A Shout in the Dark (Thoughts of a Jamaican Male)

Giving Thanks (My last Blogger post)

2005-10-24T00:13:00.000-05:00

I give thanks that Jamaica was spared the full force of Hurricane Wilma. Bwoy if is only the rain we get an so much roads damage, you can well imagine if we did get it full force 175mph winds and all.

Must also give thanks that the residents of the Cayman Islands were also spared a direct hit even though you guys got some exciting waves.

Didn't have any internet connection on Friday and Saturday….Cable & Wireless said that the wave action caused by Wilma disturbed the submarine fiber optic link.

Well I guess all good things must come to an end, all future posts will be made at http//www.cmatheson.info

Love and Peace

And the Rains Came (Gridlocked)

2005-10-20T01:10:00.000-05:00

Yesterday the citizens of Portmore experienced the mother of all gridlock as both exits from the sunshine city; namely the Portmore causeway and Mandela highway were flooded resulting in a traffic snarl beyond belief.

Persons who had left home at 6:00 am found themselves still in the confines of Portmore at 10:00 am; others unable to cope with the frustration returned to there homes.

Undoubtedly many hours of production have been lost due to this occurrence; as the majority of Portmore residents work in Kingston.

The French contractors who are responsible for the construction of the Portmore leg of Highway 2000 have said that the flooding of the causeway is in no way caused by the construction work being carried out.

Score one for the Portmore residents who have maintained that the Mandela highway is a poor alternate route to the proposed toll bridge.

What will be the Prime Minister’s proposal at his meeting with the citizens of Portmore, and will the citizens be in a receptive mood after the events of yesterday…..we shall see what we shall see.

Love and Peace

The Rains Have Come

2005-10-18T18:50:00.000-05:00

Since last week we have had heavy rains daily in Jamaica, this has led to flooding, land slippages and general dislocation for many persons living in flood prone areas.

This time around the drains in Kingston seem to have held up pretty well thanks to some judicious cleanup work organized by the “Energizer Bunny” Mayor Desmond Mckenzie.

The Yallahs Fording in St.Thomas is impassable, so is the Bog Walk Gorge and Barry, several roads in and around Spanish Town are inundated, so too several communities in the Sunshine City of Portmore. There are communities in the parish of Clarendon that are also marooned.

My worst fears have been realized; Tropical Storm Wilma has become a hurricane and is expected to brush The Cayman islands and the northern tip of Cuba within 36 hrs. as a category 3 hurricane. I pray that the people of Cayman are spared a hard hit, as they went thru hell last year because of hurricane Ivan.

The experts predict that Wilma will make a sharp turn to the north, strengthen and probably make landfall in southern Florida sometime during the weekend.

Poor Florida; bwoy unu salt to rahtid a wah so.

My prayers go out to all who are in the path of this storm; may you and your loved ones remain safe and dry.

Love and Peace.

Unplugged Keyes

2005-10-13T23:50:00.000-05:00

Alicia Keyes has increased her legend once again by being the first artist to be featured on the resurrected MTV Unplugged series.

Miss Keyes delivered a formidable live set that featured reworked versions of some of her best known hits. There was thumping, clear acoustic harmony as Miss Keyes wove her signature instrument (that beautiful, grown folks, sexy voice) in and out of the music.

She had her audience and yours truly mesmerized, she worked her magic like a snake charmer from the Asian continent.

Her performance ended with a rollicking performance of Love it or Leave/Welcome to Jamrock where she rocked with Common, Mos Def and Damian Marley.

I’m gonna buy this cd, it’s a keeper.

Love and Peace

The Mother of All Bull@#$!*

2005-10-10T20:40:00.000-05:00

The recent comments of the head of the Jamaica Defense Force, Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin, that, the Jamaica Labour Party enclave of Tivoli Gardens is “The Mother of All Garrisons” is very intriguing.

This statement needs to be carefully analyzed as Rear Admiral Lewin went on further to say that Tivoli Gardens had perfected the art of “garrison warfare” and that in other garrisons gunmen ran away when confronted by the security forces, but not so in Tivoli Gardens.

