Leaves of Absence: Not to tweet for a day…for a month…forever?

People taking leaves of absence from Twitter…

 

Just a few things i picked up from Twitter today:

Terry McMillan announced this morning that she’d be taking a one-month break from Twitter to write her next novel. In a series of tweets she explained her predicament before making her exit:

Terry McMillan ‏ @MsTerryMcMillan
After much deliberation, I have decided to take a one month leave from Twitter in my quest to complete a rough draft of my novel.

Terry McMillan ‏ @MsTerryMcMillan
Please know how much I look forward to hanging out with you all on an almost daily basis, but I’ve lost my focus and want to get it back.

Terry McMillan ‏ @MsTerryMcMillan
I’ve never written a novel under the influence of Twitter (!) and it is difficult to do with so much going on in the world that disturbs me.

Terry McMillan ‏ @MsTerryMcMillan
However, in order to concentrate, sometimes you have to eliminate distractions. It’s lonely, but ultimately, gratifying.

Terry McMillan ‏ @MsTerryMcMillan
I am accustomed to writing without thinking. Twitter allows me to think in 140 characters. Sometimes, I don’t want to think. I want to feel.

Terry McMillan ‏ @MsTerryMcMillan
So, off I go. I call it surrendering. Where you give your all to what you’re doing. Or don’t do it at all. I chose to do the damn thang.

Terry McMillan ‏ @MsTerryMcMillan
I hope all of you pray that I write with conviction & I will pray that you feel as much joy, strength, love & courage as possible.

Terry McMillan ‏ @MsTerryMcMillan
And we rock on.

Terry McMillan ‏ @MsTerryMcMillan
Grateful.

Meanwhile Columbia journalism professor and social media guru Sree Sreenivasan went on an all day Twitter and Facebook fast to raise scholarship funds. The following tweets are self-explanatory and following that I excerpt something from the Columbia School of Journalism page giving the fuller context:

Sree Sreenivasan ‏ @sree
#SilenceSree starts midmorning. How many of you give determines how long I stay off FB & Twitter: http://bit.ly/silencesree #cuj12
Sree Sreenivasan ‏ @sree
It’s #SilenceSree Day! Enough of you gave $5 to keep me off Twitter till 9 pm ET. Prolong my misery by donating today: http://bit.ly/sreesilence

Silence Sree Fundraiser

Can @Sree go a day without Twitter and Facebook? Maybe for charity! Donate to silence Sree!

Silence Sree

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Columbia’s chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists is raising donations for a scholarship fund that will be awarded to one or several students enrolled in the incoming class. We hope this new tradition will continue long after the Class of 2012 graduates.

Boring.

The real cause?  Getting Sree to stop Tweeting (and Facebooking, Posterousing, Pininteresting, and FourSquaring) for a day. Here’s how last year’s class raised money and kept Sree silent.

The goal is 200 people. The percentage of 200 that donates will correspond to the amount of time Sree will be silenced. (Maximum one day. Communication is kind of his job!) If 200 people give, then Sree is off for a day. If only 20 people reach in their pockets, then he isn’t staying off that long, about 2.5 hours.

1 dollar in person contributes to silencing Sree. There is a 5 dollar minimum if you donate online.

Finally, completely unrelated, but how many of you realized that today was the anniversary of Claude McKay’s death? I wouldn’t have known were it not for the Scottish Poetry Library in Edinburgh whose twitter feed i follow:

Scottish Poetry Lib ‏ @ByLeavesWeLive
Claude McKay, the Jamaican-born poet, died in Chicago on this day in 1948…

Scottish Poetry Lib ‏ @ByLeavesWeLive
“There is joy in the woods just now/The leaves are whispers of song/& the birds make mirth on the bough/& music the whole day long” C McKay

Scottish Poetry Lib ‏ @ByLeavesWeLive
“For one brief golden moment rare like wine,/The gracious city swept across the line/Oblivious of the color of my skin.” Claude McKay

Scottish Poetry Lib ‏ @ByLeavesWeLive
”I must not see upon your face/Love’s softly glowing spark;/For there’s the barrier of race,/You’re fair and I am dark.” Claude McKay

A Readable Feast–Bocas Litfest, Apr 29, 2012

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Bocas Litfest, Apr 29, 2012, a set on Flickr.

