Senate Republicans are coalescing around a long-shot bid to dismiss the impeachment trial of disgraced Donald Trump before it even begins, relying on a disputed legal argument that says putting an ex-president on trial is unconstitutional. https://t.co/6xHA5lXf5N
A lot of natural justice is involved in seeing that he is held accountable for a series of acts that appear to fit ‘high crimes and misdemeanour’ and tried to subvert democratic processes in the USA. The insurrection on January 6 stands out, but so too do the series of acts before that to overturn election results that had been declared as fair and certified, included a recorded call to Georgia’s Secretary of State where the then-president asked him to “find 11,780 votes”, to give him the win.
The weekend saw reports from the New York Times that President Trump tried to use the Department of Justice (DOJ) to ‘find’ fraud in Georgia and get its results overturned, including by filing a case with the Supreme Court after removing the acting Attorney General and replacing him with a ‘loyalist’ within the DOJ!
The NYT reports have been substantiated in other reporting:
Former President Trump pushed the Department of Justice to directly ask the Supreme Court to invalidate President Joe Biden's election win, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal. https://t.co/vHXNLklAz8
CNN reported: ‘The effort ultimately failed as Trump appointees in the Department of Justice refused to file the lawsuit, according to the Journal. Rosen, along with former Attorney General William Barr and former acting Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall, refused to file the Supreme Court case citing that there was no basis to challenge the election outcome and the federal government had no legal interest in whether Trump or Biden won the presidency. Trump also backed down during the New Year’s weekend effort after top Justice Department officials, including Trump’s own Senate-confirmed appointees and other political staff, vowed to resign if Trump fired Rosen.’
Serious news always involves sport, in my mind. If two countries can go to war over a football match…. It’s always a buzz to live through some historical moment in sport, better if you witness it in person, but not bad to just see it unfold somehow.
So, I was excited when Henry (‘Hank’) Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s home run record in 1974, hitting his 715th.
That year meant more to me for Germany beating The Netherlands 2-1 in the World Cup Final.
I knew little about baseball, then, but I understood the violent racist backlash. Fortunately, political leaders saw the merits in raising his achievements to the right level of acknowledgment by President Bush (43) bestowing on him the Medal of Freedom in 2002. His death last week was the passing of a true all-time great.
Legendary slugger Hank Aaron, who shattered Babe Ruth's home run record in 1974, has died at age 86.
He batted in more than 100 runs in a season in three different decades, and MLB named its award for best offensive player after him.https://t.co/ef5wlEvqps
Yesterday, another great marked another milestone in his seemingly unending career, as Tom Brady led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to victory in the NFC Championship game against the Green Bay Packers, 31-26. This will see him play in Super Bowl LV (55)…in Tampa, the first time a Super Bowl team will play at home, after winning all of its playoff games ‘on the road’. Brady is 43 and will be in his 10th Super Bowl, another record; his win/loss is 6-3. This seals his claim on GOAT (greatest of all time) status? For sure, amongst quarterbacks.
The Kansas City Chiefs, current Super Bowl champions, will face the Buccs, after winning their AFC Championship game.
Patrick Mahomes and the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs advance to face Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Super Bowl, beating Josh Allen's Buffalo Bills 38-24 in the AFC championship. https://t.co/2zdBTbSqod
I’m a sports fanatic and COVID-19 has offered some amazing unexpected benefits in the form of live sports. For fans of football/soccer, we have had nearly daily offerings of live matches to watch since May last year, often more than one match a day.
Golf at the weekend is part of my routine, though, recently, I haven’t played much due to spinal stenosis in my back–narrowing of the spaces within the spine, which can put pressure on the nerves that travel through the spine. Swinging golf clubs doesn’t really help, so I walk and just do a few swings for practice, while my friends play a round. This past weekend, I played 9 holes, and then called it a day.
Saturday morning in Jamaica is physical and mental therapy for free 🙏🏾👍🏾🇯🇲🏌🏾 @ Caymanas Golf Club https://t.co/fxcNhTuxzE
— Dennis G Jones Call me Eugene Goodman! 👍🏾🙏🏾 (@dennisgjones) January 9, 2021
I usually get a couple of days of pain after doing that as inflammation etc subsides. I do stretches daily, and my most common position in recent months has been prone on my back, which is both restful and comfortable. So far, the agony has not been too bad since last Saturday 🙂
But, the golfing is an excuse to be outdoors and enjoy what Jamaica offers, naturally, for the eyes to feast on, and the weather is usually great. In recent weeks, we have had cooler days, especially around dawn (19C/66F). After a morning at the course, it’s hard to feel down about things. Most weeks, I also chill watching Premier League matches at the clubhouse while my friends finish playing; that’s a win-win.
This past weekend offered some special offerings for the watching fan.
FA Cup magic was into the 3rd round. This English cup competition, dating from the late-19th century, is what excites almost any club associated with the Football Association. The competition is open to any club down to Level 10 of the English football league system which meets the eligibility criteria. (I played FA Cup qualifying matches a few times in my heyday; my club never made it to the 1st round proper, though.)
All clubs in the top four levels (the Premier League and the three divisions of the Football League) are automatically eligible. Teams spend weeks from early in the season to qualify, and teams from the top two tiers enter in the 3rd round. So, for smaller clubs, it is their chance to get a date with the ‘big boys’. Teams often give up their home advantage to play at hallowed grounds such as Anfield (Liverpool) or Old Trafford (Manchester United). In normal times, while it’s great that these matches are televised, so offering a moment of glory that be seen by all, fans relish the chance to travel to see their heroes try to take down the giants of the sport. Giant killing has some memorable scalps through history. For small clubs, it can also be a shop window for some players who are looked at in full match settings. Much of the gap between the leagues is less about skills than about opportunities. We’ve seen that more often as players from lower leagues break into the Premier League (Jamie Vardy is the most notable in recent years), and can rise to become national level professional players.
