Yesterday I wrote about the need for the Jamaican Government to stop pussy-footing around and recognize law-enforcement for it’s value to the country. Even as I believe passionately in the rule of law and it’s necessity in society. I am also viscerally passionate about the right of individuals to being secure in their persons. The points raised by those opposed to cameras in public spaces are legitimate concerns that warrants serious discussion and debate.The challenge for law-enforcement particularly in large Metropolises is, how to balance a healthy respect for individual freedoms and privacy while at the same time making sure they are able to keep residents safe. Criminal terrorist have to get it right only once, Law-enforcement has to get it right a hundred percent of the time to avert disaster. Even as I extol the virtues of CCTV as one more tool in the fight against crime and terror, I also believe that we should watch those who we commission to watch the criminals. The Police state is not something any of us except those with sinister motives want. As such we must be vigilant in ensuring that even as we acquiesce to present day necessities, we should guardedly protect the traditional freedoms we hold dear. Terrorists who exert their will through fear, does not stop trying to kill and maim simply because we cannot figure out how to balance privacy and security. As evidenced with the situation in Jamaica, Special Interest groups squabble over small stuff criminals simply show their disdain by shooting out the cameras placed there in down-town Kingston.
it’s important to have eyes in major cities today
The distrust that citizens have of Government and it’s Agents that they will do the right thing with footage harvested from CCTV cameras, is a legitimate concern. Government Agents, the world over have never failed to abuse the trust placed in them. Even in the United States some politicians introduce Bills that if passed into law would seriously limit the role of Government in people’s lives. Irrespective of other sinister motives they may harbor, they understand as well as anyone else the need to hold Government accountable. So for interest groups in Jamaica who are opposed to CCTV cameras, I suggest you call your elected representative and let them know you want legislation which protects the innocent from predators , even as we ensure that Government does not tamper with our freedoms and privacy.
As criminals continue to pose serious challenges to Governments, police departments and other law enforcement entities, it has become more and more urgent that every lawful means be employed to be able to give societies across the globe a chance, in what is fast becoming an existential fight for law-abiding citizens.
In many parts of the world, as it is in the western world, citizens are anxious to join the fight to keep their communities safe. Citizens understand it is not the fight of the police, it is their fight to preserve the safety of theirs and their families lives and property.
As such they have made the decision to do what they must to protect their individual liberties as free people, yet be fluid in balancing their understanding of the ever changing times. This requires a reshaping of some traditions and understandings about what constitutes privacy.
We now understand that we really cannot expect to have privacy in public spaces ‚yet expect those tasked with protecting us to be effective in doing so with their hands tied behind their backs.
Law Enforcement in Boston Massachusetts were able to turn to footage from CCTV cameras as well as cameras in parts of that city belonging to private individuals after the heinous terror bombings which killed and maimed many innocent people. This technology is not a panacea for the problem of crime and terror, it is one more tool in the tool-box which gives law-enforcement a chance to do what we asked them to do.
One of the last places on earth which ought to be in a position to scoff at this technology is Jamaica.
Jamaica has one of the world’s highest murder rates, on par with Mexico Colombia and a few others, the camera you see above was destroyed by criminals in down-town Kingston. the cameras were placed there without a plan, they simply placed them there without ironing out the details, or having an understanding of who would monitor the footage from them.
The Jamaica Gleaner reports that there has been a tussle of sorts, between the private sector, the police and the Kingston and Saint Andrew Corporation regarding who should monitor the cameras. Before you lose your mind in bewilderment, let me inform you that the police asked the private sector to pay for the project to help them help them the business people as the government cannot afford to pay for anything. Excepting of course the luxury SUV’s that Portia Simpson Miller and her band of ministers travel around in.
The private sector wants to leverage the footage , because They are footing the bill and they allege they do not trust the police. The private secor like the government and police has criminals in their ranks and will do anything to remain in the shadows. If you are not completely bewildered about this horse-and-pony show you should be, criminals understanding what is going on decided to shoot out the cameras, what irony.
Every day we report on what is happening in Jamaica, yet the Jamaican Government and the tourist board continue to lie to people , seducing them with false platitudes about the Jamaica you know and love. The fact is that Jamaica of yesteryear exist no more, the country is floundering like a ship without a rudder. The United States Senate select committee looking into the lotto scam referenced this very point recently.
The task of monitoring CCTV footage is one for law enforcement period. What is there to talk about, where are these morons from? If the police cannot be trusted, disband the force and start anew. My question for the private sector in light of such bull is “where would these new officers come from” in light of Jamaica’s abysmal 84 % corrupt rating by transparency international? The problem was compounded when the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation refused to give permission for street lights in the commercial district to be outfitted with cameras which would have been purchased with private-sector money.
This is laughable, the KSAC and it’s Councillors are political hacks many of whom are engaged in serious criminal activity, these are the people who have the power of yea and nay to determine whether crime gets controlled in Jamaica.
Since the Government refuses to act as a government should, by leading on the measures necessary to lower crime in Jamaica, we will be forced to do what we can to lobby interests in the United States regarding tourism and money.
The impotent and corrupt Government of Simpson Miller simply lacks the will to take the steps necessary to curtail and control crime in this small country of 2.8 million people. The criminals know it the prime minister has no clue, it will require people in the diaspora to band together to lobby critical sectors of the American Establishment to apply pressure to get the changes we need to rescue Jamaica from the death grip of crime government incompetence and criminal collusion.
There has been a lot of discussion coming out of the 2010 Security Forces assault on mercenaries holed up in Tivoli Gardens in support of confessed Don, Gun Runner and trans-national criminal Christopher (Dudus) Coke.
This buzz has received new life after the Public defender and anti ‑police antagonist Earl Witter released his report which did nothing to advance the debate.
Jamaicans are generally inclined to buy into anything foreign, our people celebrate any and everyone over other Jamaicans. This is true even when their countrymen make tremendous personal sacrifice on their behalf, they much rather exalt others over their own.
I provided a link for your information to Schwartz’s award winning Article titled: massacre in Jamaica
On Thursday, thousands of Tivoli women marched in downtown Kingston on Coke’s behalf. They wore white and carried signs, written in marker on scraps of cardboard: “Taking Di Boss Is Like Taking Jesus”; “After God, Dudus Comes Next!”; “Jesus Die for Us. We Will Die for Dudus!”
(1) By the weekend, Tivoli had filled with armed men. But, even as Coke prepared for war, he was negotiating his surrender with the police through a prominent member of Jamaica’s clergy, Bishop Herro Blair. Blair said that Coke was terrified of dying, like his father, in a Jamaican prison cell. But the Bishop’s hopes for a truce faltered on Sunday morning, when Coke’s forces attacked police patrols and four police stations, setting fire to at least one. The police commissioner cut off negotiations, and at six o’clock Golding declared a state of emergency in Kingston, giving the security forces expanded powers of search, arrest, and detention. In a briefing that night with Jamaica’s top security officials, the police commissioner, according to someone who spoke to him soon afterward, warned that as many as two hundred people might die.
(2)Blair, who had served in the Jamaican National Guard, was skeptical of claims that a massacre had taken place. He said that when he met with Coke in Java before the attack, to try to negotiate a resolution, he saw roughly a hundred gunmen with him. “There is a script that is written, whenever police are involved,” he told me. “People will all say the same thing.” Witter, a former journalist, whose office investigates constitutional violations and cases of injustice, took the allegations seriously.
Schwartz alluded to living and being around Tivoli Gardens for a little while before he wrote his 8 page Article. My first impulse was that I would not read what he wrote. My inclination is that I don’t need a New York interloping elitists to tell me what I have lived and breathed, I refer to Jamaica, but I read the article nontheless.
