Jamaica Observer

Dear Editor,

A report coming out of UK from a notable newspaper that our countrymen cower in fear of retribution to put a lid on corruption in this country is absurd. It is alleged in the UK circle that our country folk are afraid of coming out and declaring that drug usage in sports is wrong due to the crime rates.

We are a very proud people who are speak out on many cultural and social problems which are hindering our progress.

Cheating is not so much a problem, from my perspective, but ignorance to the usage of illicit compounds which are deemed illegal by the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA).

Dick Pound has an axe to grind with our Jamaican athletes so we are not concerned about his alleged impositions which could be detrimental to our programmes of advancement. The propaganda which these people are devising to derail our programme will not work with divine interventions.

Why would an Asafa Powell or any other of our high-profile athletes resort to such unbecoming behaviour?

I know I am not blinded by my patriotism. It's natural for persons to respond to situations like these when it has reached embarrassing proportions. I want this dark cloud to be removed from our heads.

Paris Taylor

Greater Portmore

paristaylor82@hotmail.com

When athletics is affected by crime

-->

Dear Editor,

According to the Government: "Relative to the budget, revenues underperformed mainly due to lower imports and weak economic and labour market conditions." Here are my concerns:

Firstly, the Government should not be depending on taxes and fees from imports in an almost stagnant economy to raise revenue. The more imports into the country, unless it is for production purposes, put unnecessary pressure on the JA dollar, which causes increase in prices and less consumer spending, leading to less government revenue.

A good-for-nothing JA dollar also makes the cost of foreign production inputs more expensive, which can hamper business growth and leads to less revenue from business taxes. The JA dollar has got too much battering, and the last thing to do is have more imports — especially consumer imports — to further its dependency on life support. In fact, the dollar is heading into a coma right now at $107.00.

Secondly the weak economy is to be expected. With so many people out of work (15.4 per cent) it means less consumer spending again and less taxes into the coffers. In a weak economy businesses are either hesitant or unwilling to invest in revenue-producing activities, which in the end will affect overall production (GDP). Less revenue for government means less money to take care of the regular "household" activities, let alone invest in new productive programmes.

I am not sure why there was an expectation to meet revenue targets with this type of economy.

Thirdly, a weak economy means less consumer spending, less business investment and less government spending, why would a person expect a strong labour market?

Businesses are created to make profits. When the conditions are not conducive to such outcome, Mr or Mrs business person will hold on to their money. They won't buy anything, invest anything, or hire anybody, but do just enough to minimise any adverse consequences. Sending people home is at the top of the list, not hiring more.

The Government needs to stop the pussyfooting around and start putting in place productive activities that will increase consumer and business spending, have less imports, more exports, decrease unemployment, increase employment and a stable dollar. I hope that this was part of the IMF deal or else we will need more than "divine intervention" to get us out of this mess.

Patrick L Green

Florida

USA

Can't expect good result from bad economics

-->

Dear Editor,

How does Trinidad expect us to continue buying their products if our people are not allowed to enter their country and work. These workers send back remittances to fuel Jamaica's

buying power.

The IMF money on its own is not enough to meet our import bill. If Trinidad values our business they will allow our citizens free entry. Let us see if this proposed boycott will make a difference.

In the meantime, will the Jamaican manufacturers step up the pace. Why should we be importing things like water, peanuts and other snacks. Let us work together to close this trade imbalance.

A Bryan

abryan67@gmail.com

Dear Editor,

Last Friday made it eight full days that I have been delivered brown water through the pipes at my home in Hellshire.

Eight days now, that consumers of the 'product' of the National Water Commission (NWC) have not been getting reliable and safe water through our pipes.

The NWC proports to, on the Ministry of Water and Housing website, "supply 190 gallons of potable (sic) water each day to its more than 400,000 registered accounts, representing about two

million persons across Jamaica" yet still there are thousands in sections of Portmore, who, for the past eight days, cannot say this is true.

And the situation has not improved, even after reporting the situation to the branch office in Portmore on Tuesday, December 24, 2013.

