Again, I think the argument that most commentators made in opposition to Portia's continued tenure was that she failed to unify the party sufficiently, yet no-one critically examines the role of Phillips' supporters like Maxine Henry-Wilson who have barely bothered to conceal their contempt for Portia. None of Portia's failures are unilateral.

So  does Portia's victory vindicate her fully? And what are the pros and cons of Portia's victory?

While Portia's victory substantially vindicates her, I don't think her victory fully vindicates her, she won as a result of her superior organization and smarter political tactics. But her opponents also made some strategic errors such as absolving Phillips entirely for any responsibility he bore for the PNP losses in general and local elections as a PNP VP, and an influential government minister. Portia won as she has endeared herself to the delegates much more than Phillips and these delegates refused to buy into the argument that she was as horrible and detrimental to the party as the Arise and Renew campaign and Jamaica's media made her out to be. Further,  she is demonstrably more popular than Phillips and the truth is the JLP government is only a food riot, bad hurricane, or court verdict away from having to call a new general election; if that happens her popularity will be more important to a potential PNP victory than all Phillips' political education.

The Pros

1. Portia's victory has substantial benefits to the Jamaican state and for the Jamaican people. For one thing it presents a challenge to any plan the governing JLP may have made for a prospective general election. Her continued popularity and the comparative failures of the JLP in office when compared to her tenure as Prime Minister make her  a more formidable candidate, than Phillips and newspapers who were whining that delegates needed to vote in the best interests of the country failed to recognize that her personal popularity means her victory was the best interest of Jamaica; since as they profess 'a formidable Opposition is a deterrent to maladroit governance.'
2. Her re-confirmation gives much-needed stability to the Jamaican state and will force the JLP government to be more deliberative in the planning and execution of policies. Her charge that the governing JLP is "uncaring" was deftly and sincerely delivered, the JLP is vulnerable in perceptions of their concern.
3. Portia is an example to working class and lower-income people that hard work can pay off, it is a glimmer of meritocracy. This is a value-neutral statement to the extent that I dislike the corruption and criminality endemic to acquiring political power in Jamaica; but since Portia was able to join the PNP and 'out-corrupt' and 'out-criminal' her competitors without benefiting from nepotism; then it bodes well for Jamaica's capacity for meritocracy when we get rid of criminality and corruption endemic to acquiring power.
4. Lastly, maintaining a woman Opposition Leader is symbolic, Portia had in fact shattered the gender and class glass ceiling before and like the excellent journalists in the Gleaner's gossip column I found the reference in her victory speech strange. Increased political success for women and increased corporate opportunities nurture and sustain each other, so her re-election as president is a boon for the aspiring female CEO.

The Cons

1. Portia and her circle of supporters should not misinterpret her re-election as an endorsement of the present state of the party and the present modus operandi of its leadership. The delegates are unlikely to be endorsing the status quo which has resulted in two election losses; and instead the delegates seemed to endorse Portia's ability to carry out the necessary adjustments to that status quo.
2. Portia needs to make some hard decisions about how close she can remain to Phillip Paulwell , Colin Campbell, and others popularly believed to be corrupt while continuing to aspire to returning to Jamaica House.
3. Portia remains personally vulnerable in the Trafigura probe, and something unexpected could break that would undermine her popularity significantly.
4. Portia may misinterpret her victory, over-react in her 'house-cleaning,' and motivate estranged PNP MP's who supported Phillips to cross the aisle to the JLP. If this happens it will essentially ensure a full term for the JLP and diminish the possibility of an early general election which could lead to her resumption of the PM office.

For weeks leading up to the actual event, the main daily papers in Jamaica had a field-day writing few revelatory hard news pieces but many editorials about the campaign for the PNP presidency. Yet having fallen just shy of an outright endorsement for Peter Phillips, the losing candidate in the PNP presidential campaign, both major national dailies have comparatively little to say about the recent internal election and future prospects of the People's National Party. I find their behavior in this regard absolutely deplorable, bordering on depraved.

Admittedly the Jamaican news and comment cycle seems to be elongated in comparison to a British or American news and comment cycle. But is there any reason that today's Sunday issue of both papers wouldn't contain a full treatment and analysis of Portia Simpson-Millers's victory yesterday? I hope that I am wrong and even as we speak reporters are writing trenchant pieces digging into the meaning of Portia's victory and Phillips loss. Any worthwhile assignment editor should be busy managing an immense amount of traffic in the fallout of the election.

Yet I find it unlikely that the press in Jamaica will give Portia's victory anywhere near the true depth of coverage that it deserves, which is an extreme injustice to Jamaicans relying on them to be informed voters. After all their high-minded, hypocritical talk about the PNP presidential election being "not just an internal matter;" the media in Jamaica have treated it as just an internal matter in the aftermath of a result they didn't desire. This is not journalism, it is propaganda.

In fact the Jamaica Gleaner has continued its story line that only Portia's supporters displayed hostility in this race by publishing an account of an incident which strikes me as exceptionally one-sided.

However, there were tense moments late in the afternoon when a man sporting a Team PNP T-shirt took a T-shirt with the picture of presidential challenger Peter Phillips and placed it in the road and began to tread on it. A supporter of Phillips quickly rushed to pick up the T-shirt and a stand-off ensued. However, tempers were cooled after the Arise and Renew supporter said: "I refuse to go down that road with them."

Edmond Campbell, Sunday Gleaner, Sept. 21, 2008

I'm just going to say straight out I don't believe this really happened, unless the 'journalist' is completely incompetent. If it did happen, how come Edmond Campbell didn't approach the man tread-ding on the Arise and Renew shirt to seek comment about this man's feelings and behavior? We have only an un-sourced, anonymous comment about the incident to go off as we determine what happened and why? I don't believe it; it has never been my experience that one side in political contest, card game or soccer match is the epitome of boorish hooliganism and the other side is the very model of angelic behavior. This plotline that only Portia's Team PNP people have displayed hostility strains credulity. If this event happened I expect the journalist to note the result of his attempt to solicit comment from the alleged Team PNP supporter acting in this way; I expect a name and a quote of the Arise and Renew supporter intervening; and I expect comments to be solicited from other onlookers about the behavior of this Team PNP supporter and about whether this incident was an anomaly or commonplace throughout the day. Unless there is video or more evidence I don't believe it. The fact that we as readers are asked to believe only the journalist and take his word that this occurred is shitty journalism. What's more, given the demonstrated news bias (not the editorial commentary bias) of the Jamaica Gleaner against Team PNP and Portia I find this description a little too fantastic to believe and say again either Edmond Campbell was being incompetent or dishonest.

