Let Kerrome Forrest not die in vain
A happy, healthy, one year old boy, Kerrome Forrest, is now dead after receiving his state mandated MMR vaccine. He died less than 24 hours after receiving the vaccine.
So what is the response of the state? According to Dr Karen Lewis-Bell, Director of Family Health Services in the Ministry of Health and Environment “we have to do a thorough investigation” and while this is being done “a hold on the use of that vaccine” will be implemented. Dr Lewis-Bell declined to say what vaccine this is but we already know that it is the MMR vaccine --- mumps, measles, rubella -- childhood diseases which in themselves are not life threatening.
What is also not clear is whether it is a “hold” on that batch of vaccines (assuming it can be traced) or the entire MMR programme. In either case we believe that Dr Lewis-Bell and the Ministry of Health should stop playing GOD and initiate a public discussion about the safety of vaccines, and explain why parents should not have the right to chose whether to vaccinate their children or not.
But it is clear that unless pushed the MOH is not going to have such a public discussion because they have their own agenda (perhaps a special relationship with the pharmaceutical companies?) of pushing mandatory vaccines which have nothing to do with public health. Dr Lewis-Bell confirms this when she admits that though the “child had visited the health centre and received a vaccine” there is “no evidence to say that it is the vaccine that has caused the death of this child." Is Dr Lewis-Bell suggesting that the child died from unnatural causes?
Well, a postmortem was peformed on Monday June 29 and a cause of death could not be determined, except that lab tests will now be done on organ tissues. (The results are due in a month's time!) It is doubtful that the good public health doctor would be saying that there is no evidence if it were a bullet that had slammed into the head of this healthy child.
And why say that there is no evidence that the vaccine caused the death when usage of these vaccines has been suspended? The answer we believe is that Dr Lewis-Bell is confident that the vaccine will be ruled out by the government pathologist as the cause of death, and the programme will be resumed. No different from government pathologists assisting the police when examining the bodies of young men shot by them. It is called the circle of impunity.
The Ministry of Health working in tandem with the Ministry of Education is engaging in a form of genocide against Jamaican children by this mindless, unnecessary, and oppressive mandatory vaccination programme. The Health Act mandates vaccinations and threatens parents and principals with fines/jail time and expulsion from schools which contradicts the Education Act which makes public education mandatory.
The truth is that the MOH and health professionals can make no guarantee about the safety of vaccinations. Is there any health professional who can absolutely guarantee the safety of any of these vaccines and support that guarantee by putting up a bond in case of damage? In the case of damage to children, who should the parents sue: the government which mandates these vaccinations or the pharmaceutical companies?
It therefore stands to reason that in the absence of such guarantees parents should have the right to make a choice and the Health Act mandating vaccinations is therefore an oppressive and unconstitutional violation of the right to ‘life, liberty, and security of the person, freedom of conscience, and not to be subject to cruel and inhuman treatment’
It is time for the state to stop burying its head in the sand and recognize a growing epidemic of autism among Jamaican children, which is recognized world wide, as being linked to vaccines.
Let Kerrome Forrest no die in vain: It is time to reject mandatory vaccinations and have an intelligent public discussion about the harm being done to children. The state must be mandated to facilitate this discussion because of its already poor record in protecting the rights of children.
Lloyd D'Aguilar
482-2907
NB: Immediately after posting the above it was discovered that Dr Karen Lewis Bell lied when she said that the vaccine had been put on hold. There was no directive given to any of Jamaica's health centres to put the vaccine on hold. Just goes to show that as far as the state is concerned Kerrome Forrest is just a statistic and the state will continue its fascist-like policy of forcing healthy children to be vaccinated and to accept the risk of permanent damage or death. Is it farfetched to say that this sounds like attempted genocide?
Lloyd D'Aguilar
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
A comment on the Dudus/Manat Report:: The expected whitewash
Dear Dickie Crawford,
Since everyone knew that this would be a charade and a whitewash (and a great TV soap opera as it turned out) why do we all seem so worked up over the fact that Golding paid for and got what he wanted? In 2001 Seaga refused to play ball with the then Commission of Enquiry because he felt it would be a waste of time. It turned out that he was correct. In 2011 the PNP played ball because they felt that the Enquiry would what: uncover the truth?
Since no one insisted, certainly not KD Knight, nor Patrick Atkinson, that the Commission dig deeper in terms of finding out who paid the US$60,000 to Manat and Phelps -- where else was a smoking gun to be found? Golding and Vaz must be having a good laugh at how timid were Knight and Atkinson on this crucial matter. This was a far more serious matter than any banter about being a pathological liar.
So the question still remains: Did Coke pay Manat and Phelps? I once interviewed Dr Christopher Walker who said he had proof that Coke paid the money. Why did no one try to get him to provide the evidence he had?
On the other hand, who was the mystery JLP donor? If attention had been paid to cracking this nut – perhaps the $80 million plus would have been worth it. But the ball was dropped big time where this was concerned. Bull dogs Knight and Atkinson, and the PNP were of no use. They turned out to be pussy cats.