This weekend had a few chances for history and upsets. Liverpool played Aston Villa, both Premier League teams, on Friday evening, but COVID-19 had knocked out Villa’s first team and they fielded mainly their under-18 and under-23 teams (average age 18). It was Liverpool’s match to lose, and go down in smoke and historical infamy. Though Liverpool scored after four minutes and a romp seemed likely, Villa tied the game at half time; Liverpool came through for a 4-1 win, away. But, what a memorable moment for 17 year-old Louie Barry who scored a great goal against the Premier League champions:
Aston Villa had to field a mix of U-18 and U-23 players vs Liverpool due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the senior team.
17-year-old Louie Barry's equalizer in their 4-1 loss was one to remember 💫
Imagine the thrill of exchanging shirts at the end of that match! 🙂
The match had a back story about Liverpool avenging defeats after Villa had astonishingly dumped Liverpool 7-2 earlier in the league season, and last year, Liverpool had been forced to field their juniors against Villa in a Carabao Cup match which they lost 5-0, while the first team was competing in the World Club Championship.
Over the rest of the weekend, some tasty clashes were lined up; two were truly notable.
Crawley (League 2) hosted Leeds United (Premier), and showed the ‘Bielsaball’ boys were summarily despatched 3-0, with some classy goals:
Crawley Town delivered one of the #FACup third round's most emphatic upsets as the League Two underdogs tore apart Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds. ➡ https://t.co/NzzhLkJDFb#bbcfacup#MOTD
The last match of the weekend was between Newport County (League 2; actually a Welsh team) and Brighton (Premier). It was classic cup joy. The minnows hung in there, but looked dead as Brighton scored in the 90th minute (end of regulation time). But, Brighton’s goalkeeper, Jason Steele, made a howler by missing a cross and the ball ricocheted off a defender for an equalizer in the 90+4th minute! The teams then went into two 15-minute extra time periods with no more goals and on to a penalty shoot out. Well, Steele was steely and saved four penalties. His teammates didn’t get the memo so missed three kicks and the match was actually there for Newport to steal, but, not this time. Brighton’s winning penalty was scored by Adam Webster, whose deflection had scored the tying goal. Brighton won the shootout 4-3. Karma!! 🙂
It was heartbreak for League Two Newport County in the FA Cup.
Brighton goalkeeper Jason Steele saved FOUR penalties!
But, Marine FC have a wonderful history, dating from the late-19th century, dwelling in the shadows of the Merseyside giants, Liverpool and Everton. On the day, a former Liverpool player, Jamie Carragher, sponsored the match.
Marine FC lost £20K when a sponsor pulled out of their advertising package for the FA Cup match against Tottenham this weekend.
Loving the scenes of @MarineAFC fans drinking prosecco over their garden fences while they watch the match 😍🥂 Can't beat a David and Goliath FA Cup tie… it makes me feel strangely emotional (even though husband and eldest have just rolled their eyes at that 😂)
The real stories in football are often not the goings on of the top clubs but the many stories of survival and hope that are written in the lower leagues, often involving clubs that were once top. Newport came back from bankruptcy and needing to leave the Football League: in the 1980s, they suffered financial difficulties with a double relegation costing them their Football League place in 1988 and the club went out of business in February 1989. They had to begin rebuilding from the lowest tiers of the league structure (the Hellenic League, in which I’d played). Marine will get substantial financial gains from their cup match.
NFL playoff drama was not far behind. Tom Brady showed that age is another number and he added to his playoff wins, and gave his team the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a first playoff win since 2002.
This mind-blowing stat on Tom Brady's NFL playoff wins helps prove GOAT status | RSN https://t.co/TgDRC64f2c
The Pittsburgh Steelers hosted Cleveland Browns, with history all in favour of the hosts. Well, history is for rewriting. Gifted a touch down from the first botched play, Cleveland scored with their first touch and the Steelers were down 0-7 after 15 seconds!!! The Browns ran to a 28-0 lead going into half-time as errors kept offering them points. They won 48-37 for their first playoff win since 1995. First win in Pittsburg since 2003. All of that after Cleveland went into the game without many kep players and their head coach due to COVID-19 restrictions. Steelers quarterback, Ben Rothlesberger, threw for over 500 yards (2nd player ever) in the loss, threw 4 touch downs but also 4 interceptions. Pittsburgh started the season 11-0 and ended 5-6. There’s the story.
The Washington Post wrote: ‘Several practical measures contributed to Australia’s success, experts say. The country chose to quickly and tightly seal its borders, a step some others, notably in Europe, did not take. Health officials rapidly built up the manpower to track down and isolate outbreaks. And unlike the U.S. approach, all of Australia’s states either shut their domestic borders or severely limited movement for interstate and, in some cases, intrastate travelers.
…most important, though, leaders from across the ideological spectrum persuaded Australians to take the pandemic seriously early on and prepared them to give up civil liberties they had never lost before, even during two world wars.
“We told the public: ‘This is serious; we want your cooperation,’ ” said Marylouise McLaws, a Sydney-based epidemiologist at the University of New South Wales and a World Health Organization adviser.
A lack of partisan rancor increased the effectiveness of the message, McLaws said in an interview.
The conservative prime minister, Scott Morrison, formed a national cabinet with state leaders — known as premiers — from all parties to coordinate decisions. Political conflict was largely suspended, at least initially, and many Australians saw their politicians working together to avert a health crisis.‘
Perhaps, most important, Australia decided to follow advice from health experts: ‘Australia’s national response was led by Health Minister Greg Hunt, a former McKinsey & Co. management consultant and a Yale University graduate. Hunt and Morrison worked with the state premiers, who hold responsibility for on-the-ground health policy, to develop a common approach to the pandemic.’
