On the past sunday, there were a number of articles published in the Gleaner regarding the availability of alcohol to below age children. This is an issue that has existed in Jamaica for about as far back as I can remember. I know this because I grew up here... and essentially I have been able to not only go inside of bars but I've been able to order literally anything I want off the menu of the bar (drinks included) for as long as I've been able to walk and talk. On the rare occassions where the bartender pauses and asks why I'm ordering the drink, I could get away with simply stating that "I am buying it for (Insert name of adult here)". That is how simple acquiring alcohol is for Jamaicans. Multiply this by the fact that if I walk a mile in any direction from wherever I am, I am guaranteed to find myself a bar.

I contrast this with the experience I've been through when I go to the United States of America where the rules with regards to alcohol are much more stringent. Even now in my adult life while sporting a full beard and what I hope is a deep enough voice, when I go into any establishment and order a drink the first question out of the mouth of the bartender is "can I see some ID?". Only after that will I be able to acquire a beverage. As a matter of fact the problems begin even before getting to the counter of the bar as there is somebody at the door at all times checking IDs just so you can enter the bar. So all my childhood experiences inside bars would easily be rendered impossible.

It seems however that somebody (specifically Mary Clarke) has decided that this is a problem that needs to be solved immediately. In the gleaner article she has made the call that bars that serve alcohol to minors should have their liqour licences recoked so that they will no longer be allowed to serve liqour. The gleaner did some investigative journalism and found unsurprisingly that all the locations they went to served liqour to the minors without even so much as batting an eyelid. The article further stated that

Vendors are not asking the age of the children before they sell to them, and that is a challenge, because the law does require it, but they are not doing so in most cases

...

It should be mandatory for all relevant establishments and public functions to display notices forbidding children underage to be served intoxicating liquor or alcohol

I will not deny that these calls are worthy of note, as after all it is the law that alcohol should never be sold to minors, and that any person who is convicted of selling alcohol to minors can be jailed for their actions. However the application of this rule will be quite problematic... the main problem being what I mentioned earlier, that I can walk a mile in any direction and get to bar. With this many bars there is the question of how exactly will the police be able to enforce this rule across the island, after all there are more important things to focus on such as the 4 murders per day that are happening.

However this is not to say that this is a minor problem that we dont need to look at. After all, harmless as it is, the fact that alcohol can cloud one's judgement and can be (but isnt always) addictive, make makes it high on the list of things that we should try to keep away from minors.  But maybe we dont want to be giving our policemen extra work, until we have gotten rid of the more dangerous problem.

In 2007 Air Jamaica's London, Heathrow slots were sold to Virgin Atlantic airlines for £5.1million (US$10.2 million). Jamaican’s former Finance Minister, Dr Omar Davies was the person with overall responsible for negotiating the deal. Today, 2010, Dr. Davis is being accused of unlawfully and improperly intervening in the sale of the London Heathrow slots. Reports are that Dr. Davis made false statement to mislead, or attempted to mislead, a contractor general, contrary to Section 29(a) of the Contractor General Act". The Jamaica Constabulary Force has asked the Greg Christie-led Office of the Contractor General (OCG) to carefully craft a formal complaint against Dr. Davies.

Today, Air Jamaica is being given away. Not sold, but being given away. Not given away with its debt, but being given away free of debt. Who will pay the heavy debts which Air Jamaica now owes? Believe it or not, the Jamaican Government. Sorry that is the Jamaican tax payers, you and I. What about the present routes that Air Jamaica now has, how much is the present Finance Minister, Audley Shaw getting for them? Not to mention the level of secrecy (deception) surrounding the divestment of Air Jamaica from day one.