Let me state categorically that I was not in Tivoli Gardens when the security forces went in to annex it to Jamaica, neither was Mattathias Schwartz. Moving to Langley Virginia and spending some time at the Central Intelligence Agency certainly does not make me a CIA agent and it damn sure does not make me an authority on spying.
Even though I provided a link to Schwartz’s Article, I have also pulled two paragraphs which I believe are a direct contradiction of the headline of his article and the sensationalism surrounding the very article itself, these two paragraphs are in blue ink.
In the first instance Schwartz said quote: “By the week-end Tivoli was filled with armed men”.
In the second instance he alluded to speaking to Bishop Herro Blair a prominent Jamaican clergy-man who is the political ombudsman, and a known JLP affiliate, who attested to the fact that he saw roughly a hundred gunmen when he went into Tivoli to meet with Coke toward working out a resolution.
So there were practically scores of armed mercenaries ready to topple the state, conversation over , let’s go home, lets make sure it never happens again right?
We Jamaicans did not need an interloper to tell us these things, we saw the attacks which killed police officers and members of our military, we saw the police stations burning, we saw the barricades, we saw the outpouring of love and adulation for the don. we saw the deserted streets. Where in America or any other country in the civilized world would that be tolerated ?
The city of Boston was shut down tighter than a jail after the marathon bombers committed their acts, the rule of law prevailed. Schwarts talks about police killings by the numbers as it relates to killings of the NYPD, is this guy for real ? Does he seriously compare Jamaica with New York City? Furthermore where is Schwartz over all the years when young minority men are being gunned down by the NYPD? did he write an article condemning those cops in the Abner Louima case,? What about Ammadio Dialo? What about the scores of nameless faceless others? Is Schwartz too much of a coward to criticize the powerful NYPD, or, are the lives of young African-American and Latino males not important to him?
Even as he tells the truth about Bishop Blair’s account of witnessing roughly a hundred armed men, Schwartz attempted to cast doubt on the Bishops account by trying to link him to the security forces. Bishop Blair has been a long time supporter of the JLP, he had no axe to grind, he told the truth.
In the end, the ultimate source of schwartz’s story are the very same people whom he admitted, confessed they will be killed if they spoke to certain truths. He reported about the large cache of weapons which was recovered, yet he counters by saying initially that only a few guns were recovered, and yes he speaks with certainty that there really was not much of a fire-fight even though he was nowhere around.
Mattathias Schwartz is just another sensationalist media type who feed off the unfortunate plight of others for his own benefit, this case is no different. To those who speak out of the sides of their mouths as if they know something , let me say this.
Innocent people get killed in a war-zone, Tivoli was a war-zone, it is regrettable when any innocent person loses his/her life, sometimes it is unavoidable. I understand full well the situation many residents faced that fateful day, do I leave and may never be permitted to return, branded an informer, or do I tough it out? After all they are survivors, the police was never able to do their jobs there, they were always ruled by one don or another, why would this time be any different.
However ‚some of us who have been on the front lines have long known that mercenaries in that community use urban military tactics to fight and retrieve weapons dropped by fallen comrades . This tactic is made possible by laying down a sustained sheet of automatic fire while they retrieve the weapons, leaving the police to explain the dead bodies. Then they bring out the women to mourn. This is now an effective tool of Jamaica’s criminal underworld.
They understood the importance of winning the propaganda war. Coke’s letter purportedly to the community, was one more attempt at that charm offensive.
The gullible Mattathias Schwartz is nothing more than one more pawn to that end.
Armed mercenaries erect barricades to an entry point into Tivoli Gardens as they prepared for war against the Jamaican State in 2010.
This country we know as Jamaica, some of us love, some claim to love, is fast descending into a cesspool which will only attract the worst types of criminals, if we do not put a stop to it now.
Decent people are already shunning our beloved country because of what’s happening there, we are fast-tracking to becoming another sub-Saharan hell-hole. Why is the National emphasis on what is allegedly done by members of the Military, most of which are likely distortions and distractions ? (NOT arguing there should be no accountability).!!! The National consensus must exponentially be centered on finding out how a community got to what Tivoli Gardens matestacised into.
More importantly, how could a local criminal become so powerful, that he was virtually untouchable locally. Why the hell are we re-writing history ?
Hannah Town Police stationed burned to the ground by Jamaica’s urban terrorists
Police station burns:
The Office of Public Defender has finally released the long awaited Report, of what exactly transpired in the West Kingston Community of Tivoli Gardens in 2010. This has revived a vibrant debate on the issue, most of which so far has been in my estimation frighteningly misguided and unpatriotic.
Someone not conversant with what led up to the Jamaican State annexing Tivoli Gardens to the rest of the country, could seriously walk away believing that the people are seeking compensation from a foreign government which illegally invaded their enclave.
Bullet riddled police station:
The truth of the matter is, since it’s inception Tivoli Gardens has long enjoyed a type of favored status, one that is un-earned, but which has been bestowed on it nonetheless ‚much like the fabled older sisters in the Cinderella story.
Tivoli Gardens, the brain-child of it’s patron Edward Seaga, former Prime Minister and perennial member of Parliament, had a split personality. At best it was a great example of community, a great community clinic, my oldest son was born in that very clinic. A great Comprehensive High School, and other social amenities. Tivoli Gardens was ground zero for culture and sports, much to the delight of Seaga who saw his efforts at social engineering similar to a parent child relationship.
Darling street police station destroyed by urban terrorists we know what happened we don’t need anyone telling us what occurred.….
Darling Street Police Station destroyed:
But like a doting parent Seaga failed to heed the problems emanating from that community, much like a parent ignoring and denying the wrongs been done by his teenager. Many argue that Seaga more than ignored those problems, he was the creator of those problems.
The Don culture which evolved from the Tivoli community model, is now posing an existential threat to the social order of Jamaica as we knew it. Seaga fundamentally believed in the social model he created, which was one of a hierarchical structure with him at the political zenith. He also created the space for a Donor so-called(community leader) who saw to the day to day affairs of the community.
This community leader handled the affairs of the community, the problem with this however is that it removed Tivoli from the sphere of influence of the broader Jamaican society. This includes the ability of the Police to arrest felons who take up residence there after they had committed egregious crimes in other parts of the country.
Seaga famously asked years ago , quote: “What was Adams doing in Tivoli Gardens”? in reference to then leader of the crime management unit going into the community to apprehend wanted men. Seaga unwittingly gave a peek into how he really saw the community, apparently as his fiefdom not subject to the reach or dictates of the rule of law.
As a boy growing up in Saint Catherine, I was a fan of Tivoli Gardens, I saw that community as a necessary counter-balance to the conflagration of PNP garrisons which had literally sprung up everywhere in the Kingston and Saint Andrew metropolitan area. Years later I changed my mindset when as part of a Special Police unit from the Mobile Reserve I took sustained automatic fire from that community at the Denham Town Police Station, hunkered down and ordered by the Superintendent not to return fire.
When the firing ceased a police truck parked in front of the station was destroyed, bullet holes pot-marked the walls of the station, where panes of glass existed minutes earlier shards of shattered glass told a jagged tale of horror. No one was ever held responsible. The problem with what happened that day is this, it happened simply because one boot-licking, lap-dog Superintendent had his nose too far up Seaga’s ass to get out of our way, or was too much of a coward to get out-of-the-way and let us do our jobs. My perception of the JCF changed that day, it hasn’t improved since.
How could that community not take on a brazen don’t care attitude of being untouchable?
The group of Ranger Squad members, of which I was a part, were more than capable of handling those scumbags that day. We were idealists who would have made the ultimate sacrifice for the Jamaican state. Politics drove a nail in the coffin of the Jamaican state on that day.