It is also my opinion that the Jamaica Gleaner yesterday breached a line of propriety by publishing another editorial clearly endorsing Phillips and his candidacy on the day of the election. This is a game of inches, as they say about American football, and it is perhaps difficult to explain the gradation. But even when the Gleaner first made their endorsement they remained a spectator on the sidelines. The repeated endorsement on the day of the election in my view is something no-one should be doing except those partisans that are most enormously invested -- and this is the appearance the Gleaner gave with it's 11th hour re-assertion of their endorsement for Phillips. They moved, in my view, from merely stating their opinion to protesting too much; from simply offering a perspective to what resembles a public-speaker feverishly pounding the lectern to support a point. They became an arm of the Arise and Renew campaign -- and to their embarrassment! How weak is your influence, how toothless your power, when the challenger you back so loudly and publicly loses by such a wide margin? Clearly the Jamaica Gleaner miscalculated the extent of their influence, and I dare speculate that the hard sell they pursued probably caused Phillips to lose some votes he previously had as nothing as good and renewing as he was made out to be needs to be sold so hard and aggressively.

Thankfully the Sunday Herald is here to save the day, and needs to be applauded for such. Today they look at

what Phillips loss means. Either they did what a great newspaper does and pre-wrote the piece about Phillips loss by planning for both possible outcomes; or they stayed up late and only put the issue to bed after the results came out last night. Either way, cheers to them.

I must repeat how tragic it is to consider when reading today's Jamaica Observer, Gleaner and even the Herald that there is a derth of full, robust coverage of this event. We all knew this day was coming for weeks and that either of the two possible results would have crucial significance to the Jamaican state and ultimately the Jamaican people. And the print media in Jamaica has to date utterly failed to plan and execute coverage that reflects that reality.

I don't know much about some of the new VP's, what's their full bio?  I don't know all the reasons why delegates many have switched their support from Phillips to Portia or vice-versa, what was their thought process? What will Maxine Henry-Wilson make as a next move? And on, and on the questions go. I am not the only one with these questions; everyone in Linstead and Falmouth is not apprised of the answers. To date the print press answers none of these, despite having the ability to plan this news event for months. This is incongruous with a free press in a democratic society. This is not journalism, it's what propaganda looks like.

Update on Tues. Sept 23 @ 9:20am to reflect correct name of incompetent Gleaner reporter.

After weeks of smearing, charges and counter charges the Peoples National Party PNP finally had its presidential elections yesterday after Peter Phillips challenged party president Portia Simpson Miller for the presidency. The Peter Phillips “Arise and renew” faction failed and flattered miserably for the second unsuccessful bid for the top job. The Portia Simpson led Team PNP” delivered what could be a knockout blow winning by 2332 delegates to Phillips 1969 delegates, the difference being 373 delegates. Mrs. Simpson Miller cornering the poor people vote and people who love the colour orange which help put her over the edge.

Roger Clarke is still searching for his blue card so that he can get to vote.

Love her or hate you have to give credit to a hand well played to Portia Simpson Miller. As I listened to her speech and watch this election there were a few things said that resonates with me. Earlier in the day she said after becoming president of the party in 2006 she kept the same team and even promoted a few of those who didn’t support her and instead supported her opponent. She also said that after she lost to former Prime Minister PJ Patterson years earlier she put aside personal ambition and gave him her full support.

With tunes like “Tarus Reilly’s-“she’s royal” and Shaggy’s-strength of a woman blaring in the national arena Simpson-Miller made mention of the symbolic glass ceiling. Immediately my thoughts went back to the US elections in the primaries where Mrs. Clinton talked about putting 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling. Well last night Mrs. Miller said she put a “dent” in the glass ceiling. I have never heard of a “dent” glass before so my guess is that Peter Phillips will be calling a mechanic to repair and re-enforce impact.

Out side the arena where Philips supporters congregate it was a somber mood. The bitter taste of defeat once again. Already they had pulled down tents and hassled out of the area. All the major supporters of the “arise and renew team” who were on television beaming with confidence earlier in the day were now invisible and hiding. There was even a woman with her head slouch on top of a car crying. I think it was because her bus to St. Thomas left her.

There was one middle aged man decked out in his Peter Phillips t-shirt, hat, pants, watch, and Phillips state of mind who was visibly upset. He articulated his views to the TVJ reporter very well and made some interesting points.

“the PNP need a better quality of delegates”

Translation?, the delegates are stupid, not intelligent enough to make a rational decision. He said if a person made a decision that was “fully thought out” then they could not come to the conclusion of keeping Simpson Miller as president of the party. He does have a point and if I might opine to agree with him.

As a political junkie excuse me while I put on my political analysis hat. Sort of like a beer mug for a drunk. The obvious fact remain that Mrs. Simpson Miller is a very popular figure in Jamaican politics. It is almost chilling when you hear some supporters telling you why they support her. It’s all passion. “mi love Poosha”-“Poosha, Poosha, Poosha”. I love her too but if there was any doubt about her leadership after the debate last year before the election is any indicator it is hard at this moment to see why anyone have confidence in her administration.

A friend of mine who supports Mrs. Simpson-Miller told me that just because Bruce Golding can articulate better doesn’t necessarily mean he would be a better Prime Minister. Sometimes politics is contradictory and confusing. As a Jamaican who has finally gotten an opportunity to see both parties in the drivers seat I hardly see any real difference. In my estimation the only try difference is green and orange.

As to her ability to manage a country, during the 18 months she was Prime Minister I didn’t see any major faults with her tenure although I think she squandered a huge opportunity to make an impression on the Jamaican electorate. There was no major crisis to deal with except for the tainted cement issue which she dealt with satisfactorily by lowering tariffs and allowing imports to deal with the shortage. There was the island wide blackout by the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) which she ordered an “investigation”-“report” which by the way is the same thing our current government has done with the blackout and even the prank JPS is playing on customers with these ridiculous electricity bills.

