ONLINE READERS" COMMENT - Richard "Danny Germs" Austin, a man who was never forgiven

Sunday, February 08, 2015 | 4:46 AM    

The following is a comment from the Jamaica Observer website after news broke on Saturday of the death of former West Indies and Jamaica cricketer Richard Austin.

‘Danny Germs’ was not been a non-entity to many who remember him as a Jamaican player.

I am so ashamed at how the Rebel players were ostracized by our society and left to fall into destitution, poverty and drugs. It is a myth that we Jamaicans are a loving people. When we turn against someone it’s usually to the extreme and we carry that grudge for life. We turned our backs on Lawrence Rowe, Herbert Chang and ‘Danny Germs’. Rowe was able to escape to the US, no such luck for Danny and Herbert.

Yes, Danny and others took “blood money” to go play cricket but Colin Croft, Ezra Mosley, Franklyn Stephenson and Lawrence Rowe have all gone on to do well, I guess that is because none of them were in Jamaica.

I am in the Cross Roads area quite a few days per week while working and would buck up on Danny Germs begging, he was always respectful and most times I would buy him something to eat, patty, a bun, a drink.

Here was a fellow man who made a major mistake in life and it hounded him, with help from us, to an early grave. There was no second chance for him, no redemption, he was not strong enough to beat his drug habit and move on and we as a society just looked on and scorned him.

We need to really look at ourselves and see how we treat people. ‘Danny Germs’ wasn’t a thief or a murderer but we treated as if he had killed many without regret. We treated him worse than a mongrel dog begging in the street.

I am happy to have listened to ‘Danny Germs’ rambling about West Indies cricket, “these boys have no passion” he muttered once, and he was correct. He came along when there was no way to get into a team made up of Greenidge, Haynes, Richards, Homes, Logie and Lloyd, today we would have easily walked into this lacklustre bunch.

Walk good ‘Danny Germs’. I know you up there batting with Sir Frank, Learie, Mass George and company.

DaleG

dalegonsalves@yahoo.com

Like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jamaicaobserver

Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamaicaObserver

View the original article here

ONLINE READERS" COMMENT - Richard "Danny Germs" Austin, a man who was never forgiven

ONLINE READERS COMMENT: Little protection in the Witness Protection Act

Saturday, January 10, 2015 | 1:48 PM    

Dear Editor,

We have seen and have sincerely regretted the fact that the New Year has began with 24 people being murdered in seven days.

Our legislators have assured us, with convincing words, that they will not allow crime to gallop away in 2015.

But, the fact is that no matter how often we have been told by the ruling authorities of their passion to tackle crime, no matter how serious or how committed they seem to be, in the final analysis, the crime monster always seems to be winning the battle, or having the upper-hand.

In other words crime is out of control, sometimes it’s slightly down, then it rises again; and too many people are dying.

When we hear the talk so many times, of bringing the crime under control, that means, it’s already out of control. It’s bigger than us and the monster still stands tall–undefeated. We need to bring him down.

One of the key strategies in fighting crime is that people should be free and fearless to report crime, or to give evidence in court; and this means, feeling a great sense of security and reliance in the Witness Protection Act.

But lamentable, this is not so as people are in fear of their lives. Some of them have been killed for giving evidence. We cannot confide in the Witness Protection Act, and this is a great-blow to the crime fighting strategies.

We talk about putting measures in place; one of the most serious and deadly measures that needs to be put in place, when crime gets beastly bad, is to unleash the death-penalty. The more devastating and out of control the crime-rate is, it’s the more we should speed-up the death-penalty.

Donald J Mckoy

Like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jamaicaobserver

Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamaicaObserver

View the original article here

ONLINE READERS COMMENT: Little protection in the Witness Protection Act

OBSERVER ONLINE READERS COMMENT - The role of the Online forum moderator

Wednesday, January 07, 2015 | 3:07 AM    

Dear Editor:

Please take full compliments for producing a great paper which I like to call “the little paper that grew”, since I’ve watched the Observer evolved to be the Number One paper for information. Congratulations much sir.

Thanks also for the opportunity in allowing readers to participate in meaningful discussions, but I must also be critical about the role of the moderators on your forum. The biggest mistake forum owners make when taking on forum moderators is expecting them to police the community.

Many see the main role of moderators as enforcers of the site rules, as people who delete posts they don’t like and lock topics the moment they run off-course.

If these are the priorities of moderators, they are doing it all wrong. A community must never be repressed, but moderated effectively – this means adopting a laissez-faire approach and allowing members a large amount of freedom, within the rules, of course.

If moderators crack down on members the second they step out of line, you will be sending a negative signal to your community that free speech is not tolerated on your site.

Some moderators are definitely politically biased too…only allowing posts which support their party. This will discourage readers from getting involved – hardly the ingredients for a successful community! When you take on forum moderators you need to make it clear exactly what you expect from them. Most see themselves as forum police officers and will only edit/delete/lock content without creating any themselves.

This is a mistake – make sure your moderators know that their primary role is to encourage interaction, to encourage member involvement, and to encourage a sense of community within the forum. No point in having comments ‘pending’ for days, only to show up later when it is no longer relevant to the news…and it kills the natural flow of the discussion too.