In any country where the rule of law is usurped, the emphasis later is generally to make sure that those opposed to the natural order are dealt with quickly and decisively. This is true even in states that does not necessarily adhere to democratic norms.
In Jamaica today, the conversation is centered around compensation for residents of Tivoli Gardens. From the bull-shit report coming out of Witter’s office, to the parliament, to the regular village lawyer, the argument is about apportioning blame to the foot soldiers of the security forces who went in and restored sanity to that volcanic situation.
In most countries those members of the security forces would have received commendations and have accolades heaped on them. In Jamaica the outrageous sentiment is that a commission of inquiry must now be convened to dig further to see what illegal act was committed by those brave members of the security forces, (if any) in what was a theater of war.
If you are finally appalled and outraged you should be, this is in addition to the wasted $76.098-million which has been allocated to Witter’s office for this year. For that money, tax-payers received a report calling for a commission of inquiry, and yes that the people in Tivoli Gardens should be paid handsomely.
You ask what they should be paid for ? Your guess is as good as mine.
Jamaica just secured another loan from the International Monetary Fund, this money though necessary for the short term, will be partly responsible for devastating consequences to the country’s attempt at solvency in the future.
This will add to the country’s burgeoning debt crisis. Working police officers, nurses teachers , firemen and others, who apply to the National Housing Trust for mortgages are turned down, years ago I was one of them. The Jamaican Prime Minister recently announced a plan to build housing units for urban dwellers, to people familiar with Jamaica, these are people who are unable financially to pay for those homes. They are political handouts for votes.
In effect, it is a disgustingly cynical attempt at vote buying, while working professionals are turned away , unemployed people will be housed at no cost to themselves. If you ever wondered why Jamaica is the way it is you should digest what you just read here today.
The Editor, Sir:An article appeared in the online edition of TheStar on December 8, which, I thought, removed all doubts from the minds of any person of sound mind and judgement about who is in charge in Jamaica — the gunmen, terrorists and thugs.Gone is any semblance of control, at least on the part of the security forces. The article of which I speak is the police-supervised mass exodus of law-abiding homeowners and other residents of Gravel Heights, St Catherine, after they were ordered to leave because they committed the cardinal sin of being ‘informers’ ( they spoke to the police).
Chilling message
This purported action led to a raid in the community by the security forces and, of course, all the police did was to provide security for the exodus of the people. The chilling message this sends to the rest of the criminal elements is this is the way to go; pretty soon law-abiding residents of Jamaica will be extinct. So, I have a proposal for the Government. I am a former cop and am willing to drop everything I have to do and come down there with other like-minded former cops. We would operate under the law but with no political interference, and no mouthing from human-rights spokespersons. And I assure the people of Jamaica we will take back our country, street by street. We did it before, we will do it again.We fear no one, no don.
Mr Prime Minister, the time for talk is over, soon you will be confined to just uptown Kingston as the security forces will not be able to go anywhere in this small country. We will operate under the law, but want no interference, or management from anyone in the Government or security forces. That’s my offer.
Published: Wednesday | September 1, 20105 Comments
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THEEDITOR, Sir :
The heirachy of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) has never been receptive to new ideas, neither to listen to them nor to implement them. The evidence of this is the high attrition rate from the agency, yours truly being one that decided to leave.
Our country continues to struggle with a police department that though scrutinized and held up to ridicule many, refuses to get it.
Members of the JCF, on a consistent basis, have continued to engage in activities that make even someone like me, one of their most ardent supporters, cringe.
The Police Academy, in light of these occurrences, should seek to revamp its curriculum as it is clear it does not work. There are ample examples where it is absolutely clear that officers, young and old, are making critical mistakes that mushroom out of control to the detriment of all involved, including the taxpayers.
Latest incident
I speak of the Buckfield, St Ann, incident, as well as the latest incident where a young officer was shot and killed, allegedly by his colleagues.
There has always been simple safeguards that eliminate any opportunity for the occurrence of either of these two incidents. Police officers are duty-bound, once they have arrested someone ‚to ensure that prisoner’s safe transportation to a jail. The State through its agents, must ensure the safety of prisoners for the duration of their incarceration.
Had the officers involved in the Buckfield shooting, two or three of them, got down on the ground and subdued that alleged murderer, properly handcuffed and removed him from the scene in a professional manner, the accused would be alive, and they would not be facing murder charges.
Had the officers, once they arrested their colleague, properly adhered to international policing protocols and placed him in handcuffs, as well as properly secured the weapon seized from him, we would not be having this discussion.
Surrendering control
The cop on motorized patrol who decides to pull a motorist over, with two, three, or even more occupants, then makes the grave mistake of ordering all occupants to exit the car, places himself, his partner, as well as all occupants of the car in harm’s way, he just gave up control of the situation.
This lack of following proper procedure falls on the middle managers of the JCF, they do not ensure that officers going out on patrol have their batons, handcuffs, flashlights, pepper spray, and other non-lethal tools that are now in their arsenal. In addition, supervisors must visit younger police personnel on patrol to ensure that procedures are being observed. Only then will we begin to see a decrease in these incidents.
Mr. Beckles, I find your presentation interesting; however, you seem unaware of the fact that closed-mindedness is rampant in Jamaica. If a leaf is declared to green, not many of us would agree that the same leaf has the potential to become brown tomorrow. Very disciplined, intelligent members of the Force do experience a certain degree of resentment from their colleagues, but that is not unique. That is a common cry.
I should also point out that I disagree with your perspective on the appropriate procedure in bringing the accused to justice. If the firearm was takewn from him without any physical or verbal resistance, and there was no possibility of re-offending, and, assuming that he could be found, he should have been summoned. There are strick rules in the use of handcuffs, I am told.
The same procedure is applicable for civilian offenders, if they are unlikely to re-offend, do not have a fix placed of abode or unlikely to turn up in court.
Arrests, according to a certain source, should be a last resort.
Sir I am a former trained Police Officer and a former Detective of the JCF I also successfully passed their accelerated Promotional examination, I aced all the exams I sat for promotion for the duration of the time I spent in the Department so I think I know something about how an arrest is to be effected. It is not a discretionary thing to reduce/eliminate occurrences of this nature everyone being arrested must be placed in handcuffs, this is international police protocol, it is this mentality of Jamaicans,to give a bly,this one won’t resist, or run away or grab a gun , to remove any doubt, everyone must be handcuffed in order to eliminate those possibilities. Sorry sir I am not told, that is the way it should be done, it is issued for arrests, period.
Haven’t you ever interacted with policemen? Have you listened to their spokesmen at the scenes of crimes. Seriously, don’t they sound “mis-educated” to you? Do they do intelligent things on the road? I am not saying that there aren’t intelligent ones but I have rarely had any encounter with one of them. Anyway most of them appear lazy and distracted.
LETTEROFTHEDAY — JCF refuses to reform My colleague, I fail to see, based on your argugment, what is wrong with police training. To my certain knowledge, all these procedures are taught at the police training school now, and has always been taught.
I do agre with the rest; poor management and supervision of officers on duty.
The long awaited and much over-due report on the Tivoli Grades operation has finally been tabled in the Jamaican Parliament. This report was long awaited but for reasons unknown to us has being delayed time and again.
Earl Witter: Public defender.
This is the biggest task that Public Defender Earl Witter has been given since this new Agency was created. That office was allocated $76.098-million as against $76.56 million last year. We have long maintained that this office is a colossal waste of money, it is a duplication of efforts, money squandered in this venture could be better spent updating the office of Director of Public Prosecution.
