And we are back. Life in Jamaica took a short hiatus while we created a new and original design. I would like to thank designed a new http://www.farfromfearless.com/ for the use of their Lemon Lime v1 Template. While its a really great template, I believe that Life In Jamaica needs to be represented by a design that is as unique as the Jamaican experience.

 While we were upgrading our design we also took the liberty of adding mobile support for those who surf the web on there cellphones and other handheld devices.

Stay tuned for our next fullblown post.

How to unlock your T-Mobile cell phone for FREE!

Hindsight is twenty twenty an old saying that suggest that when looking back at history you see everything a whole lot clearer. You get to appreciate the subtle nuances of the player holding all the cards knowing exactly what’s to be played in what order. I am lying in bed shaking the last remnants of sleep from my eyes and the thought ran through my mind, that I have a birthday in a few weeks, I have a birthday coming, I am whole year older and I lived in the age of the titans. I have lived to see not only the end of apartheid, but also Nelson Mandela’s freedom and subsequent rise to be the president of South Africa. I was alive when the Berlin wall fell, I saw Michael Jordan, Ronaldhino, Maradona, Tiger Woods, Mike Tyson (pre Prison), Asafa Powell, Brian Lara, and so many others at the top of their game.

I was alive for Jamaica’s 25yrs independence celebration and with a little luck I will be here for 50, I saw the end of the cold war and the rise of the new Global community, I saw Mother Theresa inspire millions, I saw the debut of the Michael Jackson’s Thriller music video, I was alive at Bob Marley’s death and subsequent rise to superstardom and now I am here watching his son Damian follow in his footsteps. I saw Shabba Ranks, Shaggy and Sean Paul Take the world by storm, I am here in a time when any and everyone wants to wear the flowing locks of the rastafarian, when “Ganja” is being lauded for its medicinal values, when a hottie with locks can be a Beauty Queen.

I have seen an idiot become the president of a superpower and also witness the ascension of a woman: Mrs. Portia Simpson Miller, to the high office of prime minister of Jamaica and thats just a small sample of the wonders that are taking place in my time…our time. Why wait for hindsight? why not just take a few moments to just savor some of the great and small miracles that are taking place in our lifetime? why not appreciate them now…savor them now.

Why not embrace the idea and enjoy this, “The Age of Titans”.

The number one earner of foreign exchange in Jamaica is tourism. Likewise our number one agricultural produce is Marijuana, “Mary J”, “Ganja”, “Pot” depending on where you light up your, “Bong”, “Chalice”, or “Spliff”. Now given its potential as a foreign exchange earner and its widespread usage locally, it is mystifying to some why “Herb” is still illegal. Let us take the argument further and examine the pros and cons of “The legalisation of Marjuana in Jamaica”.

Pros:

1. The re-focus of much needed man-power and resources from a failed eradication excercise to more pressing areas like child molestation, murder and corruption.

2. Removal of decades of oppression perpetrated against the Rastafarian Religion which utilises “Herb” as a sacrament.

3. Addition of a new dimension to tourism “Come to Jamaica, get high”. Considering we are one hour and twenty minutes from Miami and famous for our “Weed” Air-Jamaica might just become viable.

4. Removal of rebel status and making it a drug of the establishment, hereby reducing its attractiveness to youngsters.

5. Removing the burden of “Marijuana” related cases from the courts, so they can deal with more pressing and relevant matters.

6. Medical benefits

Cons:

1. US de-certification of Jamaica as a nation commited to the “War” against drugs resulting in reduced grants and aid to our hemmoraging economy.

Considering the fact that I personally do not smoke, or sell “Ganja” and have nothing to gain personally from decriminalisation its astounds me that outside of political pressure from the USA there is no real reason why this drug is still illegal. Of course some people are going to argue, that if it becomes legal its usage would increase, I beg to differ as sitting here at my computer writing this article I can get a stick of weed alot easier than I can get a good plate of “Run Dung”.

The people who want to smoke “Weed” are already weed smokers and its legal status will in no way affect their consumption of the drug.

Likewise the argument that its going to “mad yuh” or cause other negative mental health effects, see the argument above. To be brutally honest we know that drug control is not about protecting a population as cigarettes and alcohol kill more people yearly than all illegal drugs combine and we are bot being protected from those.

SUGGESTIONS:

Lets legalise “Marijuana”, if not for export at least for local consumption. Lets bring it out of hiding and impose taxation like any other commodity. Lets invite our North American counterparts to partake, let them smoke as much as they want here without the ability to “tek it wid dem” so they come back for repeat visits. Lets build up industry around Marijuana (planting, curing, rolling, packaging) and create employment from a resource that we have naturally.

History can teach us a lot of lessons and using the prohibition period in the USA as a textbook, we know that a government will never control a population’s drug use. Even after billions have been spent on drug campaigns in the US and here in Jamaica, the victory is still elusive. Drug usage have continued unabated. Lets stop wasting our resources and spend money on educating people about the possible effects of smoking “Weed” lets de-criminalise “Marijuana” so we can better, measure, manage and monitor drug use. Let us in the words of the late great Peter Tosh “Legalise It”.

