An alleged Jamaican drug baron at the centre of this week’s uprising in Kingston is seeking political asylum abroad, according to a British solicitor who has spoken to him.

Hannah Harris Barrington said she talked to Christopher “Dudus” Coke seven times as loyalists barricaded his stronghold in the Kingston slum of Tivoli Gardens to block his extradition to the US. She said Mr Coke, 42, reputed to be head of the Shower Posse drug gang, feared that security forces wanted to kill him to prevent him talking about his ties to powerful politicians. Read the rest of this entry »

I promised you tweets about our Prime Minister after the hilarious post yesterday. Here they are and if you feel offended, please, feel free to #BlameBruce… I just report Read the rest of this entry »

Its a very beautiful thing when you can bring truth to the light/ spit hardness and still get the youth to unite/ aint one rapper out now maneuvering right/ your ice is nice, but what u tryna do 4 the fight/ you gon play pussy or play dog….you gotta overstand the situation we placed in/  MALCOLM GOT MURDERED WE NEVER GOT A REPLACEMENT!!! – Saigon “Just a Matter of time”, The World is Ours

It’s Just a Matter of Time

So yesterday I went through my I Tunes and this song was played the longest ago out of all of the music in my library; meaning  that I’ve listened to all other songs on my laptop since 2/3/08 10:11 am except this, until now!! I wanted to konk myself!! This song is hottt!!!

It instantly made me think of my Mother because she always says that one thing my generation lacks is social leaders. Mama Earth thinks that musicians and artists can be good role models but when they are the ONLY role models it creates problems since their artistic persona is not necessarily who they are in real life.

I’ve had this conversation with many of my friends over the past few months (maybe even year) and guys I love you, but yuh talking utter F*CKRY when you try to tell mi that the music is not influencing the life that we live in Jamaica. If anything, its desensitizing us into taking it for granted that we are killing thousands of people a year. Yes I said WE!

It’s hard to turn from an artists based on the choices they make in their personal life but for the LIFE of me, I cannot accept discrimination against one group of people or ideal when in real life that is your lifestyle or mindset.

There’s a difference between teaching, reflecting and glorifying.

Im glad im not the only one who thinks Mavado is on some foolishness in ‘House Cleanin’!!!  Of course I know that Mavado himself is not cleaning (being that he’s Mavado and all) but this song has all the idiot men out there thinking that they shouldn’t be helping around the house! Empress Doms took on the topic and here’s Francine from the Jamaica Star blogger team burning a hot hot fire on Mavado for this rubbish chorus:

Read the rest of this entry »

Okay, so what’s really going on with Tanbad, Ms Thing and Director (at Terminal 4 Media with Psycho), Jay Jay?  Looks like both of them are Psycho’s women and ah jus so it go.

I dont see whats the big deal about them being topless- they are on a topless beach in St Maarten. I done pree that a lot of us women that are hating are doing so because we dont have the guts to make this move. Now posting them to facebook (they are on Psycho and Ms Thing’s pages), obviously they were awaiting exactly this- the media and blogosphere creating a frenzy around it.

A few of the pics disappeared from Tanbad’s facebook page since yesterday, lucky for us, they were already circulating. Check out the last two photos!!!!

Read the rest of this entry »

A lot of people were saying that the controversy following the Gaza camp would not hold up until someone ends up dead. Little did we know at the time that infighting and some ‘leffings’ would have factored into the Empire’s problems and as the Gaza-Gully feud ended Gaza-Gaza warfare began (or more appropriately Gaza vs ex-Gaza), and still, is this the end of this foolishness?

Two weeks ago Blak Ryno came forward saying that he was no longer in the Portmore Empire (he is still under contract with Adijaheim Records until August, his contract is under negotiation.) Over the weekend that followed it came to light that Blak Ryno’s Portmore home was shot up. Then on Wednesday last week a man is shot and killed in Big Yard- the community where Gaza studio, Exodus, is- and Ryno’s uptown home is allegedly ‘firebombed.’ Thursday, police raid Exodus studio and men, including artist Popcaan and Vinci, are arrested and later released

First, KNOW that the murder that took place HAS NOT been officially linked to Blak Ryno or Kartel  by Jamaican Law Enforcement or police! The fact the studio was raided says that they believe something more is up though. And some chatter across the net says that the killing is a totally different war that just saw the benefit in the situation and used as a scapegoat. Who knows?

