Homosexuality, Compatibility and Mothers' Day

As we explore the essence of motherhood, it is critical that we take to time out to respect all the hardworking mothers who have worked assiduously to ensure that their children get the best possible care and are successful in their various endeavors. However to talk about what makes a mother worthy of honour would be endless. As we explore the issue at hand, let us consider a brief history of mothers’ day.

Brief History

“Celebrations of mothers and motherhood can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who held festivals in honor of the mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele, but the clearest modern precedent for Mother’s Day is the early Christian festival known as “Mothering Sunday.” Once a major tradition in the United Kingdom and parts of Europe, this celebration fell on the fourth Sunday in Lent and was originally seen as a time when the faithful would return to their “mother church”—the main church in the vicinity of their home—for a special service. Over time the Mothering Sunday tradition shifted into a more secular holiday, and children would present their mothers with flowers and other tokens of appreciation. This custom eventually faded in popularity before merging with the American Mother’s Day in the 1930s and 1940s.”

“The roots of the modern American Mother’s Day date back to the 19th century. In the years before the Civil War (1861-65), Ann Reeves Jarvis of West Virginia helped start “Mothers’ Day Work Clubs” to teach local women how to properly care for their children. These clubs later became a unifying force in a region of the country still divided over the Civil War. In 1868 Jarvis organized “Mothers’ Friendship Day,” at which mothers gathered with former Union and Confederate soldiers to promote reconciliation.

“The official Mother’s Day holiday arose in the 1900s as a result of the efforts of Anna Jarvis, daughter of Ann Reeves Jarvis. Following her mother’s 1905 death, Anna Jarvis conceived of Mother’s Day as a way of honoring the sacrifices mothers made for their children. After gaining financial backing from a Philadelphia department store owner named John Wanamaker, in May 1908 she organized the first official Mother’s Day celebration at a Methodist church in Grafton, West Virginia. That same day also saw thousands of people attend a Mother’s Day event at one of Wanamaker’s retail stores in Philadelphia.

Homosexuality

Homosexuality is simply attraction to the same sex. Many times, these people’s lifestyles are considered as unnatural and they continue to be despised. Hatred towards them have led to many of them being abused and many use violence against them. The Christian religion is one of the biggest challenge to homosexuality. Those who are strictly against them are considered as fundamentalists. Today, we have homosexuals in the very church that despise them. In some countries and or states they are allow to get married. Tolerance towards gays have been slightly on a rise in some countries and or states. They should not be allowed to be abused, they should not be subjected to violent treatment or discrimination, they deserve better because they are humans first and homosexuals second.

I do not wish to bring my personal beliefs in this discussion but must I say that I am a fundamentalist so I need not to say more, but I wish to see them being treated for the human beings that they are with dignity and respect. They are different, we might not agree with their lifestyles but that does not mean we should treat them as less human. We might try to convince them otherwise but it’s their choice so let them live how they want to. In Jamaica, violence against homosexuals do exists, but I refuse to believe that we are homophobic as portrayed in the international community. Sometimes these gays take it too far, and I would implore them to behave better. Some of them harass people and think that they can get away with certain things. Not so! They hide behind the buggery law claiming it stops them from accessing health care – rubbish!

Gay marriage compatible with mothers’ day?

Can homosexuals (gays) factor in the celebrations of mothers’ day? Are homosexual relationships a direct threat to the traditional concept of the family that we have accepted for years? When we have two men in a relationship with a child, which does the child consider as the mother? Is that family structure robbing the child of that motherliness structure and comfort that they should receive? The typical dictionary definition will tell you that ‘mother’ is a “term of address for a female parent or a woman having or regarded as having the status, function, or authority of a female parent” can that definition apply to the current and new trend that we have been exposed to?

The flip-side to it is equally important about women and fathers’ day, but I would not get into that, exploring one side should convey the idea. Many people question the idea of such a family structure and the arguments range from religious to secular. Why do gay couples have to depend on straight people to have access to a child? The mere fact that they have to be dependent does that mean that something is dead wrong with the concept? With respect to lesbians, they are able to have children, be biological mothers, but don’t they have to depend on men for that to happen? The gay couple without women cannot have access to children and the lesbian couple with men cannot have access to children, is that enough to show them something must be wrong? Why the dependency? If something is the natural order of things, does it have to depend directly on other factors for it to work? Maybe, maybe not. Regardless of how feminine a man is in a gay family it can never to be equal to that bond that a child would have established with a female mother, however, it is the way it is. These are some thought provoking questions to a real issue worthy of discussion. The questions are asked, what is your answer? 

