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July 2009
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Happy Birthday to our
Neighbours!
Canada Day is the 1st,
US Independence Day the 4th,
Venezuela's Independence Day 5th,
Bahamas Independence 10th,
on the 14th the French Antilles celebrate Bastille Day,
19th is Nicaragua's Liberation Day,
20th is Colombia's
Independence Day
and the 27th is
Cuba's Liberation Day
Three very
important heroes were also born in July: Jamaican
National Hero, Norman Washington Manley on the 4th,
Regional Hero, Simon Bolivar on the 24th and World Hero,
Nelson Mandela on the 18th. |
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Never
Can Say Goodbye
Last Thursday, 25th June, a NYT email newsflash
popped up on my screen: Michael Jackson had been
rushed to hospital with presumed heart failure.
I rushed to the television and tuned in CNN;
within minutes the news came through. On the eve
of his sold out Comeback Tour, the King of Pop
was dead. The news spread to quite likely every
radio and television channel in the world.
I
started high school in 1968. Rock Steady ruled
the local pre-reggae music scene, the imported
Motown Sound was wildly popular. Within a year,
the radio stations were all playing "I Want You
Back" by the Jackson 5. Here was a
new sound from Motown; this was Bubblegum. The
Jackson 5 were not short-haired and suited like
the Temptations, the Miracles and others but wore afros and
fringed vests like the rock bands and they were
not adults like our other idols, even Little
Stevie Wonder was almost 20, they were our age!
The lead singer and youngest, Michael was only 9
(in fact he was 11, but Berry Gordy and the
Motown moguls "made" him two years younger). We fell in love with
15 year old Jermaine but it was young Michael's
beautiful voice which captivated the world,
breaking national, language and colour barriers.
Several years went by, my tastes changed; I
forgot the Jackson 5 and collected dozens of
albums by Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix and other
hard rock bands.
Then came the '80s. Jamaica had thrown off it's
flirtation with Socialism, Reaganomics ruled the
US. This was the age of big hair and big
spending. I went on a visit to my best friend in
Miami. She had just had brand new cable TV installed and
now had not 3 but 28 channels! New channels came
on almost every week and among these was MTV
which showed nothing but "music videos."
An incredible synergy ensued. The now solo
artist, Michael Jackson, instead of just filming
his performances produced incredible mini
movies, some costing US$250,000 and later even
millions! Both
MTV and the "new" Michael Jackson gained
unbelievable popularity. Even now, after 27 years,
Thriller is still the best-selling album in
history and there have been very few music
videos produced which can rival Billie Jean,
Thriller or Beat It.
With enormous popularity and the wealth that it
brought the newly proclaimed King of Pop strove
to create the childhood, which touring and an
extremely overbearing father had robbed him of. He created the Neverland Ranch with room after room of toys on
grounds where exotic animals roamed. He became
more and more eccentric, countless plastic
surgeries and bizarre purchases leading to a
meltdown and near bankruptcy.
In 1993 came the last straw, a 13 year old boy
accused MJ of sexual abuse. A similar accusation
came ten years later, that one going much
further. In my book there is
no worse creature than a pedophile but I am
firmly convinced that Michael Jackson was no
pedophile but instead a lonely and unhappy man who wanted
to be a child surrounded by other children: a
Peter Pan who would never grow up. Weird maybe
but not perverted. Paul McCartney called him a
gentle child-man with an incredible talent and I
believe that is what he was. And if he was
indeed a
child molester he is now past our judgment and before a
Higher Court which
has all the evidence and which does not make mistakes.
If, as I believe, he was an unhappy and
misunderstood soul he is now in the perfect Neverland, protected from the
paparazzi, producers and even family who
always wanted a bigger and bigger piece of him.
Michael Joseph Jackson 29th August, 1958 - 25th
July 2009
The Music
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The World Health
Organisation has declared a
Phase 5 outbreak re Swine Flu H1N1 Virus. This means that
a pandemic could be imminent.
We keep hearing
about the "Global Village" so often that we forget what it
means. With transportation and communication so advanced it is
remarkably easy to get from one place to another. Mexico, where
the outbreak appears to have started, is only 640 miles (1030k)
from Jamaica. Thousands of Jamaicans have family and friends
living there and consequently travel back and forth regularly.
Swine influenza
is a respiratory illness that is caused by the Influenza A
virus. It is transmitted from infected pigs and also by human to
human contact. The symptoms include fever greater than 100
degrees Fahrenheit, sore throat, cough, stuffy nose, headache
and body aches and fatigue. Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea may
also be experienced. The disease has not been shown to be
transmittable through eating properly handled prepared pork or
other products derived from pigs.
Our local
Ministry of Health have have put measures into place for anyone
entering the Island with flu-like symptoms, especially people
who have recently visited Mexico. The Ministry has also ordered
additional supplies of the drugs Tamiflu and Zanamivir, which
are used to treat the virus.
Update: Several
cases of Swine Flu have been identified and are being monitored
by the authorities.. Some schools in the central parts of the
Island have been closed.
As you can see, after five years
online I've finally redesigned Jamaica
Allspice! I imagine you're all saying "It's about time."
Don't worry. All of our old
content is still here along with some new articles.
You can read about
our rich history. For instance did you know that Falmouth is one of
the world's most perfect examples of pure Georgian architecture?
Aside from world famous
reggae artists and athletes, there are also Jamaicans like
George Lecky
who developed the Hope Red, one of the most popular varieties of cattle
in the world.
There's also the very
diverse geography and
wildlife of our Island where, almost side by side;
iguanas sun on barren rocks, crocodiles lie in wait in mangrove swamps
and varieties of birds fly amongst the trees in our
beautiful
mountains. You might even see a rodent the size of a dog, the agouti,
hiding in a tropical rain forest.
There are lots of other
interesting facts. Did you know, for instance, that Jamaica has greater
roadway density than anywhere else in the world? Or that we own more
cellular phones, per capita, than any other country?
Enjoy our magazine and
please feel free to send us your comments.
Betty S.
Editor
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ALLSPICE
"Jamaica Pepper" Eugenia Pimenta: Native Tree the berries of which are a
popular spice which tastes like a combination of several other spices
-- OED
Our magazine gives you several different things which together
give you the mixture which is Jamaica.
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