Justice Minister, Senator Mark Golding is asserting that his ministry will have to redouble efforts to find a solution to meet the security needs of prosecutors, in collaboration with the police force.
Justice Minister, Senator Mark Golding, says his ministry is to renew discussions with the Jamaica Constabulary (JCF) aimed at improving the security of judicial officers including prosecutors.
He gave the update in a statement yesterday in which he condemned Wednesday’s attack on a deputy director of public prosecutions as she arrived at the Spanish Town Courthouse in St Catherine.
Arising from the incident, DPP Paula Llewellyn, called for greater security to be put in place to protect prosecutors and support staff.
The Justice Minister says the government owes it to prosecutors to ensure they are able to do their work without being exposed to unacceptable risks.
As a result, he said Permanent Secretary in the Justice Ministry, Carol Palmer, has been tasked to renew discussions with the Police High Command to see what else can be done to improve security.
Palmer said the issue of security for prosecutors remains a concern and she will continue dialogue with the Police High Command in an attempt to find a lasting solution.
Senator Golding is asserting that his ministry will have to redouble efforts to find a solution to meet the security needs of prosecutors, in collaboration with the police force.
Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary said every effort is being made to relocate a number of courthouses and the Spanish Town courthouse is high on the list.
Palmer indicated that the Ministry has already identified property in Central Village on the outskirts of Spanish Town, St Catherine, for the relocation of the Spanish Town Courthouse.
However, she says the ministry is awaiting funding to proceed with the construction of the new facility.
It is reported that the female Deputy DPP was in the process of removing files from her car outside the courthouse when a man approached and demanded money.
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio listens during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 13, 2015. The House debates and votes for final passage on NSA Surveillance legislation, known as the USA Freedom Act. The measure seeks to codify President Barack Obama’s proposal to end the NSA’s collection of domestic calling records. It would allow the agency to request certain records held by the telephone companies under a court order in terrorism investigations. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (Credit: AP)
Yesterday, House Speaker John Boehner was his usual weepy self as Pope Francis spoke to a joint meeting of Congress. Boehner, a Catholic, had invited three popes to address Congress, and Francis finally took him up on the offer — a first in U.S. history. So it wasn’t that surprising to see Boehner, in the background, leaking like a water faucet in disrepair. Only now, we can see those tears in a different light, as Boehner announced his stunning resignation from Congress, effective at the end of October.
There’s little doubt that the proximal cause ofBoehner leaving is the GOP’s internal fight over whether to do another government shutdown — this time, aimed at defunding Planned Parenthood, an organization that (at 45 percent) is currently viewed about three more favorably than Congress.
But it’s equally clear the push to oust Boehner has bubbling for some time, though characteristically not with much method or discipline. In late July, North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows surprised everyone with a motion to vacate the chair, which Politico described as “an extraordinarily rare procedural move that represents the most serious expression of opposition to Boehner’s speakership,” going on to note:
GOP leaders were taken completely by surprise. Meadows, a second-term Republican, hadn’t even asked for a meeting with Boehner or other top Republicans to air his gripes.
Boehner had faced a challenge to his leadership before, but not in his most recent election. So the ebbs and flows of opposition have remained relatively opaque, aided by a generally incurious press. Rachel Maddow represents a distinctly discordant view, having repeatedly run segments arguing that “John Boehner is bad at his job.”But it can be argued that Maddow is wrong to blame Boehner for problems that are much bigger than the office he holds, or even the GOP House caucus.
Indeed, viewed through an institutional lens, Boehner’s troubles go back much further, encompassing the all three of his GOP predecessors. In 1998, Newt Gingrich resigned as Speaker, and from Congress, after the GOP lost seats in mid-term elections after intensely pursuing a Clinton impeachment agenda. Just days after the election, CNN reported, “Faced with a brewing rebellion within the Republican Party over the disappointing midterm election, House Speaker Newt Gingrich made the stunning decision Friday to step down not just from the speakership but also from Congress.”
Gingrich’s replacement, Louisiana’s Bob Livingston, resigned just over a month later [video], before even taking office, after his own extra-marital affairs were revealed by Hustler publisher Larry Flynt. Amazingly, Livingston, who had been part of Gingrich’s leadership team devoted to hounding Clinton from office, said in his remarks, “I want so very much to pacify and cool our raging tempers and return to an era when differences were confined to the debate, and not a personal attack or assassination of character.”
Livingston’s deliberately low-key successor, Dennis Hastert, had some troubles in office, but managed to survive with dignity and reputation reasonably intact through eight years of leadership — the longest tenure ever for a Republican — until Democrats retook the House in the 2006 mid-terms. It was only this year that he was criminally charged for lying to federal agents and evading financial reporting requirements, reportedly as part of an attempt to conceal sexual misconduct with a minor, which in turn raised new doubts about his handling of similar problems in the Mark Foley affair, just prior to the 2006 election.
At one level, this record speaks to a lack of personal morality — a key GOP hobby horse for at least the past half century, if not virtually forever. But more deeply, it highlights the inherent dangers stirred up by running political campaigns as moral crusades, which simply cannot be sustained as a means of government in a secular, pluralistic system. The attempt to demonize Planned Parenthood as evil incarnate involves spectacular levels of fraud and deception. Such deception may be sustainable within the bubble of the GOP base, driving the latest mania which appears to have exhausted Boehner’s endurance, but it cannot prevail in the polity at large, unless the élite media are fully on board — as they were in attacking ACORN, orselling the Iraq War—but not for this fight. Story originated here : http://www.salon.com/2015/09/25/john_boehner_was_really_bad_at_his_job_now_things_are_about_to_get_epically_worse/
Jewish-American scholar and activist Noam Chomsky talks during his meeting with Palestinian youth activists in Gaza City, Friday, Oct. 19, 2012. Chomsky crossed from Egypt yesterday for his first visit to Gaza. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)
MIT Professor Noam Chomsky recently gave his assessment of the Republican race for the White House with former reality-TV star Donald Trump leading the pack after a speech at New York’s The New School this weekend and the renowned political thinker surmised that the Grand Olé Party has become too extreme to still be considered a legitimate American political party.
“Republicans have just drifted off the spectrum,” Chomsky declared in response to a question about what the “antics” of Trump say about American exceptionalism.
Noting the remarkably similar hawkish bluster against the Iran nuclear deal from supposedly “serious” candidate Jeb Bush and recently departed (from the campaign trail, not life) hopeful Scott Walker, Chomsky said the Republican 2016 field is “off the spectrum of not only international opinion, but even relative sanity.”
“I think we should recognize that the other candidates are not that different,” from Trump, Chomsky offered. “If you take a look at — just take a look at their views. You know, they tell you their views, and they’re astonishing.”
Chomsky went on to cite a 2013 essay by conservative Norm Ornstein and Brooking’s fellow Thomas Mann decrying the devolution of the Republican Party to a “radical insurgency”:
You can tell that even by the votes. I mean, any issue of any complexity is going to have some diversity of opinion. But when you get a unanimous vote to kill the Iranian deal or the Affordable Care Act or whatever the next thing may be, you know you’re not dealing with a political party.
In a recent interview with Indian magazine, Frontline, Chomsky identified the GOP’s race-baiting and bigoted pandering to capture an ever shrinking nativist electorate as the cause for why the Republican presidential primaries have become “spectacles remote from the mainstream of modern society”:
It is important to bear in mind that the Republicans have long abandoned the pretense of functioning as a normal parliamentary party. Rather, they have become a “radical insurgency” that scarcely seeks to participate in normal parliamentary politics, as observed by the respected conservative political commentator Norman Ornstein of the right-wing American Enterprise Institute. Since Ronald Reagan, the leadership has plunged so far into the pockets of the very rich and the corporate sector that they can attract votes only by mobilizing sectors of the population that have not previously been an organized political force, among them extremist evangelical Christians, now probably the majority of Republican voters; remnants of the former slave-holding States; nativists who are terrified that “they” are taking our white Christian Anglo-Saxon country away from us; and others who turn the Republican primaries into spectacles remote from the mainstream of modern society — though not the mainstream of the most powerful country in world history.
The theft of a Motorcycle from a Police Station would normally evoke scorn and disdain by Jamaicans who hate everything about Police. However the theft of a motorcycle from the Junction police station in St Elizabeth Jamaica did not garner the normal diarrhea of disdainful comments from them this time, the fact is that police vehicles have been swiped from Police precincts all across the Globe.
Supt of Police Landford Salmon
In the meantime according to some reports Supt of Police Landford Salmon has taken the decision to suspend all dance parties and round robins in the Parish until the person/s who stole the Motorcycle return it to the station. I must say that it’s kinda sad that the Police are forced to resort to measures like these to bring about the return of the motorcycle. It says the police really has no intelligence sources . And it says the police have no idea who took it. That aside, as a young detective I have told people to return stolen merchandize to a certain spot or else.….….. One case involved a stolen Kawasaki motorcycle which turned up on Knutsford Boulevard in New Kingston. The second instance was when a furniture factory at the corner of Grant’s Pen Avenue and Morgan Lane was broken into and emptied of every piece of furniture. I visited the corner grabbed a certain guy and told him the furniture better turn up in a place where I can find them in a couple of hours or else.….…
Of course after returning to the station I received a phone call and yes an open lot in Grants Pen became an open air furniture store. Not only was the furniture returned but I received additional information on one man who decided to try his luck and not return his ill-gotten dining Room furniture. Because he was well know to me he probably expected that I would look the other way. I did look away as he was sentenced to two years for receiving stolen property.
Today Superintendent Salmon probably doesn’t have the power to deliver on or else .….. God knows there are more than enough shit-heads who pontificate about rights and what’s legal yet they are duplicitously and conspicuously silent as the blood of the innocent flows unchecked. But he still has the power to deny permits for dances and round robins and I salute him for recognizing that it is in his hands to use. There ought to be some degree of collective responsibility for this outrageous degree of criminality on the Island.