The pay-off for that was that a record number of people went to watch a sports event during COVID. The Guardian wrote ‘The whole city was gridlocked: Brisbane heaves as fans allowed back en masse’:
The biggest post-Covid sports crowd in the world descended on Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium for the final State of Origin game, writes @emmavkemphttps://t.co/UCZhNV0o2w
‘Suncorp Stadium’s official crowd at the State of Origin finale between Queensland and New South Wales was 49,155. It is believed to be a world record since Covid-19 shut down sport.’ Competition had resumed in May, about the time that professional football resumed in Europe:
Well done Australia, you acted on the public health advice and now you can go and watch the rugby instead of watching hundreds of people dying from covid daily. https://t.co/9hWdDcAOuM
Beforehand, however,New Zealand had staged the Bledisloe Cup rugby match against Australia in mid-October, lifting restrictions to allow fans to attend—46,000 attended.
More than 46,000 fans present as New Zealand beats Australia in Bledisloe Cup – CNN International https://t.co/vC1lzSm8vg
Covid-19 restrictions in Auckland, which re-entered lockdown in August following a small outbreak of coronavirus cases, were lifted at the start of the month to allow crowds to return to stadiums.
From early October, it was planned to host matches in New Zealand with capacity crowds. Auckland was at a higher alert level than the rest of New Zealand for several weeks because of a small community outbreak of COVID-19, but moved to level 1 from the start of October.
All of this is in stark contrast with most of Western Europe, Latin America, and notably the USA–where COVID has spiralled out of control. As the Post wrote: ‘As North America, Europe, India, Brazil and other regions and countries struggle to bring tens of thousands of daily infections under control, Australia provides a real-time road map for democracies to manage the pandemic. Its experience, along with New Zealand’s, also shows that success in containing the virus isn’t limited to East Asian states (Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan) or those with authoritarian leaders (China, Vietnam).‘
Notable amongst president-elect Biden’s early contacts with world leaders has been one with NZ’s prime minister, who has offered her nation’s expertise and advice on COVID. All is far from lost for the USA, though much time and too many lives might have been needlessly lost.
Joe Biden says he looks forward to working with NZ PM Jacinda Adern on tackling Covid-19, among other things pic.twitter.com/cnEb9CYy3A
This week, I find myself with a group of kids who are attending a golf clinic on the north coast. I had no idea I would be doing that 36 hours ago, but such is life. It’s no great hardship, as few things please me more than seeing youngsters make headway with a sport. Golf is simple in principle, yet so hard in practice, and some people do not have either the patience or concentration to master the simple application of swing to ball, and walk away frustrated that hitting an object that is not moving can be so difficult.
My young daughter got talked into participating, with the tempting prospect of hanging around a nice beach resort while other kids were having lessons. I explained to her that the cost of the lessons were already included in the accommodation, so she may as well join in and see how things go. The kids are having about 6 hours of instruction and playing; a long time for the younger ones (8 year olds), most of whom have not played before or very little. But, golf can be very rewarding when everything about the swing is right and the ball zings off the club towards its intended target. But, as Rory McIlroy has to admit, even the best golfers get rewards from swings that are all wrong. Better to be lucky than good, as the Irish know.
Well, after that little piece of chicanery, I thought it best to let her have at it and see how things went later. I took off to play a round early with some friends who live close to where we are staying. I have never played White Witch before, but had heard it was nice and challenging. Anyway, I was game for a try, whatever the outcome. I don’t usually use a caddy, but they tend to be included in the package on the north coast, along with a cart. White Witch is long and very undulating, and in common with the north coast, wind can be a big factor. My caddy was about 7 months pregnant. Did I need the prospect of a premature birth to complicate my round? I sake her to alert me early if she felt any sudden cramping.
My clinical duties today were to make sure the kids woke at 6:45 to have breakfast as 7:30. I was heading out by 7:25, so I did my deed and skidaddled.
My friend and his wife had played the course before, but some years ago. We were ready for adventure, but could not be anything but awestruck by the view from the driving range. Jamaica really needs to sell its golf courses better.
We played a decent round, and I invited my friends back for lunch. What lunch? Well, the hungry belly pickney nyam off di food. Hard work in the sun had boosted appetites. Embarrassed, I suggested that my friends come over later or another day. I grabbed a left over hamburger for supper and nuked that for my lunch. I then went to see how the clinic was going.
I could see groups of children and carts. As I got closer, I heard some laughter. That’s always a good sign with kids. They were either having a good time or someone was making them think they were having a good time. I caught up with my daughter’s group and walked along with them. Two younger boys were with her, and they looked wilted. Often, for sports camps, the younger ones just do a half day: their energy and concentration is not usually strong enough. But, they kept going for about another couple of hours. I also saw the group of older or more experienced golfers. All seemed to be trying and succeeding with new techniques and enjoying their little games of golf.
At the end of the session, the director, an English professional, asked how things had gone and if newcomers had enjoyed it. Up went a big brown thumb that was attached to my daughter’s hand. What! “I don’t usually enjoy things I don’t want to do,” chirped she. Knock me down with a feather. If I wasn’t a coach or player, I’d be salivating about how Jamaica had found its new female golf star, given the adulation she was getting. Well, her strong swimmer’s shoulders and legs were giving her a good start.
Every journey begins with a single step, and you never know to what a little exposure will lead.
The kids have no access to electronic devices most of the day. Hide and seek was played at lunch time. I hear yells of “Sardines”. I guess they are coping. Let’s see how they blend as the week goes.