While i gear up to start writing again enjoy a few photos from the recently concluded Bocas Litfest in Port of Spain, Trinidad.

Hung out to Dry…Who were the Tivoli 73? A preview of Ebony G. Patterson’s ‘Of 72’

A report on Ebony G. Patterson’s ‘Of 72’ project commissioned by Small Axe: A Journal of Criticism.

…where are the songs about the 2010 Tivoli Massacre? An entire week of bloodletting yet nothing’s come out of Jamaica’s prolific music establishment? Nothing from our Reggae stalwarts or up-and-comers? The silence seems so opposite of our musical and cultural traditions that I’m surprised I haven’t noticed this before. This may be ironic but it’s times like these that I miss Buju the most. Mourn the death of Garnett Silk. And bemoan the disappearance of Sizzla. Please, if I’m missing the song or songs please let me know. If i’m missing the dub poetry let me know.

That was @Cucumberjuice on her blog wondering why our singers have been so tongue tied about the massacre of 73 civilians in Tivoli Gardens in the wake of their hunt for Dudus in May 2010. Well, it’s true that one is hard pressed to think of a song dedicated to the victims of that state-sponsored mini-Armageddon but on March 15, 2012, one day before Christopher Lloyd Coke or Dudus as he’s known was due to be sentenced, Jamaican artist Ebony G. Patterson held a preview of her stunning work ‘Of 72’ dedicated to the 72 men who died in that violent episode. The single female who was killed was also represented by a portrait though her presence wasn’t referenced in the title.

In recent years Ebony’s work has focused on the Jamaican male…in particular, males who shock out in blinged out, elaborate clothing, bleach their faces and bend the rigidly defined boundaries separating the genders in astonishing ways for a country thought to be as homophobic as its public rhetoric would have you believe. In fact a number of us were hard pressed to identify the single female subject among the 73 bandana flags decorated with beads, doilies, sequins and feathers. The one I thought most likely to be her was this one below but then again friends pointed out at least 6 or 7 others who could easily have passed for female as well.

Of 72 project by Ebony G. Patterson, March 15, 2012

The preview was mounted at University Close, for one evening only, and was a special, one of a kind event. The 73 flags were suspended with clothespins from a simulated clothesline. You couldn’t help think…were the 73 hung out to dry by the Jamaican government? It was a powerful, elegiac display notable not only for the poignant subject matter but also for the creativity, its ‘tun hand mek fashion’ quality, something other Jamaican artists could learn from. Alas very few of them were present. Michael Flyn Elliott and Marlon James were the exceptions. There were a lot of other events that evening so only a lucky few made it. I asked Damien King, head of the Economics Department at the University of the West Indies, who strolled by to take a dekko, for his reactions. Here’s what he had to say:

The first reaction is that by sort of replicating the number of people that died it has an impact–you realize right away it’s PLENTY people. you know when you see the news and people get killed everyday its very easy to become desensitized to it but when you see 73 different images and you see 73 different ways of treating them you realize the number of them and that each one is individual. Each one is treated differently so it tells you that these are individuals, each of these 73 people is a person with his own view, his own outlook, his own ideas, his own personality, his own history and his own life. It’s not 73 lemmings. The other thing that also occurs to me because half of the faces are covered is the sense that when young people die you don’t know what you’ve lost, you don’t know the potential.”

Damien could have been reading Ebony’s mind. Early last year in an interview I did with her on my radio show, The Silo, Ebony talked about this project. It was then in its incipient stages and was called Of 73. The project, Ebony told me, references

the loss of the identity of these 73 people who have died. The larger and even more important question which has yet to be answered is who are these people? We are yet to have faces, we are yet to have names. We still don’t know who these people are. I also think its very interesting that of the 73 people who were killed only one was a woman. 72 were male. That to me is quite startling. …and i think that it’s all well and good that we’re investigating things but the question is WHAT are we really investigating, who are these people and nobody is asking or pressuring for these names to be divulged. And i think  as long as the identities of these people remain masked its going to be quite easy for us to just carry on…you know continue–It’s the least I can do as a concerned citizen, to kind of etch this episode into history, so that these people are not forgotten. Because I think that its very unfortunate that a year later we still do not have the names of the 73 people who were killed.