Assistant Commissioner of Police i/c crime Élan Powell
I just watched a video of my good friend Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of crime Élan Powell talk about his murder clear-up rate. Powell said over 450 people has been charged with murder since the beginning of the year. He stated that the Department is bringing 45% of murderers to justice . He promises to do even better by bringing the murder clear-ups to 51% by year’s end, even as he bemoans the fact that his clear-ups does not get into the media narrative.
As much as I am aware of the challenges facing ACP Élan Powell and his officers, it gives me the chills to think that 55% of the people who actually kill other human beings as well as their associates, including those who contract the trigger-men are actually walking around without consequence. Over 800 Jamaicans have been killed since the beginning of the year. The Police have precious little with which to fight crime and Jamaicans love to party at the same time no one has a Constitutional right to hold dance parties and round robin tournaments. I applaud Superintendent Salmon for his forthright resolve in taking this action, he will probably bow to pressure soon , more than likely by the very people above him.
He may not be able to do it (ad infinitum) but it is certainly a brave move from this officer . Cynics be damned.
The massive Condor flights carrying all kinds of supplies now arrive twice a day through Iran and Iraq into Bassel Al-Assad International Airport outside the port city of Latakia. The cargo is for Russian soldiers, not Syrian government forces, but is seen as a build-up to aid Bashar Assad’s embattled régime.
The defense official, briefed on the latest satellite photos of the Syrian coastline, said: “This is the largest deployment of Russian forces outside the former Soviet Union since the collapse of the USSR.”
The only thing surprising about this is that it took so long.
Syria has been a Russian client state since the 1970s. The reason for its original alliance with Soviet Russia is obvious enough. The Arab Socialist Baath Party was a natural ally of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Syria’s take on secularism and socialism isn’t as severe as Soviet Russia’s, but Syria was ideologically much closer to Russia than to, say, Sweden. That was for damn sure.
And Russia wanted proxies and influence wherever it could get them even if the ideological overlap was just partial. It still does. All great powers and aspiring great powers and used-to-be great powers are interested in proxies and influence wherever they can get them.
Russia has what is sometimes referred to as its only Mediterranean naval base in Syria’s medium-sized city of Tartus, but it’s not much more than a gas station and repair shop. Russia’s big warships won’t even fit there. It’s not particularly important. What matters far more to Russia is its influence in the world, which is still drastically down from the great and terrible days of the Soviet Union.
Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, of course, wants all the help he can get at this late date. He has been getting it from Iran and Hezbollah all along, and from Russia at least diplomatically. He’d certainly take help from the United States at this point. He wanted help from the United States at the very beginning. That’s why he characterized the upheaval in Syria as a war against terrorism long before a single ISIS or Nusra fighter fired a shot, back when it was just him against unarmed protesters demanding some kind of political reform.
Assad might even take help from the Israelis at this point. Not that the Israelis would lift a finger to assist Hezbollah’s co-patron and co-armorer. That won’t happen under any circumstances.
So here comes daddy Russia, riding to the rescue of its old totalitarian client.
Maybe the Russians will go ahead and smash ISIS. Maybe they’ll do the dirty work that has the West so fatigued. Maybe they’ll do everybody a favor.
The result won’t be pretty, however. Soviet Russia did everybody a favor when it smashed through the eastern front of Hitler’s Nazi régime, but Poland sure paid the price. As did a lot of other countries in Europe.
For 70 years American Presidents from both parties have sought to thwart Russian influence in the Middle East. Harry Truman forced the Red Army to withdraw from northern Iran in 1946. Richard Nixon raised a nuclear alert to deter Moscow from resupplying its Arab clients during the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Even Jimmy Carter threatened military force to protect the Persian Gulf after the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
America wasn’t quite as burned out then.
We’re all tired of trying to fix a part of the world that refused to be fixed, but nature abhors a vacuum. Story originated here: Russia moves into syria
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Police officers continue to strengthen their operational capabilities under the ‘Get the Guns’ campaign, which has led to the seizure of 10 firearms, 159 rounds of ammunition and the arrest of eight people in the last 24 hours.
Police attached to the Hope Bay station have reported that at about 5:00 pm on Tuesday, an operation was carried out at premises in Shrewsbury district, Portland, which resulted in the seizure of a 12-gauge Remington shotgun. No one was arrested in connection with the find.
In Westmoreland, about 5:30 pm, lawmen in Cornwall Mountain seized a Smith and Wesson 9mm pistol and 31 rounds of ammunition during an operation, while a shotgun was seized in Wedderburn district, Bethel Town, after lawmen responded to a dispute. One man was arrested in connection with the find in Cornwall Mountain.
On Wednesday, officers in the Green Island area of Hanover carried out a targeted operation in River Head Road, Logwood between 4:30 am and 8:30 am. During this operation, a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun, a Taurus 9mm pistol and 90 assorted rounds of ammunition were seized.
Five males along with a female were subsequently taken into custody.
Then an operation was conducted in Salt Spring, St James, which led to the seizure of two Browning 9mm pistols, one Arcus 9mm pistol, three magazines, 14 9mm rounds, and a notebook containing identity information of people living in the United States of America.
One man was taken into custody in connection with that find.
Over in Trelawny, lawmen continued to make headway in removing illegal weapons from our streets, with the seizure of two Astra 9mm pistols and 24 9mm rounds while on operation in Litchfield.
The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) has renewed their appeal to citizens to collaborate with the police on the ‘Get the Guns’ initiative, which is geared towards removing illegal weapons from the hands of criminals in Jamaica.
The JCF said that rewards will be offered to people who provide information that lead to the seizure of illegal guns and ammunition.
The public is also being asked to call Crime Stop at 311 or 811, police 119 emergency number or the nearest police station to report illegal activities in their communities. The police say citizens may also submit tips and information using the Stay Alert App from Google play store. Story originated here: 10 guns seized, 8 arrested in 24 hours – Police
John Boehner is set to resign the Speakership of the House and his seat in Congress. Boehner will resign in the face of opposition within his own party. Boehner’s speakership has been a colossal failure of leadership. Throughout Obama’s Presidency Boehner did not stand for Governance he allowed the Right wing hate machine to block and hinder the President’s agenda. In the end Boehner will be remembered for not standing for anything. As such he was destined to go this way. He will be remembered as the speaker of Government shutdowns. I cannot recall any other time in my lifetime when a Speaker of the House has pursued a more acrimonious relationship with a sitting President. On issue after issue, Immigration, ISIS, Budget issues , Israel Foreign policy in general, John Boehner has been the most virulent opponent of Obama. In the end John Boehner committed the ultimate sin of inviting Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu to address the Congress in opposition to the President’s Iran deal without informing the President. This action was a massive departure from established protocol. Boehner knew that Netanyahu was opposed to the deal being negotiated between the P5 plus 1. He knew that Netanyahu had a less than cordial relationship with the sitting President Barack Obama . As such what Boehner did was to side with a Foreign head of state over his own President.
In the days and weeks to come there will be much discussion on this unexpected move by Boehner. Predictably the mass of the conversation will be geared toward burnishing and sanitizing the record and tenure of John Boehner. Unfortunately for those who will spend their time in such endeavors we live in the information age. Thanks to Google. Bing Yahoo. and other search engines Boehner’s every action is a matter of public record. Nevertheless they will spend much time telling you that what you saw and read is not really what you saw and read. They will try to convince you that your eyes are lying to you. John Boehner was particularly disappointing because he did not come from wealth. In this publication we made know our feeling on Boehner on several occasions. He had a chance to side with the poor on issue after issue , instead he chose to stand with the wealthy and powerful. This writer will shed not a single tear to see the back of John Boehner. Interestingly those who will be in line to succeed him will most likely be far worse than John Boehner ever was. Remarkable.!!
One of the major events to occur just before the return of Christ as Conquering King is the appearance of an individual called the Antichrist. Most people who have studied the personality and deeds of this individual have totally misunderstood the essential factors associated with this person.
Many view the Antichrist, the image, the mark of the Beast, and the Beast’s alliance of nations as things that will be easily recognized as evil and sinister. The reality is that the Antichrist and his religious system of government will look like the greatest and most wonderful religious, political, and economic system the world has ever seen. The leader of this alliance of nations will appear as a dynamic and charismatic individual who will lead his alliance of nations and the world into a time of unparalleled peace and prosperity.
A Great Deception
Jesus said that the deception surrounding the Antichrist will be so clever that only the elect of God will recognize him and understand his true intent and purpose:
“And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, seeing the beast, that it was a thing, and is not and yet now is” (Rev.17:8 Para.). See also Dan.12:9 – 10; Rev.1:1 – 8.
All others on earth will be deceived into thinking that this person is indeed a savior of humanity. Therefore, it is extremely important to be able to recognize some of the characteristics and powers that this person may exhibit as he imposes his will on the world. One must realize that deceived people do not know that they are deceived, and that a person will remain deceived unless they diligently and honestly put forth the effort to search for and accept truth. No one on earth is immune to being deceived or causing deception. In fact, the Bible says that the whole world has been deceived except for the elect of God. The truth is that, there is not a person alive who knows every biblical truth in exact detail. Therefore, no one can totally rely upon another person for their understanding of God’s word. This is why the elect are instructed to study to show themselves approved before God and to work out their own salvation in fear and trembling. See 2.Tim.2:14 – 16; Eph.2:12 – 13.
Who is the Antichrist?
First let us remove some of the mystique about the name Antichrist. Simply put the Antichrist is an individual who is against the true Christ and/or is attempting to pass himself off as the true Christ. In either case this individual is in opposition to God the Father and Jesus Christ and their teachings. The Antichrist is the same dynamic and charismatic individual described elsewhere in the Bible as the Beast who is the leader of a powerful religious governmental system that controls an alliance of nations called the Beast. The Antichrist is the individual who has absolute authority, power, and control over all religious, philosophical, economic, and political aspects of people who live under his control.
