Racism in the Army and Other Matters

Plenty of debate back on the Rock about whether or not the government should have spent billions on new stadia for the World Cup instead of spending it on the needy. Some commentators have said that the money was loaned to Jamaica only for the World Cup so it couldn’t have helped the poor anyway. Some say it is bad mindedness to complain about the expenditure and that having the competition in the region is a boon for all. Personally, I don’t think the poor will be any better off as a result of the World Cup. Opportunities to benefit from many things, including the knock on economic effects from such an event as the World Cup is sadly still in the purview of the wealthy.
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http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/index.php?menuID=1&subID=1211
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article1488774.ece

Check out these stories above about the Tory frontbencher who made comments about black people in the army. (Sigh) So many issues here that I am too weary to elaborate. As Linda Richman said on SNL, talk amongst yourselves. I’ll give you a topic. Most white people are too dumb to treat people who don’t look like themselves, like human beings. Discuss.
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And in other news, Mr. Humphries from Are You Being Served (Aym Free!) has died. http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,,2029031,00.html . Hard to believe that show was on 30 years ago.

Punishing Families

There's a story in today's Guardian about how Britain is seemingly penalising working mothers. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2026203,00.html

It is an interesting point. Apparently many women lose their jobs once they become pregnant. I've noticed that the British are the masters at squeezing people out of things by using roundabout yer legal ways and this is how pregnant women are squeezed out of their jobs even though on the face of it, you cannot fire a woman for being pregnant.

Like the article mentions, the birth rate in the UK is low. In order to maintain certain services there will have to be a certain number of people working over the next generation and as it stands there won't be unless they vastly increase immigration (another story) and get the birth rate up.

And in order to increase the birth rate they will have to make it easier both economically and time wise, for couples to have children. There is a terrible stigma attached to having kids if you are a professional woman. You can do it but to succeed at work you will have to be a lousy mother and neglect your kids. The other alternative is to not have kids, and more and more women are deciding to do that.

Some cultural changes need to happen fast if this situation is to be remedied. For a start, society has to be intelligent and begin to respect the job of raising kids properly and this job will have to be supported. Honestly, isn't the outcome obvious if we don't? More and more unruly, uneducated young people with no social skills.

Roosting Chickens

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6409435.stm
The chickens have come home to roost. Remember a while back I spoke of the outrageous sums that British GPs make? Well now, the NHS is losing money like crazy and the Chancellor has announced new civil service wage ‘increases’. They are getting between 2 and 3% when inflation is about 4%. At least the GPs are getting 0%. Poor things will now be suffering at a minimum of £70k er year! I feel it the most for the nurses though. This is slackness of the highest degree – they should at least get a raise in keeping with inflation! In short they are getting a pay cut! At least the government had the sense to raise the military salaries by about 9%. What they get paid to put their lives on the line is a sick joke. His Royal Highness says often and I agree, the UK is a third world country with a strong currency boy!

Big up to mi sistren Nicole who I knew from UWI. http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/AllWoman/html/20070225T190000-0500_119646_OBS_NICOLE_SAMUELS_.asp
A genuinely nice girl. Glad to hear she’s found some new happiness. All the best!

Children Should Have A Healthy Curiosity About Sex but . . .

Read this really interesting article in The First Post today. Take a look. http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/index.php?menuID=1&subID=1170.

Makes the very good case that sex, which is something that should be beautiful and a part of life and not the main purpose of it is being degraded in front of our kids. The writer is right - there needs to be a line drawn. The over sexualisation of all things is no good for anyone.

Spencers Taylor no longer with us

Earl Spencer, the gentleman who ran Spencer's tailor in Half Way Tree has died. I remember following my Dad to his store when he got his suits made.

Here's the link to the story. http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html/20070218T200000-0500_119350_OBS_WELL_KNOWN_TAILOR_EARL_SPENCER_IS_DEAD.asp

Is it just me or does it seem like a lot of Jamaican legends have died recently? Charles Hyatt, Neville Willoughby, Basil Buck . . .

Later.

Gun Crime in the UK

Gun crime is becoming an increasingly serious problem here - and unfortunately it often seems to be perpetrated by young black men. Just watched a story on Channel Four news where they interviewed three black people - a community leader, the Vice Chair (?) of Trident, Claudia Webbe and the musician father, Blacker Dread, of a murdered boy.

On another note, an Estonian gang robbed a jewellery store in town Tuesday - when I went to lunch I passed the police tape and a whole lot of cops. Apparently this is the third time the store had been robbed - at gunpoint - in a year. No one was killed.

Thee is a stark difference here. The Estonian gang had held up this store 3 times and killed no one. A lot of black gangs have sought people out or in the commission of a robbery have killed people. Something is wrong.

I'm sure there are many layers of meaning and many reasons for this, but it isn't pretty and I don't like it at all. Some of the reasons for young black men using guns on the news report were, the usual suspects, TV and videos and absent fathers. But plenty of young people watch TV, videos and have absent fathers and they don't resort to shooting people in cold blood. I mean one young black guy walked into a christening and shot a woman while she was holding a baby! Something is seriously wrong man.

Check these links out for related stories
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article1388791.ece
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6363713.stm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/gun/Story/0,,2013805,00.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=436274&in_page_id=1770&ico=Homepage&icl=TabModule&icc=NEWS&ct=5

Come on, Give Workers a Break!

There's been more talk locally about extending flexible working for all workers (instead of just those with kids). I saw a news report on BBC's breakfast show before I left for work (got a new job peeps! a permanent good paying one!). A guy from the small business association was complaining about the plans saying that flexible work hours will not be beneficial to small business owners. There was also a lady who was for it and she also owned a small business. Her view was that (a) the work force was changing, either businesses adapted or they lose and (b) flexible hours can benefit businesses, even small businesses.

I know the difficulties of running a small business. I've worked in many and my Dad has owned many. But it's time for even small business owners to start thinking differently. As was emphasised on the news report this morning, flexible hours can be requested, they don't have to be given if they don't fit into the business. But too often (as far as I have seen) bosses don't want to give employees the opportunity to work flexibly because it seems as though they are giving the employee some level of control of how they come and go - and for many old fashioned business people, this is not to be.

Many sorry business owners have a distinctly feudal attitude to their work force. And they are irrational - not bothering to even think how flexible hours will affect the business.

For most of my working life, my job has consisted of sitting in an office in front of a computer screen - rarely talking on the phone to others. Just dealing with my computer and shuffling papers around - doing non-essential (i.e. I'm not a policeman or doctor) jobs. Most of my friends have similar jobs. There is no reason why if it suits me to come in at 10 and leave at 6 why I or many of my friends cannot do so. It certainly won't hurt the businesses we work for. I have requested this work pattern and been granted it by one of my employers. But most won't entertain it at all.

One job I had I didn't deal with anyone from outside of the business, I was a technical writer and just wrote documents all day. This place had hours from 8:30 until 5:30 and they frowned on you even leaving the building for lunch. Given the nature of my job (they even gave me a laptop and a mobile, why I don't know) I requested to be able to work from home (quite a few others did). I was just turned down out of hand. Ridiculous.

The workplace has changed. And if you think about it you aren't productive in a predictable fashion for many jobs - there are times when things are busy and times when they aren't. Within reason I don't see why people cannot be allowed to work from home, even sometimes, and have flexible hours as long as they are in for core hours if they need to be.

People increasingly want to have a much better work life balance and if employers won't accede to this, then there'll just be more and more people doing their own thing. Hopefully when they then hire people they will be more flexible!

Bring Back True Sexiness

Being 35 and His Royal Highness being 41, we are hardly up to speed with the latest in music videos so we make it a point to try and keep up by watching MTV etc for a little while each week.

It is painful.

Now I am by no means a prude but when I watch videos I am angered, disgusted and very turned off by what passes for sexiness.

The basic plot for a male artiste is said male dressed in various levels of bling, expensive cars, money being thrown about, expensive drinks and some scantily clad girls being shown from all kinds of nasty angles. Female artistes usually just restrict themselves to being the scantily clad young girl being filmed from terrible angles. And don’t even talk about lyrics. I particularly hate that Nelly Feurtado song ‘Promiscuous.’ It’s a crying shame, the tune and beat are fantastic but the lyric is terrible. I mean at one point she ask the guy if he’d still respect her the next day if he hit it (or words to that effect). It makes you wonder – do they know what promiscuous means? Couldn’t they have come up with another adjective?

I know young people watch this stuff ad nauseum and it seems that given a lack of attention from many parents nowadays ( particularly here in the ‘developed’ world, this is where they get their ideas of sexiness and interaction between men and women.

What about arousal? What about piquing your interest and holding you spellbound and drawing someone in and drawing out that orgasmic moment for a seemingly endless moment? When I watch modern videos and listen to a lot of modern songs they reduce that beautiful and erotic encounter between man and woman to a mechanical operation of plug slotting into hole. Come on man, this is crap – sexiness is a much more sophisticated thing than that. A lot of the shots used in these videos make me think of gynaecological examinations – usually we get an extended view of some woman’s front. Maybe this works for the guys but couldn’t something more sophisticated work too?