Social media is full of information. I don’t track everything that interests me, but I tend to share that when I see it. Football fans have been in heaven during the past seven days, since the World Cup matches started. Bags of goals and many of them stunning. Fast, furious action. Of course, controversies within the matches.
But, beyond the goals, and fouls, and cautions, and ejections, and massive crowds, what has been of interest on the soccer field and in the stadiums? (I have not quite understood the Chilean fans’ invasion of the media centre at the Maracana Stadium.)
The Japanese see sport differently. Japan is astonishingly clean. So, Japanese fans want to show that off to the world. That’s why they stayed behind after a match to clean up the stadium. Though their team lost 2-1 to Cote d’Ivoire at the Arena Pernambuco in Recife, Japanese spectators armed with bin liners patrolled their side of the stadium and gathered up discarded litter. That is class. Social media filled up with praise for this.
Japanese fans clean up in Recife
FIFA is run by madmen. I came to that conclusion when I watched England lose to Uruguay last night. Raheem Sterling’s knee caught Alvaro Pereira in the head, and knocked him out cold. (Watch the incident here.) He looked dead at first. Once he was revived, officials tried to escort him from the field. He protested. Next thing, he’s running around and getting hit and heading the ball again.
Pereira, pole axed. Moments later, running around like a kid. Madness!
FIFA has a concussion protocol (see here). By contrast, the NFL begin assessing head injuries long before training camps, and players seen or suspected of having head injuries MUST leave the field for medical assessment. Not in football. A bunch of macho know-it-alls look on idly. The NFL also monitors conditions after a match. FIFA? Hello? Anyone there?
Trying to watch television coverage of matches is like trying to win a lottery. I’m quite savvy about possible alternatives to broadcast or satellite or cable transmission of live sporting events. However, when TV rights have been sold for billions of dollars, what can one expect? FIFA are due to make US$ 6 billion in revenue and US$ 2 billion profit from this World Cup, almost all of that from selling TV broadcast rights. Remember, the rights are sold to individual countries or groups of countries. The buyers are not always national broadcasters, but may often be subscription services, so watching freely may not be an option. At home, in Jamaica, SportsMax have the rights and it’s subscription cable. On vacation in France, the rights are shared between public broadcasters and private cable companies. I have to see which is showing a match: my hosts do not subscribe to the cable channel. Frustrated, sometimes, I scour known sources to find a free online streaming provider. Those I know are good and have feeds in English, but I would take any for the visual coverage; I do not need the prattle. They have drawbacks, whether annoying pop-up ads or links to services I do not want, but overall offer great options.
The mute button is my friend. I really need little when I watch sport other than the event. I like helpful background information about the contestants, but not too much. I do not need a screen filled with statistics, especially ones that do little more than count things that may not really matter.
TV football stats make it like a video game
But, I understand the trend and I think that football needs to use what technology now offers to make it fuller in many ways. But, I wish I could choose my pundits. I get mostly inane commentary thrown at me: in Jamaica, it comes from people wearing very brightly coloured shirts–that’s how it’s done. Branding matters. In France, I was pleased to hear and see Arsenal’s manager, Arsene Wenger, as usual, in a suit and tie, talking little but making much sense; with his wonderful perspective as a successful manager. Often, all I get is what I can see for myself, or ranting and with little value. I so wish that I could choose which pundit to hear. Time to develop an app.
Jamaican TV broadcasters are branded
National values are not international values. The four yearly caravan of football, like the Olympics, offer good opportunities to sample other cultures. Many things are common; many are not. TV exposes much but explains little. Brazil’s racial history is not the USA’s and should not be made to fit into the American narrative. African countries are not all the same. Latin American teams are not all capable of playing like Brazil in 1970. Social pressures and preferences are not suddenly forgotten when players enter the field. Fans have voices that are not the social barometers of their countries. We will see and hear things we deem racist. We will see and hear behaviour that treats women badly, as seen from our viewpoint. If our stereotypical view of Italians is right, then they will be pleading their innocence even as the blood drips off the boot that kicked the man in the eye. English players are very skillful and can pass as well as most others. Not every nation thinks that faking injuries is right: more players earning their keep in a few countries has had mixed benefits in showing new tricks to old dogs, but also showing those dogs that old tricks don’t go down well everywhere. Diving is an Olympic sport and should be kept there. 🙂
Everyone loves to hate referees. The honeymoon lasted only minutes and after that, no love was lost on the men in black sometimes. FIFA has moved with the times a little bit, and brought the profile of referees up during this World Cup, so now you get little thin bios. But, players and fans may know all of that already. They only care, though, if the men do not stink up the place with their ‘bad’, ‘biased’, ‘racist’, ‘home-team-favouring’, ‘scared’, ‘idiotic’, ‘blind’ decisions.
It began well for Brazil, but Croatian coach Niko Kovac accused Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura of being partial to his side after it lost the opener at Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo last Thursday: “I had a feeling that the referee had one set of rules for us and the other for Brazil. I don’t want to talk about referees but everybody saw how he did his job. He didn’t have respect for Croatia. He’s not good enough to be a referee in such an important game,” read one quote from Kovac in an interview to Croatian Television after the match.
Let’s be friends?
Football is full of controversy as far as decisions are concerned. The game has too few officials and decisions are mostly interpretation. The FIFA hierarchy like it that football is full of errors. Referees are human: they make mistakes, and that’s part of the fun; Sepp Blatter thinks. Who would get upset about a goal scored and seen by everyone except the match officials? Where’s your sense of fun? Ask Steven Gerrard. Who would get upset about a clear foul that is given, but no caution given because the referee realises that it would mean the expulsion of a key player? C’mon, man! It would only change the balance of the game, totally. Let’s give the man the chance to throw another elbow or kick the living daylights out of an opponent a little later.
De Jong checks if his boot fits Alonso’s chest. It does. Referee Webb agrees.
