Sunday, November 29, 2009

Renato Adams Interview "I want to be the next police commissioner"

Renato Adams interview on CVM's Direct. He talks about the outgoing police commissioner, the temporary one and what Jamaica needs to solve its crime problem.

I reserve further comments on the interview, but I think it is definitely worth watching!




Speech: Fidel Castro: "What the Revolution Found When It came to power"

Below is you an excerpt from a speech Castro delivered to the UN General Assembly in 1960. He talks about the economic and social situation that persisted under the Baptista regime. The excerpt is a powerful and piercing criticism of the American hegemony and exploitation that motivated the revolution. Moreover, the excerpt provides insight into why the Revolution progressed as it did.

While I do not necessarily agree with how Castro went about fulfilling the promise of the revolution, I do support the spirit that motivated it in the first place. The promise of an independent nation, is it's people's freedom traverse a path of their own choosing. The Baptista regime was not working towards the benefit of Cubans, and they had the right to change it.

The first paragraph of the speech is below, with a link to download the entire speech at the end.

"What did the Revolution find when it came to power in Cuba? What marvels did the Revolution find when it came to power in Cuba? First of all the Revolution found that 600,000 able Cubans were unemployed — as many, proportionately, as were unemployed in the United States at the time of the great depression which shook this country and which almost created a catastrophy in the United States. That was our permanent unemployment. Three million out of a population of somewhat over 6,000,000 did not have electric lights and did not enjoy the advantages and comforts of electricity. Three and a half million out of a total of slightly more than 6,000,000 lived in huts, shacks and slums, without the slightest sanitary facilities. In the cities, rents took almost one third of family incomes. Electricity rates and rents were among the highest in the world. Thirty­seven and one half percent of our population were illiterate; 70 per cent of the rural children had no teachers; 2 per cent of population, that is, 100,000 persons out of a total of more than 6,000,000 suffered from tuberculosis. Ninety­five per cent of the children in rural areas were affected by parasites, and the infant mortality rate was therefore very high, just the opposite of the average life span."

Read the full Excerpt here : http://www.mediafire.com/file/lxwwwmz2xe5/revFindFidel.pdf

*1 Image taken from VivirLatino.com

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Prime Minister Bruce Golding IMF Interview All Angles (July 2009)

A solid interview from Bruce Golding fielding various questions about the IMF loan. The interview was given back in July 2009, but most, if not all, of the facts still remain. Bruce gives a pragmatic account of what the situation is and why the government has decided to do what they have done.









Budget speech: Michael Manley then Prime Minister (5 may 1973)

This is an excerpt from the budget presentation given by Michael Manley on the May 5th 1973. You can purchase Delano Franklyn's book "Michael Manley: Politics of Equality," if you want the complete transcript of this and other budget speeches delivered by Michael Manley from 1969 to 1991.

In this speech, Manley speaks about his plans for education reform and the role of National Youth Service. At minute 8:43 'till the end, Manley outlines his political philosophy: The Politics of Change.

"We talk of change, What is change? Change is the willingness to look at your system and have the courage to know what is wrong. More is not change. Change is to reorder the values of your life. Change is having a vision of a new hope for society...The system by which we can achieve power for our people and freedom that is a change. The means where people sacrifice now for a great day tomorrow, where we will march together in the name of work, in the name of justice, because the word is LOVE."

I encourage all to listen to this speech from at least 8:43, for you will hear the words and the passion of a man loved his country, saw what was wrong and had the courage to change it.

Cuba tops the class in UN development report


If the true mark of a government's success is the development and happiness of the people, then the Cuban government is without a doubt outperforming most so called "developed countries". In a report published on October 5 by The United Nations Development Program's Human Development Cuba has out-performed almost every "developed country" in areas such as literacy, education levels, gender equality, and life expectancy.

" The report provides a summary indicator of people’s well-being using the Human Development Index (HDI). The HDI combines measures of life expectancy, literacy, school enrolment and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita for 182 countries and territories."

Cuba's overall score was let down by the country's low GDP per capita, but that is to be expected the economic isolation, caused by the US trade embargo, that the country has had to maneuver.

The article goes on to highlight the many other areas that Cuba has performed well in. While I am not a supporter of communism, though I don't think it is inherently wrong, credit must be given where it is due. There are many negative things that have been said about Cuba and the policy of the Cuban government over the years, but these numbers speak for themselves. Read the article for additional details about other areas that Cuba performs well in.