There were also Trafigura and the light bulb scandals which really tainted her administration badly. I think that Mrs. Simpson Miller is getting better as time goes by and this is why I think so. Notice that there is no longer a “team Portia” but a “team PNP” one might say this is trivial but the strategy is to not make the party about her or as they say in the media “personalities”. In the last general election the Jamaica Labour Party JLP tore apart Portia the candidate, may not remind you of those ads on television check youtube to refresh your memory. Also while listening to this campaign the once fire burn chant to the hypocritical media was completely reverse with warm embrace. In her speech she thanked the media several times.

In an interview yesterday on television she said:

“ I kept the same team because it was the a-team”

When asked about unity in the party by reporters she responded:

“Can one side unite anything?”

She also said that if she had done what she needed to do she would have won the last election. Translation?, get rid of the same old faces at the top and bring in new blood. Did you see the way that the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Gordon Brown fired his fellow party folks just for enquiring about nomination papers? I wonder if she is going to take a page out of his book.

Friendlier to the media, taking the focus off herself and acknowledging past mistakes, these are all signs of a smarter politician.

I almost forgot Dr Phinn the reverend with a crystal ball who predicted she would be elected Prime Minister last year was nowhere to be found. The new pastor is Rev Mel Gordon he led the National Arena into prayer before Mrs. Simpson Miller spoke but we are still waiting to find out if he has a crystal ball also.

The healing did not take place after the last internal election either. There could never be with a so-called 'lumpen' in power; This is no ordinary lumpen albeit - but one whom after 25 years had proved to herself and the nation that she was not PREPARED for the mantle of leadership. Portia - The 'failed experiment', the nation conceded.

This precipitated a challenge - a challenge which did not derive from personal ambition by Comrade Peter Phillips - but which had become mandatory - if the Party was to regain any political ground, respect and standing as a force in the society. Portia is important to this process, indeed; but many KNEW she could not lead/head the renewal.

To recast her in the same position is NOT to be seen as a VOTE OF CONFIDENCE in her leadership. It is, rather, a personal vindication for those who felt, on solely personal grounds, that a challenge should not have been effected, albeit indispensable. Portia FAILED miserably to UNITE the party post general election 2007. She arguabley COULD NOT as she, herself, represented (and continues to represent) the GREATEST SOURCE of discontent, division, and angst withinbher own party. Her personality is NOT made for leadership, not of the kind that the PNP is historically known for, and surely not of the kind that renders politcal healing or political settlment of the kind required to reunite the first nationalist party in Jamaica. For Portia to simply PRAY for healing is, not only to mock GOD, but proof of her totally out of touch, and out of place she is!

What we are left with is a party without footing. A party which today (September 20) after 70 years in existence - voted against real renewal, real progress and areal opportunity for rebirth and regeneration. It is like having a car which has been worn down, having done its time on the road and you refuse to take it in for servicing and/or repair. This is the kind of death that the JLP experienced with SEAGA when he failed to concede leadership. And the consequence of that attachment to power was there for all to see in the JLP"s absolute failure to win at the polls and the total lack of confidence in the party as a structure from which to pin the hopes of the Jamaican people.This lasted for some 18 years.

Portia's personal ambition became her ultimate driving force and motivator over and above a restoration of the PNP, and a commitment to governing. A political party's chief goal is to win elections. Everything else comes after that. Can Portia's PNP win an election under her leadership against a STRONG more united than they ever were JLP? Can POrtia really contest man to woman, Bruce Golding? Does Portia really have the confidence of the Jamaican electorate? Will die-hard PNP voters turn out to vote for Portia? Will the monied class support a PNP with Portia at the helm? These are the questions that Portia MUST ask herself? Why am I doing this? Do I fear becoming anachronistic, obsolete and insignificant were I to let go of the desire to lead the PNP?

Those who want power, in and of itself, are some of the greatest tyrants in history. A tyrant is not a leader make. But many tyrants are in positions of leadership. So the party cannot and will not unite simply on the basis that it should. It MUST out of necessity purge itself.

At this moment in history, all Portia's PNP will do is PURGE itself of those who contested and challenged it. It will, sadly, only PURGE itself of some its most able leaders, its historical stalwarts who had brought wisdom, intellect and ability to governance. It will PURGE itself of those who contributed time and effort to its successes over the years. It will PURGE itself of those who had rendered the party a respected and time-honoured institution that had served the Jamaican nation.

It will PURGE itself of its true mission, and replace it with a 'lumpen' agenda, and with folks who neither know government or governing (but 'politics' ); nor have the capacity to manage a society crumbling under the force of inaction, and lack of politial will. SADLY, Portia's PNP will not PURGE itself of its OWN LEADER, a leadership that inspires conflict, discontent, and un-confidence - all issues with form the basis of the Party's problems.

The much-maligned Mrs. Portia Simpson-Miller; current president of the seventy-year-old People's National Party; has survived the unprecedented leadership challenge by long-time party stalwart Dr. Peter Phillips. Previously, no incumbent president of the People's National Party has ever faced a challenger for re-election to the post.

This win comes despite the relentless bias Mrs. Simpson-Miller faced from the two Jamaican national daily newspapers; which both fell short of an outright editorial endorsement for Phillips; but made no secret of their desire to see Simpson-Miller leave power in ignominy and disgrace via their opinion editorials and slanted news coverage.

In the perennially prophetic words of iconic reggae superstar Bob Marley, the Jamaica Gleaner and Jamaica Observer each "drew a bad card." Through victory, Mrs. Simpson-Miller has been vindicated.

This blogger anxiously awaits new commentary from both editorial boards; and especially from frequent booster of Dr. Peter Phillips' candidacy, noted Jamaica Observer columnist Mr. Mark Wignall.

But seriously, as I digest that this is really the way which a president of one of our two major parties can be elected, I have one question rattling around in my head: Are these politicians, dem dey one dey, really the most adroit among us? Surely, they are not the best Jamaica has to offer.

