The Montegonian: Veteran Broadcaster Receives Award

Veteran Broadcaster Receives Award

 

from http://ift.tt/1QmlIqA in The Montegonian

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Posted by The Montegonian on Saturday, September 12, 2015

Posted by The Montegonian on Saturday, September 12, 2015

7 Health Benefits of Jackfruit!

Bureaucracy Stifling Activism in Jamaica!

Today in Jamaica there are countless grassroots projects under way, yet the economic hurdles can seem too much to overcome, but the people continue nonetheless. However as more and more of us are becoming aware of how disastrous the global economy and the IMF's agenda are for the people of Jamaica and the planet, I believe that the chances for meaningful change are greater today than ever before, BUT the Government needs to do more to facilitate the empowerment of the people. Grassroots activism and collective social groups like people's cooperatives, neighborhood watches, resident's association, youth clubs, which are suppose to level the playing field for citizen participation in our democratic society, and leverage people power on the community's behalf are being stymied and stemmed unnecessary bureaucracy and confusing, if not confining legal parameters.

Organization born of citizens and community residents are made to jump through legal loops to gain recognition as a legal entity, they then have to meet one of many government agency's criteria of proper organizational running, then only to find themselves confined in the functions, roles and parameters, depending on the legal entity  you are recognized as. Then not to mention the general foot dragging at every level of the bureaucracy and link in the chain of command.

The average Jamaican people's group is faced with Anti-gang legislation which threatens their freedom of assembly, then after you have managed to get a formal set up, elections with posts and treasurers, have regular meetings, then comes registration, you register with SDC, CDC, PDC, NYDC, NYS and all the acronyms, some of them come to meetings, some talk, but very little comes of it. Then your organization dreams of doing outreach and revenue generating... the legal hurdles then begin, do you register as a Company with the Registrar of Companies, or as Friendly Society or a Benevolent Society or a Co-operative??? Each of which has confinements and restrictions as to what your group can and cannot do, legal functions etc. I contend that there can be no sensible and effective organization of the people with so much Red Tape. It leads to a quagmire of frustration.

The environmental costs (Goat Island and access to water) of the current system have been visible for quite some time; now the social consequences, too, are becoming clearer. The gap between 'have' and 'have-not' is escalating to epic proportions; the average Jamaican is seeing his or her real incomes decline, and must work longer hours just to cover basic needs. Our government, like many around the world is too poor to meet their obligations and hence now respond to the wishes of international lenders rather than their own citizens.  People are beginning to understand that something is fundamentally wrong, and that minor tinkering with the current system is not the answer. Help us to help ourselves; enable and empower citizens, communities and activists... cut the red tape that restricts community and citizens based organizations.

The Cup of Life!

The Montegonian Proposal

The C.U.P. of Life

"My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will."

Matthew 26:39

"Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over."

Psalms 23

"Life is, Sheer passion , You have to fill, The cup with love, In order to live, You have to fight/struggle, A heart to win."

Ricky Martin- English Translation of “La Copa de la Vida”

“The deeper that sorrow carves into your being the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?”

Kahlil Gibran

 “At the third cup, wine drinks the man”

 Hokekyo Sho

I have a proposition for my future MP, my councillor, my community. A CUP… what kind of cup you might ask! Well the Community Upliftment Program. Well it is the propositional brainchild of the Montegonian no doubt, but what it needs is political will, community spirit and probably some financing.

An Argument for Community Development

Welcome to a 21st century in which many cities, in many countries, link the revitalization of the central business district and renovation and improvement of houses or districts so that it conforms to middle-class taste of residential neighbourhoods to earlier community development initiatives. In this day and age it is undoubtable that we need policies based construction and more on renovation and investment, and today these new kinds of policies are an integral part of many local governments worldwide, often combined with small and big business incentives.

Community development seeks to give power to individuals and groups of people by providing these groups with the skills, proficiency and expertise they require to make and cause change in their own communities. These skills are often focused around building political power through the formation of large social groups working for a common plan. Community developers have to understand both how to work with individuals and how to change and elevate communities' positions within the context of larger social institutions and society.

Essentialy community development is the process of developing active and sustainable communities based on social justice and mutual respect. It is about influencing power structures to remove the barriers that prevent people from participating in the issues that affect their lives. Community Development expresses values of fairness, equality, accountability, opportunity, choice, participation, mutuality, reciprocity and continuous learning. Educating, enabling and empowering are at the core of Community Development.

Several angles can be taken to initiate community development including: Community economic development, Community capacity building, Social capital formation, Political participatory development, Ecologically sustainable development, Asset-based community development, Faith-based community development.