I must also say that the PNP has a challenge on its hands in terms of refuting the Commissioners’ argument that the turning over of the contents of Coke’s wiretap to the US was not a breach of the Interception of Communications Act. I’m still waiting on the PNP’s analysis. In the PNP’s mind the Phillips MOUs were OK but not everyone sees it that way. Phillips still needs to answer why he felt there was no need to tell anyone about them.
Give the Commissioners credit for underlining the potential for abuse in these MOUs. So have Coke’s lawyers in New York . Judges don’t investigate and so any request to tap Dickie Crawford’s phone could be accepted at face value by the judge (rubber stamped the NY lawyers called it) and no one will be the wiser because this is all secret stuff. This matter cannot be just swept under the carpet unless one is hopelessly naïve.
Finally, I hear no one demanding to know why a PNP government and the security forces conspired to turn over Coke’s wiretap evidence to the US while refusing to use it try him here in Jamaica for violating the country’s laws against illegal trafficking in guns and drugs. SOMETHING IS EXTREMELY STRANGE WHERE THIS IS CONCERNED AND ANSWERS MUST BE DEMANDED.
Finally, any government Commission of Enquiry into the crimes against humanity committed in Tivoli and other parts of west Kingston will be an equal fiasco. Both parties are quite happy that it was the Shower Posse that was dismantled rather than horrific crimes committed against innocent civilians.
These two parties are a total failure where justice for the Jamaican people is concerned. Organizations which seek to offer an alternative cannot just let such crucial matters pass by without engaging in more incisive analysis.
Lloyd D’Aguilar
Campaign for Social and Economic Justice
Since everyone knew that this would be a charade and a whitewash (and a great TV soap opera as it turned out) why do we all seem so worked up over the fact that Golding paid for and got what he wanted? In 2001 Seaga refused to play ball with the then Commission of Enquiry because he felt it would be a waste of time. It turned out that he was correct. In 2011 the PNP played ball because they felt that the Enquiry would what: uncover the truth?
Since no one insisted, certainly not KD Knight, nor Patrick Atkinson, that the Commission dig deeper in terms of finding out who paid the US$60,000 to Manat and Phelps -- where else was a smoking gun to be found? Golding and Vaz must be having a good laugh at how timid were Knight and Atkinson on this crucial matter. This was a far more serious matter than any banter about being a pathological liar.
So the question still remains: Did Coke pay Manat and Phelps? I once interviewed Dr Christopher Walker who said he had proof that Coke paid the money. Why did no one try to get him to provide the evidence he had?
On the other hand, who was the mystery JLP donor? If attention had been paid to cracking this nut – perhaps the $80 million plus would have been worth it. But the ball was dropped big time where this was concerned. Bull dogs Knight and Atkinson, and the PNP were of no use. They turned out to be pussy cats.
I must also say that the PNP has a challenge on its hands in terms of refuting the Commissioners’ argument that the turning over of the contents of Coke’s wiretap to the US was not a breach of the Interception of Communications Act. I’m still waiting on the PNP’s analysis. In the PNP’s mind the Phillips MOUs were OK but not everyone sees it that way. Phillips still needs to answer why he felt there was no need to tell anyone about them.
Give the Commissioners credit for underlining the potential for abuse in these MOUs. So have Coke’s lawyers in New York . Judges don’t investigate and so any request to tap Dickie Crawford’s phone could be accepted at face value by the judge (rubber stamped the NY lawyers called it) and no one will be the wiser because this is all secret stuff. This matter cannot be just swept under the carpet unless one is hopelessly naïve.
Finally, I hear no one demanding to know why a PNP government and the security forces conspired to turn over Coke’s wiretap evidence to the US while refusing to use it try him here in Jamaica for violating the country’s laws against illegal trafficking in guns and drugs. SOMETHING IS EXTREMELY STRANGE WHERE THIS IS CONCERNED AND ANSWERS MUST BE DEMANDED.
Finally, any government Commission of Enquiry into the crimes against humanity committed in Tivoli and other parts of west Kingston will be an equal fiasco. Both parties are quite happy that it was the Shower Posse that was dismantled rather than horrific crimes committed against innocent civilians.
These two parties are a total failure where justice for the Jamaican people is concerned. Organizations which seek to offer an alternative cannot just let such crucial matters pass by without engaging in more incisive analysis.
Lloyd D’Aguilar
Campaign for Social and Economic Justice
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Who will prosecute the State?
The Emil George Commission of Enquiry is reportedly recommending that the position of Attorney General be separated from the Justice Ministry and that it be a non-cabinet post.
If it is conceived that this newly separated Attorney General's office will still remains the Government’s chief legal advisor as it presently is, then this is just another game of musical chairs.
A more effective reform of this corrupt and oppressive state machinery would be to create an Attorney General’s Office or a Special Prosecutor, not to legally advise or defend the State (there is already a Solicitor General), but specifically for the purpose of investigating and prosecuting crimes committed by the State. Crimes such as those committed in Tivoli last year --- beginning with an investigation of the prime minister, the police commissioner and the head of the JDF for crimes against humanity --- or criminal negligence according to our local law. It goes without saying that this Attorney General/Special Prosecutor should not be answerable to the DPP. But don’t hold your breath.