Ebony G. Patterson’s ‘Of 72’ project was commissioned by Small Axe: A Caribbean Platform for Criticism and will be carried in a forthcoming issue of the journal.

He’s Royal…so Royal!…Prince Harry visits University of the West Indies

An illustrated look at Prince Harry’s unveiling of the plaque at the University of the West Indies with views on Jamaica becoming a republic from bystanders

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Belatedly receiving a request for a short piece on the Prince’s visit from the Guardian in London, I set off for the Law Faculty with my trusty iPhone 4S.

 
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A crowd of mainly students, staff members and journalists had gathered under cloudy skies to watch Prince Harry unveil a plaque at the University of the West Indies’ new Faculty of Law in honour of his grandmother’s Diamond Jubilee. As the University’s website informs you “The Queen holds the title “Visitor” of the university. The position of Visitor is considered to be the most senior official of the UWI.”

Usain Bolt graciously allows the Prince to win...which he does in grand style...

The young Prince arrived at the Law Faculty after a playful race with Jamaican star runner Usain Bolt at the University’s Mona Bowl. Crowds of young females, both from the university and from local high schools, cooed loudly in excitement as the Prince’s motorcade drew up to the Faculty.

Switching Jamaica’s constitutional status to that of a republic is by no means a done deal. The government has promised to hold a referendum before any decision is made and retaining the Monarchy might well turn out to be the more popular choice when all the votes are counted.

A quartet of girls from the St. Andrew High School for girls in Kingston, including the Head Girl and 3 prefects, said that Prince Harry’s visit was an ‘Oh my God moment’. On the subject of Jamaica becoming a republic they said they were on the fence, feeling unsure that Jamaica had adequate resources to make it on its own. They said there were clear advantages and disadvantages involved and it was a matter of weighing them carefully.

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Lanesa Downs, who wore a sash that said ‘Miss Law’ and was part of the official welcome party at the law faculty, said she was really excited to meet Prince Harry. “Not all the time you’re able to meet royalty and I even got to shake his hand.” She had mixed feelings she said about the possibility of her country becoming a republic, worrying that this was not the right time for Jamaica to consider such a step; she was concerned that it might not be able to sustain itself alone and should wait a few years before becoming a republic.

In contrast Business student Andre Poyser who also hosts Newstalk 93’s Issues on Fire programme said he was in full support of Jamaica becoming a republic even though it might not change much. “We’ll just be swopping the Queen for another titular head but what I think it will provide is the opportunity for the government to go out and do broad-based consultations on the drafting of the new constitution. People can become more involved in governance. I think it will add more value to the strength of our democracy.”

Staying Alive: Does Jamaica have a version of Guantanamo Bay going in one of its prisons?

Is there a version of Guantanamo Bay going in one of Jamaica’s prisons? Recent events suggest as much…

Clovis, The Observer

I’d heard over the last few weeks that August Town’s Christopher Linton (Dog Paw), accused of being leader of the Dog Paw gang, was severely beaten more than once at the Horizon Adult Remand Centre where he has been held for the last few months. Apparently the area he and other supposedly high-risk inmates were being held is known as Security Post 11 and is modeled on Guantanamo Bay.

Security Post 11 is strictly under the control of the Jamaica Defence Force, not the Police, and reportedly no correctional officers or Police are allowed entry. Since Dog Paw was transferred there he has been systematically and brutally beaten. The beatings were so severe that Linton was worried about losing his life; memories of his older brother who had died in custody after police beat him up still being fresh in his mind.

Yesterday news broke that Linton wasn’t the only one being subjected to such vicious punishment by the soldiers. The Sunday Gleaner carried a cover story about Livity Coke, Dudus’s half brother, also in the same facility, being subjected to an even worse assault by soldiers who left him for dead at the feet of the prison doctor. Apparently Livity played dead until he was close enough to the doctor when he shouted to her “Mi no dead, mi no dead, mi no dead!” Perhaps he remembered the case of the man who played possum after being shot by the police some weeks ago…see my NOT dead on arrival! No Sir! I will not rest in peace! from a few weeks ago for details.