The proposed CUP, community upliftment program, would be a two pronged approach to developing communities, one, on the macro level and the other being the micro level. This is to say that they need to address issues that affect the community as whole and their position in the bigger scheme and order of things, and next to address the community on an individual and family level, the level of familiarity which exists in the common community family. Cup I believe needs to be and is designed to address the peculiarities of Montegonian families and communities.

CUP: The Macro Plan

1. Economic Opportunity - including job creation within the community and throughout the region, entrepreneurial initiatives, small business expansion, and training for jobs that offer upward mobility. Training that includes life skills training, things like “making technology work for you” “some office procedure” “home economics: budgeting” “shopkeeping math and accounting” “some fundamental nutrition” “Spanish: lite or beginners or simply basic conversation” “Computer training that offers more than just word processing but, teaches that and offers optional diversification, like intro to digital music, or graphic design, or music engineering, and the range of other directions computer can take you.”

2. Sustainable Community Development - to advance the creation of livable and vibrant communities through comprehensive approaches that coordinate economic (FUND RAISERS- new and innovative ones, not ticket sale or conventional dance), physical, environmental (gardens, parks and community monuments), community, and human development ( help families through hurdles like education and home making and developing);

3. Community-Based Partnerships - involving participation of all segments of the community, including the political and governmental leadership, community groups, health and social service groups, environmental groups, religious organizations, the private and nonprofit sectors, centers of learning, other community institutions, concerned citizens and low-income residents. We need to move away from the constant one shot solo projects and find ways to incorporate everybody who is doing something in what we are doing;

4. Strategic Vision for Change - which identifies what the community will become and develops a strategic map for revitalization.

CUP: The Micro Approach

1. Community Week – It is full time we initiated a system where each community has a week for itself. A week of festivity and commemoration of their existence and history. There can be a memories day, where everybody carries out their old pictures, video footage, any big dance that made it to DVD etc, if you have cell phone clips or whatever,  to be displayed and everybody can reminisce, and this way the generations can mix and mingle and pass on stories of yesteryear etc. There can be a big Sunday dinner, a Friday dance, a memorial for all those passed. I wouldn’t be averse to a Church service day where most people go to church and commune or whatever and Muslim similarly and a Rasta event etc.

2. Change for change – In order to finance things like back to school and kiddies treats etc, set up a bar and shopkeeper program where people contribute change in order to secure a set amount of exercise books or pencils and things like that for generation next.

3. Orchard and Garden Program –A system to access idle lands in areas to be planted up with fruit trees and such, to ease the burdens of GCT, save us from dry goods and diabetes, nutrition needs, and rescue the little air and ozone we have left.

4. Naming and Mapping – The proper naming and mapping out of communities, and naming of streets, so that people can actually feel like they live somewhere, instead of in hell with names like hmmm dead man alley, Afghanistan, Bagdad, Gaza, Tel Aviv, Vietnam, Blood Lane, Piss Lane, Corn Corner and you get the picture. We need to resolve the psychological impact of feeling like you don’t live anywhere, especially when you and a million people share the same address, which is usually the most popular main road in your community.

5. Sports Outlets- Do I need to explain how critical sports are? Well hmmm other than finding things to do for idle hands before the devil, well it hones natural talent, potential financial rewards, keeps young minds away from guns, avenues to release sexual energy instead of making unwanted babies etc.

Well that is my proposition folks, maybe someone actually uses it.

yannickpessoa@yahoo.com

Mario Dean to Trayvon to Michael Brown... The Black Existential Condition Worsens!

The verdict in Ferguson is this week has been deeply disenchanting and saddening. There are just too many white-on-black police-on-civilian brutalities and violence to dismiss as being accidental. There is evidently an endemic problem of 'Shoot first, ask questions later,' and it cannot continue. There was a travesty of justice Monday night. It’s hurtful to think that someone can be murdered and their killer will walk away free. The recent murder of a 12-year-old black boy confirms there’s an epidemic of police violence in the black communities in the United States and worldwide where the police seem to function as judge, jury and executioner. Brian Becker, director of the Answer Coalition in the U.S. was quoted as saying "Every 28 hours the police kill a black person, usually a black male in the United States."

The Security Forces and Police must be held accountable as well. They are our public servants, civil servant and when they uphold the law and act nobly we will and should respect and just due. However, when they think they are above the law, or are the embodiment of it and act with impunity, they do not deserve our sympathy nor should they be allowed to continue with this mentality.

This latest verdict does not bode well for the civil safety of people anywhere in America. It is an even darker omen and trend worldwide for black folk and the African Diaspora!