Now, I think the arguments re the divestment of Air Jamaica has been exhausted. The company continues to make a lost and must be removed from the government’s budget. The present CEO, Mr. Bruce Nobles is reported to have had a great business plan which is supposed to be improving the company’s position. Apparently, too little, too late. What about the Air Jamaica’s pilot and employee’s bid for the company? Not sure why that option was treated with such contempt by the government, but it never seemed to have been a consideration. The Minister of Tourism, Mr. Edmond Bartlet appears very happy to pay any other airline but his national carrier to ensure that tourist have a means of getting to Jamaica. Not sure who his advisors are or why Mr. Christie is not investigating his statements, however the country continues to suffer because of Mr. Bartlet’s follies. I hope when the other airlines just up and leave Jamaica, Mr. Bartlet has a plan. And it puzzles me greatly how so many other carriers are willing to snatch up the unprofitable routes that Air Jamaica has discarded.   

Three years ago one minister sold a piece of our National carrier. Many Jamaicans disagreed with the move at the time however it was done and we all accepted it. Today that minister is being questioned about it. Today the rest of Air Jamaica is being given away and again we are all standing by and allowing it to happen. It is time for us Jamaicans to be proactive instead of reactive. I think we all agree that something needs to be done about Air Jamaica, but is giving it away free, in the best interest of Jamaicans. Maybe Mr. Greg Christie could use his office to lead a formal investigation on the matter now and not some years in the future.

Nuff Love

Jamaicans can tell you a bit about Marcus Garvey, Bob Marley or Usain Bolt to varying degrees. Outstanding personalities indeed, but what about the just as compelling icons of other nationalities? Walter Rodney is a noted champion for Pan-African liberty during the 1970’s. Ironically, he is virtually unknown among young Jamaicans despite hailing from neighbouring Guyana, a CARICOM member state. W.A.R. Stories: Walter Anthony Rodney is a well directed documentary on the heroic life of this revolutionary figure. Its authenticity derives from interviews conducted with some of Rodney’s closest friends and associates. Emotionally intense, W.A.R. Stories affects the senses like a suspense thriller. The project is the brainchild of Guyanese filmmaker and lawyer, Clairmont Chung, in partnership with Jamaican director-editor, Mykal Cushnie, Creative Director of DSE Media. Rodney spent critical years in Jamaica while attending, and later, teaching at the University of the West Indies (UWI). He was known to invite Rastafarians on campus during an era known for aggressive anti-Rasta sentiment. Eventually he was banned from Jamaica before being assassinated in Guyana. These are just some of the issues touched on by the documentary. W.A.R. Stories is set for official release in June 2010 but has been screened privately across North America, including New York, Toronto and Montreal. A number of screenings have taken place in Jamaica as well. One person, having missed the occasion in New York, purchased a plane ticket to the island in order to see it firsthand. Chung and Cushnie are currently in Tanzania where they were invited by the University of Dar es Salaam for the ‘Second Julius Nyerere Intellectual Festival Week.’ Walter Rodney himself did significant work in Tanzania while teaching at the university.

Now I don't normally respond so publicly to what another person posts on this site. However I felt somewhat compelled to respond directly to Skillachi last post about the Gleaner publishing murder numbers on the front page. Make no mistake I am not blind to the epidemic of violent crime in this country unfortunately I do not believe that putting the numbers on the front pages serves any purpose at all. Fact is that murders happens across the globe and unfortunately in many countries or districts comparable to our population, murders are under reported or basically dismissed as a non issue. Some murders are filed in police reports as different crimes such as manslaughter and if a person's body happens to be missing well then they are officially a missing person. In reference to the Jamaica Gleaner, what is the ultimate goal? How does this help anything? Maybe if they published the numbers along with some ideas as to how to change this sad fact then it would be helpful. There is no movement to change anything about the situation asking the hard questions such as "How can we stop the flow of weaponry within our shores?", "Are the political parties each doing enough to protect those within the populace who don't carry a firearm?" In the end,I argee with Skillachi that what the Gleaner is doing is revolutionary and I wish more media outlets around took this stance and tell the complete truth about the ills in their society but my question to the Gleaner, Skillachi, the Jamaican public and even to myself, ultimately is "What now?"