Note: The brief history is extracted from History.com Url - http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/mothers-day

The PNP virus: A new epidemic...

In 2014, Jamaica ranks 85 of 174 countries on the corruption index by Transparency International. Let me start by saying that this is a bad state to be in. Corruption drives away investors, and that is bad for any country. The current PNP administration knows nothing about accountability. And the failure to remove non-performers from high places are negligible. Like Ebola, a new epidemic has revealed itself in Gordon House and it is called the PNPVLS – People’s National Party Vision Less Syndrome. It is caused by a virus that once it enters the body it goes straight to the brain, and eats out that part of the brain that interprets vision. As such, a person who has this disease cannot see non-performance, corruption or lack of accountability. Depending on the stage of the virus, type 1 includes when one cannot see one of the three and type 2 includes when one cannot see a combination of the three. This virus is a deadly virus and is costing Jamaicans millions.

It seems this virus has no cure, or no treatment. A person can live with this virus for an entire lifetime and is unaware that they have it. It can be spread through direct contact with the person or via the air. The symptoms include: failure to get rid of non-performers, have a tendency to defend non-performers, failure to see a corrupt colleague, has no idea that someone is wasting public funds, refused to adhere to the voice of the public, resist change, and having no clue what is happening at street level among others. The virus has infiltrate Gordon House because clearly most if not all have shown some signs of these symptoms. Will there ever be a cure or treatment for this disease? I hope so.

A few persons have caught this disease and I am wondering who else is going to catch it. The main person who has this disease is the PM. She refuse to sack Philipo Paulowell, Fentonian Ferginsono, Eastoni Douglas and was trying to defend Jennifera Edwardso for her handling of the Riverton City Dump. The NHT has been on a rampant waste of public funds, as revealed by the Auditor General. Clearly Jamaica is feeling the effects of these people who are either not performing, not accountable or corrupt. The Auditor General also revealed that the Ministry of Education was giving out illegitimate contracts. Then we hear about a former Mayor who award family members and close friends contracts and or money amounting to over three million dollars. How can we get better, and these are happening under the PNP administration.

It was Garfield Higgins that wrote well informed and extensive column in the Jamaica Observer showing us that the PNP knows nothing about accountability. Is it that it just happen to be that way? No, the disease has taken it roots, eating out the brain slowly but surely. How a virus does works? The concept is simple: “Viruses lie around our environment all of the time just waiting for a host cell to come along. They can enter us through the nose, mouth or breaks in the skin. Once inside, they find a host cell to infect. For example, cold and flu viruses will attack cells that line the respiratory or digestive tracts. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS, attacks the T-cells of the immune system.

Regardless of the type of host cell, all viruses follow the same basic steps in what is known as the lytic cycle:

1. A virus particle attaches to a host cell.

2. The particle releases its genetic instructions into the host cell.

3. The injected genetic material recruits the host cell's enzymes.

4. The enzymes make parts for more new virus particles.

5. The new particles assemble the parts into new viruses.

6. The new particles break free from the host cell.

All viruses have some type of protein on the outside coat or envelope that "feels" or "recognizes" the proper host cell(s). This protein attaches the virus to the membrane of the host cell. Some enveloped viruses can dissolve right through the cell membrane of the host because both the virus envelope and the cell membrane are made of lipids.

Those viruses that do not enter the cell must inject their contents (genetic instructions, enzymes) into the host cell. Those viruses that dissolve into a cell simply release their contents once inside the host. In either case, the results are the same. (Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D.). It is sad, but I hope that it will not spread, because I sure don’t want it.

Top five worst performing ministers

It is amazing to see what has been happening in Jamaica. I continue to lash out on the Westminster system that I consider as a plague to Jamaica. Only in Jamaica we have people who are not qualified for a position, leading that position. As such, I am going to examine the top five worst performing government ministers in Jamaica. Please note carefully, this list is based on my personal opinion, therefore it is subjected to change. As such it may differ according to persons.

