All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Swami Vivekananda: A Beacon of Inspiration for Youth and Humanity

National Youth Day, celebrated annually on January 12th since 1985, commemorates the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902), a revered …

Swami Vivekananda: A Beacon of Inspiration for Youth and Humanity

Empathy – normabobb

When the opportunity arises we have to take the time to share with those who are less fortunate than us. Seasons come and go. There is joy for some today, sickness and death for others. Each day like trees casts its own shadow or light. Being thankful for the present is where joy resides. Nothing lasts forever.

© Norma Bobb-Semple 2025

Source: Empathy – normabobb

Una persona amable y muy querida – Santiago Galicia Rojon Serrallonga

Derechos reservados conforme a la ley/ Copyright

Una persona muy querida, quien vive en Alemania, en Europa, al lado de su marido y de su hija, tuvo la amabilidad de enviarme un mensaje muy bonito y profundo, reflejo de sus sentimientos, educación, valores y talento. Con la bondad, la gentileza y la sensibilidad que le caracterizan, expresó preocupación y tristeza por los acontecimientos tan lamentables y tristes que cotidianamente se registran en el mundo y la tendencia hacia la agresividad, el odio, la violencia, el racismo, la irracionalidad, el egoísmo y las superficialidades, con una terrible ausencia de bien, tolerancia, amor y solidaridad. Con familias divididas y rotas, ante un escenario de guerra y tiranía, le preocupan el hoy, el presente, y el mañana, el porvenir de las generaciones de la hora contemporánea. Ella, por su historia, por los capítulos difíciles y oscuros que enfrentó al lado de su padre -el profesor Alfred Heine-, su madre -Gerda Bisler, con su apellido de soltera, o Heine ya como mujer casada- y sus hermanos -Lore y Bernd-, en sus horas infantiles, cuando su patria -Prusia Oriental- fue invadida por el enemigo insaciable y sangriento, y coexistieron en el destierro ante una guerra mundial que parecía ensombrecer a la humanidad, sabe identificar los signos de las catástrofes y valora el bien, los detalles, la sencillez, la libertad, la educación, la justicia, los sentimientos y las acciones nobles, el respeto, los ideales y el pensamiento. Ha sido capaz de transmitir, por medio de sus artículos, fotografías y publicaciones, mensajes positivos, temas sobre sus innumerables viajes en compañía de su buen marido -Werner Schade-, siempre con la prioridad a las sonrisas de los niños, a los rostros amables de la gente, a las costumbres y tradiciones más allá de los sitios turísticos, a las flores, al viento, al otoño, a la lluvia, a la naturaleza, a la flora y a la fauna, a la vida, a la creación. Eso es maravilloso en un ser humano, como ella -Rosemarie Schade-, y le da un un sentido genuino y un valor enorme. Su trayectoria existencial resulta admirable y ejemplar. Yo la respeto mucho. Le tengo afecto y mucha admiración. En ocasiones, al revisar la realidad del minuto presente y descubrir tantos elementos negativos, escribo y trato de generar conciencia en las personas, hombres y mujeres que parecen distraídos y enajenados con cierta intencionalidad; no obstante, en su mensaje, este grandioso ser humano -Rosemarie Schade- me explicó que en el planeta existen desgracias, maldad, hambre, tristeza, enfermedades, odio, injusticias, guerras, inseguridad y violencia, en medio de un insondable vacío, y que sería más constructivo y noble, en consecuencia, redactar y publicar textos positivos, mensajes hermosos, palabras que inviten a rescatar la esencia, los valores, los sueños, las ilusiones, la educación, el respeto, la amabilidad, los sentimientos, la esperanza, la fe y la armonía. Comprendí, entonces, que la invitación de Rosemarie Schade tenía un sentido noble, hermoso y sublime. Medité. Me di cuenta de que tiene razón. Sugirió que escriba sobre viajes, personas, experiencias y temas agradables y bellos, con la intención de que mucha gente, al leer los artículos, se sienta motivada a cerrar las puertas y las ventanas al mal y, en cambio, abrirlas al bien. Supe, al reflexionar acerca del sentido de las palabras de Marie, como le llamamos con afecto, que yo, un modesto escritor y periodista, me encuentro frente a un ser humano maravilloso, una dama ejemplar, una mujer singular, una de esas personas irrepetibles, grandiosas, nobles, maravillosas e inolvidables que, a veces, Dios, la mente infinita o como ustedes le llamen, suele enviar para alegría, bien, consuelo, esperanza y luminosidad del mundo. Evidentemente, lo admito, me sentí profundamente conmovido y he aceptado la propuesta de Rosemarie Schade, lo que significa que transmitiré en mucho de mis textos mensajes positivos de amor, esperanza, fe, armonía y valores. Gracias por tanto, Marie.

