving up on the new government sending Paulwell to prison for at least one of his tieferies….There is still time…….

Mr Vaz’s American citizenship

Perhaps because there is a another general election riding on it, our newish Portia-appointed  Chief Justice  Zaila McCalla has yet to say whether Minister of State Daryl Vaz is :

(a) a pretend American citizen (got his citizenship thru his mother, so everyone calm down and stop counting the days to the next general election)

(b) a real American citizen (general election on the way, everyone panic)

Crime rate

Up! Down ! Up ! Down !

Calling all male Jamaicans ! We love you ! We need you ! Stop acting like you’re irrelevant  and that it doesn’t matter whether you live or die !!!

Air Jamaica Death Watch

This will never be over……never….ever….

Abortion laws
 
Jamaicans are getting fed up with the pretense that we are a God-fearing people who have special and unique objections to killing foetuses. Mother Nature does it all the time. Some Jamaican doctors claim to have done it thousands of times.

Hope the Government has the courage of the Medical Association of Jamaica and passes an abortion bill similar to what prevails in the United Kingdom.

After that, how about Jamaicans stop memorizing passages out of Leviticus and start memorizing, “Love thy neighbour as thy self”. Shortly thereafter we could repeal our hateful, colonial-era sodomy laws…….

And, while we’re talking about changing the world as we know it

What are the chances of March 4, 2008 being the day that Senator Obama sends Senator Clinton home to dream about 2016 ?

I’m hoping and praying. I’m also wondering how many of Obama’s Jamaican boosters know that he has stood up in front of black congregations and told them that, as believing Christians, they should be ashamed of their hatred for gays………The guy is for real.

The Unforgiven

The Privy Council ruled that the Grenada 13 should be resentenced.

Then, just to prove that the Commonwealth Caribbean (the ex-colonies of Britain) need the Privy Council to protect us from the whims of our Governments, our legal systems and our own desire for revenge, the resentencing proceeded with water being thrown at the defendants, the judge refusing to recuse himself, the Grenadian government calling for the prisoners to be sent back to prison for life and the whole horrific issue of “where are the bodies ?” being raised again and being unresolved again.

The judge decided that three prisoners should go free and the others should go back to prison until 2010.

It seems impossible that people that lived through the 1983 murders, the invasion and the aftermath should be indifferent to the fate of Bernard Coard, Hudson Austin and the other prisoners. Threats are already being made against their lives, if and when they are freed.

“Maurice Bishop Speaks: The Grenada Revolution and Its Overthrow 1979-83″ (Bruce Marcus, Michael Taber)

Meanwhile, down in Trinidad, the Privy Council ruled that Chief Justice Sharma should face the courts after he was accused of telling the Chief Magistrate Sherman McNicholls to free former Prime Minister Basdeo Panday who was facing corruption charges for failing to declare a London bank account.

But once Sharma’s case came to court the Chief Magistrate refused to appear to repeat his accusations. Basdeo Panday had already been released on the grounds that his conviction on the corruption charges was unsafe. He now faces a retrial, but has gone back to the Privy Council for a ruling to prevent his retrial on the grounds that he is old and sick……..

“The Loss of El Dorado: A Colonial History” (V.S. Naipaul)

Just imagine if these matters, which appear to involve every aspect of race, revenge and Government interference in the judiciary, were matters for the Caribbean Court of Justice , instead of for the Privy Council……

How many Caribbean judges do not already have an opinion on what should happen to Bernard Coard et al ?

How many Caribbean judges would not be influenced by the race and reputation of Chief Justice Sharma, Basdeo Panday and Chief Justice McNicholls ?

The Privy Council is preferable as our final court of appeal simply because they have the very desirable perspective of being thousands of miles away and being able to consider matters of law as of matters of law.