In plain Jamaican vernacular, it is a (eat a food position), it was created to give jobs to political hacks who cannot cut it in the real world. The Ministry of Justice ought to look to dispensing justice on behalf of the Jamaican people, not another body.
Earl Witter is a long time criminal defense attorney, he has been mediocre at best throughout his carrear, he has been tasked with running this new Agency. The demand for a commission of inquiry into what happened in Tivoli Gardens by Jamaica’s pretentious Elitists in 2010 fell to Witter’s office.
For the record he was asked to investigate in a fair and dispassionate way, what occurred in the Garrison West Kingston community of Tivoli Gardens in 2010. Tivoli Gardens is the former strong-hold of reputed convicted Gun ‑running drug dealer Christopher Coke who is doing time in a Florida Federal facility.
Of course, Witter has long held anti police views, he has knowingly associated himself with known anti-police antagonist and criminal-rights group (JFJ) head, Carolyn Gomes.
Witter shares the view, as does Gomes,that all instances of police shootings are illegitimate, because not enough Jamaican cops are getting killed.
One cannot make these things up, these are facts happening in Jamaica. Many people naively believe that Jamaica is a paradise Island nation, conforming with International standards, moving forward as a developing nation beholding to the rule of law.
I have not read the report in a comprehensive way, most of what’s contained in it from my cursory glance could have been gleaned from any man on the streets. Apart from instances of legalese jargon it’s nothing more than a running narrative of what happened,opinions, and conjecture, and some impertinent falsehoods and assumptions.
This report will do nothing to alleviate any ill which may have occurred, real or precieved. It glorifies and gives reverence to degenerate gunmen and trans-national criminals, rather than expound on the virtues of adhering to and building on a foundation of the rule of law.
I am tired of hearing and seeing people persecuted and maligned for standing on their principles.Never buy into the lies and distortions which says your fundamental faith-based principles are wrong, or that new alien acceptances are right and you should bow down to them.
I don’t care how many Kings and Emperors, Senators and Congress-men and Women say something, if I do not believe it, I won’t accept it.
So President Obama is pushing a gay agenda, that’s his business, I refuse to accept an alien philosophy simply because someone in high office sanctions it. If the President believes so strongly in fundamental Human Rights for all, why does he not champion the right of all Americans and all people on earth, who are opposed to Sodomy to stand on the foundations of their beliefs and not capitulate to the torrential avalanche of deviant contemporary counter-culture?
Think about this, lesbian, gay, and trans-gender practioners come out openly about their preferences at their leisure, when they do they are celebrated and hailed as heroes,what makes them heroes, who bothers them?
Congress and state legislatures pass laws to protect them, why is it that they are so vehemently opposed to other people exercising their right of descent? Why should the rights of Gays be guaranteed at the expense of my right to say,” no thanks to your deviant behavior” Who is intolerant here?
Washington Wizard pro-basket-ball player Jason Collins comes out and tells the world he is gay, he is celebrated as a hero, he is on the cover of Sport’s Illustrated, he received a phone call from the President of the United States., Collins is all over the television circuit. Good for him.
If this guy likes to have sex with men in their rectum or receives a penis in his rectum that’s his business. Did any of you ever hear that Millionaire athlete Jason Collins was being persecuted because he was suspected of being gay?.….….….….……
Me neither !
Miami Dolphins wide receiver Mike Wallace tweeted, “all these beautiful women in the world and guys wanna mess with other guys. ‘Shaking my head’.“Wallace later removed the tweet and apologized.
Why did you remove your tweet Mike?Did the Organization which write your checks make you do it? If they did what about your right to free speech?
Everyone rushed to the defense of the counter culture degenerate behavior , while many in the élite media was all over Mike Wallace excoriating him for being stupid, out of touch, moronic, and every derogatory adjective they could hurl at him. The NBA as well as Dolphins Executives were falling over themselves to say how proud they are of Collins.
Well let me say my piece, those who believe and engage in the primal hedonistic and disgusting practice of homosexuality are free to do so. I, on the other hand seriously reserves the right to stand on the christian principles indelibly burnished into my consciousness from my formative childhood years.
I will not surrender them on the altar of being part of the in crowd. The demonic forces of Hedonistic and Sodomite indulgence may crucify me, but I will stand on my principled belief that marriage is between one man and one woman. I stand on the belief that Homosexuality is deviancy and an abomination to God Almighty. The Bible says so and I believe it.
No Gay, Lesbian or transgender person has anything to fear from me, neither psychically or otherwise, but neither will I fear retribution from them because I do not acknowledge their indulgences as normal and moral. They have a right to live their lifestyle, I will live mine my way, they don’t have to accept mine because I damn well do not accept theirs.
I am prepared for the abuse and invective which will be hurled my way , I’m happy that those who do will exactly be making my point. The Bible did say this time would come, it is here, those who have eyes to see let them see, those who have ears to hear let them hear, worse persecution is coming for those who dare stand opposed to the dark forces of Sodom and Gomorrah.
We will not be able to work or participate in any area of daily life, I’m ready for them to persecute me for standing on the pillars of righteousness and fidelity to principles.
Have you ever wondered how your tax dollars are spent in on your behalf in America? Are you someone who do not depend on Government for hand-outs?
Here’s one way !
Last Friday evening my wife called me late in the evening I was close to going home from work , which I always do at 8.pm when possible. She said ” Babe I just want you to know Bud disappeared and the police has him we won’t get him back until tomorrow”.
I was stunned, Bud is a black Lab we acquired, he is still young, not yet a year old, even though his size belies his age. This little puppy had wormed his way into our hearts from day one. On the day we went to pick up a puppy from the litter, he latched onto me, tugging at my sneaker laces, he didn’t stop until the entire litter joined in, they had me encircled while they all tugged at my laces and the legs of my sweat pants. My wife had her heart set on another puppy with brown markings but Bud’s tenacity forced her to change her mind, Bud decided he was going to be a part of our family. My wife was dutiful with every requirement to owning a dog in the Town of Poughkeepsie, stuff I wasn’t even conversant with, she did and she made sure she dotted all the “I’ ”s and crossed all the “T“ ‘s .
On my arrival home she told me Bud went outside with our sons and disappeared, she called but he did not respond, she drove around the neighborhood but there was no sign of him. So she decided to call the Town of Poughkeepsie Police. They confirmed that someone had called that there was a strange dog in their back-yard, and an officer had responded and retrieved our dog, but we would not be able to pick him up until the next day which was Saturday April 27th.
This is what residents pay for !
We were distraught we figured he must be terrified , he had never been away from us in his short life, we were particularly worried for him especially in light of how he was removed by the cops. We settled into Friday night with resignation that it was out of our hands. They said we could pick up our dog on Saturday, pay whatever fees we were required to pay and so we prepared for that.
We did not sleep much Friday night, personally I did not know that I could care so much about a dog. Lets face it we Jamaicans are not necessarily all love-dovey with dogs.
We were told by the Police that the animal warden would be in at seven on Saturday, so dutifully Saturday morning my wife called to say we would be heading down to the precinct to collect our dog, or so we thought.
Well not so fast Sargent Wagner told her that wasn’t going to happen, the warden would not be coming in until Monday April 29th, so Bud would have to stay in their custody for the weekend. You thought that was horrific for that young dog? Well it gets worse we would have to pay for the days that the dog was held by them, despite it is their warden who decided she wouldn’t come in on the weekend.