Madness in Many forms

The madness in JA continues. Apparently some gunmen shot the watchman at the NCB nursery – while the kids were there. Dem a get heartless beyond belief. Check out the story here http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html/20070202T230000-0500_118691_OBS_KIDS_TRAUMATISED.asp

Meanwhile here in the UK the bird flu has arrived on a farm in Suffolk. They say there’s nothing to worry about, that it has been contained. We’ll see.

And on a lighter note, take a look at this story I read in USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-02-02-ladies-choice_x.htm The lady’s are in charge on this island off the coast of Africa and they do the proposing – by giving the man of their choice a bowl of fish they have prepared. Apparently the man cannot say no! What a eh!

Too expensive to Have Kids and Work

I don’t have any kids yet but when I do, living in the UK it seems I’ll have to choose between paying to have a job and staying home. There’s no such thing as a helper here and if you work you have to either send your kids to a day care centre or a child minder. According to today’s Guardian http://education.guardian.co.uk/earlyyears/story/0,,2001745,00.html , this can cost up to £152 per week for a child under two.

That’s £608 per month. Unless you earn a very decent salary this can make quite a dent in your earnings and remember that’s for one child. If you have two you’re most definitely screwed and will have to stay home. The modern world does not make it easy to have kids. More and more women are choosing not to have any because it is so incompatible with having a career. And we’re not talking rabid career women here, we’re talking about being able to do something stimulating apart from parenting – for some women this is necessary as is earning a salary. The funny thing is the papers here often talk about the difficulties having so few children will cause in the long term – not enough young people to contribute to the public purse over the next generation so that when we are all pensioners – there won’t be any money. Yet they don’t make it easier for people to have kids and earn a living? Doesn’t’ make any sense.

Porn, Blu-ray and HD DVD
Who do you think will win the Blu-ray vs HD DVD fight? My money is on the cheaper version – HD DVD myself. Apparently though, according to the online paper The First Post http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/index.php?menuID=2&subID=1383 who will win will be decided by the porn industry! This article claims that the porn industry decided the fight between VHS and Betamax in the 80s. Take a look at the story – quite interesting.

Polar Opposites Not Helpful

There was an interesting article on the BBC website today about class issues in the UK. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6303181.stm

I think I’ve mentioned earlier that there is a lot of backlash against people who speak correct English have aspirations and have money – they are taunted for being posh. It’s as if to have any credibility in the UK you have to aspire to little and be a member of the underclass. This all seems to be a backlash from a time years ago when there was a palpable discrimination against the working class.

When will mankind learn that jumping from one extreme to the polar opposite does nothing but maintain the status quo?

Proposals for Positive Change in the UK

The government has decreed that all areas of the curriculum include diversity issues in order to combat myopia and racism and promote ‘Britishness.’ The proposals are a knee jerk reaction to recent times where various British people have announced their racism to the world. In short the government is embarrassed and seem to think measures like this will solve the problem. It won’t.

The curriculum is already crowded. And kids have enough tests, so much so that the emphasis is on meeting targets and not educating kids. Therein lays the great problem. Kids and by extension adults in the UK are no longer educated very well. This in conjunction with what has morphed into a ‘lowest common denominator’ culture over the years contributes to ignorance which leads to racism. Education and culture needs to be tackled and in a particular way.

Also the foolishness that there is a positive common British culture or Britishness must be dispensed with. The papers always say that the hallmarks of ‘Britishness’ are tolerance and fair play etc. This is laughable and recent events on those two channel 4 programmes have shown that to the world.

I have searched myself and I find it hard to come up with positive attributes that sum up Britishness today. I’m not being anti-British but being honest. I may be wrong and if anyone can tell me some true positive British attributes please do. One thing is that yes, it is true that many British people are ‘tolerant’ but this just means they aren’t racist and accept people for who they are. Sorry but you are supposed to be this way, it’s not an attribute for which a group of people should be given special marks for is it? The negatives are really bad though and more importantly, harmful to the British people. They are things such as:

1) An unhealthy attitude towards alcohol
2) Unwillingness to discipline young people
3) Disrespect for older and elderly people
4) ‘Worship’ of sameness and distrust of individuality – everyone must be the same, anyone different is inferior and to be taunted. Unwillingness to stick out. (In order to win you have to by definition stick out.)
5) Lack of interest in current affairs and an unhealthy obsession with ‘celebrities’ i.e. 10th rate individuals who have become notorious, usually for doing nothing relating to talent.
6) Inability to make well thought out decisions and stick with them even if unpopular.
7) Xenophobia
8) General ignorance and un-inquiring minds.

Here’s my suggestions for positive change.

1) Cut out the whole heap of testing and let schools educate kids. Give educators and parents the authority to educate and discipline kids without fear of prosecution. Grow some damn common sense – anyone with a brain can tell the difference between discipline and abuse. Stop the foolishness!

2) Engender a culture whereby being smart is not looked down upon. His Royal Highness used to teach and was telling me one of his students encouraged a classmate to ‘just fail something and then they’ll leave you alone.’ This pretty much sums it up. In many cases here, being smart is seen as a negative. It’s time we British understood that many of our cultural attitudes and practices are counter productive to a progressive society. This attitude is one of them.

3) Amongst the adults, the idiotic attitude that speaking well, doing well and demanding the best of others is somehow anti-British must stop. Stop embracing losing at every thing, stop putting down the wealthy (unless the wealth is ill gotten) and stop accepting the grossly ignorant and debasing behaviour of many others – especially young people.

4) Drink responsibly. Eat before drinking, know your limits, drink chasers, stop thinking of getting drunk as the aim and start thinking of it as a signal you have over indulged.

5) Once the laws are sorted, discipline your kids. Be firm, make smart decisions and then stick to them like glue. Be immovable in a good way. Don’t let the blighters wear you down! With my parents (as with most Caribbean parents) ‘no’ meant ‘no!’ and you knew there was no hope of changing their minds on certain things. In other areas we were allowed to debate and reason out our case. A friend of mine was encouraged to debate with her father about whether or not she could do certain things. So if she wanted to go to a party for instance she would make sure her report card was good, do her chores etc. ask in good time, make sure her Dad knew where she was going and when she would come back etc. and she would often ‘win’ her case. This all helped encourage rational thought too. Also, enrol your kids in some sort of extra-curricular activity that will expand their minds and help improve social skills. Many Caribbean kids are sent to some music lessons or some sports activity outside of school. This is very beneficial. Many of my friends who were sent to piano lessons were able to parlay this skill into an income earner in later years too.

6) Respect your elders – they have often sacrificed and prepared the way for us. Plus they often have some really interesting stories to tell. And hopefully, you too will live long enough to be old. (This is a good thing).

7) Understand that each one of us are individuals. We are not all the same and this is a good thing. Quit ostracising people just because they are different. It is uncivilised and plain stupid. Ostracise people (if you must) for worthwhile reasons (like being a child molester or something bad) not for being themselves.

8) Take an interest in current affairs – they affect you and your loved ones. What Victoria Beckham wore to a movie premier will not take any cash off your council tax bill, so give it the attention it deserves in relation to rulings on council tax bills i.e. less attention. I’m not saying eschew all frivolous pursuits, but put things in perspective.

9) When a decision needs to be made, gather all relevant information, make an informed decision and make it decisively. Even miscalculating is better than inactivity. Stop waffling over things. If you waffle and don’t make decisions, life will make them for you and you may not like what life decides!

10) Let’s crawl out from our own arses - We are not better than people who come from other countries just because we are British. The world is full of people, most of whom by the way are Asian. I believe the UK is about 0.9% of the world population. Get some perspective and enjoy and learn from other cultures.

11) Enquire about things you encounter. If you know nothing about a particular subject or a particular set of people then shut up about them and stop spreading lies. Instead ‘google’ that subject and learn something. Then next time you open your mouth you will sound intelligent and be able to add something progressive to the discourse. Try omitting the following subjects from your conversations over the next month: drunkenness and alcohol; holidays; pets; DIY; celebrities. Acquire a thirst for knowing more and then go and find out more. If you have a question about the habits of someone of another culture or colour – ask them and don’t impose your own fiction on them and then repeat it to others.

There needs to be a common understanding of what the country wants and where it wants to go. And there needs to be a conscious decision to create the best possible future. With the existing culture and behaviour the country will slip further and further into disgraceful cultural squalor. In order for this to not happen there has to be a conscious decision to change.


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Big up to mi sistren Dr. Cathy Brown who wowed them at the Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival at Half Moon Shopping Village this week. She’s a really nice girl and very talented – met her when I was in University Singers. From the pic in the Gleaner she’s looking good too – the mixture of medicine and music seems to agree with her!

Looting in 'Foreign!'

You know how in Jamaica you have this kind of idealised idea of 'foreign' especially England? Like how people are really cultured and well educated and very decorous? Also you get the impression that certain things don't happen in 'foreign' like, potholes in the road, power cuts, evangelists on the bus and looting after a natural disaster or tragedy?

