The procedure

 I hate hospitals and all things medical. But I guess if you live long enough you have to learn to put up with a few.

 Old age sucks😡.)

Having developed a few Arrhythmias, (https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2026/01/reflections-on-biology.html?m=1) including AFib and SVT, the cardiologist thought it more prudent that I  have an ablation rather than add more  drugs to my growing list. 

When I heard the procedure was no worse that filling teeth, I said run with it, despite the $134, 000 price tag. (Thanks President Obama, for without Obamacare, people like me would just have to watch the heart deteriorating as the drugs became ineffective. In Canada a similar procedure is around $21,000  and maximum $15, 000 in Mexico I hear!)

So here am I doing a report on the procedure while waiting on my daughter in law to pick me up.

 She had to drive down from West Palm as my grandson was at work, so I took an Uber to Cleveland Clinic. For its their policy that while you can take Uber or whatever to get there, you must be picked up by a known and trusted person as you remain groggy afterwards.

When they prepped me at the hospital, I had an all Caribbean nursing team, one Jamaican, one Trini and one Haitian, all caring and pleasant professionals.

Another nurse who took me to the operation theatre was also Jamaican.

So I felt at home until I got into the theater (it was extra cold😶‍🌫️) where four or five nurses were inside waiting. But I never got the opportunity to delve into their ancestries as they immediately got to work strapping me down to the bed, even tying arms and legs and I was almost immediately out of it!

 My cardiologist Dr. Parishit Sharma, is a specialist Electrophysiology from India. He is reputed to be one of the best in the fields of  Atrial Fibrillation, PSVT, Arrhythmia and pacemaker implantation.

The fact that it all went smoothly and I feel on top of the world a few hours later, proves it.

In fact,  my only discomfort was having to lay totally still on my back for 3 hours in recovery.

My biggest problem will be staying reasonably inactive for around 10  days while the holes in my groin heals.

All's well that ends well🙏.

Link: https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2026/01/reflections-on-biology.html?m=1.

Note

Heart ablation (catheter ablation) is a generally safe, minimally invasive procedure to fix heart rhythm disorders, considered effective but carries low risks of complications like bleeding, infection, blood clots, or minor heart/vessel damage, with severe issues  experienced electrophysiology team significantly lowers these risks. 

In Summary: It's a serious procedure with potential risks, but often a very effective treatment with a favorable safety profile compared to the risks of living with afib.

We are unwanted 😡

 We Jamaicans tend to hold ourselves in high esteem and based the performance of many of our nationals at home and abroad, we have some reason to feel so.

For on an individual basis, so many Jamaicans tend to be world beaters!

This is s especially so in sports, music, the arts, etc although when it comes to, operating collectively, especially in sports, we tend to bomb out.

I am not at this time thinking about sports though but our reputation as a country.

A paradox is that despite our terrible reputation at home and abroad because of crime, we remain among the most desirable vacation destinations in the Caribbean

 But that’s for another debate.

The latest statistic which gave me a jolt recently, was when at I heard on Radio  Jamaica (RJR) that in the Caribbean, our passport is one of the least desirable. It’s something, I have never really mulled on, although I travel a lot.

This is demonstrated by the extent to which countries are prepared to refuse to take a chance on us, by allowing us into their countries without visas!

According the report, Barbadians, can travel to over 160 countries without needing a visa and Bahamians are next on the high list with over 150 countries not asking them to get visas.  However, Jamaicans can only travel to 90 countries without a visa. (The entire list and ranking are online).

Even other Caribbean countries don’t particularly like those of us trying to travel to their countries with a Jamaican passport, despite us holding something marked a Caricom passport.

I remember the last time I went to Trinidad, how they scrutinized my documents from top to bottom.  I was just attempting to get home next day after leaving Guyana!  This while other Caricom nationals just ‘zoopsed’ through. 

At that time, I had to catch a connection through Trinidad .

 I was just overnighting there to catch my connection!

As I have been mainly been travelling to Africa recently, my esteem was lifted a bit by the fact that quite a few countries on the Continent, welcome us without visas.

