My Idol.. Nuff Said!!

My Idol, The GREATEST rapper EVER, and prolific business man Jay-Z speaks on the release of his new book "Decoded"....Enjoy!





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Pink Friday!!

I have not been a fan of Nicki Minaj for different reasons and really wasn't expecting much from her debut album. I however decided to give Pink Friday & Lloyd Banks' Hunger for More 2 a listen after feeling a bit depressed about some recent happenings and to my surprise I'm quite impressed with Nicki's work (Can't say the same for Banks) . Certainly surpassed my expectations although that could be as a result of me not expecting much nevertheless really good (not great nor classic) album. I always appreciate good music. Shout out to Nicki!

My favorite tracks: Save Me & Moment 4 Life ft. Drake

Unleashed!

I don't know how many of you guys follow NFL or American Football but last night's game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Redskins was certainly one of the most exciting NFL games I have ever watched. Actually it was one of the best displays I've ever seen in all my life watching sports. The highlight of the night was none other than the dynamic and explosive Micheal Vick himself. For those of you who are not aware, this man has come a very long way from being arrested and jailed for his involvement in a dog fighting fiasco, losing all his professional endorsements and probably most importantly to him being suspended from the game he loves. Upon returning to the game he had to serve further suspensions and was not eagerly sought out by much NFL teams but eventually was signed by the Eagles. As if that wasn't enough he suffered an injury earlier in the season which had him sidelined for a few weeks. Clearly he is back! Or should I say Unleashed! 

Desperate times call for desperate measures

At some point or another we have probably heard the age old adage that "Desperate times call for desperate measures". This is an all too relevant quote in today's world and by extension in my twin island federation.  There are a number of issues that have been occurring in St. Kitts & Nevis over the past decade and more that can now be labeled as desperate issues, most notably our financial status and crime. Both of these issues have been moving exponentially in opposite directions (financial status declining, crime increasing) over the years and have largely been ignored by those in authority as well as a majority of the population due to political and other reasons. 

It is only recently former Minister of tourism & national security Mr Dwyer Astaphan wrote an article where he made reference to an IMF report in the year 2000 where cautions about our financial affairs were raised and measures suggested by the international body to assure that we would not arrive at the position in which we are at today. That was 10 years ago and up until early this year we saw no meaningful steps being taken to curb our financial disarray, no meaningful effort at financial prudence, no meaningful effort to educate the populace as to the state of affairs. In fact, we saw quite the opposite. The wanton government borrowing and spending continued and increased, millions were thrown at phantom projects that have yet to bring any fruitful benefits to the nation, millions squandered through corrupt practices, cost overruns, court cases, etc and a valid effort was made to skew the perception of Kittitians & Nevisians away from the reality. However in recent times it appears as if the reality of the situation has just magically revealed itself and we have seen a number of "desperate measures" taken. These include the implementation of the Value Added Tax (within 7 months?), the implementation/increase of various other taxes, the retiring of civil servants, the layoffs of persons from various authorities, the prospect of electricity rates being increased by as much as 85%, etc, and theres still more to come. 