Source: Una persona amable y muy querida – Santiago Galicia Rojon Serrallonga

Concerning environmental issues in Jamaica as 2025 gets started – Petchary’s Blog

I don’t really know where to start. However, here are several nagging concerns (not the only ones) regarding the state of Jamaica’s environment. Many of these small, local issues are connected and linked to much larger issues – such as the un-sustainability of our tourism sector.

The Government loves to tell us about that great source of foreign exchange – tourism. Never mind the surprising (to me) report that last year Montego Bay’s Sangster International Airport had a slight downturn (3 percent) in commercial airline traffic last year (ah, but our greenhouse gas emissions were happily boosted by a large number of private planes!) Nevertheless, our Tourism PR Minister is upbeat, as always and the Government’s Jamaica Information Service reports that the airport has undergone a remarkable transformation.

More missing mangroves: That said, it disturbs me to know that our environment is still under constant threat from tourism. I am talking about the ongoing destruction of our mangroves – which, as we all know, are a critical (and dwindling) part of our marine and coastal ecosystems, providing nurseries for young fish and other marine animals, protecting our coastline from the impact of storms, and so on – not to mention their major significance for “blue carbon” in the context of climate change. Here’s my blog post from three years ago.

So I was disturbed to read about developments in the tourism town of Falmouth, Trelawny, which is expanding. It was deemed necessary to cut down more mangrove forest near the town (quite a lot was already cut down for a cruise ship pier years ago) – courtesy of the local Municipal Corporation. According to this Gleaner report, the Corporation owns some 25 acres, which it plans to “reclaim” (that seems to be the latest euphemism for dumping up coastal wetlands). This is for the purpose of building a gas station (the irony!) – there are already four on a one-mile stretch, says the report. Instead of eco-tourism tours of the mangroves, the blinkered officials have opted for concrete and gas pumps.

Did the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) approve this? World Wetlands Day (February 2) is fast approaching and if this generally incompetent Government agency has the gall to tell us about “the value of mangroves” one more time, as they do every year… I may well utter some unmentionable choice Jamaican curse words! Or else a quiet, hollow laugh…

Once a green hillside with native forest. (My photo of what is now a permanent marl quarry in Hanover).

One additional irony: the construction of the huge Princess Hotel in Green Island, Hanover, involved the destruction of acres of mangrove forest (captured on drone video). A forested hillside nearby was also destroyed to facilitate the excavation of marl (limestone) to dump up the “reclaimed” land that was also once a forest (it is now a permanent quarry – no attempt at restoration there). Why am I giving another cynical laugh? The hotel has now been “greenwashed” and is called “The Princess Senses The Mangrove.” Our Tourism Minister announced happily“There’s no other hotel in the region that has a mangrove forest as part of its attraction. Princess is the first truly sustainable hotel development in Jamaica.” Oh dear me!

And more bauxite pollution: The other great foreign exchange earner, we are told, is bauxite mining. If you read this blog (and others) you will know that over the years, this has affected our environment in a delightful variety of ways: deforestation in and around the Cockpit Country; toxic dust nuisance for residents living near the “mud lakes” in dry periods; it is among the largest producers of greenhouse gas emissions on the island; and most recently, there has been the repeated pollution of the long-suffering Rio Cobre, which never seems to get a break.

One of the regular emissions of bauxite dust in Discovery Bay, St. Ann. It’s not only in Kingston that we have air pollution!

One more thing: there is also the repeated dust pollution (and noise) in Discovery Bay, St. Ann, every time a ship comes in to collect bauxite. Discovery Bay is a pretty place, with seaside villas owned by wealthy Jamaicans with their small private beaches on one side, alongside the Puerto Seco Beach – once public, now privatised. The Discovery Bay Bauxite Pier, owned by Discovery Bauxite (it has rebranded several times in the last few years, so I could be wrong about the name) is not only an eyesore, its reddish metal dome squatting on one side of the bay. It is also an emitter of bauxite dust – into the air and into the blue waters of the bay (which turn brown when the ship has left and the surplus bauxite is swept into the sea).

A screen grab from a video taken by a Port Royal resident. The sound is deafening.

On shipping, another uncomfortable note at the end of 2024: the residents and fishers of Port Royal, a small and peaceful town, were deeply disturbed by the presence of a huge container ship just meters away from their shoreline. What is more, the most appalling hammering noise came from the ship, which towered over one resident’s fishing boat. What a happy Christmas it must have been! We hope this will never happen again.

