A Jamaican In Exile

  Mark Golding - Gleaner Photo https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20220920/golding-says-govt-spending-too-much-jdf-while-neglecting-jcf https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/are-we-at-war/ https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latest-news/gunmen-invade-north-coast-hotel-rob-employee/ 'War' requires the army - not the police. If we are at war, the army needs to take over the fight against these groups. Some say only the army is trained and equipped to bring the fight to these 'enemies of the state' - the gangs and there is some truth in that statement. That being said, there needs to be a longer term strategy to deal with these armed thugs. History is replete with would-be dictators who exaggerated or manufactured a situation which they then used to seize total dictatorial powers. Hitler's Reichstag's fire secretly started by the Nazis comes to mind. If what Mark Golding says is true, why would Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness prefer the Jamaica Defence F

by Thomas Van Capitalism is not the root of all evil, well for the most part it isn’t. Local capitalism, free of slavery or forced work is actually really efficient. Unfortunately in today’s global economy democratic countries through capitalism have become destructive. They have a dangerous advantage over the rest of the “unfree” world. The main argument for capitalism is that it “creates new technology and innovation that otherwise would not be possible. Without capitalism most of the modern day advancements would have never come to fruition and we’d all be living in the dark ages still.” This argument follows a logical pattern but draws the wrong conclusions. Rarely does capitalism actually create anything at all. When it does, it’s typically a system or method for delivering new technologies and products to the marketplace so capitalists can enjoy profit from the innovation(s) they had little to do with. Capitalism and capitalists are typically not altruistic intentioned people (on

  https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/the-right-reforms-will-restore-confidence/ The most important part in the above article is #5. " 5)In line with enhancing fairness and equity in the political landscape, publicly funded election campaigns are a pivotal step forward. By providing all candidates with equal access to media platforms, such as press coverage, airtime, and town hall meetings, we level the playing field and promote a more substantive and issues-based campaign environment. This empowers the electorate to make informed choices based on the merits and policies put forth by candidates rather than being limited to options dictated solely by political parties. It is now a good a time to provide the people of Jamaica with a governing system that truly serves them, one that holds leaders accountable while providing the checks and balances necessary to create an efficient Government." Currently, Jamaicans only choice is between the two gangs in Gordon House, between

  You can also see my video on this topic here:  https://youtu.be/sZm5eCjwym0 As the above Gleaner graphic shows, Jamaicans believe that their politicians are the most corrupt group in Jamaica. Second to that is the police. Yet, nothing has been done about it. There has been no widescale social upheaval. In this piece, I will deal with how this situation has come about and what we can do about it. There are three areas of state power: 1.     1.   Political power - those who control the government. 2.      2.  Economic power – those who control the land, the banks and businesses. 3.      3.  Social Power – those who control the mainstream media and religion. Recently, Barbados removed the British monarch as their symbolic head of state and replaced the title of monarch with a symbolic Barbadian President. This woke up the Jamaican political leaders who had grappled with this issue before but were unable to come to an agreement so the issue was re-opened again and a Constitutio

  Are Jamaicans giving up the fight? As one who 'gave up' and emigrated a long time ago, I feel your pain. Even though my personal situation at the time was good, when I saw the clouds on the horizon, I fled Jamaica. At the time of my leaving, people berated me for leaving as I did not fall into the category of poor. Now, some of those same people criticized me and who refused to leave are leaving or if they can't leave now because of age or changes in immigration, they regret not leaving when they could. Their faith in Jamaica's future has been dashed on the rocks. Jamaica has been hijacked by a corrupt political elite collaborating with a mostly white, brown or Chinese corporate elite, a corrupt government bureaucratic elite, criminal gangs and a compliant media owned and controlled by the corporate elite all of which are backed by a corrupt police force and a loyal army. Also, thousands of Jamaicans benefit from the current corrupt situation - from the corrupt co

PNP Still has no plan! Everything that this dyed in the wool party hack feeding at the JLP's trough says about the PNP in the article above is true. That being said, Mr. Higgins commentary is irrelevant to most of us. Because most of us have lost faith in BOTH the JLP and the PNP, Mr. Higgins is preaching to a very small choir - a minority of the electorate. Because of the hell hole that the JLP and PNP have turned Jamaica into, most of us, like I have, now either want to flee Jamaica or those Jamaicans who remain have to hunker down in their grilled home prisons and focus on surviving. A plague on both your houses! Raymond D. Grant

Michael Manley: The Reformer JIS FEATURES   DECEMBER 10, 2015   Former Prime Minister of Jamaica, the Hon. Michael Manley. Michael Norman Manley was born on December 10, 1924 in St. Andrew, Jamaica. He was the second son of internationally renowned lawyer, Rhodes Scholar and one of Jamaica’s National Heroes, the Rt. Excellent Norman Washington Manley and Edna Manley, nee Swithenbank, outstanding sculptor and patron of Jamaican arts. Although Manley’s first love was journalism, he eventually became involved in trade unionism through his work with the National Worker’s Union (NWU) an affiliate of the People’s National Party (PNP). His activism and concern for the Jamaican worker soon led him to follow in his father’s footsteps to the helm of the People’s National Party and eventually Gordon House in 1972 and once again in 1989. Manley made his mark by improving labour conditions, education and Jamaica’s international standing. Manley was awarded the nation’s third highest order, the Orde

 How rights are won: "The flaws in our society..are going to have to be corrected outside of the framework that is commonly accepted. I think we are going to have to find new ways of political action." (Noam Chomsky).  Photo of Joseph Patterson and his wife (UIC webpage) The UIC was founded by Joseph Patterson. Mr. Patterson brings an impressive resume to the table and he certainly does not need to get into politics because of financial need. Why should Jamaicans turn to the UIC? The main thing that I draw from the UIC website is that the UIC  will '...replace the current system that benefits a few, at the expense of the many, to one that will reward everyone according to their own efforts and abilities.' (UIC website). How they plan to do this is not clear. There are 3 registered political parties in Jamaica but the UIC is the only one reliant on members and supporters donations. The UIC does not accept corporate donations I am told. The two dominant political partie

https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/are-there-honest-politicians/ For the last 60+ years, Jamaica's politiricks has been hijacked by a consortium made up of the corporate elite, a corporately supported subservient media elite and a corporately supported corrupt political elite which leaves Jamaicans with a choice between a corrupt JLP and a corrupt PNP. Realizing this, most Jamaicans passively opt out of the political process which maintains the status quo leaving the political field to loyal party hacks and party thugs feeding on the political trough. It is practically impossible to break this stranglehold on the political system because the corporate elite will not fund the start-up of any other political group as the corporate elite is quite happy with the obedience of the PNP/JLP gangs. The media elites, in subservience to their corporate elites will not give equal or positive media coverage to any new political movement. Although most of us Jamaicans do not support the JLP

  Putin ICC warrant debate goes on in South Africa: What to know Many in government and the opposition are united in proclaiming South Africa’s reluctance to arrest Putin when he visits in August. Russia's President Vladimir Putin, left, and South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa attend a signing ceremony on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa July 26, 2018 [Alexei Nikolsky/Kremlin via Reuters] By  Crystal Orderson Published On 3 May 2023 3 May 2023 Cape Town, South Africa  – On Tuesday, South Africa’s Justice Minister Ronald Lamola criticised the International Criminal Court (ICC), saying it was inconsistent in its work. “The fact that an investigation into the atrocities in Palestine has not been completed while the one in Ukraine, opened later already has a referral against a non-member state is an injustice,” Lamola said while addressing Parliament. His stance is the latest from the South African government since March when the ICC  issued an a