Well mi dears, a boat ran aground off the Devon coast the other day spilling out it's cargo - BMW parts, motor bikes, nappies and a whole heap of other goodies. And people went down there to loot! I was watching it on the news and I couldn't believe it. And they were really brazen with it. You remember Gilbert and how people looted by running into a store, grabbing what they want and then running away? Well these folks were quite calm about it and even consented to being interviewed on TV!

I guess it's OK here? Or these people aren't too smart - I mean they are making it really easy for the cops to get them. Now for those of you who don't know, Devon is on the south coast of the UK. I heard on our local radio station Galaxy that some guys from Yorkshire rented a van and drove down to Devon (about a 6 hour drive) just to get stuff. They managed to get a gear box and a lot of other stuff.

So don't believe everything you hear about foreign parts. They're not as alien as you'd think!

Later.

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Sorry to hear that Basil Buck has died. I guess he makes three what with Neville Willoughby and Charles Hyatt going. The old guard is dying out. I used to work with his daughter-in-law. My condolences to her and the rest of the family.

Dreamgirls - who is the REAL star?

There’s been a lot of’Dreamgirls’ in the news lately. For those of you who don’t know, this is the film version of the Broadway hit that ran in the 1980s starring Loretta Devine (the fat one on Waiting to Exhale), our own Sheryl Lee Ralph and Jennifer Holliday – the one who sang ‘And I Am Telling You.’

The film stars a young actress I am afraid I don’t know but I do know she is Tony winner – Beyonce Knowles in the Sheryl Lee Ralph role and Jennifer Hudson in the Jennifer Holliday role. This role (her name is Effie) is as far as I can gather the star of the film and Hudson’s performance has been lauded by all and sundry backed up by her winning a Golden Globe for it and being nominated for an Oscar. Yet everywhere I turn all I can hear is Beyonce this and Beyonce that! How ridiculous! You have a film with an Oscar winner in it (Jamie Foxx) and a Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominee (Hudson) and all you can talk about is Beyonce? Also, poor Eddie Murphy )also Oscar nominated) who is also a huge star and he barely gets a mention, not to mention the girl whose name I can’t even remember. (You know this is slackness, I’m going to google it, back in a bit).

Yes, I’m back. And her name is Anika Noni Rose. (Beg pardon Ms. Rose!) Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, why the fascination with Ms. Knowles? I know she’s a big pop star but come on man, it’s a big diss to Jennifer who has obviously done so well according to the public and the critics. The only thing I have read a critic say about Ms. Knowles’ performance was that in comparison to the others it was vapid. Anyway, I’ll reserve judgement until I see it. It won’t be out here in the UK until Feb 2. So until then . . .

(By the way, it has the crappiest website ever. It says to click here and there for further information and all you get is a big arse black page with three girls in silhouette in the centre)

Serious Gales

The weather here has been terrible over the past week. Torrential downpours and winds up to 70 miles per hour. At the last count over 40 people have died. It's been awful and quite scary.

The other day a manager came into our office (at about 2pm) and said we could all go home if we anticipated difficulties - a lot of trains were cancelled due to flooding. On the news I saw a plane taking off and it was being blown from one side to another. The Managing Director of Birmingham Airport was on the way to work when a tree branch fell through his windscreen - killed him instantly.

We were looking out of the window at work the other day and the light posts and traffic lights were shaking. I tell you I didn't think it could get that bad here.

We've had a pretty mild winter so far - temperatures like 13 degrees but it looks like we free paper bun - forecast says there'll be snow tonight. Joy - NOT. Snow looks lovely on Christmas cards but when you have to go to work in it it's no fun.

Later.

Racist Attitudes Have Changed for some

I hate Big brother and wouldn’t be caught dead watching it. Even worse ‘Celebrity’ Big Brother where people who think they are celebrities go onto the show to desperately revive their career. However, I am commenting on it because it is in the news here big time.
Among the people in there this time is an Indian Bollywood actress by the name of Shilpa Shetty. Over the past few days she has been abused by some of the housemates and there has been a record number of complaints – 7,600 - from the public as the taunts have been racist in nature. Channel 4 where the programme is aired, has received a further 2,000 e-mails and calls.
According to today’s Times Ms. Shetty has been called a “dog” and contestants have complained about her touching their food. Another contestant declared that Indians were thin because they were always ill as a result of undercooking food. Ms. Shetty’s accent has been mocked and she was asked if she lived in a shack.

These were the same type of stupid things I had to deal with in the late 70s. White people in general did not want to touch any food black people touched – indeed they didn’t want to touch anything we touched for fear of getting fleas they often said. This goes to show that over the years many white people – mostly the painfully ignorant – have maintained the same attitudes of yore.

What is heartening about all this (and yes, there is something heartening about it) is that so many people have complained. Let us assume that not all of them are non-white – this shows a massive change in how people think. Calling to complain is an anonymous activity which one assumes is borne of outrage. I mean it would take something pretty bad to make me bothered enough to call the media watchdog. That so many people have seems to indicate that white British people have progressed leaps and bounds in their journey to civilised behaviour over the past thirty years. I mean when I was a girl, the sentiments expressed by these racists were commonly expressed in everyday life in public – without anyone being bothered by it. That people are now outraged, and seemingly genuinely so, is great news for the humanity of white people. Progress is slow but seems to be sure.

Crazy Advice From a Judge
In similar news in the Times a man who called a police surgeon a “f***ing Paki” was advised yesterday by a judge: “Next time call him a fat bastard and don’t say anything about his colour.”

The judge gave this gem after describing the decision by the Crown Prosecution Service to prosecute the man for a racially aggravated offence as “a nonsense”.
The man in question had been taken into custody by police officers who mistook him for a suspect in another case. He’d been in a cell for two hours after which he demanded to see a doctor about his back. Dr Imraan Jhetam was sent but the suspect refused to be seen by him, yelling “I want an English doctor, not a f***ing Paki.”

The judge complained about the case coming to him and said that the doctor should have let the insults “roll off his back”. He also said that his comments were “not intended to make light of racist remarks”. Huh! Is he an idiot? I’ll bet if the doctor had been white and had been abused he wouldn’t have told him to just let it slide. My feeling is that if you are a decent and civilised human being, racial abuse is a no-no all the time. The fact that so often white people say we black and brown folk should just ignore it instead of them taking their fellow white person to task for racially abusing people tells volumes about their own racial attitudes.

If I am in a mixed group of people and a white person racially abuses me, why the hell can’t the other white people cuss off their white brethren and condemn their actions? Why is it that their reaction is to either say nothing, or chastise us for being ‘touchy’ if we take the abuser to task? Racists need to be made to understand their behaviour is not OK. If we just ignore their behaviour and bizarrely leave the onus on the racially abused to ignore the abuse, it will continue from generation to generation. White people need to rise up en masse like they have in the piece above and register that it is not OK. Only then will it begin to be eradicated.

Remember Living Single?

There was nothing on the TV the other night so I put in a DVD. I am a big one for nostalgia of late – reliving the culture of the time when I was in my early twenties and remembering the god times I had then, so I put in my Season One DVD of Living Single. Remember that show? It was really funny, especially Maxine Shaw, Attorney-at-Law and Kyle insulting each other. And who could forget Regine’s ‘Aw sookie sookie now,’ when she witnessed some good gossip. Watching this got me thinking about black people in TV.

In the UK it is dismal when it comes to black people in the media. There’s no such thing as a black TV show here. They had one a while back called The Crouches on the BBC. It was a comedy about a family in London of Caribbean background. The lady who played Auntie Susu on Desmonds was in it. The first season was terrible, wasn’t funny at all. Apparently they had a white Scottish bredda write for it. The second season they saw sense and got a female Jamaican writer and it was fantastic. Sample line: one character says in regards to a friend who has had a lot of plastic surgery: ‘If she blink her eye her foot will kick up!’ Then they cancelled it! Unbelievable!

The UK is a desert when it comes to successful professional black people proud of being black – that are visible anyway. There seem to be plenty in the States but black professional people in the UK seem to like to stay anonymous and are anxious to ‘fit in.’ Only the butus like a high profile. Fitting in is OK as long as you don’t have to ignore a large part of your culture. And that’s what happens here. Black people here say and believe horrible things about themselves in order to fit in and they don’t appreciate people like me raising serious issues relating to race when they arise. They much prefer to laugh these things off and get on with life. It’s ugly. When white people make racist comments of judgements it is our duty to call them on it. If they are just ignorant, they can be educated; if they are evil then they can be at least publicly identified.

Black people should be able to be black as well as their nationality without compromise and still be able to ‘fit in’ with others and vice versa. It’s a pity – there’s a lot black people can offer the UK.

Dem ah Bleach!

Have a look at this story from the Daily Mail today. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=428541&in_page_id=1879 Bleaching creams are alive and well in the UK and they have been in the news recently. Shopkeepers have been raided for selling these dangerous creams. (The shopkeepers seem to be Asian or African who smartly don’t use their wares buy chose to profit from others’ misery).

