Good to be a Journalist?

Though i hate to say it, life in Kingston seems to become more hazardous as the days go by. I still have to give thanks that i have never had an incident (knocking on wood), however the caution with which one must approach everyday life must only be exceeded by that of someone living in a nation at war.

The headlines this week were dominated by stories in which journalists featured prominently. In the first, a well known and loved radio talk show host was hijacked and kidnapped on the grounds of the much secured, though obviously unsecure, University of the West Inides (UWI) at about 7 pm in the evening. He overheard phone conversations which indicated that his motor vehicle was to be sold (a buyer was waiting) and he killed. His saving grace however was that they searched the vehicle and came upon his gun licence, and hence learned his name and that he was the beloved 'Ragashante'. At that point they indicated to him, that they would not kill him and actually took him back within walking distance of UWI where he was left in a field. It is obviously good to be a journalist.

A photo of the Prime Minister doodling during a debate in which a no confidence motion was being brought against her government, made it to the front page of one of our daily newspapers. See Article and Doodle here! Frankly i have no comments on the incident at hand as i am still unable to comprehend the PM's obvious disinterest in the nation's business. It however resulted in the banning of journalists from certain areas in the Nation's Parliament...you know those areas where it may be possible to catch a doodle on camera.....I am now thinking that its not so good to be a journalist afterall.

Things Fall Apart

This title is very apt for a number of goings on in the society today.

Lets start with the most interesting......The People's National Party (PNP), the governing party in Jamaica are being accused of taking 'gifts' from a multinational company with which the country does business. Now in my opinion, no matter how u look at it, acceptance of such a 'gift' was inappropriate for a number of reasons. It was paid just around the time a new contract was being negotiated, the 'gift' is greater than the money earned by the country in any one year from the partnership, the gift horse, Trafigura Baheer, is not allowed under european laws to give 'gifts', the 'gift' was paid into a personal account rather than that of the party...and last but not least, Trafigura has insisted that it gave no 'gift' but had a commercial agreement with the body to which the money was paid....SOMETHING STINKS IN PARADISE!!

Anyway the local newspapers are covered with stories about this item so u can click any of the links below for more details - The Jamaica Gleaner, The Jamaica Observer and The Jamaica Herald.

Secondly..it is reported that seven person were killed in one community within the past two weeks. The latest being that of a bus conductor who parted a fight between two girls (students in uniform), one of whom returned with men who dragged the conductor off the bus and took him to a nearby premises where he was shot in the head three times. The young lady was reportedly upset beccause the conductor had prevented her from stabbing the other girl. Things fall apart?

Lastly, tomorrow i shall call off the agreement to purchase the much loved apartment. It seems in the opinion of the valuator, it is worth at least 2 million less than what it is being sold for. Unfortunately for me, this is the opinion that the bank relies on and therefore i would not be able to obtain enough money from them to cover the deal. I am still hoping that the sellers will reduce their price substantially, but really i know this is a wild hope. So, as soon as this post is done i am off to go view some apartments advertised in the paper today. Hopefully i will fall i love with those and things will be put back together again.

Wish me luck and since its also my birthday...i am hoping that the stars are on my side.

Blessup until next time!

Silly Season

Ahhhhhh the silly season is here again.....no, not christmas! GENERAL ELECTIONS!!

Our system of government, handed down by the british, consists of an upper and lower house. The lower house is elected by the people in a general election...there are some sixty constituencies and at the end of voting, whichever party wins the most seats, put forward their leader as the next prime minister. The upper house is then chosen by those parties that were lucky to get a seat along with a few independents thrown in to make things interesting.

Historically, in Jamaica land we love, with elections comes violence...and i am talking violence that results in death. There has been no date announced for an election, but it has basically been confirmed that one is soon to take place..........and so the killing begins....of course mainly in depressed communities severly loyal to one party or the other. Based on the rhetoric being thrown out, if you know the community is loyal to the other party, you have no right to go campaigning in this area! Now if i were to write my thoughts on this, i would have to do so in all caps, and i dont want to be rude...so i will leave it for you to comment on. Already there have been deaths and attacks in more that one community and we the level headed people look on and wonder when will they learn....the people they are fighting over live uptown beside each other.....what the hell are they fighting for??

Unfortunately they are fighing for something....they are fighting for the scarce benefits that come with voting for the party in power..they are fighting so that they aren't left out in the cold if they vote for the wrong party, they are fighting so that they can 'eat a food' for the next 5 years when their candidate wins...We all know that its the type of politics we practice that leads to the violence, but when are we going to find the courage to create change?