That pretty much decided the quality of my week-end, Monday morning we gathered up everything, leash and all of Bud’s paperwork and went to the Town of Poughkeepsie Police to collect our dog, of course Sargent Wagner was on duty again, yup ! a Sargent mans the front desk, I will have to research how much they receive from us the bilked taxpayers. Wagner told us we wouldn’t be getting our dog because the warden had called in sick, so it was now Tuesday before we get our dog. Normally I am volatile and my wife is calm, I realized that my wife a nice sweet woman was on the verge, so I secretly begged her not to give them the satisfaction. I decided we were not going to be treated the way Police in America treats black people, and neither would we do what they expect us to do.
So Wagner brought out another Sargent to tell us pretty much what he had just told us, so now it’s two Sargents just to release our dog to us. This Jicha fellow was pretty much the schmuck that Wagner was, just a little more reprehensible. We had heard enough, I called a Lawyer friend of mine, but we decided to make one more stop before heading to his office. We waited at the offices of the Town Supervisor for a little until he arrived for work. Supervisor Tancredi invited us into his office , he was very cordial, responsive and understanding, we waited as he tried to call the Police Chief, no answer. He tried getting one of the Captains , none answered their phones. So he was left with Wagner at the front desk. Supervisor Tancredi seemed visibly embarrassed that at minutes to 9 :am there was no way of reaching the top tier of law enforcement in the Town, I whispered to my wife “what if there is a serious emergency which requires their presence and direction”? Mister Tancredi took my wife’s number and promised to get back to us, I went to work. Wagner called and told my wife that Bud could be picked up at an animal Hospital, Todd Tancredi had done his job. Wagner told my wife we would be required to pay over $270.00 in fees in order to retrieve our dog. My wife went to the Town Clerk’s office to pay the fees, the clerk had no paper-work from neither Wagner or Jicha, she calculated the fees which amounted to $254.oo.
Wagner and Jicha couldn’t even compute the fees correctly.
♦ Board $72.00.
♦ Shots $107.oo (dog has all it’s shots none was needed).
♦ Seizure $75.00 (despite the salary we pay the cops we have to pay again for them to actually do what we already paid for).
♦ Total $254.00.
Our property and school taxes for the Town of Poughkeepsie is a couple hundred dollars less than $10’000 annually, the only service the Police Department in our Town offers to residents other than hiding in bushes to write tickets is bad attitude.
So we took our dog home , thank God he seem ok , problem solved right? Well not so fast, of course Tuesday morning the warden showed up for work and of course she called my wife , it is automatic that despite being extorted and fleeced of $254 , the Town was not finished, we would be issued with two tickets, I mean why not more Money right? She explained the tickets were mandatory when a dog was impounded.
On her arrival at our home I asked her how much more we would be fleeced with these two tickets? She explained ‚at least another couple of hundred dollars, and of course court costs. Welcome to Government gone amok. If you ever believed Government worked for you, if you ever believed anything was about your interest when politicians tell you they want to hire more cops and other government workers, get your head examined.
I had long held that Government did not work for people, people worked for government, an unnatural phenomenon to begin with. As bad as these public service workers are the police in these little towns are the worse. The only bright spot in all of this was Town Supervisor Todd Tancredi who called Tuesday and spoke to my wife, he wanted to know whether Bud was adjusting well to being back home where he belong. It’s not often that I have anything positive to say about Government or those who work in Government, many could not function in the private sector or on their own. Todd Tancredi is not one of them. Our thanks to mister Tancredi for serving the interest of the people who put him in office.
Town of Poughkeepsie cops all drive around in brand new cruisers, with full trappings, they are paid very well, crime in the town are relegated to a few shop-lifting in the malls along the route 9 corridor. You will get ticketed for driving 20 miles per hour on some roads, I kid you not, the speed limit is 15 miles per hour in places. No there are no schools in these zones, it is designed to tax you more.
As if that wasn’t overkill, the Sheriff’s department and State Police all overlap in the ticket writing bonanza. Just don’t expect much if you have a real problem which requires their help.
Kern Omar Spencer, MP (born 21 June 1974 in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica) is a Jamaican politician. A member of the People’s National Party, Mr. Spencer served as Member of Parliament (MP) for St. Elizabeth North Eastern from 2007 to 2011.
While a state minister in the energy ministry in the previous government led by the PNP, Spencer was placed in charge of an energy-saving project. The project involved the distribution of four million free Cuban light bulbs island-wide. The project was implemented in July 2006.[3] Allegations of irregularities in the project were leveled against Spencer in Parliament in November 2007 by then Energy Minister Clive Mullings, who asked the auditor-general and the contractor-general to probe the matter [3] Clive Mullings, told Parliament that $114 million was improperly spent on the distribution of four million energy-saving light bulbs donated by the Cuban Government to the people of Jamaica.[4]wikipedia.
The Court of Appeal upheld a Supreme Court ruling that Senior Resident Magistrate Judith Pusey does not have the power to subpoena Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Paula Llewelyn as a witness in the trial. Pusey, who is presiding over the trial, had challenged the Supreme Court ruling.(jamaicagleaner.com)
Let me be clear about one thing, irrespective of my personal dislike for politicians, and my personal feelings as to what happened in this case, the accused, Kern Spencer must be given due process. He must be presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.
All fair minded Jamaicans want in this matter is that justice be done. I have no information about the guilt or innocence of the accused, so I am thrilled that the high court has now cleared the way for the trial to go ahead.
From the beginning that this case came to the nation’s attention I opined in these blogs and wherever else my views are allowed, that there would be massive stone-walling which would see this case delayed and delayed until it is tossed from the calendar for want of prosecution.
There is precedent which supports my cynicism, the powerful and well connected in Jamaica simply do not get convicted in a court of law or gets sent to prison. Despite massive corruption , graft , and acts of thievery which permeates Jamaica’s political system,I stand to be corrected but to the best of my recollection there has only been one politician ever convicted and sent to prison. That was former labor Minister in the JLP ‚JAG Smith, (now deceased).
We don’t know what will happen in this case, Spencer and the PNP can afford to pay some pretty competent defense counsel, which is never in short supply in Jamaica. In fact I thought that like so many other cases involving the connected, defense counsel would be able to use the laws to Spencer“s advantage to prevent a trial. When the loop-holes in the penal code are considered , shoddy police work, added to poor preparation and just bad prosecution, it’s a wonder anyone gets convicted for crimes in Jamaica.
Even when there are convictions they generally gets overturned on appeal.
I never imagined that the stone-walling would come from the Bench.
From the inception of this medium, I have reported and commented on the judicial activism of Judith Pusey. Case after case, comment after comment she has overstepped the normal decorum of judicial restraint. This performance however takes the cake. There are not many instances if any, where a Magistrate has so injected her/himself into a case, that defense counsel did not need to get involved. The Magistrate appointed herself default-defense counsel for Kern Spencer.
She picked a fight with the Director of Public Prosecution on her authority to decide who should be used as witness, as against who should be the principal offender, she challenged the evidence, she challenged the way the evidence was collected, and she used taxpayers money to challenge the DPP to the High Court.
As I said then, this Magistrate needs to be taken down a peg, her brand of activism is better suited for defense counsel, she should do the honorable thing and resign upon which she can join Spencer’s defense team. The Jamaica people cannot and will not get justice in this case as long as Judith Pusey is allowed to hear this case.
It is incumbent on the Chief Justice to remove her from this case now in the interest of Justice.Whether she did anything wrong is not important, Justice must not only be done it must seem to be done. Her actions before have been eyebrow raising on instance, questionable on others, on this case her behavior has been disgraceful.
Our country do not need Magistrates or Judges who see their role as that of criminal defender, it is about time that some competent authority take a real close look at her. Justice cannot be hostage to a Resident Magistrate whose motivations are unclear.
Ok scratch that there is no competent authority in Jamaica to do that, God help our little Island.
