EVERY NOW AND THEN I COME ACROSS AN ARTICLE I FEEL COMPELLED TO SHARE WITH YOU. IN MY HUMBLE OPINION THIS IS ONE SUCH ARTICLE.ALTHOUGH IT MAY BE MORE APPEALING TO “YARDIES”, OTHERS SHOULD FIND IT INTERESTING.

By Kharl Daley
Posted Sunday, January 1, 2006
Iyah yu si how de place a run? We cyaan jus sidung soh an nuh do nutten. Weh yu seh? Jamaica. No problem! A figment of our collective imagination. Under the watchful eyes of the current regime our country has denigrated into a Hobbesian state of nature where life is now "nasty, brutish and short". The nexus of crime and politics have crippled the Jamaican society to a point where, "force and fraud, the two cardinals of war flourish in an atmosphere of perpetual fear and strife". Civilized living is under threat, and life for the vast majority of Jamaicans amount to nothing but a daily struggle to ‘keep the wolf from the door’. The ‘dutty politics’ of skullduggery practised over the years cultivated seeds of criminality which germinated into community enforcers known as dons, sprouting up in most inner-city communities. As a consequence, we are now reaping what was sewn. We find ourselves in a situation where government creates more problems than it solves.
Having ploughed and fertilized the soil that nurtured the growth of political garrisons with criminal organizations now overgrowing like a canopy, attempts are being made to solve the problem by cutting down what was planted. Several communities are now designated as war torn communities because of fighting between genetically linked political gunmen over turf. After creating mayhem and taking several innocent lives as collateral damage, these same gunmen who created the war sit with religious and political leaders to make a compromise and work out peace initiatives. There are values which, if sacrificed on the altar of partisan politics, or for political mileage will cause a government to fail. The mire of corruption at the highest levels of society provides fertile ground for the breeding of social decadence. The moral crisis in political leadership which lacks transparency and accountability leaves the government in a compromising and untenable position.
Enough is enough. Are we going to just sit idly by and watch our country falling into an abyss and do nothing to stop it? Is the misery and oppression not yet too much to bear for us to rise up? Maybe the downtrodden and oppressed are so divided and powerless they simply hope for a better life in the hereafter. Iyah we a trod pon de winepress too long a time fe rebel. De I seet? We must take our country back. Freedom without the rule of law is anarchy, but law without freedom is tyranny. The fundamental rights and freedom of all Jamaicans must again be respected so that while we seek to restore order, control crime and stabilize our society we do not sacrifice their happiness.
The vicious cycle of violent crimes (particularly murders, most of which are caused by domestic disputes), and pattern of social breakdown cannot be simply dismissed as the product of extreme poverty and high unemployment as is suggested in some quarters. Those factors though, are among the primary causal factors. The best way to alleviate poverty is to create wealth. Wealth creation is generated by real investments. New and increased levels of investments will reduce unemployment and over time move the economy to full employment. If a stable climate is created which facilitates investments; the increase in real gross national product (GNP) from those investments will increase government revenue and help in reducing the fiscal deficit.
What is needed is a government that will transcend both JLP/PNP and view all Jamaicans equally. Pulling Jamaica out of its current dilemma will require a new political sociology as it involves the de-synchronization of certain mores, norms, values and attitudes which were cultivated with the tribalistic political culture for over 40 years. Of all the principles and habits which lead to social and political prosperity, morality is indispensable. When a government loses moral authority, it loses legitimacy. An effective government that will foster national unity, transparent in its operations and accountable to the people is what Jamaicans are clamouring for.
Bless Up Zeen

IT IS MY HUMBLE OPINION THAT NO MATTER WHAT SUBJECT I SOUND OFF ON, I AM GOING TO ATTRACT VEHEMENT OPPOSITION. THAT IS A GOOD THING. IF EVERYONE AGREED ON EVERYTHING, WHAT WOULD BE THE PURPOSE OF EVEN A SIMPLE CONVERSATION?. DIVERSITY IS A BLESSING. ALTHOUGH IT IS NOT MY PURPOSEFUL INTENT TO OFFEND ANYONE, I WILL SURELY ANGER SPOUSE, CHILDREN, RELATIVES, FRIENDS, ADVERSARIES (GLEEFULLY), POLITICIANS,PASTORS, RABBIS, IMMAMS, TEACHERS, SCIENTISTS, YOU NAME IT. IF YOU CAN READ SOONER OR LATER I AM GOING TO WRITE AN OPINION THAT WILL MAKE YOU MAD. SO HERE I GO.