Distant Relatives traces the direct line from dancehall reggae’s breakthrough moment forty years ago to the rise of hip-hop several years later—from Run D.M.C. and Yellowman’s groundbreaking collaboration “Roots Rap Reggae” through Supercat introducing Biggie Smalls to the world on the “Dolly My Baby” remix and Shabba Ranks and KRS-One joining forces on “The Jam.” That line continues right up through Damian Marley and Nas’ double-Grammy-winning “Road To Zion.” Unlike all previous collaborations between Jamaican and American artists, Distant Relatives is neither a remix nor a featured guest spot on a single track. The recording is a fully collaborative effort filling an entire album, opening new avenues of musical expression. Distant Relatives is an album created by two serious artists to explore and celebrate the correlations and deep-rooted connections between reggae and hip-hop, tracing both sounds back to the African motherland that is both the cradle of humanity and the wellspring of mankind’s music. And who better to fulfill this mission? The youngest son of the legendary Bob Marley, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley garnered his own place in music history when he became the first ever reggae artist to win a Grammy Award outside of the Reggae category, taking home an award for Best Urban/Alternative performance for his smash 2005 single “Welcome To Jamrock.” The acclaimed breakthrough album of the same name also won a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album. A hip-hop icon since his immortal guest verse on Main Source’s 1991 “Live At The Barbeque,” Nas burst out of the Queensbridge housing projects, a hotbed of rap artistry since the early ’80s. The son of jazz trumpeter Olu Dara, Nas has since gone on to sell over 20 million albums worldwide over the span of his legendary career, and has acted as an ambassador for hip-hop culture throughout the globe. “When we first started working, I was thinking about what direction we should go in,” Nas explained during a recent discussion at the Grammy Museum. “Cause it’s all kinda like the same—reggae, rap. But it went to its own thing… We had a few concepts. All basically around empowerment in a way, cause if we’re talking about Distant Relatives we’re talking about the human family.” The sound of Distant Relatives features live musicians as well as studio production by Damian Marley and his elder brother Stephen Marley, a distinguished award-winning artist and producer in his own right. Featured artists on the album connect other diasporic dots— New Orleans’ own Lil Wayne as well as the critically acclaimed Somali-born, Canadian-raised MC K’NAAN. “I didn’t want it to sound like something that would be typical of me, neither typical of Nas,” said Damian Marley, who produced much of the album. “But something where you can still see how there’s a middle ground in the music… where you can still hear something that is reminiscent of either of us… It’s been really fun. Cause we’ve been going in the booth together. Especially as a lyricist, it’s really like iron sharpen iron. You can’t slack off right now. It’s a great learning experience for me too.” And that experience extends to young listeners who will surely be enlightened and educated about the shared cultural legacy of Africa, America, and the Caribbean. “The whole process is gonna be fun,” Nas adds. “I think we can have fun helping people. When I think about things we wanna do with this album, it’s just limitless.” In addition Nas and Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley have announced the official tour dates for their groundbreaking "Distant Relatives Tour," set to kick off May 21 in Arcata, CA. The tour will follow the May 18 release of their highly-anticipated collaborative studio album, Distant Relatives (Universal Republic), and will include performances at Bonnaroo, June 11 and Gathering of The Vibes, August 1. The pair recently performed at the annual music festival SXSW in Austin, TX, as well as WMC's Ultra Music Festival in Miami this past weekend. They will also make one more special performance on May 2 at West Palm Beach, FL's SUNFEST before kicking off the tour. Opening for Nas and Damian during their landmark tour is Nigerian-born singer-songwriter Nneka, who recently introduced her sound to the America earlier this year through her US debut release, Concrete Jungle. In addition to announcing tour dates, Nas and Damian have released the official album cover, which was shot by Nabil Elderkin and designed by Nesta Garrick.

