AJ Nicholson is defending manufacturers in Trinidad and Tobago and defending the massive trade balance Jamaica has with Caricom and why we must stay with Caricom.
AJ Nicholson, KD Knight and all the PNP are defending the right/need of the Prime Minister to travel without telling us, why she has to go, how much it’s going to cost and the expect outcomes as well as providing a report at the end of each trip.
Peter Bunting and Pryce are defending the crime fighting strategy of the PNP, which has resulted in over 1,135 Jamaicans losing their lives since the start of the year.
Peter Phillips is defending the terms and condition of the IMF agreement, which is placing pure hardship on the lives of Jamaicans.
Mark Golding is defending the parliament as it moves to approve every IMF bill, while those bills ,which are designed to save lives of Jamaicans are placed on the back burner.
So may I ask, who is defending OUR rights, who are the folks who are looking out for OUR interest.
When you’ll find who these folks are please drop me a line.
Filed under: Public Information |
Warren's Blog 
US, the Jamaican People need to step up and change the dynamic of the last Fifty years, where, the “house slaves” became the new “masters”, under the guise of us been “independent” and “democratic”. We keep fooling ourselves into thinking that this con game that happens every five years is supposed to have empowered us. The perceptive mind quickly recognizes that all we have had are cosmetic changes. It is the same misconception that characterizes the abolition of slavery that was driven more by industrialization than an attack of conscience.
Lol!
Is like unnu forget that people actually BUY those Trinidad products. NOBODY is forcing them to buy it, but obviously nuff people buy it. Why? Well like products from pretty much ANYWHERE else on the planet they are of reasonable to good quality and fairly cheap in comparison to local products. So AJ Nicholson is protecting the TRini manufacturers AND the average JAMAICAN consumer who buys these goods and in the process saves money from the bellyaching and steely concealed predation of the JAMAICAN manufacturers. Is nuh YOU same one berate our manufacturers for having cris car in dem parking lot but still forcing di staff to work wid equipment dat even dem grandparents woulda been familiar wid?
I’m sure I read that on this blog.
If so, why should AJ protect them when they obviously don’t have their priorities right? So that they can make more money off of me and you for the sake of “supporting Jamaica”? And when they make more money are they going to give all of this extra money to “Jamaica”or use it to buy the latest 2014 models of cars to park up inna dem driveway and send di rest o’ di money to some offshore account in cayman or the US so they don’t have to pay taxes on it? I’m just as Jamaican as dem and I don’t see why I have to support them in dem slackness just because they happen to be born on di same flipping island. When dem sort out demselves out and actually put their business BEFORE profiling for high society DEN I will support their products (which will be cheaper anyway if they put more money into dem damn businesses instead of using their businesses like a glorified ATM machine). Till then they can kiss my black ass!
Good points K Smith. But we need policies that not only encourages competition but fosters our ability to compete. What currently obtains is continuous pauperization which is the extraction of wealth from our Country. That needs to be fixed URGENTLY!
Policies mean squat if the people who are supposed to utilize dem old rather sit on their asses. You can take a horse to water but you can’t force it to drink. And if my horse won’t drink after I’ve brought it water then I’ll wait for it to either realize it’s being stubborn and drink up or let it die of thirst with the water I’m front of it.
Like the horse the old fools at JMA don’t want to drink from the stream of free trade. They would rather that you spoon feed them and in the process filter the water from the spoon for them (give them a guaranteed market with high tariffs on all foreign goods so that they can continue to drive cris cars and NOT have to buy new equipment until the old one totally gives out or kills someone).
Look at the PetroCaribe scandal! The Jamaican government through the deal from 2005 has a US $100 MILLION credit line open for exports to Venezuela. So the same government that they like to bitch about and which most Jamaicans does cuss every day found them a guaranteed customer (Venezuela; so no need to contact private Venezuelan companies to see if they are interested in what you have to offer to them and what price they would be interested if so) with an open credit line virtually guaranteeing payment (possibly even before delivery) and what do they with this fantastic opportunity? Well they sit on it for literally YEARS and instead complain about Trini imports even though no Trini company operating in Trinidad had anything close to the super-easy PetroCaribe deal to guarantee them a market. Not even the Caricom treaty allows Trini exporters to ship elsewhere I’m the region with guarantees from two governments that they will be paid and that something WILL be imported from them regardless of the actual demand for it in the country they wish to export to (Trini companies have to rely on actual demand for their products, not Venezuelan largesse allowing for a barter). And which company is the first one to finally take advantage of this deal negotiated by the Jamaican government and open to all companies operating in solely in Jamaica? Nuh Carib Cement Company! The same company that is now owned by Trinidad Cement Limited?!