This story speaks about the cultural pressure to be white. Having grown up in the UK and having lived in Jamaica for 19 years I know something of this pressure from both white and black people. When I was small in the UK there was severe racism (this was the 70s). I was taunted daily, beat up quite regularly and ostracised. I remember my circle of friends at school were a Moroccan girl, a Pakistani girl, a girl who’s father was in jail and a red headed boy. No-one would talk to any of us because we were outcasts because of the way we look – except the one with the father in jail. Don’t even ask about the red headed thing either – I haven’t got a sensible answer out of white people when I ask them why they ostracise red headed people and trust me, I’ve asked.

Then of course there’s the hair issue. Black people are distinctive in that we are the only folks with hair this texture. As a little girl I do remember putting a cardigan on my hair, flashing it and desperately wishing my hair flowed lightly and freely down my back. I also remember religiously scrubbing my elbows and knees to ‘get the black off.’

In Jamaica I was reborn as a black woman. I thank God my parents took me there to live, every day I thank God! (Thank you God again!) I was in a setting where being light skinned meant a lot to some people but on the whole, being black was intrinsically attractive. But there were what I called ‘the Cherry Gardens set,’ who worshipped at the feet of all things white. Now I went to Immaculate – nuff said. But I wasn’t an ‘Immaculate girl’ if you know what I mean. My mother was, and is a secretary and my father was a welder and we weren’t rich plus I took the bus. Most of my classmates were rich and would never be caught dead on a bus. These girls believed that lighter skinned with flowing locks was superior. Some of these bitches who were black but light skinned would throw a fit if you accused them of relaxing their hair which I did often. Growing up in upper St. Andrew I don’t claim to have an understanding of the reasoning behind poorer Jamaican women bleaching – but I have an idea of the pressure.

As a black woman who wears her hair naturally (dreadlocks) I got a lot of shtick from my peers when I decided to stop relaxing it – in Jamaica. Unbelievable! Isn’t it time this all stopped? Isn’t it time we came to grips with how we look naturally and celebrate it? Funny thing is most men I’ve been in relationships with (including my husband) love the natural look, in fact they prefer it. So why are we women so anxious to falsify ourselves, often at great risk to our health, to make other women happy?

Overpaid Doctors and Giant Rabbits

Today we are told in various papers that there are plans afoot to raise the school leaving age from 16 to 18.

On the face of this, it is a great idea. There are too many uneducated, unskilled and therefore unemployable young people in the UK. However, unless this measure goes hand in hand with making the education sector one which is allowed to hold young people accountable for their behaviour not much will change. If accountability is not allowed they will still be able to disrupt lessons, disrespect their teachers and not do homework with impunity and hence still come out as unemployable idiots- albeit at 18 instead of 16.

I wish them well with their measures.

*

Saw a story in the Times today about a German man who raises giant rabbits. This is just the second time in the past week I have come across these animals, they are huge and quite creepy. Have a look at the photo!

*

Read this wildly funny story in the Gleaner today about this church in Trinidad. Apparently this man was living next to a church and the noise they were making disturbed him so much he went round to complain The preacher and congregation then ‘rebuked him in the name of the Lord’ and called him the devil. At some point he threw a stone at the preacher - in frustration? Anyway, the story was really funny. When I first saw the headline I thought, no bredrin, you can’t stone a preacher at the pulpit. But after I read it I could understand. I am a devout Christian but that doesn’t mean that noise made by us must be tolerated. If a church is in a residential area they should take steps to make sure they don’t disturb the neighbours. Hope it gets resolved satisfactorily.

*

So the Lyns’ bodies have been positively IDd. I am so sorry for their loved ones. It’s a terrible thing eh, that if someone goes missing in Jamaica it is almost a certainty that they have been killed. It seems the Lyns were robbed. Now I know we don’t have all the facts now, but if they were robbed, Lawd, wa mek the evil tief dem have to kill dem too? Why Jamaican thieves can’t be satisfied with just robbing people/? They almost always seem to have to murder their victims too. It’s disgusting. Staying away still looks like the
safest choice.

*

And in the Guardian today we are told that UK GPs earn an average of £118,000 per year and now only have to work office hours. They have had a 63% raise over the past three years – most people in the UK get about 3% per year if they are lucky. It seems that this state of affairs came about because under a new contract signed with GPs in 2004 doctors are paid a gross sum to run their practices. What is left after running expenses (such as hiring staff and buying equipment) they get to keep as profit. According to the press, they have been making so much more money by spending less on their practices and keeping a whopping amount for their salaries.

The story claims that this huge wage bill is crippling the NHS – services have to be reduced and patient care is suffering as a result. The story also claims that the Health Secretary has threatened to cap their annual raise at 1.5% but the doctors are kicking up a rumpus saying they have to get at least a raise in line with inflation. Now if it is true that doctors are skimping on the practices by cutting back on what they purchase so that they can make a huge salary then Lord have mercy, are you telling me that a family cannot manage on £118,000 per year? Fair enough, if the NHS wasn’t in trouble, then take your increase, though I believe this high salary is greed especially if is at the expense of patient care. But the NHS is in financial trouble so surely taking a freeze for a couple of years is the right thing to do – it’s unlikely any GP or his family will suffer - £118,000 per year is a bloody fortune. The average UK salary is £25,000 per year – and many earn significantly less than this.

If true, this is disgusting. I have no problem with people creating wealth through innovation and taking risk, but grabbing as much money as you can (and insisting on an increase) while something like patient care gets screwed is just wrong.

Most People Hate Their Boss

Was a story in the Gleaner the other day which spoke to the fact that most bosses are hated by their employees.

From my personal experience it’s not been that I have hated my bosses (well not all of them) but that their primary mission in life seemed to be to make their employees’ lives miserable.

Why is this so?

I think it’s because too many inept people are put into places of power in the workplace, while the competent ones are left in jobs where they actually have to do something.

Think about it, what exactly does your manager do? For the most part, many of my managers have not had to do the same work as me but have had to only ‘manage.’ Now ‘managing’ is such a loose term. If you work in sales for instance and you and your colleagues are busy selling and your manager doesn’t sell anything but just manages you and you co-worker then he/she can’t have much to do each day unless you and you colleagues are complete idiots and need managing.

I think it would be best if managers were (a) extremely competent in their field and (b) still had to operate in their field. That way they wouldn’t have to fill their time with activities that make life miserable for the rank and file, in order to give themselves something to do and to justify their hierarchical superiority.

A New Way Forward for Iraq

Former Iraqi defence minister Ali Allawi made some recommendations for the way forward for Iraq in Friday’s Independent. One of them matches up with my humble opinion for a peaceful way forwards. In my humble opinion, the only way out of the current mess is for three separate states to be created from Iraq. I was thinking of separate countries but Ali Allawi’s idea of three states in one country held together by a federal base (kind of like the USA) makes better sense I think. The three states would be (1) Kurdish (2) Sunni (3) Shia.

Trying to create a united country out of what has never been one is ridiculous. Iraq as we know it was only created out of the greed and ignorance of the various conquerors it has had for the pas 100 years or so, so surely it makes the best sense to put them in the groups that already exist but fight each other because one group often has control over the others. As long as the federal head is set up correctly and sensitively and as long as the individual states are as autonomous as possible I see this as the only viable option. I hope the powers that be examine Allawi’s proposal and give it serious consideration.

Here We Go Again - Unfortunately

How’s this for some depressing news? Three days into the New Year and thirteen people have been murdered in Jamaica (I don’t know how many more have been killed now that we are on day 4).

For a country that on the face of it is not at ward, what the hell kind of statistics are these?

It’s enough to make you feel there’s no hope whatsoever at all. Incredibly depressing. Incredibly so.

The leaner mentioned that there is prayer for peace going on but you can’t pray in a vacuum. How can a country spend so much time praying for peace but not each and everyday, each individual order their actions, thoughts and words to be geared towards peace? What can you expect God to do when you ask him for peace but then go out and abuse someone or chop them up or whatever? Too much hypocrisy. I unfortunately have no idea how it’s going to get any better. There has to be a national commitment and action to eradicating the type of culture that produces this level of violence and coldness. Also, the police and judiciary have to be committed to contributing to a safer society and duly and accordingly funded! I fear however that all that will happen is even more of those who can leave will, the rich remainder will gate their communities up even more and more and more will die.


God help us all.

Deepest Sympathies

My deepest sympathies to the family of Neville Willoughby, who died as a result of a car accident December 20. I went to school with his daughters and can imagine how they must feel at this time.

My prayers are with you.

CCTV in Jamaica

Was reading the editorial in the Gleaner the other day. It was expounding on the benefits of CCTV in assisting in catching criminals and wondering why there didn't seem to be much will to implement it in Jamaica.

I wonder myself. As the editorial said, it doesn't cost much and even so, various neighbourhood watches could be asked to help pay the cost. It is even more relevant in Jamaica when there are so many instances of communities not being able to identify known criminals because of fear of reprisal killings.

Come on people, get on with implementing something so simple, inexpensive but so helpful. The prime reason people leave Jamaica is crime, the prime reason well educated people who could get well paying jobs in Jamaica don't return is fear of being killed. SO if there is something that can help in the huge battle against crime, which is helping to keep Jamaican down, why on earth not do it?