I believe there is a direct relationship between the widespread prevailing political graft endemic to Jamaica and the many violent crimes emanating from under-educated youths (not to mention corporate graft.) You can draw a straight line from frequent political graft to the perception that there is no robust and competent law enforcement apparatus; and another straight line from that perception to a murder rate of 2,000 per year. Again I note that few important players are ever indicted AND convicted in Jamaica, such that the system of justice we have in place is one where merely to be charged with a crime creates the perception of guilt among members of the public à la the JCF's Bungles or the PNP's Kern. But in the end, save a little ignominy, there is no jail cell in the future of Bungles or Kern. None! So who, if anyone, will be indicted for the fraud that is alleged here, which is likely true? Will there be an investigation by an independent and competent authority? Will an important player go to jail as a result of these acts of fraud? Sadly we already know the answers to these questions. Yet despite setting the example time and again that "Nuh law nuh dey in Jamaica;" we think the only option we have to counter the violent and heinous acts of carnage engulfing the nation completely is via police brutality ("We need to shoot poor people"). Or at the other end of the spectrum are those that believe in slow-motion crime fighting via development and opportunity. Both these attitudes are wrong!

Rudy Giuliani got one thing right when it comes to crime fighting, and it a point that eludes commentators in Jamaica. I must note that despite my endeavors to be a charitable person who holds no malice for anyone, Rudy Giuliani is a man who continues to provide reasons for me to despise him. His coded racism with references to  Obama as a "community organizer"at the recent Republican convention is just a single addition to the list. Coincidentally it is due to police brutality that I began to despise Rudy. I already had passionate disagreements with his policies when a Haitian immigrant named Patrick Dorismond was murdered by the NYPD in March 2000. Giuliani, at that time the incumbent Mayor of NYC, released Dorismond's sealed juvenile criminal record to disparage the dead Dorismond. In addition, Rudy declared famously that Dorismond "was no altar-boy." Ironically, Dorismond had in fact been an altar boy, and an alumnus of the same school Catholic school which Giuliani had attended. So it takes alot for me to agree with Rudy, and he once made a rather salient observation which I am forced to paraphrase as I can't find the exact wording. What Rudy Giuliani observed was that despite no tremendous/trans-formative increase in funding for social programs, crime in many NYC neighborhoods and even among several demographics (read: black-on-black crime) went down dramatically when the NYPD started to enforce the laws aggressively against everyone in the 1990's.

Many people have heard of the broken windows theory of policing, as first implemented by former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton (even though Rudy takes all the credit.) And, indeed as the linked Wikipedia entry points out, there are several convincing arguments to be made that the zero-tolerance policies that grew out of the theory were not the only determinants in the decrease of crime in New York City. Yet I think only a fool would deny that the zero-tolerance policy has had a salutary effect on the quality of life in the City; it created the perception of a robust law-enforcement apparatus. This has been a crucial factor in sensitizing would-be criminals to the ability of the law to reach them and punish them.

I'm going to repeat that for emphasis: the zero-tolerance policy has been a crucial factor in sensitizing would-be criminals to the ability of the law to reach them and punish them.

Ultimately an analogy of what most Jamaican commentators are suggesting vis-à-vis the high local crime rate is this; now the cow has gone through the gate, our recourse is to slam the gate shut really, really violently. What they fail to realize is that not only will this tactic fail to bring back the errant cow, but it will also damage the gate such that slammed enough times the gate will eventually fall off.

These adherents of the Shoot Poor People School of Crime-Fighting were loud and obnoxious in their calls to capriciously abridge the right and lives of the poor and poorly-connected even if the perception of no law in Jamaica among the masses will only rise as a result. I note that these commentators have to date made no calls that the rights or lives of our political leaders be similarly abridged in the wake of the PNP delegate allegations. So let me step into the vacuum and call for the PNP leaders to be investigated and arrested and tried for fraud or other relevant crimes in the wake of this despicable episode. Let justice be done though the heavens may fall.

Oddly, many Jamaicans fail to understand how stabilizing the effect of arresting those in Cabinet ministers, Parliamentarians and political hangers-on that violate the law would be for the country. When you enforce the law aggressively and consistently in an even steady way (versus capriciously in selective fits and starts) you send a message to all citizens about the rule of law in the society. You make a statement about the ability of the law to reach and punish anyone, anytime, anywhere for any crime! Rather than destabilize the country, it would foster greater stability -- assuming we'd still have a quorum in Gordon House.

I have an example for you. I recently tweeted that readers should Google Governor Rowland, Governor McGreevey, and Governor Spitzer. In the NY tri-state area all these Governors have been forced from office in that order. Fmr Connecticut Governor, John G. Rowland (Republican) was forced from office in mid-2004 for financial corruption -- he admitted to accepting bribes. Fmr. New Jersey Jim McGreevey (Democrat) resigned in late-2004 as well, not as a result of being "a gay American" as he stated; but due to the fact he appointed his unqualified male lover to a sensitive state post. McGreevey put his Israeli boyfriend, Golan Cipel, in charge of homeland security for New Jersey; yet Cipel was so unqualified that the federal government refused to issue him a security clearance --- long before anyone knew of their affair. And finally Fmr. New York Gov. Elliott Spitzer  (Democrat) resigned in March of this year when caught on a federal wire-tap getting a high dollar hooker shipped across state lines to a sexual rendezvous in Washington, DC.

That much most well-informed Jamaicans are likely aware of, what you may not know is this. In each of these cases, the person who became Governor as a result of these scandalous resignations was more liked and performed better than their predecessor. Lt. Gov. Jodi Rell became the second female governor of CT when she replaced Rowland and she was handily re-elected on her own mandate in 2006 due to her overwhelming popularity. NJ didn't have a Lt. Governor, so the president of the state senate, named Dick Codey, became governor when McGreevey resigned. Codey was so beloved that several polls showed how easily he could fend off any Republican challenge in the subsequent gubernatorial election. The only reason Codey didn't run was that the sitting federal senator Jon Corzine (with his investment banking wealth) pretty much bought the support of the state Democratic Party with big donations, thus Corzine is the incumbent Governor of New Jersey. But when Corzine is term limited out of office, I'm confident Codey will be the Democratic nominee and will likely be elected governor.

Finally the man that replaced Spitzer was NY's Lt. Gov. David Paterson; who is both the first black governor of NY and first legally blind governor in all America. Born to a mother named Portia and a half-Jamaican father, Paterson is a delight to listen to on TV or in person. And his administration to date has been among NY's most extra-ordinary, especially given the problems he's faced with the recession and dramatic drop in Wall St. revenue to NY coffers. Given the chance to support Paterson's election to his own mandate as Governor, I'd happily do it.