If our politicians, judges and lawyers are so desperate to prove that they are “grown-up” and “independent”, they should perhaps offer to act as a final court of appeal for British defendants who have been convicted under terrorism legislation. The fear induced by the IRA bombings of mainland targets in the 1970’s rendered British judges incapable of acting fairly in the trials of the Guildford Four, the Maguire Seven and the Birmingham Six, just as the Jamaican legal system, shocked by the ever increasing murder rate, was unable to act fairly in the case of convicted killers Pratt and Morgan , and the Grenadian courts were unable to see beyond the evil of 1983 …….

“In the Name of the Father” (Jim Sheridan)

Reader Poll !!!!!

Who do YOU want to win the Jamaican election ?

We’re promised the election will be announced soon (next few days)……

Mark Wignall has already called the election for the JLP…….

The innumerable polls suggest that the PNP has a slight lead………

Based on the polls, I guess I have to call it for the PNP……..

Do you have an opinion?

Please comment on the following:-

1. Who do you want to win ? Why ?

2. Who do you think will win ? Why ?

I’ll do a post next week with your comments………..

“The Road Less Traveled, 25th Anniversary Edition : A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth” (M. Scott Peck)

Technorati Tags: Grenada, Jamaican elections, Portia Simpsom Miller

Blowback : an unforeseen and unwanted effect, result, or set of repercussions

The Woolmer investigation

DCP Mark Shields gets his revenge on the pathologist in the Woolmer case, Dr Seshaiah, whose testimony (i.e. that the police version of events was correct and the men were NOT killed at close range) in the Braeton Seven killings caused a verdict of NOT GUILTY and the re-entry into the police force of Senior Superintendent Reneto Adams. Adams was then to kill again at Kraal, and to walk free again…

Let us remember that, as in the Woolmer case, Dr. Seshaiah’s findings in the Braeton Seven case were vigorously contradicted by a foreign pathologist, Peter Leth, who conducted autopsies on behalf of Amnesty International…….

“Terminal Ballistics: A Text and Atlas of Gunshot Wounds” (Malcolm J. Dodd)

Senior Superintendent Reneto Adams gets a chance to cuss out and blame DCP Mark Shields whose policing methods have made Reneto Adams look like the bloodthirsty, arrogant, killer-in-uniform that he is.

Commissioner of Police Lucius Thomas gets to put the over-articulate, way-too-telegenic DCP Shields in his place.

Jamaicans for Justice get to remind everyone that they have been calling for improvements in the Government Forensic Pathology Department for years. And despite the partisan ravings of their Chairman, David Wong-Ken (who regularly refers to “this blasted government”), the organization continues to fight for justice for ALL Jamaicans – including those unfortunate enough to be employed in the Government’s Forensic Pathology Department……………

Government corruption

The bravery and outspokenness of Contractor-General Greg Christie has led to the Auditor-General Adrian Strachan giving his own frank assessment of the way the Ministry of Finance cooperates with corrupt Government officials who award contracts to their cronies. It’s disgraceful.

Clearly some people think that Minister of Finance Omar Davies is history, whether the ruling PNP is returned to power or not……

“Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room” (Alex Gibney)

The pollsters

The Jamaica Observer publishes the Don Anderson polls and advises that the newspaper DOES NOT OWN the Stone Polls.

Instead, the Stone Polls (for years, the most accurate and respected local polling organization) turn out to be owned by Observer owner, Gordon “Butch” Stewart. In recent times, Mr. Stewart has been so loud and frequent in his calls for the Government to do a better job that his newspaper has been accused of supporting the Opposition JLP.

Hence the newspaper’s editors showing their independence by publishing the Don Anderson polls (front page of the Observer on Friday, June 15, 2007) which give us the news that the ruling PNP has a small lead (4%) over the Opposition JLP.

Don Anderson, who makes his living as a market researcher, has endured years of condescension and disparaging comments from those who believe that he lacks the skills (a degree in Political Science, perhaps) to produce accurate polls.