I guess we should ask Howard Webb, who seemed perfectly placed to see De Jong plant his boot into another player’s chest. Play on! Man down!
Need I mention 1986 and England-Argentina? Well, what’s a little handball into the net between friends, or enemies?
See what? Maradona became a hero for his country. His team went on to win the World Cup. At the post-game press conference, Maradona facetiously commented that the goal was scored “un poco con la cabeza de Maradona y otro poco con la mano de Dios” (“a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God“). What of the real villain, Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser? He gained 6th position in the top 10 worst refereeing decisions of all time (see here). Bravo, my boy!
FIFA, not yet a swear word, loves to keep referees out of the limelight. Referees, sometimes, hog the show. How about making them more accountable to the viewing and playing public? No. That would undermine their authority. Dissent. Yellow card. It would also show them as being human and fallible; that wouldn’t do. Have to love them as we hate them. (disclaimer: I am a qualified referee, and my decisions are final.)
I wrote a few days ago on the topic of youth and their role as leaders, and stated ‘The young are often impatient, and don’t want to wait for their turn, rightly so, in some cases.’ But, I will admit gladly that I am not holding out hopes for youth to lead as some would wish. Why? I responded to a comment on the previous post that ‘It’s also more than a bit disturbing that youth are so much a part of the crime problem, and it’s costing us dearly, see Gleaner article. You may see that as a consequence of ‘impatience’; I don’t.’ I feel this is one of the telling weaknesses about current Jamaica and whether it will get youth to be its engine. So, let me look a little and briefly at that impatience, as demonstrated by things I read over the weekend.
The crutch of crime:
‘Scammers defiant! Five young involved in illegal activity say they will not stop’. This headline greeted me in the Sunday Observer. Why wont they stop? Because it pays the youths (age 17-27) better than anything else and has allowed them to acquire immense wealth. To sample from the article, scamming finances a great lifestyle, with high-end cars, new and fancy homes, improved opportunities to finance own- and relatives’ education. With high youth unemployment, people are again acting rationally and taking the best risk-reward options. These people are not yet ready to lead others, except into a world of more crime.
I can’t be bothered-ism:
I will say that frankly I was shocked by the attitude of a young businessman, touted as one of Jamaica’s young luminaries. Over the weekend, I read some of his tweets. He has a high public profile, so none of this should seem like ‘telling tales out of school’. In 2006, he wrote on his website ‘I don’t usually find racism funny…’ (he then attached a YouTube video, which was racist, but made him laugh). On May 11, he wrote:
I really find this a curious attitude, noting that we are all entitled to our views and to do actions, which we feel are appropriate. But, it’s curious when people who are ‘passionate’ about issues do not have that passion in dealing with something that they say they ‘do not find funny’. Are the reasons for not acting another example of youthful impatience? I’m not going to answer my own question.
That ‘not bothering’ approach is allied to the criminal attitudes above because some cannot bother to do what many think their consciences should stop them doing. The scammers’ victims are mainly elderly, but doesn’t concern the youths: they were broke, but after filching from the old, they have money. Is that some kind of intergenerational redistribution at work? The justification? They only talk to people on the phone and never go to their homes. Really?
Going to jail bothers the scammers: 35 year sentences should scare anybody, and they do not want to get caught. So, they are always on the run from police. One youth said he ‘would be able’ to stop once he’d accumulated J$30 million (at least, I presume it’s J$; most of the article referred to US$).
I am not going to brand a whole generation for the views and actions of a few, but I thought it interesting what flew into my face. But, here’s my final point for today. The impatience is not about waiting for things to happen–a self-fulfilling truth.
The weekend papers also reported on a slew of younger graduates who are looking to flee Jamaica, for the USA, Canada, Europe–anywhere, where they feel they have better work chances. Notably, the article pointed to apparently well-educated people with degrees from US Ivy League schools being an important part of this latest exodus. They often commented that new appointments merely reinforce their belief that Jamaica does not see young people as talented enough. The recent ‘recycling’ of Vin Lawrence was cited as evidence enough of this: a man who has been on the wheeling and dealing scene since the 1980s–long before most of the current youth cohort was born. That saps their confidence that change will happen. The ‘brain drain’ from Jamaica is not new, at least since the 1950s, and a reported 80 percent of Jamaican with higher degrees live abroad. But, the outflow of people is not all bad, because it has in the past been a source of revenues as remittance inflows were bolstered by it, but loss of human capital is of wide significance and should not be downplayed. We should bother to try to halt, even reverse that.
Jamaica’s youth have their biggest driving role where many expect and accept them.
They are prominent in the realm of popular music (Chronixx, Tessanne Chin, to name just two), where they do get help and leverage from ‘old dogs’, like Shaggy and Ziggy Marley, both 45 years old. But, that industry is still full of lots of old and loved performers, but they cannot really stem the march of youth in terms of what sells.
Youthalso feature in sports: Usain Bolt, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce–both 27–lead the ranks in track and field; they have business ventures running already. But, take a look at Jamaica’s cricket team; it’s mainly (15 of 25) made up of over 30s. That surprised me. Ironically, the West Indies team has over 30s as a clear minority in the squad. Does Jamaica have a ageism issue in cricket? Many would say, that the over-30s are still young people, but the category is being pushed. The national football team has only two players aged 30 or over, most are in their mid-20s. But, the age profile in sport players reflects when people are at their peak. Management will be like most of the rest of the economy; experience is winning and with that, age is rising.
We also have the youthful presence in culinary and fashion industries, budding talent, which can often take its own routes and set its own roots.