Where is the world-class water quality. NWC, what am I paying for?

Monique Edwards

monique.edwards@gmail.com

Dear Editor,

Dr Al Grey's piece 'Time to revisit Michael Manley's path' printed in the Sunday Observer of December 22, 2013 is a very fascinating article — almost like a manifesto for national development.

Naturally, there are pieces of the article that need to be looked at seriously as, if some of these proposals were implemented, they would be good for Jamaica.

However, I'm not sure though whether the Manley path should be revisited. For he, after coming back to power 1989 (defeating Seaga and the JLP), admitted that he had made lots of mistakes in his previous administrations.

The problem with Manley's path is that although the theory of Democratic Socialism was idealistically good, practically, it had limited value.

Why? Because the 'ideologically-driven university-type revolutionaries' in his party wanted his socialism to be taken its logical conclusion — where the State indeed controlled all aspects of the commanding heights of the economy, and regulated people's lives.

But Manley wasn't prepared for that. Manley was not prepared to go all this way. And he was fortunate that the militants in his party didn't get their way. For, if that had happened, Manley and Jamaica could have gone the way of Maurice Bishop and his Marxist New Jewel Movement of Grenada. There, the hotheads of his party executed him because they wanted a more doctrinaire and dogmatic form of socialism cum communism. This tragic event led to President Reagan's military invasion of Grenada with the loss of lives.

I suggest that it's not ideology — left or right — that Jamaica needs now, but more centrist policies that try to accommodate all shades and opinions of the Jamaican economic and political spectrum.

That is the challenge of good leadership:. To effect reasonable and workable compromises between all stakeholders.

George S Garwood, PhD

Lucea, Hanover

georgie_woods@yahoo.com

Dear Editor,

Much is being said in recent times, particularly in the aftermath of the denial of entry of 13 Jamaicans into Trinidad, about a boycott of Trinidadian products and a buy Jamaican push.

I sympathise with the call, not particularly to boycott Trinidadian products in light of that incident, but more so to support the long-running campaign to 'Buy Jamaican to Build Jamaica'. Thus, I have been making a conscious effort to buy Jamaican-made products to the extent that I can find them.

While we focus on that effort, I wish to bring into focus the practice of our locally based international firms of sourcing from or actually manufacturing certain products abroad and simply labelling them as Jamaican brands.

Why, for instance, must coconut water be made in Thailand when we cultivate coconuts in Jamaica, considering that our locally obtained natural coconut water products taste far superior? Or why should corned beef be made in Brazil when we also raise cattle in Jamaica?

This hurts the Jamaican economy by refusing, for whatever reason, to either directly cultivate coconuts or raise cattle locally.

After all, such "outsourcing" takes away valuable foreign exchange from Jamaica and certainly impacts our gross domestic product.

Is it a natural consequence of globalisation, which also sees Jamaica benefiting from many jobs being imported, particularly in the business process outsourcing sector?

A local company like Tru-Juice is to be commended and should get our support for not only producing fine world-class Jamaican products, but for using as much locally produced inputs as possible.

I am prepared to withhold or restrict my support of companies that do not use Jamaican inputs to make their products where it is possible.

Kevin KO Sangster

sangstek@msn.com

Buy Jamaica more than a label

-->

Dear Editor,

Even at year-end, non-politicians are hell-bent on taking Jamaicans for buffoons. You would think with a new year coming they would come up with new trickery to fool us.

Some people might grumble, "Jamaicans deserve the government they get because of the way they voted." But Jamaicans deserve respect.

The article "Jamaica welcomes 2 million stopover visitors", and the political excitement around it, proves to us that our politicians are brain-dead. A place like Jamaica should be seeing 10 million visitors a year! With our climate, crystal-clear sea, friendly people, natural beauty, a music that the world likes, fantastic cuisine, home of the world's track stars, and 51 years of practice, two million is a failure.