Are the fans really taking the music so seriously that they would go after artists like this or is there some bigger picture why Ryno left the group that is causing these bursts of violence. All the other artists that left the crew left without the quick culmination of so many embarrassing and dangerous events, so what’s the big deal with this departure? Not that ‘Kym’ Hamiton’s (formerly Gaza Kim) recount of her beating in the song ‘The Truth’ is any less serious than anything else,  but from the outside point of view the Gaza is leading itself, step by step, into deeper shit.

Loyalty is real and it must be the ultimate diss to leave the one that put yuh on, but come on, a so dem a go hard…

I am extremely critical of Kartel but I want to make sure you know that this is not because I am a Gully fan (isnt that war done anyway??). I am harsh towards ‘Di Teacha‘ because I KNOW he has the knowledge and most definitely the power to do just that- TEACH. Read the rest of this entry »

While the rest of twitter took to representing their city, Jamaican tweeters banded together for the tag #imfromjamaica . Some of these had me laughing over and over again. Some of them are real social commentary. Some are just playin around. Read them for some funny reflections of Jamaica by Jamaicans and follow the tweeters for more updates on Jamaica, dancehall, reggae, life. Read the rest of this entry »

Natural Hair is finally the ‘in’ thing!!! Everywhere women are sporting locks, fro’s and twists. Its a wonderful sight and I hope it lasts!! Last week I asked some of the natural beauties on my twitter list why is it that they have natural hair and how long have they had it like that.  Join me on twitter (twitter.com/urban_z) and get a head start by following these great women below. Keep an eye out for the tweets from Roots Reggae Star Etana and Crochet Queen Minka.

Why is it that they have natural hair and how long have they had it like that?

THANKS TO ALL THESE BEAUTIFUL WOMEN FOR PARTICIPATING

This is Part 3 of what Jamaican tweeters across the world were saying about their island home with the hashtag #imfromjamaica last week. Some of these had me laughing over and over again. Some of them are real social commentary. Some are just playin around. Join us on twitter (find me at http://twitter.com/urban_z).

Check out the first two parts if you havent seen them yet below in ‘related posts’

Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s Part 2 of our Twitter feature for the tag #imfromjamaica. Read them for some reflections of Jamaica by Jamaicans. Remember to follow these tweeters to stay up to date on all the yaad news and views!! Find me at http://twitter.com/urban_z

Read the rest of this entry »

While the rest of twitter took to representing their city, Jamaican tweeters banded together for the tag #imfromjamaica . Some of these had me laughing over and over again. Some of them are real social commentary. Some are just playin around. Read them for some funny reflections of Jamaica by Jamaicans and follow the tweeters for more updates on Jamaica, dancehall, reggae, life.

Read the rest of this entry »

I spent the last week in Portmore, Jamaica and for everyday that I was there, there was a water lock off for at least 5 hours during the morning/afternoon hours. It wasn’t long before news reported that all classes at the University of Technology in Mona, Kingston were off because the college could no longer afford to buy water to replenish their supplies as they had been doing for the past two weeks.  And while we sat on the other side of the toll road laughing at the irony of Mona being without water (since Kingston’s main source of water comes from the MONA dam) warnings across the Caribbean are that we are up for a dry, dusty year:

Farmers and ordinary householders in Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Grenada and St. Lucia among others are starting to express concern about looming water shortages resulting from the prolonged dry season that saw vastly reduced annual year-end rainfall levels.

In Trinidad for example, weather watchers at the Piarco International Airport point to statistics showing that only 10 millimeters of rain fell in January compared to a normal 71 millimeters on the books as the national long-term average.

“This should paint a picture of the level of dryness being experienced in the atmosphere. There is a lack of significant rainfall,” Trinidad weather spokesman Shakeer Baig said this week.

Down south in neighboring Guyana, Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud says that authorities have spent $1.2M to improve irrigation and to pump water into farmlands that are feeling the effects of largely absent year end rains.

As an indication of how dry it is at this time of year, in 2005 large parts of the city and coast would have been recoveringfrom flood waters after record rains and a dilapidated draining system combined to inundate low lying parts of the country. Heavy rains following rain killed five people in addition to the 35 that authorities estimate have died in 2005.

In Barbados, officials fear the idyllic tourist island has “been in drought since October, when all the forage was way below what it should have been. In addition, all the people who produced rain-fed crops recorded low yield this month,” said Adrian Trotman, acting chief of the Barbados-based Applied Meteorology and Climatology center at the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology. “I am amazed no one picked up on it until now,” he says.