Over the past few days, the Daily Gleaner has been publishing on its front page (with large bright text) a graphic which states, the number of murders that has been reported for the year 2010, states how many of those murders were of policemen and then below that it states "Who is accountable". This has caused alot of mixed emotions coming from people from all walks of life who read the newspaper. Some are saying that this is a good and necessary thing, some are saying its a bad thing... However whichever way you look at it, there is something about it that alot of people are forgetting, and that is that what the gleaner is doing is both revolutionary, and disturbing.

I say it is revolutionary and disturbing because of the arguments that are being used by the people who say that what the Gleaner is doing is a good thing. It is revolutionary because it serves as a constant reminder of the downward spiral that Jamaican society is currently going through, as we have more deaths than even some war-torn countries in the world, we are more or less the murder capital of the world. I mean, all these figures show is that there are 4 deaths a day in Jamaica, I'll let that number sink in for a while... Now when we look at the fact that we are a small island, with a population of just about 3 million people, with more murders than countries 5 times our size, I think it should give us reason to look inwards and see what we can do to stop this problem.

However there are people who say that what the gleaner is doing is wrong. I've heard people say that seeing something like this on the front page is disgusting, and it embarrases the entire nation, as the gleaner is not only read in Jamaica but also in the US and UK. Then there are those that say that children read the papers too and when they see something like this they are exposed to a side of life that they shouldn't have to see at such a young age. Instead this side argues that the gleaner should be posting good news and trying to focus on what good people have done. A recent editorial in the paper on this same topic stated that:

..."443 murders in 102 days" or "461 in 103 days" is better than 2009. Here is the arithmetic: 443 ÷ 102 = 4.343 per day, and 4.343 x 365 = 1,585 for 2010. Now, 461 in 103 days is 1,633 for the year, averaging 1609. Compare this with 2009: 1,680; and in 2008, it was 1,611. Instead of the negative hype and fear, the media should be saying that although we are nowhere near where we should be, we are heading in the right direction, at least for the time being, with a four per cent improvement on last year. We should all hope for better, and citizens should do their part to contribute to the downward trend ...

One can certainly see the merit in this writers argument, but it isnt the only side of the equation. There are the people who say the gleaner is doing a good thing... They say the gleaner is trying to highlight how much of an outrageous situation we are now in. They (The Gleaner) aren't trying to propose a solution to the murder problem, or state that there is nothing that we can do. Instead they are just trying to repulse the population into realizing that we must do something about our current situation. Maybe the gleaner is hoping that people who have witnessed crimes and have not reported them, may see this and realize that it would make more sense to report the crime and put somebody behind bars. Another editorial, that isnt exactly on the topic, but presents something that I think will help this side of the argument states that:

If the corpses of the 463 people murdered in Jamaica in the past 104 days were lined up head to toe, they would stretch for nearly the entire length of the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston. When they were alive, these people packed a dozen Jamaican Urban Transit Company Buses. The same group would have formed a healthy crowd in Montego Bay's Sam Sharpe Square, and could occupy the seats around the cabinet table 29 times.

This to me states just how much people we have lost. Imagine if all these 463 people were qualified to work at the Airport and how efficient they would allow it to run, and how they could help the JUTC with their patronage to and from work, or that one of them may have been the next Bolt, Powell, Fraser, or Campbell. Or the fact that out of those 463 people they could have formed the government of Jamaica, and one of them may just have been the Prime Minister Jamaica needs to lead us out of our current situation. It kind of gives you a whole new perspective on how to look at the amount of people who are being murdered in Jamaica, and the possibilities that may have left us with these victims.

Unfortunately for one side I will have to say that I agree with what the gleaner is doing. I think people have grown used to hearing that a large number of murders continue to happen in Jamaica and the act of murder has lost its shock value to us. I dont believe that a society that looks at murder like a everyday thing (which it is really), is a properly functioning society, and the gleaner is reminding us that we are in a bad way and something needs to be done.