When I first went to Tallinn, Estonia, in 1989, with my team, I decided I would not go back. Canterbury in St James was a 5-star residential area compared to Tallinn. In 1990, the team travelled there again, we travelled there by ship and left on a plane in a hurry. My wife went there in 2004 and told me the place improved a lot. I still did not go because I was thinking she was looking for company to travel. In 2005, my friend travelled from New York and wanted to visit Tallinn and I drove him to the harbour in Helsinki, and I said: "That is the ship over there and you are on your own." He came back and said, "You must visit Tallinn now."

I went in July 2006, and I now go there every single year. Tallinn has improved so much since independence was restored on August 20, 1991. In 2011, 1.8 million foreign tourists stayed overnight. These 1.8 million does not include day-trippers.

Some people might argue that Helsinki is near Tallinn. So what? So is Florida to Kingston/Montego Bay. Did I mention that Tallinn gets a good amount of snow and cold weather, which keeps people at bay? Did I also mention that six out of 12 months Finland is an icebox? Their numbers now waver between a high of four million and a low of five million.

Now, the questions we need to ask our politicians are: Why are those small islands seeing those kinds of figures, and when Jamaica sees a mere two million, the politicians' glad bag burst? What is it they have that we don't?

Jamaicans should now ask themselves, would I swim in shark- infested water? What does that question mean? Why would a person want to vacation somewhere that is constantly on the edge? The reason people avoid Jamaica is because of the high crime rate. According to the latest border interview survey, Finland received 7.6 million foreign visitors in 2012. Foreign visitors brought euro 2.3 billion to Finland in one year.

Those are figures I would gladly jump off Flat Bridge for, head first. Anyway, I would like to wish my beloved people back home a prosperous new year and hope it will be better than last year.

Hero Scott

herocarlito@yahoo.com

2 million is no reason for confetti

-->

Dear Editor,

How could I not be moved to highlight the good deeds of one cop, especially with so much negativity being meted out to the police by John Public.

On December 13, 2013 I was making my way from Kingston to the north coast. Upon reaching Golden Grove, I realised I had a flat tyre. It became rather scary at this point because this was approximately 2:00 am. The road was dead, no shops opened, plus the area wasn't adequately lit.

My initial instinct was to remain in the car and sleep it out until daybreak because I could have clearly been a target for unscrupulous opportunists. But that was not to be. Shortly after I pulled over and got out to look at the tyre, a police vehicle with flashing lights passed going in the same direction of my travel and disappeared around the corner. In less than five minutes, the vehicle passed me again, this time going in the opposite direction. It stopped about 100 yards up the road, turned around and drove up to me. The officer asked if I was OK. I told him I had a flat tyre. He then proceeded to help me change the tyre....in fact, he did the whole exercise himself. I was like "Am I in Jamaica?"

But it got more interesting, because after he was through, I decided to take his name and badge number. When he mentioned his name I thought it sounded familiar. I asked him if he was the investigating officer at an incident one night, some six miles down the road, in 2010, involving a car and a trailer. He vividly remembered the actual incident. I had been the driver of the car. It was just incredible that we met again under another car scenario years later.

I wish to thank and "big up" Constable Gayon Gabriel of the Claremont Police Station, badge number 10739. His duty to serve and protect citizens was extraordinarily displayed in this selfless gesture and exemplary action. More power to you, sir, and may more like you so shine their light. The Jamaica Constabulary Force, and the country at large, can only be better off for it.

Win Smith

winsvista@yahoo.com

Officer 10739 to the rescue

-->

Dear Editor,

Last Friday made it eight full days that I have been delivered brown water through the pipes at my home in Hellshire.

Eight days now, that consumers of the 'product' of the National Water Commission (NWC) have not been getting reliable and safe water through our pipes.

The NWC proports to, on the Ministry of Water and Housing website, "supply 190 gallons of potable (sic) water each day to its more than 400,000 registered accounts, representing about two million persons across Jamaica" yet still there are thousands in sections of Portmore, who, for the past eight days, cannot say this is true.

And the situation has not improved, even after reporting the situation to the branch office in Portmore on Tuesday, December 24, 2013.

Where is the world-class water quality. NWC, what am I paying for?