What will they say now that the Stone Polls may soon be no more and Bill Johnson, the pollster for the Daily Gleaner, is fighting to hold his corner and his credibility ? Probably nothing. The poll results and a resurgent Portia are monopolizing the national conversation……

“How Stella Got Her Groove Back” (Kevin Rodney Sullivan)

The Prime Minister

The Prime Minister has been heavily criticized in recent weeks for :-

(1) complaining (or whining) about the media coverage of the PNP and the Government

(2) for forcing Lisa Hanna onto the constituents of South East St. Ann

(3) for refusing to respond to her critics

Don Anderson confirms the Bill Johnson poll from a few weeks ago :- the Prime Minister looks to be leading her party to a fifth term in office. And she’s expecting everyone in the PNP and in the government to get with the program. Like now.

“Yes, Prime Minister – The Complete Collection” (BBC)

And just in time for Fathers Day

Radio Jamaica carries a story that says employment has increased by a tiny percentage. The stunning news in this story is not the apparent increase in employment, but the make-up of the Jamaican labour force. According to STATIN there are 800,000 women and 600,000 men in the labour force. This is what we see reflected on the streets and in offices, but it is not usually confirmed by statistics which usually indicate that female unemployment is much higher than men’s and that men make up the majority of those employed…….

So does this make Jamaica the first country in the world to have a majority female labour force in the formal, measurable sector ???

And does this explain “Everything” :-

(1) Crime and violence : unemployed men need money to negotiate respect, sex (and love) from employed women

(2) Absentee fathers : “all men are supposed to be breadwinners”, so some women feel justified in dispensing with men who can’t support them or their children

(3) The largely male portion of the unemployed who are not looking for work : they are supported quite comfortably by their female consorts. Women don’t have the same option……….

“Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance” (Barack Obama)

“Training a Tiger: A Father’s Guide to Raising a Winner in Both Golf and Life” (Earl Woods)

“The Lion King (Disney Special Platinum Edition)” (Rob Minkoff, Roger Allers)

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Technorati Tags: Bob Woolmer, Jamaican elections, Jamaican politics, JLP, PNP, Portia Simpsom Miller, corruption, Jamaican men

Lisa, Lisa…….

Lisa Hanna

PM Portia messes with the heads of the pundits and party faithful once more…..she plans to parachute former Miss World and talk show host Lisa Hanna in as the PNP candidate for the controversial South East St. Ann seat. This constituency is held by Tourism Minister, Aloun Assamba, but her decision not to run again after a run-in with the don, precipitated a months long struggle for the seat……..

Obvious to everyone (except to the pundits ) is how a celebrity of Lisa’s star quality is the only type of candidate that can:-

(1) shut up the local PNP activists who want Sheree Brown-McDonald, the wife of their local don, to run but who will likely get overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of “the people” for the “pretty lady” – call this the “Joan Gordon-Webley effect“

(2) get the votes of the average St. Ann voter who would rather go and meet Lisa Hanna than some experienced politician any day of the week

(3) completely mess with the JLP plans to bring back Lisa’s ex-husband, David Panton, now a resident of Atlanta, Georgia…..

“Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil” (Deborah Rodriguez, Kristin Ohlson)

Air Jamaica’s management makes first smart move in ……a very long time………

Air Jamaica’s management finally takes some positive action by selling its loss making London route to Virgin Atlantic but fails in its public relations effort. Richard Branson gives Jamaicans a lesson in how it’s done (public relations, that is). He announces the deal, tells Jamaicans how happy we are to get rid of this burden on the taxpayers, and starts selling tickets to Jamaica a few days later……

“Historic Jamaica from the Air” (David Buisseret)

Mr. Woolmer, R.I.P.