WALKING DOWN REALITY ROAD, I SEE A PILE OF YOU KNOW WHAT, METOPHORIFICALLY CALLED POLITICAL CORRECTNESS. I AM ABOUT TO STEP IN IT WITH MY INSENSITIVE BARE FEET. HOPEFULLY I CAN WASH THEM IN THE PUDDLE OF COMMONSENSE.
WHILE I REMAIN A LITTLE SKEPTICAL THAT SOME PEOPLE ARE BORN GAY, I AM INCLINED TO BELIEVE THAT THERE IS SOME KIND OF CONTROLLING GENE (PERHAPS A SLEEPER CELL), THAT PREDISPOSES SOME PEOPLE TO THAT LIFESTYLE.
TO MY PONTIFICATING PUNDITS WHO STATE THAT PEOPLE COULD NOT BE BORN THAT WAY BECAUSE GOD CANNOT MAKE A MISTAKE (EXCEPT THAT ONE TIME WITH THE DUCKBILLED PLATIPUS), I SAY PHOOEY! HOW DARE YOU SPEAK FOR GOD. WHAT GIVES YOU THE INSIGHT TO ALL OF GOD’S INTENT?. MAKING SUCH JUDGEMENTS FROM YOUR LOFTY POSITION OF POMPOSITY. HAVING SAID THAT, I MYSELF VEIW GAYNESS (AS OPPOSED TO GAEITY) AS DEVIANT BEHAVIOR SIMPLY BECAUSE IT IS CONTRARY TO NATURE. (OOPS, THERE IS THAT PILE OF P.C.). HOMOSAPIENS ARE THE ONLY LIVING THINGS THAT SEEM SO INCLINED. I WONT GET INTO THE ADAM AND EVE VERSUS ADAM AND STEVE THING, BECAUSE IF YOU HAVE READ MY OPINION ON EVOLUTION YOU KNOW WHAT I THINK.

THERE ARE SOME MAJOR CHRISTIAN DENOMINATIONS THAT HAVE CONFORMED SO FAR OUT THAT THEY ELECTED GAY LEADERS TO THE HIGHEST POSITIONS. THAT IS A SHINING EXAMPLE OF IDOLOTERY. THEY WORSHIP THEIR DEVIANT LIFESTYLE SO MUCH THAT THEY ARE PLUNGING THEIR TEMPLES INTO THE DEPTH OF INNEQUITY, BY DEMANDING THAT KINGDOM OF GOD BOW DOWN TO THEIR WISHES. SHAME ON ALL THE GOOD CHRISTIANS STANDING BY AND LETTING IT HAPPEN IF YOU WANT TO BE A CHRISTIAN THEN CHANGE YOUR LIFE. ACCEPT THE CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES.YOU SHOULD NOT EXPECT THE CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES TO ACCEPT YOU.
FOR ALL YOU WHO ARE GUILTY, AND THINK YOU CAN JUSTFY YOUR ACTIONS, I DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO ROMANS 1:24-28

Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

And even as they did not like to retain God in [their] knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

MODERN CHRISTIANS ARE WEAK- KNEED AND JELLY-BELLIED. AT LEAST THE GAYS HAVE "GONADS" AND STAND UP ( NO PUN INTENDED) FOR SOMETHING.
HOWEVER, THATS JUST MY HUMBLE OPINION.

………..MORE TO COME.
CHATTERBOX

IN MY HUMBLE OPINION THE WAR IN IRAQ IS GOING TO INFLICT SEVERE DAMAGE TO PRESIDENT BUSH’S LEGACY, UNLESS HE REDEFINES HIS GOALS. MOST IMPORTANTLY HE NEEDS TO PUT AN END TO THE IDEA THAT WE ARE FIGHTING A WAR ON TERROR.
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE DEFINES TERROR AS :
“Intense, overpowering fear. See synonyms at fear.
One that instills intense fear: a rabid dog that became the terror of the neighborhood.
The ability to instill intense fear: the terror of jackboots pounding down the street.
Violence committed or threatened by a group to intimidate or coerce a population, as for military or political purposes.
Informal. An annoying or intolerable pest: that little terror of a child.”