Monique Edwards

monique.edwards@gmail.com

Send water to Hellshire... clean water

-->

Dear Editor,

In news reports last week Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller responded to many comments about her travels by saying that the few who criticise her think that the right colour is not in power. Anyone see my dying trial...

Now, please tell me if we are not allowed to ask for clarity on the prime minister's travels and for her to communicate with the public -- not just with the Cabinet, the Chinese and whomever else that invite her to their country?

The comments were meant to force the prime minister's hand to give the people some information and the best the PM can do is accuse persons of? No sah dis caan real!

I am appalled and quite disturbed. Are we not entitled to ask anything of our elected officials? What the other party did or did not do is their business. It is what is currently happening that is of concern.

Comments made by the onlooking public are solely intended for Jamaica's good. Asking for accountability is never about colour.

This play needs a new stage as the PM's comments went to a new level. They were inappropriate, out of order and made people with good intentions out to be in the wrong.

We are simply looking for a response... a solid response.

Colette Campbell

rastarjamaica@yahoo.com

'But see mi dying trial'

-->

Dear Editor,

Michael Dingwall's comments on Bible myths in the Observer of Wednesday, December 25, 2013 need an answer. This will be brief, as many books have been written in defence of the Christian message, and above all the Bible stands as still the most circulated book in the world

Myth #1: Jesus was not born of a virgin -- The suggestion that this idea was created by the Romans is both foolish and unhistorical. Firstly, the New Testament Gospel accounts were written in early days of the Christian Church by observers of Jesus's life and work. Doctor Luke, in his Gospel written about AD 60, would have had intimate discussions with Mary, Jesus's mother, to verify the story. The story therefore carries historical reliability and credibility.

Secondly, there is a very important theological reason why the God-Man breaking into history should not be contaminated by the sinful Adamic race. The Last Adam -- Jesus -- had to be sinless to offer the perfect sacrifice for the sin of the first sinful Adamic world. The Old Testament projection for the child to be born of "The Seed of the Woman", was an extraordinary statement made thousands of years before his birth. (Genesis 3: 15 AV)

Myth #2: The resurrection of Jesus -- This Christian doctrine is pivotal to the Christian faith and must be defended. The historical records stand the test of authenticity. Why did the rulers who crucified Jesus not bring out the body of the dead Jesus? Many persons hugged, ate with, and felt the wound marks of the resurrected Jesus, and on one occasion 500 people at once saw him. Why would the frightened and disappointed disciples, after the apparent disaster of the Good Friday crucifixion, be willing to die for a dead Jesus?

Secondly, there is also an important theological reason. It is well argued by St Paul who pointed out that, if the resurrection were not factual, the Christian faith would be meaningless and the individual believer would be, "Dead in your sins." (I Cor 15: 17)

Mr Dingwall has become famous in his writings with the creation his own mythological stories to try and explain away the truths and realities of the Christian faith. He must wheel and come again.

Alfred Sangster

sangsteralfred@yahoo.com

Your stories have holes, Mr Dingwall

-->

Dear Editor,

It was good to read about the 'Big things lined up in the Jamaica-Colombia alliance' in the Sunday Observer of December 22, 2013 as there was the potential for the news to have been not so hopeful.

A few hundred miles west of Jamaica there is a geopolitical hot spot in the Caribbean Sea. Although a lot less turbulent than the East China Sea -- and of course involving different regional players -- it nevertheless includes the world's two superpowers.

The USA and China are playing it cool, though. The former is concentrating on protecting the homeland from drug smuggling, and the latter is literally minding its business by focusing on regional trade and investment.

The countries affected are Colombia, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Panama, and Nicaragua. The immediate cause of trouble is the award of part of the Caribbean Sea to Nicaragua by the International Court (ICJ) in November 2012. This expands Nicaragua's maritime territory by more than seven times the size of Jamaica.

Historically, this area had been under Colombian control. Colombia has rejected the ICJ ruling, withdrawn from the court's jurisdiction, and accused the ICJ's Chinese judge of bias by knowing the interested parties and supposedly favouring the proposed Chinese inter-oceanic canal in Nicaragua.

