The revolution will not be tweeted

January 11, 2021
, 1:03 pm

As Twitter bans the US President, which head of state will be next?

By Ricky Browne

After US President Trump appeared to initiate an attack by his supporters on the US Capitol building last week, Twitter closed his account, denying him access to his main route of speaking to the nation and his supporters.

This may be the biggest punishment Trump has ever endured.

REVIEW

Twitter has banned Trump’s account. Photo: BBC

“After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them — specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter — we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence,” Twitter said in a statement.

Twitter, which had previously been censoring some of Trump’s tweets had originally only suspended the President’s account for 12 hours – but later decided to apply the maximum penalty.

“In the context of horrific events this week, we made it clear on Wednesday that additional violations of the Twitter Rules would potentially result in this very course of action. Our public interest framework exists to enable the public to hear from elected officials and world leaders directly. It is built on a principle that the people have a right to hold power to account in the open,” Twitter said.

The storming of the Capitol on January 6. Photo: Reuters



“However, we made it clear going back years that these accounts are not above our rules entirely and cannot use Twitter to incite violence, among other things,” Twitter added.

“We will continue to be transparent around our policies and their enforcement.”

THE FINAL TWEETS

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey

Twitter backed up its decision with an overview of what had happened after the actual attack on the Capitol building on January 6, in which at least five people died, including a police officer.

In its overview, Twitter said:

“On January 8, 2021, President Donald J. Trump Tweeted:

“The 75,000,000 great American Patriots who voted for me, AMERICA FIRST, and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, will have a GIANT VOICE long into the future. They will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape or form!!!”

President Donald Trump looks at his phone during a roundtable with governors on the reopening of America’s small businesses, in the State Dining Room of the White House, Thursday, June 18, 2020, in Washington. Photo: AP Photo/Alex Brandon

“Shortly thereafter, the President Tweeted:

“To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th.”

Although these two tweets do not seem to implicate the President in the Captiol attacks, Twitter thought they were incendiary and glorified violence, in violation of their policy.

“Due to the ongoing tensions in the United States, and an uptick in the global conversation in regards to the people who violently stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, these two Tweets must be read in the context of broader events in the country and the ways in which the President’s statements can be mobilized by different audiences, including to incite violence, as well as in the context of the pattern of behavior from this account in recent weeks. After assessing the language in these Tweets against our Glorification of Violence policy, we have determined that these Tweets are in violation of the Glorification of Violence Policy and the user @realDonaldTrump should be immediately permanently suspended from the service.”
ASSESMENT

Twitter then went on to explain in great detail how they came to their assessment.

“We assessed the two Tweets referenced above under our Glorification of Violence policy, which aims to prevent the glorification of violence that could inspire others to replicate violent acts and determined that they were highly likely to encourage and inspire people to replicate the criminal acts that took place at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021” Twitter said.

An image doing the rounds on Twitter

“This determination is based on a number of factors, including:
President Trump’s statement that he will not be attending the Inauguration is being received by a number of his supporters as further confirmation that the election was not legitimate and is seen as him disavowing his previous claim made via two Tweets (1, 2) by his Deputy Chief of Staff, Dan Scavino, that there would be an “orderly transition” on January 20th.

Twitter did not say how large or small is the suspected number of supporters who interpreted the tweet in that way. Is it two? Is it 20 million?

Twitter added:
“The second Tweet may also serve as encouragement to those potentially considering violent acts that the Inauguration would be a “safe” target, as he will not be attending.
The use of the words “American Patriots” to describe some of his supporters is also being interpreted as support for those committing violent acts at the US Capitol.
The mention of his supporters having a “GIANT VOICE long into the future” and that “They will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape or form!!!” is being interpreted as further indication that President Trump does not plan to facilitate an “orderly transition” and instead that he plans to continue to support, empower, and shield those who believe he won the election.
Plans for future armed protests have already begun proliferating on and off-Twitter, including a proposed secondary attack on the US Capitol and state capitol buildings on January 17, 2021. “

Twitter concluded by saying: “As such, our determination is that the two Tweets above are likely to inspire others to replicate the violent acts that took place on January 6, 2021, and that there are multiple indicators that they are being received and understood as encouragement to do so.”
CUT OFF

So although the tweets themselves do not appear to be violent, Twitter takes the position that they can interpreted as being violent or sponsoring violence.

And as a consequence it has cut off the President from his account.

Tweet no more. Photo: BBC

It was the first time Twitter had banned a head of state, but it may not be the last.

Many, many people support this decision by Twitter, and many ask why not before now?

But its not only the President that is being affected.

Trump and the US Presidency is to Twitter as Franklin D Roosevelt and the US Presidency was to radio.

US President Franklin D Roosevelt gives one of his fireside chats via radio

Using Twitter, Trump was able to speak in an unfiltered way directly to the people any time of the day or night, and let them know the way he was thinking. Often, his thoughts would have been best unexpressed. But it gave the American people a great insight into who he was and how he thought, without the interference of spokesmen or others trying to polish his statements.

And the world media loved it, with journalists reporting daily on his latest tweets – absurd or not.

With more than 88 million followers of his Twitter account, Trump was speaking not only to his supporters but to people who couldn’t stand a bone in his body as well.

Some 74 million Americans voted for Trump in the November 3 general election – more than had ever voted for any previous president – though not more than Joe Biden’s 82 million votes this time round.

But with 88 million followers, it means that Trump had at least 14 million followers who did not vote for him.

A mere fraction of the 74 million people who voted for Trump

So, if all 74 million of his voters followed him on Twitter, it can be assumed that 14 million other people chose to follow him to see what he was thinking, to keep an eye on him or to be entertained.

With several thousands of tweets over the years, Trump wasn’t only the most prolific head of state on Twitter, he was probably one of the most prolific tweeters ever.

The only political figure to have more followers than Trump was Barack Obama. But Trump way out tweeted Obama, and his tweets got way more attention too.

REVOLUTIONARY TACTICS

But now the question must be how reliable is Twitter for people who want to forment a revolution.