Ferguson affects all of us as peoples of African descent. The fires will burn in Ferguson for the pain of injustice for many days to come.

Black Friday Message from The Montegonian!

We here at The Montegonian know many of you will be flying out for or making purchase online during #BlackFriday to get that long desired #tablet, #wireless speakers, #toytrainsets and get the jump on the early #Christmas shopping, but we ask that you be cautious as commerce increases and onlines sales as well, especially via #creditcard, we ask that you be cautious and vigilant. #Identitytheft is rampant these days #fraud and #cybercrime is up. Just as you once had to be on the look out for pick pockets downtown now is the age we must be wary of bad #hackers and #scammers! Please also remember this is a season of giving ask #WWJD what would Jesus do and not #WWJB what would Jesus buy. Also as a people remember that after #Walmart and #BlackFriday comes #WhiteSaturday! A fool and his money are soon parted, remember, spend wisely! Hotep... Selah!

Open Source and the City of Montego Bay!

  
What is Open Source? 

Open-source software (OSS) is computer software with its source code made available with a license in which the copyright holder supplies the rights to study, change and distribute the software to anyone and for any reason or function. Open-source software is very oftentimes developed in a public, collaborative manner. Open-source software is the most striking example of open-source development and often compared to (technically defined) user-generated content or (legally defined) open-content movements.

A report by the Standish Group (from 2008) states that adoption of open-source software models has resulted in savings of about $60 billion per year to consumers.

In production and development, open source as a development model promotes a universal access via a free license to a product's design or blueprint, and universal redistribution of that design or blueprint, including subsequent improvements to it by anyone. Researchers view open source as a specific case of the greater pattern of Open Collaboration, "any system of innovation or production that relies on goal-oriented yet loosely coordinated participants, who interact to create a product (or service) of economic value, which they make available to contributors and non-contributors alike".

The open-source model is based on a more decentralized model of production, in contrast with more centralized models of development such as those typically used in commercial software companies.

A main principle of open-source software development is peer production by collaboration, with the end-product, source code, "blueprints", and documentation available at no cost to the public. The open source movement in software began as a response to the limitations of closed proprietary code, and it is now spreading across different fields. This model is also used for the development of open-source-appropriate technologies, solar photovoltaic technology and open-source drug discovery.

There is an accelerating interest in and use of Open-Source Software worldwide. Local governments are changing. Forward-thinking municipalities are embracing technology to make our cities better for everyone. Innovative government staff are sharing resources, best practices, and collaborating on common problems. Jamaica an its municipalities need to provide a broad range of resources, programs and services to support and advance civic innovation. Open Source Software becomes the leading information technology day by day and there are open source alternatives to most of the commercial softwares...

I use Linux Mint 17! So why can't the government do it?

So why is Government in general, and the St. James municipality in particular not looking into Open Source? It's time that Jamaican government IT policy goes as far as expressing a formal preference to use open source!

How can you apply the concepts of open source to a living, breathing city?

An open source city is a blend of open culture, open government policies, and economic development.

Five characteristics of an open source city

1. Fostering a culture of citizen participation
2. Having an effective open government policy
3. Having an effective open data initiative
4. Promoting open source user groups and conferences
5. Being a hub for innovation and open source businesses

Citizen participation: Probably one of the most difficult components of an open source city is to foster a culture of citizen participation. Having citizen champions around certain causes can really help boost citizen participation and engagement.

Open government policy and open data: Policy is another key component of an open source city. 

User groups and conferences: Participation comes in another form with user groups and conferences—like-minded people gathering around their passions. Hosting these conferences and supporting user groups will boost your open source city credibility.

Economic development: Finally, having an economic development strategy that includes open source companies can help foster innovation and create jobs. More and more cities are also seeing the advantages of having an open data policy tied to their startup community. Cities that can combine their open data policy with their economic development strategy can give a real boost to startups and other businesses. Being a hub for open source companies and a catalyst for open source startups can have a positive impact on the city's bottom line. More importantly, this feeds back in to culture and participation.
 
Municipalities and Open Source

As a Linux User I keep myself abreast by reading Linux Format! I found this interesting article in the April 2014

 edition.

Munich’s switch to open-source software has been successfully completed, with the vast majority of the public administration’s users now running its own version of Linux, city officials said Thursday.
In one of the premier open-source software deployments in Europe, the city migrated from Windows NT to LiMux, its own Linux distribution. LiMux incorporates a fully open-source desktop infrastructure. The city also decided to use the Open Document Format (ODF) as a standard, instead of proprietary options.
Ten years after the decision to switch, the LiMux project will now go into regular operation, the Munich City council said in a document published on its website.
As of November last year, the city saved more than €11.7 million (US$16.1 million) because of the switch. 