So what is my point: As Bob Marley says "when one door close don't you know, another is open."

Speaking of Bob Marley, Annie Paul recently posted a video of Natural Mystic on her blog that contained footage of Bob's funeral. In the video from 0:29seconds to 0:36seconds you see Edward Seaga (PM at the time) and Michael Manley (Opposition Leader at the time) greet and shake hands. Behind Seaga are two young men who carried themselves more like his bodyguards than his colleagues; they are Pearnel Charles and Edmund Bartlett. Now I have nothing against these two gentlemen in particular, yet I think it is unlikely that since May 21, 1981 when Bob Marley's funeral was held and today 2008 -- a period of over 27 years -- there have been no Jamaicans born who were better qualified to take up the reins of political leadership in Jamaica. Many more will have to suffer yes, ask me why?  Because we have the same stagnant thinking choking our nation in a stranglehold.

Whether it is Portia or Bruce; Peter or Pearnel  all of them have been in power too long. A time fi dem left now. And if not willingly, then we need to prosecute some of this graft and fraud that has been taking place in Jamaica since 1981 and before. So to all the commentators in Jamaica that advocate we slam the gate violently in poor communities by shooting poor people, what will you say about the latest PNP revelation/allegation by Paul Burke --- who will call for us to close this door with some arrests? Where are the calls for hard policing in Parliament?

The core of the argument is that those who now back Peter Phillips are simply prejudiced against her because she is woman of modest origins and black. In a most stunning display of her signature irrationality, Simpson Miller has drawn a straight line from the treatment of the slaves to the treatment of black Jamaicans in colonial times to the treatment of herself by the inheritors of the Drumblair heritage - the supposed elitists. Black against white. Rich against poor. Man against woman. Those who have a different view of the future of the PNP are against Simpson Miller.

Mark Wignall, Sunday Observer, August 31, 2008

The above quote by Mark Wignall in his Sunday column is meant to chastise Portia for her "signature irrationality" in contending that many of her detractors are motivated by her "pedigree" more than they are motivated by her performance.

Whereas I would never indict ALL supporters of Phillips with the charge of racism and sexism, is there any doubt that many, if not the majority of them, are motivated either by their own sexism and racism or what they percieve to be the racism and sexism of others?  Is Wignall that blind?

Least we forget:

It was the Jamaica Gleaner that depicted Simpson-Miller as a "virago" as a reminder of her class origins. And let no-one pretend that if Portia had asserted that the PM is not responsible for crime strategy, in the way that Bruce did, both the Observer and Gleaner would have been braying for her resignation. If Bruce had to contend with the raw-deal-press that Portia was given he would have resigned or called an election already.

I was reading Barbara Gloudon's column that appeared in the Jamaica Observer on Friday before last, and found it strange that parliamentarians are continuing to lampoon poor people. Not just any parliamentarians though, according to Gloudon JLP MP's were among those making a boisterous mockery while their colleague carried on a show-and-tell regarding the steep rises in basic food prices.

The JLP-parliamentarians' actions remind me of Haitian President René Préval, who prior to the food riots in Haiti, lampooned those critics of his government's response to the explosive inflation in food prices.

Leaders who ignore the rage do so at their own risk. President René Préval of Haiti appeared to taunt the populace as the chorus of complaints about la vie chère — the expensive life — grew. He said if Haitians could afford cellphones, which many do carry, they should be able to feed their families. “If there is a protest against the rising prices,” he said, “come get me at the palace and I will demonstrate with you.”

Source: New York Times, April 18, 2008

Frog say what a joke to you a death to me, thus it was funny to see the response of President Preval when the protesters took him up on that offer as they tried to rip off the gates to the presidential palace. He cowered behind the Brazilians patrolling the country as U.N. peace-keepers.

While I would take no pleasure in seeing Duke Street filled with Molotov-cocktail-wielding mobs, apparently our politicians don't care. Which indicates to me the enormous sense of hubris and arrogance that surrounds the JLP functionaries' attitude to their power. Oddly, they are in the precarious position of being on the equivalent of employee probation right now,  new-jacks with no track record of success to obligate the patience of their employers. But their behavior is as if a dem birthright fi siddung pon di government side. Ironically it was this sense of arrogance and hubris which led to the PNP's loss of power, in my opinion. Yet, in only nine months of tenuous power the JLP is perfectly duplicating a perspective it took the PNP an entire eighteen years - and an unprecedented four consecutive general election wins - to cultivate.

Further it is worthwhile remembering that this is not the first time the JLP members have made the plight of the poor a laughing-stock in Gordon House. During Portia Simpson-Miller's presentation in the budget debate, the Opposition Leader was roundedly mocked when speaking about the plight of the poor. Look at the videos below; from 4:32 in the first video and almost all of the second video. Compare and contrast the rhetoric and posture of the JLP hecklers against Portia's poise and demeanor. Remember this is Portia "Don't draw my tongue" Simpson-Miller, so to achieve that contrast they had to be carrying on really bad.

At 7:13 in the first video, the Minister of Agriculture Chris Tufton, appears to be sleeping through the Opposition Leader's call for action on food prices. The Minister of Agriculture. Really!?!

Didn't the JLP win in part due to an ad called Cock mouth kill cock? Didn't that ad show a sleeping Maxine Henry-Wilson from the PNP at 1:16 in the ad?

Again, it would seem to me that very few in politics in Jamaica truly understand the power of images, not even the beneficiaries of their power. The same way the JLP swept the PNP out of power on the back of this ad with all this footage from parliament is the same way the PNP can return to power by highlighting footage and imagery of the JLP acting-up and carrying-on like leggo-beasts in parliament. The JLP belly full, but many people in Jamaica are hungry.

Yet the JLP is not alone in failing to understand the power of images, take Peter Phillips and his announcement of his challenge to Portia Simposn-Miller for the presidency of the PNP. Was the only podium he could find to make his announcement that one in Harbour View, where the Opposition Leader was literally in the background looming larger than he is; she is 'smiling', 'confident', and dare I say 'somewhat sexy'? Who would want to be literally overshadowed by their opponent at such a crucial moment? Peter Phillips.