Di damn JMA need to get with the program. The high tariffs dat dem always deh a dream ’bout are just that; DREAMS. Under the WTO dem coulda neva get the government to put up the kind of tariffs necessary dat would make dem artificially competitive with the rest of world. You would probably need something like 20-100% tariffs ON AVERAGE. So instead of bitching about tariff-free foreign goods they need to focus on getting di government to lower tariffs on their inputs (which it seems some have finally started doing) and get themselves in order by buying new equipment for the factories instead of new cars for the parking lots.
Up to now nuhbody can tell what the hell Claude Clarke export suh to make him the voice of wisdom he is purported to be. I would be willing to bet the company he manages probably doesn’t even export anything. Yet he is a champion of the JMA, nuff of whose members wouldn’t know the first thing about exporting and seem to expect us to live in a North Korean style bubble with guaranteed government aid to them nuh matter how much dem screw up. You ever notice that the voice of our exporters (the JEA) doesn’t bitch as much? And that the JEA actually supports Caricom? Could it be because Jamaica exports a wider degree of products to Caricom than it does to the rest of the world (we have trade deficits with the rest of Caricom and the rest of the world so I’m not talking about dat) and that without Caricom there would be no market for some of these products? Things to think on……
Dis autocorreck mek it hard to write patois man.
It corrected “bellyaching and barely concealed predation” to “bellyaching and steely concealed” lol
Anyway, maybe autocorrect did have a point. Dem steal nuff from win through overpriced crap that they try to get us to buy just because they made it and just because by accident of birth dem di born yah so too.
I do not support Caricom because it is a failure and the organization is being plagued by an implementation deficit. Furthermore, countries like Barbados and Trinidad do not play by the rules. For example, Trinidad subsidize some of its products, including CAL, but the subsidy that applied to the latter no longer exists. KSmITH you made a great point about Jamaican producers, although the economic environment is not conducive to environment, many of them have deliberately decided to be unproductive and inefficient. Furthermore, we should not support the Build Jamaica Campaign, if producers do not produce quality products. I am a lobbyist for the private sector, but I must admit not all companies are efficient
You are a lobbyist (lobbyists are often people who can’t or won’t get productive jobs by the way and instead only yabber other people’s ears off, often with unadulterated crap) but your writing sounds like that of a teenager without any real life experience. What are you…..like twelve or sixteen?
When you have actually:
1. Exported anything
2. Been to the rest of Caricom
3. Been to other countries including the USA, Canada, UK and Cuba and Japan
4. Seen a gunman shot dead
5. Graduated from university
6. Been through a stage in life when you and your family can’t afford anything but the cheapest products on the shelf and sometimes not even that.
Then and only then get back to me. Til then mi a give yuh some advice likkle yute:
– stay in school
– stop waste time writing so much on the internet instead of reading your books and studying
– get a girlfriend (and treat her right)
Ksmith, I do study hard and I am in school presently. However, I am very disappointed in your response. Just because I am young doesn’t mean that I am supposed to be stupid and oblivious to everything. I thought you were going to give me sensible advice. Get a girlfriend and treat her right, is the advice really? Furthermore, by reading extensively and writing, I am also furthering myself academically, because the material that I read and write about makes me a more informed student and the writing is also good practice, it is called a hobby Ksmith. Not all students will become delinquents and when some of us do use the internet we don’t waste time on facebook. Instead of imploring me to be wiser, you want me to waste time on some girl. I have never been so insulted on this blog and to think that I actually respected you. When I have actually achieved more Ksmith, I will not have the time for someone like you, who doesn’t believe that young people should be informed. How come I don’t see you telling young people to smoke marijuana less and do well in school. Why are you not telling other young people that they should not have sex in public? Instead you are telling me to waste time on some girl. I read my books for long periods all the time. Get a girlfriend and treat her right nonsense.
I can tell you really SHOULD spend less time “lobbying” and more time studying. I gave you three pieces of advice in order:
– stay in school
– stop waste time writing so much on the internet instead of reading your books and studying
– get a girlfriend (and treat her right)
And you tink I’m telling you to waste time on a girl and not “imploring you to be wiser”? LOL!