(Isn't it funny that I give props to the Gleaner right after bashing its poor presswork).

For the past couple of weeks or so I've realized that the majority of the up to the minute news I'm getting, is not in fact coming from the newspapers or the TV stations. But instead are coming to me through friends who themselves are willing to testify that their sources are beyond accurate, and are actually super accurate. Of course I may just be getting critical and/or impatient here but its certainly disturbing to me that for some reason or another the news outlets have not been one day or a few hours behind... but closer to 3-5 days behind the news I am receiving. And these are really important news items... things that become front page news the whenever it is published, which has lead to me wonder. Is it that our news outlets, are withholding the news?

I have to ask this question because, quite frankly it is becoming disturbing. Another thing that is important to add is, the accuracy of the "word of mouth" news has increased to the point where I no longer take these pieces of information with a massive level of skepticism and disbelief, but now believe them almost word for word to be true. Am I to believe that the news outlets no longer have the same sources for news that they did before, the same sources that found out things like how much the new BOJ governor was paid are now failing or late?

The news items in question that I am talking about in fact have all occurred since the start of the year. So things such as the entire Fiasco with the Don; The revocation of the visa's of Wayne Chen and other business men; The revocation of the visa's of artists Bounty Killer, Beenie Man and Movado; The fact that the US had suspected 3 high placed government officials of doing illicit business.... All of these things I had heard about days before it was reported by any of the media outlets. The last article regarding the government officials I actually saw on the Associated Press' website about 2 days before the TVJ or CVM news even caught wind of it.

To be fair to the news outlets (or... at least being somewhat fair), maybe the proper argument should be have the news outlets simply gotten outdated? I mean all of the news items I have spoken about so far I got either through messages from friends on my blackberry, or through twitter or through the internet. Maybe its just that the news outlets are not able to transmit the news as quickly... Well normally I would agree with and see the merit in this argument, but that would be forgetting the fact that as I stated before, it wasn't just a day (For the newspapers) or a few hours (for the TV news), its multiple days.

Which leads me to ask the question that is foremost in my mind, is the press being slow because they are trying to protect somebody? and Who are they trying to protect? Yes most people will state that alot of the news media are severly partisan, but even then I would assume that these outlets would still need to make money, and to make money the most effective way (and I'm just throwing this out there), would be to do their jobs and report the actual news. After all how much can these people really be paying to protect themselves in the news, when the fact remains that the news is going to get out eventually? So you see the whole notion of protecting whosoever really does nothing at all but make you seem like a horrible news reporter.

If you aren't going to report the news properly, then please stop calling yourselves news carriers.