The Arab Spring hit Yemen in 2011

Some 10 years ago, Twitter was in the forefront of the Arab Spring, where young people tried to overthrow their governments and to force through democracy.

That was really the movement which sprang Twitter upon the world stage, displaying the power it had to bring political change on a wide scale.

Later, Trump, as we have seen, used Twitter to by-pass the established media to speak directly to the people. Many assumed that this would be the way for future presidents as well.

But now, Twitter’s late action to suppress the President’s freedom of speech has demonstrated that the social media platform is not reliable. That it will not be an ally to any movement that it does not itself support.

As a result, Joe Biden is even less likely to use Twitter as prolifically as his predecessor.

As a result future popular uprisings may look to different social media platforms to broadcast their live videos and plans.

The Arab Spring took place in many countries across the Arabia and Northern Africa

Through the ballot, the American people voted out Trump.

Some have expressed the belief that this late action by Twitter only days before Trump has to leave office is a desperate attempt to protect themselves from a congress that will be completely controlled by the Democrat party, and which may want to punish Twitter for enabling the President during his time in office.

But by doing this, Twitter has demonstrated that it has greater power than even the President of the United States when it comes to freedom of speech. That it can turn off its social media megaphone whenever it wants.

If Twitter does not approve of your revolution, you will be locked down.

As such, it has proven itself to be unreliable.

If the next revolution is against billionaire social media platform owners, will Twitter allow its platform to be used? Probably not.

Twitter is a private business, so therefore it would appear that it can decide who it wants to do business with.

But it is unlikely that any head of state will rely on Twitter to the same extent as Trump did. And it is likely that governments will now seek to use state-owned mechanisms to broadcast their views to a greater extent.

Will there be an upsurge for Parler?

It is also likely that newer platforms that have less regulations, and therefore greater freedom, will now have a field day. Parler and Signal are two such companies, that may now see a surge of new users. Well, maybe not Parler, as the site has now been banned by Amazon, Apple and Google — but that’s another story.

And another story in the future may be whatever legal action President Trump takes against Twitter.

This story was first printed at: https://matthaycox424374141.wpcomstaging.com/the-revolution-will-not-be-tweeted/

A virus by any name would still suck

• January 6, 2021
• , 5:22 pm

But should this novel coronavirus have a novel name?

By Ricky Browne

The pandemic that is currently sweeping the globe is the most severe disease to affect humanity since the Spanish Flu of the early 19th century.

As such, you’d think that the novel coronavirus would be worthy of having  a distinct and novel name.

WHO

The World Health Organization says that the term covid-19 should be the proper name for the disease. That is a rather generic term that means,  CO for corona, VI for virus and D for disease, with 19 referring to the year it was discovered – 2019.

The WHO logo

The place where it was discovered – which is what gave the Spanish Flu its name – is avoided. In fact the WHO has bent itself into pretzels  to try and disassociate Wuhan and China with the disease – a country that has given significant monetary support to the WHO.

TAIWAN

Proof of the WHO’s reluctance to anger China can be seen by looking at the official WHO statistics, which speak to just about every country and independent region on Earth, and how it has handled the virus. But there is one glaring omission. Taiwan, formally known as the Republic of China is not mentioned.

A view of Taipei, capital of Taiwan. Photo: Vernon Raineil Cenzon

China views Taiwan as a renegade province, which will one day return to the People’s Republic of China. China has been on a diplomatic mission over the last several decades to reduce to zero the number of countries that still recognise Taiwan over China.

There are today only a few holdouts, tiny countries in the Caribbean and elsewhere, which benefit from Taiwan aid, and have not yet sold out to the greater aid being offered by China. A total of 15 states recognise Taiwan as the Republic of China (and therefore have no official relations with Beijing). They include: Belize, Guatemala, Haiti, the Holy See, Honduras, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Nicaragua, Palau, Paraguay, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Swaziland (now known as Eswatini) and Tuvalu.

That may be all well and good, but the fact is that Taiwan has handled this virus better than any other place on Earth. So it may have valuable lessons for humanity. But the WHO would rather we don’t consider those lessons at all, and instead look to other successful countries such as New Zealand.

According to Worldometer, Taiwan has had 819 cases of this particular coronavirus with only seven deaths. That’s out of a population of about 24 million people.

NEW ZEALAND

But the WHO has not spoken about Taiwan at all.  Instead it has pointed to New Zealand as being the best country in its response.

The busy streets of Aukland, New Zealand Photo: Dan Freeman

WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has singled out New Zealand for its management of the virus. But according to WHO statistics New Zealand had 1,830 cases of the disease with 25 deaths. The country has a population of almost five million people – a fraction the population of Taiwan, and with a much lower population density.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of the WHO

Some other names have been considered for the virus. US President Donald Trump has consistently referred to it as the China virus, which may have received approval from many of his supporters, but others have said such a term is racist.

EBOLA AND MERS

Interestingly, other recent dangerous viruses have taken their names from the places that they were discovered. Two examples are the Ebola virus and MERS.

The first example is the Ebola virus which first discovered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then called Zaire) back in 1976. The first victim was a teacher in a village called Yambuku, which was near to the Ebola River, which is a tributary of the Congo River.

Few tourists are visiting the cascades on the Ebola River

Nobody asked if calling it Ebola would offend the people who lived near to the Ebola River. Nor did they think of limiting the offence by naming it after a smaller region – the village of Yambuku. So it wasn’t called CARS-78 (Central African Respiratory Syndrome-1978). I know that Ebola is not a respiratory syndrome disease, but you get the point.

The second example is MERS, which was first discovered in the Middle East after which it is named. Nobody thought how offensive the x million people in the Middle East region would feel about having the disease named after them. So MERS it was.

SARS-COV-2

A more recent suggestion is to call the virus SARS-CoV-2, meaning the severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2. This was the name chosen by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses and has also be approved by the official medical journal The Lancet.

But the name has sparked some controversy, as some people think the name could be confused with the original SARS, which although related, is a different type of coronavirus.