Jamaica and Colombia jointly manage a maritime zone in this area whose boundaries may now be challenged by Nicaragua. Significantly, President Santos of Colombia had asked his affected regional neighbours to sign a protest letter to the UN. Costa Rica and Panama signed the letter. Jamaica did not. We sent a separate note. It is clear that the Santos Government thought Jamaica agreed with their strategy and were expecting support.

There has been no coverage of this in the local media so it's not possible to say if we have subsequently offered an explanation to Colombia. It is worth noting, however, that the Chinese canal in Nicaragua is more feasible with this increased access to the Caribbean. In turn, the canal also makes the proposed Chinese mega port in Jamaica more economically viable. Stitching together friendly seas of Nicaragua and Jamaica makes for smooth sailing for China's shipping infrastructure investments.

Is this part of their long-term strategy? If so, are we signalling our support? All of this is important because as one of his first official acts three years ago, President Santos visited Jamaica and committed his Government to action in areas of interest within a special commission which manages the relationship between the countries. Pointedly he said there had been a lack of political will for action. One area of development was exploration for oil and gas in the joint maritime area. This is practical.

Caricom and regional integration is challenging enough, let alone South-South initiatives such as with China. There are realistic benefits from a good working relationship with Colombia, crime-fighting techniques being an example. The recent visit to Bogota by our minister of national security makes sense. We should ask Colombia about their experience with Chinese promises of mega-projects. It was only two years ago that there was talk of a 'dry canal' (railway) that would have joined ports on Colombia's Caribbean and Pacific coasts. There is no mention of it today.

Jamaica should also be on the lookout for eventual pushback from the US against China's geo-strategic moves in the Caribbean. Maybe we should ask China to fund a geopolitics programme at one of our universities. It will be needed.

Michael Evelyn

malaneve@yahoo.com

Big things come with big consequences

-->

Dear Editor,

During his lifetime, Richard Hart committed his energies to the cause of the working class with much solicitude. It was a matter of concernment to him to document the events unfolding during his active years, much of which was to become the repository on those early years of the People's National Party and the process of decolonisation in which the working class played a seminal role.

When I first met him, back in the 1990s, I was struck by his tenacious desire for details. For in one of our discussions the matter as to the date of the first publication of the Jamaica Labour Weekly preoccupied his mind. While I was content with the fact that it was some time in the month of May 1938, he was intent on remembering the exact date, and got up to research in his archives for the first publication, which he produced for my scrutiny.

I also remembered his campaign efforts in having the redaction of contents in the colonial office files for a specified period lifted so that public access to the information and materials of the pre-Independence period could be made available.

We spoke at length about the events unfolding during the May 1938 period, his involvement in the labour struggles, the formation of a Labour Committee by Norman Manley to solidify the work of the trade union movement, and the sub-committee formed out of it, which was charged with drafting a constitution to incorporate several unions in one major union, which later morphed into the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union.

His lifelong campaign clearly showed the characteristics of dialectical thinking in locating capitalism as a system of contradictions and opposites and his understanding of the interdependence, inter-penetration and unity of contending forces. Therefore, the end of colonialism was never the end of the struggle for him; he was not merely content with being one of the midwives of the transformation to political independence, but continued his struggle against what he deemed an ossified capitalist system.

His toiling in the vineyard on behalf of the working class in the 1930s and beyond may not be fully appreciated today -- that, of course, is an indictment on our sense of history. But he now joins so many others as 'repairers of the breach' in their long and arduous struggle on behalf of the working class of this country.

Danny Roberts

Head

Hugh Lawson Shearer Trade Union Education Institute

Consortium for Social Development and Research

Richard Hart -- Repairer of the breach

-->

Dear Editor,

Jamaica has for years been trying to fix its crime problem. Several measures have been implemented, including the employment of experts from the United Kingdom and the deployment of the Jamaica Defence Force, to limited success. We still have not seen abatement in the fear of crime or a significant reduction in murders.