Cops in Jamaica have pointed to what they characterize as the re-emergence of cocaine coming from South America. They brag that they have smashed the Lotto scam and cites that as the reason cocaine is once again flooding the streets of the small carribean country.
Even as a supporter of law enforcement in Jamaica I sometimes have to shake my head in disbelief at some of their utterances. First they contended that they smashed the cocaine ring which resulted in the lotto racket, now they claim they smashed the lotto scam so cocaine is back.
Ok, if you are confused you may not be alone, because none of this is true and never will be true. Cocaine never went anywhere, and neither will the lotto scam or any other crime which has the potential to net the actors illicit income.
The Jamaican Police does not serve the interest of the public or itself as an Agency when it refuse to name the South American Country from which the majority of cocaine is flowing into Jamaica.
It diminishes whatever little credibility the Agency may still have left, if any. Much the same way it continues not to name dirty criminals who are attached to either political party when they commit crimes.
One of the most effective crime fighting tools law enforcement has at it’s disposal is exactly the opposite of what the Jamaican police does with criminals, hiding their identity. All criminals must be arrested with fanfare and made to do what is called a perp-walk for the cameras. Shaming criminals must be exploited for what it’s worth, particularly in a country which is literally inundated with crime and terror.
But of course it would be remiss of me to think that the castrated lap-dog police force in Jamaica would be able to pull this off. Criminals are criminals, be they rogue states or people, whether it be Portia or Azan, Columbia or Panama, the people need to know that the laws apply to all.
I caution and implore the JCF to stop being a cartoon Police Force and once and for all start learning how to be a credible law enforcement Agency. The first order of business is to stop making stupid and inane statements.
We celebrate Chris Gayle in these blogs, Chris Gayle acknowledges the applause after scoring the fastest century in history, Royal Challengers Bangalore v Pune Warriors, IPL, Bangalore, April 23, 2013.
Portia Simpson Miller Prime Minister and Richard Azan Jnr.Minister Works.
It’s rather difficult to be nice when it comes to Jamaica’s Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller. It’s not just that she is ignorant, she is also very arrogant. That witches brew is a combustible and dangerous mix in the wrong hands. Miller has maintained that she is awaiting the result of investigations in the matter of alleged corruption involving Richard Azan, Junior Minister in the Ministry of Works. Allegations are that Azan in his capacity as member of Parliament for North West Clarendon abused his authority, contrary to what he is legally empowered, to give permission for a private contractor to build shops on lands inside the refurbished Spalding’s Market, without the approval of the local authority that owned the property. That’s not all, according to published reports , despite saying that he did nothing wrong the monies collected from the stalls were being paid to Azan’s constituency office. This is not hearsay, Azan and the Administration has now contended that the monies have been handed over to the Parish Council, once the story broke.
Part of the new Spaldings Market in the Parish of Clarendon.
So by inference irrespective of the crime one commits, restitution absolves one of criminal culpability. The corrupt morally bankrupt Administration of Miller is a stain on the history of Jamaica, yet she is convinced that despite the thievery and destruction of our country she has made a positive contribution to Jamaica. Recently she was approached by journalists who were not afraid to ask her questions, she took umbrage and lied that a microphone actually hit her in the mouth, this was later proven to be a bald-faced lie. In her address at that event later Miller pontificates about her decades of public service, as if somehow it insulates her from whatever harm her and the administration inflicts on the country. Maybe a microphone should in fact have struck her in the mouth, we would probably have gotten some truth from her lying lips. I would rather disagree with miller on the value of her public service.
The Coronation Market in Kingston, Jamaica“s capital. Digicel image.
The truth is that other than her personal enrichment and grandiosity,the only thing her service has wrought is to make the entire country like her constituency of South West St. Andrew. That is public service Jamaica could certainly do without. I would humbly suggest to the esteemed Prime Minister that she does not have to bear the frustration of having to answer to pesky journalists and tax-payers, simply refuse to give anymore of herself to the nation and leave.
Surely Miller feels she is above being questioned on any issue, irrespective of the nature or magnitude of the controversy surrounding her and her party, readers familiar with Jamaica and it’s problems are aware of the long litany of corruption and graft which are assigned to this party and administration. Yet Miller is stuck in a Monarchistic time warp, seemingly believing that she rules by decree.Or does she. I have always marveled that so many educated people could be fooled by one half baked idiot!
Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being, by a human being, with malice afore- thought. It is contrary to common law. What that means is that it is a given, it doesn’t need to be legislated , you simply do not unlawfully take the life of another human being.
There are really no absolutes in anything, there are always other ways of doing things, we may not agree , but because we cannot see an alternative way of doing things doesn’t mean there is no other way. The Death penalty is one such issue. There are strong opinions on both sides of the death penalty issue and it’s application. In many countries it has been outlawed as a form of punishment. Opponents argued successfully in those localities that it is cruel and inhumane punishment. Never mind that those to whom the death penalty is administered, are deemed murderers who never gave a thought to the cruel inhumane treatment they were meting out to their victims.
Some argue it is ineffective as a deterrent to murder and as such it should be abolished. Others argue the death penalty from religious/moral perspectives. They make the case that society should forgive. My contention about the moral/religious arguments are as follows. If we believe the Bible’s account of Jesus’ death on the cross, be reminded that two people were also executed with him. As far as the Bible’s account of that conversation between Jesus and the two men are concerned, at least one of the men agreed that he deserved the punishment meted out to him. Also be reminded Jesus in his mercy forgave that man for his sins, he was still made to pay the price for his sins.
That man was a thief not a murderer, yet he and the other paid the ultimate price for the acts they committed, with the guiltless Savior. Jesus never once rebuked the authorities for administering the death penalty to the thieves , much less himself an innocent man. The notion that Capital punishment is not a deterrent is ludicrous at best and at worst cannot be proven by those who make those claims. People who kill and are found guilty, who have exceeded all of their appeals under the law, and are put to death, are deterred. As I have said before there are no silver bullets to any problem but for that one murderer, society need not worry anymore.
Of all the things which infuriates me about those who are anti-capital punishment, nothing bothers me more than their hypocritical silence on the issues of victims rights. They pretend that the victims never existed, or show blatant and disrespectful disregard for the rights of the innocent, even as they lobby for that of the guilty.
In Jamaica Authorities have accepted the notion, that putting beastly demonic criminals who kill multiple people without compunction to death, is cruel and inhumane treatment. They have accepted what many in the Industrialized developed world doesn’t, that we should simply forgive those demons. As such a free for all exists as it regards the taking of human life, there is no fear of consequence, be it imprisonment or death. Anti death penalty lobbyists are as much at risk as those people who are willing to see the law take it’s course in a just and proper way.
Jamaicans in the know, are aware that on the streets it is to one’s credit to claim how many people he has killed, in local vernacular(how much duppy him mek). It is disgusting to hear fraudulent Elitist make anti-death penalty arguments, when they live in countries which embrace and use the death penalty as an effective tool in the fight against serious crime and terror.
Those who argue that the death penalty should not be used because of the risk of killing the innocent do so with some legitimacy. There have been cases where the innocent have been put to death due to impropriety by law enforcement officers and prosecutors who reused to pay attention to exculpatory evidence for various reasons to include race and other considerations. The emergence of DNA evidence as a crime fighting tool has freed a considerable amount of people wrongly convicted.
The conclusive nature of DNA evidence also makes the case for the application of the death penalty, even as it weeds out the innocent. Those opposed to capital punishment on the grounds that the innocent may be wrongly convicted, have no legitimate quarrel with the death penalty, their issue ought to be with unscrupulous cops and prosecutors and tardy criminal justice systems like the one which obtains in Jamaica.