#5 Peter Bunting

According to JIS “The Hon. Peter Buntingwas appointed Minister of National Security on January 6, 2012. Since his appointment he has embarked on a strategic programme of policy reform at the ministry to address Jamaica’s national security challenges.”

He is a man that was heavily criticised for his ‘divine intervention concept’. He has a plan, he has employed community policing strategies and we see that the crime rate has been reduced last year. However, is he fit for the Job? I think not. I understand that we have a lack of resources, but the crime rate since this year is alarming. He has failed to give Jamaicans that assurance of a safe Jamaica. More needs to be done, and he has not fulfilled the role effectively because clearly the evidence points otherwise.

#4 Anthony Hylton

He is the minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce. He was the one who is responsible for the development of logistics in Jamaica. In his Sectorial Speech of 2011, he spoke adamantly about the logistics hub and his plan about revenue optimization, jobs, and opportunities from this venture. However, we are yet to know the progress about that venture. His portfolio is critical to the development of Jamaica, significant with respect to growth. He has failed to give any substantive report on all the initiatives that he promised years ago. Some has not even started. He has failed miserably to be effective in his portfolio

#3 Noel Arscott

He is the minister of Local Government and Community Development. Time and time again, columnists have lashed out on him. The local government is in shambles. Look at our roads, lack of street lights, lack of infrastructure and the recent Riverton controversy with Jennifer Edwards speaks volumes. “I cannot understand Noel Arscott. Neither, I suspect, can Noel Arscott, at times, understand himself. With three years logged at the helm of the local government ministry, Arscott appears no closer to finding his best stride as the most accountable individual in the ministry or, indeed, as a member of the most powerful decision-making body in this country. Arscott comes across as a man who's deathly afraid of his own ideas, to the extent that he forbids himself from generating any. This lack of confidence in himself renders Arscott incapable of being assertive and forceful in his role as minister, and makes him a prisoner to the ideas and suggestions of advisers and consultants, who take advantage of the fact that they have a Cabinet minister who they can manipulate. Puppet on a string is what Ken Boothe would call him” (George Davis, Gleaner Columnist, March 18, 2015)

#2 Phillip Paulwell

He is the minster of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining. To list out all the things that this guy has done since he has been in that office is not feasible. But just to make a reference to his handling of the EWI bidding process is enough to capture his incompetence as a government minister. Following that controversy. Jamaica was calling for his resignation. Yet being the Prime Minister that she is, we know she would not sack Philip “youth exuberance” Paulwell for what he did. He puts Jamaica’s integrity into question within the international community. To get a detailed piece on his failure just look up Garfield Higgins Column “What else must Paulwell do wrong?”

#1 Dr. Fenton Ferguson

Dr. Fenton Ferguson is the Minister of Health. Without a doubt, he is worst performing minister in Jamaica. Shall is also say that worst is an understatement? His handling of the ChickV speaks volume to his failure as a minister. He is the only minister that has a record call for his resignation from John public. Recent statements by the Jamaica Medical Doctors’ Association President Dr. Alfred Dawes are a disgrace. “PRESIDENT of the Jamaica Medical Doctors' Association (JMDA) Dr Alfred Dawes has charged that medical doctors are being given 'scandal bags' instead of surgical aprons to do their work in operating theatres in the ailing public-health system that is pleading for much-needed attention. And if that were not enough, Dawes charged that operating theatres are anything but sterile in an environment that is teeming with fung.” (The Gleaner, May 2, 2015).

Will they improve? I don’t know, what say you?

Islamic State: Militants 'kill 300 Yazidi captives'

Several hundred Yazidi captives have been killed in Iraq by Islamic State (IS) militants west of Mosul, Yazidi and Iraqi officials say.

A statement from the Yazidi Progress Party said 300 captives were killed on Friday in the Tal Afar district near the city.

Iraqi Vice-President Osama al-Nujaifi described the reported deaths as "horrific and barbaric".

Thousands of members of the religious minority group were captured last year.

It is not clear how they were killed, or why this has happened now, says the BBC's Middle East editor Alan Johnston.

Many are reported to have been held in Mosul, the main stronghold of IS after the militants swept through large areas of northern and western Iraq, and eastern Syria in 2014.

Yazidis, whose religion includes elements of several faiths, are considered infidels by IS.

Thousands fled to the Kurdish-controlled region of northern Iraq after IS captured the Yazidi-populated Sinjar district in Nineveh province.