Jamaican sprint sensation Usain "Lighting" Bolt will compete in the 100 meters at the adidas Grand Prix in New York City on June 12th. The adidas Grand Prix, formerly known as the Reebok Grand Prix, will be the fifth stop on the inaugural IAAF Diamond League circuit and will be held at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island. Bolt, the reigning triple-Olympic Champion (100m, 200m and 4x100m) and triple-World Champion, is one of the most popular and sought after sports personalities in the world. A showman both on and off the track, Bolt shocked the world in Beijing in 2008, not just by winning the 100m gold medal but by doing so in a never-before-seen dominating and entertaining world record effort. He followed up this victory just days later with another historic world record at 200m (19.30) and again in the 4x100m Relay (37.10). In 2009, Bolt outperformed the world as well as his own seemingly untouchable world best marks with two more records (9.58 for 100m and 19.19 for 200m) at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin. Ranked #1 in the world at 100m and 200m in 2008 and 2009, Bolt was also named Athlete-of-the Year by the IAAF in both years. Newly crowned world indoor champions Bernard Lagat of the United States and Jessica Ennis of Great Britain as well as American record-holder Hyleas Fountain will ride the wave of their recent successes when they compete at the adidas Grand Prix. Lagat joins Bolt as the featured athletes in their respective events, the 1500 and 100m. The golden girl of British Athletics, Ennis will face-off against Fountain, the Olympic heptathlon silver medalist, in a special multi-event challenge featuring the long jump, shot put, and 100m hurdles. The adidas Grand Prix will be Ennis’ U.S. debut, and it will be Fountain’s first appearance. “Winning the world indoor title gives me a load of confidence heading into the summer, and now what a great opportunity it is for the multis to be included within the adidas Grand Prix’s Diamond League structure,” Ennis said. “This meet is known for producing great results, and I’m excited to use the energy and support of the New York City crowd in making my U.S. debut.” Lagat, 35, of Tucson, Ariz., captured his second world indoor title in the 3000m at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Doha in early March, making him the first U.S. champion in the event. The victory brings his career World Championship medal count to eight—four of them gold. A two-time Olympic medalist, Lagat most recently made history in New York, winning his record eighth Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games in Madison Square Garden in January. Ennis, 24, is dubbed the world’s greatest female athlete after becoming the first British woman to win both indoor and outdoor world titles in 2009 and 2010. She was victorious this month in Doha, and just seven months prior, Ennis dominated in similar fashion, setting a personal best in becoming the world heptathlon champion at the IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Berlin. Fountain, 29, of Kettering, Ohio, also had a stellar performance in Doha, finishing fourth in the pentathlon and equaling the American record of 4,753 set in 1999 by DeeDee Nathan. It was an encouraging performance for Fountain, who was forced to miss the World Outdoor Championships last summer due to an injury after winning the Olympic silver medal in Beijing a year earlier.

Anybody who has read or even glimpsed the news over the past month or so will have read about the current situation within parliament which stands as a major embarassment to the Jamaican public, as they see the people we have elected to run our country act like squabbling children instead of focusing on the important issues, such as how to pay our public sector workers. But then again what can you expect, the people put in charge of our country are nothing less than a bunch of corrupt thieves who more than likely went into politics for nothing more than their own personal gain, and not something like making a better life for the people of Jamaica. But I digress.

The first instance of the mass flareup in parliament came from Everald Warmington. Warmington a (JLP senator) got quite angry after he attempted to vote against a move recommended by the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ) and ended up with his opinion not being represented in Parliament. He started to get very angry and heated and started openly cursing the members of both sides of the house including his own side despite the attempts by other JLP ministers to clam him down. The entire debacle ended with Warmington storming out of the house while making it known to his party that they cannot remove him from power, as only the people of his constituency have the power to do that. He also made sure to include a few choice Jamaican words on his way out to make sure that his point was properly made.

**Taken from Jamaica Gleaner

He was chided openly for his behaviour in parliament, and the Gleaner reports that:

Karl Samuda, the party's general secretary, said Warmington was out of line and that his behaviour was "a departure from what is expected". Warmington, however, insists that the party cannot sanction him for his actions in Parliament. He also says that there is no strained relationship between him and the party... he had received widespread commendation for his actions in Parliament for his constituency, which has indicated it will stand with him.

However this is not the first time something like this has happened.

A similar event took place few weeks after Warmington's outburst, however this time from the opposite side of the house - This time from Senator KD Knight. As the JLP through senator lightbourne was attempting to pass the Financial Investigation Division Bill in the senate, Knight grew increasingly upset at the manner in which the government was passing the bill stating that they are trying to rush through the proceedings without following proper procedure as the opposition had not had any say in the proceedings. Senator Lightbourne shot back at his remark, only to be called stupid by Knight, before he stepped out of parliament. Knight was subsequently suspended for 2 sittings of the senate and the bill was eventually passed. Knight however stated that his suspension was merely a sideshow for what was really taking place which was:

What they do is use the occasion to rush through legis-lation, and when we ask them to delay legislation for a week, the leader of government business gets up and says we are trying to derail the legislative agenda

However true this is, is up to interpretation, but there have been some recent reportings that parliament has been notably lazy in pushing a legislative agenda... However I think it is important to note the fact that this isnt exactly the first time that KD has made outbursts in parliament, as a matter of fact he is quite known for being one of the more feisty members of parliament.