In fact four other ‘Dons’ were meted out similar treatment: Tesha Miller (leader of the Spanish Town-based Klansman gang), Joel Andem (Gideon Warriors), Christopher Linton (Dog Paw Gang),  Kevin Tyndale alias Richie Poo. So what’s going down at the Horizon Adult Remand Centre? Dr. Jephtha Ford who alerted the Gleaner about the near killing of Livity by JDF soldiers told Nationwide’s Cliff Hughes that he thought Security Post 11 at Horizon was a virtual Guantanamo Bay.

Tthe JDF responded to the Sunday Gleaner expose by putting forward the following explanation carried on RJR’s website:

JDF clears the air on ‘Livity’ beating

The Jamaica Defence Force, JDF, is moving to clear the air regarding an incident in which Leighton “Livity” Coke the brother of  former Tivoli Gardens strongman Christopher “Dudus” Coke was injured at the Horizon Adult Remand Centre.  It has issued a statement outlining the circumstances in which Mr. Coke had to be subdued at the maximum security facility which is manned by soldiers.

Mr. Coke, who is being held on charges of  illegal possession of  a firearm and shooting at members of  the security forces during the incursion into Tivoli Gardens in May 2010, reportedly sustained wounds to his head.  According to the JDF, in the days leading up to the February 21 incident, inmates at Horizon became boisterous and were resisting security procedures at the facility. The decision was made to temporarily remove them to another section to facilitate a clean-up.

As they were being prepared for relocation some of  the prisoners resisted, barricaded themselves in their cells and hurled expletives at the soldiers.  According to the JDF, the soldiers were able to restrain the protesters by using an appropriate level of  force and physically lifting them to their designated cells.

When the time came to move Mr. Coke he reportedly resisted and attempted to walk back to his cell. He was stopped by the soldiers and reportedly punched a JDF sergeant and lance corporal in their faces and wrestled a baton from another.  The statement says Mr. Coke wielded the baton at the soldiers. He was eventually restrained by other soldiers using batons following which it was discovered that he was bleeding. The soldiers who were involved in subduing Mr. Coke walked him to the prison’s medical facility where he was treated and subsequently sent to the University Hospital for precautionary x-rays.

Doctors at the hospital determined that his injuries were minor and he was taken back to the remand centre.  By that time the cleanup was completed and Mr. Coke was returned to his original cell. On the same day, preliminary investigations were conducted by the JDF’s Inspector-General’s Department and the matter reported to the Independent Commission of  Investigations, INDECOM.

The Gleaner had a few more details:

The JDF was yesterday forced to issue a media release after The Sunday Gleaner highlighted that Coke, the brother of confessed crime boss Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke, was beaten by soldiers at the remand centre.

The JDF said Coke was among several inmates at the HARC who reportedly engaged in the throwing of water, food, faeces, and other refuse from their cell as a means of resistance to being held under special conditions at the facility.

According to the JDF, which supervises the facility, the decision was taken to temporarily move the inmates from their cells in order to clean up the area. The force said some inmates protested that the movement was taking place during time normally reserved for recreational activities.

Well, if what the JDF says is true, their security cameras would be able to corroborate some or all of this right? Dr. Jephtha Ford contradicts the JDF’s assessment of Livity’s injuries being ‘minor’. He describes them as life-threatening and has sent his medical report to the Prime Minister. In the Gleaner article he also accused the PNP government of being behind the beatings but this seems implausible when you take into account the beatings administered to Dog Paw, who is very much a PNP supporter.

Incidentally Horizon is the same prison that Vybz Kartel allegedly broke out of in that infamous instance of false news that went viral last November. The following is excerpted from an MTV article that came out at the time:

Kartel, real name Adidja Palmer, allegedly started a riot at the Horizon Adult Remand Centre, where he was being held whilst under investigation over his possible involvement in up to seven murders.

It is reported that Kartel and several other prisoners managed to take control of the prison shortly after 1am local time this morning (30/11/11), taking clothes and keys from guards before escaping in a prison maintenance pickup truck at approximately 1.45am.

One police officer is thought to have died of a heart attack during the escape with at least twelve others injured, including two who were shot with guns apparently smuggled into the prison ahead of the raid.