There has been a lot of criticism, both in public and private spaces, of Owen Ellington's stewardship as commissioner of the Jamaica Constabulary Force. However, against popular poll, he has been doing an effective job. He has accelerated the pressure on corruption and created a first-class police image. The immutable fact is that the commissioner of police does not make laws. The police force needs effective legislation designed to tackle criminal activities, along with, of course, the assistance of the citizens. It is unfair and unconscionable to attribute all the social ills of the country to one person or entity.

It is my belief that if we separate the people from the problem, we will be better able to discuss the various issues that plague our country. We spend too much time talking about Commission Ellington and, as a result, the real problems are untouched.

The reality is, if you dismantle the Jamaica Constabulary Force and employ 20,000 foreign police officers and the fundamental issues are not dealt with change would be an exercise in futility. These issues include high unemployment, an apathy towards change, low self-esteem, lack of respect and love for our young children and elders, the 'eat a food' mentality, indiscipline on the roads, and an effective justice system.

Addressing the issues is key. As a people our way of thinking has to be adjusted in a more positive light. We cannot continue the killing in our churches, the abduction and raping of our children, and the callous attack on our security forces. What Jamaica needs is less talk and more action. We need mental change in our society. We need to show love, employ alternative dispute resolution to our problems, and positivity.

Look at Tessanne Chin's performance on The Voice: The overwhelming support and unity, both locally and abroad, is the kind of intervention we need to build our country and suppress criminal activities.

As Mahatma Gandhi said: "You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty."

Let us work together, support the police, be that extra eye and separate the people from the problem.

Victor Barrett

Final-year student

Faculty of Law

University of the West Indies

Cave Hill Campus

Separate the people from the problem

-->

Dear Editor,

As a West Indian fan I am glad to see the back of Jacques Kallis. In 24 Tests against us, he averaged 73.62 with eight centuries. He also took 52 wickets at 30.05. Of the Tests, West Indies won 2, lost 16, and drew 6. Kallis would bat third or fourth, and be an easy first-change bowler, coming at you at over 140 kph (89 mph). He was almost an unfair advantage, as Sobers was in the 60s. They would give you the luxury of playing an extra batter or bowler depending on the state of the pitch or quality of the opposition.

Kallis's retirement will leave a huge void in the South African Test team that will be impossible to fill. He is the only cricketer ever to score more than 11,000 runs and take 250 wickets in both Test and ODI cricket -- Sobers unfortunately played very little ODI cricket.

There are only two all-rounders in the history of cricket who would have been selected based on either their batting or bowling alone: Sobers and Kallis. Comparison of the two is near impossible and probably irrelevant. The fact remains that they are both in a class of their own.

So, although as a West Indian I am happy to see Kallis go, as a fan of cricket I am devastated; knowing that such a player comes only once in a lifetime.

Thanks, Jacques, for the magnificent memories. In my lifetime you have no peers.

Dr Nigel Camacho

Maraval

Trinidad

nigel.camacho@gmail.com

Jacques Kallis has no equal

-->

Dear Editor,

This crime business has gone on for far too long.

Time for more strategic moves to flush out these gangs, wherever in the Caribbean they are, for example, the CARICOM governments should deploy their forces in all hot spots.

Trinidad may deploy a few thousands officers to help Jamaican police. This special force would go into area by area simply overwhelming the criminals by their sheer numbers.

It would work like this -- all women and children would be asked to leave there homes for 24 hours, government would temporarily house them elsewhere.

All the men would be forced by law give a DNA sample, and of course they would be thoroughly, investigated for criminal activities taking place all over the island.

This process would be repeated right across the island, unannounced of course.

Next the same process should be repeated in TT, with help of a CARICOM Force until this senseless loss of life is under control.

The governments should pass emergency legislation, in their respective parliament to facilitate these drastic measures to stem the loss of life and preserve the lives of their citizens.

clirey

Dear Editor,

I have noticed that in these last days, as a people, we have sought to create and maintain a level of division among us. We do this either by the fact that some of us are Anglican, Catholics, Adventists, Methodists, etc, or by the fact that some of us are Labourites and others are Comrades. We even separate ourselves by class or educational attainment.