Seems Bob Woolmer wasn’t murdered…..but as far as bad/dire/totally awful publicity for Jamaica goes, he might as well have been……please note that the two gentlemen already selected as fall guys (the pathologist Dr. Seshaiah and DCP Mark Shields) are “from foreign”…. God forbid that any native-born Jamaican policeman or pathologist should be embarrassed…..Rely on the rumour mills to come up with a whole new set of conspiracy theories based on the Indian-born pathologist, Dr. Seshaiah, being so instrumental in the shaming and blaming of the Pakistani team……

Inzamam al-Haq and Bob Woolmer

“India Vs Pakistan – ICC Cricket World Cup South Africa 2003″ (fremantle media)

Deportee department

Our very own convicted Muslim preacher of hate, Abdullah al-Faisal comes home……local Muslims decide NOT to pre-judge him based on his past behaviour….. Given how adept we Jamaicans already are at killing our fellow Christians, it seems that we just can’t work up much anxiety about the rhetoric of this famous deportee……

Abdullah al-Faisal

“Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet” (Unity Productions Foundation)

New Spanish hotel department – the Riu Montego Bay

The local regulators keep trying to regulate…..and the contractors keep trying to construct the new Riu hotel in defiance of local environmental regulations…

Now, what do we call this :-

(1) Language barrier ?
(2) Not-enuff-money-paid-in-right-quarters-barrier ?
(3) Parish council just trying to do the right thing and protect constituents barrier ?

Costa del Sol, Spain

“The Green Holiday Guide Spain and Portugal 2002/3: Cottages and Campsites on Organic Farms Environment-Friendly Guesthouses and B&Bs (Green Holiday Guides)” (European Center for Ecological and Agricultural Tourism)

Cheaper energy ?

The Government is selling 49% of the local oil refinery to Venezuela’s state oil company So what happens if the JLP (not fond of President Chavez) comes to power in the next few months ? Probably not much. Just as Chavez mouths off at Bush while exporting the majority of his oil to the United States and Bush disses Chavez while buying most of his oil, we can expect Prime Minister Golding to sound off while eating up any cheaper energy coming Jamaica’s way whether it’s from Chavez, the Trinis or anyone else………

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Technorati Tags: Air Jamaica, Bob Woolmer, Bruce Golding, David Panton, Jamaica, Jamaican politics, JLP, Lisa Hanna, PNP, Portia Simpsom Miller, puppy, Hugo Chavez, Riu Hotel

Portia’s tactics:

Running high profile new/old faces :

Minister of Mobilization circa 1976, newspaper columnist and dentist D.K. Duncan running in a rural Hanover seat – most voters are too young to remember him and know him only as a newspaper columnist and Michael Manley’s fourth wife’s partner (Beverley Manley). D.K. is still too crazy to be Cabinet material, but he may well win a seat for the P.N.P.

D.K. Duncan

Senator, university professor and trade unionist Trevor Munroe running in a volatile St. Andrew seat – most voters are too young to remember this gentlemen’s migration from out-there Communist to radical trade unionist to Independent Senator to P.N.P. activist and talk show host. Over the years Trevor Munroe has gone back to his middle class roots – son of a Judge, Rhodes scholar, UWI stalwart – and will almost certainly make it into the Cabinet as Minister of something. Despite his ambition, may turn out to be the Yasser Arafat of Jamaican politics….unable to adapt to being in charge of boring everyday matters like roads, water and schools.

Trevor Munroe

Banker and former M.P. Peter Bunting to run in Central Manchester seat – Peter Bunting supported the current P.M. in her failed leadership bid in 1992. Ran against former JLP Prime Minister and JLP icon Hugh Shearer in 1993 and ended Shearer’s political career, but left politics in 1997 after being kept out of path to power by P.J. Patterson loyalists. Has been continuously in the public eye with his merchant bank Dehring, Bunting and Golding. Astutely got rid of Chris Dehring early on and then made a pile by selling the bank to the Bank of Nova Scotia. Twice linked in to the P.N.P. by marriage to (1) daughter of Michael Manley pal, O.K. Melhado (2) daughter of Michael Manley’s fifth wife, Glynne Ewart. Now twice divorced and very rich, Bunting is on track to replace Omar Davies as Minister of Finance and to succeed the current Prime Minister (should she win the next election….)

Peter Bunting

Portia’s key strategy : Letting everyone know that her Cabinet and her P.N.P. will NOT look like the current crop. Now people are starting to understand why she didn’t call an early election….didn’t want to be saddled with her current Cabinet colleagues….