Did you fail English Language or something? What do you think I was telling you to do by telling you to stay in school and spend more time reading your books and studying? Do you think you become a dunce by doing that?
And if you think telling you to treat a girl right is nonsense advice then let mi jus’ say that right about now I’m truly sorry for ANY woman you end up in a relationship wid because you don’t seem to think treating women right is good advice.
Anyway, as I said, when you gain life experience (see items 1-6 in my previous post) then get back to me. Til then; stay in school, study and treat women right. LOL
@ K Smith I have to give you support the Jamaica Manufacturers and Caricom, you have absolutely nailed it.
There is one issue however that must be addressed and that is duty on inputs which goes into some locally manufactured goods and which you alluded to.
In ironic that input are taxed, which allows the same goods which these inputs goes into locally are cheaper to be imported that to be manufactured in Jamaica.
JAMAICA PRIVATE SECTOR MUST IMPROVE ITS COMPETITIVENESS
THE EDITOR, SIR:
According to the former director of the PetroCaribe Fund, Sharon Weber, “Jamaican firms have not been exploiting the trade component of the agreement.” Further, the region’s trade with Europe has declined since the inception of the Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union in 2008, and Jamaica has made the biggest retreat from the market.
The findings of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor are even more disheartening. The report indicated that 64 per cent of Jamaica’s entrepreneurs do not penetrate the international markets. The local private sector must improve its international competitiveness in order for Jamaica to succeed in this highly globalised and interconnected world.
However, if this is to be done, policymakers and local business people must be educated about the benefits of internationalisation. Jamaica should follow the examples of Europe and North America.
According to a 2009 European Commission-funded study, titled ‘Internationalisation of European SMEs’, there are numerous benefits to be gained from internationalisation. The study found a correlation between SMEs being internationally active and having better-than-average business performance scores. Internationally active SMEs also reported higher employment growth from 2007-2008 than other SMEs; these firms were also more innovative.
The internationalisation of the private sector will enhance the competitiveness of the Jamaican economy and the Government will earn more revenues.
Another obstacle which affects SMEs is their management structure. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Felaban recently concluded a survey which included 106 banks in the region. According to the IDB, almost 56 per cent of the banks who participated in the survey had a problem with SMEs’ level of informality. Their level of informality creates a lack of credible information that makes it difficult to assess credit risk.
SYSTEM OF DEPENDENCE
Therefore, the present administration should use Jamaica Emergency Employment Pro-gramme (JEEP) funds to create an extensive training programme for SMEs, because well-known academic Rosalea Hamilton recently informed us that 80 per cent of MSMEs who sought training in the Business Entrepreneurial Empowerment Programme did not know how to use computers to enhance efficiency of their respective businesses.
The current administration should give preference to the small business sector and not JEEP, because the latter will not add value to the economy. I doubt that the People’s National Party will heed my advice, because the party will not do anything which will prevent the people from depending on it.
LIPTON MATTHEWS
lo_matthews@yahoo.com
So why yuh griping ’bout AJ?
I agree, gripe about Bunting. He’s out of his depths. Just like all of his predecessors from both the PNP and JLP.
But AJ only protecting the average Jamaican consumer. And since you have more consumers than manufacturers in Jamaica, it is only natural that he is going to coddle the larger section of the voter base. Especially since the more active voter base may not have the luxury to buy some poor quality Jamaican goods from the JMA. Don’t get me wrong, there are some GOOD quality Jamaican goods. Charlie biscuits are among DI BEST in the world. And you have some GOOD quality Trini goods (nobody can’t tell mi they don’t like Devon biscuits).
But PLENTY Jamaican goods could be of much better quality and with a much better price tag if the majority of JMA members would stop bitching and complaining like some “kitty cats” 😉 and grew a pair and a brain and did what was best for the businesses instead of themselves.
P.S. What’s the beef with Mark Golding? For once the parliament of Jamaica is being more productive (passing more bills). For that alone he should be given his due. It’s gotten so bad that other, lazy parliamentarians have been threatening to boycott Parliament because they can’t keep up. Woe be onto them if they were ever to become MPs in Canada, Ghana or the UK…..they would probably lose their seats because they were deemed to have abandoned them for not appearing often enough: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20100221/focus/focus4.html , http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20110123/focus/focus2.html , http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130407/focus/focus1.html
@ K Smith and Lipton. Come on guys, you are two good minds and i am sure you both can disagree without been disrespectful? You are not too far apart in your assessments but “absolutism” is obsolete.