**Taken from JIS

However it is things like this that happens all the time in Jamaican parliament, which is why more and more Jamaicans find themselves becoming embarrassed by the behaviour of our MP's and Senators. Things like the cursing and walk outs are regular occurences, so much so that if one was to actually sit and watch/listen to one of the parliamentary broadcasts, I can assure you that you would hear people behaving in a manner that is not becoming of leaders of a country. This is not to say that the Jamaican Parliament is the only place where this happens, after all there have been a number of other examples where people in other country's parliaments have been caught cursing, and one can point to the fights in the South Korean Parliament last year which is much more embarassing I would think.

However this cannot be used as some sort of excuse for poor behaviour in our local parliament. This is no excuse, we should expect more from our leaders, and it is becoming sickening to watch parliament and see these children who are in charge of our country. I have made the call numerous times and while I doubt it will happen anytime soon I still think it is a necessary move. The two party system, and all current MP's and senators need to be swapped out for a new batch of people, who are focused not on what is right for themselves, but what is right for the people of Jamaica.

So its finally happened, the nurses have been joined by yet another public sector group who have simply become fed up with the decisions taken by the government. The islands police force has today staged a sickout in protest to the fact that the government has owed them a large amount of money for some time and simply refuses to pay them. Most people expected this kind of reaction eventually from the police (and other public sector workers) because as of recently, the government has been treating them (the public sector) with such a high level of disrespect and lack of sympathy that there was bound to be some sort of backlash, and it is finally happening.

The Jamaica gleaner reports that:

The Police Federation is remaining firm as it presses the government to respond to matters relating to the payment of outstanding salaries to its members. While not confirming reports that some rank and file police personnel are staging a sick-out, Sergeant Raymond Wilson says the federation is giving the government more time to call a meeting with its executive.  The federation had served a 72-day ultimatum on the government last week to call a meeting. However, the government failed to respond to the 5 p.m. deadline on Friday.

So like with the issue with the nurses everybody is pretty much remaining quiet as to the subject of the sick out but yet everybody knows that it is actually going on.

For those wondering about the disrespect and lack of sympathy I am speaking about, one simply has to look at the recent speeches made by the Finance Minister and the Prime Minister. Both people have been talking to the public sector workers in the same manner that a parent speaks to his/her unruly child. Instead of trying to come up with a plan to pay the public sector similar to that Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) introduced by the previous administration, they have simply come out and said "we will not pay you the money that we rightfully owe you" - of course that is not a direct quote, but it is more or less what was stated.

Can you imagine, the entire public sector - Doctors, Teachers, Policemen, Nurses, etc. - all these trained professionals who spent time acquiring the level of education and training required to provide adequate service, being told that without any other explanation than "we cannot", that the money owed to them will not be coming. Especially when one adds the fact that the same government who refuses to pay them, is also trying to take more money from them by increasing and applying new taxes to almost every good or service that they need to live. So the little money they have been making is actually worth much less due to inflation, less disposable income means that the public sector workers are living living like paupers despite having the same amount of work  to do.

Add to this the fact that wages have not increased in a years, and the government has had the required testicles to add a further 2 year wage freeze to the entire public sector, and you have a bunch of understandably angry people who want what is due to them. Can you imagine what would happen if the entire public sector decided that they are going to strike? The crippling effect it would have on the Jamaican public? We already have to live through the lessened security we have because of lack of police, what more can we expect? I personally am happy that the majority of these public sector workers have not outright stopped their work though, and I applaud their nobility, but there needs to be some steps taken to ensure that this situation is sorted out... and quickly.

**taken from the Gleaner

... As I typed this article I also had to think about something interesting that came to mind, and that was essentially what was the purpose of the IMF loan that the government took out? But maybe I should save this for another article.