The Force Commissioner of Jamaica’s Criminal Investigations Branch apparently confirmed that Kartel, who has previously worked with the likes of Eminem, Jay-Z and Akon, is on the run and that he and the other escapees are now on the island’s most wanted list.

Countering this, the Jamaica Observer has now alleged that reports of Vybz’ escape were started as a joke by an anonymous blogger, and that Jamaican police have no knowledge of the incident.

According to the Observer, The Assistant Commissioner of Police, Les Green, said that the reports are false.

“I know nothing about that. If that had taken place I would would certainly have known,” he said.

Another unnamed police officer added, “It may be an attempt by his cronies to keep him in the news but they don’t need to spread rumours to do that because he will be in the news for quite some time.”

Concerned individuals may be interested to know that the so-called Horizon ‘Adult’ Remand Centre also houses children The entire setup begs investigation by the media. In the absence of the late Wilmot Perkins who will take up the challenge?

The new face of Grace (Kennedy)…

Taking note of Grace Kennedy’s 90th birthday…

Grace Kennedy, one of the foundational business companies in Jamaica turned 90 today. For some reason i remember a campaign they did some years ago advertising ‘the new face of Grace’ to a lot of pomp and fanfare. Alas the new face turned out to be that of an uber-browning, a pretty, pony-tailed woman who was shown sweeping up and down supermarket aisles with a cart, doing her shopping. Unfortunately the public at large gave her a frosty reception so she was duly dispensed with.

When my son was growing up he would watch the Grace Kitchen series on TV and want me to reproduce the meals they showed you how to cook. The video below is sort of a spoof of that series but its a gem in its own right. Comedian Fancy Cat showing us how to cook Jamaican Steamed Fish with Crackers…come on…try it!

Yesterday a man…

While Jamaica seems to be experiencing a crime wave its media is busy censoring itself…

Yesterday a man named Ed Gallimore went to an ATM in New Kingston to withdraw money and fell victim to a robber who shot and killed him. He was a prominent figure in the tourist industry. According to a report in the Jamaica Observer:

Gallimore was shot at an automated banking machine on Knutsford Boulevard about 3:30 pm. Police report that Gallimore had withdrawn an undetermined sum of cash from the machine when he was pounced upon by a gunman upon leaving the booth. Gallimore was shot and the gunman escaped on a motorcycle.

In Jamaica gunmen always ‘pounce’ on their victims. Don’t ask why. A question I will ask is why Jamaican media seems to be conspiring with the bank concerned to keep the exact location of the ATM a secret. All we know is that it’s somewhere on Knutsford Boulevard in New Kingston. Such an omission raises serious questions about the media and exactly whose watchdogs they are…
In a sinister twist Ed Gallimore’s mother and other mourners were held up and robbed at his house today:

The Observer learnt that friends of the former tourism industry executive were at his house offering condolences to his mother when one of the gunmen, pretending to be a friend, walked in, hugged Gallimore’s mother, then pulled a gun and demanded money.

Something has changed about the calibre of crime we’re experiencing now. Only last week there was a brazen carjacking not very far from the unnamed ATM.

A Kingston mother was subjected to one of the most frightening ordeals of her life yesterday when an armed man forced himself into her car in heavy drive-time traffic, fought with her, and eventually drove away with her baby who was strapped into a car seat in the back. “I am still in shock,” Judy-Ann Hinds told the Observer about an hour after the ordeal ended when the thief crashed her car on Oxford Road and bolted up Belmont Road, leaving the baby unharmed.

Notice that the media wasn’t bashful about identifying the exact location in this instance; it gives you the precise address where the carjacker lost control of the car. No prizes for guessing why. There was no powerful business, political or social  entity located there. As the crime wave continues the media needs to be reminded that they are supposed to be serving the public, not just those who advertise in their pages or buy their airtime. Their model ought not to be the dog in the HMV ads listening to His Master’s Voice…their job is to be the canary in the coal mine singing its heart out to alert us of the danger surrounding us. Your job is to inform not to withhold information.

This is a direct message to the media: The public needs information in order to minimize its risks. Kindly provide it. That’s your mandate.