You simply do not throw out the baby with the bath-water, I urge the Jamaican Authorities to get on with the business of carrying out the will of the electorate and hang the callous murderers on death row.
I have consistently said in these blogs that the present leadership in Jamaica will not be able to turn the country around, from the plague of serious crimes and poverty.
I have posted for your information a speech given by the country’s National Security Minister Peter Bunting. I must congratulate Minister Bunting for the candid eloquence and heart-felt empathy which is inherent in his speech. I am not a fan of politicians and certainly no fan of Bunting, but for this moment and this speech I do believe the Minister is being sincere. But in as much as Minister Bunting was being sincere, his speech gave a not often seen window into the soul of how he and the Miller Administration feels at least on the subject of crime. On this issue I am vindicated in my pronouncements that they do not have the answers , but I’m also fearful for the Jamaican people whose leadership is at their wit’s end on how to contain crime.
I would like to draw your attention to this sentence I pulled from paragraph 3 of the Minister’s speech.
Quote: “However, I think that after 15 months I am convinced that the best efforts of the security forces, by itself, will not solve the crime problem in Jamaica.”
By this statement alone, the Minister revealed that they had no plan as an administration to curb, much less cure the crime epidemic, as I have systematically pointed out.
I cannot write too much on this issue, my site administrator tells me my blogs are too long winded, but I just want to give the Minister a few pointers. He may contact me for details.
(1) Tough uncompromising legislation which puts criminals away for good, look at the American Rico Statue.
(2) Set performance standards for all police Officers, to eliminating dead-wood cops from the department, starting with the Commissioner of Police down.
(3) Remove the Police Department from political control. Create an effective Police review board from civil society. Each member of that panel should have impeccable credentials, (as per criminal record), like that of police officers. Panelist must be supportive of the rule of law and of the needs of law enforcement officers.
(4) Equip the Police with the tools they need to do their jobs.
(5) Divide the country into grids, keep tight control of each grid by positioning officers at strategic locations in vehicles so they may respond to the needs of the customers , the Jamaican public.
(6) This would effectively remove cops from station houses and place them with the public.
(7) Sub Officers and officers must be out with the men augmenting staff strength, day and night .
(8) The way patrols are done must be revamped. There is no need for officers on patrol to be driving around for an 8 hour shift, it is a colossal waste of gas and wear and tear on the vehicles which are already in short supply> (see parked strategically in grid perspective).
(9)All service vehicles must be added to grid support, no gazetted or sub-officer should drive a service vehicle home. All use of vehicles must be for documented police duties.
(10) Increase exponentially, penalties not just for principal offenders who commit crimes ‚but also for secondary offenders who aid or are otherwise involved.(see rico statute)
(11) Hire and train more detectives, give them merit pay/promotions.
(12) Remove cops from office duties except in supervisory positions.
(13) No police department makes public its internal memos. Stop making the Force Orders public, giving away staff strength, , where certain officers are stationed, or will be transferred to and other information the public has no expectation of having. You are endangering officers lives, and threatening national security.
I give the Minister a 13 point plan commensurate with the list of thirteens attributed to his speech. Bunting’s addressed was on April 13th, 2013 to the “13th Annual Prayer and Thanksgiving Service for the Security Forces of Jamaica”
The following is the full text of a speech given by Jamaica’s National Security Minister Peter Bunting, at an awards ceremony on the Campuses of Northern Carribean University in Mandeville Manchester.
“This is, I think, perhaps the fifth time I have had the opportunity, firstly as opposition spokesman and last year as minister of national security, to participate in this service of thanksgiving for the security forces of Jamaica and, in particular, for the men and women who serve in Area Three. I want to commend NCU for this initiative in its 13th year, and I always say not just because the NCU main campus is in my constituency (Central Manchester) but the NCU does not only operate from the community but they are a part of the communuity.
“And this year’s service, of course, is especially poignant for me to participate, having lost my own mother this week and also having been at KPH as we waited hopefully while Sgt (Courtney Anthony) Simpson was operated on. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it. He, of course, as part of the Protective Services, worked very closely with us in the administration of government and, in fact, worked two years on the governor general’s, King’s House protective security detail. “For the last 15 months, I have been working closely with members of the security forces and one of the pleasant surprises that I have had is just how professional, how high a calibre of officers and men, rank and file, that we have in the main serving this country. I have been impressed by their tremendous courage, commitment and dedication.“However, I think that after 15 months I am convinced that the best efforts of the security forces, by itself, will not solve the crime problem in Jamaica. But it is going to take divine intervention, touching the hearts of a wide cross section of the society and using as the instruments of divine intervention the Ministers’ Fraternals, the academics, the business community, those persons who work in the NGO (non-governmental organisation) community, those of us who are in political service — all to try to make an impact, to touch the hearts and minds of our fellow Jamaicans.
“This week has not been a good week in terms of violence in Jamaica. And when I look at many of the reports, because I get the reports every morning, and I see how many of the fatalities are caused by persons known to each other and sometimes in the same family, when I read yesterday of the 17-year-old who hit his own father in the head, in Clarendon, fatally; when I learned of the prowler, the burglar who was caught and killed by a mob in St James; when I read of the two higglers — friends, associates — who got in a dispute, one stabbed the other, and I could go on and on — situations which it would be virtually impossible for the security forces, unless we had 100 times the numbers, to have prevented, I realise how critical it is going to be to get the entire society engaged.
“And…(pause) Am not embarrassed to say because right now as minister of national security, I am going through a kind of a dark night of the soul because we are trying very heard at the ministry, I see the men and women of the security forces trying very hard, working night and day, long hours. I see the leadership, capable, competent, professional, both of the police and the military. And so much effort is being made and yet so little headway, such slow headway is coming out in the statistics.
“And it really takes a lot of faith to keep working, keep going in the face of this. And of course, I am happy that I have so many persons of faith to encourage and support, not just myself, but all of the security forces at this time.
“So I would just, in closing, use this opportunity to once again appeal, to call on the Jamaican society to let us take back Jamaica from criminals and evil behaviour. We have a number of examples of this. We have seen the pastors in Spanish Town make a real effort to confront this problem We have seen the Rotary Club, I think of New Kingston, who have taken on mentorship of a lot of young men in the correctional services, in the juvenile correctional system. And we have a great example right here in Manchester where the Manchester Dispute Resolution and Violence Prevention Association was formed last year.
“I don’t want to necessarily give it all the credit because I know Cowboy Knight and Supt Nesbeth and their teams have been working very hard. But I do believe that the effort by Pastor Harvey, Dr Grace Kely, the Ministers’ Fraternal, the political representatives, the Custos, persons from the psychology and social work department, persons who have given their time freely to train I think almost 100 persons in our communities in Manchester to be first responders, to intervene where domestic disputes occur and have the potential to escalate to injury or death. And this initiative was formed last year because we recognised that unlike many other police divisions, in Manchester most of our murders came from domestic situations.
“When I say domestic I mean both the victim and the perpetrator were known to each other, either as family members, as man and woman relationship, as colleagues who work side by side and had some falling out, disputes over family land — a recurring theme. And we, in doing this training — and it’s short but quite a rigorous training — as first responders, so far this year we have seen the numbers of murders in the parish cut in more than half. We are about 60 odd per cent less up to the last set of statistics I saw, relative to the corresponding period last year.
“And I know that correlation is not necessarily causation. But I think we have no choice but to keep doing whatever we can as individuals. Even if we are not certain it is going to make a difference but at least let’s try something. And that is what I would call on all Jamaica to do here today and going forward if we want to take back Jamaica.