Actually, many people thought that SARS had stood for South Asian Respiratory Syndrome, probably helped by the fact that SAR is also the acronym for Special Administrative Regions used by China to describe Hong Kong and Macau.

US President Donald Trump refers to it as the China virus

Being a little more specific with where the virus originated could be an answer, so it could be called the Wuhan virus. But China would be as pleased about that as it would be about Donald Trump’s suggestion.

Another idea could be to call it the Bat Pangolin Wet Market virus -BaPaWeMa for short.

So as it stands, the world media is calling this thing the coronavirus – which could mean any multitude of coronavirus diseases, or COVID-19 even though the virus didn’t really start to hit the world at large until 2020, and even though that name doesn’t eliminate other similar viruses that may have originated in the year 2019.

The whole world knows what is meant by Covid-19. But the refusal to give it a distinct name seems to more of a function of not insulting China, the place where this virus originated.

WUHAN

Meanwhile, in Wuhan, the virus is now under control. So much so that the city held big celebrations to bring in the New Year on January 1, even though China celebrates Chinese New Year, which this year will be on February 12.

Thousands celebrate New Year’s 2021 in Wuhan, China

New Year’s celebrations were in fact scaled down in much of China, including Beijing, where the usual light show was cancelled. But not so in Wuhan, which used the opportunity to thrust a giant middle finger in the air, as thousands of people gathered in the city centre and threw caution and concern into the wind along with the thousands of balloons they released.

Butch Stewart takes off his Sandals one last time

January 5, 2021
, 3:41 pm

Jamaican titan who created the Sandals Resorts International empire dies

By Ricky Browne

A Jamaican lion died on Tuesday. He was Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart, Jamaica’s greatest entrepreneur, a tourism mogul and a driving force for the country’s private sector.

Butch Stewart, who was 79 years old, was the founder and owner of Sandals Resorts International, the founder and head of Appliance Traders Ltd (ATL) and the chairman of the Jamaica Observer.

Stewart was awarded with the Order of Jamaica (OJ) and Order of Distinction (CD) in Jamaica’s honours system. The OJ is considered Jamaica’s equivalent of a knighthood in the British honours system.

Across his businesses he was said to employ some 10,000 people.

Butch Stewart Photo: Jamaica Observer

His empire included about 25 resorts around the Caribbean, including 15 Sandals hotels across Jamaica, St Lucia, Antigua, the Bahamas, Grenada and Barbados and others from the Beaches and Grand Pineapple brands.

His influence over the country and its governments, of both political parties, was immense.

Butch Stewart greets Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness

“It is with deep sadness that I learnt of the passing of one of Jamaica’s most brilliant, innovative and transformative business minds, the Honourable Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart OJ, CD, Hon. LLD,” tweeted Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

“Sending deepest condolences to the family of Gordon “Butch” Stewart as well as his Sandals, Observer and ATL teams. Jamaica has lost one of its most innovative and successful business leaders, and a truly immense figure on the national and international stage. Walk Good “Butch“, tweeted Jamaican Opposition leader Mark Golding.

His tourism empire had hotels across the Caribbean, and was just in the process opening a new hotel in the Dutch island of Curacao.

Sandals in Curacao Photo: Sandals

A self-made man, Stewart started off as an air conditioner salesman and installer in Ocho Rios, then a little-known tourist resort town on Jamaica’s north coast.

It wasn’t the greatest of starts, but from there with great ambition and perseverance he came to own ATL and to make it into a leading electronics and appliances provider and retailer.

SANDALS

During the 1970s and Jamaica’s disastrous flirtation with socialism, Jamaica’s tourism took a nose dive. It took guts for Stewart to see the potential in the failed and abandoned Bay Roc Hotel at the foot of the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay. He got a great deal on the hotel from the government, and created his first Sandals hotel.

The former Bay Roc hotel was the first Sandals hotel — Sandals Montego Bay Photo: Sandals

People thought he was mad for going down that road. Jamaica had lost its lustre as a tourism hot spot. For years the tourism resort of Negril had been selling itself on the international market without making reference to the fact that it was in Jamaica.

But even if there were some tourists who would want to come to Jamaica, why would they want to go to the old Bay Roc, which was dated and which was constantly assaulted by the low flying jet liners taking off or landing at the island’s busiest airport?

Stewart was not bothered by such concerns, and set about creating a Club Med-style hotel that was for couples only and was all-inclusive. He hired well-educated young Jamaicans just leaving school to work as playmakers, keeping the guests busy with games and activities and parties.

Sandals Barbados Photo: Sandals

And then he turned the problem of the noisy planes into an opportunity, with his playmakers waving excitedly to the planes bringing tourists or waving goodbye to those who were not fortunate enough to be staying.

Like the departing aircraft, the hotel took off, and from there he was able to expand his brand to other hotels, first in Jamaica and then across the Caribbean.

He built the brand so effectively that there would be very few people in his principle markets of North America and the United Kingdom that hadn’t heard of the chain of hotels.

The brand was often advertised on the front page of major newspapers in the Us and UK, building an image that was much larger than hotel itself.

When Spanish hotel chains started to invade his home market with lower prices, Stewart didn’t fight on price, but upped his game and increased the luxury offering of his hotels.

Butlers, 5 star restaurants and more took the Sandals brand to a higher level that the Spanish hotels could not compete on.

But the upgrading of the hotel chain started before that. As a reporter at the Gleaner in Jamaica back in the 1990s, I was part of a team of reporters that Stewart invited to cover the first award ceremony of the World Travel Awards which took place at Universal Studios in Hollywood, California.

Sandals won several awards and bragging rights from the WTA

The journalists were treated like royalty, flown first on Air Jamaica (which he did not yet own) to Miami and then by American Airlines to LA. A chauffeur-driven limousine took us to the top-quality hotel near LA, with champagne on ice and the World Cup playing on live TV.

The hotel had hair dryers in every room. Stewart was impressed, and said he wanted the same for his Sandals hotels. And shortly after they were introduced, an early step in the effort that Sandals would take in consistently improving its service.