(Bert Wilkinson-CLN)

The question that i’m sure has been asked thousands of times today is “a wah really a gwaan pon di gaza?”

Apparently, Portmore Empire’s Gaza Kim tek a serious beating over the weekend and since the streets were already talking about it,  Kim released this statement to confirm that she was in fact “assaulted”

I will like to make it known that I’ve heard rumors about an incident that occurred over the weekend.

I Kim Hamilton AKA Gaza Kim will like to make it publicly known that I was indeed assaulted over the weekend. I’ve visited the doctor but I’m still traumatized but recuperating through my ordeal.

I’ve taken the necessary actions to correct the wrong that was done against me and legal advice is been sought.

I ask my fans, family and friends to not only sympathize but empathize with me in my time of need.
Future comments will be made through my publicist and legal team.

This statement is an official statement made available through my publicist and other media broadcast will be coordinated at a later date by my representatives.

Signed:Kim Hamilton

Not long after, Kartel released a statement about the same incident. Bwai, is like the Gaza Emperor cant catch a break! His camp is in controversy after controversy, as if being the most popular dj is not enough. Here is his statement, followed by what I think

In response to allegations that Kim Hamilton, popularly known as Adidjahiem Records/Portmore Empire siren Gaza Kim, was physically assaulted over the weekend, Adidjahiem Records CEO Adidja ‘Vybz Kartel’ Palmer issues the following statement:

I, Adidja Palmer, condemn this alleged attack on Gaza Kim. And if these allegations are true, I urge her to contact the relevant authorities if she has not yet done so,to deal the matter swiftly .

I do not condone violence, especially any attacks against females and children. Gaza Kim is a very young and very talented singer who I hope will reach far in her musical endeavors whether or not she is a part of the Portmore Empire. My deepest sentiments go out to her. –Adidja Palmer–

Now, me speculating:

Kartel it seriously look a way that you say “alleged”! Why didn’t you contact yuh artist before yuh reach New York to release statement? If she was indeed assaulted and didnt link you before releasing her statement then you, as the boss, coulda still try to see what was up in di empire

Then, by choosing “alleged” and “allegations” its almost as if he doesn’t believe Kim himself (then why should we), but then again Kartel is a real smart man, right,  he must know that that would have been questioned as undermining the beating.

Sounds like a breakdown in communication to me. Is what go so wrong that the Emperor couldn’t personally call him squaddy and see if shi okay or is he just ‘playin fool fi ketch wise’

How does ‘she is very young’ drop een?? giving away more than you need to babes

Am I reading to far into it or does this sound like a precursor to the “you’re fired” speech——> ‘whether or not she is a part of the gaza” and the fact that now she has a separate legal and publicity team to the rest of the gaza….so yuh basically telling us that not everything smooth with Kim and the Gaza, right?

Im not saying is a gaza beatin’ shi get, but I AM saying that someting inna someting…………..but you all knew that already, dont?

I’ve been following CNN and other major networks coverage of the crisis in Haiti and trust that I have been fuming over how Haiti is truly the “Africa of the Caribbean”. Why is it that reporters are just now ‘discovering’ that Haiti was politically and financially in a mess before this terrible earthquake. I’m glad that there’s aid in the country and I do hope that Haiti remains in the world’s eye view. Remember that Haiti is not it’s own island; it shares its land mass with the Spanish speaking people of the Dominican Republic.

Also, apart from Pat Robertson and the likes, how is it that these peoples spiritual beliefs become newsworthy in a time like this when it should be about unity? By constantly going back to this issue of Vodun there are some people who are being discouraged to support the cause because they do not want to support any ‘voodoo’ practices.  The question I want to see answered is will Haiti be given the means to stand on its own feet? Because if people keep fighting over food and supplies in the street and that’s all we see reports on now- a week and a day later when a 5.9 earthquake lasting for about 5 seconds shook the same streets early this morning- then what type of recovery plan can really be in place if these gracious and hardworking aid workers and volunteers have to return to their children and jobs, and Anderson Cooper and others return to their American news rooms?

Thanks to twitter friend @sablikatriumph for sharing this article where a writer points out immediate similarities between media coverage of Hurricane Katrina and the devastating earthquake last week.

For those who know how race and media intersect in times of crisis, the earthquake in Haiti has probably sent a bump through your pop-cultural seismograph [eg the Haiti twibbon or flag twitter display pics].