I can clearly remember watching the evening news a few years ago as a police operation was being carried out in the Mountain View area. Thousands of Jamaicans saw as I did, a bare-chested shorts-clad young man standing in the middle of the road beside a garbage skip, firing at the police. This incident clearly angered then Police Commissioner Forbes who commented after seeing the footage, that it seemed that some of his officers had their M16s only for show. This “shoots” down (pun intended) the Rear Admiral’s statement that only gunmen from Tivoli confront the police.

If Tivoli Gardens is this “Mother of All Garrisons” this den of garrison warfare, how come more force is not brought to bear more frequently on this pariah in a sea of wholesomeness (deliberate sarcasm). It seems that Tivoli Gardens is subjected to this action in 4yr. cycles hmmm I wonder why.

Why has such a force not been employed in trying to quell the bloody ongoing turf war recently raging in Arnett Gardens.

The stated objectives of the police action on the morning of October 4th ,2005 was, the capture of three wanted men and the recovery of weapons and ammunition

None of the objectives stated above were accomplished yet members of the upper echelons of the security forces have been trumpeting the success of the operation……a success at what?
At the end of the operation three women and a man were left nursing gunshot wounds, no reported injuries among the security forces, no gunmen captured, no signs of any gunmen being injured (this after it was reported that gunmen had engaged the forces of “Law and Order” in pitched battle)…….yuh a tell mi seh di solja an police dem nuh know ow fi shoot or wha? Not one round of ammunition or a spent shell recovered……….the only thing found was some marijuana which can be found on any corner in Jamaica.

Were the comments of Rear Admiral Lewin grounded in reality, fantasy or political propaganda? Your guess is as good as mine.

Love and Peace.

Shotta Land

2005-10-08T23:35:00.000-05:00

Shortly after six p.m. on the afternoon of October 6, 2005 the car of prominent Jamaican politician Olivia “Babsy” Grange was shot up. This attack left one of Miss Grange’s associates dead and the other in hospital nursing serious gunshot injuries.
At 4a.m. today October 7, 2005 in the vicinity of the Jamaican “Hot Spot”, The Asylum nightclub, Southside area leader “Chubby Dread” was gunned down by unknown assailants.

These events occurred in a week when the security forces cordoned and searched the well known Jamaica Labour Party stronghold of Tivoli Gardens, in an attempt to apprehend three men who are wanted by the police. At the end of the security operation, none of the three were captured, four people were shot and injured and a Jamaica Defense Force helicopter was reportedly damaged by gunfire.
No guns and ammunition were recovered during the raid but Tivoli Gardens area leader “Dudus” Coke was arrested and charged for ganja possession, he was later released on bail.

The Leader of the Opposition, Bruce Golding is left pondering whether or not the bullets that injured the four residents were really intended for him.

Pheeew what a Week

These events lend greater credence to the lyrics of Damian “Junior Gong” Marley’s song Welcome to Jamrock. I quote a line from this seminal work “come on let’s face it a ghetto education is basic and most of the youths them waste it and when them waste it them use the guns replace it and them don’t stand a chance at all”.

How true indeed.

Love and Peace

For whom the bell "Tolls" (The sequel)

2005-10-08T22:37:00.000-05:00

At his farewell bashment in September, Prime Minister of Jamaica The Most Honorable Percival James Patterson told the citizens of Portmore to "hold strain" as he would be meeting with us in October to negotiate a settlement to the toll controversy.

I hope that good sense will prevail and everybody checks their egos at the nearest curb......Meanwhile some citizens led by a Jamaica Labour Party councilor are still pursuing legal options even after two defeats in the courts.
People unu listen to mi good, mi only a go talk one time.........stop waste people money pan courthouse, di court naa go stop di toll road. Focus dem energy de pon convincing di Prime Minister fi approve a concessionary rate fi wi.......remind him seh him party a go need di support a di people roun here fi win di next election, unu si mi.