Please! He’s an underdeveloped mind.
Shame on you for encouraging some schoolboy to waste time on politics when he should be developing him mind through studying the subjects he SHOULD be learning and gaining experience from interacting with flesh and blood people (like friends and a girlfriend).
No wonder the upcoming set of school-leavers are finding it so hard; dem a mek demself dunce by focusing on stuff that has ZERO relevance to shaping their cognitive and mental skills. He should go find a forum on Physics, Accounts, Spanish and Maths instead of following a blog about politics. As if focusing on Portia, Eddie, Caricom, Trinidad and AJ all day is going to help him in any meaningful way.
@KSmith..I have read Lipton’s previous comments on this blog and and always find that they reflect a high level of intelligence and acute awareness of local issues.I would never have guessed by his comments that he had not yet graduated.The points that he made in this post against Caricom with regards to unfair trading practices of Trinidad and Barbados in addition to Jamaica’s deficit have been made before by prominent and experienced persons in the fields of business and economics who are older than him. I agree with him that your response to his point was extremely insulting.It is one thing to disagree with someone it is another thing to express disagreement with someone by resorting to the use of insults.The fact that is still in school and is interested in his country’s affairs (which I don’t think would comprise his studies) when a lot of persons his age, would rather when they use the internet, spend time constantly updating their facebook and instagram accounts than they do gaining knowledge means that his mind is more developed than you think.He has the right to respectfully express his views on this blog (even those that you disagree with) as much as you do.
You couldn’t pick up the language used by a child?
Oh well, poor you for not being able to pick up on that…
If he found it insulting then that’s his tuff luck. Life is harsh and he is bound to come across a LOOOOOT more comments that he finds insulting in life, especially if he retains a fascination with politics (God would only know why). But as I said, as a schoolchild he should stay in school and focus on his school work (and get a social life away from the web). Not be out blogging about wutless politicians. Maybe you find that insulting, but then maybe you would rather have your own child wasting time on flights of fancy rather than building the requisite cognitive, mental and social skills necessary in order for that child to become a successful adult.
In case you missed it, the likkle guy described himself as a “lobbyist”. And in case you don’t get it, a lobbyist is defined as: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/lobbyist
“1. a person employed by a particular interest to lobby. 2. a person who tries to influence legislation or administrative decisions on behalf of a special interest; member of a lobby. 3. someone who is employed to persuade legislators to vote for legislation that favors the lobbyist’s employer.”
He didn’t define himself as a student. But a lobbyist. Which is already a sign that he doesn’t have his priorities straight if he is calling himself a glorified salesman instead of what he actually is; a STUDENT.
Lol! Bwoy, a luv yu passion, but, we actually need more youngsters involved and shaping the future of Jamaica, not the ones chosen by political parties. I totally agree that experience in operating a business, extensive travelling and empathy, etc, are critical in truly understanding the harsh realities that we exist in and as one evolves a lot will be elucidated. Based on your postings, Lipton does not have your vast real life experiences and that will come with time and his willingness to take risks. Continue educating us K Smith. 😀
Youngsters need to learn what they should be studying first if we want any of them to positively shape the future of Jamaica.
What kind of future Jamaica are we going to be looking at if we encourage students to writing day and night to blogs (and thinking back to newspapers because I’m sure I saw a letter or two by this boy to the daily papers) and think of themselves as “lobbyists”? I can tell you what kind: The kind of Jamaica run by lobbyists who don’t have the capability to think creatively because their minds have been narrowly shaped towards politics and only politics. They will then become mere caricatures of the existing crop of jokers we have as politicians. I’m pretty sure JFK and Reagan didn’t go around talking to random strangers over the phone (since there was no internet when they were children) about politics when they were in school. That’s not how children become well rounded adults.
Besides, I don’t think it’s right that we encourage children to be putting out so much personal information out there on the web when we already live in a world with one too many child predators. Just look on it. Everyone here has apparently been fine with a raas child writing under his full name and using an email address that gives strong hints as to his middle initials and letting it out info that could aid in one of these nasty predators tracking dis yute down. And instead of guiding the pickney, too many on here letting him engage in dangerous fantasies.
