Earthquake awareness reflections

[Mosiah]

Earthquake awareness reflections
Michael Burke

Thursday, January 14, 2010

TODAY is the 103rd anniversary of the 1907 earthquake. In "Earthquake awareness week", we recall the 1692 earthquake that sank most of Port Royal and was the cause of the area known as Kingston becoming a settled area. And we recall the great earthquake of 1907 which shook Kingston to the ground. The building regulations in Kingston came as a result of the earthquake of 1907. Two days ago Haiti had its most serious earthquake in 200 years. Given the political situation in Haiti, is there anything like a building code there?
Jamaica also felt the effects of the Haiti earthquake two days ago, coming as it did on the 55th anniversary of a mild earthquake on election day in 1955 when the People's National Party, led by Norman Manley, won power for the first time. What is less well known is the earthquake of 1957 which, for all we know, might have been as severe as the earthquake of 1907. The only Richter scale in Jamaica in 1957 was damaged by the earthquake and therefore no record exists as to its severity.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/Soul_7321339

[Mosiah]

Two things worth noting:

Yes we need to utilise our football coaches more since they are the substitute fathers of the juveniles whose real fathers are absent. All of these things I have written over the years but no one seems to be taking me on.

Some have begun to realise the importance of sport in society and the role to be played by coaches and administrators.

Nearly 12 years ago I wrote in my column that we should be setting up a prison colony for lepers. Some suggested one of the islets of the Jamaican archipelago, but I believe that we should negotiate something with the Guyanese government...

Not sure what that is about.

[Assasin]

The sports administrator and coaches shouldn't be subtitue for these fathers but compliment them.

The government need to do more to have father live up to there responsiblilty or "stick them up" too.

Them never know "more gals" lead to more unwanted pickneys.

[Gamma]

"shouldn't" is right but what to do when those are the facts?

[Don1]

Nearly 12 years ago I wrote in my column that we should be setting up a prison colony for lepers. Some suggested one of the islets of the Jamaican archipelago, but I believe that we should negotiate something with the Guyanese government. In the same way that bondsmen came here as prisoners and helped to develop the early agriculture, we could do the same for a South American country like Guyana or another who might need our help.

True, the bondsmen became pirates. Australia was also developed in its early years by prison convicts. The question has often been asked how is it that "con-manism" passed down from Henry Morgan and the pirates in Jamaica and yet Australia never had the same problem?

The difference is that the ex-bondsmen-turned-pirates of Jamaica were put in control of Jamaica in their earlier years while they were still mentally pirates. In Australia's history, the convicts were never put directly in charge of the country, but their descendants were.

Henry Morgan was made governor of Jamaica to control the pirates. This was done by selling land cheaply to the pirates who became aristocrats as a result.

This may help to explain why the culture of Jamaica's private sector leadership inherited from colonial times is so selfish and backward.....to this day.

Con man mentality.

[Assasin]

true but it is time we start doing something about it.
some people who a party with them guiness on the weekend shoulda spend that time in Jail, and some a foriegn should be embarrassed or forced to pay.

[Gamma]

yuh eva 'bout ian healy?

[Mosiah]

a few days ago some expert from one of our universities reported on some research she had been doing about the role of fathers in jamaican society. her research suggests that jamaican fathers were no worse than any other.

so, what were you saying again, assasin?

[Assasin]

it depends on who is the other.
Mo it shouldn't be acceptable that so many kids don't even know their fathers and most of us don't have our father listed on our birth certificate.

We have a very high rate of single mothers and grandparents growing their kids. We have a high rate of teen pregnancy and rape.

This is unacceptable and I would like to see exactly what that genius have to say about it. I guarantee you that the children advocate don't share this person's view. Check in your community and see how many part time and missing fathers you can count.

[Gamma]

when they show up or this also includes the absenteeism factor

[Mosiah]

the nonsense i heard ranged from the fathers wanting to play a part but were prevented by the mothers who had moved on to other relationships, to they did what they could and all sorts of highfallutin' junk!

when the radio host suggested that the findings indicate that the "traditional" family (mother and father with no outside children) should be the preferred choice, the researcher had an answer for that too!

i think i switched to another station then.