I would very much like to see youth take hold of more reins. It means that they have to be passed on. I’ve discussed already the points of resistance. But, those aspects of ‘outlook’ mentioned above bother me. The crime aspect is closely allied to economic prospects, and they are currently poor, so will be harder to shift. The ‘not bothering’ aspect may be a generational feature; I’m not sure that it’s new, just evident now in different times and places. But, there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that youth militancy worldwide in developed countries is less now than it was 40-50 years ago. In developing countries, we have seen waves ebb and flow, most recently with events in Middle Eastern countries, but also in parts of Africa. So, Jamaica may not be bucking any trends.
Jamaicans have an expression, “Everybody haffi eat a food”. It means that everyone has to survive. It’s a euphemism to cover various corrupt practices that essentially parcel out work or create work so that friedns and cronies can benefit from necessary activities. But, needing to eat food is real. Humans often forget that they are part of the food chain, and not always at the top. We have few natural predators looking for us, but they are there.
Yesterday, I became food. I was out in the afternoon with a lady at Caymanas Park Golf Course. So, were the mosquitoes. They respectfully greeted us as we arrived and accompanied us quietly and attentively as we progressed around the course. They were a little too attentive, at time, especially when we entered bushes to find balls or for some private moments. I’d been the centre of their attention earlier in the week, around dawn on Monday, and had been shocked by the way they did not seem to take breaks even as the sun came up strongly. I used ‘Off-Deep Woods’ (green), but it seemed to do little to deter and even less to repel. The mosquitoes congregated on my legs and arms, and on my shirt back, and down my neck. It was more than a little irritating. My arms were beginning to show weals: as far as I know, I’m not allergic, but I’m aware of diseases. Jamaica does not have malaria and I’ve lived where that’s present. We do have dengue fever, though.
Off Repellent
I recalled a recent article about dealing with mosquitoes by having bats around. The article began ‘Plagued by mosquitoes? You might want to consider getting a bat. It might not be practical.’ Well, thanks for nothing. Admittedly, I couldn’t see myself walking around a golf course with a bat around my neck or hanging from my bag, like my water bottle. I don’t know if there’s good habitat for them in the woods around Caymanas, which so happens to be getting lopped as highway and water pipe works are underway.
I battled on. I was being eaten by mosquitoes and beaten by a man walking alongside me. Hard to saw which was worse for my play. It got to the point where I could not take anymore, on the final hole, thankfully, I could not deal with the piercing feeling in my arms as a bevy of mosquitoes took my moment’s stillness to assault me. I swung back my driver and hoped as it came forward to the ball. I made contact and let the club fly. My ball went all of 20 yards (over 200 yards is normal). Let’s say I did not score well on that hole, nor did I score well overall. As we arrived at the green, a fellow golfer, no less than the president of the Jamaica Golf Association, was talking on his cell phone. He had on long pants and they were tucked into his socks. “How’re you enjoying our mosquitoes?”
Mosquito, ready to do battle with your skin
he asked. We told him “Not very much.” His attire was one possible solution next time; my shorts were cool but not near the right outfit for these conditions. He looked at us in admiration, though: “I had to stop. I couldn’t play,” he added. We’d played the whole round.
Dress is relevant. A website advises: ‘Camouflage: Wear clothing that helps you blend in with the background. Mosquitoes have vision similar to bees, so they hone in on color contrast and movement. This is especially so in wooded areas. Remember that mosquitoes are a predator, so take a lesson from nature and be hard to see!’. But, the predatory instinct is well-honed. ‘They are unique in the insect world for having excellent eyesight, enabling them to single out a moving mammal target from hundreds of feet away. They are also hyper-sensitive to the carbon dioxide exhaled by all mammals, and can also pick up the scent of a drop of sweat from half a mile away.’ Basically, golfers are sitting targets’. Golf courses tend to have standing water, and mosquitoes love that for breeding–fun in a water-bed, eh. But, overall, we cannot win, whatever we do, it seems. I cannot walk around with one of the electronic zappers.
Part of the reason mosquitoes are so hard to eradicate is that the mosquito’s total lifespan is only twenty days on per-species average anyway, and some make their complete cycle in just four days. Their entire bodies are designed to do little else but eat, lay eggs, and die. Their eggs, however, can last a whole year before hatching.
The annoying buzz of a mosquito’s wings is said by those who have perfect pitch to be between the musical keys of D and F. La-la-la.
In a test of natural plants to see which one repels mosquitoes the best, it was discovered that clove oil is pretty effective. Too bad that it is also toxic to human skin! That’s going green, for you. 😛
The rains are just beginning for this year. We’ve had a very dry past three months. Mosquito eggs are ready to be hatched. Yesterday, was funny. When a heavy downpour came, the mozzies ran for cover, or really, went for a potty break. Once the rain stopped, the little fleet of Luftwaffe-like insects descended on us as if we were London ready to be blitzed.
An ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cures? My wife would like me to use organic or natural methods, I’m sure, though I know she has stocked up on repellent sprays that are non-organic. 🙂 It’s about survival, baby. Well, I’d better start drinking my lemongrass tea–that worked really well in Guinea. I could walk with a few stalks of it, too, I guess. Mosquitoes don’t like mint, apparently, and I like mint tea, so maybe that’ll help too.
A luta continua, vitória é certa? Well, The struggle continues, but no victory is certain.
Mere days after the end of the annual Boys’ and Girls’ High School Championships (‘Champs’), when school pride and spirit were on national display, we had the final for the Schools Challenge Quiz (SCQ). Calabar High School
Calabar High School crest
won the boys’ championship for the 24th time, while Edwin Allen School took the girls’ trophy for the 2nd time, displacing almost perennial girls’ powerhouse Holmwood Technical. The boys have seen annual tussles between Jamaica College, Calabar High School and Kingston College. The girls’ side has been dominated by Holmwood for most of the past decade, while during the previous 20 years, Vere Technical ruled the roost.