With respect to our crime situation, this is not a matter that developed overnight either. For years we have been seeing an increase in the number of incidences of crime in all aspects. Once again it was largely ignored by our authorities and the country's leadership. This being the very same leadership whose mantra was that "Law & order would be their number one priority". Based on observations over the last decade and the governments failure to properly address the issue from the start I could only strongly disagree with this statement. Priority was certainly focused elsewhere. Over the past 10 years scores of our nationals have fallen victims to murder, gun crimes, robberies, etc and we have yet to see any meaningful and serious action being taken. It has basically continued to be ignored. I must say here that I realize we all as citizens have a part to play in dealing with this problem and should all work together to come up with the necessary solutions and provide the necessary information. However the Government ultimately has a responsibility to protect and secure our citizens and visitors alike, a responsibility that the Prime minister himself has openly refused to take and we are reaping the results. Our police force (which is an agency of the government) is grossly under-resourced both in monetary means, equipment and technology among other things while at the same time is exposed to political interference and constant chastisement from the very government that should be supporting them fully. In this modern age our police force does not even possess a functional database of information containing criminal intelligence, effective investigative tools and technology, and seems to lack any functional crime fighting strategies and tactics. I'm very sure many ideas and suggestions have been given over the years as we are a very intelligent people but the problem seems to be with providing necessary resources,  with implementation and the WILL to do so. Lets be honest with ourselves here, it really should not be that difficult to manage crime in an island as small as ours if we have the will and make the necessary effort and investments to do so. This is one of the few times where our small population is an advantage to us. But it is as if the state of affairs was not grave enough for serious intervention. In recent times there have been a spike in the number of robberies. Criminals have apparently come to realize that nothing is being done about their actions and have upped the ante, with the robbery of Banks and other business entities around the island in broad daylight most times. Even with these occurrences and the outcries of nationals the leader of the country and his Government still is in a state of indifference. To add insult to injury, there was an incident yesterday Sunday 14th where 16 adult tourists and 1 child were held up at gunpoint and robbed. Within hours reports of this incident were published on some of the worlds major news networks such as USA Today, MSNBC, etc. With tourism supposedly being our main industry and the driver of our already dying economy anyone who is not ignorant to reality knows the potential impact this could have on our country. This is even more a pressing example of "desperate times", but where are the "desperate measures"? Up to the time of writing this article (approximately 24 hrs after the incident) there has not even been an official response to the matter by the Government of St. Kitts & Nevis, so what are we really to expect?

The problem is not that the PM and his Government are unaware of how to go about taking desperate measures, it is just that their priorities are tremendously mixed up and they lack the WILL. In the period of 1993-1995 when it was "desperate times" him and his cohorts allegedly orchestrated some of the most unprecedented, unfortunate and horrific "desperate measures" our federation have seen in the post independence era all in an effort to gain power. More recently leading up to the last general elections every effort possible was exploited just to simply retain power and to keep the opposition party out of government. Resources appeared to be unlimited as much was spent on election paraphernalia, election bribes, airplane charters, lawyer fees, massive concerts, fireworks, etc. A sting type operation was even conducted to set up the leader of the main opposition party however we don't see the same expertise being employed against those committing criminal acts and terrorizing our country. The police and military with the leadership of the PM were well on the beat in different areas of the country on election day to ensure his plans were carried out. He rallied the support of his foot soldiers and they were mobilized to carry out his agenda . Apparently this was a case of "Desperate times, Desperate measures".

With the current crime and violence crisis we are facing now and the reputation of our island, the security and standard of living of our nationals all at stake it is certainly a "desperate time" in our federation. Our youths are being slain, our visitors violated and our people and businesses terrorized. It would certainly be great and welcomed news if the leadership of our country got its priorities straight, started accepting its responsibilities, started acting with the same sense of urgency and employed similar expertise in implementing some "desperate measures" to bring the country to some state of normalcy. It is also time for our people to start demanding what should be expected from those in vital positions to influence the state of affairs of our beloved St. Kitts & Nevis. "Desperate times call for desperate measures".

Note: This article was not written with the intention to be "political" but simply to get our people to awake from ignorance and start thinking and acting while constructively criticizing and demanding better from those we put in positions to lead and take charge of the direction and affairs of the land we love regardless of party affiliation.  Country Above Self!

SP where da Best be...

Ever since I knew myself I always had some sort of admiration for the town of Sandy Point. Though I’ve never lived there, over the course of my lifetime I’ve spent a good amount of time visiting and have made a healthy number of friends there. Something seems to be unique (in a good way) about Sandy Pointers. Whereas a number of other communities in the federation names seem to be synonymous with negative news, in my personal opinion 9.5 out of 10 times when Sandy Point is mentioned in a statement its usually to do with something positive. Whether it be standing out(academics, sports, politics, music), standing up (case of renaming of high school) or coming together (e.g. Chambalay & other community events)Sandy Pointers display an admirable spirit and community pride that would serve the country well if other communities would copy this in some way, shape or form. With these few words I say Kudos to the residents of SP and special Kudos to the SPIRIT group!