Roleli Speaks

A January 22, 2006, the Prime Minister of Jamaica at a Peoples National Party's NEC conference announced the date and place for the PNP's presidential elections. The election exercises he announced would be held at the National Arena on February 25, 2006. This was to be the beginning of the real drama. JBU Clash It turns out that this was again a pie in the sky announcement. It seems the Prime Minister kept the date and place close to his chest and any feeble attempts to see if the National Arena was really available was poor to say the least. The National Arena was booked by the Jamaica Baptist Union(JBU) for the Saturday February 25 and Sunday February 26, 2006. Although the JBU conference was to be on the Sunday, the JBU needed the Saturday to make preparations. In the days following the announcements we heard of meetings to see if the PNP and the JBU could broker a compromise. Eventually we heard of a possible compromise where the JBU would make preparations before, during

Amazing! Jamaicans no longer need a visa to travel to Columbia and even more amazing is that Colombians no longer need a visa to travel to Jamaica. This comes on the heels of a decision of the Jamaican government, in response to visa restrictions imposed on Jamaicans by the Cayman Islands (November 1, 2005), to impose visa requirements on Caymanians coming to Jamaica beginning December 1, 2005. Now with no hard feelings to the innocent people of Columbia, which country would you prefer having people being able to visit Jamaica without visas, Columbia or Cayman? Related Gleaner: Vistors from Cayman need Visa Observer: No Visa for Columbia

What could possess the general manager, manager and supervisors of one of the biggest supermarket chains in Jamaica to take the administration of justice into their own hands? To administer it in such a way by viciously beating two employees who they accused of having stolen or plotting to steal three cases of liquor. It is very puzzling. There are few questions running in my head 1) Were they tired & fed up of break-ins or stock problems so much so that when the caught the alleged culprits they lost it? 2) Was it that the police had failed to help them and protect the supermarket from robbery? 3) Was it that the courts deal cases so slow that they could not be bothered? 4) Was it that they were thinking like Dr. Peter Phillips that "severe, resolute and extreme measures" are needed to deal with this missing stock problem? Was this their modus operandi or an isolated incident? Is this possibly how they keep their heads(the supermarket chain) out of the extortionists jaws?

On Wednesday evening, January 18, 2006, I listened to the TVJ news with interest and found something very troubling. The first three news items where about two incidents of police shootings that had occurred on that day and the other about the controversial Flankers killings of over two years ago. In the first case, in Brown's Town St. Ann, a man was shot because the police said he attacked them with a knife and that he had a ganja 'spliff'. Well the residents' response was to burn a garbage truck and hit a policewoman with a stone and of course to say nothing like that or in other terms in the Seaga coined phrase, "mash down that lie". In the other case, in Hannah Town Kingston, we not sure what the police said as I only heard the resident's side that he was shot dead in cold-blood. The police version would anyhow be the standard refrain. To the people in the community, he was known to all as the car-washer and also an easy going 'youth' that woul

While speaking to a friend online today, I was telling her how my day was. I told her that many times, my days at work makes me feel like a fireman. I am just dealing with issues as they arise and not with the things I had planned to do. Then I told her I had a meeting. She remarked,"good heaven's man is that all u do at work?". To that I replied,"bowy jamaicans are so friendly they love to meet".

Here we go again. The Jamaica Observer blunders again. This time in this article on January 14, 2006 they state the following, "Less than five years ago, University of the West Indies' Guild of Undergraduate president Basil Waite, who later became a YO chairman, was in the headlines after the winner of a Mercedes Benz motor car was unable to collect his vehicle more than a year after the raffle." As it turns out this was not the case as in statement on January 15, 2006 the Jamaica Observer reports, "Mr Waite was not involved with the Guild at the time of the raffle - the year 2000 - as he had graduated from the UWI in 1998." Who is checking the facts before they print these things? Is it I think that is what I remember therefore it is so? I am sure the Jamaica Observer has an archive. If they don't, they probably should try the Jamaica Gleaner. Check the archives and get the facts and stop misleading people. Suppose I did not get the Sunday Observer. I wou