There’s also no logic behind some censored/blocked posts where if you cut and re-paste it, it magically shows.

Have moderators working around the clock too, since people post from around the globe at all times. Forum moderators are there to encourage interaction – NOT stifle it!

Errol Gager

legager25@gmail.com

321 Dawes Rd

Toronto Canada

Like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jamaicaobserver

Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamaicaObserver

View the original article here

OBSERVER ONLINE READERS COMMENT - The role of the Online forum moderator

Chris Gayle ‘sexist’ comment draws ire of Antigua women’s group

Chris Gayle is deep in thought at Wednesday’s media conference in Antigua.

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, Friday July 18, 2014, CMC – A women’s rights group in Antigua has condemned as “sexist”, remarks made by Jamaica Tallawahs captain Chris Gayle to a female journalist, at a media conference here Wednesday.

And the group, Women Against Rape (WAR) headed by gender equity advocate Alexandrina Wong, has also criticised the response by the Caribbean Premier League to the incident.

Gayle, a former West Indies Test skipper, was asked by the journalist: “How does the pitch feel so far in terms of the training (and) the weather?”, ahead of Thursday’s Caribbean Premier League clash here between Tallawahs and Antigua Hawksbills.

The 34-year-old Gayle responded: “Well I haven’t touched yours yet so I don’t know how it feels”, before adding “I like your smile; that’s nice.”

However, the CPL downplayed the incident, saying that Gayle was just sharing a light moment with the female journalist.

“Chris is excited for the tournament and was having a laugh with a journalist, who had a laugh back; there was no malice intended,” the Antigua Observer quoted a CPL spokesman as saying.

“The lady in question had a jovial goodbye chat with him and we don’t believe this was the action of someone who was offended.”

Wong slammed Gayle’s statement and also called on the CPL to elicit an apology from the Twenty20 star.

“What it’s implying is one person’s power over another in the use of the language and so we can either say it’s sexist and hegemonic,” Wong said, adding that the response from the reporter “indicates that she obviously doesn’t know her right to autonomy.”

“She obviously doesn’t know her right when it comes to agency of body so that she can identify certain types of language, how they allude to her biology and what its saying about her as a person,” Wong continued.

“CPL should demand [an apology] from him because as senior officials they ought to know and to behave better when it comes to gender equality.”

View the original article here

Chris Gayle ‘sexist’ comment draws ire of Antigua women’s group

Tale of two sponsors: LIME reserves comment on Powell...

TELECOMMUNICATION giant LIME yesterday refused to comment on its embattled brand ambassador, Asafa Powell.

Powell failed a drug test at the JAAA National Senior Championships after his sample returned traces of the banned substance oxilofrine (methylsynephrine), following his 100m finals on June 21 at the National Stadium.LIME has sponsored the athlete since 2005.“LIME reserves comment and awaits the outcome of investigations,” the company said in statement issued to the Business Observer.Powell, 30, had never before failed a drug test. It is hoped that his “B” sample will be tested by next week.LIME’s reaction is far different from the way Adidas handled news on Sunday of its star sprinter Tyson Gay returning a positive doping test. The following day, the sportswear giant suspended its sponsorship of Gay.“We are shocked by these recent allegations, and even if we presume his innocence until proved otherwise, our contract with Tyson is currently suspended,” Adidas said in a statement.The 30-year-old Gay, the American record-holder in the 100m, has been backed by Adidas since 2005.“During this time he has been a great ambassador for the sport of track and field and our brand,” Adidas, which is based in Herzogenaurach, Germany, said.The shoe and sports clothing maker is invoking the clause in Gay’s contract relating to doping.“Adidas has a clear policy on doping and drug use,” the company said. “Each of the agreements with our athletes include a clear clause which states that the agreement shall be terminated by Adidas if the athlete is found guilty of the possession or use of drugs or any other prohibited substance by the relevant governing sports body having jurisdiction over the athlete.”Gay, who won the 100 and 200m at US national championships last month, has said he will have his “B” sample tested soon, possibly as early as this week.Gay has pulled out of next month’s world championships in Moscow. He reportedly fought back tears as he spoke about his positive result on Sunday.“I don’t have a sabotage story. I don’t have any lies. I don’t have anything to say to make this seem like it was a mistake or it was on USADA’s hands, someone playing games,” said Gay. “I don’t have any of those stories. I basically put my trust in someone and I was let down.”Powell did not qualify individually for the championships, but it was hoped that he would be a part of Jamaica’s sprint relay team. The man who has run nearly 90 sub-10-second races, more than any other human being, said his “attitude towards doping regulations and testing is well known, and I willingly give samples whenever requested”. The results has left him “completely devastated”, he said.Powell was among five Jamaicans who, it was announced, had failed doping tests after the National Trials.Additional reporting by The Associated Press(L-R) Powell… brand ambassador for LIME since 2005. Gay… brand ambassador for Adidas since 2005

View the original article here

Tale of two sponsors: LIME reserves comment on Powell...