READ MORE AT: PCworld article "Switch to open source successfully completed in the city of Munich

Why should other cities do this?

Other cities should do this for many reasons such as:

• Proving to its citizen-bosses that it is doing its job and working hard in response to their needs.
• Opening up data and processes because, you never know, those citizen-bosses may be able to do something cool with it or make great suggestions.
• Opening up gives citizens a sense of ownership and welcome.  They are more likely to be engaged and satisfied if they feel ownership and pride in that ownership.

Benefits of Open Source to Montego Bay

Community Participation – Taking it to the streets

• Citizen-led communities
• Connection between youth-development programs and open government community
• Connection entrepreneurial community and open government community
• Importance of broadband access for any of this to be useful

I believe in the critical role of open-source software to create the applications and infrastructure necessary to support electronic medical records and other government-funded technology projects. Open-source software has already resulted in dramatic cost reductions in many technology areas.

Open-source software brings transparency to software development. There are no “black boxes” in open-source software and therefore no need to guess what is going on “behind the scenes.” Ultimately, this means a better product for everyone, because there is visibility at every level of the application, from the user interface to the data implementation. Furthermore, open-source software provides for platform independence, which makes quick deployments that benefit our citizens much easier and realistic.

The open-source industry is changing the world of software development in many of the ways many politicians have promised to change Jamaican politics. The values of open source are hope, change, and openness. I sincerely hope that Montego Bay and the St. James Parish Council if not the entire Jamaican government, will make the use of open-source software a key component of every new technology initiative it is apart of.

The open source characteristics of collaboration, transparency, and participation are shaping municipalities world wide as we brand our city as a city for the creative classes we must also give it the open source city brand. 

It's time that Jamaican government's IT policy goes as far as expressing a formal preference to use open source!

WATCH THESE VIDEOS TO GET UPTO SPEED ON LINUX AND OPEN SOURCE!!!

Chikungunya Chikungunya!!!!!!

JAMAICA NOW: Ebola alert ... Changes to ganja laws ... Chik V emergency ...

Faces Of Africa - Haile Selassie: The pillar of Ethiopia, part 1 & 2

Proposals for Education Ministry and System in Jamaica

Document | Article: Proposals for Education Ministry and System in Jamaica

For a long time the media and most thinks have purported the idea that we live in the information age. We live an age where cell phones and gadgetry pervade all walks of life. Computers and the internet are constantly creeping into our lives. Sociologists will contend that the family is the primary agent of socialization. But most of know and will very well contend that it is the TV. Especially in an age where the family is in crisis and in the third world where the core notion of family lives in a state of flux, the television and cable have taken prominence.

Folklore, Anansy and the oral tradition have been usurped by Sponge Bob, Dora and Hannah Montana. With absentee or limited supervision parenting rampant and the television controlling brain space and time at all times and any given hour, whilst the education system will only have them for 6 to 7 out of 24 hours much of which will be ruled by televisions and corner time no wonder we are unable to transmit and pass on the education, knowledge and morals we need to.

Mister Minister on the heels of your party’s message of change and changing the course, the courses and course of the education system has changed little. At this crucial moment in history the education system with all its short comings are in need of radical overhaul and requires new approaches and revolutionary thought. We need to design a curriculum to stimulate the development of analytical skills. The thing I care most about is that we focus not on the specific set of tools, but on the ability to “learn and apply a current tool set”.

The truth is that we constantly acquire and discard sets of tools. So we should not be fixated on one specific set of tools for all of life. Society, technology and the times change so fast that any fact, process or algorithm we learn at school is by definition not going to be useful for any length of time. The real skills that serve us are the ability to adapt, learn, apply the products of that learning, and participate in the discussions and challenges of the day. That doesn’t mean that facts are useless, or that specific tools don’t matter. Unless you can demonstrate an ability to absorb and apply both, fast, you haven’t actually gained the knack of becoming effective in a given environment.

How can we better communicate with them?

The traditional talk and chalk won’t work with this generation. Our communication style is structured, yet they want freedom. The old order stresses learning, they like experiencing. We react, they relate. We focus on the individual, while they are socially driven. Here are four essentials to consider when engaging with youth today:

Real:

Not only must our communication style be credible, but we must be also. They don’t expect us to know all about their lifestyle, nor do they want us to embrace their culture. They are simply seeking understanding, and respect. If our communication has a hidden agenda, or we are less than transparent, it will be seen. This generation can sniff a phoney from a long distance.