“In closing, let me thank NCU and all those who have come out to support the security forces today. And add my thanks to the brave men and women, especially those who have passed on in this last year, we acknowledge your service and contribution.”
We will respond to the Minister’s statement later.
I sat through the case of the Central Park Jogger on channel 13, most people old enough will recall this case involving 4 young African boys and 1 Latino. . Four of the juveniles charged — Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, and Kharey Wise — officially confessed to the crime, and each implicated the others. A fifth suspect, Yusef Salaam, made verbal admissions, but refused to sign a confession or make one on videotape. Salaam was, however, implicated by all of the other four and convicted. Salaam’s supporters and attorneys charged on appeal that he had been held by police without access to parents or guardians, but as the majority appellate court decision noted, that was because Salaam had initially lied to police in claiming to be 16, and had backed up his claim with a transit pass that indeed (falsely, as it turned out) said that he was 16. If a suspect has reached 16 years of age, his parents or guardians no longer have a right to accompany him during police questioning, or to refuse to permit him to answer any questions. When Salaam informed police of his true age, police permitted his mother to be present.[9]Wikipedia.
Having been a law enforcement officer and a civilian it was one of the most sobering moments of my life. It brought home to me in a visceral way just how wrong the system can get it when most, or all of us believe that the right man is in custody.
The Central Park Jogger case involved the assault and rape of Trisha Meili, a female jogger in New York City’s Central Park, on April 19, 1989. Five juvenile males — four black and one Hispanic — were tried and convicted for the crime. The convictions were vacated in 2002 when Matias Reyes, a convicted rapist and murderer serving a life sentence for other crimes, claimed to have committed the crime alone and DNA evidence confirmed his involvement in the rape. Wikipedia. This case was a culmination of a perfect storm of events which seemed like it was bound to occur when it did. It involved Racism, Police Impropriety, what undue pressure on police can cause, media that accept what it’s told and not try doing a littler investigation on it’s own and a cornucopia of other variables.
One of the lessons which should have been learned from this case is just how wrong we can get it, when we all in a knee-jerk way accept whatever narrative we have been fed. Sitting there watching and listening to the sequence of events it was rather galling as media clips were played with the media practioners being mere spectators and mouth-pieces for the Government’s case..
The Police department commissioned a lawyer to investigate what had gone wrong with the case, the result was that the investigations revealed that the police department did nothing wrong. Essentially the police department exonerated itself from culpability. The truth is the Police department was too macho and ashamed to admit that as far as the case of the central park jogger case was concerned they got it horribly wrong. This is not new with police departments, and the NYPD is certainly chief among offenders when it comes to issues like these. The case resonated with a crescendo as the 5 young men were being prosecuted, it went out with a whimper as they were exonerated. The law is an ass if the practioners are too egoistical to say we were wrong and we are sorry.
To this very day the woman who prosecuted the case and made a name for herself still stands by the convictions even as all of the evidence shows they were in fact innocent. The 5 young wen were railroaded with threats and cohersion and promises of freedom , they were lured into believing that if each person ratted out the other they would all go home. It was a lie. The police department should have apologized to them but the police is never wrong so no apology has been forthcoming to these men who have been so egregiously wronged. In 2003 the 5 men filed a suit against the city of New York for the harm done to them. Ten years later the case is still in discovery.
Trisha the woman who endured that ordeal of being raped and abused is one of the most sought out inspirational speakers on the lecture circuit. Audiences enjoy Trisha’s energy, wit, and poignant stories about the power of the human spirit. Through her work, book, and lectures, she reaches out to people struggling through recovery from any number of problems, offering Hope and Possibility.
In these Blogs we speak truth to power, while being fair, without compromising truth for expediency.Today we bring to your attention a matter of grave concern again, yes in Jamaica. This matter involves the junior Minister in the Ministry of Transport, Works and Housing ‚Richard Azan.
Azan:
Information coming to light revealed that Azan, in his position as Member of Parliament for North West Clarendon and as Junior Minister in the ministry aforementioned, abused his authority, contrary to what he is legally empowered, to give permission for a private contractor to build shops on lands inside the refurbished Spaldings Market, without the approval of the local authority that owned the property.
Inside the Spaldings market.adapted:
The PNP Administration, of which Azan is a member, has since circled the wagons around him even as more information comes to light and various groups have demanded that Azan resign. The Administration claims that the issues are not directly related to the duties of Mr Richard Azan, in his capacity as minister of state in the Ministry of Transport, Works and Housing, but more so relates to him being Member of Parliament for the constituency.
If you are outraged by this cynically insulting attempt at rationalization you are not alone. This however is not an isolated incident. Like the Cuban light-bulb issue, Trafigura, the extra-large cabinet, and a litany of corruption on the part of this administration which has caused un-imaginable harm and rot to our country, they are again demonstrating that they are above the laws. I find it ridiculous that anyone could be calling for the resignation of Azan. At best this is a firing offence, at worst this is a felony punishable with serious prison time.
The (http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130416/lead/lead2.html) reports that the Portia Simpson Miller led Government is satisfied with the fact that all monies collected from rental of the shops have been turned over to the Parish Council. This goes beyond laughable. Even if some or all monies collected have now in fact been turned over to the Parish Council, does it mean that the crime was not committed?The average man on the street does not get to tell a tribunal, that he returned the totality of whatever graft or theft he committed to the rightful owner and as such he should be immune from prosecution. Jamaica has had corrupt Administration since Independence, make no mistake about it. This one however is the most bold-faced corrupt and morally reprehensible. This puts to rest the feminist arguments about the fidelity and honesty of female leaders, that is if you ever saw Portia Simpson Miller as a leader in the first place
The PNP administration in Jamaica which is above the Country’s laws:
In the United States, Illinois Governor Rob Blagojevich is doing serious time in the Federal Prison system for attempting to sell the Senate Seat formerly held by President Barack Obama, there are Congress-men and a long list of public Officials from all levels of the food-chain, in prison who took it onto themselves to place themselves above the laws. In Jamaica the only people subject to the laws are the poorest of the poor(the dutty fut bway pon di cana)and Police officers. Even when the evidence of wrong-doing is glaring, as in this case, members of this administration are allowed to simply give back what they have stolen and walk away without consequence. Jamaica is effectively a kleptocracy, these morally bankrupt politicians should be ashamed to show their faces outside the country. If history is precedent they will continue unashamed as if nothing happened. In essence nothing has happened outside the norm, thievery and graft is the norm for them.
We call on Portia Simpson ‚Miller to fire Richard Azan and let the Police do their sworn duty to the public by charging him with the appropriate crime/s prescribed by law. Failing which the entire Government should resign in disgrace as it has lost all moral legitimacy to govern. Mrs Miller, the country does not belong to you or the People’s National party,contrary to PNP opinion. Neither does it belong to Holness and the Jamaica Labor Party. Jamaica belongs to the Jamaican people, to whom you are subject and answerable. I am aware you would like to be Queen, but you aren’t. Do the honorable thing and acquiesce to the wishes of the people or step aside in the name of decency.
The following is a statement given by Richard Azan regarding this matter: The matter of the construction of temporary shops at the newly expanded Spalding Market has become the subject of public scrutiny and comment .I accept and welcome such scrutiny and debate as fundamental tenets of the system of democratic governance in which I am a Parliamentary representative of the people of North West Clarendon. The matter is being investigated by the Contractor General. I am fully respectful of that process and am cooperating fully with the investigation. I will therefore make no further public comment at this time except to say I had no intention to act in a corrupt manner and at no time did I derive any personal benefit. I remain committed to the sacrifice of public service to Jamaica and the people of North West Clarendon. - Richard Azan:
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Inside the Spaldings market.adapted:
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