Whatever, is the excuse, I don't believe that it holds "wada" as they say in America.
Internationally, George Bush was left stranded in Congress as the House of Representatives and the Senate moved to the Democrats. He may have had an international victory with the Iraqis passing a death sentence on Saddam Hussein. The problem is that most of the 'civilised' Caucasian world, including Britain, Bush's greatest ally in the 'war on terror,' is against executions.
Unmanageable killing field
Not only will the execution of Saddam not reduce the terrorist threat, but given that Iraq is now in a virtual civil war between mostly Sunnis and Shiites, it will continue to be an unmanageable killing field for both Americans and Iraqis. There is a great danger with Saddam's execution because the Iraqi vice presidents are each Sunni and Shiite. Saddam was Sunni and his demise will put the American-backed administration knee-deep in Shiites.
Locally, it has been a busy year. Doubtless, the biggest story in our politics has been the elevation of Portia Simpson Miller to the
highest office in the country. She crushed the solid rocks like pebbles and totally Blythed Karl's chances of a ministerial portfolio.
True, she has made history as the first female Prime Minister. But please! While the novelty of it has worn off, it remains a staple in the diet of Sista P, who never fails to remind us of this development that we would never see or come see again.
Soon after she came into office, perhaps due to the absence of solid rocks, the cement failed to reach the required quality. Were it not for the flour from its neighbouring factory, the biding capacity of the mortar would be even weaker. Weaker still is the approach of the minister, who could not give 'concrete' reasons for the debacle. Nonetheless, he continues to be 'pampered' and bottle fed.
Three prominent Labourites turned orange and one returned. Two major injustices were the ouster of Len Blake for Norman Horne and the fat man squeezing himself into Paul Buchanan's seat. Roger Clarke is an agricultural specialist so he knows that hybrids are produced when you mix two different types of creatures. Well, this displacement of the faithful for the transients is like a cross between a bulldog and a shih-tzu.
'Scandals' Whitehouse fiasco
Of course, who can ignore the zeal of Greg Christie, the Contractor General, who faced down all and sundry and like an agnostic, stared into the face of 'God.' Christie irked all as he unveiled the failures in the 'Scandals' Whitehouse fiasco. This spun off into a censure motion against Opposition Member Karl Samuda, who took tales out of school and allegedly made inaccurate statements to Parliament.
Nevertheless, as the whip was to fall on the proverbial 'backslide' of the man who converted to comradeship and returned to greener pastures, hell broke loose from the lips of the Leader of the Opposition. Now, two-thirds of Jamaicans know about the Dutch firm Trafigura and their shady donation to the Peoples' National Party (PNP). The deal was so obscure that not only is the public still ignorant of its details but it is so secret that not even the party leader has the answer.
It was also a year of health issues. Two persons afflicted with HIV have come public in trying to reduce the stigma attached to it.
We learnt a new word 'autoclave' and the quote of the year must be "you don't have roaches at home too?" when my colleague reporter asked a senior bureaucrat about the conditions at the Kingston Public Hospital. As poor Minister Dalley struggles to improve the situation in the sector, malaria-carrying mosquitoes are threatening to chase us out of our country.
People in St. Mary and other low-lying parishes came to understand what can happen when a well-constructed bridge is poorly placed and only The Lord spared us from a greater disaster.
The rains are somewhat of a 'shower' of blessing for the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) as they now are in a statistical dead heat with the ruling PNP.
Yet, the PNP could have the last laugh in 2007 because, the economy has grown, crime has declined, unemployment has fallen and Bruce Golding did not get his Christmas wish. See you next year.
Dr. Orville Taylor is senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work at the University of the West Indies, Mona.