Hundreds of men were killed, while some Yazidi women were held and used as sex slaves.

In other developments on Saturday:

a car bomb exploded near a popular restaurant in Baghdad's predominantly Shia Karrada district, killing at least 13 people

at least six Iraqi soldiers died in a suicide car bomb attack in the town of Garma in western Anbar province

IS pushed back

The Yazidi Progress Party's statement, quoted by the Kurdish Shafaq News website, condemned the latest incident as a "heinous crime" and called on Iraqi forces to free those still held by IS.

In January, IS released some 200 mainly elderly Yazidis into the hands of Kurdish officials near the city of Kirkuk.

Many of them, held in Mosul, had disabilities or were wounded, though no reason was given by IS for their release.

In recent months, IS has been pushed back from some of the areas it captured, though many Yazidi villages are thought to remain under the militants' control.

In December, Kurdish Peshmerga forces drove back IS militants in north-western Iraq, relieving a long siege of Sinjar mountain where thousands of Yazidis had sought refuge.

The Iraqi government, with forces backed by Iran, also declared it had taken back control of the city of Tikrit in April.

Extracted from - BBC News May 2, 2015 

BBC News

The Most Honourable mi foot!

The word honorable comes from the Latin word honorabilis which comes from the Latin word honor. A dictionary definition of the word honorable is “in accordance with or characterized by principles of honor; upright or worthy of honor and high respect; estimable; creditable” (Dictionary.com). Now in Jamaica our politicians or government ministers are called the most honorable. Now by replacing the definition we get something like ‘the most worthy of honor and high respect; estimable; creditable Portia Simpson Miller’ but is that the case? What is estimable or credible about some of them? And what hurts me most, is that they are considered the ‘MOST estimable or credible’, most credible mi foot!

Gordon House is filled with non-performers, incompetent leaders, corruption, and people who continue to waste public funds costing tax payers millions of dollars – lack of accountability. The number of scandals and corruption that has been recorded on the part of government ministers and by extension the government itself, call into question the idea of most worthy of honor and high respect. What our government is doing is a disgrace to mankind, and a disgrace to Jamaica. Because of some of them, Jamaica is constantly being viewed negatively in the international community.

“Outside of Finance Minister Peter Phillips, Justice Minister Mark Golding, and junior minister in science, technology, energy and mining, Julian Robinson, it is hard to find a real performer in the present Cabinet.

Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce Anthony Hylton has decided to lead the country down the garden path with Krauck and Anchor -- aptly called 'crown and anchor' on social media -- while his boss, the prime minister, simply sits there and allows it to happen. She does this because she is apparently not interested in leadership. She only wants to reign” (Mark Wignall, Jamaica Observer Columnist, April 30, 2015).

“Former Lucea mayor to know fate

Shernet Haughton is being sent to the political knackers, and rightly so. Why was similar treatment not meted out to A J Nicholson, Richard Azan, Dr Fenton Ferguson, Phillip Paulwell, and others? I feel no sympathy for Haughton. But is it that she is what a recent Newsweek Magazine referred as 'easy peeps'. Our country is rapidly being destroyed by the governance of too many who have the least ability. (Garfield Higgins, Jamaica Observer Columnist, April 26, 2015).

When we have these kind of persons leading us, what is honorable about them? We have a government who does not know what accountability means. Let us look at just the common persons in society. Being a leader requires a person to be honest, trust worthy and looks out for the best interests of those whom he/she serves. You are expected to be a role model, one who motivates and encourage, and one who is different from the rest. A teacher, who students look to for leadership on a daily basis, has to be careful of what they do, say, and how they react in particular situations. He/she does not want students to lose respect for him/her.

In the workplace the leader has to be effective, and sometimes that is the real difference between public and private entities. In the public context, one can be corrupt, incompetent and not performing and gets away with it but in the private context, that is not so. Only in Jamaica we have that type of system which is a plague to our nation. Our Westminster system is a curse unto us. Where people are ministers of portfolios and their qualification is incompatible with the position. Other countries put us to shame. The Prime Minister of Trinidad fired a cabinet member to behaving badly in public, would that happen in Jamaica? In Rwanda, ministers have to sign a performance contract – where they must accomplish something by x time, and if that is not met by that time stipulated in the contract, they have to go. Can that happen in Jamaica?