It is very important to understand that this individual called the Antichrist and the Beast is not Satan the Devil, but is in Satan’s service and is a representative of Satan’s demonic spiritual government, just like the False Prophet (Rev.16:13; 20:10). The Bible clearly states that Satan the Devil is a master at the art of deception: “He is that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world” (Rev. 12:9). He has been a liar from the very beginning (Jn.8:44). The Antichrist is one of his most cleaver deceptions of all time, which will deceive all but the elect of God.
Signs and Miracles
The Antichrist, who is the leader of the alliance of nations called the Beast, will ascend to power accompanied by supernatural signs and miracles and will be accepted as a god in the flesh by most people on earth. Notice what Jesus says about the false christs and prophets who will precede his arrival as King of kings and Lord of lords.
Matthew 24:23 – 31 Paraphrased
“Then if anyone says to you, Behold, here is the Christ; or, Here he is! Do not believe it. For false christs will rise up, and false prophets. And they will give great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I tell you beforehand. Then if they say to you, Behold, he is in the wilderness; do not go out. Behold, he is in the inner rooms; do not believe” (vs.23 – 26). See also Mk.13:21 – 22.
Throughout the centuries, many false Messiahs and false prophets have come and gone. During the time of trouble, at the end of the age, religious deception will be so intense that the only ones who will not be deceived are the elect of God who diligently follow the true God. In the following scriptures Jesus describes the major events that will accompany his arrival on earth. Jesus says that his return will not be a silent or inconspicuous occurrence; it will be as lightning, which is always accompanied by a loud thunderous noise:
“For as lighting comes out of the east and shines as far as the west so also will be the coming of the Son of man” (v27).
Jesus also describes the cataclysmic celestial events that will take place before his return and the gathering of the elect:
“And immediately after the affliction of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give her light, and the stars will fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of man will appear in the heavens. And then all the tribes of the land will wail. And they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and much glory. And he will send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather his elect from the four winds; from one end of the heavens to the other” (vs.29 – 31).
The signs that precede Christ’s return are awesome events that will occur in the heavens. The sun will become dark (Mk.13:24 – 26), the moon will not reflect sunlight to the earth, and the stars (Greek ‘aster’) will be moved out of their orbits. These signs will be apparent to everyone on earth. When Jesus returns in all his glory and power, his very presence will disrupt the physical universe. See Ex.19:16 – 18; 24:17; Isa.13:9 – 13; 24:1 – 5; Joel 2:10 – 12, 30; Hag.2:6 – 7.
Every person alive on earth at the time of Christ’s return will be aware of these events that will occur in the heavens. Most people will be terrified and fear for their lives. Some will be terrified because they know that Christ is returning to destroy them, and others will be in fear because they think that the world is coming to an end. The magnitude of the events that will accompany Christ’s return will be far from secret or silent; they will be terrifying! All of the scriptures that speak of the appearance of the Beast leader and his Beast alliance of nations tell us that he will arrive before the events that precede Christ’s coming. He will be alive as Christ pours destruction upon the earth and its inhabitants for their great wickedness and rebellion against God.
John, Peter, and Paul
The apostles John, Paul, and Peter warned of teachers and prophets who would come teaching heresies and they foretold that many people would follow these people and their lies. At the time John, Paul, and Peter were inspired to write their letters, most of the elect of God thought that the return of Christ was imminent. Because this was not the case, the things these apostles said concerning people and conditions that would exist just before the return of Christ were mostly prophetic.
John
At the close of the first age of the church and before he was shown the things that pertained to the end of the age, the apostle John spoke about those who opposed Christ and what he taught about his relationship to God the Father and the elect children of God. As we review what John says about the Antichrist, notice that he says the Spirit of God residing within the children of God will separate a child of God from the world, make a child of God sinless, and reveal those who oppose and reject Christ and the Father:
“Young ones, it is the last time: and as you have heard that the Antichrist shall come, even now there are many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but were not a part of us, if they had been one of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out that it should be known that they were not a part of us”(1.Jn.2:18 – 19 Para.).
John speaks of a prophecy that those to whom he was writing already knew about. He tells the elect of God that the fulfillment of this prophecy was already in progress at that time. He goes on to say that those who were against Christ at that time were never true sons of God, and that they had revealed their true nature and purpose by leaving the true body of Christ.
“And you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. I did not write to you because you did not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth” (1.Jn.2:20 – 21 Para.).
John confirms that those who have the spirit of God have the knowledge and ability to discern truth from error in spiritual matters, and that those who are liars and deceivers will be known by those who have the spirit of God within them, because the spirit of God reveals truth. See Jn.14:17, 15:26, 16:12 – 13; 1.Cor.2:12 – 13.
Because the spirit of God reveals truth, it is extremely important that each child of God during the end of this age listen very carefully to what the spirit says concerning the Antichrist and his religion and governmental system.
Who is a Liar?
Those who oppose Christ do not teach the truth concerning Jesus as the Creator God and Savior of humanity. These people also deny the individuality of the Father and the Son and they are liars in the eyes of God. The scriptures clearly show that the Antichrist will not teach the truth of God, but he will teach a lie:
“Who is the liar, but he that denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denies the Father and the Son. Every one that denies the Son does not have the Father. The one who confesses the Son, truly has the Father also” (1.Jn.2:22 – 23 Para.).
The truly converted of the first age of the church understood exactly what John was saying concerning the Father, Christ, and the spirit of God, because they were taught the mysteries concerning the plan of God by the apostles. However, this knowledge was lost when the early church disappeared shortly after the apostle John’s death. See our study papers about the spirit of God and Christ that resides within the elect of God and our studies concerning the demise of the early church.
The Seed
“Everyone being begotten of God [the Father] does not sin, because his [the Father’s] seed [spirit of God] abides in him, and he is not able to sin, because he has been born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the Devil are revealed: Everyone failing to practice righteousness or love his brother is not of God” (1.Jn.3:9 – 10 Para.).
It is impossible to understand what John is saying here, unless one understands that the spirit of God within a child of God keeps them in a sinless condition before God the Father. As long as a child of God is seeking to live a righteous life and does not willfully and habitually practice sin, no sin is imputed to him. It is this same spirit of God that reveals to the elect of God who is and who is not of God. One of the major signs of the Antichrist/Beast is that he is a sinner according to the biblical definition of sin; therefore, it is necessary for all who are called of God to fully understand what sin is and is not, so that they will not be deceived by the Antichrist or his state religion which is led by the False Prophet.
Good and Evil Spirits
In the first three verses of 1. John, chapter 4, John speaks of testing for evil influence and he shows that a major key in this testing process is the understanding that Christ’s spirit resides within the children of God:
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone forth into the world. By this know the spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus has come in the flesh is from God. And every spirit which does not acknowledge that Jesus has come in the flesh is not from God: and this is the antichrist which you heard is coming, and now is already in the world” (1.Jn.4:1 – 3 Para.). See also 2.Jn.v.7; Matt.24:4 – 5.
Almost all opposition to God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the children of God comes from the evil influence of spirit-beings. Therefore, it is extremely important for God’s children to be able to discern the difference between a good and an evil spiritual influence. John says that a child of God can determine if a spirit (i.e., a spirit being or spiritual influence) is from God or not. If a spirit acknowledges that Christ has come in the flesh, it is good. If this acknowledgment is not made, this spirit or spiritual influence is evil and it is in opposition to God the Father and Jesus Christ.
On the surface it seems that the formula John gives to determine the character of a spirit-being or spiritual influence is simple and direct, and it is. However, the key to understanding John’s instructions is to understand what he means when he says, “Jesus Christ has come in the flesh.” Most people will admit that the person Jesus lived and was a religious leader. Some will acknowledge that he was a prophet, and some will acknowledge him as the prophetic Savior of humanity. However, very few truly understand or will acknowledge him as the Creator God who became the Savior, died, was resurrected, and now lives in the flesh of the children of God. Another important identifying sign of the Antichrist is that he will not acknowledge that Christ has come in the flesh in the same manner as the scriptures teach.
Peter
“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who shall privily bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many [the majority of people] shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of” (2.Pet.2:1 – 2 KJV).
There are many things that people consider to be truth; however, what God reveals as the way of truth is not what most people believe as truth. It is God’s way of truth that most people hate and ridicule. A number of prophecies tell us that the Antichrist will speak blasphemous things against God and his teachings.
Paul
2. Corinthians 11:3 – 4; 13 – 15
“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent deceived Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. If anyone comes preaching another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if you receive another spirit [an evil, lying spirit], which you have not received, or a different gospel, than the one you accepted” (vs.3 – 4 Para.).
During the lifetime of the apostle Paul, those who opposed Jesus Christ were preaching another Jesus and another gospel. This same false Jesus and message is still being preached and taught today. The Antichrist as the leader of the Beast alliance of nations will exist just before Christ’s return and he will promote himself as a savior of humanity, but he will have his own deceptive good news message for humanity.
“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works” (vs.13 – 15 KJV).
Although verses 13 – 15 speak of those who are counterfeit ministers of Christ, the same basic concepts apply to the Antichrist/Beast, the False Prophet, and those who are in service to them as their representatives.
The Man of Sin
2.Thessalonians 2:3 – 11 Paraphrased
“Do not let anyone deceive you in any way: because that day will not come unless there first comes a falling away [departure from the faith], and the man of sin is revealed, who is the son of perdition” (v3).
An interesting thing about this man of sin is that Paul also calls him the son of perdition. The word translated into English as ‘perdition’ is from the Greek word ‘apoleia’ which refers to an everlasting state of torment in this context. The Bible clearly shows that wicked humans will have their life terminated with fire. No human is going to be tormented in the lake of fire forever; therefore, the being who inhabits the physical body of the Man of Sin (Son of Perdition) is not human. It is a spirit-being who will try to deceive people into believing that he is a god-being.