Raw:

Today’s youth have access to the most advanced technology, movie special effects, and video games with which we can never compete. But the good news is that they are not impacted by slick presentations. They don’t want a rehearsed talk, or a manufactured spiel. The more spontaneous and interactive we are in the classroom, the less intimidated, and more open they will be.

Relevant:

Obviously what we are communicating has to fall within their area of interest. But the style, as well as the content of our message must be relevant to a generation who are visually educated and entertained. There is no point in giving music to a friend on a cassette tape if they only have a CD player, or on CD if they only use MP3. Similarly we must research in the most appropriate format for those we are reaching. So in understanding the communication styles of our target cohort we will be better equipped to reach them.

Relational:

There is an old and true saying in education circles: “They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care!” Communicating to this generation requires openness, vulnerability, and genuine interest in those we are trying to teach, and above all else, understanding. The more relaxed the environment, and the more socially conducive to discussions; the better will be the quality of the learning.

The Issue of Text Books and Learning Materials

Today, many children and individuals have MP3 Players, I-Pods, Smart-phones, computers, DVDs and DVD players, Radios and Televisions. Lots of in Jamaica are in some way linked and have some access to the various media. Today, I believe it is a tragedy that books, audio-books, tutorials and classes and the entire Jamaican and Caribbean syllabus are not posted online in PDF on accessible sites, material and content for our youths’ education should already be on their cell phones, in their DVD players, on YouTube.

It is an even more horrendous thought that every entrepreneur with a two-bit dream of becoming a media mogul can implement far reaching cable stations, whilst JIS is relegated to a time slot on TVJ, instead of being a Caribbean BBC, the U.S. has PBS and as a matter of fact the BBC has managed to pervade the island. We have an A.M. Band going to waste and yet I have seen people in small communities with their small means and incomes set up small radio stations and internet radio stations, why is JIS being broadcast, why aren’t we making full use of all the channels and vectors we have that can be used to bombard people with sensible, useful, practical, culturally relevant information.

I have lived to see middle-aged women become interior decorators watching HGTV and seen nearly illiterate dog lovers in the garrison swear they are dog trainers after a few episodes of dog whisperer on Discovery channel. In this vein I do believe if we have relevant content people will be willing to watch it. If you build it they will come. I do believe we have a wealth of content that can be drawn from, old documentaries from JBC and such. More can be commissioned, after all this is the era of YouTube movie directors, Open Source content and citizen journalism.

I am convinced the government has been lacklustre in pursuing technologies such as Linux, Open Source and notions such as FOSS. Brazil, Mexico and India are already using these to bring technology more cheaply to their nation. There are also revolutionary methods of implementing technology in the class room all throughout the Americas.

Also Mr. Holness I am sure you will probably have played dominoes with illiterate people as I have and been beaten by people who have never learnt primary school mathematics, which is proof that the education is disconnected from the everyday realities we face. Someone must have the potential to learn math if he can grasp the process of deduction and numerical elimination it takes to play domino well. We live in the Caribbean and still don’t learn enough about where we live. Why isn’t there our national geographic?

The other day I had to watch on foreign news that lizards that do morning exercises had been discovered in Jamaica. Lots of municipalities and small nation states have set up their own, local intranet that can provide the general populace with basic informational resources, like wikis and encyclopaedias and educational material. Today it is the nation’s own fault we are falling behind in education.

The government must become the primary agent of socialization, as parents and the family are lagging. If we are to grow a nation we need to grow people. We need our human resource to grow and develop. Technology, TV, internet, cell phones and the Radio are the way to reach them.

A Final Word:

The quality outcome of our education system is dependent on our understanding of the youth. Once we have a foundational grasp of their characteristics, communication styles, and social attitudes, we will be well equipped to effectively impact this enormous and emerging generation.

We want to create a curriculum that can:

Be self taught, peer mentored, and effectively evaluated without expert supervision.

Provide tools for analysis that will be general useful across the range of disciplines being taught at any given age.

Be an exercise machine for analysis, process and synthesis.

The idea is not that children learn tools they use for the rest of their lives. That’s not realistic. I don’t use any specific theorems or other mathematics constructs from school today. They should learn tools which they use at school to develop a general ability to learn tools. That general ability – to break a complex problem into pieces, identify familiar patterns in the pieces, solve them using existing tools, and synthesise the results into a view or answer… that’s the skill of analysis, and that’s what we need to ensure the youth graduate with.

Yannick Nesta Pessoa

#education #youth #jamaica #revolution #change #governement #governance 

Open-Sourced Blueprints for Civilization

Open-Sourced Blueprints for Civilization

Farmer Scientist Group wants to Hack Society through OpenSource Technology!