It’s fitting that the brawny side of schooling was put into context by considering the brainy side. The contestants last night were Kingston College (KC), previous winners on 10 occasions (out of 20 appearances), against Campion College, seeking their first win. This was the 45th year of the competition, so KC have had some relative dominance.
Kingston College crest
KC won 27-25, after trailing for most of the ‘match’. So, they ceded bragging rights on the track but have them in the classroom, so to speak.
I am not an avid fan of TV quizzes, though I’ve glimpsed some of the earlier rounds, but had my interest raised for this for some odd reason. WHile watching, I was taken by the nature of the TV coverage by broadcaster TVJ. I thought it incongruous that the competition was preceded by a display of hip-hop and dance hall dancing by some boys and girls. A well-known journalist informed me that it was ‘just me’ who thought it so. I wont argue that. The idea was that this was for the ‘vibes’. I haven’t watched the annual spelling bee competition, but I have a feeling that their ‘vibes’ aren’t boosted–is that the right verb–with some pre-spellbound writhing. I somehow felt that the gravitas warranted something like a few verses of poetry or some readings from well-known novels, or a piece of classical music.
I watched the start of the final, which had its opening around 8.30pm–after the nightly news on TVJ, much later than when the preceding rounds were broadcast, about 6.30pm–before the nightly news. I guess that to the extent that a wider audience was targeted for those earlier rounds, they were less important for the final. I don’t see enough difference in advertising to think that the payoff was significantly higher.
It was interesting to me, in hindsight, that the final was preceded by a radio discussion about gender bias in the coverage of sports in the media. I did not hear the whole set of comments, but followed part online. I was coaching some girls to play soccer, and had a scrimmage against some boys. I guess that dealt with some actual biases.
The athletics championships are split into boys and girls competition, the latter being newer. So, historically, national interest and focus were on the boys’ side. The girls were playing catch-up. In sport, there’s a natural difference that starts to show before teenage years, and boys tend to be much faster and stronger. So, the male side of sports has speed and strength, which women generally cannot match. The female equivalent performances in sports may display other characteristics, maybe finesse. Girls are certainly quick and strong and can be very aggressive, so in terms of commitment you may not be able to say that girls are putting in less of what they can than boys; it’s just less than boys can. I was telling a parent the other day that I never liked scrimmaging with my girls soccer team, because the presence of males as opposition brought out a viciousness that I could not handle and my older and maybe frailer body had no need to be biffed and bashed more than it had in my best playing days. My girls loved scrimmaging boys so that they could give them a ‘good kicking’. Try as they might, though, they couldn’t match the boys for speed and strength. Society buys into that by generally preferring to watch and pay to watch males playing sports.
So, we come to the cerebral side. I was struck by the commentaries last night, preceding SCQ, that nearly half of the winning schools were all-boys schools. With all the talk of gender equality and equity, here we had a clear sign of how unequal the playing field has been. I was struck more when I saw the Campion team,
Campion College crest
representing a co-ed school but all of the team were boys. Maybe, there’s some rule I missed, but that struck me as odd. I thought about the discussions regarding quotas for parliamentary representation and wondered if there was not some disconnection in the arguments in thinking about where the biases lay.
One of the TVJ commentators, Neville Bell, interviewed some students before the match and was hearing from a girl student at Campion, who wanted to give her ‘love’ to one of the team. “It’s only him you love?” he asked. The girls giggled and quickly replied “No, I love them all.” What did I detect there? Answers on a postcard. Moving along.
Campion started well, and had a sizeable lead going into the last round, but as with many sports, it’s not over till the (politically correct phrasing, now) ‘overweight person of a certain gender’ sings. They coughed up the victory. Had defeat snatched from the jaws of victory. I’m sure they were gutted. The post-match interviews were a bit better than we often get after, say, football or track events. The students are supposed to be able to string a few sentences together and sound intelligent. But, it might have been nice to hear the losers say “It was a game of four quarters. We gave our all, but they had more than we did, and we can’t argue with the result. We’ll be back.” Or the winners could be saying “You know, everyone knows, that KC are the team to beat, and we had our reputation on the line, and had to show our class, which we did in the homestretch. Well done, Campion, you’ll have more chances.” If it were tennis, we should have had a few thanks given to the sponsors, the quiz masters, the audience, our mothers and fathers, etc. The battle of the crests was over. In haiku form:
Kingston College won
Campion College came close
Fortis beat Fortes
So, what now? Which of these student quizzers will go on to greater things in life? Have any of them every featured on Jeopardy? I think to Tessanne Chin. Is this the new wave for Jamaica?
We can think back to the mad scramble that affects Jamaican sixth graders in trying to pass the so-called GSAT exams and get themselves into the high schools of their choice. It’s more than an education, it’s being part of the ‘teams’ that people associate with the schools, too, whether in sports–I never talked about football–or study. Getting into the ‘right’ school is important. Not here the debate about streaming and also the connection between schools and crime, but remember where the bars have been set.
Finally, I have to say a word about the knowledge that was tested. Of course, some will guffaw that the students missed answers for well-known singers, even though they aced the mental maths questions. Jamaica would want to take a look at their ‘Bible knowledge’ too. Facial recognition is also a weak spot, but it also tells us a lot about the so-called faceless bureaucrats who are in charge of some important areas of our life. I bet that if Adidja Palmer’s face had popped up the buzzers would have gotten white-hot. But, they’re youths and they will take their time to grow.
The world’s best paralympic athletes are in Sochi, Russia to compete in the 2014 Paralympic Games. The event begins on March 7 and runs through March 16. The games include sports such as sled hockey.