Deception and Arrogance
“This is the one who opposes and exalts himself over everything being called God, or object of worship; and he is to sit in the temple of God, as God; in order to show that he is a god” (v4).
In his arrogance, this powerful spirit-being masquerading as a human will desecrate the temple of the true God in Jerusalem by entering into it and sitting there in defiance of the true God in order to prove to the world that he is indeed a god, and that the true God is no god.
“Do you not remember, that, I told you these things when I was with you? And now you know the thing holding him [Man of Sin/Son of Perdition/Antichrist] back from being revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness already works: only he is holding back [being held back] now, until it comes out of the midst” (vs.5 – 7).
Paul had already talked with them about the Antichrist and told them that this individual was being restrained from coming out of the middle of something. The thing that this individual comes out of, according to visions of Daniel and the apostle John, is the alliance of nations symbolized by the beast that came out of the sea. Therefore, it is very clear that wherever this powerful and fierce beast-like alliance of nations is located in the end of the age, the Antichrist will be there as its supreme leader.
“And then the lawless one [Man of Sin/Son of Perdition/Antichrist] will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the spirit of his mouth, and he will be brought to nothing by the brightness of his [Christ’s] coming” (v8).
Christ will remove this lawless individual from power when he comes to rule the earth. This is the same evil spirit mentioned in Daniel 7:11 who will have his physical body destroyed and will be cast into a lake of fire in his spirit form.
“His [the Antichrist’s] coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and miracles and lying wonders, And all deceit of unrighteousness of those being lost; because they did not receive the love of the truth in order for them to be saved. And because of this God will send to them, a working of error, for them to believe a lie” (vs.9 – 11).
Based on God’s word, those whom God has called to salvation should know the difference between good and evil; however, many have already been deluded by a false Christianity and many will be deceived by Satan’s Antichrist and his religious and political system of government.
Paul gives a dire warning not to allow one’s love for the truth of God to erode. Make no mistake, the message of the Antichrist and Satan’s religious and political system is not truth; it is great deception designed to destroy one’s opportunity to enter the Family and Kingdom of God. His miracles, signs, and wonders will not be from the Sovereign God; they will be from Satan the Devil and are designed to deceive humanity.
The majority of people will believe the Antichrist’s message and his great supernatural works, thinking that they are a part of God’s plan for the salvation of humanity; however, just the opposite will be true.
Ten Religious Deceptions
It is highly likely that the Antichrist will come as a savior of humanity and attempt to counterfeit some or all of the things that are prophesied about the coming of the true Messiah. Listed below are ten things he may do to attempt to deceive humanity:
Demonstrate that he is the prophetic descendant of King David who is supposed to come to rule the world as described in Psalm 2
Send a false Elijah to speak of his coming (Mal.4:5, 6).
Appear to gloriously return in the flesh after being fatally wounded(Matt.25:31, 32; Acts 1:11; Rev.1:7).
Return in the clouds of heaven accompanied by other beings (1.Thes.3:13; 2.Thes.1:7).
Attempt to make Jerusalem the capital of his world-ruling government (Isa.11 & 12).
Establish his rule with deceptive miracles and wonders (Psa.69).
Attempt to make an alliance of nations out of the modern ten tribes of Israel and the Jewish nation of Israel (Ezk.37).
Institute his own interpretation of the Mosaic Law (Isa.66: 22,23).
Proclaim that he has come to bring world prosperity (Isa.11;12).
Proclaim that he has come to bring world peace (Psa.96;98).
These are all things that would add validity to his claims in the religious circles of quasi-Christians and Jews. The Antichrist may attempt to counterfeit some or all of the real prophetic signs of the return of Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords, in order to deceive these people and accomplish his goal of world domination for his master Satan the Devil.
Because Satan appears as a glorious righteous angel and his evil servants mimic this same false righteousness (2.Cor.11:14 – 15), the appearance of the Antichrist will fool those who do not understand the true meaning of the scriptures that speak about the return of Christ and the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth.
Because the central focus of Satan’s plan is to deceive people into giving their allegiance and worship to him, his servant the Antichrist will claim to be god in the flesh (2.Thes.2:4). Another servant of Satan, the False Prophet, will force those who are under the control of the Beast’s alliance of nations to worship the Antichrist/Beast and his image; thereby, they will actually be worshiping Satan the Devil by proxy.
There is little doubt that on the surface Satan’s religious and governmental system under the leadership of the Antichrist and the False Prophet will look very good to most people. This is why they will be very unhappy when they see it being destroyed by Jesus Christ (Rev.18:4 – 20).
HOWTOIDENTIFYTHEANTICHRIST
This section shows a number of ways by which anyone who understands the worship system of the true God will be able to identify the Antichrist and his worship system.
Oppressive Rule and Forced Idolatry
Although Jesus Christ and the elect of God will rule from Jerusalem with a rod of iron and exercise judgement upon the rebellious nations of the world (Rev. 12:5), the Kingdom of God will not be cruel or oppressive, nor will Jesus or those who serve him force anyone to worship God by bowing down before an image or representation of himself or God the Father.
God the Father’s Worship System
The scriptures clearly show that, after Jesus Christ returns, he will establish his Father’s true worship system. Conversely, the Antichrist and the False Prophet will oppose any attempt of the Jews or anyone else to worship God as instructed under his covenant with national Israel and the elect of God. See Jer.31:30 – 37 and our studies concerning the various covenants and the commanded observances of God.
In regard to the Father’s worship system, there are some biblical facts that will help one to understand God’s new agreement with national Israel:
The prophecies of Ezekiel and Zechariah clearly show that, during Christ’s rule, a temple worship system with a priesthood and animal sacrifices will exist in Jerusalem and will be officiated over by the male descendants of Zadok who is descended from Eleazar, Aaron’s third son. See Ezk.40 – 46; Zech.14:16 – 20.
The sacrificial system contained within the agreement with national Israel and the rest of humanity will be performed in a way that is similar to how it was performed under the first agreement with Israel.
The commanded observances and holy convocations of God will be observed by all the people on earth.
The Antichrist will do just the opposite of what the Creator God promises to do when he returns as the Messiah to institute a new agreement with national Israel. The Antichrist will stop the Jews from sacrificing at the temple in Jerusalem and will attempt to change and/or eliminate the commanded observance and holy convocations of God.
THEIMAGEOFTHEBEAST
In order to understand the worship of the image of the Antichrist/Beast we need to keep in mind that the Antichrist/Beast and the religious leader (the False Prophet) of the alliance of nations are both servants of Satan the Devil and are both committed to the goal of subjecting all humanity to his absolute control.
The Wounded Head
“And I saw one of its heads as if it had been wounded to death; and its fatal wound was healed. And the earth admired the beast. And worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast, saying, Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with it?” (Rev.13:3 – 4 Para.).
After the Beast alliance of nations has been solidified, its power base has been established, and the Antichrist/Beast has secured his position of authority as the undisputed leader of this alliance, something extraordinary will happen to either this alliance of nations or its leader. One or the other will sustain a fatal wound.
The circumstances surrounding the death and resurrection of the alliance of nations or the Antichrist/Beast will be an incredibly deceptive event. When people see this resurrection they will be astonished and believe that the Antichrist/Beast is a god in the flesh.
Editor’s Note:
It is difficult at this point in time to determine exactly what or who the head in Revelation 13:3 symbolizes, because the heads of the beast represent both a system of government as well as the evil spirits who control the system through individuals. What is important to recognize is that an extraordinary event will occur surrounding the fatal wound of either the Antichrist/Beast or the Beast’s alliance of nations. When this happens, the leader of the state religion who is the False Prophet will initiate and enforce the worship of Satan the Devil (the dragon) through the Antichrist/Beast and his system of government.
A State Religion
“And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and it had two horns like a lamb, but spoke like a dragon. And it executes all the authority of the first beast before it. And it makes the earth and those dwelling in it to worship the first beast, that was healed of its deadly wound” (Rev.13:11 – 12 Para.).
There are a number of important things revealed in verses 11 – 12 concerning the relationship between the Beast alliance of nations, its supreme leader (the Antichrist/Beast), and its religious leader (the False Prophet):
♦The two horns like a lamb are symbolic of religious authority.
Its religious teachings and policies are that of Satan the Devil, because it speaks like the dragon.
The second beast is symbolic of an evil state religion and its leader.
Supernatural Power
“And it [the False Prophet] does great signs and even makes fire to come down out of heaven upon the earth before men ” (Rev.13:13 Para.).
It is important to understand that the False Prophet and the religious system that he leads will have tremendous supernatural powers with which to deceive people and counter the supernatural works that the elect of God will be doing as they proclaim God the Father’s good news message.
“And it [the False Prophet] deceives those dwelling on the earth, because of the signs which were given to it before the beast; saying to those on the earth to make an image of the beast who has the wound of the sword, and lived. And it was given authority to give a spirit to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast could speak, and might cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed” (Rev.13:14 – 15 Para.).
The False Prophet has an image made that is either symbolic of the alliance of nations (the beast), its leader (the Beast), or both. This religious leader empowers the image so that it has the ability to speak. Then, he forces people to worship it or suffer death for disobedience. This enforced worship is reminiscent of king Nebuchadnezzar’s forced worship of the image that he had made.
There are many reasons why intelligent people will worship this image. The first is that if anyone does not worship it they will be killed. The second is that people will actually believe that the image is a god, a representation of their god (Antichrist/Beast), or a method through which they may communicate with their god (who is really Satan the Devil).
It is interesting that, when one carefully reads Daniel 3:1 – 30, it appears that only the leaders of the people were compelled to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s image. However, in John’s vision, it seems that everyone under the control of the beast alliance of nations must worship the image.
The Plagues and the Image
“And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor walk” (Rev.9:20 KJV).