Sandals won its first award for being the best all-inclusive chain that year, and continued to win many awards from the organisation over the years.

AIR JAMAICA

Later, in 1994 Stewart boldly acquired a majority stake in the national airline Air Jamaica from the Jamaican government. He rebranded the airline, building on its image as the ‘Love Bird’. Navy blue and a royal purple were added to the previous livery colours of orange and yellow, so that the aircraft could never be missed in a crowd – with the airline even featuring in an episode of the popular US sitcom ‘Seinfeld’.

Air Jamaica

Like the limousine service for those journalists in LA, the airline offered champagne—or at least sparkling wine — to all its guests on boarding. Its Seventh Heaven customer loyalty programme offered travellers a free trip after seven flights.

The airline started to win awards as the best airline from the Caribbean, and maintained its high standards for both its service and its quality.

Air Jamaica before its make–over



And it gave great deals to tourists flying in for Sandals, helping to make the hotel chain more attractive as it could offer better combined-deals than many of its competitors.

Air Jamaica in its then new livery

But, the fastest way to become a millionaire is to be a billionaire and buy an airline, was a saying that was doing the rounds. Despite its great marketing, service and overall quality, the airline lost immense amounts of money. And in a controversial deal Stewart returned the airline to the government, which later got taken over by Trinidadian airline BWIA, becoming Caribbean Airlines.

The Love Bird has now been subsumed into Caribbean Airlines, but a version of its humming bird and some of its colours live on

But the airline had been successful in building the Sandals empire, and Stewart was able to now concentrate more on his hotels, as well as expanding his auto dealership businesses under the ATL umbrella.

JAMAICA OBSERVER

Never one to shrink away from a challenge in the 1990s Stewart also started up a second newspaper in Jamaica – the Jamaica Observer.

At that point there was only one Jamaican newspaper – the well-established Daily Gleaner, which had been around since 1834 and which had seen the demise of countless papers that tried to challenge its dominance.

Butch Stewart on the front page of the Jamaica Observer

Stewart went for a tabloid format and brought full colour to the paper at an early point, way before The Gleaner even attempted to do the same.

As chairman of the paper along with his son Adam Stewart as deputy chairman, Stewart hired me back in December 2015 to be the business editor. Very early in the interview he told me that I had a very impressive resume and that he wanted me to be the business editor – and to sweeten the deal he offered me a 20 percent increase in whatever salary I would negotiate with the Observer, after six months.

This was a measure of the man who could quickly identify business opportunities and go after them whole-heartedly.

One of my first assignments was to cover the opening of the new Sandals hotel in Barbados, and the opening of Butch’s a five star steak house on the property. It was the first all-inclusive hotel in Barbados, and helped to open up the country to more US tourists instead of its main market of the UK.

Butch’s Chophouse at Sandals Barbados

The paper had an annual award for upcoming entrepreneurs called With the Jamaica Observer Stewart could put across his views on a national stage. Such was his power, that if he offered an invitation for the Prime Minister or Opposition Leader to join him for lunch in the Observer board room, they would each be there with many members of his team to enjoy his hospitality.

So although the paper was a cost to his more profitable businesses, it was valuable to Stewart, as if the chips were down, he knew he could rely on at least one part of the Jamaican media scene to offer a point a view that was at least close to his own.

While he never tried to direct me in how I managed the business desk, the paper certainly pushed the power of entrepreneurism.

“Mogul in the Making” as well as a prestigious award for Business Leader of the Year. The paper continues to tell the stories of Jamaicans who are looking to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps by creating their own nascent business empires.

ADAM STEWART

Adam is likely to take over much of his father’s empire. Adam, who is Stewart’s third son, is already the Deputy Chairman of Sandals Resorts International, CEO of The ATL Group & Island Routes Caribbean Adventures and Deputy Chairman of the Jamaica Observer.

Butch Stewart poses with his son Adam. Photo: Jamaica Observer

In a statement, Adam Stewart spoke on his father and said:

“He was a marketing genius and talented showman, but those who knew him best recognised that he was a dreamer who could dream bigger and better than anyone. It was often said, ‘The best thing for people around him to do is be dream catchers.’ That’s why he always credited his success to the incredible team around him, why he listened intently when it came to creating innovative things that would excite and delight our guests, and why it is so important that I remind you today, of all days, that we will all continue to be his dream catchers.”

Butch Stewart with Adam Stewart

“Together, we have all been part of something bigger than ourselves, led by a man who believed in us and who gave us opportunities to learn, grow, and the tools to make dreams real. For him, and because of him, we will continue to dream big and deliver on his certainty that true luxury is always best enjoyed by the sea.

“My Dad lived a big life – husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, entrepreneur, statesman, dreamer. A singular personality and an unstoppable force who revelled in defying the odds, exceeding expectations, and whose passion for his family was matched only by the people and possibility of the Caribbean, for whom he was a fierce champion.

“There will never be another quite like him and we will miss him forever.”

This article was first printed on the Matt Haycox Daily at https://matthaycox424374141.wpcomstaging.com/butch-stewart-takes-off-his-sandals-one-last-time/

 

Tiers for fears

January 4, 2021
, 1:32 pm

Talk now of a tier 5 in the UK as Covid bites

By Ricky Browne

A new year has started, but hopes that the coronavirus pandemic will be quickly contained are fading faster than US President Donald Trump’s hopes of being sworn in for a second term.

Even UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has chucked aside his usual optimism, to state that the path ahead in this bleak midwinter is nothing if not chilling.Andrew Marr interviews Boris Johnson on the BBC on Sunday, January 3, 2021

In an interview with the BBC’s Andrew Marr on January 3, Johnson said he would not be able to rule out extending restrictions across the country in the next few weeks and months.

But he still feels that things will improve in Spring.