Mr. Ksmith you do not know what you are talking about. So, I am going to tell you about myself. During my holidays, I do not party, instead I study and review exams and when I study I do so for many hours. In addition, visiting academic websites is one of my major past times. Not only, do I pay attention to my official studies, but when I have free time on my hands, I read a wide variety of policy papers from developed countries, like Australia, Finland, Denmark, New Zealand etc. The purpose of this is to test the viability of future policies for Jamaica and to moderate some of my initiatives. Furthermore, I was also involved in several extra-curricular activities at my former high school. KsMITH, it is your view that students should not be concerned with politics, but clearly you do not know that my interest in a wide variety of subjects has given me the opportunity to be a better student. Ksmith, I am able to spend a lot of time lobbying for various policies on radio and in the newspapers, because I read way ahead and I never miss school. During my period in high school, I only missed school twice. Let me give you some more information about myself and my studying techniques
While being a mere toddler in basic school, by the time I was five I was doing research on Garvey and other historical figures. By the time I was eight I was reading Pan Africanism. Now let me show you how I study and paid attention to non related school work,
In grade 7, I did my formal studies along with researching entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs in America
In grade 8, my research topic for the year was European Nobility
In grade 9, the topic was West African Politics with a focus on Nigeria, particularly its dictators
In grade 10, my interest was the humanities including sociology and economics
In grade 11, I did a bit of International Relations
In grade 12, developmental economics became a major interest
In grade 13, I studied extensively the reasons for growth and prosperity in Asia, Australia and Scandinavia, with a focus on science and technology
I do engage in extra-curricular activities. Ksmith, I did well in school, I don’t like to talk about myself but you forced me to. I research and study at the same time. I do not fear predators because most people assume that I am an adult
Lipton,
You need not explain to anyone who you are or what you stand for. I have been very impressed that at your age you have such a grasp of what is taking place not only in Jamaica, but across the world.
I have found you have been able to represent yourself very well, which is better than most persons of your age.
Continue to do what you have been doing and never lose focus.
Keep up the good work son.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device from LIME.
This is my last comment here regarding this post.You are not in any position to say what I or anybody want for their children.It would be in your best interest to learn to communicate respectfully with persons who you disagree with so in the future when posting your points on this or any other blog you do not come across as an arrogant,disrespectful,insolent and bitter individual.
….. arrogant, disrespectful, insolent (arrogant =disrespectful=insolent)? Those are adjectives that apply equally to Lipton Matthews. I guess you are a newcomer to this blog, otherwise you would have observed the many attacks by the “kid” on fellow bloggers. Sooner or later he will call you stupid if he so happens to disagree with one or more of your comments. Brace yourself………….
Did I hit a nerve or something?
Because I think I AM in position to tell you what you SHOULD want for ANY child. And that position is plain ol’ common sense. It’s ONLY common sense that NOBODY who isn’t a pedophile or who isn’t negligent with children would actually be comfortable with ANY child going about and posting PERSONAL information on the flipping internet.
Now which are you? I doubt you are a child predator, so that only leaves negligence.
I dunno though, maybe you (and it seems jay from his last post encouraging the young boy) wouldn’t have a problem with some child predator tracking down young Lipton. For my part I am trying to discourage the young fella from doing something so OBVIOUSLY DANGEROUS (to the point that it verges in stupidity) of plastering his name all over the internet (and it seems the media) while at the same time neglecting his school work for topics that will do absolutely ZILCH to help him progress in life unless he plans to really be a lobbyist (i.e. someone paid to talk and not necessarily talk the truth).
Do you even have children? Have you ever had to actually take care of anything larger than a goldfish in your life? Because you seem to be oddly (VERY oddly…hmmm…) unconcerned with the fact that a child is doing exactly the things which he shouldn’t be doing had he learned anything from responsible adults (of which you clearly are not one). I’ve had a relative who was kidnapped as a child and this was ages before the internet. So I know from personal experience how dangerous it is out there for children without children actually putting themselves at risk.
And note, for a supposedly smart young man he continues to disgorge even more personal information and claims not to be afraid of predators even while openly admitting that he is a child. So much for the next generation.
As I said, the likkle yute needs to spend less time on the Net and more time in the books and with other young people.