I've seen high school candidates in the U.S. pay greater attention to the judicious use of imagery than so-called seasoned Jamaican politicians. Our politicians are rank amateurs at this, and sometimes I wonder where they'd be without political bribery and murder. All this betrays a lack of finesse, and this is before we examine Peter Phillips' failure to inform Portia of his challenge prior to the announcement, which was tacky and classless. To be sure, Portia had to know that Peter Phillips was planning to run, just as everybody who is anybody in the party had to know he planned to run. All the more reason Phillips should have made a congenial call about 15 minutes prior to taking the stage to tell Portia directly how much his challenge would "strengthen and invigorate the party," and "help focus the PNP on our core mission so we come out stronger;" boilerplate bullshit platitudes yes - and a neccessary protocol in political life. If he couldn't be trusted to understand the diplomatic protocol required in dealing with Portia, why should he be in line to be Prime Minister, a position where diplomacy is more necessary?

Chanel nail polish is fit for tomboys. Even though I’m a fashion maven when it comes to beauty Je suis nul. I know nothing about beauty secrets and wax, what? Tweezers huh? I never saw the difference on my face after I got my eyebrows waxed, yet others saw an amazing difference. To me I looked the same.

I grew up in a household of women who just wore red lipstick nothing more. Saturday’s were for doing your nails before church on Sunday, I was never really interested in those things. Make-up was forbidden until your 18th Birthday, so I never really got into the early years of teenage make-up. Now that I am older I am happy that I did not get into it cause my skin looks great and I am not afraid to walk out the house with out it. I feel make-up and too much attention on beauty for young teenage girls ruins there out look on what it means to be beautiful. Take for example my 16-year-old sister who says she cannot leave the house with out make-up. She is beautiful and does not even need mascara!

I have always been a tomboy and painting my nails was a nightmare! Actually my little sister taught me how. I could never stay in the lines. I had the luxury of going to the Chanel fashion show and in the goody bags was Chanel nail polish!! I hardly ever painted my nails until the other day when I went on an interview and asked about dress code in the office. The main thing that stayed in my mind was the comment about nice looking nails.

So I decided to test out the Chanel #159 Fire. Wow I am in love; the polish dries quick enough for someone with ants in their pants, who can never sit still enough for her nails to dry properly. Hence I went out to buy another colour today Rouge Noir, at 19.60 € I had to calm myself down because some of the new colours Melrose hot pink, a purple Rodeo Drive, and orange La Sunrise and a blue black are to die for, so many choices!

Thank you Peter Phillips the new Global Creative Director of Chanel Makeup for designing four “cult worthy, limited-edition nail colours in Pop –Art inspired shades.”

Available on: http://www.chanel.com

A year ago today, Princes William and Harry hosted a marathon charity concert at London's Wembley Stadium to celebrate the birthday and the life of their late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. The shindig lasted for hours, with classic music acts loved by Diana and newer artists favored by her sons performing. Music acts were interspersed by personal memories of the Princess and special messages from her favorite charities and causes. Photographs of the Princess were featured prominently on video screens throughout the stadium, including some rare family pictures.

The concert was attended by 63,000 people. Celebrities and members (and friends) of the royal family were among the audience members, including William, Harry, Chelsy Davy, Earl Spencer and his children, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Zara Phillips, Mike Tindall, Peter Phillips, Autumn Kelly and (notably) Kate Middleton, from whom Prince William had reportedly split in April '07. The event was televised live and broadcast all over the world. We're pretty sure it was also the only time that the English National Ballet and Kanye West have ever performed at the same event (though we could be wrong, of course). Enjoy our photo and video coverage of the concert: pick out your favorite royals and celebrities in the photos below, and enjoy selected performances from the day.

YouTube Links

• BBC News reporting from the Concert for Diana
• Andrea Bocelli sings "The Music of the Night" from Phantom of the Opera
• Take That sings "Back for Good"
• Lily Allen performs "Smile"
• Tom Jones and Joss Stone sing "Ain't That a Lot of Love"
• The Feeling perform "Fill My Little World Right Up"
• Sir Elton John sings "Your Song"
• Ricky Gervais and Mackenzie Crook do "Free Love Freeway" from The Office
• Cat Deeley introduces Anastacia's performance of "Jesus Christ Superstar"
• Josh Groban and Sarah Brightman sing "All I Ask of You"
• Wills busts out some sweet dance moves to Nelly Furtado's "Maneater" -- Harry pulls an HM and is not amused

Get the DVD!: Concert for Diana

Pictures

Princes William and Harry thank the crowd at the concert

Chelsy Davy, Prince Harry, and Prince William enjoy the concert with friends and family (that's Diana's niece, Kitty Spencer, behind William)

Kate Middleton and Zara Phillips chat during the concert; also pictured (to the right of Zara) are Mike Tindall, Autumn Kelly, and Peter Phillips, with the Middleton family seated behind them

Princess Beatrice and Eugenie also attended; they're sitting behind Diana's brother, Earl Spencer

After party! Prince William, Natasha Bedingfield, Tom Jones, Joss Stone, and Prince Harry

Prince Harry with rappers Kanye West and P. Diddy (Puff Daddy, Diddy, Sean Combs, whatever)

It's time for the inaugural run of a new feature for TRR: the Reader Response Poll! Here's your first question:

Now that Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's eldest grandchild, Peter Phillips is married off to our favorite adorable Canadian, Autumn Kelly, which royal grandchild do you think will have his/her face printed on the tea towels next?

a) Zara Phillips, daughter of Princess Anne, and rugby-playing boyfriend Mike Tindall,

b) Prince William, son of Prince Charles, and job-hopping girlfriend Kate Middleton,

c) Prince Harry, son of Prince Charles, and law-student girlfriend Chelsy Davy, or

d) Princess Beatrice, daughter of Prince Andrew, and American boyfriend Dave Clark (not of the five)

Lock in your vote in the comments ... bonus points for those with insider information, supporting evidence, or just dream scenarios for the next big fat royal wedding!

• On This Day in History: Robert the Bruce Triumphs over the English (1314)
• Scandalous!: Autumn and Peter's "Freebie" Honeymoon
• Runway to Royal: Kate Middleton, Style Icon?