Madbull, bredrin when yuh work unda a situation whe yuh office short staff an yuh go home well tired, an you brain cells dem frazzle out, nuff time all yuh waan do is just jump inna you bed an get some rest.

I will try my best to blog more often .

Love and Peace

An Unusual Season:

2005-09-23T21:07:00.000-05:00

This hurricane season has been one to remember or forget depending on your perspective. This has been the season of the megastorms Dennis, Emily, Katrina and now Rita.

Spare a thought, a prayer, and a dollar for the people of the gulf region of the United States, who have suffered from the impact of hurricane Katrina and who, barely one month later must face nature at it's worst once again in the form of Rita.

Let us all pray that Rita weakens significantly and veers away from the most densely populated arrears and that minimal damage is done to the oilfields and refineries.........lord knows oil prices are already way too high.

Love and Peace.

A Crowd of One

2005-08-20T22:39:00.000-05:00

I see you standing there, I am transfixed
Your confidence, style and grace are imposing
You seem aloof ,yet inviting........the mind boggles
What is going on in that pretty head?
What are the neurological charges that are being triggered?

I slowly move in your direction ..........almost gliding
In a crowd of hundreds I see only you
You turn towards me and you smile
A smile that could light up the dark side of the moon

We converse, so easily that it seems we have met before.......maybe in another life, another time
Your intelligence is astounding and intimidating yet sexy
You easily navigate between the roles of career woman and caring woman
You are a glimpse of perfection........yet not perfect

The woman of men's dreams..........you are no dream but as real as the pounding in my chest
I feel myself drowning in the ocean of your dark brown eyes
You see deep into my soul, you read my very thoughts
You are an amalgamation of every woman..........hmmm maybe not
You are not one woman , you are a combination of women
You are a crowd all by yourself.......a crowd of one.

For Whom the bell "Tolls"

2005-08-06T00:24:00.000-05:00

It is now 12:25am in Portmore Jamaica.
A few days ago a court ruling was handed down which gave the Jamaican government the right to continue with the project of changing the Causeway Bridge into a toll road..........a plan that was vehemently opposed by a large segment of the citizenry of Portmore, as they felt that the alternate route was too far away and not feasible because of the ever present traffic snarl.

After the court's ruling the citizens of Portmore instructed their lead attorney the emminent Lord Anthony Gifford to pursue an appeal. After reviewing the ruling that was handed down, Lord Gifford advised the residents of Portmore that it was his considered view that it was highly unlikely that the courts initial ruling would be overturned by The Appeals Court or The British Privy Council.

Lord Gifford advised that it would be a better course of action for the Portmore citizens to negotiate a lower toll rate. Some of the citizens are not too happy with this suggestion, as they still want free access to the Portmore Causeway.

At this point I think negotiating for a lower rate is the way to go.
Overseas, communities which are in close proximity to a toll road pay a lower toll rate than other users of the road...........this is called a commuter rate...........say for example your average John Doe who lives in Kingston were to be charged $50.00 to use the toll road, we the citizens of Portmore could negotiate for a rate of say $30.00...........sounds reasonable? What you think?

Love and Peace

We Were Spared (For the most part)

2005-07-21T23:38:00.000-05:00

The time is now 11:38pm in Portmore Jamaica.................The passage of hurricane Emily on Saturday July 17th was luckily not as devastating as it could have been.
Once again we had a near miss..........the eye of Emily passed further south of us than was projected...........nevertheless some of our southern parishes took quite a beating with flooding and roads being eroded and collapsing.
Four persons including a toddler lost their lives when the car they were travelling in went over a precipice:-(
We are all still giving thanks that our fair isle was once again spared the devastation of a direct hit and we all sincerely hope that there are no more hurricanes heading in our direction.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those four unfortunate persons who lost their lives, and to those who suffered in Mexico and Texas.

Love and Peace.

Here We Go Again

2005-07-14T19:33:00.000-05:00

The time is now 7:42pm in Portmore Jamaica,one week after hurricane Dennis passed our northern shores as a category 2 hurricane.