These include Botswana, Zambia, Ghana , Kenya, South Africa.

 I must admit though, I was shocked when no such privilege was extended to us by Ethiopia!

 Shocked, because so many Jamaicans hold Ethiopia in such high regard, with some of our nationals even considering their former King a high prophet.

Besides, quite a few Jamaicans have made that country their home.

Could it be because of the actions of the Jamaicans there why they put in the visa restriction?

On the other hand, more Jamaicans have made Ghana their home and they haven’t slapped any visa restrictions on us!

(According to my research, 1000 Jamaicans live in Ethiopia and around 4000 in Ghana).

Our government needs to tell us why we are the personae non gratae in the Caribbean and why they are not negotiating bilateral agreements for us to travel more easily?

Visas are quite expensive documents and considering how we open up our country to the rest of the world, isn’t it time we get a break?

I forgot, politicians travel on diplomatic passports so don’t have the hassle of getting visas.

Anyway, our passports are probably blacklisted because the world knows our governments are so notoriously corrupt with no one ever being held accountable for anything, so they don’t want people who consider corruption the norm, to visit them!

So, I guess we will continue to be the pariah of the Caribbean.

 

 

 

 

---

 [jw1]

Scratching each others back!

 

There are two popular concepts that come to mind, whenever I think of Jamaican politics.

They are; you scratch my back and I will scratch yours and the other is honor among thieves. While it was William Shakespeare who popularized the latter in the end of the 1500s in his play Henry IV, Jamaican PNP and JLP politicians have adopted it whole heartedly and been applying it religiously since we got independence sixty years ago.

Yup, we will be celebrating that great event with much fanfare in a few weeks!

In the meantime, the country continues to be impoverished by corruption which is estimated to cost us in excess of $100 billion per year.

Don’t be taken in by what the politicians say about each other from the platforms or in parliament! That is just for show, for when it comes to what most politicians want, ie. the spoils of office, it’s a different ballgame.

In fact, if a being came from Mars, it could be excused for thinking that Jamaica is the least corrupt country in the world, since all over the world it sees reports of politicians being jailed for corruption, but never Jamaica, no matter what the Auditor General finds or how many spots we slide down on the Transparency International Perception of Corruption Index.

I know, people like to point to the late JAG Smith, a former JLP Minister of Labor who was imprisoned in 1990, supposedly for stealing Farm Worker’s money.

BUT HE WAS NOT JAILED FOR CORRUPTION but for being rude and abusive to an influential member of the PNP which then formed the government!

For in true “honor among thieves’ style, the powerful late trade unionist, former prime minister Hugh Lawson Shearer and his bosom friend, the late Michael Manley who was then prime minister, had arranged that it would be swept under the carpet. Unfortunately, Smith’s legendary arrogance caused him to be abusive to the final arbiter on the matter in the PNP government and that is why it was pursued and Smith imprisoned!

In the meantime, our neighbors take corruption so seriously, that on the 8 July 2022, our own Jamaica Observer carried this item on how a former prime minister of Trinidad, allegedly involved in corruption there, is being treated in his country. It says in part “September 2 (2022) the court is to give a ruling to an application by the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) George Busby, who has requested an adjournment into the restart of a decades-old preliminary inquiry into corruption charges against former prime minister Basdeo Panday and three others, including his wife, Oma.”

Since there is no penalty in our political system for corruption despite the numerous cases that have been cited publicly over the years, the politicians do as they like and remain untouchable. 

Our legendary corruption is not only widely known in Jamaica but in the neighboring islands, for look at this headline in the St. Kitts and Nevis Observer in 2019; “Jamaica Losing $J100 Billion Annually from Crime, Corruption.”

And yes, we do have a so-called Integrity Commission, but guess what, it is being gagged and deterred from doing its job by guess who? The Jamaican parliamentarians JLP and PNP alike of course. (You scratch my back and I will scratch yours).

This recently led our Financial Investigation Division to say in frustration that ‘the work of agencies of Government in the fight against corruption was being hamstrung by the need to seek ministerial approval before they can exchange information on investigations. The FID said where the Integrity Commission needs to exchange information with designated competent authorities or foreign entities for legitimate investigations, it should not be hindered, and that the Act needs to be amended to remove this stumbling block in the fight against corruption”.