News

• Prince Philip mourning the loss of one of his oldest friends (scroll down): Daily Mail
• Assault accusation for sailor on Prince William's ship: PR-Inside.com, Daily Mail, The Press Association, Daily Mail
• Princess Anne visits Taunton: Somerset County Gazette
• Day Two of Charles and Camilla's visit to Wales, including their new home: Scotsman, Western Telegraph, Daily Mail, South Wales Evening Post, Blackpool Gazette, WalesOnline, Telegraph, The Press Association, Daily Mail, Western Telegraph, Daily Mail
• Royal mistress Nell Gwyn's shopping bills to be auctioned next month: Daily Mail
• More on Wills's birthday polo outings with Harry and Kate: Metro.co.uk, Thaindian News, AHN
• Continuing coverage of the Phillips honeymoon: The South African

Gossip

• Prince Charles's charity upset about Prince Edward's planned balloon release: Thaindian News, Mirror
• More engagement rumblings for Wills and Kate: Casino Beacon, Now Magazine Online

Pictures

Prince Andrew enjoying himself at the opening of the LG European Design center in London

The Queen and Prince Philip at the 400th anniversary Commemorative Service at Temple Church in London and the re-dedication of the Royal Charter

Camilla and Charles on a walkabout during their Wales visit

Those of you following the just-minted marriage of Autumn Kelly and Peter Phillips have no doubt read about their scandalous sale of their wedding photos to Hello! Magazine for half a million pounds (that's one million smackers American).  Now the Daily Mail is reporting another trade off by the Phillipses for photos: they paid for their honeymoon by providing publicity photos for the swanky resort in South Africa where they spent their first weeks together.  We linked the story a few days ago, and now it's starting to spread to multiple news outlets.  Many are outraged over Peter and Autumn's willingness to sell their image for money and perks.

We think Autumn and Peter are perfectly entitled to pose for whatever pictures they want, at any time, for any price. It's their life; it's their choice. But they must understand that choosing to make money from these photographs goes against everything the Phillips kids have said all along about their place within the royal world. They have always maintained that they are indeed royal grandchildren, but grandkids with exceptions: their lack of titles means that they have a right to a certain measure of privacy and security that fellow grandkids like William, Harry, Bea, Eugenie, Louise, and James don't have. Princess Anne and Mark Phillips chose not to have Peter and Zara titled so that they would be outside the glare of the media. Stunts like this one, and the Hello! Magazine wedding deal, seem to contradict that plea for commoner status.

If they really are committed to being just "normal" people, so that cameras don't have the "right" (as some say they do) to follow them the way that they can the Waleses, Yorks, and Wessexes, they should not exploit their borderline royal status by trading promotional photos for trips. They need to make a choice -- either they are peripheral family members like the Chattos, the Linleys, and the younger Windsor children, or they are the kind of royal celebrities that Harry and William are. If they are going to capitalize on their royal pedigree, perhaps they should be prepared for the effects of opening their lives to public scrutiny (see: Spencer, Lady Diana and Ferguson, Sarah).

Autumn and Peter have not, to our knowledge, cried foul over any intrusions into their privacy yet. Zara has, as recently as last week, when she asked paparazzi in New Zealand if they treated "normal people" in such a way. But then, Zara has yet to sell wedding pictures for thousands of pounds or trade free trips for promotional snaps. If she and Mike Tindall do make it down the aisle, it will be interesting to see how the two deal with the temptation of media deals, especially because the two of them, as professional athletes, have already opened a little part of their lives to the world.

It's a classic case of not being able to have it both ways. Either you are in the public eye, or you are not. Lack of titles aside, we think that Autumn and Peter's media deals have seriously compromised any hopes for a quiet life away from the cameras.

• Runway to Royal: Princess Eugenie Wears Collette Dinnigan
• On This Day in History: Marriage Treaty with Portugal (1661)
• Top Ten Trivia: Princesses of Wales (Why Kate Might Not Want to Wait)

News

• June 21 Court Circular: Times Online
• Prince Charles and Camilla move into their new Welsh home and begin five-day tour of Wales: BBC News, The Press Association, WalesOnline, South Wales Evening Post
• Prince Charles tries to get Asian businessmen to commit to environmental changes: Argentina Star, Deccan Herald
• More coverage of Prince William's birthday: TMZ.com, NDTV.com, Mirror.co.uk, Entertainmentwise, Daily Mail, Hello!, The Sun, Daily Mail, People Magazine
• Phillips honeymoon photo controversy continues: Monsters and Critics

Gossip

• William reportedly planning a Christmas proposal: PR-Inside.com, Monsters and Critics

Pictures

Charles and Camilla (center) explore the new cloisters at St. David's Cathedral in Pembrokeshire

The Queen presents awards yesterday at the Al Habtoor Royal Windsor Cup Final 2008

Prince Charles takes a salute during the Territorial Army centenary celebration

Charles and Camilla conference during the Territorial Army centenary

Wills and Kate get close at his birthday party on Saturday night

Kate cheers for William during Sunday's polo match

Kate's warm welcome for William's ex-girlfriend, Jecca Craig

• Celebrations: Happy Birthday, Prince William!
• On This Day in History: King Edward III Dies (1377)
• Mad Hattery!: Royal Ascot 2008, Day Five
• Where's William?: Birthday Edition - Polo in the Rain

News

• Prince William turns 26: Telegraph, Daily Mail, TeleText, The Press Association
• The Queen meets "The Queen" as Helen Mirren meets HM for tea: People Magazine
• More on Zara's trip to see Mike play in New Zealand: Monsters and Critics, PR-Inside.com
• Southport chef honored by Prince Philip: Southport Visitor
• Press for Anne de Courcy's biography of Lord Snowden (father of David Linley and Sarah Chatto): Times, Monsters and Critics
• Prince Edward on official visit to Macclesfield: Chester Evening Leader
• Prince Harry plans vacation for Army buds in African desert: The Hindu, Thaindian.com
• Princess Bea joins Aunt Sophie in raising funds for Best Buddies International: Hello!
• And the Phillips photo controversies continue - Peter and Autumn reportedly trade exclusive pics for free honeymoon: Daily Mail

Gossip

• Jessica Fellowes says that if Kate wants Wills, she'll have him: Telegraph
• Kate gets "official" girlfriend status with BRF?: Thaindian.com
• More recycling of the "Queen wants Kate to get a job" story: The Courier-Mail

Pictures

The Queen praises her winning horse at Royal Ascot

Prince Harry presents awards at England v. New Zealand polo

Controversial honeymoon photos of Autumn and Peter Phillips

Mr. and Mrs. Phillips on safari

Well, okay, so not really. But after playing both Queens Elizabeth, surely she counts as an honorary member of the family? (And we love the hat, Hel -- A-plus!) Anyway, back to the actual royal family...