The word reinstate means to restore to a previous condition or position. With that in mind, I am trying to understand the reports about the reinstatement or not of Renoto Adams. On Wednesday, January 11, 2006 the lead story in the Jamaica Gleaner stated the following, "THE SIX policemen recently acquitted of murder in the controversial Kraal case have been reinstated in the Jamaica Constabulary Force, police spokesperson Karl Angell said yesterday". On Thursday January 12, 2006 the Jamaica Observer stated the following, "SENIOR Superintendent Reneto Adams, freed of murder last month over the Crawle killings, remains off the job until the Police Services Commission (PSC) orders his reinstatement police chief Lucius Thomas said yesterday". Also on Thursday somewhere in the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper there was a brief stating that a letter requesting the reinstatement of the policemen had been sent to the PSC. What is going on? Is the media or persons within the media(w

It has happened again. Given that nothing was done about the flooding the last time, the results of the heavy rain on January 10, 2006 was the same, just more flooding. I really wonder when somebody is going to really look at this problem and come up with a solution. Related The Gleaner Report Dry Weather Tourist Captital in Jamaica

In Jamaica we need justice for all, not justice for them and justice for us. We need to love our fellow Jamaicans, our neighbours. The Sunday Gleaner article " Justice for them and us " relates the sad state of Jamaica where people basically feel there are two systems of justice at work. For too long we have been deceiving ourselves. A man steals a loaf of bread from the supermarket and he is pretty sure to spend a couple months in jail while another receives a couple generators and he is given a suspended sentence and fined. The bible states the need to treat people around you as you would yourself. In the two references mention Jesus implores those listening to treat everyone better. "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.", (Matthew 7:12 KJV) and "And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise." (Luke 6:31 KJV) He expands this to and says

Now that I am slowing down and looking to enjoy the simplier things of life, this beautiful flower caught my eye. It is everwhere and so wonderful. Notice the shades of pink and Green.

This article in the Jamaica Gleaner captures how I feel about this fantasy island. It is an island where the economy is booming, un-employment is going down, crime is down , there is unity in the community and more prosperity to come. It is all a fantasy. Read and share you views on the article written by Raymond Forrest. Links The Gleaner Article

Sometimes when life gets rough we feel like giving up and not trying again. It is at those times that we must rally our efforts, keep trying and pushing towards our goals. "I have missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot . . . and missed. And I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why . . . I succeed." That is a powerful statement from someone who many would consider very successful and the greatest basketball player of his time if not of all times. Success is not defined by the number of failures but is the result of many failures. I remember climbing to the Blue Mountain Peak once in Jamaica with a group from my Church. There was one fellow, who today is not doing too well, who after climbing most of the way could not go any further and gave up on the last bend of hike put his stuff down and slept there for the night. If he had only known that the

Everyday you get a good story and so I will share it with you. An Israeli doctor says "Medicine in my country is so advanced that we can take a kidney out of one man,put it in another, and have him looking for work in six weeks." A German doctor says "That is nothing, we can take a lung out of one person, put it in another, and have him looking for work in four weeks." A Russian doctor says "In my country, medicine is so advanced that we can take half a heart out of one person, put it in another, and have them both looking for work in two weeks." The Jamaican doctor, not to be outdone, says "You guys are way behind. We took a man with no brain out of Clarendon, put him in charge of the Ministry of Finance and now half the country is looking for work."

From time to time little things crop up in the media that leads you to question its credibility. The latest is at article entitled " Where are the good leaders? " in the Jamaica Observer. In the article the following is stated as fact. "Members of the congregation also observed the start of a new year by greeting each other at the stroke of midnight with wishes of 'Happy New Year'." This is as far from the truth as east is from the west. The members of the congregation did greet each other but not at the stroke of midnight. This greeting occurred sometime between 6-7 p.m. after the programme had ended and the sun had set. Shooting Incident This reminds me of another incident where a man was shot not far from my house at about 5:45 p.m. on the Saturday afternoon of May 15, 2004. Based on what I heard it sounded like about seven rounds of ammunition being fired followed by the sound of tyres peeling as a motor vehicle seem to speed away. I remember going to sc