We are currently under another hurricane alert as category 3 hurricane Emily is expected to march past our southern shores within the next 36 hrs.

Once again we can only pray that this beautiful island does not sustain a direct hit from this hurricane as cleanup and restoration activities from last week's near miss are far from complete.

I would like to urge everybody to prepare........get your batteries non-perishable food items, bottled water ready.......store your important documents safely, board up those windows and secure those awnings and satellite dishes............be ready just in case.

Love and Peace

We Were Spared The Worst

2005-07-08T19:37:00.000-05:00

The time is now 7:45pm in Portmore Jamaica, one day after hurricane Dennis gave us (thankfully) a glancing blow. It seems that at the 11th hour Dennis veered north with the "eye" staying off Jamaica's northern coast and not making landfall.

My heart goes out to my fellow islanders, mainly in the northeast who were affected by flooding, and the 2,000 peeople who had to evacuate to shelters.

We were spared a direct hit but a thought must be spared for persons in Cuba, The Cayman islands and those Floridians who must be saying to themselves "Oh No Not Again" as Dennis strengthens and seems intent on making himself a menace to their fair state.

Love and Peace

Waiting and Watching

2005-07-06T20:04:00.000-05:00

It is now 8:05 pm Eastern Time in Portmore, Jamaica and I'm at my computer waiting and watching as the entire island is on hurricane alert. Dennis the name of this latest hurricane has a lot of folks worried as some persons have not yet recovered from the ravages of hurricane Ivan,which struck Jamaica a glancing blow in September 2004.

Will Dennis be a menace or will he be more bark than bite? Most Jamaicans including myself hope that there will be more fizzle than pop.

As prayers go up and preparations are made, shutters are being put up and awnings folded, water is stored and food is stocked, I can only call upon the divine to spare this beautiful island from this force of nature.

Love and Peace.

The Life of a Techie

2005-05-28T20:35:00.000-05:00

A techie's life can be very interesting and hectic at times. About one month ago it seems that all my non-techie friends computers decided to go haywire at the same time.........some I assissted via the phone,giving careful instructions until the issues were resolved,others I had to visit toolkit and troubleshooting software in towe.
With so many machines going down at once and users getting impatient you can imagine the furor as I went from one house to the next. Nerves were frayed,some person's started accusing me of playing favorites, but after removing several viruses and spyware,replacing a power supply,cd rom, some cables and a dying cmos battery all was right in the world again.
With a few sips of lemonade and the odd Red Stripe (That's a favorite Jamaican beer for those of you not in the know ........hmmm maybe I should ask the brewers of Red Stripe for a cheque for this ad), but I digress, fences were mended friendships restored after the obligatory round of "Big-Ups".
I guess this is some of the stuff that techies have to cope with sometimes.

Love and Peace

Victims

2005-05-23T02:44:00.000-05:00

Bob Marley said "How long shall they kill our prophets while we stand aside and look". Lucky Dube said "Little did he (Bob Marley) know that eventually the enemy will stand aside and look as we slash and kill our own brothers". The chorus of Lucky Dube's song goes "We are the victims everytime we got double trouble everytime".

Why do poor and disenfranchised people seem to always turn on each other instead of banding together?
The incidence of violence is always higher in poor communities than in more affluent ones.........from the innercity communities of Kingston Jamaica to the favellas of Sao Paulo Brazil, poor young men seem to have a great propensity for violence. Is it because of joblessness and hopelessness that young men who society says are to become the future providers of the household become frustrated and act out this frustration in binges of violence?

Why can't these young men all over the world start a revolution? a revolution of love and self worth, a revolution with the respect for life at its core. Am I a dreamer? Certainly,am I naive? Maybe! But one thing is certain, revolutions, movements, actions usually start with a dream. Would there be an independent India today if Mahatma Gandhi didn't have a dream?.......hmmmmmm food for thought isn't it, anyway signing off for now it's very late and I've ranted enough for one day.

Love and Peace.