Also, according to reports coming out of parliament last week, when the Integrity Commission Bill was being considered, there was consensus between the Government and the Opposition to curtail the ability of the commission to speak about its investigations until probes were completed and reports tabled in Parliament.

This, despite Justice Panton and numerous other pointing out that;

“The Commission is firmly of the view that this is a serious impediment to good governance.” “... It is clearly ridiculous that whereas the police, quite rightly, can say that they are investigating a criminal matter, the Integrity Commission is not allowed to say it is.”

The politicians remain firmly determined to keep secret whether any of the numerous allegations of corruption, are being investigated, thus preventing members of the public or even whistleblowers from coming forward with information.

So, whereas, the public is often exhorted with these fine words in the interest of fighting crime; ‘If you know something say something,’ that only applies where the alleged criminals are mere plebs, not politicians.

So yes, politicians shout about the corruption from the rooftops, but you scratch my back and I will scratch yours, remains the dominant feature of the Jamaican parliamentary practice.

And the people perish.

 

 

Joan Williams, is a retired talk show host. She can be contacted at; gratestj@gmail.com or followed at; Joan my-views.blogspot.com

 

Our forever half full glass

From last year, many of us Jamaicans waited with bated breath, when news leaked out that there would be a cabinet reshuffle. For we had really become fed up with the all too regular scandals, so we hoped that some persons would be removed as far as possible from power.

What was delivered though, was nothing but a big wet squid, best met with a long yawn.

What I found disconcerting too, was the increase in the size of the already too large and mainly ineffective Cabinet, with the addition of the new Ministry, Ministry of Legal and Constitutional Affairs.

OMG. So, if Delroy Chuck has proven to be an ineffective minister, why wasn’t he just fired and someone more competent appointed to replace him?

Well, it’s only taxpayer’s money, so I suppose it’s there to be wasted!

So, here we are with a brand-new bureaucracy, new minister, new permanent secretary, new staff, new office, new furniture and on and on.

I don’t know if Mrs. Malahoo-Forte was reading my mind when she outlined the main task of her new ministry as being to fix the current “chaos” in the legislative process.

Yes, chaos there definitely is, in terms of keeping our laws up to date. But isn’t that the major role of the Ministry of Justice?

They haven’t been doing that at all I agree, so as a result, many Jamaicans can’t get justice anywhere.

Remember what the late great Peter Tosh said decades ago? Without justice there can be no peace.

Is it any wonder that so many turn to violence in our crime-ridden country?

But do you fix that problem by creating a new bureaucracy or just disbanding the current ineffective one or even, more simply, getting rid of the lazy, incompetent people in charge and get effective staff?

While I only mentioned the chaotic one, every other function this new ministry is supposed to deal with, is already a function of the Ministry of Justice. Problem is, they are dysfunctional!

But I guess Chuck is being kept on for the very same reason as so many others like the following are; Mike Henry, Karl Samuda, Horace Chang….…jobs for the old boys.

As to Bobby Montage, he had fast become the Paulwell of the JLP.

The JLP had gotten a big mandate, partly based on a commitment to deal effectively with corruption, but they are only continuing along the same road and with even greater intensity. One would therefore have hoped that at the very least, Montague would have been moved as far away from any type of governance as possible.

Again, it’s just jobs for the boys and little or none for the girls, so now the Prime Minister’s office is packed with old boys tripping over each other!

Luckily, I was not holding my breath that this government would have been any better than any other!

Good News

It’s not only bad news that has hit for us early in 2022 though, for we can always depend on our athletes to do us proud and give our spirts a lift.

Once again it is our bobsledders.

For the benefit of the young and uninformed, snow-free Jamaica sent its first bobsled team to winter Olympics way back in 1998. They did not win a medal, but it was so historic and heart-warming, that Disney made a movie about our boys. It was called “Cool Runnings” and it was/still is, a worldwide hit.

 If you have never seen it, go now and if you have, go again.