What Next?

Well the festivities are over now and it's time to start looking towards the new year. What will 2007 bring? Hopefully prosperity. Hopefully a vast improvement in the situation in Iraq.

All the best to you all in the new year and I hope it brings you the utmost in happiness and prosperity.

Later.

The Colour of Evil

Saw part of Spike Lee’s documentary on Katrina this week. It saddened me greatly but most of all it pissed me the hell off. After more than a year many of the people of New Oreleans have still been largely forgotten and much of the debris is still there. This is disgusting. I lived through Gilbert and I heard about the last hurricane to hit JA. It certainly didn’t take a year to clear up after those hurricanes and Jamaica is a so-called third world country. The only reason New Orleans hasn’t been seen to is because the US government doesn’t think it’s worth doing – not even for good publicity. That is how much the people of New Orleans are regarded. I tell you, it is time for like skinned people to stop seeking to approval and acceptance of those who so clearly have not human or civilised regard for their fellow human beings. We must get serious about building our own community and building and consolidating wealth for our own welfare.

After all those years of civil rights demonstrations and people being killed etc. not much has changed. But we must change the way we think. We must stop asking for a space at the table and build our own instead. I strongly encourage you to see this film – better to buy it too.

Nuff said.

Slipping into a Recreation of 30s Germany

In the Guardian we were told that the Home office wants to start with ‘non-European foreigners’ in terms of forcing them to give up biometric data if they wish to continue to live and work here.

Many British people including seemingly the government are so racist it is disgusting. Let us be frank. ‘Non-European foreigner’ means black and Asian people. Believe me, the Brits are not concerned about Americans, Canadians Australians or New Zealanders (white ones of course).
Stating that only this group of people needs to be fingerprinted etc. before coming to this country or before being allowed to stay if they are already here is tantamount to saying only black and Asian people are the cause of crime in the UK. Ridiculous.

A move like this is all predicated on the premise that all things that are bad for this country come only from non-Europeans – this is just as bad as what they did to the Jews in Germany in the 30s and why should the UK feel that they should have access to information about foreign nationals that even the governments of these foreign countries don’t have on their own people? How would the British feel if they had to provide this type of information before going to foreign countries? They’d be up in arms that’s what would happen. Campaigners are threatening to sue the government saying the move is discriminatory. I wish them well.

Bahamas anyone?

Working From Home - a Way to Reduce Congestion

There was this story in the Times this week stating that a southern train company will offer large discounts on season tickets if people don’t come into London for a couple of days a week – the feeling being that people can ask to work from home a couple of days a week.

I’ve thought for a long time that the solution to easing congestion and reducing emissions more significantly has to include more home working. But most places I’ve worked, management thinks working from home is akin to skiving off (of course unless it’s they who are working from home, then it’s work).

There is an unbelievable level of hypocrisy and shortsightedness with respect to this issue in the UK. Most of my jobs have involved me, a computer with internet access, a phone and a photo copier. I can do all of that from home, but I’ve never had a request to work from home for part of the week approved. Meanwhile, every boss I’ve had since coming back to the UK has frequently not showed up for work and called in to say they are ‘going to work from home today.’ They rarely plan ahead to work from home you notice?

Until working from home can be seen in the mature light of saving resources instead of a perk for management then businesses and transport systems will continue to suffer unnecessarily.

A First in the UK

For the first time ever this evening in the UK a black person and a female won a phone-in singing competition.

What has usually happened here is no matter how good a black artiste is they are always voted off as quickly as possible, no matter how bad the white contestants sound. In addition, traditionally the winner will be some acne ridden tennage white boy, because those who vote the most are thrteen year old white girls.

This year the final two were the above mentioned teenaged boy, Ray and Leona a mixed race (black and white) female singer. Ray can only sing swing songs, and those only passably well, whereas Leona makes Maria Carey look like a failed back-up singer! And that is hard to do as Mariah sounds fantastic. Ray had no business being in the final and the poor sod who got voted off in his place was reallly good too.

In the final Leona so outclassed Ray that it was embarrassing and it is lovely to see the British public finally begin to join the worldwide community of civilised people who are able to judge on merit and not on appearance.

It's also nice to see UK girls growing a spirit of solidarity and vision too - hopefully some of them gave up the futile hope of some pop star going out with them and replaced it with the hope that one day, they too might become an excellent (you fill in the blank, depending on what you want to do.)

How the Beginning Can Determine the End

Jus read this story by Mark Wignall in today’s Observer. Very good piece, take a look: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/html/20061213T210000-0500_116628_OBS_I_AM_JUST_A_CHILD.asp

A sad testimony on life in Jamaica, indeed life in many parts of the world. I know it often sounds like you’re submitting to the victim mentality when you say things like this but I can’t help but wonder what my life would have been like if I had been born into wealthier surroundings with highly qualified family members. Though my family is great, the culture is hardly that of high achievers, whereas some of my wealthier friends with the help of expensive extra lessons etc. – have gone on to be trained in those professions that make a lot of money and are by extension not having to worry about cash.

There’s a lot to be said for setting yourself up financially I such a way that you can have some long term residual income for your family. And also there’s a lot to be said for adopting a high achieving attitude. With just a little push (if that push comers when your are tine) you can have created the climate within which a child can go on to great things. Whether or no that child accepts that push or fights against it is their business.

Caribbean People Doing Well All Over

Read an interesting story in today’s Gleaner about this Jamaican born man who is a very successful farmer in Devon, in the UK.

When he came on the scene the locals called him ‘that black farmer’ so he used their labelling him as such as his trade name. His brand is called The Black Farmer. Check out the Gleaner story here http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20061211/business/business1.html and his website here http://www.theblackfarmer.com/

In the Independent, Viv Richards gives a vivid and glowing account of life in Antigua. I’ve only visited there twice and on both occasions it was on tour with the University Singers, so I didn’t see much of the island. But what I did see (mostly Fort Charles beach) I did like very much. Check out the story here http://travel.independent.co.uk/americas/article2062667.ece

Christmas Hampers and Respect for Your Earnings

Some people here in the UK join Christmas hamper schemes. Now as far as I can make out this means they pay a company a certain amount of money each month and at Christmas they get a hamper filled with goodies and some store vouchers. Apparently people who subscribe to these types of schemes are the poorer amongst us. Recently one such company went under. They didn’t ring fence the funds and so al of these people have lost the money they paid over the year. The company has been slated in the press for taking these poor people’s money and now, a loan company is targeting those affected and offering them loans for up to 177% interest.

The reaction of the public to this whole thing has largely been on the victims’ side. I beg to differ. Some of the figures being bandied around, that some of these people have been paying each month tells me they are most certainly not poor. The fact that they would regularly pay a company large sums of money in return for a hamper of goods you could get from most supermarkets and some vouchers tells me at best, they are incredibly uninformed of modern ways re: finances and at worst they are stupid.

People who work for a living, and work hard for a living must respect the fruits of their labours. They must respect them enough the give a flying fart what they do with their hard earned cash. Lord knows that after the taxman has finished with you there’s not much left, so why would you hand over any part of your earnings to a company that is not regulated as a financial institution, in exchange for a hamper?

Unless I’ve got it all terribly wrong, a hamper and some goods from high street shops could be purchased if these people had put their money into a savings account. Why did they choose to give their money to anyone else but a bank?

People, like I said above, respect your hard work and its fruits enough to pay attention to who you give your money to and what you get in return and most importantly, for the level of risk in relation to your potential earnings. Start being a lot smarter.

WInning the Lottery and Buying a Giant Swiss Army Knife

We’ve all dreamed of winning the lottery and telling our boss to shove his/her job. Well a man here in the UK did just that. He bought a scratch card, matched the numbers and won a million dollars. Ecstatic, he began to chuck money all over his desk (he was at work), ordered colleagues to buy champagne and generally had a good time. When his boss entered the scene to see what the excitement was he told him to stick his job. Then he called his girlfriend to celebrate and only then did he call the lottery people.

Turned out he hadn’t won after all; he’d missed one of the numbers. Bad luck eh?

But seriously, I feel a bit sorry for this bloke, but then he really should have double checked before cursing his boss. If I ever win such an amount, I’d have to have the cheques already cleared in my account before I begin to burn bridges – and then onto buying lovely things.

Speaking of buying things, have you seen the latest Swiss Army knife? Have a look at the picture above.

Now I know it looks ridiculous, and the manufacturers (Wenger) of what is called the new Giant Swiss Army knife do admit that this one’s ‘practicality is limited.’ According to the Guardian story Wenger says that ‘its purpose is partly to promote the company.’ It has 85 devices and weighs about 2lbs and costs about £450 so you’ll hardly be dropping it in your handbag – but it would be cool to back it out when you’re with your friends one evening wouldn’t it?

And a roundup of today’s news stories . . .