The state protects the state and that is the root of so much of the injustice which exists in this country.
For example, politicians from both tribes may have corruptly benefited from the FINSAC debacle but nothing will ever come of it because Audley Shaw is more interested in scoring academic points (not even political points) against Omar Davies rather than going after corruption. What a waste and abuse of taxpayers’ money.
Millions of dollars have being spent on the Dudus Enquiry, the Finsac Enquiry, and even the 2001 Enquiry, all of which resulted in no public official ever being held accountable for anything.
Isn't it obvious that what is missing is that the State refuses to seriously go after its own crimes and abuse of power. And sadly, so-called civil society is politically disarmed and confused about about how to deal with state violence and state corruption.
As for the Emil Georges, until there is a proper accounting and punishment for the crimes committed in Tivoli (not to mention the cloudy stench of corruption that swirls over the head of the entire system), please spare us another charade of state reforms. We have had enough of that.
Lloyd D'Aguilar
If it is conceived that this newly separated Attorney General's office will still remains the Government’s chief legal advisor as it presently is, then this is just another game of musical chairs.
A more effective reform of this corrupt and oppressive state machinery would be to create an Attorney General’s Office or a Special Prosecutor, not to legally advise or defend the State (there is already a Solicitor General), but specifically for the purpose of investigating and prosecuting crimes committed by the State. Crimes such as those committed in Tivoli last year --- beginning with an investigation of the prime minister, the police commissioner and the head of the JDF for crimes against humanity --- or criminal negligence according to our local law. It goes without saying that this Attorney General/Special Prosecutor should not be answerable to the DPP. But don’t hold your breath.
The state protects the state and that is the root of so much of the injustice which exists in this country.
For example, politicians from both tribes may have corruptly benefited from the FINSAC debacle but nothing will ever come of it because Audley Shaw is more interested in scoring academic points (not even political points) against Omar Davies rather than going after corruption. What a waste and abuse of taxpayers’ money.
Millions of dollars have being spent on the Dudus Enquiry, the Finsac Enquiry, and even the 2001 Enquiry, all of which resulted in no public official ever being held accountable for anything.
Isn't it obvious that what is missing is that the State refuses to seriously go after its own crimes and abuse of power. And sadly, so-called civil society is politically disarmed and confused about about how to deal with state violence and state corruption.
As for the Emil Georges, until there is a proper accounting and punishment for the crimes committed in Tivoli (not to mention the cloudy stench of corruption that swirls over the head of the entire system), please spare us another charade of state reforms. We have had enough of that.
Lloyd D'Aguilar
Monday, June 13, 2011
Sinister role played by the Gleaner in Tivoli massacre
Dear Editor,
I would like to strenuously object to your continued mischief in regard to the facts of what happened in Tivoli in May 2010. I challenge you to prove that Coke’s “private militia” which gathered “in his Tivoli redoubt to resist the security forces and challenge the State” had anything to do with the overwhelming majority of the 73 residents who were killed by the security forces. This is what you suggest in your June 13 editorial when you write about a "fight that left 74 persons dead, among them a soldier."
The evidence so far is that these killings were the result of cold-blooded executions by the security forces and had nothing to do with this so-called resistance. Some of this testimony has been carried in your own newspaper but obviously you chose to conveniently ignore it.
By creating the false impression of any serious ‘resistance and challenge to the State’ you are complicit in providing a false defence to the charge of crimes against humanity having been committed by the security forces. May I also remind you, that if this charge were to be accepted by the International Criminal Court, which I hope it will, the prime minister, the police commissioner and then head of the JDF would be prime candidates to be charged for such crimes because of their pivotal roles in orchestrating this massacre.
It is most unfortunate that a newspaper that is so piously preaching against political gangs is blind to murder by the same gangs and criminals working for the State. But then again you were egging them on in 2010 with the same false arguments to teach Tivoli a lesson -- weren’t you?
Lloyd D'Aguilar
I would like to strenuously object to your continued mischief in regard to the facts of what happened in Tivoli in May 2010. I challenge you to prove that Coke’s “private militia” which gathered “in his Tivoli redoubt to resist the security forces and challenge the State” had anything to do with the overwhelming majority of the 73 residents who were killed by the security forces. This is what you suggest in your June 13 editorial when you write about a "fight that left 74 persons dead, among them a soldier."
The evidence so far is that these killings were the result of cold-blooded executions by the security forces and had nothing to do with this so-called resistance. Some of this testimony has been carried in your own newspaper but obviously you chose to conveniently ignore it.
By creating the false impression of any serious ‘resistance and challenge to the State’ you are complicit in providing a false defence to the charge of crimes against humanity having been committed by the security forces. May I also remind you, that if this charge were to be accepted by the International Criminal Court, which I hope it will, the prime minister, the police commissioner and then head of the JDF would be prime candidates to be charged for such crimes because of their pivotal roles in orchestrating this massacre.
It is most unfortunate that a newspaper that is so piously preaching against political gangs is blind to murder by the same gangs and criminals working for the State. But then again you were egging them on in 2010 with the same false arguments to teach Tivoli a lesson -- weren’t you?
Lloyd D'Aguilar
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