School’s out, and it’s July 7, 2013

The weather’s heating up again, but Kingston is exhaling a little as the school term has ended and the frantic dashing up and down with schoolchildren has died down. It is a beautifully quiet morning, now that our anti-social neighbor has stopped with his noisy grass trimmer thing. (But I suppose that is preferable to his regular habit of burning garden waste and filling our homes with acrid smoke).

I am off to the Stella Maris Foundation‘s graduation ceremony shortly, so have not had time to scan all the Sunday papers. But here are some bits and pieces, before I go:

UNESCO protection for reggae? I suppose if you are Entertainment Minister you are inevitably going to be rather lightweight, but a young Minister has to prove himself and you can’t fault Mr. Damion Crawford for trying. But I am skeptical about his latest idea. He wants UNESCO to “protect” reggae music as an “intangible” piece of culture, as well as dancehall and ska. How would this work? Can the United States get protection for jazz and blues, in that case (but then we might not be able to stage the so-called Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival every year, because it would be protected)? Maybe UNESCO could protect soca music in Trinidad, zouk in the French Caribbean, and so on ad infinitum. I would much rather see UNESCO protection for Jamaican folk forms of dancing such as kumina or dinkimini… But that is Culture, which the government in its wisdom believes is not the same thing as Entertainment.

“Murder music”: The debate continues among newspaper columnists, who have eagerly seized on aspects of the pending anti-gang legislation – primarily, the possible impact on music glorifying criminal activity. The pontificating Mr. Ian Boyne (who says he is a “free-speech libertarian”) thinks the anti-gang legislation is necessary to clamp down on “murder music.” Yes, those misogynistic lyrics make me shudder, too. But can we go back a little further, Mr. Boyne? What is the root cause of this anti-social behavior? Think about it.

I find it all most confusing. And as for the “Entertainment Zones” A, B, C and D… Don’t get me started.

Not giving up those benefits: We all know about the sacrifices that our political leaders have been making, alongside the long-suffering Jamaican people, in light of the stringencies of the International Monetary Fund’s requirements. Oh, you didn’t know? Sorry, that was sarcasm. No, the twenty per cent concession on car imports for politicians and traveling officers of the civil service will stay – don’t worry, says Labor Minister Horace Dalley. There is one caustic comment which rather resonates with me on the Jamaica Observer website: “As long as its a benefit for parliamentarians it had to stay. Unno tink say dem a ediat !”

And once and for all… The buggery law does not prevent child abuse. Last time I checked, child abuse was very much alive and well in Jamaica. Just ask CISOCA.

On that topic: I recommend a Sunday Gleaner column today by a clinical psychologist. These are the people, by the way, who see these issues first-hand – unlike those who posture in the media and on public platforms. Ms. Joelle Buckley’s plaintive cry is, “Consistently, I question whether our political leaders realize how urgent an issue this has become.”

Poor Lisa: I do feel sorry for our Youth and Culture Minister Lisa Hanna, who had the nerve, as a woman, to suggest a review of Jamaica’s stringent abortion laws. A colleague pointed out that the Church (which immediately jumped on its high horse again) was remarkably silent about the Jamaicans for Justice “Lift Up, Don’t Lock Up our Children” campaign. Hang in there, Minister Hanna! Some of us out there are actually giving serious thought to the issue; and it must be discussed, for the sake of our women, our children – and their health and wellbeing.

Science vs religion: Meanwhile, the science vs religion argument rages on among the opinion-makers. I think it is a good thing, although the majority of the verbiage is coming from conservative Christian commentators who are already firmly ensconced as columnists in the influential Sunday newspapers. There are several examples of this almost daily in the newspapers and on radio talk shows – I shared a couple of links below but there are far more if you are interested in delving into this topic, dear reader.

Beware, social media socialites: Politicians, during their debate on the revision of our antiquated colonial libel laws, have caught on to all the potentially evil and wicked things Jamaicans might be saying about them in the social media. Beware, because as Dionne Jackson Miller pointed out, the law can still apply to social media people like me who believe in freedom of expression. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Caribbean, Grenada is trying to make it an offense to post “offensive” comments online. Whatever that means. Ominous, perhaps. But I am delighted to hear about the pending demise of the criminal libel law. Long overdue.

Cuban solar panels: Great idea to have the Cubans provide the expertise to manufacture solar panels under a technology agreement to the Energy Ministry. However, faint alarm bells ring when I think of this ministry and Cuba and energy-saving…light bulbs? And do the Cubans really have such great expertise in this field of technology? By the way, the tiny island of St. Kitts has already started manufacturing solar panels, with help from the Taiwanese (no, St. Kitts has not joined the crowd of Caribbean nations jumping on the “One China” bandwagon!) Better late than never, I suppose.