“It may be that we need to do things in the next few weeks that will be tougher in many part of the country and I’m fully, fully reconciled to that and I bet that the people of this country are reconciled to that. Until the vaccine really comes on stream in a massive way, we are fighting this virus with the same set of rules.” Johnson said.High Streets are empty

“There is obviously a measure of measures that would have to be tougher – I don’t want to speculate what they might be,” Johnson said. “The situation is very difficult.”

Marr asked the Prime Minister about a Tier 5, but Johnson would not be drawn in.

“That is your word Andrew, not mine,” Johnson said.

But the situation in the United Kingdom has worsened due to the rise of a new strain which is more contagious than the original Covid virus.

On Saturday a total of 57,725 new cases were reported in the UK – a new high – with about 54,900 more on Sunday. That compares to about 6,000 new daily cases in September.

While the new varient may not have originated in the UK, it was first discovered there, and was discovered to be 70 per cent more virulent. There is some suggestion that the virus was only discovered in the UK because the testing regime there was superior to other countries, which were not testing for new variants.

This caused many countries across the globe to restrict incoming travel from the UK, with really only a handful now willing to welcome British tourists. But the new strain, along with another that was discovered in South Africa, has already been found in many other countries, and the fear is that the health systems of countries across the globe, already stretched will now be stretched beyond the limit.

Meanwhile, most of the UK is now in a tier 4, with many schools opening after the Christmas break as of Monday.

But Opposition Leader Keir Starmer is calling for a national lockdown within the next 24 hours.STARMER… “the virus is clearly out of control” Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA

“The virus is clearly out of control,” Starmer tweeted. “It’s not good enough for the Prime Minister to hint at further restrictions at unspecified times and then do nothing. He must put national restrictions in place within the next 24 hours. No more dither, no more delay.”

Its unlikely that the government will be quick to follow an Opposition suggestion, but Johnson appeared to be preparing the country for just that.

Not everything is completely bleak, however. Brexit has now been completed and the country managed to get a trade deal with the EU just before the gate finally closed on January 1st. The deal was supported by the Opposition, and was declared to be better than the deals that the EU has previously signed with Canada and Japan.

That was an achievement that many did not expect, though it was always likely that the two sides would be negotiating right up to the wire.

Despite the overall gloom that the Prime Minister projected, he did find a few silver linings to end his interview.JOHNSON… we now have reasons to be very positive. Photo: BBC

“I think you should break out of your characteristic gloom if I may say so Andrew,” Johnson said, before breaking into a more optimistic view.

“Things are very tough and we are going through a very tough period as a country . But I really think that people should really focus on the amazing fact that this country has created a room temperature vaccine which can be used around the world and we now have freedoms that we haven’t had for fifty years and there lots of reasons to be very positive about this otherwise grim new year.”

“We now have reasons to be very positive,” he said.

Originally published on Mat Haycox Daily. 

https://matthaycox424374141.wpcomstaging.com/tiers-for-fears/

Over in England

My first blog in like 10 years. I am thinking of restarting this...
Here I am back in England at the time of the pandemic. A new chapter is here, and another is soon to begin.
People over here don't appear to approach this thing quite as seriously as in Jamaica, but then again they have not been given the orders.
I am thinking mainly of wearing face masks in public. Over here, people are only told that they must wear them on public transport. Nowhere else. You go into a supermarket and virtually no one is wearing one.
In Jamaica on the other hand, you will not be allowed into a supermarket on any store without wearing a mask. And you will probably be given some hand sanitizer at the door.
This morning I went into a little corner shop to buy some almond milk (they only had soy) wearing my mask. Another maskless guy who was in the store saw me, saw my mask, stopped dead in his tracks and went the other way.
But if he was in a supermarket walking around with everyone not wearing a mask, he would have had no problem.
Until he got the disease that is.
So virtually no one wears a mask here, and its got nothing to do with being a Republican or a Democrat. So what if 43,000 people are dead. Its not going to happen to them for a variety of reasons.

Luck in Havana

I am sorry that you will have to twist your neck to see this properly. Sigh,.

If the first thing that you should see on entering a Cuban’s home is an elephant’s derriere, try not to be overly offended. Cubans are generally very warm and hospitable people and mean no insult. But elephant trunks bring good luck, unless you have them pointed towards the front door, in which case all the luck will flow out as you walk in.

And speaking of front doors, if you start to wonder why many of them have little strips of red cloth tied to them, as do the back bumpers of many cars – especially vintage ones - wonder no more. Its not to remind people to shut the door after they leave, nor is it an attempt to prevent vintage bumpers from falling off. Its more good luck. And given the impressive age of many of the cars around, you’ll appreciate that a little piece of luck can go quite a long way.

A few days ago, a little piece of luck dropped straight from the heavens and landed right on the top of my head. This was thanks to some spiteful little Cuban bird which I had chosen not to share my lunch with while eating at the Al Medina restaurant.

Apart from the wildlife, Al Medina is a very nice little Arab restaurant in an old colonial casa in Havana Vieja. Many of the dishes will be familiar to Jamaicans – Lebanese or Syrian delicacies like hummus (not as good as ours in Jamaica – too grainy and not enough garlic) kibbie, salads, grilled chicken (which tasted very much like every other piece of chicken I’ve had in Cuba), pita bread, babaganoush (or however that is spelt – but its the eggplant dip), lobster kebabs and other bits and pieces. You can sit in the courtyard, with grape vines above and an old gurgling fountain behind, stupid little birds flitting around and looking harmless. Nearby there is a well behaved parrot chatting away to no one in particular and sitting safely in a cage – no threat there.

A Cuban band plays on – “Guantanamera, guajira Guantanmera..... Guantanameeeeeeera, guajira Guantanmera” – is obligatory. Much like ‘One Love’ must be heard by tourists in Jamaica at least 10 times per day. But you may also get some Stevie Wonder. And the Beatles ‘old hit “Hey Jude” lives on in Havana and the Al Medina – but with a salsa twist.