How to Live in a City!

World Boss vs Bulb Boss: Rule of Law floundering in Jamaica!

"It is when your spirit goes wandering upon the wind,
That you, alone and unguarded, commit a wrong unto others and therefore unto yourself.
And for that wrong committed must you knock and wait a while unheeded at the gate of the blessed.
...And of the man in you would I now speak.
For it is he and not your god-self nor the pigmy in the mist, that knows crime and the punishment of crime."
By Kahlil Gibran

I am compelled point to the glaring hypocrisy at the core of much of the media commentaries surrounding the Whirl Boss and his conviction. Many have been quick to lambaste him, as maybe he deserves to be, but I ask... "What part did the gatekeepers of information have in building the Vybz Kartel they are no so quick to turn their back on?" Were not the media gatekeepers too neglecting their social responsibility by not better regulating the airwaves, and not filtering what was being syphoned to the nation?

I would like to point to the glaring hypocrisy at the core of the decision to free Kern "Bulb Boss" Spencer. The government has shown its will to decisively uphold the rule of law is weak. The impetus for impartiality and legal ethics in our government today is missing.

We live in a time and political climate in Jamaica where the state seems  committed to consistently targeting the marginalized, who are not  able to buy the best lawyers and with political connections. Rarely, if ever are corrupt politicians and white collar criminals brought to justice. Hence the nation has no faith in the justice system, nor does it believe in the institutions charged with maintaining law and order.

The government has the will to press through anti-gang legislation, public smoking legislation (even as they muddled it), scamming and fraud legislation. Yet to financially and medically empower Jamaicans by legalizing medical marijuana as well as decriminalizing it usage whilst making licensing easy and accessible to Jamaica's poor and dispossessed is something they are willing to pussyfoot around. All while madam PM goes globe hopping I suppose!

Here is a point of note on the rule of law to our ministries of security and justice… Rule of law deals with the range of processes and relationships amongst individual and state.  The crucial idea that has grown out of the rule of law as it has developed in the UK and is adopted here in Jamaica, posits in Albert Venn Dicey’s understanding  that “the law should not be arbitrarily or capriciously administered by those in power”

The Constitution of Jamaica implicitly states that the power or duties of each arm of government should not overlap... Yet Resident Magistrates don’t have security of tenure as part of the public service and fall within the executive arm of the state. Hence the Court System we have before us may very well contravene the constitution and the notion of the separation of powers as well as undermining the doctrine of rule of law. The Jamaican RM Court is a one of a kind in the world. No other such structure exists. An arbitrary structure, with arbitrary administration and hence the arbitrary administration of justice.

Let us not forget the mess made in the creation of the gun court, it was an embarrassment in Jamaican scholarship and jurisprudence. The unusual features of the Gun Court have faced legal handicaps, some of which have forced amendment of the Gun Court Act. The Gun Court has faced criticism on several fronts, most notably for its departure from traditional practices, its large backlog of cases, and for the continuing escalation in gun violence since its institution. If these things are not proof that we need better jurisprudence and more honest and fair delivery of justice.

A 1993 County Report on Human Rights Practices in Jamaica from the United States Department of State noted the denial of a "fair public trial" and alleged that Gun Court trials observe "less rigorous rules of evidence than in regular court proceedings." 

The Canadian Bar Association's Jamaican Justice System Reform Task Force noted that the Gun Court is overloaded, that defendants are not well represented, and Crown attorneys are often inexperienced. Hence even internationally it is evident and plain to see that we are a unique court system and a particularly arbitrary one!

If we are to move forward as a nation we must cut these wretched political hypocrisies in our system!

I close with a quote from - John Adams, “Nip the shoots of arbitrary power in the bud, is the only maxim which can ever preserve the liberties of any people.”

Montego Bay - City of Tomorrow: Building a Sustainable City

Sun. Soil. Soul. Society.

The Schematics for a Sustainable City: The Montego Bay Ecopolis

We are losing connection with the soil. We need to understand the connection between soil, soul and society and drop ego in favour of eco!~Satish Kumar

"A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars, it's where the rich ride public transportation."~ Gustavo Petro (Mayor of Bogotá, Colombia)

The social big bang that was the start of the 21 century saw the acceleration of the pace of human life beyond anything people of previous centuries could have imagined. Today there is a crisis of haste and of a lack of hospitality in the world and its cities.