As usual, no-snow Jamaica was a trend setter in 1998, and since then countries like Trinidad and Nigeria have followed suit, which is great.

We are all excited and proud that once again, our bobsledders have qualified to compete in the upcoming winter Olympics to be held in Beijing next month.

Despite the damn virus, once the Chinese hosts allow the public to attend, I am sure the stands will once again be brightened up with Jamaican colors. For not only do many Jamaicans live in China, but also, Jamaicans from all over the world will be going there to cheer on the athletes who can always be depended on to make our spirits rise, while the politicians pick our pockets and otherwise screw up our lives.

I guess you can therefore say that our glass is half full.

https://youtu.be/Pxt7O4qvjhk

 

Strange christian rituals

With the recent events surrounding the life and death of the late Kevin Smith, discussions regarding strange religious practices, cults and cultism have taken center stage.

For those who have been living on Mars, Kevin Smith, a self-described doctor, prophet, healer, pastor and even king, who was addressed as His Excellency, was the founder of Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministers, in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

Kevin Smith with former prime minster Portia Simpson-Miller

He came to national attention after the police raided his church because of reports that they had conducted human sacrifices there. Two sacrificed persons were found dead in his church, so Smith and several of his congregants were arrested for murder.

Within a week of his arrest, as Smith was being transferred to a court hearing in Kingston, the car in which he was travelling crashed and he and one of his police escorts were killed.

While it took reports of human sacrifices to wake up the nation to outrageous religious practices, I have for years been personally repulsed by the fixation on blood in many of the Christian religions.

A human who was sacrifice3d at Kevin Smith's church

I still remember my shock when first being exposed to this strange attraction. It was decades ago at a funeral in a Roman Catholic church, when during the communion, the congregants were invited to drink wine and eat bread which the parson said symbolized Jesus’ blood and flesh.

Thoughts that this must indicate a penchant towards cannibalism, immediately arose in my mind and have stayed with me since then, as far as that religion is concerned.

For why else would the consumption of flesh and blood arise!

While the suggestion of the intake of human blood remains weird to me, blood sacrifice seems to be quite common in a number of denominations in the Christian religion, and not only in Jamaica.

I remember being invited to a feast in Trinidad while on a visit to our sister island some years ago. It was the annual convention of the Spiritual Baptists there. What I wasn’t told beforehand however was that several of the animals that had been donated by some congregants, would have had their throats cut in sacrifice during the church service!

That one stayed with me too.

Then there was the time when I visited a Kumina ceremony in St. Thomas where one lady got into the spirit. Immediately, a “Bishop” from Bull Bay, bit off  the head of a live white chicken and scattered the blood all over her.

Lawd ha massi, it was gross.

But back to Kevin Smith.

This is a report from the Daily Gleaner  about a chilling incident;"Twenty-six-year-old Kevin 'Big Dog' Grant, who was recently captured on tape drinking blood from the head of a freshly slaughtered goat, was shot dead at a rented apartment in Discovery Bay, blood-drinking ritual is common among scammers, who believe that it offers them protection from harm, help them to elude the police, and make them more successful in fleecing money from unsuspecting victims.Investigators also believe that Grant had paid a huge sum in seeking spiritual protection from the late Kevin O. Smith...."

The king with some of his subjects

Since it was revealed that the sacrifices at his church extended from animals to humans, he is being described in some church circles as a devilish cult leader.

I won’t argue with that description, however, the fact is he had quite a large and dedicated congregation and, it is not unusual for people to be attracted to cults, no matter how evil some others say they are.

One precise definition of cultism is; a misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person or thing. That being so, both religion and its evil twin brother, politics, is full of cultists!

I combine them, as those two vocations have been responsible for the most murder and mayhem in the world throughout history.

It therefore neither unusual nor strange, that Jamaica, the country which is reported to have the most churches per square mile, is among the top five most murderous countries in the world. (47 per hundred thousand). We are in lock step with Honduras and El Salvador, two other countries that also have religion coming out of their pores.