Big hurdles : While it would be nice to just let the JLP’s Joan Gordon-Webley take out the tiresome Minister of Education Maxine Henry-Wilson some crumbs need to be thrown to the Peter Phillips camp who are still chewing over “what-might-have-been”……

“Paint the Town Red” (Brian Meeks)

Bruce’s tactics:

Keeping himself in the background and on the road – nobody is more aware that he is neither telegenic nor good in front of a crowd. He is good in small groups, explaining policy and plans.

Keeping the young, the dynamic and the telegenic candidates like Chris Tufton, Shahine Robinson, Andrew Holness and Sally Porteous front and center.

 

Andrew Holness

Chris Tufton

Shahine Robinson

 

Sally Porteous

Keeping the more dubious candidates (James Robertson and Daryl Vaz, this means you) in the background.

 

Daryl Vaz

James Robertson

Running on the same platform as Portia (free education, roads, better and cheaper health care) while promising the middle and upper classes that he’ll deliver to the private sector.

Being careful that neither he nor his candidates attacks the Prime Minister personally – he doesn’t mind people loving Portia as long as they vote for him.

Bruce’s key strategy: Change, change, change. The PNP have had all the time in the world to create paradise, it’s not going to happen in the next five years, fling them out, put in the JLP.

Big hurdles: Out of control candidates like Joan Gordon Webley attacking the P.M. and Andrew Holness saying he wants to lock up the parents of delinquent children…..The need to counter P.N.P. stars like Peter Bunting and Trevor Munroe with a few stars of his own…..

“Inna Di Dancehall: Popular Culture and the Politics of Identity in Jamaica” (Donna P. Hope)

Those pollsters !!!

Just to ensure maximum debate and uncertainty, the three most recent polls contradict each other……….

Don Anderson says the parties are neck and neck

Bill Johnson gives the PNP a seven point lead

Mark Wignall gives the JLP a twelve point lead

The Stone Polls aren’t reporting yet (cynics would say that the results must not be pleasing to the Stone Poll’s new owners, The Jamaica Observer…..)

We can discount Mark Wignall on the grounds that he predicted a JLP win in 2002 as far back as 2001. The JLP did not win.

Bill Johnson wrongly predicted the outcome of the elections in St. Lucia, so that throws doubt on his present work in Jamaica. Pay no attention to Bill Johnson then.

Which leaves market researcher Don Anderson standing alone (and undiscredited) with the parties in a dead heat…..

“Damned Lies and Statistics: Untangling Numbers from the Media, Politicians, and Activists” (Joel Best)

The rumour mill
The return of Mr. Bunting to active politics has stopped the flow of money to the JLP from the financial sector. Bunting is seen as a “safe pair of hands” at the Ministry of Finance..

The JLP is seeking the return of David Panton from Atlanta to counteract Bunting’s star quality…

Love of Portia in 2007 will turn out to be like Love of Michael Manley in 1980: worthless at the ballot box

And hovering over all is the ghost of Michael Manley (friend of D.K., tamer of Trevor, mentor to Portia and Peter, subject of David Panton’s biography…..)

As Prince Buster sang, What a hard man fe dead…..

“Jamaica’s Michael Manley: The Great Transformation (1972-92″ (David Panton, Rex Nettleford)

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Technorati Tags: Bruce Golding, Chris Tufton, D.K.Duncan, David Panton, Jamaica, Jamaican elections, Jamaican politics, JLP, Peter Bunting, PNP, Portia Simpsom Miller, Mark Wignall, Trevor Munroe

It’s like deja-vu, all over again…..  Yogi Berra

For those of us who remember the last General Election in 2002, today’s polls, columns and media commentary seem to be a rehash from those days.

2002 : Prime Minister of Jamaica and the Leader of the Oppostion

Here we have a Don Anderson poll published one month before the election in October 2002, indicating that the PNP was not likely to win a fourth term….