IT SEEMS THEREFORE, THAT WE ARE IN A WAR AGAINST FEAR. A FUTILE PURSUIT STRATEGISED BY THE NEO-CONSERVATIVES.WE NEED A WAR AGAINST TERRORISM INSTEAD.
ALSO, STOP TELLING US THAT WE WENT TO IRAQ SO THAT WE DO NOT HAVE TO FIGHT THE TERRORIST HERE. THAT REALLY DOES NOT MAKE MUCH SENSE WHEN OUR LIMITED INTELIGENCE DOES NOT KNOW HOW MANY SLEEPER CELLS ARE ALREADY IN THE USA, OR HOW MANY TERRORISTS CROSSED OVER FROM MEXICO WITH GOD KNOWS WHAT.
THE TRUTH IS WE DID NOT DECLARE WAR ON THE TERRORIST BY INVADING IRAQ. THAT LINK WAS NEBULOUS AT BEST. HOWEVER THE TERRORISTS DECLARED WAR ON THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION, AND IS QUITE CONTENT TO USE IT AS A FORMIDABLE TRAINING EXERCISE AND RECRUITING MAGNET.
I HOPE OUR GREATEST EXPECTATION IS THAT IRAQ WILL NEVER TRIGGER A WORLD CONFLAGRATION WHEN AND IF THE US FORCES WITHDRAW.AND THAT IS A STRECH. IF WE TAKE A SANE LOOK AT IRAQ, WE SEE A COUNTRY THAT HAS NO HISTORY OF THE CONCEPT OF DEMOCRACY, NOR THE GENETIC DESIRE FOR IT. THEY ARE BORN OF AND BRED ON FEUDALISM. I BELEIVE THEY ARE ANXIOUS TO SEE US LEAVE , SO THAT THEY CAN GET ON WITH THE BUSINESS OF CIVIL WAR. THEN THERE ARE THE SO-CALLED INSURGENTS WHO ARE BEING SUPPURTED BY EVERY ARAB STATE IN THE REGION WITH THE POSSIBLE AND I MEAN POSSIBLE EXCEPTION OF JORDAN.
THEY ARE ALL MONARCHIES OR DICTATORSHIPS, AND WOULD NOT WANT A DEMOCRATIC IRAQ TO INFLUENCE THEIR POPULACE..
AND THEN THERE IS IRAN. I FEAR THAT BY GETTING RID OF SADDAM WE HAVE HANDED OVER IRAQ TO THEM ON A SHEITE PLATTER.
THATS MY HUMBLE OPINION.

………….TO BE CONTINUED.

CHATTERBOX.

IN MY HUMBLE OPINION IT IS UNDERSTANDABLE THAT THE CHURCH IS FEARFUL OF EMBRACING THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION. THE PROPHETS AND RABBIS OF OLD DID NOT THEMSELVES RECOGNISE THE EVIDENCE OF EVOLUTION. IT IS QUITE POSSIBLE THAT EVEN IF THEY DID, THEY WERE CONFLICTED BY THE SPECTRE OF BLASPHEMY.
THEY NEED NOT HAVE BEEN, BECAUSE IF YOU GLEAN THAT GOD IS OMNIPOTENT, THEN WHAT IS BEYOND HIM.

LETS BE A LITTLE ANALYTICAL. MAN IS THE CENTER OF ALL THINGS. MAN IS THE FOCUS OF ALL PURPOSES. EVERYTHING IN THIS UNIVERSE WAS CREATED FOR MAN’S SURVIVAL AND COMPORT. MAN IS THE REASON FOR EVOLUTION, EVEN AS IT CONTINUES TODAY. THE GENIUS OF GOD IS THAT HE CREATED A UNIVERSE OF PERPETUAL EVOLUTION, AT THE END OF WHICH WE WILL BE AS CLOSE TO HIS IMAGE AND LIKENESS AS HE INTENDS US TO BE. THAT SCENARIO REAKS OF INTELIGENT DESIGN. THAT IS NO ACCIDENT.

THERE REALLY IS NO BASIS FOR CONFRONTATIONAL DISSENT AMONG SCHOLARS.
SCIENTIST SIMPLY DISCOVERED GOD’S HANIWORK. LETS FACE IT. ALTHOUGH IT ALL SEEMS COMPLICATED AND MYSTERIOUS, TO GOD IT IS CHILDS PLAY.
ITS ABOUT TIME THE SCHOLARLY THEOLOGIANS COME OUT IN THE OPEN AND GENTLY NUDGE THE FAITHFUL IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AND SEIZE THE UPPER HAND BY REMOVING THE WEAPON OF RIDICULE FROM THE GRASP OF THE NON-BELEIVER, AND AT THE SAME TIME ESTABLISH GOD AS THE ULTIMATE SCIENTIST.
AFTER ALL HIS CREATION IS SCIENCE.
AND THATS MY HUMBLE OPINION.