Following an initial wave of sympathy, the corporate media has turned an alarmed eye to the increasingly desperate masses. We see unruly mobs, bodies piled in the streets (we hear of corpses being used as human “barricades”). The insinuations and direct reporting of violence flirt with the popular imagination and evoke memories of America’s most spectacular prime-time tragedy—Katrina.

The AP reports that the U.S. may consider stepping up its “security role,” while its humanitarian effort continues to hobble amid transportation delays and logistical chaos.  Announcing plans to expand the U.S. ground deployment, Adm. Mike Mullen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday, “The initial intent is to strategically place some of our soldiers so that they can help with that relief distribution. And then, obviously, we’re all focused on the security piece as well,”

That “security piece” has been a pretty huge chunk of America’s entanglement with Haiti throughout the 20th century, punctuated by military interventions and occupation. Six years after the last U.S.-backed coup, maybe the Pentagon has a hankering for another extended stay.

As the White House wrings its hands over how to keep a tight grip on its aid mission, AirAmerica’s Jack Rice wonders about the role of the media in shaping, and dehumanizing, public perceptions of the tragedy:

Why is it that we don’t hesitate to show a photo of dead bodies if it takes place in Africa, Asia or Latin America? Would we be willing to do the same thing if this happened in Boston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis? Would we be willing to do it if it were dead American soldiers piled up in Afghanistan? My guess is no!

Shades of Katrina emanate from the descriptions of “anarchy” engulfing the streets. Remember the Superdome, the “looting,” the alleged explosion of mayhem? The media conjured images of death and destruction with voyueristic zeal, while curating the stories to fit a prevailing narrative of savagery and social breakdown.

(RACEWIRE.ORG)

Thanks to fellow blogger EmpressDoms from over at The Wickedest Time for the encouragement in keeping up the ‘Poetic’ section.  While it is my intention to keep this as n entertainment and social commentary blog, the ‘poetic’ and ‘politickin’ sections are there for my random personal views to be expressed.

This is a piece I wrote in 2007 when I found my way to a creative muse. It speaks for itself:

Experiences can be taken as the lessons of life. So whatever it is that one does, one needs to gain a lesson from it.Writing used to be my outlet. I say used to be because I haven’t been writing as much as I once did or even should be now. Just livin’ and thinkin’ without much literature. Come to think of it, I haven’t been readin’ much other than school work.

What is it that made the muse missin’ in my mind, moreover, what made my muse minimize in my heightZ, and leave me without that light, that might, that potency and power and in the scheme of all things i think i found it in that yellow flower………….Yesterday was a day that was well spent and important to my life. Who knew that the land that I have been walking through was a slave plantation, only looking much different because of its new buildings and modernization. I spent the day with, Janessa who had been at the college before me. We drove to one of the nearby towns but we really wanted to chill at school. I had heard of ‘The Elephant Tree’, but didnt know what the raas it was, so she said she would show it to me. As we walked the grounds she told me why it was called the ‘Elephant Tree’. Halfway into the story she gasped and said

“Z look, i’ve never seen it with Blood Red Leaves!!!”, I followed her around the corner and immediately i knew why it is called the ‘Elephant Tree’. Whether because of the season, or the reason that I was there, this tree was bloody red, all I did was stare.A tree in a yard not closely surrounded by other trees, standing obviously different from the others. The Leaves had the colour of rich blood- exposed to the open air, broken from skin. The closer I walked to it the more I realized that the ground I was standing on knew the blood and last footsteps of many of the Afrikans brought to the U.S and the high high branches that I was about to be beneath were used to lynch a great deal of my family whose lives were never their own. The Branches, they looked like the trunks of an elephant but this elephant seemed to have a thousand trunks spewing the blood of those seperated at this spot and century years of sorrow.

A Priest pours Libation the for Ancestors or more commanly ‘pours a lil liquor for the dead homies’ (Yes, it does have meaning and is not jus some hip hop fad)

The overwhelming feelings that moved within and around me, this language does not have the capacity to explain.The only thing I felt like knowing was what was my true-true name. I wondered of those fated to this spot and did they complain, when they were damned to die, did they feel their lives were in vain. What are their true-true names, these people we only know as slaves, who are their people who are all over in chains, what happened to those who were left in Africa to mourn. These are the same ones today we look at with scorn, only because we feel we are better born; HOW? when from our life-line we were torn. To fetch, feed, farm, fuck and forlon????

To bleed and die- the tree with the red leaves.

My body became filled with a tide that brought me so close to my roots my feet touched Mother’s Shore.