Back to my little piece of luck, which is still sitting on top of my head. Oh, how the band smiled. Oh, how my Cubana laughed. Its good luck she said – it will bring you money. I quickly wiped the stuff off – only to find out that bird excrement is the colour of all other types of animal excrement and not white at all - shattering another of my treasured myths. As I went to the bathroom to intensify my clean-up campaign the lady outside (who expects you to pay her a couple coins for keeping the bathroom clean) smiles and says “Suave – mucho dinero” – Good luck – much money. Perhaps she meant much money for her. She got that one wrong.

I can’t promise you the same kind of luck – but I can promise you a most pleasurable dining experience at the Al Medina. Expect to pay about 25 convertible pesos for a meal for two, including beer (I needed that trust me). And its a good opportunity to vary your diet from the usual Cuban fare.

Please though, if you do go and see a stupid little bird with an evil smirk on its face, do me a favour and throw it a piece of bread. Directly at its head, and as hard as you can. And while I’m still waiting for that big bundle of dinero, I do feel lucky that at least elephants (trunks pointing where they may), cows and pigs don’t fly.

Copyright © Richard Browne

Havana Neighbourhoods

I am staying with a Cuban family here in Havana, in a two-bedroom apartment – maybe the same size as mine in Kingston, maybe a little smaller. Louvers for windows. Burglar bars – which I find a little surprising. Glass front doors, which I find even more surprising. The balcony I’m sitting on is painted an aquamarine colour – in contrast to the khaki, grey and white apartment block opposite. Both blocks are about five stories tall, and both look like they are in need of some loving care. Residents have made alterations – this one with glass windows, that one without burglar bars, this one with mustard coloured walls on their balcony, that one with plants.

Some neighbours across the street yell over the traffic to have a conversation with a family on my side of the street. “Oye! Como estas?” the conversation starts, as it starts to rain yet again. Now here they come across the road dodging raindrops and bringing Nestle’s ice cream to celebrate something or other together.

This neighbourhood is called San Agustin, and the apartment blocks look like they were built about 40 years ago – post-revolution in other words. Each block contains about 100 apartments I’d guess. Some of the street is lined with palm trees – a symbol of Cuba. Perhaps some were blown down by recent hurricanes.

I’ve been to a few parts of Havana – Havana Vieja is the oldest part, with bits of the old city wall still visible. A cannon at the Morro Castle across the water still sounds at around 9:00 p.m. every night. Originally this was to warn residents that the city gates were closing, but now the tradition serves to attract hundreds of tourists each night to witness the ceremony, complete with soldiers in 18th century uniform. Its quite a spectacle, and the roaring boom makes you jump, even as you know it will happen. And should it sound at 8:57 instead of 9:00, as it did for me a few nights ago, it makes you jump even more. But if tourists are willing to go out of their way to watch and hear a cannon go off in Havana, then surely they’d be willing to do the same in Port Royal or some of our other forts.

The nearby neighbourhood of Havana Central has the Capitolio, which is a copy somewhat of the Capitol building in Washington D.C. Well, I haven’t actually been to the one in the States, but this one is spectacular and supposedly more detailed. Marble everywhere. A massive statue inside, and a faux diamond under the dome, which is the point from which distances in Cuba are measured.

The next area over (moving east) is Vedado, which means forbidden. Houses were not allowed to be constructed here, so as not to obstruct the view of any oncoming attacking ships. So Vedado developed later, mainly in the early 20th century, and contains many beautiful and ornate homes for the wealthy at the time. Its also home to several bars, restaurants and hotels. Nothing in Kingston really compares – but the closest thing may be the Golden Triangle.

Next to that you have Miramar – where the really wealthy used to live before the revolution – and now the relatively wealthy still do. Some years ago, Argentina’s Maradonna spent some time here recovering from drug abuse. Its where our Jamaican embassy is along with most others – except of course the American, which does not have an embassy in Cuba. They do have a interest section – which is a bit of a skyscraper on the Malecon (Havana’s famous sea wall) and which looks to be much bigger than the US embassy in Kingston.

San Agustin is not much next to these neighbourhoods. But its real. The rain is really starting to fall now, I better get in before I do some damage to my lap top.

Rocking in San Augustin

Here I am sitting in an old rocking chair, on a balcony in San Agustin, - a suburb of Havana which is hardly mentioned in the tourist guides. Birds chirping all around, old cars chugging along. I can smell Sunday lunches being prepared in near-by apartments. Sometimes mingling with the odour of exhaust fumes.

Its about 2:00 in the afternoon, and lunch is cooking in a pressure cooker. It’s a cut-up chicken which had been marinating in vinegar, onions and garlic with some sliced potatoes . No scotch bonnet in sight. Cuban-Americans crave this vinegar as apparently they can’t get anything like it in Miami. It doesn’t seem all that special to me, but then again maybe we too have fantastic vinegar. The rice cooker has about finished its job, and there will hopefully be black beans to go with that, for a dish called Moors and Christians – the white rice representing the Christians and the black beans the Moorish invaders.

The street is quite busy – with just about every form of automobile passing by. Here comes a Lada taxi. Now a motorbike – male rider carrying a rather large woman stuffed in a canary coloured jumpsuit. Now one with a sidecar – yes they still exist.

Dominoes are being played in the distance – you can hear them banging on the table and occasionally being shuffled, but without the boastful voices that you might hear in Jamaica. Perhaps the players need greater concentration as they play with a double-nine as opposed to our meagre double-six.

There goes a bus, quite full, and blaring salsa music – “Baby, te quiro, baby te quiero o o “ as it lets off about six passengers. Now an army jeep. And now a beautiful old American car from the 1950s – a powder blue Pontiac with a white roof and trim. These museum pieces serve mainly as taxis – its only $1 peso CUC to Havana Vieja in one of these – but up to $20 CUC if you take a tourist taxi. No bicitaxis (rickshaws to us) have passed yet. They are being outlawed in Calcutta, but they abound in Havana – and London’s Soho for that matter.

There’s not much in the immediate area, but nearby is a little park, which you get to by walking to the end of the street and crossing the main road. A vacant piece of land has been used as a makeshift garbage dump, familiar to Jamaican eyes. A little shop near the park sells Cuban fast food – not patties, but pizzas and ham sandwiches and the like.