…. TO BE CONTINUED.

SINCE I INTEND TO GIVE AN EXPERT OPINION ON EVERYTHING, IT IS ONLY FAIR YHAT YOU KNOW A LITTLE ABOUT WHERE WAS BORN AND RAISED.

JAMAICA

Jamaica, is an island nation in the West Indies. Jamaica lies about 480 miles (772 kilometers) south of Florida and is the third largest island in the Caribbean Sea. Only Cuba and Hispaniola are larger. Arawak Indians, who were the first people to live in Jamaica, named the island Xaymaca, which means land of wood and water. Kingston is the capital, largest city, and chief port.

Jamaica’s pleasant climate and its beautiful beaches and mountains attract large numbers of tourists each year. But the Jamaican economy does not depend chiefly on tourism. Jamaica is among the world’s leading producers of bauxite, the ore from which aluminum is made. The island also produces bananas, sugar, and various manufactured goods.

Facts in brief about Jamaica
Jamaica was a British colony for about 300 years, until 1962. Today, it is an independent nation within the Commonwealth of Nations

Government of Jamaica is a constitutional monarchy. The prime minister, who leads the majority party in Parliament, is the chief executive. Cabinet members head the ministries (executive departments) of the government. The British monarch appoints the governor general of Jamaica. The governor general represents the monarch but has few governing powers.
The Jamaican Parliament consists of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The governor general appoints the 21 senators, 13 of them on the advice of the prime minister and 8 of them on the advice of the leader of the opposition (minority party) in Parliament. The voters elect 60 people to five-year terms in the House of Representatives. All Jamaicans at least 18 years old may vote. The largest political parties are the Jamaica Labor Party (JLP) and the People’s National Party (PNP).

Jamaica is divided into 12 units of local government called parishes, plus the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation, a governmental unit made up of Kingston and its surrounding area. Each parish has a governing council whose members are elected by the people.


People. More than 90 percent of Jamaica’s people have black African or mixed black African and European (Afro-European) ancestry. The country’s minority groups include Asians, most of whom are Chinese and Indians; Europeans; and Syrians. Most Jamaican business and professional people are Europeans and Afro-Europeans. Numerous Chinese and Syrians also operate businesses. Large numbers of people of African and South Asian ancestry work as farm laborers. See Life expectancy (table: Life expectancy at birth for selected countries).
Jamaica’s official language is English. But most Jamaicans speak a dialect (local form) of English that differs from the English that is spoken by Americans and English people. More than 80 percent of the people are Christians. Religious groups include Anglicans, Baptists, members of the Church of God, and Roman Catholics.

About 100,000 black Jamaicans belong to a religious and political movement called Rastafarianism. The name Rastafarian comes from Ras Tafari, a title held by Haile Selassie I, the emperor of Ethiopia from 1916 to 1974. Many early Rastafarians considered Haile Selassie to be a god. In addition, they adopted many of the beliefs of Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican who died in 1940. During the 1920's in the United States, Garvey preached that all blacks should consider Africa their home and live there (see Garvey, Marcus). After Haile Selassie's death in 1975, Rastafarians changed some of their beliefs about Africa. Today, some look forward to a spiritual return to Africa rather than to actually living there. See Rastafarians.
The government provides free elementary schools for children from 6 to 15 years old. Almost all Jamaican children go to primary school. However, only about two-thirds attend high school. The largest university in Jamaica is the University of the West Indies at Mona, on the outskirts of Kingston. Most Jamaicans 15 years of age or older are able to read and write.


Land and climate. Jamaica is part of the Greater Antilles, a group of islands in the West Indies. The island has three land regions: coastal plains, central hills and plateau, and eastern mountains. The Blue Mountains rise to 7,402 feet (2,256 meters) at Blue Mountain Peak. Limestone formations in northwestern Jamaica include a large number of deep depressions called cockpits, and the area is called the Cockpit Country. Jamaica has many springs, streams, and waterfalls. Swift-flowing rivers run north and south from the mountains.
Jamaica has a hot, humid climate that is eased by ocean winds. The average temperature in the winter is 75 °F (24 °C) and in the summer 80 °F (27 °C). Temperatures in the mountains can drop to 40 °F (4 °C). The rainy seasons extend from May through June and September through November. The rainiest months are May and October. The yearly rainfall varies from about 30 inches (76 centimeters) along the coast to about 200 inches (510 centimeters) in the mountains.