And it was all in that yellow flower that I found my clutch. The yellow flower, placed in praise, by an anonymous praiser who showed me that I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE!!! Someone shares my vision of vitality from the strength of our ancestors. In honouring the honourable. Respecting the Respectable. Moving towards a trod that enables the prosperity and life more abundant that is ours.

I luv my life, and I know that it has to be livicated to so much more than just me. For in that bloody red elephant tree, i saw my body and I saw that I am key, and in the yellow flower I see what I want to be………..

Thanx J, my environmentalist/naturalist/herbalist sister

© 2010 T_Thought Productions ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

J and I representing The Crack Den, yeah…I said Crack (you’ll hear more about that soon)

I wrote this poem in 2004 during the time that then President of Haiti Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted and possibly kidnapped from. It is a short social commentary on some of the issues that were in the news in the Caribbean, America and the Middle East.

BUSHWHACKED

Bush Should Get Smacked
Cuz Bush is Whack
Terrorizing Iraq
Black Amercans Lack
Aristide* Kidnapped
The Truth Pushed Back
While American Ghetto’s Thrive on Crack
‘They’ Run it But We Cant See The Facts
High Security Prisons Filled To The Max
Majority Inmates Black
Then ‘They’ Wonder Why Black Attack
Bush Play the World Not Like G.I Joe But Like G.I Patterson**
Another one Slack, Son
Kill The Nation With Fat Guns
People Have Nowhere To Run
Nah Stop Sey Di Fire Eva Bun
Fire Blaze Di Bush Hotta Than The Sun
Forest Fire We Dealin Wid When We Done
Cuz Bush is Whack
Bush FI Get Smacked
Bush IS Slack
Bush Goin Get Bushwacked

*Jean Bertrand-Aristide was the former head of government in Haiti.
He was ousted in Feb. 2004.
He left the country with his family and it has been alleged that he was forced by
the American gov. who then put a ‘puppet minister’ to run the gov.

** Percival James Patterson was then Prime Minister of Jamaica

It wasn’t until I came to America a few years back that it occurred to me that Haiti was seen as ‘Back-a-Bush Africa’. From my personal experience with Black Americans and other Caribbean folks in NY, Haiti is the bottom of the barrel. You see, on the social ladder of Caribbean migrants to New York, the first black republic is the last in the list of acceptable Caribbean countries.

What a shocker this was to me, an avid black history student,  who always thought of Haiti as the Mecca of Black (Caribbean) Pride. Haiti is the ONLY country who had enough balls to fight the slave master out of their island. Haiti is the first post-colonial country that was entirely black-led. Haiti is, to this day, one of the few Caribbean countries who said “fu*k yuh ‘proper language’ wi a go mek our Kweyol (creole) official”.

After the 1791-1804 Revolution, Haiti was virtually shut out from the rest of the world! Why? Well, the country was called ‘The Jewel in the Crown’ (of France) because the French empire stood on its back and became rich off the blood, sweat and toil of the Africans brought to Haiti (which was then Saint Domingue) as slaves.  When France lost its most valuable colony, every European colonizer was scared that the revolutionary spirit would spread to their islands and invoke their slaves to fight against ‘the man’.  Frankly, everyone acted as if Haiti did not exist! And since then island has never really recovered and were never really able to join the world economy.

While Haiti is one of the world’s poorest nations, among Africana enthusiasts it is one of the most (if not the most) honorable countries in the black diaspora and I feel it like it is my own country when I see it put down time after time as only a Voodoo working, black ass Africa-of-the-Caribbean.

Shame black people, shame on us for disregarding these revolutionaries when if it it wasn’t for them Europe would not have begun thinking about ending slavery and colonization so quickly.

To learn about Bouganville, another Black led country that is PRESENTLY shut off from the rest of the world click here

You can help Haiti by visiting one of these sites and following volunteer or donation instructions

CIDI.ORG

INTERACTION.ORG

GLOBALGIVING.ORG

PANAMERICANRELIEF.ORG

UNICEFUSA.ORG or call 800-4UNICEF

STATE.GOV or text ‘HAITI’ to ’90999′ a donation of $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts, charged to your cell phone bill (U.S. State Department)

MERCYCORPS.ORG

REDCROSS.ORG

DOCTORSWITHOUTBORDERS.ORG

YELE.ORG or text ‘YELE’ to ’501501′ and a donation will be made and charged to your cell phone bill

SAVETHECHILDREN.ORG

DIRECTRELIEF.ORG

OXFAMAMERICA.ORG

CRS.ORG

CHILDFUND.ORG

WORLDVISION.ORG

CARMAFOUNDATION.ORG

Im not a gay-basher (anymore), I now go by the creed “live and let live”. There are homosexual men (I stress men cause double standards say lesbians are somewhat acceptable as long as they’re not butch) I have chilled with that have far better characters than some of you gay-hating people whose life duttia than the sexual acts we see as dirty .

