Question about State of Emergency.

[Exile]

Willi, a Cat 4 was bearing down on Ja...possibly a Cat 5 reported to be the "worst hurricane to hit Jamaica in 100 years". What is so dispicable about calling a SOE? I think it was and still is a good decision. ALL OF YOU now saying it was premature, would be the FIRST to say the PM was weak and undecisive when looters, gunmen started taking over the place...she would not be supporting business, allowing anarchy..yada, yada...
Jamaicans just need am inch of space before the start to teif and run lawless! Didin't you see where 2 men were shot in Clarendon looting? We are talking about a society where men will jump supply trucks and take of cases ANYTIME!

[Lazie]

Exile, a curfew was already in place!

[Exile]

Kingston is not Jamaica! I hear all kinds of people saying 'We' have been spared. Reports from Clarendon is that there's a lot of destruction there - mainly roofs blown off. On the coast, houses rebulit since last hurricane have been destroyed.

[Westman]

Sickko, it is political when it suit to say so. After 18 years in power, the reason St Thomas is cutoff is because there has not been a proper solution to the Yallahs fording problem. State of Emergency aint gonna fix that!

[Exile]

Maybe we need a special kind of emergency for natural disasters that would not be SoE with all the wide powers of the armed forces and police and Cabinet. So, a State of Disaster Emergency say...would need drsafting and all that..where are the lawyers when we need them??

[Willi]

Willi, a Cat 4 was bearing down on Ja...possibly a Cat 5 reported to be the "worst hurricane to hit Jamaica in 100 years". What is so dispicable about calling a SOE? I think it was and still is a good decision. ALL OF YOU now saying it was premature, would be the FIRST to say the PM was weak and undecisive when looters, gunmen started taking over the place...she would not be supporting business, allowing anarchy..yada, yada...
Jamaicans just need am inch of space before the start to teif and run lawless! Didin't you see where 2 men were shot in Clarendon looting? We are talking about a society where men will jump supply trucks and take of cases ANYTIME!

Exile!!!

I asked a question based on precedent AND I gave Poria the benefit of the doubt. Please read my posts again.

I showed how Gilbert was handled with curfews. A SoE is the equivalent to the War Powers Act. It is a drastic step that is open to abuse and with an election in the air and the past (1976), I did not want to see this sour reltions between the parties, as they are as good as they have been in 30 years.

I am in non way knocking Portia, as she has committed no abuse. I would not be calling her weak either as all PMs have performed well in times of Nat. disasters so far.

I simply said that she could have waited 12 hours later and perhaps she would have avoided having to make such a declaration in the first place.

I give unto Caesar....

[Willi]

Agreed!

[Willi]

Kingston is not Jamaica! I hear all kinds of people saying 'We' have been spared. Reports from Clarendon is that there's a lot of destruction there - mainly roofs blown off. On the coast, houses rebulit since last hurricane have been destroyed.

KGN got hit. Its Mobay and Ochi that got off light.

Still, based on how the thing bared down on us and in relation to Gilbert, we WERE spared.

Of course, some individuals did get hit hard with property damage and like Lovindeer said, we would like to express sympathy with all those affected by hurricane Dean.

The perverse thing is that Jamaica averages 3 murders a day and over the last 4 days we MAY have had less than 12 storm deaths and murders combined. That is a sobering thought!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Exile]

OK. See my post below.

[Mosiah]

Why is a SoE called in Texas, days before the hurricane?

[Westman]

Perfect!

[Mosiah]

Mosiah ... fi a man that point out the many human rights violations taking place, I'm surprised you come here with pom poms supporting this.

Skippy!

[Lazie]

Why is a SoE called in Texas, days before the hurricane?

Obviously yuh head tuff! Its a different act from whats in Jamaica despite the same name. They issue sandbags to prevent flooding, provide buses for evacuation among other things.

When did our SoE take effect? Because a hegemony unuh tek gov't word as gospel.

[Mosiah]

Okay, we don't issue sandbags, but we provide buses. While providing buses for people to evacuate, some miscreants among us use that opportunity to loot the evacuated communities and even the shelters. Does Texas have the level of violence we do? Perhaps they are the ones who are overreacting.

Okay, so remind me again why we shouldn't have our version of a SoE?

[Westman]

The historical precedent and traumas associated with the term State of Emergency, especially near an election in Jamaica, is something that can create public worry instead of calm, regardless of which party makes the declaration. It should be a last resort, especially at election time, and when our economy and tourist sector need to show the world how resilient we are. Those types of precedents or concerns have not existed in Texas in over 100 years. As such, a State of Emergency in Texas does not conjure anything of the sort that it does in Jamaica.