This separation has caused an almost irrepairable breakdown among our people.

Our farmers continue to lose their produce at the hands of thieves, and yet no one is caught or prosecuted simply because no one saw or heard when they were digging up farmer Ben's acres of Irish potatoes.

It is said: "Cast your bread upon the waters and you shall find it after many days." We have stopped finding our blessing after many days simply because we have stop casting our bread.

It has become difficult to even get as low as a $200 to borrow from a friend these days, not because he doesn't have it but because he has hardened his heart against this kindness, as the last time he he did something similar he was burnt.

We must remember that hunger and thirst know not race, class, wealth, or educational level. When it rains, it falls on everyone, and everywhere gets wet. We are all created equal and all will die one day no matter where we have been or how we have lived.

As we close 2013 and open 2014 let us, as a people, make a commitment to ensure that not just us or our families are taken care of, but we make an effort to look out for our fellow man in whatever way we can, as it has once again become very important to be our brother's keeper.

Gary Rowe

Coleyville PO

Manchester

magnett0072004@yahoo.com

Cast your bread upon the waters

-->

Dear Editor,

In 2006, an electronic billboard ad read: Righteousness exalts Jamaica radically!

The Bible reveals that the causes of the rise and fall of nations are moral and spiritual. It declares that righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.

No nation can rely on its strength, power, and wealth to save it from the devastating effects of moral decay. Moral, ethical, and spiritual problems cannot be resolved by money, strength of arms, social programmes, intelligence, or humanitarian goodwill all by themselves.

If one were to take a good look throughout history, it would become obvious that there is a direct and invaluable relationship between personal integrity and the society's prosperity. We need faith in God to provide the anchor for the nation. Without it, we are cast adrift, and robbed of any means of determining right from wrong. We thus experience a nation that staggers like a drunkard unable to find a wall to hold himself up.

What is Jamaica today but a nation bent on pleasure, entertainment, vanity, greed, and utter selfishness at the expense of stable marriages, families, and other relationships? Jesus is the answer! Righteousness will exalt this nation.

As we seek to see our nation exalted, let us develop appropriate moral and ethical convictions based on the word of God. Let us stop going along with the majority and choose to make a difference.

Come on, team Jamaica, let us do it together for 2014 onwards.

Millicent Battick

Sbat65@gmail.com

Righteousness will exalt Jamaica

-->

Dear Editor,

The criminals keep showing us how vicious they can be, while those who are in charge of national security keep trying to come up with "nice and clever" ways of keeping them under control. They need to ask themselves: Are the methods that have been implemented working? Are the criminals becoming more civilised? The daily news certainly does not indicate this.

The last time that we had some reduction in the homicide rate was after the military incursion in Tivoli Gardens.

The local authorities have since not displayed the courage to implement the tough measures required to deter criminals.

Evidence of the failure to deter criminals is again raising its ugly head as the crime rate goes up and security costs and concerns mount. Probably it's time to consider why crime is consistently low in counties like China, where criminals are not pampered and criminal activities are not tolerated.

In addition, we need to bear in mind that our financial status does not give us the leverage to try many of the flexible or sophisticated methods that we seem to be pursuing. What is required is for us to be quick and blunt in dealing with criminal activities in our country so that we can live in peace.

Mel Robinson

melsonet@yahoo.com

Tackle crime by the horns

-->

Dear Editor,

In recent months the Minister of Health Dr Fenton Ferguson has been very strident in championing the cause of the nation's health regarding smoking of cigarettes and other substances deemed to cause cancer. I join with those who support his exuberance to

save lives.

There are, however, many other health concerns of which the minister seems unaware or has turned a blind eye.

Let us take the emissions of smoke from diesel-fuelled vehicles. Among the main offenders are government vehicles; in and around the Corporate Area the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) buses are hard to ignore. The minister should know that fumes from such vehicles are highly carcinogenic, and studies have made linkages to lung, bladder, stomach, blood, voice box (larynx), and skin cancers. Fumes from diesel vehicles have been put in the same category as asbestos, tobacco, arsenic, and alcohol.