Congratulations to all the competitors, especially those from Ukraine, who will compete with incredible civil strife and possible Russian military intervention just a few miles away. They may make various protests–only one competitor attended the opening ceremony–but they will compete.
Paralympic cross-country skiers, one of the groups competing in Sochi, Russia
International Women’s Day was celebrated on March 8. I read many pieces that focused on what needs to be done in Jamaica to make for a more equal land for women and girls. I don’t doubt the nation’s awareness of the injustices–we are not totally dense or heartless, but we are not good at action to correct wrongs instead of talking long about them. Interestingly, many of the world’s recent social upheavals have been on the back of strong protests by women. Jamaica’s female PM issued her annual statement and echoed this year’s theme of ‘inspiring change’, with a call that ‘we build on the lessons learned and directly tackle the remaining vestiges of unequal power relations and gender stereotypes
Iranian women’s soccer
that impede sustainable development and discriminate against our women‘. Fine words, now let’s see the action.
Bad
Jamaica’s national waste dump, at Riverton, is operating illegally–no environmental permit. The situation wont change. Why? This is happening with the full knowledge and consent of the agency established to enforce the rules, the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA).
Riverton dump, St. Andrew. The speed limit is really zero MPH, as no movement is happening. (Picture courtesy of The Jamaica Gleaner.)
It says it will not issue the National Solid Waste Management Authority an environmental permit with conditions we know that they can’t meet. The nation’s finances are a mess and the country is forced to live with an environmental mess because an agency cannot pay its dues? Concerns about the effectiveness of the Ministry of Environment, etc. were high already, due to its silence on issues related to development of the Goat Islands. Now, the Ministry is missing in this dance? We are seeing a country play fast and loose with its environmental responsibilities and told that expediency makes it alright? Let NEPA issue the permits and have the arrears arise, but do the jobs they are supposed to be done. This principle of lax application of regulations can be applied across the board in a country that is struggling financially, and I’m sure many citizens can’t wait for a government agency to tell them to not comply with regulations or pay because times are tough. This is the logic of the madhouse.
Ugly
What has happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, which disappeared south of Vietnam with 239 people on board? Searches have begun, but nothing has been found, so far. The disappearance is developing awkward mysteries. Five passengers booked on the flight did not board; their luggage was consequently removed. Possible terrorism is raising its head. Two suspect names are on the manifest. BBC confirmed that ‘A man falsely using an Italian passport and a man falsely using an Austrian passport purchased tickets at the same time, and were both booked on the same onward flight from Beijing to Europe on Saturday. Both had purchased their tickets from China Southern Airlines, which shared the flight with Malaysia Airlines, and they had consecutive ticket numbers. The real owners reportedly had their passports stolen in Thailand in recent years.’
The Caribbean is full of class differences. We can argue about their origins, but undoubtedly they exist. Their proximate bases may be income, schooling, speech, skin colour and tone, gender, geography, or more. How they play out in everyday life is very varied. I’m not going to try to capture much of that, but reflect on a few recent incidents that show, worryingly in my mind, that people in Jamaica are still tied up in class knots.
Yesterday, I was on the verge of meeting one of the pinnacles of a class system–a member of a country’s royal family. Let’s not argue here about whether the British Monarchy is merely symbolic; we have them, still.
Prince Edward greets a Jamaican reception committee
We did not know what to expect, but I suspect most people were ready to be on their best behaviour.
Cut away, now, to the event to which the British prince was coming. I was out playing golf, and having a good time interacting with my playing partners and the two caddies they were sharing. It was a hot day, and we had all been doing the smart thing of taking in fluids, thanks to one of the sponsors, Wisynco, who had provided ample supplies of Wata (plain and flavoured). Being on a golf course for four hours or so, drains energy, and most players will bring food with them. I have protein bar, trail mix, and often take a carb filler, like bulla. This time, we were treated to the offer of a beef patty about midway through the play. One player asked if there were patties for the caddies. “No! No food for the caddies!” we were told in a very hostile manner.
Now, perhaps I have become too sensitive because of my years living in Europe and the USA, but there are ways of denying something to one group of people that is being offered to another group, especially when both groups are present. The caddies seemed to understand how things operated and got back to handling clubs, wiping balls, finding balls, helping read greens and generally keeping the players on an even keel. The players in my group had a discussion about this incident. We were agreed that it was both distasteful and unnecessary. Sorry, if there are 80 players and they each get a patty, then the caddies numbering no more than half that figure could be offered that basic and relatively cheap food (about US$1.10 each; call that US$90). If someone felt that the caddies needed to be ‘kept in their place’, they could even have each been offered half a patty (call that between US$20-45).
Golf has had a long history of making it very clear that caddies and players are not equals. In the US, that had the overlay of racism, with black caddies having a different and worse form of discrimination to deal with. One of the sweet ironies of all that is, two of the greatest ever golf players, Sam Snead and Ben Hogan, were products of caddy shacks. One of the other sweet ironies is that the best player in the modern area is a black player–one of very few golf professionals who are not white.
Caddies in Jamaica have their work on the course as their main source of income. Don’t work, don’t get paid. Do something extra, you may make a little extra. Treat your players right and the world will be a better place. Many players have regular caddies, whom they trust and work with closely. Despite that close relationship, both sides know that most club houses are off-limits for caddies; settlement of fees has to take place before the player ‘goes into the club house’. It gets interesting when you have a caddy playing in a tournament, but of course the new and old roles are not confused.
Some people love to have the opportunity to make sure that they put people in the category that they need them to hold. “Know your place!”
While the prince was presented to the players and organizers of the event, from what I had heard, he was never presented to the caddies.
There is a deeper set of issues at play, so to speak, as far as Jamaica is concerned.
Gordon Swaby
Dennis Jones 
Tyrone Christopher 
Emma Lewis 