Economy. About a fourth of Jamaica’s people work in agriculture. Sugar cane is the most important crop. Other farm products include allspice, bananas, cacao, citrus fruits, coconuts, coffee, milk, poultry, and yams. But the nation’s farms do not produce enough food for all the people, and so Jamaica must import much of its food.

Mining provides much of Jamaica’s income. Jamaica is one of the world’s largest producers of bauxite. Plants near some of the bauxite mines remove a mineral compound called alumina from the bauxite ore. This process is the first step in the production of aluminum. Jamaicans also mine gypsum, which is used in making plasterboard and other construction materials. Minerals are Jamaica’s chief exports.
Jamaica has plants that produce cement, chemicals, cigars, clothing, fertilizer, footwear, machinery, molasses, petroleum products, and rum. Tourism provides much income for the nation. The leading tourist centers in Jamaica include Kingston, Montego Bay, Negril, and Ocho Rios. Data entry and software programming are growing parts of the economy.
Jamaica’s chief trading partners are the United Kingdom, the United States, and Venezuela. Jamaica belongs to the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), an economic organization of Caribbean nations (see CARICOM). Jamaica is also a member of other international trade and development organizations.
Jamaica has a good road network. But the country has an average of only about 1 automobile for every 15 people. Most Jamaicans ride buses. Kingston and Montego Bay have international airports. Three daily newspapers are published in Jamaica.


History. Arawak Indians lived in Jamaica when the explorer Christopher Columbus arrived there in 1494 and claimed the island for Spain. The Spaniards enslaved the Arawak and later brought Africans to the island as slaves. Disease and overwork killed almost all the Arawak. The Spaniards used Jamaica as a supply base. Because Jamaica had no gold, they did not try to settle or develop the island. See Arawak Indians.
The British invaded Jamaica in 1655, and they gained formal possession in 1670. But they continued to fight African slaves called Maroons, who had escaped into the hills when the British arrived. The British and the Maroons signed a peace treaty in 1738. During the 1670’s, British pirates in the Caribbean used Jamaica as a base to attack Spanish ports and ships (see Morgan, Sir Henry).
Jamaica prospered in the 1700’s. Sugar became the major crop, and the island ranked as the most important slave market in the Western Hemisphere. But in 1833, the British Parliament freed the slaves. The end of slavery hurt the Jamaican sugar industry because the plantation owners lost thousands of laborers.
In 1865, disputes between planters and workers led to a peasant revolt called the Morant Bay Rebellion. Paul Bogle, a Baptist deacon, led the workers. British troops put down this uprising. For the previous 200 years, Jamaicans had elected a governing body, the House of Assembly, to help the British rule. After the revolt, Jamaica became a crown colony, governed directly by the United Kingdom.
During the 1930’s, Jamaican labor leaders urged the British Parliament to give the Jamaican people more political power. In 1944, the United Kingdom gave Jamaica a new constitution that provided for some self-government. Jamaica was a member of the West Indies Federation from 1958, when the federation was established, until it was dissolved in 1962. Later in 1962, Jamaica became a fully independent nation and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. Jamaica joined the United Nations in 1962 and the Organization of American States in 1969.
In the 1970’s, Jamaica faced severe economic problems. Michael Manley of the People’s National Party became prime minister of Jamaica in 1972. He sought to solve the economic problems by adopting socialistic policies. He also called for a policy of nonalignment with other nations (see Manley, Michael Norman). Edward Seaga of the Jamaica Labor Party became prime minister in 1980. He adopted economic policies that emphasized the role of private business and encouraged foreign investment and good relations with Western nations. In 1983, Jamaica and several other Caribbean nations joined the United States in invading Grenada to overthrow its Marxist government. See Grenada [History and government] for details. In 1988, a major hurricane struck Jamaica. It killed 45 people and caused widespread property damage.
Manley became prime minister again in 1989. He followed a moderate course in economic and foreign relations policies. Manley resigned as prime minister in 1992. The People’s National Party elected Percival J. Patterson party head, and he became prime minister. The PNP won the most seats in parliamentary elections held in 1993, 1997, and 2002; and Patterson remained prime minister (see Patterson, P. J.).


______________
Contributor:
• Brian Winston Meeks, Ph.D., Head, Department of Government, University of the West Indies, Mona

How to cite this article:
To cite this article, World Book. recommends the following format:

Meeks, Brian Winston. "Jamaica." World Book Online Reference Center. 2006. World Book, Inc. 18 Jan. 2006 .