One of the reasons that Christ pours out plagues upon humanity is to bring them to the realization that they are rebelling against God as they practice their idol worship, and that they must stop this practice and worship the true God.
Anyone who seriously studies the Bible should understand that the forced worship of the image(s) of the Antichrist/Beast constitutes idolatry. Upon seeing or hearing of this forced idolatry, the elect of God should understand that this alliance of nations and its worship system is indeed the Beast of the books of Daniel and Revelation.
THEMARKANDNAMEOFTHEBEAST
Many who study the Book of Revelation are overly concerned with knowing exactly what the mark and the name of the Beast is and how one will receive this mark and name. However, this information is not essential for salvation from eternal death. It really does not matter whether the mark or name is a computer chip implant, a tattoo, or some other thing. The important thing is to be able to recognize the Antichrist/Beast and his state religion and governmental system for what it is.
It must be clearly understood that those who are called of God cannot accept the mark or give their allegiance to the Beast so that they can participate in the economic benefits of the Beast system, because this authorization requires a religious commitment to worship the image of the Beast.
THEMARK, NAME, ANDNUMBER
“And the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the freemen and the slaves, allow it [the Antichrist’s state religion] to give them a mark on their right hand, or on their foreheads: so that none can buy or sell, except they have the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of its name. Here is wisdom. Let him having reason count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and its number is six hundred and sixty-six” (Rev.13:16 – 18 Para.).
Throughout history, many who have studied the Bible and secular history have tried to determine the name of the individual that is represented by the number 666. The number 666 is even recorded as being associated with king Solomon and the amount of gold that he received as tribute during the height of his reign (1.Kgs.10:14; 2.Chron.9:13). There seems to be no end to the individuals and things that have been found to have this numerical reference attached to them.
Even though the number 666 can be attached to people, places, and things in the past, present, and future, is a full understanding of the prophetic number 666 necessary before the appearance of the Antichrist and his religious and political form of government? Actually, it is more important to understand the prophetic events surrounding the Antichrist and to be prepared to be loyal to God and his way of life to the very end.
People have assumed that, because verse 18 says that the number 666 is the number of a man, this number can only be attached to an individual. The reality is that in the Greek language, “the number of a man” can also mean “a human number” or “a number of humanity”. Although the number 666 may very well identify a specific individual, it may also identify and be associated with the Beast’s system of religion and government. The number 666 could very well represent the apex of human perfection, because under the leadership of the Antichrist/Beast, the magnificent religious, governmental, and economic system of the beast alliance of nations will appear to be the best system ever devised.
In the study of the numerical symbolism of the Bible, the number 6 is clearly associated with humanity; therefore, the number 666 appears to be the number of humanity. Because God the Father allows an evil global system to exist before his Son’s return, the number 666 could very well be viewed in the context of the entire religious, economic, and governmental system that is led by the Antichrist who is in the service of Satan (2.Thes 2:4).
WHATISIN A NAME?
It is well known in biblical and rabbinical teachings that the phrase, “in the name of,” is used to connect the one having authority to the one from whom the authority comes. It is also used to connect a teacher with the authority and respect of his own teacher. Therefore, it is logical to assume that this same meaning is attached to the name of the Beast and its religious governmental system. The same association will exist between the Antichrist/Beast and those having its name or mark. See our study paper concerning the phrase “in the name of,” for details about those who have the name of God the Father and Jesus Christ.
A Sign of Allegiance
Refusal to take the mark of the Antichrist constitutes rebellion against him and his religious and governmental system, and this will not be tolerated. All who are found guilty of this type of rebellion will be put to death. Everyone must comply with the worship system that the Antichrist will institute through the False Prophet, and they must worship the image of the Beast. In addition, everyone will have to register with the system and receive the mark or name of the Beast. Without the identifying mark, a person will not be able buy or sell or participate in the economic system of the Antichrist’s alliance of nations. Therefore, the mark or name of the beast is a sign of one’s allegiance to this evil person and his religious governmental system.
It is obvious that there will be many undesirable physical consequences for not accepting this mark. For those who worship the true God, the threat of physical punishment and hardships for not accepting the mark are minimal compared to the loss of eternal life for accepting it.
Only Two Options
“And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascends for ever and ever: and they shall have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name” (Rev.14:9 – 11 KJV).
When the mark of the Antichrist/Beast is instituted, there are only two options that a person who is living within the geographical areas controlled by the beast system will have concerning the taking of this mark. Either one takes the mark and worships and serves the Beast and his image, or one does not take the mark and does not worship the Beast and his image. Anyone who are in the situation of making a choice concerning the mark must consider the following:
If one does not worship the Beast and his image, he will be persecuted and probably killed. If one does worship the Beast, God will persecute him and probably kill him. And if a child of God worships the Beast and his image, he will lose his eternal life. Most of the world will be deceived by the power and charisma of the Antichrist/Beast and the obvious benefits of his religious system of government. Therefore, most will willingly worship his image, and take his mark that will signify their allegiance to him and his system of government. This will be especially easy to do because the death penalty will hang over the heads of any who refuse to worship him and take his mark. Although the prospect of one surviving the refusal to worship the image and take the mark seems minimal, there is hope for those who place their trust in the true God and seek his protection. See Rev.3:7 – 13; 7:1 – 17; 12:6, 14 – 16.
God’s Punishment
“And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out your vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men that had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshiped his image” (Rev.16:1 – 2 KJV).
Remember that, during the rule of the Antichrist and his religious system, the people of God will be proclaiming the true gospel and Jesus Christ will be sending devastating plagues upon those who take part in the Antichrist’s alliance of nations and have his mark and worship his image.
“And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that had worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone” (Rev.19:20 KJV).
The two evil spirits that enforce the worship of the image and the marking of those who consent to be marked as a sign of their allegiance to Satan’s system of worship and government will be cast into a lake of fire after the return of Jesus Christ.
The Victorious Elect
“And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God” (Rev.15:1 – 2 KJV).
Those who are called of God to salvation during the terrifying times of the Antichrist’s rule and remain true to their great calling will receive tremendous rewards in the Kingdom of God:
“And I saw thrones, and they that sat upon them, and judgement was given to them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years” (Rev.20:4 Para.).
The Important Names
During the end of the age, there are two extremely important names that will have a more dramatic impact on the lives of the children of God than the name or mark of the Antichrist/Beast. These are the names of the Father and his Son. Notice what is said about these two names:
“And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on mount Zion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads” (Rev.14:1 KJV).
There are only a certain number of people that will have the name of the Father written in their foreheads when Christ returns.
“And to the angel [messenger] of the church in Philadelphia write; These things says he [Jesus Christ] that is holy, he that is true, he that has the key of David, he that opens, and no man shuts; and shuts, and no man opens; I know your works: behold, I have set before you an open door, and no man can shut it: for you have a little strength, and have kept my word, and have not denied my name ” (Rev.3:7 – 8 Para.).
Notice the emphasis upon having kept Christ’s word and not denying Christ’s name. It is for this reason that God will empower and use those of the Philadelphia church to perform a great work for him in the end of the age.
SUMMARY
Although it is extremely important to be able to recognize the Antichrist, his image and mark, the False Prophet, and the religious governmental system which they administer for Satan the Devil when they appear on the worlds scene, it is even more important for one to be committed to making the right decisions concerning one’s allegiance to God the Father.
Some Jamaican Business Leaders want the Police and (indecom)to coöperate in protecting the country from criminals. Generally the Country’s Business leaders do not get involved except when they think their bottom line is in danger. Recently some business leaders spoke out against what they believed was a Jockeying between Investigators of the Police Department and those from (indecom) to establish who has superseding authority at scenes of crime. The answer is simple (indecom) is not the police department tasked with criminal investigations and as such it has no authority to take over a crime scene. Even if the Police killed someone during the commission of a crime the Police still have the authority to continue the investigations as they normally would. The oversight Agency’s role is to look for impropriety if there are allegations of impropriety. That however does not give that body superseding authority over police, worse case scenario is that they share the scene. The Private sector had all the time in the world to lobby at the time the (indecom) Act was being debated . The body chose to remain silent, though the effectiveness of the Police in dealing with crime on the island directly affects their bottom line. It is reasonable to construe that their mealy-mouthed appeal for the police and (indecom) to work together is related to dwindling bottom lines as criminals overrun the country. Ever the cynic, I do not believe the private sector is particularly concerned about who has superseding authority at scenes of crime.
Offices of the police commissioner..
The (indecom) Act was a bad law not because the Police do not need oversight. Lord knows some of the Island’s cops need much more than oversight in my estimation. So that’s not the issue. It’s a bad law because it was not researched, or debatable properly so that the law could snag dirty cops while exposing false allegations of police misconduct by those with an axe to grind. We have said repeatedly in this publication that the law is bad because it does not fulfil the mandate which is required. It empowers a narcissist to abuse the powers of the Act, and ultimately send crime statistics through the roof . There should be no question about who has superseding authority at crime scenes. If an (indecom) investigator breaches a crime scene tape he/she should promptly be arrested and charged for breaching and potentially contaminating that crime scene. In a real democracy of course where Bills are properly thought-out and debated before they are passed into Laws this could not stand. A bad law is worse than no law at all and that is what the (indecom) Act is, a bad law.
(Indecom) Investigators should not be at a shooting scene unless there are allegations of police impropriety. This is a piece of legislation which was passed by a bunch of morons which will have debilitating consequences for the foreseeable future until the morons decide to repeal , rethink, and reauthorize it.
The JCF says it has adopted a policy of advising INDECOM of every shooting resulting in death or injury to any person which involves members of the force, whether or not misconduct is established. However, the force says that the practice has placed its investigators at a disadvantage to properly process/investigate crime scenes, “as INDECOM investigators are undertaking every such scene without establishing that there is misconduct on the part of the security forces”.