From the Daily Mail we learn that though gas companies have benefited from a drop in gas prices, the consumer won’t see a drop in their bills for ages, if ever. The gas companies claim that as they buy the gas in advance we won’t benefit from low prices for a while. But I wouldn’t advise you to hold your breath. Because they have been given permission by energy regulator Ofgem to spend more than £5billion over the next five years on gas pipelines and the electricity grid. So this will give them ammunition to continue to charge us a fortune. Last year we had an £800 fuel bill – and there’s only 2 of us, and we work in the day. I tell you I feel sorry for pensioners.

There’s a story in the Times saying that in order to stop students cheating by using their mobile phones, schools have been told to invest in phone jamming technology. Why in God’s green earth are they allowed to have phones in exams anyway? Surely it is more sensible to forbid them from taking any technology into the exam room? Later on in the story it does briefly visit this option but all the story says is ‘The banning of mobile phones in exam halls tends not to be effective.’ My question is why on earth not? Forbid them to bring in phones and search them. When I suggested the searching bit to a colleague she said that that couldn’t be done and she didn’t look too pleased at the suggestion. I imagine she was thinking of some ‘rights’ attributable to the kids. I say sod the rights and search them – let them know that cheating is not acceptable.

The BBC website mentions that youngster Alex Tew who came up with that website where he sold pixels for a $1 each to advertisers and made $1million in 4 months. He’s sensibly turned down job offers and is doing his own thing. I am praying each day for a similarly ingenious idea!

In the Independent a ‘senior cardinal in the Catholic Church’ has called for priests to be allowed to marry. He correctly notes that;

‘Celibacy is a discipline, not a dogma of the Church. Certainly, the majority of the apostles were married. In this modern age, the Church must observe these things, it has to advance with history."

Catholics, like other religious groups have a perverse way of adding requirements to the Christian faith that have nothing to do with what God has asked us to do, celibacy being one of these things (along with idolatry, forbidding contraception, diluting the kingship of Christ by ‘praying’ to others among many other things). I cannot understand for the life of me why they wish to take something as simple and beautiful as the gospel and edit it so much with the end result being the misery of millions. I hope this guy gets some support. Unfortunately it seems he was slapped down a few days later as he backtracked and softened his statement. Ho hum, another progressive idea bites the dust in the Vatican!

And finally there’s this gem from the Mirror. Some woman (who should be forbidden from reproducing) tells the story of how she was so terrified giving birth would ruin her sex life with her partner and would ruin her body that she insisted on having a C-section. She intends to have many more kids and wants them all by C-section. Here are a few gems from this imbecile:

‘. . .it wasn't the pain that bothered me. The idea of a baby forcing its way out, stretching my most intimate parts, was repulsive.’

"I'm worried that having a baby will stop me enjoying sex," I'd heard about women whose sex life had been unsatisfactory after childbirth. What if that happened to me?'

Then after she forced the authorities to give her a C-section nature steps in but this woman won’t have any of it:

‘But then five days before I was due my waters broke. I was out shopping with my mum when I felt a trickle of fluid between my legs. I immediately panicked. What if I had to give birth naturally?’

Horrors, dear reader, what a terrible thing to happen, to give birth naturally! Now I hate pain as much as the next woman, and when my time comes would welcome an epidural, oxygen, water birth, spliff, bottle of gin – anything to take the pain away (I was joking about the last 2 by the way). But come on, many women are able to have fulfilling sex lives and good bodies after giving birth and that should definitely not be your main reason for putting yourself and your kid at the added risk of a surgical birth.

Some more gems:

‘I took the decision not to breastfeed him because I feel my boobs are also a private part of me and I don't want a baby hanging off them.’ So the kid gets an inferior form of sustenance and the world accepts some more plastic wrappers. Lovely.

‘Having a Caesarean was the right thing for me. I probably would have ended up resenting my baby and blaming him for making me go through childbirth if I'd been forced into it.’
Is she serious? Resent your kid because it was born naturally? She goes on:

‘I believe all women should be able to elect for a Caesarean if they wish to. Ultimately, a natural birth could have ruined my relationship with Simon and having more children wouldn't have been an option.’

She is incredibly immature and so is her partner for supporting this hysteria.

But I have noticed a lot of bizarre attitudes since I came back to the UK to live when it comes to pregnancy. Two work colleagues dieted while pregnant because they didn’t want to get fat. Get fat! When you are carrying a child, you’ll gain weight, the kid weights something you know. It’s dreadful to restrict your intake when you’re carrying another life. Looking skinny vs healthy baby? Mmmm. You’d think healthy baby would win wouldn’t you? Another woman I knew, who’s husband was in leadership at my church at the time gave a 15 minute speech one evening about how disgusting breast feeding was and how her breasts were just for her husband’s sexual pleasure. She went on to recklessly state that she didn’t know how any woman could perform such a disgusting task – in a room of women 4 of which I personally knew had breast fed all their kids. I nearly throttled her.

One thing I’ve noticed and I hope it doesn’t become de rigueur in the third world, is the tendency for western women to talk rubbish like this and for it to be acceptable, even Christian women.

Your body will change with childbirth but millions of women have managed and all the research has already been done; breast feeding your baby is best for them. And as a Christian, saying it is disgusting is tantamount to saying God got the design wrong is – after all he made us. Get a grip western women – there’s more to life than how you look.

Racists Be honest!

I guess by now you all have heard that Kramer from Seinfeld was doing a stand up routine, was heckled by two black patrons and abused them, calling them niggers and saying that if it was fifty years earlier, they would be strung up with a pitchfork up their arse.

Well we all know what happened next don't we? Yup, the customary 'apology' (at being caught out as a racist and swift retreat so he can still work) took place. Sadly, Seinfeld backed him up by saying he made a 'mistake.' Mistake! What a load of shite! You do not say stuff like that by mistake, you say it because you mean it.

The fact of the matter is that since the time of the civil rights movement, many white racists have simply gone underground for fear of being sued. They still have the same feelings and it is in moments of stress that those feelings come to the fore. It is time that white racist people address their own sorry attitudes to people who don't look like them. They have had ample opportunities to stand up and join the human race and time and time again they don't.

I used to think it was ignorance on the part of white racists, but since coming to live in a predominantly white country I have seen the truth. The truth is that most white racist people know full well what they are doing when they behave in a racist fashion - and they do it anyway. It's almost as if they say to themselves 'Boy, you know since the black people have forced all types of legislation onto the books we can't afford to behave like we used to, calling them nigger and lynching them, so lets go underground and attack them in subtle ways.'

Kramer's 'mistake' is that he let the world see what a huge racist and by extension, damn idiot he is - chances are someone of his age and all - it will be difficult for him to see that black people are human beings too who deserve the same regard and respect as anyone else.

In the meantime I call upon black people worldwide to cease and desist from trying to get white racist people to behave honourably towards us. Trust me, your energies are better spent building yourself, your family and your community up. For the white racist, nothing we do can make them respect us or treat us properly so you might as well forget it.

That is not to say you aren't to demand that they behave properly towards you - by all means do, but don't waste time trying to get approval, or to be invited up to the big house. Put your energies into building the big house yourself and make THEM have to be invited up.

Later.

Making Jamaica a Developed Country

Was reading today's editorial in the Observer and the head of the Planning Institute has apparently said that there is no reason why Jamaica cannot be a first world counttry by 2035.

He's right. All the ingredients are there. For such a small country it should be doing fantastically well. Just today me and His Royal Highness were watching the latest episode of Stargate SG1 and there they were, the 2 major characters, kicking back in a scene with a bottle of Red Stripe each big and bold in the shot. And in another shot after that.

There are plenty of reasons for Jamaicans to be proud of their intelligence, hardworking nature and innovation.

Yet how is it that with all of these qualities the country is in the state it is?

Two words for you.

Discipline and order. Or rather indiscipline and chaos.

Talent and innovation are fine, but if they are not channeled and if they exist in a country where chaos and inneficiencies reign supreme because of indiscipline, then you will fail, time and time again.

I have often expounded at great lenght about the problems in the UK but one of the things contributing to prosperity here is that there is order in many things and by extension efficiency. If you cannot rely on things happening on time for instance there are repercussions for planning and execution especially for businesses.

Also, you can't propser in a climate of so much rampant crime.

Jamaica should be a first world country already but it isn't. And it won't if certain cultural norms persist.

Those qualities and habits Jamaicans exhibit when they go to foreign, like being on time, going to work regardless of the weather, forward planning and abiding by the law (for the most part) among other things need to pertain back home. Otherwise nothing will change.

Also there needs to be some sort of conscious effort to have a social contract whereby self destructive behaviour isn't systematically indulged in, like mashing up the already shaky infrastructure to make a political point. Trust me, the wealty politicians won't suffer if you block the road, mash things up and prevent people from conducting business, but the poor people in that very community will. Better ways of dealing with problems need to be adopted and gains and consolidations made on the talent that exists. And most importantly, people need to vote strategically for the betterment of the country, not for partisan interests.

Time for the mashing up to end man.