On the other hand, countries like Japan ( murder rate .26 per hundred thousand) and Estonia (murder rate 3.5 per hundred thousand) are listed in the World Population Review as being among the least religious places in the world.

Coincidence or a direct link?

I cringe every time I hear people trying to spread religion, for though I am by no means an atheist, the most impressive doctrine I have ever heard being promoted was by the Dalai Lama.

Unambiguously stated, it is; “My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.”

No weird rituals nor drama.

https://youtu.be/t896a9UQxtc

The case for republicanism

Jamaica used to be the most independent and progressive of what was known as the West Indies, but on the issue of becoming masters or mistresses of our own destiny, we are 
certainly falling behind. 

While we were the first of the former colonies in the Caribbean to declare independence from Britain, on the matter of totally breaking away from those who oppressed out ancestors for centuries, we are acting like morons. For the Queen of England remains our head of state although we have been independent for almost 60 years.

In the meantime Dominica, Trinidad, and Guyana have become republics and the prime minister of Barbados, announced that in November 2021 Barbados will also ditch the British monarchy as its head of state. 

Yes Barbados, which has always been considered more British than the British. 

The insignia given to black Governor's General by the Queen shows the Archangel trampling Satan who is black!

Even in white Australia, the topic has resurfaced, with ex-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, tweeting that in light of the very 'sad revelations' by  Megan and Harry in that famous interview with Oprah Winfrey, it should bolster the call to cut ties with the British monarchy.

In the meantime, Jamaica seems doomed to remain forever hanging on to the skirt tail of the British monarchy, even with a governor general representing the British Queen and wearing an insignia that depicts the archangel St. Michael trampling Satan, who is drawn with dark skin.

In light of the recent revelations where Megan and Harry confirmed what we should already have known, (that the British monarchy is a racist institution,) I again wondered out loud on facebook about when or if Jamaica will seek republican status.  The responses were many, swift and diverse. While most respondents rued the fact that we still maintain the royal family as the head of our country, one respondent declared that Jamaica will never change this situation as it is a racist country!

I had to disagree with that respondent, as I really don't believe that Jamaica is still a racist society although there is no doubt that we still have a number of racists among us. And we have a handful of monarchists too, (some of whom contend that such a move will spell economic disaster, although there is no evidence of this in the former west indies territories which ditched the monarchy.) who believe it would be a sin to remove the royal family😁 and replace the head of state with a local person.

Yes, mental slavery is still alive and well among a few.

 Let me make it clear that despite the fact that Queen Elizabeth is a descendent of those who committed the most serious atrocities against our ancestors, I have nothing against her personally. In fact, I dare say she has done her job with good grace, dignity and diplomacy. Even she however realizes that her type of character will no longer be displayed, once she steps down and her son, Charles takes up any role, including in the predominantly black commonwealth, so she is holding in for as long as possible. 

I am personally repulsed by even the thought that Charles, that despicable person, could become Jamaica's head of state and his wife Camelia, the first lady! For it is no secret that the cold fish Charles, drove Diana to her death.

In the famous interview, Prince Harry said that it was neither the queen nor her husband, who were upset that he and mixed race Megan may have a black child, but he refused to say who it was. In my book, such a petty concern, would fall right into Charles' character. Besides why else would he stop taking Harry's phone calls after he opted to stand up for his wife and child?

While I agree that the queen has been unobtrusive and diplomatic in her role, that second generation of hers, including Andrew, the alleged pedophile, have nothing to contribute to Jamaica!

You know, for around three or four decades, we have been debating this issue of republicanism, but both the JLP and PNP have been standing in the way of progress. For while both parties claim that they support replacing the monarchy, they cannot sit down and agree on the type of president we should have, executive or ceremonial. 

Good god, this is not rocket science. If the two parties were really in for of republicanism, they could take the gradual route Guyana did, or some variation. For Guyana first started with a ceremonial president to remove British, then moved on to the executive presidency.

It is totally disgraceful and demoralizing to majority of Jamaicans who do no to wish to have any further association with the despicable British royal family, the racist oppressors of our ancestors, that our politicians continue keep skirting around the issue.

https://youtu.be/oCqHflj4SNE