Under the Road Traffic Act a smoking vehicle should be removed from the roads, yet government-sponsored carcinogenic smoke continues to be emitted from every other JUTC bus. This is a form of state-sponsored corruption which continues without redress, putting hundreds or thousands of Jamaican citizens at risk. It must stop immediately. The police must do their jobs and remove such health risks from the streets. Even the drivers and workers in and around these vehicles, and even persons living on such roads as Mount Rosser in St Catherine are at risk.

Another smoke health risk is the Riverton Dump. The people living in Cooreville Gardens, Duhaney Park, Riverton, Patrick City, and Portmore are suffering. Governments have come and gone and they all at some time promise no more smoke from Riverton, yet there is always more smoke.

The food prepared at restaurants throughout the country are at times laced with Monosodium glutamate (MSG) -- an exitotoxin that has been linked to retina, brain and nerve damage. The minister should mandate that restaurants and food processors inform the public of its presence in food so we can decide what to eat.

There are also artificial sweeteners available locally, some of which are 600 times sweeter than sugar. For some half a pound can sweeten what you would normally take 300 pounds of regular sugar. They come with names like saccharin, neotame, cyclamate, aspartame, and sucralose, which studies in lab rats have shown aid in the development of bladder cancer. These substances should be regulated and products containing them should be clearly labelled with a health warning.

Mr Minister, over to you.

Michael Spence

Micspen2@hotmail.com

Remove health risks from the streets, Minister Ferguson

-->

Dear Editor,

In an effort to make the health services more customer-friendly, the minister of health recently announced plans to implement a new scheme to rein in all categories of health workers, with regard to how they interface with the public.

You know, sometimes I really wonder why is it that our leaders like to say things that they really don't believe.

I remember a very recent case when I had to take my nephew to Kingston Public Hospital. One of the doctors attending to patients in the Casualty Department was most disrespectful to the patients. Of course, as we were the patients, we had no choice but to just swallow our pride, and some of us were just grumbling about the doctor's attitude.

I don't go to hospitals very often. However, for the times that I do go, I notice a trend. The rude doctors are usually the local ones. The "foreign" doctors seem very polite to the patients. I have a feeling that some of these local doctors are surprised that they have reached this far and, as such, think they are gods.

There are local doctors, however, who are very polite. I remember a case when I went to the University Hospital late one night with a relative and a local doctor tended to him very well. He went even further, he gave us a lift near our home. So, despite those "hurry-come-up" doctors, we do have some very good and courteous ones in the system.

Despite the minister's speech, I really don't see the ministry sanctioning any doctor for being disrespectful to anybody -- worse patients. Sure other health care workers, like ward attendants, clerks, and other such will be disciplined. I suppose that, unlike doctors, these categories of health workers are expendable, so we can always do away with them for the smallest infraction.

It would be good to have an effective system that rewards doctors who show exemplary service. The Government has a competition for departments in respect of customer service, maybe it should consider one for good doctors. As for the bad ones, well... Let me not say anything more, I may very well end up in one of those hospitals and I may have to give them my name.

Michael A Dingwall

michael_a_dingwall@hotmail.com

Good luck disciplining doctors

-->

When athletics is affected by crime

Can't expect good result from bad economics

Send water to Hellshire... clean water

Manley’s path not milk and honey

Buy Jamaica more than a label

2 million is no reason for confetti

Officer 10739 to the rescue

Send water to Hellshire... clean water

'But see mi dying trial'

Your stories have holes, Mr Dingwall

Big things come with big consequences

Richard Hart — Repairer of the breach

Separate the people from the problem

Jacques Kallis has no equal

ONLINE READERS COMMENT: Time for a CARICOM Police Force and drastic measures

Cast your bread upon the waters

Righteousness will exalt Jamaica

Tackle crime by the horns

Remove health risks from the streets, Minister Ferguson

Good luck disciplining doctors