Only a day later, there was Ian Boyne’s column suggesting that the JLP was unlikely to win and stating his reasons, namely the unpopularity of the then leader of the Oppostion Edward Seaga.

Then 3 days before the October 16, 2002 election, we had Robert Buddan giving his usual lucid analysis of the PNP’s dominance in post- Independence Jamaica, while over in the Jamaica Observer, the Stone Polls (then led by Mark Wignall) were suggesting a last minute surge by the JLP.

So close were the elections expected to be that the then Leader of the Opposition Edward Seaga actually refused to concede defeat on Election night…….

Back to 2007

The Prime Minister has not yet announced an election date, and the PNP is still short of a candidate in at least one constituency, but no matter, because Mark Wignall has already announced today (Sunday, May 20, 2007) that the JLP will win the next election based on the polling he has undertaken for the JLP in a number of constituencies…..

2007 : Prime Minister of Jamaica and the Leader of the Oppostion

Just to confuse us, Mr. Wignall backs up his own findings by saying that the Bill Johnson poll (done for the Daily Gleaner) has found the same thing i.e. a JLP win is on the cards. This is confusing because the Gleaner headline today PNP pushes ahead – Ruling party builds up seven-point lead over Opposition suggests the exact opposite ……..

Yes, it’s deja vu all over again…..

The whole struggle for power would be more interesting if:-

(1) it appeared that the JLP was sufficiently far ahead to be outside the margin of error. Right now, their “lead” in some polls is so small as to be meaningless…..

(2) either party had a plan for Jamaica beyond free education (JLP) and free health care for children under 18 (PNP)

However, we are not living in very interesting times. Drug lords have superseded Communists as our local source of all evil. Fun U.S. President Bill Clinton has been succeeded by nuts-or-just-criminally-stupid U.S. President George W. Bush. The young and dynamic New Labour U.K. Prime Minister whom we saw in “The Queen” has been replaced by a scandal ridden, shamefaced lame duck called Tony Blair who at this moment is still pretending that the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi deaths since the Allied invasion in 2003 are just hiccups on the road to democracy…..

We can still dream of radical change in some areas…here’s hoping that:-

• Air Jamaica is sold to Richard Branson’s Virgin Airlines and becomes a fun, efficient and cheap way to hop to Miami and around the Caribbean….
• The sugar industry is sold to a manufacturer of organic juices….
• The PNP or JLP win the next election, and much to our surprise, make massive improvements in health care, education, public transportation and environmental management while supporting a private-sector-led 10% annual growth rate…..

“Vaya con dios, mis amigos” means “Go with God, my friends”

Long ago, Jamaican hoteliers Butch Stewart (owner of the Sandals/Beaches chain) and the Issa family (owners of Superclubs/Breezes chain ) used to call for Jamaican Government to take tourism more seriously……they probably imagined that a massive increase in the island’s hotel rooms and visitor arrivals would be to their benefit…..

Sandals Ocho Rios ( 237 rooms)

As it turns out, the Spanish hotel chains (Riu, Pinero, Iberostar) are undercutting the Jamaican-owned chains at every turn…….they have more rooms, reservation systems that actually work and lower room rates…….Sandals is now trying to reposition itself upmarket in order to maintain its’ room rates……

Riu Ocho Rios (800+ rooms)

“Que sera, sera…” means “What will be, will be……”

In May 2006 Jamaican environmental groups (JET, NJCA) won a judgement against the Government for it’s failure to follow its own environmental regulations when it approved the construction of the Grupo Pinero’s Bahia Principe hotel. They probably imagined that the Government and its regulatory agencies would now proceed with greater care and attention to the long term environmental impact of building massive hotels all along the north coast.

As it turns out, with a general election looming,massive hotel projects are still being approved and construction begun immediately…. totally disregarding not only the environment, but labour relations and the health and safety of the workers.

No infrastucture ? No problema ! Number of rooms far exceeds the carrying capacity of the town/village/community where you plan to locate the hotel ? No problema !