Even our lovely Hope Zoo has been suffering. For months now, the Zoo has been tweeting about the unbearable smoke coming from a piece of land – also just meters away from their premises. Someone is burning garbage – quite possibly including toxic substances. This has been causing extreme discomfort and health issues for visitors, workers, and of course the animals themselves, who cannot escape it! I wrote about it last October. The Jamaica Gleaner reported it. Since then, Hope Zoo has been posting about it on a weekly basis, tagging government agencies, the police, the Municipal Corporation, and even the Prime Minister himself. Astonishingly, nothing has been done about this flagrant abuse! No response. Nothing! Below is their latest desperate plea:

An underlying issue is what many of us see as the failure of Government agencies to properly regulate and enforce environmental laws. Every day there are breaches that go unpunished, whether committed by companies or individuals. It is not enough to chastise ourselves as being “nasty” and “dirty” and “selfish.” That’s not the point. Government agencies need to do their jobAs the CEO of Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) Theresa Rodriguez-Moodie pointed out at a press briefing on the Rio Cobre issue recently:

The law is clear. Environmental offences are violations regardless of whether harm is proven. Much like running a red light is an offence under the Road Traffic Act regardless of whether an accident occurs. Laws are designed not only to penalise but to deter harmful actions.

Prosecuting violations sends a strong message that illegal actions have strong consequences. It holds perpetrators accountable, encourages compliance, and strengthens public trust in the legal system.

There is so much more to be said, and so many more instances of such violations of environmental laws that go unaddressed, daily. It is not only the environment itself that is being continually degraded in a thousand different ways. For people – for Jamaicans in urban and rural areas hoping for a better quality of life on this island, this is distressing. I am talking about clean air; clean water; a garbage-free, plastic-free, flowing sewage-free environment. Is that too much to ask?

Theresa Rodriguez-Moodie speaks at last month’s press conference on Rio Cobre issues. To her left is Attorney-at-Law Marcus Goffe. (My photo)

P.S. My sources for these stories are impeccable, as they say – including first-hand observers and residents or people affected by these environmental issues. Sometimes they are local media reports. I am always open to correction, if I have misunderstood the situation. In fact, I would like to be proved wrong! But I fear I won’t be…

I will not be posting this on Twitter (“X”) as no doubt I will receive nasty responses from politically motivated posters, who can’t think for themselves. In any case, I will be closing my account there very soon. While Jamaican public servants (and their followers) are enjoying hurling insults at each other on that particular platform, I am going to leave them to get on with it – along with the toxic MAGA extreme right-wing cult members. Goodbye Musk. Goodbye tribalists, of all stripes. You may follow me at petchary.bsky.social, if you wish.

Mangroves are trees, too. This photo was taken in Salt River, Clarendon – before Hurricane Beryl. (My photo) 

Source: Concerning environmental issues in Jamaica as 2025 gets started – Petchary’s Blog

«Dimentichiamo e ci consideriamo superiori. Ma dopo tutto, siamo solo una parte della creazione.» – Abbiamo tutti bisogno di rivedere il nostro …

« Non vedo delega per tutte e quattro le gambe. Non vedo un posto per le aquile. Dimentichiamo e ci consideriamo superiori. Ma dopo tutto, siamo solo…

«Dimentichiamo e ci consideriamo superiori. Ma dopo tutto, siamo solo una parte della creazione.» – Abbiamo tutti bisogno di rivedere il nostro …

Luxury wood market driving extinction of rare ipê trees, report warns – Please STOP buying ALL products from Deforestation!

Luxury wood market driving extinction of rare ipê trees, report warns – Mongabay.com https://ift.tt/Z2lTg95 Luxury wood market driving extinction of …

Luxury wood market driving extinction of rare ipê trees, report warns – Please STOP buying ALL products from Deforestation!

Wählt Liebe / … Choose love – Stella, oh, Stella

Du wirst vor eine Wahl gestellt:
Entwickle dich oder bleib wie du bist. Wenn du wählst, dich nicht zu entwickeln, wirst du mit den gleichen Herausforderungen, der gleichen Routine, den gleichen Stürmen, den gleichen Situationen konfrontiert, bis du aus ihnen lernst, bis du dich selbst genügend liebst um „nicht mehr“ zu sagen, bis du Veränderung wählst.

Wenn du wählst dich weiter zu entwickeln, verbindest du dich mit der Kraft in dir, du wirst erforschen, was ausserhalb der Komfortzone liegt, du wirst zur Liebe erwachen, du wirst werden, du wirst sein. Du hast alles, was du brauchst.
Wähl, dich zu entwickeln. Wähl Liebe.
– Creig Crippen –

Quelle / source: Sunshine’s Calling We are the medicine 

Source: Wählt Liebe / … Choose love – Stella, oh, Stella

‘He is peddling stories’: Bob Woodward denies Republican’s claim he said Biden was corrupt | Bob Woodward | The Guardian

“The statements attributed to me in what is apparently his book are false,” Woodward said. “I made none of those statements he attributes to me. I repeat none, and not even in a paraphrased form.”

Woodward said Comer was “peddling stories, conclusions and allegations that just do not check out at all”…

Source: ‘He is peddling stories’: Bob Woodward denies Republican’s claim he said Biden was corrupt | Bob Woodward | The Guardian