Many may say that living abroad is a cop out, but in all seriousness, from where I sit coming back now isn't attractive - unpatriotic though that may sound. One conclusion I came to just before I decided to leave was that it didn't seem like Jamaicans want to live in a disciplined and ordered society so I felt I was just in the wrong place and needed to flash to somewhere where the cultural norm was more conducive to order and efficiency. And I was largely right. But that doesn't mean it can't change. But people have to want it to change.

Prosperity can only come for all if things do change and the type of change I'm talking about isn't easy. Wonder when the penny will drop or will it go on and on until all the good people have either migrated or been murdered?

Peace.

More Tax Issues

In the continuing saga that is the crazy world of British taxation . . .

Yes, folks, the latest is that some Labour politician (who is angling for John Prescott's job) has suggested that instead of placing a 'green' tax on things like plane tickets, those who earn larger salaries should be taxed to pay for the effects of environmental degradation.

Also, plans are moving ahead to charge a tax to people to use certain roads. It gets so that no matter how hard you work here, you just can't get ahead. Doesn't this nation understand that by behaving in this way, i.e. punishing people for being successful in business or their jobs, they are creating a situation where only the lazy and unambitious will want to live? Anyone wanting to get ahead will simply migrate to a country that has a more equitable system of taxation.

There is a backward and evil attitude in the UK that says that anyone who earns a lot of money, does so at the expense of those who don't, and therefore they must be punished.

Have the British no understanding of hard work, entrepreneurship, risk and innovation? Is this country so dumb that they really believe in the notion of a limited 'pie' of prosperity that means that if someone has a large slice of the pie then there is only a little left for the rest?

Come on people - why do you think that the UK has so many deadbeats living off the state in comparison to other European countries and the States? Because you can make more money sitting on your backside and collecting benefits than if you hauled ass out to work every day.

Until people are given the incentive to strive for better jobs with more responsibility and higher wages and to be innovative and to undego the risk of beginning businesses, this country is going to continue to go to the dogs. Stop taxing us to death!

Make no mistake, there are intelligent, ambitious and innovative people in the UK but they are going to get fed up and give their talents, hard work and expertise to other countries if things here don't shape up.

Taxing Rubbish - proof

If you didn't believe what I said about paying to have your rubbish removed take a look at this story from yesterday's Times.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2415970.html

The Plight of the Overtaxed

Got my new TV licence today.

Now we here in the UK are a much taxed people but this tax particularly gets my goat.

As I'd briefly mentioned in another post, if you have a TV in the UK you have to buy a TV licence which now costs about £132 a year. If you don't the law will be down on you quicker than a Big Brother viewer's brain cells disappear within the first three seconds of broadcast.

The rationale for this is that this money funds the 'high quality' programming of the BBC. All other 'commercial' stations pretty much have to fend for themselves and obtain advertising revenue in order to fund their activities. We are supposed to be satisfied with the superior output of the BBC and the fact that they don't run ads in return for being held up each month (they encourage you to pay this ransom by monthly direct debit)

Now this is such a crock of . .. ! Firstly, the BBC does advertise, they spend ages advertising their own programmes usually costly animated ads, rubbing your nose in the fact that you are financing some heavy duty goings on. Secondly, their presenters and staff seem to get paid a King's ransom in salary. Thirdly, the quality of their programming is in serious doubt as to it being top quality.

It may have been (and I doubt it ever was) relevant in the past when they were the only show in town, but now the TV licence fee needs to be abolished.

At the very least, they should share it out amongst all the channels, but at the most the British public should be relieved of this tax.

Evening Work

Watch out if you ever want to work evenings in the UK to earn some extra cash.

I've been trying to do it and today was the last time I try. There's this EU directive you see, that says you can work up to a maximum of 48 hours a week - I believe you can still opt out of it though. However, everywhere I've been they don't want to take you on if you already work in the days. I went on a lengthy interview today for an evening job and after a 2 hour assessment they tell me they won't hire anyone who works for more than 40 hours a week, including the evening job!

I give up.

So for all of you who may think it's easy to pick up a little bit of extra cash to soak up those pesky credit card bills, think again. Part time work is the reserve of students and mothers.

Later.

More UK Tax Madness

Here's the latest.

Some UK local councils are planning (or already are!) to put chips in people's rubbish bins to measure how much rubbish they throw away. Depending on the amount, each householder will then be presented with a bill for having their garbage taken away!

They say this is to encourage more re-cycling, but the council only collect the recycling bins once per month (the garbage is collected once per week) They say in order to collect the recycling more often they would need more money hence the chips. What about the enormous council tax that each householder has to pay? Shouldn't that cover this service?

I tell you this country is the most taxed on this earth! You pay income tax, which varies depending on so many factors, and the more successful you are, the higher your rate (what a backward attitude to wealth creation!). You have to pay a tax for owning a television £131 per year, you pay council tax, we pay £75 per month, you make your pension contributions, your health contributions, car gas is taxed to the hilt, there's 17.5% VAT, they even tax you when you die. It's amazing the populace hasn't risen up in outrage!

I wait to see what hapens with the garbage.
Later.

Summer is Over

Well I guess it had to happen. I had to wear my coat today! Damn! I hate it when it's cold.

Enjoying my life as a newlywed (did the deed in July) which is why I haven't been on in a while.

I promise to devote more time to the site though - and there's plenty happening in the news to talk about.

Like this new dispensation from the States about passports for travellers which seems like it's going to screw around with the tourism industry in the Caribbean. Butch implied that this is retaliation for supporting Chavez. Is this going to be the 70s all over again? Are the Americans once again going to bully Jamaica into doing what they want because they don't like our friends?

You bet they will!

To coin a phrase, buckle up, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

Later.

Interviewing

Was watching an interview today of Gordon Brown, the British Chancellor (equivalent to Finance Minister) and apparent heir to Tony Blair. And it brought to mind what really irritates me about some aspects of political journalism.

The journalist kept asking various versions of the same question - basically he wanted Gordon to either embarrass the PM and the administration or speak on behalf of the PM re his intentions. Now the questions he was asking, it was obvious the Chancellor could and would not answer them, yet he kept on at it.

I am finding more and more that this type of journalism really annoys me. It does nothing for me as a taxpayer - it only hopes to evoke or draw out a scandal. I wish they'd ask probing questions about policies that affect me as a (heavy) taxpayer. Sometmes it seems that the British media and politicians live in their own little mutually beneficial world where the objective is fame. I exclude from this the Independent which I find to be an excellent paper, giving pertinent and relevant facts regardless of what the useless scandal of the day is.

Anyway, later.

Tornado in Leeds

There was a tordano here last week. A terrible storm. I looked at some of the pictures on the web and in many places there was some serious flooding and trees that were uprooted completely! It looked awful.

There was also major disruption at the train station - apparently lightening struck Leeds train station and caused a lot of delays.

In fact the weather here in jolly old England had been going haywire the last few years. For instance, in the past, when it rained you usually got a half hearted drizzle that might get a little heavier later and would peter out. Nowadays we get sudden torrential downpours and equally sudden stops. Also, when it rained in the past it was almost always cold, now it rains and stays hot. Global warming in action mate!

At least it's still relatively warm - I hate the cold so I hope the heat stays around for a while - but I shudder to see what the effects of global warming is going to produce in the winter - especially come Februaruy March when it is the coldest.

Later.

Remembrances

Today has been nothing but remebrances of September 11.

I hate it.

Why on earth do they have to constantly rehash it? Not out of any feelings for the victims. And you should see the terrible programmes TV has come up with. There's been the 911 milionare widows, the Man Who Predicted 911 and my personal favourite, the 911 liars - a group of people who apparently lie about having a loved one die in the attacks.

Enough already - let the people dem rest in peace.

One thing all of this reminds me of though - the fact that every day thousands of people are killed in horrible circumstances - but the world doesn't care.

Things will only collectively get better when we all feel that EVERY life lost in brutal circumstances counts. There's a part of me that is disgusted with all the grief over 911. I'm not saying that we shouldn't feel grief and anger - but at the same time, is the extent of the grief and anger because the people that died were of a certain world?

This isn't splitting hairs - it's something humanity has to seriously look at. All over the world there are different groups of people who place life of a certain background and colour in a higher value category than others. Perhaps if we didn't there'd be more room for us wanting to prevent attacks and more room for helping the victims of them.

I wish the survivors of the attacks well. I also pray for peace of mind and ongoing safety, which most of them will have (the safety that is). But I also would like to take the anniversary of 911 and remember the millions of people throughout the world who have died in similar circmstances, for whom the world does not weep and who probably have no peace of mind whatsoever because the threat of atrocities re-occuring is high and ever present.

God bless.

Delusional People

I've been watching the audition rounds of the X-Factor and His Royal Highness and I are amazed at how delusional some of the people are.

We love to watch this show at this stage because many of the people are so cringingly bad - we laugh until we are weak!.

But I can't believe that some of them seem to genuinely believe that they have a chance! Have they no friends? Have they ever listened to themselves? Clearly not.

I would love to be in the room when they are auditioning - it's one of the few ocasions I get to really laugh hard.

I haven't had the chance to see the Jamaican talent search type show - missed it when I was on the rock in July. Is it just as funny as watching say American Idol? Let me know. Also, if anyone has any clips or can point me in the right direction (if they are funny) drop me a line.