A good sport: I was surprised to see former sports journalist and administrator of the government agency Insports Ian Andrews talking to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament about payments totaling over J$11 million to two officers, who had not actually been working since 2004 and 2008 respectively. It’s now 2013, of course. And this is taxpayers’ money. I understand it was for “compassionate reasons,” but who authorized this and how could it be justified, really? As PAC Chairman Audley Shaw said, there must be guidelines for this sort of thing…

Petchary Appreciation Awards go out to:

The eminently sensible, candid and clear-sighted Winnie Anderson Brown. A candidate for the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) presidency, Ms. Anderson Brown points to a general trend in society: “Bad-manism pays.” Teachers, she suggested, are a reflection of society – and so is the media, whom she criticized for its inaccurate portrayal of Mr. Doran Dixon’s candidacy. “The more you pressure someone the stronger they react,” said Ms. Anderson Brown, who was very gracious throughout, but put her finger on several key issues in a discussion with George Davis on the JTA campaign. “If you can’t be famous, be notorious,” is the general attitude, she suggested.
Burnt Savannah Church of the Nazarene, which I hear is doing some excellent work in this Westmoreland district, expanding its basic school and a new medical centre. I hope someone will write an article about this. For me, this is what “the Church” should be at least starting to turn its efforts towards in Jamaica, rather than shouting at people about homosexuality and “Love Marches.”
All the good citizens (and corporate citizens) who assisted the students of Victoria Town Primary School in Manchester after they passed their GSAT examinations. The Principal of the school listed all their names in a letter to the newspaper. It’s nice to see them being individually recognized. There are many kind and generous Jamaicans.
Mr. Daniel Thwaites for his increasingly relevant, witty and sharp Sunday Gleaner columns. Today’s article is particularly apposite and his views on the “gay issue,” anti-gang legislation and abortion are most amusing. His last paragraph made me laugh: “I personally don’t believe in abortion, and so I won’t ever bother to get one. And I recommend this approach to all the priests, pastors, ministers and clerics.” Touché!
O’Shane Reid, Public Relations Officer at the University of the West Indies’ Mona Guild of Students, who yesterday made his first post on his “vlog” (video blog) on the topic of “Seven Things to Do in College to Gain Experience.” Looking forward to more useful advice for young people. Here is his first effort: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mwcm_eGVME4

The scenes of grief and shock on the television news are almost unbearable sometimes. Yet another murder victim was beheaded; a horrific act, and one which is becoming more frequent. My heart goes out to the grieving families of these Jamaicans who have died in the past few days…

Melissa Clarke, 29, Weymouth Drive/Washington Gardens, Kingston

Kemar Thomas, 27, Kitson Town, St. Catherine

Johnny Bennett, 20, Ocho Rios, St. Ann

Ian Altimond Levy, 40, Manchester, Mandeville

Killed by the police:

Curtis Charles, 24, Windsor Forest, Portland

Related articles and links:

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130705/lead/lead1.html Witness dilemma: 30% conviction rate blamed on lack of evidence, testimonies: Gleaner

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130707/focus/focus4.html Buggery law does not prevent child abuse: Sunday Gleaner op-ed

http://jamaica-star.com/thestar/20130705/news/news2.html “Don’t come back here” – Maxfield residents warn gay man after publicized eviction: Jamaica Star

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIgJQj1R5Iw&feature=player_embedded Millsborough “gay house” destroyed: Jamaica Observer/YouTube

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Gays-evicted-again-_14633258 Gays evicted again: Jamaica Observer

http://www.og.nr/rbt/15562-evicted-homosexual-beaten-in-st-andrew.html Evicted homosexual beaten in St. Andrew: On the Ground News

http://jamaica-star.com/thestar/20130705/news/news1.html Couples forced to live under bridge – unable to find new home after fire: Jamaica Star

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130707/cleisure/cleisure4.html Gays, deejays and vajayjays: Daniel Thwaites column/Sunday Gleaner

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/latest/article.php?id=46260 Policeman accused of killing pregnant woman to go on trial December 2: Gleaner

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Mogul-in-the-Making-nominee-shot-dead Mogul in the Making nominee shot dead: Jamaica Observer

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/28-firearms–1428-rounds-seized-this-week-police-say 28 firearms, 1,428 rounds seized this week – police: Jamaica Observer

http://www.og.nr/rbt/15553-attorney-general-backs-police-stop-and-search-operations.html Attorney General backs police stop-and-search operations: On the Ground News

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130706/news/news1.html Rid Jamaica of “informer fi dead” culture, says lawyer: Gleaner

http://www.jis.gov.jm/news/leads/34492 Statement by Senator the Hon. Sandrea Falconer in the debate on the Defamation Bill: Jamaica Information Service

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130704/business/business1.html Grenada to punish offensive online comments: Gleaner

http://rjrnewsonline.com/local/senate-warns-against-irresponsible-use-of-social-media Senate warns against irresponsible use of social media: RJR News

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/The-chilling-and-crippling-effect-Section-15-will-have-on-the-music-industry—-if-passed_14602447 The chilling and crippling effect Section 15 will have on the music industry – if passed: Jamaica Observer

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130707/focus/focus1.html Punish deejays for gangsta lyrics: Ian Boyne column/Sunday Gleaner

http://digjamaica.com/blog/2013/07/05/chart-of-the-week-3-for-the-infants/ Chart of the Week: 3% for the infants: diGJamaica.com

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130704/cleisure/cleisure3.html Stop blaming our parents: Jaevion Nelson column/Gleaner

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130705/lead/lead92.html “The JTA is bigger than any President”: Gleaner

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130706/cleisure/cleisure4.html Victoria Town Primary GSAT students get assistance: Gleaner

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Public-sector-motor-vehicle-concession-to-stay_14620543 Public sector motor vehicle concession to stay: Jamaica Observer

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130706/news/news3.html Concerns about cost, security put brakes on solar lighting plan: Gleaner

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/-Comprehensive-tax-reform–no-piecemeal_14624248 “Comprehensive tax reform, no piecemeal”: Jamaica Observer

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130705/lead/lead93.html Take time out to address our trade issues