And three people caught between a rock and a hard place:

(1) Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller

The rock ? The need to demonstrate that “she run things” by firing a few more P.J. cronies and by setting a new-fresh-totally-different direction for the government in order to win the next general election…..

The hard place ? The need to maintain party unity and keep long time PNP ministers, activists and financiers happy in order to have the money and internal support needed to win the next general election……

(2) Leader of the Opposition Bruce Golding

The rock ? Representing Jamaica’s most notorious garrison constituency, famed for its guns and dons…….(July 2001 violence)

The hard place ? Presenting an image as the leader best able to deal with Jamaica’s most pressing problem :- crime and violence…..

(3) DCP Mark Shields

The rock ? The investigation of the murder of the Bob Woolmer and the detailed, time consuming work involved in finding the killer – the eyes of the world are upon him. His reputation and his future are at stake…..

The hard place ? The explosion of violence around Jamaica, a bad omen for the general elections scheduled for later this year. As the Deputy Commissioner in charge of Crime, his reputation and his future are at stake…..

Fresh air

Perhaps because he has recently been re-elected, or perhaps because his people clearly enjoyed the cricket, the President of Guyana, Bharat Jagdeo, is NOT joining the chorus of Caribbean leaders blaming the ICC, the WICB, Chris Dehring etc for their own poor stewardship of their own citizens’ tax dollars…

He reckons that World Cup Cricket was good for Guyana.

Hot air

Meanwhile, much to the relief of those who believe everything they read, Chris Dehring has announced that Cricket World Cup 2007 is proceeding according to plan. Lots of money is rolling in and even the crowds are pretty much as he expected. So much for all the whiny hoteliers and governments who are complaining that the whole exercise has been a massive disappointment …….

P.J. Patterson (retrospectively) smells somewhat like a rose

Former Prime Minister of Jamaica P.J. Patterson must be smiling at the praise he’s receiving from one of his (formerly) fiercest critics.

This administration has a leader who is now reaping the benefits from the Patterson-led one. The physical successes are there to see. Sprawling highways being built across the island. Huge hotels being constructed on the north coast. The rising of a new, black middle class being able to afford $50,000 three-day vacations in the more moderately priced all-inclusive (questionable service) hotels on the north coast. (Mark Wignall, Jamaica Observer)

Turns out that P.J. Patterson was just a wonderful Prime Minister whose long list of achievements are now being unjustly claimed by his successor, Portia Simpson Miller….

Jamaica prepares for elections (God help us)

In line with the usual election preparations, the Jamaican security forces have conducted a huge operation in West Kingston (the stronghold of the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party). Four people dead – 2 killed by gunmen, 2 by the police

The Naysayers remind us that terrorising Tivoli is the usual election gambit by the ruling PNP.

The Yeasayers remind us that the gunbattle lasted for nearly 3 hours (that’s a lot of guns and ammunition in the hands of men who are not members of the security forces) and that the operation included the PNP stronghold of Arnett Gardens.

The front page of the The Daily Gleaner says it all – a screaming, terrified child who has just learnt that his brother is among the dead…………

When did we get used to this ?

Electricity company employees find out the meaning of “minority shareholder”

The Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCo), the island’s main (but not sole) provider of electricity has been sold to a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate, Marubeni.

A cursory reading of Marubeni’s website indicates that this should be a cause for rejoicing, as, unlike bruk-pocket previous owners Mirant, Marubeni is a Fortune 500 company (2006 rank:215) which operates in 72 countries.

However, as the Government of Jamaica is a mere 20% shareholder in the JPSCo, the sale of the company was a matter for the former majority shareholders, Mirant. They chose to inform their Jamaican employees of the sale of the company at the same time (April 17, 2007) as they informed the Jamaican public.

The employees and their union representatives are furious. Just imagine how they’re going to feel if Marubeni decides to introduce a few famously efficient Japanese-style working practices……….Speaking as a consumer, I can’t wait.

