FI WI CONCERNS BY MICHAEL SPENCE

CURFEWS

I am not being critical of curfews, states of emergencies or incursions which may be necessary at times. My comment is based on years of observation in Jamaica and even the police will agree that curfews/hot spot policing and state of emergencies are temporary fixes while in some cases send the problems further and deeper while the police chases it all over. I agree with those who say that most crimes are not caused by the police. Crime is the result of a multiplicity of social and economic fallout that do not happen overnight. Western/rural economies need rebuilding and deeper socioeconomic study to identify the problems precisely in order to solve them. If not the police/other relevant agencies along with the whole society will continue to be given baskets to carry water while blaming the commissioner and the Minister rightly so because the buck stops with them. 04/07/16

RESTRICTING CAR IMPORTS!

USA auto sales set a record in the first six months of this year but that is good for America. If we say same for Jamaica that is no good news because we do not have a car manufacturing industry so while Jamaica bleeds America on the other hand builds. The importation of vehicles is one reason why the Jamaican dollar cannot stop devaluing there needs to be a halt in motor vehicle importation for a minimum of 18 months to give the Jamaican dollar a breather so we could significantly pay down a lot of our foreign debts. Most of these vehicles imported do nothing productively just drive around doing nothing and then park .Consider $US for gas, environmental damage, parts, accidents causing loss of lives and the car price itself. Do we have any political leader with guts to quantify the cost of motor vehicle imports to the Jamaican economy in this country today then stop imports of non productive vehicles that has become liabilities to all Jamaicans?04/07/16

 THAT TAXIE DRIVER

This Taxi driver in whose car An Alpha Academy student was shot allegedly by a policeman is a good and heroic Jamaican man and his actions in the midst of fear for his own life did not run away leaving the child to die. For me he is an unselfish HERO a human being and a decent man out to make an honest living albeit using contingencies a result of a shambolic, unreliable and chaotic transportation system that breeds indiscipline of every imaginable type. 30/06/16

CARTER’S TESTING

Many people are confused as to how or why WADA has tested Carter’s sample in 2016 after 8 years has elapsed from the 2008 Olympics. As a background to being unconfused let us say we made some drugs or performance enhancing substance that is not known to WADA, IOC or anyone no test can be designed to pick it up those are called "designer drugs" (DD).This is a method of cheating that WADA has realized so to thwart these methods WADA and IOC has decided to keep samples for 10 years and continue to retest as new (DDs) are busted or new drugs created. The real point is there is no on size fit all testing procedure, if you do not know the drug its chemical composition etc. you cannot design a test for it. The drug in question a stimulant Methylhexanamine was known since 1983 as a nasal decongestant and later a dietary supplement in drinks and other supplements that one could inadvertently ingest. It was not on the banned list in 2008 the Olympics year. It was added in 2009.B sample is just a smaller quantity of the same A sample taken at the same time. Masking agents are like what we call diuretics/wash out a kind of substance that could stimulate excessive urination to get rid of any adverse substance, Diuretics are sometimes given to patients with high blood pressure(BP) to lower BP as it increases the amount of urine produced by the kidneys causing increased urination. A drug Natrilix /Natrilix SR is one such drug dispensed daily for high BP but the IOC has determined contains banned substances and this could send an athlete packing for using a "masking agent" even if you do not know exactly what is being masked. 30/06/16

 THOSE PARISH COUNCILS

Are all parish councils engaged in fraud or some are staffed with angels so why KSAC the mother of all parish councils (PCs) not raided/audited or only the Scotland Yard or FBI can deal with that? Audit/raid everyone and let us find out if the Hanover, Manchester or other PC is the best or worst of an angelic lot. Our own MOCA seems to be developing into a force to reckon with locally and congratulations are in order for the unit the concept, conceptualizers and staff being able to unearth "Grand Fraud".30/06/16

 GANJAa

"This has to be a heavily regulated industry, and heavy regulations cost money" According to Ms Lightbourne What is this money for and where will it go? It is my view that these bureaucrats and lawyers are heading to most expensively regulate Jamaica out of the ganja business. Can you imagine a small farmer coming up with approximately JA$250000 for a cultivators license. This decriminalization may turn out to be one of the worst nightmares for the traditional ganja farmers. One thing will lead to another because a small planter in the hills needs money and that is why plant ganja but you tax him before he starts he/she is going to do business as usual without the requisite regulators input so now you have a Ganja Authority Enforcers running down farmers in the bush with confrontations right left and centre or that the regulations are unenforceable and the authorities turn a blind eye and unregulated business as usual or the originals just abandon ganja business to the more wealthy of the society. The process sounds too complex simplicity and not too much expense makes for easier compliance. 28/06/16

 LANGUAGE

Someone wrote that French should be put on the curriculum of all our Primary Schools. French is possibly a dying/declining language so that doesn't make economic sense. In the world of 7 billion people 2billion speak English, 1.5 billion speak Mandarin, Hindi 1billion, and 440 million speak Spanish and French 270 million. If you speak mandarin and English you can communicate with half of the earth’s population so do the math, Mandarin should probably the one to add at primary school. In order of practicality I would say add Spanish now because we have many Spanish neighbours but where are the French neighbors. French is losing its significance as a working language so could stay for later  as  research has shown that it is actually declining in its European homeland. 27/06/16

It is not a question of being lapdogs for the USA or not. The fact is that Venezuela needs a new direction and my question is can Maduro do that to rescue his people from penury, civil unrest and starvation. If he can let him stay if he cannot he must do the decent thing and go before the army steps in. As a former bus driver he knows that a defective bus must be fixed because passengers lives are at risk, if he cannot see that and do the necessary repairs to the bus called Venezuela the OAS must all vote for him to go, give the steering to another driver. 24/06/16

 PRESIDENT TRUMP???

Get used to the idea of Trump being president of the USA a wave of self-interest and self-preservation and domination is blowing through the air of Caucasians. USA and UK will almost become one country since they are one family it is England that laid the foundation for the creation of the USA. Those economic and military family ties run deep if you touch one it affects the other they watch each other’s back 24 sevens. A lesson in cooperation we must learn by now. . 24/06/16

THOSE GOVERNMENT ASSETS

Jamaica's public bodies collectively owning more than $1trillion worth of assets and failing to make a positive impact on the country's gross domestic product (GDP), the Andrew Holness administration is moving to hold these enterprises accountable for achieving commercial returns on their assets. This is like taxation through the backdoor and under the fence. In many ways government and their entities are a scam and costly burden perpetrated on the backs of the Jamaican people by a untrustworthy Babylon Government. Hope the PM as he says in parliament he intends to change that and he and his government is allowed to be succeed.24/06/16

Michael Spence