Walk down the street and you’ll find a little shop selling basics – well, I know they sell sodas, not sure what else. You’ll also find a cambio – a little shed behind security fencing, with two attendants and a security guard. These cambios are everywhere and are open long hours, making it really easy for me, tourists and Cubans to exchange their FX into convertible pesos ( CUCs). Credit cards are hardly accepted however, and I can’t seem to get anything out of the ATMs. If you get stuck though, the bank at the Hotel National will give you cash on your non-American credit card, at a charge of 11%. So if you are thinking of visiting, take along as much cash as you are likely to need – and unless you want to be taxed 20%, make sure its not American dollars.

Whether you need to get cash or not, the Hotel Nacional is well worth a visit, and is ranked as one of the best hotels in Cuba. But as I sit here watching the Cuban world go by, and hunger for that lunch, I think that maybe I am getting a better taste for the real Cuba than I ever could in one of the five star hotels in Havana proper.

Thoughts on the news

There are a few interesting storiies in the news right now which I wanted to comment on...

First of all, I don't see anything wrong with a man who had illegal sex with a 13 year old girl (i.e. RAPE) being extradited to the US to pay for his crime, even if it is some 30 years after the fact. Why wasn't he extradited before? Who cares if he can make a movie? What about Joe Blow who did the same thing and can drive a truck well - should he be able to get of Scott free too? Did Switzerland only get this boost of doing the right thing only because of a recent extradition treaty? On what basis can France and Poland protest?

Secondly - if it is so awful for a Third World Muslim country to have nuclear weapons - then why was the dictatorship in Pakistan allowed to get away with it? The ruler of Iran may be crazy, it is true, but there is some level of democracy there (believe it or not). And their crazy neighbour Pakistan (a dictatorship at the time) has the bomb. Calling them unstable would be a compliment. Pakistan has one because India got one. Why India needed one when they have more poor people than anyplace on Earth (apart maybe from China) is beyond me. Maybe its because their neighbour China got one (did they?) Penis envy? And what about that craziest of all nations North Korea? So far only one nation has murdered thousands of innocents with the use of the bomb. Lets hope they don't have that idea again - though I wouldn't expect this President to do something like that.

Thirdly, lastly and definately leastly, if I was the Prime Minister of Spain and my family looked like the Adams family, I would also want to protect them from having their images shown publically.

The poinlessness of soap boxes

One year after the house of cards called Lehman Brothers collapsed , and bankers are rubbing their hands in anticipation of their Christmas bonuses. If it weren't for the fact that I am hoping that they will send some of that cash my way, I'd be up on a soap box telling them to make atonement. Maybe Chairman Mao had the right idea after all.

On a slightly different plane - about that soap box - I think its high time we moved to beer crates. Soap boxes are piddly little things no more than an inch hich and three inches long. They are constructed of cardboard, so unless you leave the soap in them, they are unlikely to support your weight. And even if they did, they'd only give you an inch more of height. Pointless.

Not a bad day

Went to Strawberry Hill in the Blue Mountains today. Very nice, but very closed. And it poured with tropical rain which you could see coming from a mile away - first obscurring the view of the mountains to the north, and then enveloping us. But through the drops we could still see sunny Kingston some 5,000 feet below, the Palisados, Port Royal, Lime Cay and the sunny beyond.

Then we went down to Irish Town where we lunched on curry and barbeque chicken (deciding against the cow foot with broad beans) at Crystal Edge, with its view of the lush green valleys. For desert we had cups of Blue Mountain coffee from Cafe Blue along with slices of rum cake and cappachino cheese cake.

Winding our way down to Papine and then Kingston we stopped at the art gallary in Liguanea and then went on to the Bolivar Gallary in Half Way Tree. This is a treasure trove of paintings, books and antiquities. A load of buddhas and gongs and Tibetan pray flags and the like had just arrived from India.

Then back home where we drank Havana Club and Appleton and then a glass of Guabita de Pinar (Seca) before settling into a supper of steak, fresh salad and fried rice.
All together not a bad day.

What's so bad about a loose upper lip?

Unlike Jamaicans, the English love to make their lives uncomfortable.

Why be warm inside when you can be chilly? Why drive an automatic when you can drive a manual? Why have a mixer on your bathroom taps when you can fling your hands between the boiling hot and freezing cold? Why have the butcher remove the nasty stubbs of inedible chicken feet when you can pay for the extra weight and then deal with removing them yourself? Why buy bacon without the inedible rind when you can buy it with? Why have cable tv when you can limit your view to 4 or 5 pathetic stations?

The list, I'm sure, goes on.

Why have AC in your shops or offices when you can sweat during the summer heat, for example?

Give me a loose upper lip to a stiff one any day.

Internet banking

I am looking at opening an Internet banking account - one which denies me access to it via the branch, to be rewarded instead with a higher interest rate.

Argument for - higher rate of interest. Argument against - I don't get to stand in a long line (queue, excuse me) waiting and waiting to get access to my hard-earned cash.

Seems like a no-brainer, doesn't it?

High economics

I read a report in the news recently that Guinea-Bissau is now considered to be the world's first narco-state, thanks to becoming a major cocaine trafficking point on the Colombia to Europe route. The previous route went largely through Jamaica - which because of its positioning in the middle of the Caribbean is perfect for drug trafficking - particuarly to the US.

But recently we have applied more pressure - no doubt with big-time assistance from the US and UK - to the traffickers - and we were no longer as convenient as our geography would suggest. So a new route was found, and Guinea-Bissau - with its multitude of small islands, weak to non-existant sea-border policing and the fact that its as near to South America as Africa gets -is now a major point. In just a couple short years, Colombian drug lords have pretty much taken over the state, and now live free to show off their wealth, albeit with the protection of body guards.

So just how much money Jamaica must have been making from the cocaine trade I don't know - but it must have been much more than I thought. I guess we dodged the bullet of becoming a narco-state. And the money that was flowing in must have allowed us a higher standard of living than we would otherwise have had. I knew this to a certain level - but I wonder now if the cocaine trade helped us to sustain our economy and keep it afloat - as did the ganja trade in the1970s.