The tourist capital Montego Bay, is a typical 2nd city: vast, pulsating, noisy and full of smoke and exhaust fumes. But it is atypical in many many ways. A beautiful city couched and cocooned in a bay... city by the sea, tourist hub, cultural hub, growing, strategically located in the Caribbean, resting on an energy lay line, cultural axis, business crux of the west... in many ways too, Montego Bay is the apotheosis of urban and rural life: rustic yet metropolitan and cosmopolitan, "country-fy and farrin-ish!" "If yuh naah mean'

This is the setting in which new building concepts, IT solutions, the Freezone's continued expansion, the Indigenous Rastafari Village, Academia in the form of Utech West and UWI western Campus, lifestyle solutions, energy concepts, a new Caribbean ecological, local, indigenous way of life can emerge: a new and re-newed peoples, with new objectives, new domiciles and modus operandi. A mode of operation that can save energy as well as avert looming oil and energy crises (research Peak Oil), cut pollution, solve food security issues and make living in the city, this city, our city a more pleasant experience, culturally, aesthetically, intellectually, socially and otherwise.

After seeing several conferences and conventions on alternative energy being held in Montego Bay, we can realize sustainability and sustainable development are becoming a little more than just buzzwords, maybe they are actually manifesting... actualizing as it were, possibly as a response to poverty, inflation, awakening consciousnesses to the social crises ahead. But what is sustainability and sustainable development?

Wikipedia defines: Sustainable development as "an organizing principle for human life on a finite planet. It posits a desirable future state for human societies in which living conditions and resource-use meet human needs without undermining the sustainability of natural systems and the environment, so that future generations may also meet their needs."

Achieving sustainability is not that far-fetched as our neighbours, Cuba according to data presented to the United Nations, was the only nation in the world in 2006 that met the World Wide Fund for Nature's definition of sustainable development, with an ecological footprint of less than 1.8 hectares per capita, 1.5 hectares, and a Human Development Index of over 0.8, 0.855.

Investigating MoBay's space development cross the span of quarter century, one realizes the explanation behind this transformation. Walking down Church Street to see the St. James church history. Owing to the lack of to cheap and accessible housing solutions, residents, denizens and citizens "unofficially" settle and squat in and near the center of MoBay. They could live in better places out of town, but instead suffer a significant loss in revenue since the trip to downtown by taxi is very expensive compounded by the lack of a robust and diversified public transport system. In MoBay, both middle-class families residing in settlement or "scheme" houses in the suburbs, as well as those upper-class families whose homes are within gated communities travel to downtown by taxi or private vehicle. We can see that development of the city has been ad-hoc and in sporadic growth spurts, with no great over arching vision that spans decades or centuries, just the whim and will of whichever political directorate. So how do we dream a dream of betterment and better development.


GREEN DREAMS

The dream of a green Eden like future has been long in the minds of Rastafari elders and a part of the Rastafari ethos and cosmology since its inception. The green Eden seems also a part of the basic religious or spiritual memory of mankind. The promise of a green future brings forward the hope of halting and altering the weathered gray concrete of the streets and lanes and the crumbling down brown blocks of downtown into a lush and beautiful garden mixing steel towers and tree-filled parks teeming with life.

The Dream is of a Montegonian Ecopolis calling out to us from the future, where the Montego River will be a blue river filled with sail boats meets and greeting the rainbow of colors of humanity walking in the middle of farm stalls and kiosks,  whilst craft shops of citizens whose work reflect the rich variety of its population. A Montegonian Ecopolis with a vibrant populace, where the citizenry once again takes back the design of their city and model their neighborhoods, schools, businesses,  civic organizations, and communities of potential and creative imagination, of multi-cultural customs and traditions, and of love and tolerance.

Finding the resources to build a city beyond fear and intolerance, beyond mistrust and prejudice  The hope of a Montegonian Ecopolis shines like a beacon of hope to its neighboring cities in the island and cities across the Caribbean, casting a light to the state, the nation, the region and the world symbolizing the dawn of a new day in our relations with ourselves, with others and with our environment. In a space where men and women and children of all colors and ethnic traditions build that new city brick by brick and block by block, the promise of yesteryear's Montego Bay and the realities of the present meet the possibilities of the future.

In this new and grand ecological vision of Montego Bay, a baby can smile and a flower can grow uncompromised, where human potential and the human spirit thrives and blossoms. A habitable place free of molestation and frustration. There are solar generators quietly hum, producing power to run machines and to light homes. Where eco-farmers grow food and sustainable fishermen catch fish to feed its populations and to sell their surplus to a wider market. There will be the new professionals and specialists and workers of the new information and sharing economy who are educated in the requirements of the increasingly decentralized workplace of the new millennium. Where, the plenitude of cultural traditions of racial and ethnic sub-communities mutually enrich one another in a new ecology of diverse popular culture spanning street theater and alternative film and Internet entertainment and ever multiplying digital television stations produced locally and around the world. Where, local citizens meet and petition their representatives in person, on the Web, or in public squares, pressing their demands and dissatisfactions in every forum and thus restoring some the closeness and intimacy of old-style town democracy.