But what I HATE are those who play the whole playboy, cassanova thing when really they would prefer to be looking at Playgirl Magazine than Huslter (thats a male-geared xrated media house ;-)). I know that the world is not gay-friendly, especially in black communities, but the fact that these assholes perpetuate this “mi a gyallis” fallacy when they really wanna be a “mannis” is disgusting. You coulda just easy and tek man and no one would ever care, but when you have women lusting after you and you act like you like it, a dem time deh unu fi get buukkaaam!!!

This whole Down Low shit is destroying lives; imagine you have your good good man (or so you thought) and come to find out he’s sleeping with men too ;:.cough cough.:; Lisa Hanna :;.cough.;:that’s enough to drive a lot of women mad. Why some people so damn selfish man? I mean, I know that its hard to come out when your black and worse if you’re from the hood but fu*kin hell man, keep it to yuhself and stop implicating other people in your bullshit and fakery/fu*kery!!!

Now we been told that Danger from VH1′s first season of “I Wanna Sleep With Brandy’s Lil Brother” aka “For the Love of Becoming a Reality Star” is a bit loony (unfortunately child protective services took her baby away last week because of her madness) so her saying Ray J and Yung Buck are lovers doesn’t mean its true. But its a prime example of what these DL men do; he was even said he was the father of her baby which means (if shes telling the truth) she was having unprotected sex with a man who likes to do the ‘what what in the butt’ with other men. No wonder the bitch crazy!!! Listen to what she had to say

**UPDATE- APPARENTLY IT IS NOT YUNG BUCK THE EX-G-UNIT RAPPER, Ray-J has a close friend called YOUNG BUCK

*** DANGER HAS SINCE APOLOGIZED FOR LYING

Read the rest of this entry »

I love reading pieces from Dr Carolyn Cooper! Here she gives her on insight on the recent tax hike in Jamaica; now, women have to add GCT to sanitary napkins and tampons! She discusses the country’s leader who approved this hike (bruce Golding) alongside his political party’s predecessor, Edward Seaga, with classic Jamaican humor.  Dr Cooper also points out that now, some women and girls will have to go back to (or learn how to use) a bloodclaat because stayfree and tampax are too expensive. So Bruce, does this mean that yuh going free up use of this ‘bad’ word, now that it is a part of our monthly routines

Over a decade ago, Edward Seaga authoritatively decla-red that Bruce Golding was not fit to lead the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). I have a feeling that these days he would add, “or the country.”

At the time, it sounded wicked and spiteful. But now you have to wonder what, exactly, Eddie saw – or didn’t see – in Mr Golding to incite that terrible judgment.

Eddie put ‘goat mouth’ on poor Bruce. The Dictionary of Jamaican English defines ‘goat mouth’ as “a mouth like a goat’s, believed to indicate the possession of prophetic powers and the power to inflict bad luck, disease, etc.” Seaga’s mouth is not literally shaped like a goat’s, of course. But his prophetic power to inflict bad luck is unquestionable.

Our prime minister just doesn’t seem to be handling the affairs of state efficiently. In the middle of an already dread Christmas season, he announces an alarming new tax regime. I was appalled to hear that even sanitary pads and tampons were going to attract GCT. The thought of girls having to resort to washing menstrual cloths to save money provoked a very bloody bad word.

The fearful IMF negotiations are stretching out longer and longer. Only God and the Government know what the fund has in store for us. There has been no public debate on the ‘conditionalities.’ If this first round of taxation is any indicator, we’re heading right back to the 1970s:

Rich people shopping in Miami and poor people fighting in supermarkets for scarce goods; or, worse, settling for next to nothing. And now “is definitely not Manley fault.”

Then there’s that gruesome extradition matter dangling over our collective heads like a hangman’s noose. The prime minister is bobbing and weaving. All in all, is pure worries for Bruce. As proverbial wisdom puts it, ‘uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.’ Bruce’s crown of thorns must be ‘jooking’ him. And no one is likely to see him as the Messiah.