Jamaican Christians finally get around to reading the New Testament

Jamaican church and political leaders have called for their fellow citizens to cease attacking and killing people whom they believe to be homosexual. Congratulations to Colonel Trevor McMillan (JLP), Councillor Angela Brown-Burke (PNP) and various church leaders for saying, albeit reluctantly, that homosexuals are fellow human beings.

For years, the island’s sodomy laws have been used by people (who openly commit such sins as adultery, covetousness and bearing false witness) to condemn homosexuals and to say that they only get what they deserve. The Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the Anglican Church has a few words for the self-righteous.

Of course, if all Jamaicans are to get what we deserve according to the Bible, we might as well prepare for a very dark future indeed…….

Since Easter has just passed, let’s remember what we were supposed to be celebrating (King James version, Luke 10) :-

25And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

26He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?

27And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

28And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

29But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

30And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

31And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

32And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.

33But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

34And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

35And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

36Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

37And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

Much thanks to Commissioner Lucius Thomas (above) for allowing the policeman in charge of crime, “expensive but so far well worth the money” DCP Mark Shields, to do his job and investigate the murder of Bob Woolmer.

Much thanks to our usually inappropriately interfering politicians for shutting up and taking a back seat to DCP Shields…..Especial gratitude to the Leader of the Opposition Bruce Golding and the Prime Minister for concentrating on the business at hand – the upcoming general elections…..

Much thanks to the Indian cricket team for bowing out at the same time as the Pakistanis….now all cricket fans on the subcontinent can relax and speculate about who killed Bob Woolmer…..

Much thanks to the Local Organizing Committee for not being rattled by the fact that Chris Dehring’s and the ICC’s predictions for tens of thousands of fans arriving in Jamaica turned out to be – let’s put it kindly – ridiculously optimistic…..they’ve closed down the craft vending area in New Kingston and shifted everybody to traditional craft mecca, Devon House…..

Chris Dehring

Much thanks to the organisers of the wonderful opening ceremony….

Much thanks to the Windies for winning at least the first few matches…..

Much thanks to the Jamaican populace who have expressed a polite interest in the cricket, despite the fact that they’d rather be watching football…..

(Since blame is being cast about like rice at a big wedding, no blame being apportioned here….. )

Let’s enjoy the cricket. We’re going to be paying for it for a long time.

Regrets section

1. The murder of Bob Woolmer
2. The fact that Chris Dehring is now so discredited he will most likely take the path of least resistance and enter politics in Jamaica……this we don’t need…..
3. The form (or lack thereof) of the West Indies team
4. The end of cricket as a major sport in the West Indies

Fare thee well, Brian Lara and Clive Lloyd…….

Back to the future

Jamaicans will be going to the polls in 2007 with the choice of turfing out the ruling People’s National Party which, hard to believe, is now in its 18th year of office – and electing the opposition Jamaica Labour Party OR of going on as before, with a newish PNP Prime Minister and the first woman to hold that office……

Should be an easy one…..throw the rascals out (because rascals is a polite word for them) but, according to the polls, the Jamaica Labour Party is only marginally ahead of the PNP and PM Portia continues to lead Bruce Golding by a good margin. What can I tell you ?

Opposition Leader Bruce Golding

In the past 18 years, huge numbers of people who grew up in homes without phones, cars or cable television now have all three. Huge numbers of people who worked all their lives as helpers, gardeners and manual labourers now have children who work in offices or own two or three taxis or are teachers or own a small business.

Pointless to say that schools and hospitals are in worse shape than they were 18 years ago.

Pointless to say that the huge amounts of money stolen or wasted by the Government could have been spent on roads, water supply, education, more police to fight crime…..

Seems like the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party needs to convince people that it can and will provide more jobs, more opportunities, more housing, more of everything….

Seems like harping on how bad things are and how bad they will be if the PNP stays in power isn’t cutting it….and is likely to be even less effective once Prime Minister Charming is on the road hugging and kissing…

Bruce Golding, you can read a poll as well as anyone. You remember how some pollsters said the JLP would win the last election, but when the votes were counted, they didn’t…..You have been warned……