The Montego Bay Ecopolis is both far away and very near. It is a place we can call home, if we make it so, if we vision it so, if we dream it so.

CITIES AROUND THE WORLD

Local governments worldwide are working to protect the environment. The concept that is green cities aims to reduce energy usage and the various forms of pollution in new and creative ways. Such efforts by city governments not only help reverse the effects of climate change. They also help governments save large amounts of money on energy costs. And, cities that are leaders in this green movement set a good example to their citizens about the importance of environmental issues.

  A new approach to the planning of cities and calls for the various professions which play a part in the process of urban renewal – city planners, architects and regeneration consultants – to be bound by new institutions and a collective commitment to the better design of cities. to harness principles of liveability and diversity in the way urban space is designed and managed.

A few points on what needs to be engendered in the Eco-Mobay:

Quality architecture and urban design

• Emphasis on beauty, aesthetics, human comfort, and creating a sense of place; 
• Special placement of civic uses and sites within community. 
• Human scale architecture: beautiful surroundings nourish the human spirit

Smart transportation

• A network of high-quality roads connecting cities, towns, and neighborhoods together
• Pedestrian-friendly design that encourages a greater use of bicycles, rollerblades, scooters, and walking as daily transportation

Sustainability

• Minimal environmental impact of development and its operations
• Eco-friendly technologies, respect for ecology and value of natural systems
• Energy efficiency
• Less use of finite fuels
• More local production
• More walking, less driving

It time we emphasize Montego Bay as one community, an eco-community in the heart of future planning rather than short-term commercialism dictated by the quick take-up of leases. It is time to value the input of the community in participatory planning structures; this MUST be another core ideal of the modern-day city. Also we need to examine and to stress the "psychogeographic" significance of our surroundings. This analysis dictates that there is a direct correlation between the quality of the public realm and the actions of the individual, with its attendant ramifications for other aspects of social policy. 

This vision of an eco city, and eco-Mobay is aimed at those who wish to listen to the rhythm of their own lives,and possibly adjust it.”

Check Out this Amazing Video!

The Dream of The Montego Bay Ecopolis has already begun to spring to life: Check out this link! 

Highland House Farms and Founder of the One Love Learning Foundation

The Montegonian Mandate!

The Montegonian is a community-powered alternative news page and learning library for people who want to change Montego Bay and Jamaica...

We  facilitate the educational and action-oriented campaign to address the issues before our nation and city now. Our aim is to connect and inform people through our plethora of media and social media platforms, including a calendars of local activities and events, a directory of local progressive and radical groups, and a blog for writers to contribute local news and perspectives.

We  facilitate the educational and action-oriented campaign to address the issues before our nation and city now. Our aim is to connect and inform people through our plethora of media and social media platforms, including a calendars of local activities and events, a directory of local progressive and radical groups, and a blog for writers to contribute local news and perspectives.

All in all, through this website, and our other outlets, The Montegonian aims to provide for this city an information and resource network that will reduce the city's dependence on corporate media, providing more meaningful and reliable ways to stay informed on the issues that matter.

The Montegonian uses the power of print and media as a platform to raise awareness of important social, environmental, and media-related issues not covered by the mainstream news. Our goal is to provide citizens with the information and perspectives essential to creating a more just, sustainable, and democratic society.

On the ground, our team is working to create alternative media that will inform, connect, and inspire action at both the community level and state wide, possibly even regionally.

Dear readers and Montegonians,

We (The Montegonian) are an independent, ad-free multimedia and multiple media news platform that serves hundreds of viewers each month. Our news product is special because we make it our priority to go where the silence is. We put a spotlight on corporate and government abuses of power and lift up the stories of ordinary people working to make change in extraordinary times. We do all of this with just a nano fraction of the budget and staff of a commercial media enitities. We do it without ads, corporate sponsorship or government funding. How is this possible? Only with your support. If every visitor to this site posts, comments, submits story ideas, article ideas, general info, community notices etc for Western Jamaica in 2014. Pretty exciting, right? Please do your part today. It takes just a couple of minutes to make sure that The Montegonian is there for you and everybody else in 2014!

A we seh #MontegoBay!

A we seh #MoBay!

That happy moment!

A we seh #MontegoBay!