 A few weeks back I was forunate or unfortunate enough to be passing through U.W.I in Time to witness the Guild of Students candlelight vigil, a gesture in rememberance and solidarity with the victims of the Virginia Tech incident.

I laud the sense of community that drives the students to reach out to their fellow students in time of a great tragedy, but I couldn’t help thinking that there were no candlelight service for the 365 individuals killed January to March of 2007 on their doorsteps with not even a lighter flashing in remembrance.

Now don’t get me wrong I am as appalled and horrified by the Virginia Tech massacre as the next person, but isn’t it a little far removed from the roughly 5 persons who are killed in our own country daily?

Have we become so immune to the violence that we commit against each other, that it no longer elicits a response? Or is it that we just don’t care?

Is the fact that the majority of murders in Jamaica, occur outside our circle of friends and or our socio-economic group cancelled any feelings of kinship we might have had with these victims. While in the case of the Virginia Tech and U.W.I shared status as students resonates and form a bond where previously none existed thus creating a sense of oneness.

It is always a tragedy when such horrific acts takes place, but what is more tragic is when the same thing is happening in our own country and it does not move us to act. So 32 people did not get shot within a few minutes in Jamaica but 148 murders in January, 95 in February and 122 in March is a real grisly picture to paint, and no candles have been lit…by anyone!

Incidentally if you cast your mind back some months to the murder of a business man whose last name happened to be ”Azan”, the PSOJ was up in arms. Businesses were closed in condemnation of the murder in a move that was never before executed or duplicated since. Not even the recent double murder of six-year-old Tajax and his 15-year-old sister Tavia in Portmore elicit more than the token “We are outraged” statement from the PSOJ.

What seems to be the trend is for us to remain unmoved unless the people lying in the blood are in some way related or identifiable with us. This insularity among our population supports murder and the senseless taking of life as long as the life taken is not from among our ranks.

Our sense of justice is only ignited when we feel threathened, when we feel that the life that was taken could have been ours or one of our own.

SUGGESTION

(This is definitely numbered among the Crazy)

1. We need equal opportunity murder in Jamaica. Where every Jamaican has an equal chance of stopping the next bullet. Only then will the population act together to denounce the killings that we have become blinded to.

We need the deaths of, 1 policeman, 1 Azan, 1 U.W.I student, 1 Pastor, 1 Diplomat, 1 Minisiter of Government, 1 Nurse one representative from every class and segment, until we have blood flowing from every quarter of the society…Only then will we be motivated to voice our outraged for the loss of every life…Only then will we stop turning a blind eye…Only then will we “light candles for the dead” and rid our society of the scourge that is stalking us.

republished from xhanubis.com with minor updates.

WARNING! This article contains extremely foul language. If you are offended by such please read something less colorful

That it is still punishable by law to “cuss badwords” onstage during an adult event is nothing short of “fuckery“. This “blood Claat” hypocrisy is allowed to go unchallenged by Jamaicans while we convince ourselves that we live in a democracy, and we have freedom of speech and other self expression.

The “system” justifies blatant censorship by arguing that it is to protect our children…who hear badwords at home, school, on the buses, on the road and every “blood claat” place imaginable.

The last time I checked the dancehall is no place for minors, hence the criminalisation of badwords at these events is quite asinine. In the same way I can pay money at a massage parlor and get my “hood sucked” or pay to watch skanky ass russian girls dance naked at platinum, I would also like to reserve the right to hear every word written in a song including the “bumbo claats“…thank you.

With ticket prices running into the thousands and the lack of talent among our current crop of DJs every, “raas“, “blood and bumbo claat“, becomes very important in ensuring value for money. That I am to be deprived by the “blood claat” hypocrites who are going to make noise over a few well placed badwords, while the children they claim to be protecting are being “fucked” and worst in places of “safety” is quite ironic.

This censorship is not about the effects of badwords on children. We see them all over the streets of Kingston neglected, abused and unwanted. If there well being was important, why then wasn’t ‘Elephant Man’ prosecuted for having children under 10 years of age as a part of his act? This is not about the society either, our murder rate is approximately 3-4 persons per day, yet murderers are not hunted down and prosecuted as ardently as foul mouthed DJs.

So what is this “fuckery” really about?

Two “fucking” syllables…control…con…”fucking“…trol! It is an action outside of what is deemed acceptable, it is a challenge to the status quo that dictates that they control our voices and our ideas. They need to maintain control over the masses for the current levels of corruption to go unchecked, for the plight of the young and elderly to remain unseen, and for the rape and abuse of children in government facilities to go unnoticed.

Control our voice…they control our expressions! Control our expressions…they control our minds! And to that I say…not a “BLOOD CLAAT“.