Officers converge on a crime scene in east kingston
The JCF said that the Act is not clear as to whom or at what point it is determined that there is an incident, and that the issue is further complicated by section 10 of the Act, which provides for INDECOM to receive and investigate complaints from persons who allege that the conduct of a member of the security forces resulted in acts including death, injury, sexual assault, damage to property, “or anything which, in the opinion of the commissioner [of INDECOM] is an abuse of the rights of a citizen”. The JCF also complained that the INDECOM Act empowers the commissioner to give directives to the commissioner of police, who is obliged to implement these recommendations for the preservation of an incident scene and other matters. It said that the fact is that in many circumstances, the directives of INDECOM is relative to operational directives to the police commissioner. “Any such instruction of INDECOM conflicts with the power of the commissioner of police under section 3 (2) of the Constabulary Force Act, which states that the commissioner (of police) has sole operational command and superintendence of the force,” the JCF submitted. The JCF also suggested that the INDECOM Act must be amended to make it clear that it does not conflict the provisions of the Constabulary Force Act.
In its submission, the JDF said that the Act provides INDECOM with powers, such as that of a Supreme Court judge, that are beyond those required for investigations and has been interpreted to bypass some of the established checks and balances to assure fairness. “The Act deviates from international and local precedent and causes conflict with the Defence Act, thereby having a severe negative impact on the disciplinary and administrative procedures of the JDF,” the JDF submitted.
Trrence Williams
Yesterday September 23rd, Commissioner of the Independent Commission of Investigations (indecom) Terrence Williams is reporting that the number of police shootings which end in death is falling. He disclosed that up to three years ago, fatal shootings by the police averaged 250 per year, with the number falling significantly to 129 in 2014. For the first half of this year, the number stood at 50. Williams explained that there has been some improvement in the coöperation between the investigative body and the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), which has resulted in less use of excessive and deadly force by the police during their operations. “It is not that the police must not use force to defend themselves, and to defend us, but that use of force must be reasonable and proportionate,” Williams said. What Williams did not bother to say is that Crime has gone up exponentially. Which is not surprising once one understands what is ultimately important to (indecom) and those who support the Act in its present form. The fact is that any unlawful killing the police does devalues us all . We should never be comfortable ever, that agents of the state’s kills an innocent person in our names. And so we are forced to balance the need to secure our communities from dangerous blood thirsty criminals while doing all we can to ensure that those we ask to do the job do so in a way that is not antithetical to our values and the fundamental human rights of everyone.
That is no easy task but it must be done. What we must never do however is to hamstrung those we ask to protect us with their lives . Neither should we empower those who are quite content to slide in the blood of officers to fame and power.
OUGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — In the early hours of a night in 1987, one of Africa’s youngest leaders, Thomas Sankara, was murdered and quietly and quickly buried in a shallow grave.
Now, the man widely believed to be behind it, Burkina Faso’s president, has watched as his parliament was set ablaze by furious protesters who want him gone.
Many of the protesters say the history of the slain 1980s leader partly inspired them to rise against Blaise Compaore, who has been in power for 27 years and was trying, by a vote in parliament, for another five.
Though some see Sankara as an autocrat who came to office by the power of the gun, and who ignored basic human rights in pursuit of his ideals, in recent years he has been cited as a revolutionary inspiration not only in Burkina Faso but in other countries across Africa.
In the weeks before the current chaos, Al Jazeera spoke to people in the capital, Ouagadougou, and found many who predicted that Sankara’s memory, and Compaore’s attempt to seek another five-year term, may soon spark an uprising.
Burkina Faso’s president resigns amid wave of violent unrest
Statement comes just hours after Blaise Compaore had seemingly vowed to stay in power as head of transitional government.
At the time of his assassination Sankara was just 37 and had ruled for only four years.
But his policies and vision are still cherished both by some locals who were around when he was in power and, significantly, by many young people who were born since his death.
His killing was the the fifth coup since the nation won independence from France and the main beneficiary was Compaore, who quickly took his place.
Until that night, the two had often been referred to as best friends.
Although there is less poverty now than back then, a growing number of Burkinabés had, in recent years, started to feel that Sankara’s nationalization policies may have made the perpetually arid nation a more prosperous and self-reliant place than it is today.
“Sankara wanted a thriving Burkina Faso, relying on local human and natural resources as opposed to foreign aid,” said retired professor of economics, Noël Nébié.
“And starting with agriculture, which represents more than 32 per cent of the country’s GDP and employs 80 percent of the working population, he smashed the economic élite who controlled most of the arable land and granted access to subsistence farmers. That improved production making the country almost self-sufficient.”
Naming a nation
Initially known as the Republic of Upper Volta, after the river, in 1984 Sankara changed the country’s name to Burkina Faso, meaning Land of the Upright People, and he soon made that name the symbol of his nationalization crusade.
Some say the fact he authored his nation’s name has kept his memory alive.
“When you wake up in the morning and you remember you are a Burkinabe, you automatically recall the person who thought up that local name and stamped it on us,” said Ishmael Kaboré, a 47-year-old lawyer in Ouagadougou.
“At first, people felt the name Burkina Faso was odd, awkward and far from the modern and foreign names other countries were bearing in Africa.
“But they realized after his death that Sankara wanted to give us a unique and special identity that tells our history and depicts our character.”
Sankara was a determined pan-Africanist, whose foreign policies were largely centered on anti-imperialism. His government spurned foreign aid and tried to stamp out the influence of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in the country by adopting debt reduction policies and nationalizing all land and mineral wealth.
Self-sufficiency and land reform policies were designed to fight famine, a nationwide literacy campaign was launched, and families were ordered to have their children vaccinated.
“Some families used to keep their children in hiding on the arrival of vaccinators for religious or ritual reasons, and that practice was sabotaging our efforts,” said Fatoumata Koulibaly, assistant campaign director at the country’s health ministry under Sankara.
“But when Sankara came he took a strong stand against it, which helped in the vaccination of close to three million children against meningitis, yellow fever and measles, etc.”
Vaccination has been common practice in Burkina Faso since then, she said.
Anger bubbles up
Sankara was often referred to as “Africa’s Che Guevara” because he regularly quoted, and said he drew inspiration from, the world famous revolutionary leader. Sankara was also a good friend of former Ghanaian president, and fellow revolutionary, Jerry Rawlings.
Even for his most ardent of supporters it is impossible to know whether, if Sankara had not been killed, life would have been better, and some argue that it would not have.
But many people told Al Jazeera they believed things would be better today if he was still alive, and that sentiment is partly responsible for Thursday’s events.
“Young people who were not alive during Sankara’s administration are beginning to look back more at that period because something is wrong in the country today,” 23-year-old University of Ouagadougou student, Ibrahim Sanogo, said.
“Sankara was not just fighting imperialism for the sake of politics but he wanted the Burkinabe people to develop themselves and their land and rely essentially on themselves instead of the West.
“Today, all the young graduates are dreaming to travel abroad to do odd jobs because of lack of employment opportunities here.”
Compaore, though, has had some success. The mining industry has seen a boost in recent years, with the copper, iron and manganese markets all improving. Gold production shot up by 32 percent in 2011 at six sites, according to figures from the mines ministry, making Burkina Faso the fourth-largest gold producer in Africa.
Growth is running at seven percent. But per capita income stands at just $790, and local people say the standard of living is very poor for most. Corruption and elitism are a problem, they say, with any wealth only in the hands of the few.
“Those World Bank and IMF figures are seen only on paper and not in the pockets of the Burkinabes,” said Seydou Yabré, an independent rural development expert.
“Only very few people are enjoying the wealth of the country. If you visit homes, or travel to the hinterlands, you will experience an appalling level of poverty.”
Eerie prediction
Perhaps Sankara’s anti-corruption campaign and exemplary modest lifestyle could have forced wealth to trickle down if he had been left alive to lead, Yabré thought.
“Sankara was Africa’s most down-to-earth president then. He lived in a small, modest house, rode a bicycle and had $350 in his account at the time of his death,” Yabré said.
“He was also contested within his inner circle because he never wanted his army colleagues to embezzle public funds and lead a flamboyant lifestyle.”
Famously — and eerily — just a week before his death, perhaps sensing what was to come, Sankara said: “While revolutionaries as individuals can be murdered, you cannot kill ideas.”
Burkina Faso’s progress over the past 20 years was largely due to its stability, many observers say, but, as was made clear when a crowd of the country’s people converged on the parliament intent on destruction, an anger left to fester can take that away in an instant.
“Sankara had many enemies because he wrested privileges from looters in favour of the poor,” Yabré said. “Maybe he did this too radically and within too short a time.” Read more here.Spirit of ‘Africa’s Che Guevara’ found in Burkina Faso uprising
Gen. Gilbert Diendere says he is willing to negotiate but is waiting outcome of summit of West African regional leaders
Burkina Faso interim president Michel Kafando, who was taken hostage during a coup last week, said on Wednesday he was back in power and had restored a civilian transitional government. However, it was unclear who was really in charge after the rebellion’s leader attended a state function.
“I have returned to work,” Kafando told journalists at the foreign ministry in Ouagadougou.“The transition is back and at this very minute is exercising the power of the state.”
At about the same time, around 3 miles away, coup leader General Gilbert Diendere appeared at the airport, backed by a contingent of his presidential guard, to welcome regional leaders arriving to try to negotiate an end to the crisis.
Burkina Faso’s military stepped up pressure on Diendere and his soldiers in recent days to cede power, threatening to disarm them by force if necessary. It said it had reached an agreement with members of Diendere’s force overnight.
While troops loyal to the government were not visible on the streets of Ouagadougou Wednesday, presidential guard soldiers backing Diendere maintained their positions at the national television headquarters, despite the deal that required them to be confined to barracks to avoid clashes.
The head of protocol for the presidency, present at the airport, told Reuters that an official ceremony during which power would be handed back to the transitional authorities was scheduled for later on Wednesday. Until then, he said Diendere would remain in charge.