We are so comfortable with non-performers and incompetency. Recently a young man insisted that the brightest minds should be government ministers, even if they are not part of the political party in power – not a new concept but he received backlash and that shows how we refuse to challenge our status quo, to change traditions so that we can move forward. Our country is put to shame when compared to other counties vis-à-vis accountability and corruption. And we have leaders who claimed to be the most honourable? Most honourable mi foot! If you want to see honourable look at Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, he alone put Jamaica to shame!

A the PNP 'mash up' Jamaica?

The political landscape in Jamaica is sight to behold – a disaster. The two party system in Jamaica has not benefitted us in no shape or form. I am no political loyalist, but I am concerned about my island Jamaica. Politics have destroyed our beautiful island. It is predominantly filled with corruption, poor performance and incompetent leaders. We have persons heading organisations that are critical to the growth of the country who are not qualified for the position. Easton Douglas has not experience with respect to running financial institution, neither is Rev Garnett Rooper, he has no qualification in terms of running a transportation company. Yet they are chairmen of boards. According to my reading, it seems to be that they have the position because they are party loyalist – which seems to be a substitution for competent people.

The Peoples National Party has been the longing serving party in Jamaica. “Our country is rapidly being destroyed by the governance of too many who have the least ability…The wanton waste of public resources is the hallmark of the PNP now in power for 22 of the last 26 years” (Garfield Higgins, Jamaica Observer Columnist, April 26,2015). Since the PNP has been in office, there has been a rampant waste of public funds. The NHT/Outameni brouhaha is typical examine. And to go further, we remember the exuberant phone bill by Junior Minister Arnaldo Brown - exceeding one million dollars. There are a plethora of examples that can be referred to.

The debt to domestic gross product (GDP) ratio has seen little or no improvement under the PNP administration. A recent report says that there was an increase in the unemployment rate – a whopping 7.5 per cent. “The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) is reporting a 7.5 per cent increase in the number of unemployed persons in January 2015 compared to January 2014. It says in January, the number of unemployed persons was 188,100 - an increase of 13,000 when compared with 175,000 last year January. The unemployment rate for January 2015 was 14.2 per cent compared to 13.4 per cent in January 2014. In particular, the unemployment rate among youths aged 14 to 24 years was 34.5 per cent for January 2015. This was an increase of 1.2 percentage points when compared with 33.3 per cent in January 2014.” (The Gleaner, April 30, 2015)

That is not good, the Minister Thwaites claim to be passing the people test. “Thwaites says persons may say the government is busy passing IMF tests but not the people's test. However, according to him, a good education which is available to all, is the ultimate people's test.” (The Gleaner, May 1, 2015). No minister Thwaites that is not the ultimate people test. The ultimate people test is when people have jobs, when they are earning and able to put bread on the table. When people can boast about that, then you can say you pass the peoples test. Your administration have failed miserably clocking an excellent ‘F’!

Let us look at political history and see who the performing party is, or to put it better, who we think is the better performing party. “The case can be made that, in terms of economic indices and the lessening of overt political tension, the Seaga Government of the 1980s did better than the Manley Government in the period before. Some will even say that the P J Patterson run from 1993 to 2006 featured an understanding that the geopolitical space had changed and Patterson made a good attempt to fit in, while others like me will say that his administrations failed miserably in latching on to the global growth and development and taking our country much further than actually happened.” (Mark Wignall, Jamaica Observer Columnist, April 30, 2015).

That is quite surprising, one man is of the opinion that the JLP (Lead by Seaga) did better than the ruling party (PNP) before it. What say you? Let us forward to 2015, what do we have to say? “With that understanding, can we sincerely say that the Portia Simpson Miller Administration, in the over three years from early 2012 to the present, has been better than any three-year period of the Patterson run from 1993 to 2006? No, we cannot. Not if we are honest with ourselves.” (Mark Wignall, Jamaica Observer Columnist, April 30, 2015).

PNP has been in power more than any other party in Jamaica and as was established 22 of last 26 years. Can we say that we are better now than then? Can we say that there have been any improvements in the last 26 years? Aren’t we still at the same place if not worst? Since the PNP has been in power more than any other party is it safe to say that it’s the PNP that destroyed Jamaica? Maybe, maybe not, what say you?