And now that we have lost - at least the European trade - it is interesting that our economy does not appear to have suffered a steep decline.

Perhaps the cocaine money was not distributed much in the economy, and went only to the benefit of drug lords and their middlemen and 'facilitators'. It appears this might be the case in Guinnea-Bissau, where the economy appears to remain dreadfully poor - despite this new trade.

Slug fest

Big vote tomorrow, which could either see Obama basically become the Democratic candidate - or see a continuation of the slug fest. (Quickest soloution for a slug fest? One part water to one part salt).

Meanwhile, Castro has been replaced with Castro - no big change there.

In Jamaica - its a return to the 60s. But the 40s (soon to be 50s) are eagerly waiting in the wings.

Everywhere else, most countries seem to be moving to a younger generation for their leaders. Russia's new guy is 42 or something. Oz. France. Canada. Will the US be next - or will they buck the trend and go the Cuba route?

And now Chavez is upping the ante - moving troops to the Colombian border. Surely Venezuela has something better to do than have a war with Colombia? This guy makes Bush look sane.

Dis and dat

One of the disadvantages of this blog is that I have no idea if its actually being read. Is this just spinning around in the vast space of the 5th dimensional universe that we call the internet? The option to run a poll is a great thing - and I've got one or two responses which suggest that there is somebody else out there. But if there's only one response - that means its me. So now you know - I support Obama. In fact, I almost wish I was an American so that I could vote for him. Though I suppose, in time, should he become president, he will be revealed to not actually be the second coming of Christ, and turn out to be a bit of a disappointment. Or perhaps a major disappointment. Anyway, I have a blog on another site - which is populated by half-crazed crackpots who are politically just right of Attila the Hun. So getting comments isn't necessarily great either, as you may find yourself defending your sanity to people who have no problem in being over-the-top obnoxious just because they can get away with it. Now I could say something here about Kern Spencer - the Jamaican politician who has found himself in hot water. But I think I'll save that for another blog -as he is now facing a court. I ain't saying he's guilty and I ain't saying he ain't. But I would like to say that assuming he is a scapegoat for the PNP, that I hope he becomes a singing scapegoat - and implicates all those who may have been involved in this great scheme. Perhaps that way he could reduce the prison time he may face - as well as allow us the chance to help persuade future politicians to think 20 times before they think of robbing the tax payer of his hard-earned cash.

The Obama train

Its time for a new generation in American politics. England has had their Tony Blair - and now David Cameron. France has their model-hugging president. Oz has thier new wizard.

Vietnam is over. Time for Obama - who is inspiring anyone that leans towards the Democratic party, and more besides - just ask any Jamaican. You only have to look at the exicement everywhere he goes - 20,000 supporters going mad at the thought of getting a gaze from him. He's inspiring them to believe that they can make America a better place, and the world whilst they are at it. Creating enthusiasm for a new Peace Corps, for helping the less fortunate. He has the potential of being a cross between Martin Luther King and JFK.

A 72 year old McCain - can he really compete?

I never thought that a black (or half-black) man with a name like Barrack Obama really stood much chance of becoming president of the USA. But it looks like I was wrong.

But when it comes down to the crunch, are Americans open-minded enough to vote for him. Or will Racism prove too big an obstacle? I beleive that enough Americans are now over the race segregation of the 1960s and 70s - and that they will vote for him en masse.

Bland soup

Well, I spoke way too soon in my last bolg - and I'm now writing to you a full 12 pounds lighter than the last time I wrote to you . Thanks to some bug I acquired last week with gastro attached. I'm back at work - but still haven't had a proper meal since atleast last week Monday. Last night I had half a bowl of tomato soup. I suppose the tomato sounds brave - but I've gone off the idea of chicken noodle soup- as I had some last Tuesday which I think made matters ratherworse, and am now associating with this illness. Will go out on the prowl today for something like butternut squash, potato and leek or some other blandish soup.

Anyway, as a result of not eating for more than a week I am feeling quite feak and weeble. But I'm here feeling somewhat better than last week.

My time in Trinidad was great and busy. Lots of parties. Dancing in costume in the street. Little sleep. Came back on Ash Wednesday feeling quite fine - as opposed to most others who were down with coughs or sinus problems. I thought I had escaped. But perhaps I had weakened my immune system - resulting in my Tuesday cough and sniffles followed swiftly by the works including extreme fatique by Wednesday afternoon.

Slept for 16 hours on Saturday (Feb 16) and was on Dr's orders to do nothing on the weekend, so didn't. I suppose that helped significantly. Start to question one's own existence however, when you've been out of the loop for so long....

Kingston vs. Port of Spain

Trinidad seems to be the hurry-come-up sibling of Jamaica. 

After a week of partying there for Carnival, and seeing some of the country during trips to parties and back to the house, I think I can now qualify as a Trinidad expert. 

Port of Spain seems both richer and poorer than Kingston. Smaller too - but with much worse traffic jams (but maybe that was just Carnival traffic). Where as in Jamaica everyone has to impress with their wheels, with SUVs and BMWs being the order of the day - everyone in Trinidad seems to drive second hand Nissan Sunnys. 

Much of Port-of-Spain's buildings seem a little dilapidated and not terribly attractive - picture Vineyard Town. But gleaming skyscrapers are now being built. 

The city's hills would be impressive, if our mountains weren't more so. The climate was not as hot as I expected - which is a good thing. 

The neighbourhood we stayed in was very well kept, with green grass on the sidewalks and large homes on small lots. There seems to be more shanty type buildings and less mansions in the hills overlooking the city than is the case in Kingston. I had a feeling of greater security there than here - although the opposite is the case for wealthy Trinis who visit Jamaica, due to a high rate of kidnapping there.

 Yes ,the two cities - if not countries - are definitely related. Jamaica is more beautiful - but Trinidad has more money. And money improves the looks of just about anybody.