Leaders from Nigeria, Senegal, Niger, Togo, Benin and Ghana were due to arrive, underlining regional concern for a country that was less that a month away from Oct. 11 elections when the rebelling soldiers raided the cabinet.
They were due to meet the coup leaders and transitional authorities to negotiate a final settlement to restore the civilian government.
One by one, Diendere extended a full state welcome to each arriving leader, greeting them on a red carpet and standing beside them as a military band played their national anthems.
The October election was meant to restore Burkina Faso to democracy after last year’s overthrow of longtime ruler Blaise Compaore by massed crowds protesting against his plans to extend his rule.
Diendere is the former spy chief and right-hand man of Compaore.
Compaore’s overthrow had made Burkina Faso a beacon for democratic aspirations in Africa, where veteran rulers in countries from Rwanda to Congo Republic are seeking to scrap constitutional term limits.:Read more here :Burkina president says he’s back in charge
President Obama ‚first Lady Michelle Obama and their two daughters greet the Pope ..President Obama ‚first Lady Michelle Obama and their two daughters greet the Pope ..The Pope and the Prez ..A light moment between the Pope and the Prez.…A little on the windy side…The Pope greets the kids…Excited Nuns and other well-wishers wait patiently to catch a glimpse of the Pontiff..Enroute to getting some much needed rest maybe.
It’s no wonder that this video clip went viral earlier this month. It shows a masked Israeli soldier throwing a sobbing Palestinian child to the ground, holding him in a headlock, squashing him, and then grappling with an assortment of women and girls as he tries — and ultimately fails — to wrest the terrified boy away from his mother.
Those few moments of footage revealed for all the world to see the sordid reality of Israel’s everyday war against the Palestinian people. An army that is equipped and ostensibly prepared to take on other armies — but that was last tested against a real army over four decades ago — continues to be unleashed against a largely defenseless civilian population. And it continues to fail abysmally at its assigned task of bringing that population under control and breaking its will to resist. Indeed, in political terms, the ending of the video is as instructive as the beginning: as the child is finally freed, the Israeli soldier, stripped of his coward’s facemask, is forced ignominiously to slink away, defeated — though not before sullenly and gratuitously flinging a parting stun-grenade into the faces of the child and his family, having, for all his brutality, accomplished precisely nothing.
The scene sums up on a small scale the past decades of Israeli violence, and it captures the lesson that the Israelis seem incapable of getting into their heads once and for all: that the sheer capacity for brute force — at which they admittedly excel — does not, in itself, translate into political gain, and can, indeed, backfire politically to produce the opposite result from what was intended: courage instead of fear; steadfastness instead of collapse; defiance instead of submission.
One would have thought that the video would have occasioned some circumspection, or at least awkward silence, among Israelis and what remains of their rapidly thinning fan club in the U.S., but no — of course not. Israel’s minister of culture took to the media to declare that the army’s open-fire regulations ought to be changed to officially permit shooting unarmed Palestinians in order “to put an end to the humiliation.” Better, then, for the soldier to have gunned the family down in cold blood than to have failed to snatch their 12-year-old. Such are the choices to which Israel now finds itself reduced.
Meanwhile, the usual suspects on lonely late-night blogs and scarcely read third- and fourth-rate websites tried to recuperate the tattered remnants of Israel’s dignity by trotting out their customary clumsy attempts at character assassination, in this case accusing the child’s father, Bassem Tamimi — a community organizer at the forefront of Nabi Saleh’s weekly demonstrations — of running a “masterclass” on political manipulation and even a “media empire.” How, they ask in feigned shock, could a father put his children at such risk? (Note that they are, as always, more interested in the representation than in the reality, about which they have nothing to say.)
The answer, of course, is that Bassem did not choose the risk; the risk came to him and to his family. They did not choose to live under occupation; the occupation was imposed on them. They did not choose to have their village, Nabi Saleh in the West Bank, encircled by Jewish colonies implanted there in defiance of international law. They did not choose to lose more than half of their village’s land to decades of further illegal land-grabs by those colonies in pursuit of a nakedly racist project of colonial appropriation. They did not choose to be surrounded by heavily armed foreign fantasists who, claiming to be in direct communication with their god, regularly wreak havoc on Palestinian lives. They did not choose to be encircled and cut off from the world by a network of ditches, gates, walls, roadblocks and checkpoints manned by the Israeli army in order to protect the very same fantasists who steal their land, defile their water wells and burn their olive groves to the ground.
I asked Bassem Tamimi about the choices that he felt were available to him and his family. He summed it up very simply: When you live under this kind of trans-generational military occupation, he said, the only choice you have is whether to submit to the occupation, yielding to it your land, your home, your liberty, your conscience — or to refuse its arbitrary dictates, its endless litanies of thou-shalt-nots, and to resist it by whatever means are available to you. Like the overwhelming majority of Palestinians, Bassem and his fellow villagers choose to resist nonviolently, by protesting and by documenting the nature of their everyday lives to a world that is finally beginning to sit up and pay attention on a large scale (as the viral spread of this video demonstrates). And above all by persisting, refusing to give up and disappear into the oblivion of cold anonymous silence to which the Israelis would consign the entire Palestinian people as they go on colonizing their land.
As for children, not only does the occupation not spare them, it targets them directly on a daily basis: if not at protest marches then at checkpoints; if not at checkpoints then at school; if not at school then in their beds at home. And so they too, Bassem points out, have to learn to be strong, or be rolled over by the occupation before they are even able to walk.
Clearly, indeed, this isn’t just about Bassem and his family. Throughout the occupied territories, Israel’s war on the Palestinians has inevitably meant a war on Palestinian children. Sometimes this takes the form of outright violence, as in last summer’s assault on Gaza, when, through its utterly indiscriminate bombardment of densely packed neighborhoods, Israel killed 2,205 Palestinians, the vast majority of them civilians, among them 521 children. Such episodes of outright violence are not the norm, however, and Israel’s war primarily takes the form of its systematic occupation and suffocation of everyday life — its imposition of an array of rules, permits, curfews, roadblocks, checkpoints, walls, tunnels and gates hemming in and paralyzing the Palestinian population in order to facilitate the growth and development of Jewish colonies in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Accompanying this rigid array of prohibitions and restrictions are midnight raids into Palestinian towns — the Israeli army bursting into family homes in the middle of the night and snatching sleeping people from their beds. According to the United Nations Office for the Coördination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), the Israeli army conducts an average of 79 such raids a week: 11 each night. Read more here :Cowardly brutality exposed: The viral video that should change the Israel/Palestine debate forever
Massive crowd of Jamaica Labor Party supporters at the National Arena…
It appears that the decision by the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) to buy an Internet domain name with the words ‘Portia Simpson Miller’ is part is a political tit-for-tat.
According to the JLP, the People’s National Party had first purchased a domain with the Labourites’ campaign slogan ‘from poverty to prosperity’.
The JLP has released a statement condemning the actions of the PNP.
The JLP statement uses many of the very same words and phrases cited in an earlier release from the PNP bashing the Labourites for buying the domain namewww.portiasimpsonmiller.com.
According to the JLP, it is a cowardly act of desperation to gain traction and relevance to drive traffic to the PNP’s failed policies.
A JLP supporter blows a vuvuzela. — photos by Ian Allen/Photographer
“The party views the PNP’s actions as immoral and unethical and reflective of a party that is bankrupt of ideas that will use the immense popularity of the Poverty to Prosperity tag to seek to shore up its flagging brand”, said a JLP spokesperson in a statement.
The JLP release continued: “Fresh on the heels of a dismal conference on the weekend, the Prime Minister has now clearly resorted to “piggybacking” on the internationally and locally reputable tagline in order to get an audience.”
The JLP said the tagline ‘From Poverty to Prosperity’ was first used by Prime Minister Bruce Golding in 2011 and then by Opposition Andrew Holness in his Budget presentation and other contributions by members in 2014 and 2015.
“I think anyone who is going to establish a Palestinian state and to evacuate territory is giving radical Islam a staging ground against the State of Israel,”
House Speaker John Boehner has invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak to a joint session of Congress in February, on the topic of Iran. On the surface, this might seem innocent enough. Israel is a close American ally. Surely he should be welcome in Congress, particularly to discuss an issue that concerns his country.
On the surface, Netanyahu’s speech will be about opposing Obama’s nuclear talks with Iran and supporting Republican-led sanctions meant to blow up those talks.
But there’s more than meets the eye here. Netanyahu is playing a game with US domestic politics to try to undermine and pressure Obama — and thus steer US foreign policy. Boehner wants to help him out. By reaching out to Netanyahu directly and setting up a visit without the knowledge of the White House, he is undermining not just Obama’s policies but his very leadership of US foreign policy. The fact that Netanyahu is once again meddling in American politics, and that a US political party is siding with a foreign country over their own president, is extremely unusual, and a major break with the way that foreign relations usually work.
Netanyahu is trying to actively undermine Obama and unseat the Democrats
Throughout Obama’s tenure, he has clashed with Netanyahu. That is no secret, and it’s nothing new for American and Israeli leaders to disagree, sometimes very publicly. But Netanyahu, beginning in May 2011, adopted a new strategy to try to deal with this: using domestic American politics as a way to try to push around Obama.
During a trip that month to Washington, Netanyahu publicly lectured Obama at a press conference and then gave a speech to Congress slamming the president. That speech, also hosted by Republicans, received many standing ovations for Netanyahu’s finger-wagging criticism of Obama.
At first it appeared that Netanyahu was merely trying to steer Obama’s foreign policy in a direction that he, Netanyahu, preferred. Obama wanted Netanyahu to freeze Israeli settlement growth in the West Bank, for example; Obama has also sought, in his second term, to reach a nuclear deal with Iran that Netanyahu earnestly believes is a bad idea.