Later.

Tony to leave according to papers

So Tony Blair is to leave next year according to the papers here tonight. We'll see what they all say in the morning but it looks like he's finally getting the message. I do hope that Gordon Brown can clean up the party and take it back to Old Labour. I must tell you it's a pretty depressing time when I go to vote right now. There's no way I'm voting Tory, and the Lib Dems have gone crazy since they chucked Charles Kennedy out. In my district there's no independent candidate and I'm sure as hell not voting for the BNP candidate! I've been unhappy with Labour for a while but have felt there's been no option. Let's see if I can feel confident in voting for them again after Blair has gone on to earn his millions on the lecture circuit.

It's a crying shame you know, he started off well and just got into bad company with the Jackass from Texas. He's really cocked up what could have been a great legacy. Three terms you know, three terms! Why oh why would you want to cock that legacy up?

Later.

Sorry for the silence

Sorry for the silence. We put in wireless internet and for some reason it all went pear shaped.

Anyway I'm back and ready to complain about more foolishness.

Like that poor postman! There's this nice little postman who told the people he delivered to how to avoid getting junk mail that Royal Mail gets paid to send out and they suspended him. He's getting a lot of local support though so they may have to re-instate him.

Anyway, as you can imagine I have a whole heap of emails to catch up with so I am gone for tonight.

Later.

Slackness!

You heard about the British guy who had an argument with his wife while on holiday in Greece and then grabbed his two kids (a 6 year old boy and a 2 year old girl) and jumped off his balconey? Apparently the wife had declared her intention to divorce him and take the kids with her. He shouted that he would take them before she did - only he didn't mean to his mother's house. He then proceeded to attempt to murder them.

He succeeded with the boy, luckily the little girl only broke her arm. And what of him you might ask? Alive and kicking with broken limbs. He claimed that he was drunk and had taken some anti depressants. Local Greeks are disgusted and a local official said that once he realises what he has done (i.e. the father) he should commit suicide. Nothing of political correcteness there.

This is terrible!

I pray for the wife and little girl.

Glad for Peace - Well sort of peace

I'm glad to see that the ceasefire in Lebanaon is still keeping. I pray that good sense will prevail and the killing won't start again and that this part of the world can stop the constant war. Now if only Iraq could get on the road to prosperity for the Iraqis . . .


On the job front, I have an interview soon. Wish me luck.

Excitement at the Airport

Seems like I am always travelling close to the time of excitement at airports. In September 2001 I was at the hairdressers in the Springs getting braids put in while the twin towers were obliterated. The following week I was booked on a plane to the UK. And now just 2 weeks after returning to the UK from Jamaica there is this big scare at UK airports. No hand luggage at all except for loose change etc. in a clear plastic bag.

My thought is how can they possible go back to letting people carry hand luggage as they used to? Won't the terrorists just try again? But go back to the old ways they are - today it was announced that people can again take on hand luggage. The only restriction is the size. YoOu can't take anything larger than a small computer bag. So excuse me, expolsives or their components cannot fit in a computer bag?

I'd be more comfortable if they kept the clear plastic bag restriction indefinitely!

Acclimatising

Was talking to hubby today about our experiences on the rock. We concluded that maybe if we had stayed a little longer and in better circumstances (our hotel was terrible!) maybe we would have got back in the groove so to speak - for him in terms of the heat - for me in terms of the culture. When we go back again, we'll go for longer and stay somewhere better than the hotel we stayed at in Ochie - I'll let you know how it goes when it happens.

In other news, the job search is going a little better. I have a temporary gig until next March but it pays less than half of what I was earning before. Why did I take it? Was out of work for 6 weeks and the redundancy money was drying up - I needed to take something so I took the 1st thing offered - with a view to looking for better at the same time. Some income is better than no income right? There's hope for a permanent role though at £10-£15k more than my last job. In the meantime I need to find a night gig. It's a matter of location - not many temporary comms gigs in Leeds. If I was in London now . . . Maybe a move is in order . . .

More tomorrow on current affairs hopefuly - I never wanted this blog to be about only me.

Apologies

Hi all,

Sorry for the long absence but I was off getting married on the rock. All is done now and I am back in the UK. My visit was an eye opener I can tell you.


I had a rather unpleasant epiphany. I lived in Jamaica between the ages of 10 and 29 and have always considered myself to be Jamaican even though Jamaicans consider me to be British. But when I went back I felt like a foreigner in the extreme - I actually felt British. I didn't recognise Jamaica and I didn't like it. Isn' t that terrible?! I feel like a traitor.

What I didn't like were the things that were bothering me a lot just before I left - they seemed highlighted. (Things like bad service and waiting endlessly for things to get done). Oddly enough I wasn't bothered by the heat at all I was fine and nothing much bit me but my now husband suffered and he was born on the rock!

What shocked me most was 2 things. The incredibly high prices (one day the dollar was 120 to 1 for the pound, the next day it was 123) and and how run down everything seemed to me. I wonder if I have been tainted by living in a 1st world country or have things in Jamaica really got much worse?

All I know is I am really comfortable with the 'easier' life I have here and definitley don't want to give it up. I'm staying in the 1st world for sure. How I've changed!

Ah confuse!

Maybe I should wait until I stay a little longer and see what I think then.

Glad to see justice done

Just a quick post to say how glad I am that they punished both Zidane and the other guy for provoking him. Full time!

Later.

Visit to The Yorkshire Dales

My mum came for the weekend last weekend and we went to visit Herriot land and York. James Herriot wrote some really good books - humorous ones - about his experiences as a vet in Thirsk, Yorkshire between the 1930s and the 1960s. The books were also made into a successful television series that aired in the 1970s - I grew up watching it and have loved the books for years so it was lovely to visit the house that he lived and worked in.

The house has been restored to its 1940s state and it is lovely to see all of the old furniture, pictures and utensils. The kitchen in particular was fantastic. There was also a vintage car in the back which you were encouraged to get in and have a picture taken.

Upstairs, there was an exhibition of vet instruments and a long room where there were interactive games. Downstairs in what used to be the barns, there was a display of information and a 20 minute film explaining the history of Herriot. There was also a section which was arranged as the set for the TV show, where you could look through cameras and even take a phone call as though you were in the show.

It was lovely to see first hand what I had read about and it was amazingly only £5 per adult! I've been to other so-called interactive museums take for example the Viking museum in York which costs a lot more and was useless!

The next day we took mum to York which she hadn't seen since her schooldays ( a looong time ago people!) and it was lovely. It was about 32 degrees celcius! When we got to York Minster (after visiting the National Railway museum) there was a set of travelling Shakespeare players - done in the ancient style. They did a play, packed up the stage and rolled it to their next destination in the town and did another play.

We finished off with a lovely lunch at O'Neil's pub- for £2.95 for a full meal each- great value for money.

We went through the old cobbled strets and enjoyed the scenerey and indulged our sweet tooth. I took mum to my favourite fudge shope where you get to see them making it.

All in all a lovely weekend. If you ever find yourself in this part of the world, I do reccomend you check out the Yorkshire Dales - in the summer of course!

Sympathy for Zidane

It is time for a more honest approach to dealing with violence and provocation in football. Too many times the only thing that is punished is a footballer’s reaction when the provoker is allowed to walk free. I know, (and so does he) that what Zidane did in the World Cup final was wrong but the fact of the matter is he would not have done it if he hadn’t been provoked. Surely that is the more terrible action, provoking a man to violence and not the reaction to the provocation? A lot of footballers put up with terrible comments thrown at them from the often racist public and from other footballers on opposing teams. Punishing footballers for reacting violently to provocation will not stop the incidents – they aren’t saints for God’s sake. But if footballers and fans know that they will be punished until it hurts for hurling racist abuse (on the part of fans usually) and for provoking other footballers by abusing their family members then there would be a severe drop in the incidents.

I’ve long believed that when you have a whole stadium of arseholes yelling racist abuse at some players, the punishment should be that the match is immediately ended, with a forfeit to the other team. If a team knows it will lose matches and points because it’s supporters are racist, they will work even harder to get rid of that type of following.

Just a quick Hi for now

Sorry for the long silence. been busy being lazy - it's amazing how unmotivated you can be to do anything useful when you are out of work!

Anyway, I've vowed to discipline myself so you shouldbe hearing me rant some more in thte future.

As part of my idleness, I watched the first 2 episodes of Buck Rogers in the 25th century yesterday and today - hilarious!

Later.

Incredible Heat

It has been amazingly hot here in the UK the past few weeks - up to 32C most days. His Royal Highness and I have been falling asleep in the middle of the day in spite of being pretty inactive - it's the heat that does it. We can't remember how we managed on the rock. What a thing eeh, aclimatisation!

Well the football is down to the last few teams. Most of the matches have been mind numbingly boring, but Italy vs Germany was pretty exciting, for the last 2 minutes of extra time that is. We wait to see what happens with France and Portugal.

In the meantime the job hunt continues - I'm still to get even some temp work - quite depressing.