See - http://www.greenleft.org.au/2009/816/41981

Friday, November 27, 2009

CIA Operations In Jamaica during the 1970s

The following video talks about the CIA operations that occurred during the 1970s aimed at destabalizing Michal Manley's government. The adage goes "if what you say or write doesn't piss someone off, then you aren't doing enough." If that is the case, then Manley's democratic socialist vision for Jamaica must have been VERY progressive. According to this agent, between 1976 and 1980 the CIA an operation in Jamaica larger than any African country.
Watch the video and decide for yourself.

"Children learn your history or you won't get no supper" -K'naan

JMMB acquires savings and loans - Expands presence in Dom Rep


Finally some good news from Jamaican companies! While I certainly believe in the the important of further integration between Caribbean countries, I'm tired of always hearing other countries taking over our own companies. It is for that reason that I welcome the news that JMMB is expanding its market share in the Dominican Republic.

"Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB) has acquired a 80 per cent stake share in Corporacion de Credito America S.A. (CCA) a Dominican Republic-based savings and loans institution..."

Read more here

Thursday, November 26, 2009

7 Most Fascinating Ruins


The website Oddee.com is is a " blog with over 3 million visits a month, it features the odd, strange and bizarre things of our world." It has published a list of the "7 Most Fascinating UnderWater Ruins" in the world with Port Royal ranked Number 2.

The most interesting thing about Port Royal's entry onto the list is the title given--The "World's Wickedest City". This is in reference the city's notorious history for having a high concentration of "pirates, prostitutes, and rum." While the article does go on to talk about the many wonders of Port Royal, and the ongoing research and preservation efforts taking place, I've noted that the Jamaican city is the only one of the 7 articles to receive such a negative name. It certainly would not have harmed the Port Royal's entry, or the interest in the article, to make reference to more positive characteristics about the city. The negative connotations associated with my small island is definitely not something that needs to be encouraged.

Otherwise, the article is an interesting read, and I am happy that Jamaica made it onto the list, especially at such a high ranking...now only if the various promises for Port Royal development projects to begin so that the area can properly excavated, marketed and preserved.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Gil Noble interview Michael Manley

The following is the recording of former PM Michael Manley being interviewed by Gil Noble in 1977. Not only did I find these interviews inspirational, but it shows that Manley was a man who understood how the global political system worked. He tried to move JA in the right direction, and maybe was ahead of his time. I thought part 4 was particularly impressive.













Sunday, November 8, 2009

The Urgency of Now...

Below is a letter to the editor that I plan to submit to the Gleaner and Observer:

Dear Editor,
Jamaica is facing serious times. I would write this, Something has to change. Unfortunately, the current leadership’s actions show that they don’t understand this urgent need.

Take a moment to imagine what will happen if Jamaica doesn’t receive the IMF loan. In such a case, Jamaica WILL default on its debt. We don't have any money and the economy has not grown in more than a decade. The ramifications of the negative global publicity alone, would probably be more than our fragile economy could handle.

This whole situation with the Director of the Bank of Jamaica is complete slackness—His salary was greater than the Chair of the US Federal Reserve! To put it in perspective, the US chair earns JA$17,217,000 annually, versus the JA$38,000,000 our Director is reported to receive. Not only is this another example of the serious problems with how the government—past and present—operates, but more importantly, it has shown that neither the government, nor the opposition, is willing to take responsibility for our numerous problems. Instead, they have wasted the country's time bickering and placing place blame in attempts to gain political points. They need to understand that the Jamaican people don't care whose fault it is! We just want the situation fixed—so fix it!

The crime situation only seems to be getting worse. Two police commissioners and two Ministers of Security in two years is NOT good enough. The problem of crime in Jamaica is bigger than the government, and will need the efforts of all of us—but the government must be held accountable.

I don't want to be all “gloom and doom”. There are enough other people doing that. Therefore, I am making the following suggesting based on PM Golding's many invites for greater participation and the need to “tighten our belts”: I suggest that the Prime Minister take invitations one step further by releasing to the public non-personal data related to government spending and contracts. This act would increase transparency and allow research institutes, academia, etc to participate in the governmental process. This community based participatory design, aka “crowdsource”, has been heavily adopted by the Obama government. It is certainly worth a look(see http://www.data.gov/).

Much has been said about future generations and the hope placed in their potential to fix the country's many problems. As a member of the “future generation,” I have aspirations to one day act as a leader in contributing to the development of our nation. But today I am very worried. I am worried because I feel like Jamaica is slipping away. I am worried because time is not on our side and my beautiful country could be “all out,” before my generation even gets a chance to bat.