Netanyahu’s first responsibility is to Israel’s national interests, not to Obama, so it makes sense that he would push for policies that he thinks are good for Israel.
But in 2011 Netanyahu started going a step further, and appeared to be working to actively remove Obama from power. During the 2012 election cycle, Netanyahu and his government were increasingly critical of Obama and supportive of Republicans, including presidential candidate Mitt Romney, for whom he at times appeared to be actively campaigning. Netanyahu’s criticisms of Obama were so pointed that some of Obama’s opponents cut a campaign ad out of them. It became a joke within Israel that Netanyahu saw himself not as the leader of a sovereign country, but as the Republican senator from Israel.
But trying to unseat a foreign leader is not a joke, especially when that foreign leader is funding your military and guaranteeing your nation’s security.
Netanyahu’s government ramped down this strategy after Obama won; he even gave Obama the world’s most awkward congratulations speech. But throughout Obama’s second term he has once again gradually escalated from trying to influence Obama to actively undermining both the president and his party. The new Israeli ambassador to the US for months would not even bother to meet with National Security Advisor Susan Rice, yet held many meetings with Republican fundraiser Sheldon Adelson. Israel’s foreign policy, in other words, was more focused on undermining the American leadership than working with it.
Republicans, aware that Americans are supportive of Israel, have urged on Netanyahu’s anti-Obama campaign since it began in 2011. Inviting him to speak to Congress that year was shrewd domestic politics, and it will be shrewd legislative politics next month when Netanyahu publicly supports the GOP’s sanctions efforts.
This makes sense within the narrow scope of domestic politics — if you can use something to convince voters your party and its policies are a better choice than your opponents, you use it, even if that something is a foreign head of state. But members of Congress are purportedly supposed to put their country before their party, and siding with a foreign leader over your own president doesn’t seem to do that. Neither does cheering a foreign leader when he lambasts the president of the United States.
More to the point, it was a really significant breach when some conservatives supported Netanyahu’s implicit lobbying on behalf of the Romney campaign. If a foreign country wants to unseat your president, that is generally considered an outrageous breach. But Netanyahu has been invited in, and with the 2016 presidential elections ramping up it appears likely he will be invited in once more to implicitly run against the Democrats.
This speaks, in a very real sense, to just how extreme political polarization has become in Washington.
This sort of practice is bad for America’s ability to conduct foreign policy
To be very clear, this is not just a breach of protocol: it’s a very real problem for American foreign policy. The Supreme Court has codified into law the idea that only the president is allowed to make foreign policy, and not Congress, because if there are two branches of government setting foreign policy then America effectively has two foreign policies.
The idea is that the US government needs to be a single unified entity on the world stage in order to conduct effective foreign policy. Letting the president and Congress independently set their own foreign policies would lead to chaos. It would be extremely confusing for foreign leaders, and foreign publics, who don’t always understand how domestic American politics work, and could very easily misread which of the two branches is actually setting the agenda. (This confusion, by the way, is exactly what some Republicans are hoping to create in Iran with new sanctions.)
Republicans who never rises and clap for their own President gives Netanyahu several standing ovations
This could also allow a foreign country to play those two branches off of each other. That’s in part what Netanyahu is attempting to do here, and it’s working. The Obama administration did not even find out about Netanyahu’s planned visit to Washington until Boehner announced it. The Republicans are attempting to run a foreign policy that’s separate from the actual, official US foreign policy.
One more anti-Obama speech from Netanyahu on the floor of Congress is not going to break US foreign policy, of course. But it’s troubling that Republicans are willing to breach such an important principle for some pretty modest short-term gains. See original story here:John Boehner’s outrageous plan to help a foreign leader undermine Obama
Patterson One of the chief architects of the nation’s decline still pulls the strings from behind the scenes..
The people’s National Party is chomping at the bit in anger at the fact that someone or a group of persons allegedly aligned or a part of the Opposition Jamaica Labor Party has purchased the domain name (www.portiasimpsonmiller.com,). The People’s National Party obviously now in campaign mode is extremely angry at this simple act of capitalism. The party sees this most forward thinking act of capitalism and critical thinking as Quote,” a cowardly act of desperation to gain traction and relevance to drive traffic to the JLP’s own website”. Whew !! That was not the extent of it however in a scathing attack on the Jamaica Labor Party the PNP said “The party views the JLP’s actions as immoral and unethical and reflective of a party that is bankrupt of ideas that will use the immense popularity of the prime minister to seek to shore up its flagging brand,” the release said.
“Fresh on the heels of a dismal tour in the United States, the Opposition Leader has now clearly resorted to ‘piggybacking’ on the internationally and locally reputable name of the party leader and prime minister in order to get an audience,”. Oh my goodness, really? Okay in the interest of full disclosure I am a little more partial to the Labor party’s policies than that of the PNP but really ? I have consistently said that the PNP does not understand the mechanics of a market economy and as such the people are paying a very high price for it. The lack of understanding creates a situation in which businesses cannot thrive as a result of old and archaic Socialist Policies from the seventies which were enacted by economy killer Michael manley. Four decades later the Jamaican economy struggles along because the people are largely too enamored with promises and jingles to understand that Socialism kills their opportunity for a better life.
High crime rates, low economic activity, High inflation , low productivity, low employment, high brain drain, I could go on and on , these are the symptoms of an economy built to serve Government rather than the people. There is not a single successful nation with ideological-socialism as its foundation principle. Four decades after the débâcle of the Manley years the PNP is still stuck with the ridiculous spectacle of clenched fists and calling each other comrades. Ironically not even the Russians do anymore, they have graduated to the concepts (win or lose) of the market economy.
It is scary to think that the PNP would make a big deal out of such a simple act which outflanked them as a party . The advance purchase of domain names is one of the oldest tricks since domain names became a commodity. Some candidates running for President in the United States have had to buy back their own names from some young enterprising kid with a computer in his parents basement. Welcome to the 21st century ! The tragedy is not the mindless comments coming out of the PNP on this most insignificant and simple issue but that they are not conversant with these simple acts of the 21st century.
How can they lead when simple things like the advance purchase of a domain name (anyone’s name) be seen as a big deal rather than a slick move which outflanked them? After being in political oblivion for many years Bruce Golding was able to eke out a victory over the PNP because the Labor Party understood how to use the power of technology. One very effective piece of video montage was particularly damaging to Portia and the PNP then . Maybe it’s time the Labor Party double down on using technology to appeal to the people since the PNP is still stuck in the stone age.
‘m not missing in action, Portia declares … says she has no problems in the PNP
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Officials within the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) have reportedly purchased the domain name www.portiasimpsonmiller.com, upsetting the ruling People’s National Party (PNP).
The PNP in a release this morning characterized the move as a cowardly act of desperation to gain traction and relevance to drive traffic to the JLP’s own website.
“The party views the JLP’s actions as immoral and unethical and reflective of a party that is bankrupt of ideas that will use the immense popularity of the prime minister to seek to shore up its flagging brand,” the release said.
“Fresh on the heels of a dismal tour in the United States, the Opposition Leader has now clearly resorted to ‘piggybacking’ on the internationally and locally reputable name of the party leader and prime minister in order to get an audience,” the PNP expressed.
Both parties are currently in campaign mode as talks of a general election later this year fill the air.
The PNP recently held its annual conference, where Party Leader and Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller touted the record of nine passed IMF tests while listing accomplishments of 60,000 jobs under the Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme (JEEP).
Meanwhile, the JLP says it is oiling its election machinery and is ready for the opportunity to give all Jamaicans the chance to live in a country where they all can live, work, do business and raise children in prosperity. See story here:JLP’s purchase of website in PM’s name upsets PNP
As the People’s National Party wraps up it’s 77th annual conference yesterday there appeared to be no change in the excitement and fervor in the voters as they gleefully attended the conference decked out in party colors. I spoke to a public sector worker recently who is a supporter of the Opposition Jamaica Labor Party (JLP) he resignedly predicted that the PNP will be returned to power whenever the Prime Minister decides to call National Elections. Ahast I asked him how he arrived at that opinion with the present state of affairs in the country? He told me with calm detach that despite all the negatives in the country there is no outrage.
Nation Arena overflows at the PNP’s 77th annual General conference
Jamaica has had some turbulent upheavals during times of hardship and uncertainty. During the seventies people ran in droves from the country taking their wealth , their businesses and their expertise at the urging of leftist Prime Minister Michael manley. Even though it was counter intuitive many people to this day still see the later apologetic Michael Manley as a great leader of epic proportions. Never mind that after the colossal screwup of the Island’s economy Manley taking a hiatus of sorts, then came back and apologized . Many saw nothing wrong with the irreparable harm Manley did to the country. Additionally, some Caribbean political relics former cahoots of Manley who were more concerned with ideological social engineering than the welfare of the people, still believe he was a great leader.
Which brings us to present day and the frightening decline in every measurable metric of the standard of living of Jamaicans. My friend argues that no matter how expensive food and other basic necessities are the people are content. Which caused me to wonder are the people content , or are they (1) resigned to their fate, or (2) do not know they deserve better? If for nothing else wouldn’t the malaise. corruption, crime, devaluation, inflation and general sense of dysfunction cause people to want change?
Michael Manley
Between 1972 and 1980 things got bad in Jamaica , really bad. Then
Edward Seaga
Leader of the Opposition Edward Seaga launched his campaign on the theme (DELIVERANCEISNEAR) to retake the country from the ravages of the so called democratic Socialism a social experiment gone bad. Today the very same vestiges of Democratic Socialism which created the largest brain drain of any small nation are still in place yet the people like Sheep to the slaughter march dutifully to the beat of the same drums which destroyed the nation’s economy between 1972 and 1980.
P J Patterson One of the chief architects of the nation’s decline still pulls the strings from behind the scenes..Despite failure by every metric the people are jubilant in support at the 77th annual general conference
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