ORVILLE W. TAYLOR'SAME KNIFE stick sheep juck goat!' Not to be taken literally since vegetarians don't advocate the sticking of animals, I prefer 'sauce for the goose, sauce for the gander'.
I said it before and will continue to say it, the only way that we can guarantee international peace and local stability is to have consistent standards across party, racial,
religious, national or class lines.
A week or so ago, Chinese
citizens violently protested the Japanese attempt to embellish its atrocities against them in World War II. In doing so, they wantonly attacked Japanese-owned businesses in full view of the authorities.
Despite its large mass, China is not the easiest place to have any public show of dissent without the approval of the
government.
In 1989, thousands of students attempted a
'pro-democracy' protest in Tiananmen Square. This ill-fated uprising was effectively crushed like the Windies in the second Test, while the protesters wailed Marley's (no, Tosh's) Get Up, Stand Up to no avail.
Then it was suggested that this was an attempt by the Chinese to force Japan out of contention from a permanent place on the United Nation's Security Council.
Delano Franklin, State Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, suggests that an overhaul of the council is necessary. I agree because the weighted system of voting favours powerful nations and consistently marginalises
countries such as ours.
However, what is really needed is for the universal application of the same standards and rights across countries.
PAYING DEARLY
In a world where there are rigid standards relating to trade and
protection of copyrights, countries such as ours have to pay dearly for violating patents and trademarks.
Therefore, the few 'pirate' CDs, which are sold on the streets and the photocopied books from the libraries are quickly monitored and the police occasionally grabs up and destroys them.
But guess what? Total sales of CDs or books in Jamaica are
minimal in a small economy like this. However, unlike China, which is suspected of having a multibillion dollar 'piracy' industry, we are small, powerless and on top of everything we are open to scrutiny.
We pride ourselves on our democracy and can express
ourselves on 16 radio stations, three free-to-air TV stations, several cable providers and a 'whole heap of newspapers'. So, the inequality in international politics is a real case of 'duppy know who to
frighten', since no nation including the great 'farrin' (U.S.) can bully the largest nation on earth.
Locally, we have had a few crises of transparency and
unfairness as well.
First, thereis Vando Palmer who as a communication specialist cannot seem to inform himself that public servants do not run for political office. Then again, since he is in the habit of telling us that road works are progressing nicely, he is
frequently out of touch with reality.
Actually, there is one truth: I saw signs on the North Coast Highway construction marked 'slow'. 'True wud!'
On Mr. Palmer's candidacy, I park my opinion right beside Delroy Chuck and emphasise that not having the presence of mind to resign says little for his judgment.
Then, there is the 'rubbish' about the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA).
Figuratively, just like the
smoking gun at a crime scene, there was a persistent smoke cloud from Riverton City that refused to go away. There is no smoke
without fire. Yes, the board finally resigned but the matter of
unaccountability is a 'burning issue'.
Speaking of which, isn't it ironic that the NSWMA spent more than $15 million in putting out fires last year? Funny, since we know that the fire service is under-equipped and is also the portfolio of Portia Simpson Miller.
The Permanent Secretary in the Local Government Ministry is the interim chairperson. She is the former director of administration in the Labour Ministry where the dishonesty of erstwhile minister, J.A.G Smith and expermanent secretary Probyn Aiken was discovered in 1989. What will she unearth?
GCT, AND OTHER SUBJECTS
'Greedy Catastrophic Terrible (GCT)'! That is what some say about the 16.5 rate. I dislike the idea of such an increase since the ultimate cost of it will be borne by the poorest consumers.
In a society in which 70 per cent of the poor are employed persons, I wonder what is really expected?
Still, I will wait longer for that response while Omar tells us where the $26.5 billion from the Consolidated Fund went. He was at the University of the West Indies last week but he didn't really give a good response. Audley Shaw raised the question and he
understands these matters well.
On another subject, the Immaculate student spitting in the teacher's water is a case of assault. This is really a situation of what comes out of the mouth defiling someone. Then again, what goes into it also corrupts. I want to see punishment as if she were an
inner-city student.
Finally, the West Indies played two wicked matches. They might not have won but they punished the South Africans by letting them bat for hours under the broiling sun, only able to move when the
occasional non-boundary shot was played. I bet the bowlers can now join the world championship track and field team since we are short of long distance runners and they obviously can run the whole day.
As for the batting, tell me! Why do the other batsmen crumble whenever Brian Lara performs well? It can't be that their bats are worn out because they are hardly used. It can't be the pitch because the opposition bats on it too. Well, wickets tumbled after the new ball was taken. Therefore, what is missing from their equipment is balls.
Dr. Orville Taylor is lecturer
n the Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work at the University of the West Indies, Mona.