There's the Queen. And I think she looks absolutely lovely today. Prince Philip looks a little comatose in this shot, but the guy's 87 ... if he wants to sleep with his eyes open during his umpteenth procession at Ascot, let 'em. We read somewhere that she wore this hat once already in Malta, but it's definitely a good one to repeat. It's not too fussy, and it looks like something that should be worn in June at the races by a queen. The only thing we don't like are the black gloves ... why not white? Is there some rule against white gloves at Ascot that we don't know about? The dress code is more extensive than the one at most American high schools, so we may well have missed it. But, as for the hat:

So, we must have been very good little girls this year, because Father Christmas brought us Beatrice, Eugenie, and Autumn for Ladies' Day!

And ... they don't look terrible! Not a blessed one of them! (And here's a secret -- don't tell anyone -- we don't hate any of their hats!) Autumn's so giggly and happy and bubbly -- we adore this new Canadian shot of adrenaline in the arm of the Firm!

So, as to the hats:

I think the reason that this actually works so well is the color -- the pink is fabulous. When the sun shines down on her, the whole thing casts a nice rosy glow on her face. It's lovely, and exactly the opposite effect of Camilla's big aqua hat -- that one gave more of a "seasick" hue than a blushing pink.

(Sidenote: Also, the Queen's favorite grandson looks smashing. [Don't deny it, we're pretty sure it's absolutely true. He doesn't stumble around drunk and has a job and acts like an adult and married a pretty little Canadian lady.] If only someone would forcibly knight him or something so we could have more pictures of these two kissing sick babies at hospitals and pulling back those stupid little curtains from plaques!)

See, she's all glowing and blushy! So, even though the hat is gigantic in size, we love it. It's perfectly extravagant without being silly-looking. We give it a very respectable:

We even like Eugenie's hat today!

Word on the street says that Beatrice wore this out a couple of years ago, so good for the Yorksters for recycling those thousand-dollar chapeaus. Anyway, l like it -- even though it does have those stupid non-feather-feather things all over the top. Eug's Auntie Camilla should take note here. This hat isn't that different from the monstrosity she wore at Trooping the Colour last Saturday, but there is one important difference: Eugenie is still a precocious streaking teenager, and Camilla is, well not. This looks sort of whimsical on a Yorkie princess, and it just looked silly on the Duchess. But even so, it's all feathery and frilly, so it lands here on the scale:

We're even moderately okay with what Beatrice plopped on her crown today:

It isn't stuck to her forehead, for starters! And it's quite architectural and abstract, not jammed full of random feathers and dip-dyed roses and random metallic-looking junk (ahem -- Sophie). It's not our favorite thing in the world, but it's not hideous, so faint praise is what she'll get from us. (And we love her hair today. Love!) But the non-hat-ness of this gets it shoved in the same category as Eugenie's:

But ... Anne. Oh, Anne. If we had a genie in a bottle, and he granted us three wishes, our first would be for an eternal shopping spree at H&M, our second would be for world peace, and our third would be for a new hairstyle and hat for you, dear. Why in the world doesn't Zara take her aside and mention that a new 'do would take years off her age? The Saturday Night Fever-esque brushed back front is doing her zero favors. And all we'll say about the hat is the following: read what we said about Camilla wearing feathers above, and take it to heart. It's so weird even to say, but the Princess Royal gets the same rating as the Princesses of York:

Hey, Princess Haya read our blog, and she took our advice to heart!

Yep, she and the Sheikh liked it so well yesterday that they came back for more! And Princess Haya's hat is situated just perfectly on her head. It doesn't look like it's suspended in mid-air. And that's a good thing. The big wide brim lands her in Autumn Phillips territory with a:

So, we saved the biggest for last: you guys, someone actually took our challenge to heart and tried to beat out Bea's bug hat. Unfortunately, this nameless lady is not (to our knowledge) related to the royal fam, so she's sort of automatically disqualified. But heads up to any of the Gloucesters or Kents planning to make a cameo tomorrow: wear this thing, and you automatically win the big prize.

Now that, friends, is some serious Mad Hattery. (And we're not even going into the hats decorated with cheeses and replicas of bathrooms -- we're not sure we would survive the snarking.)

So, stay tuned for tomorrow -- there's bound to be more hat ridiculousness afoot (ahead?). See you then!

Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly were wed at the castle's 15th-century St. George's Chapel in front of 300 guests. The royalty present included the queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, and Phillips' mother, Princess Anne. Prince Harry, the third in line to the throne, and his girlfriend Chelsy Davy were also there.

The bride wore a traditional white dress and a tiara lent to her by her mother-in-law.

Phillips -- 11th in line to the throne -- met Kelly in 2003, when both were working at the Montreal Grand Prix.

They've agreed to sell the story of their nuptials to the celebrity magazine Hello! for a sum reported at up to $1 million.

Congrats to Pointe-Claire native Autumn Kelly and the Queen's eldest grandson Peter Phillips on their wedding! 

See we have some celebs. And I LOOOOVVVEEEEE that none of Autumn's friend's and family back in Pointe- Claire would sell her out to the tabloids. 

Well, we aren't. No matter how hard people try to resurrect the Member's Only jacket and varying styles of Ray Ban sunglasses.

But I am very fond of this color palette Chanel's creative director Peter Phillips has created for the upcoming holiday season.

As a child, my mother would faithfully take me on trips with her, every couple of months, to the Iman make-up counter to purchase a beautiful shade of gold lipstick.

It always looked great and complimented her skin tone perfectly. So, once I saw this collection full of warm brown, bronze, and gold I immedatately thought of my dear mother. I know, it's almost mother's day, tear.

Of all the collections Chanel has done, this one would definitely be the most friendly towards minority beauty.  Up until now, I've only purchased nail polishes from the brand, but this line has me sincerely debating whether or not I should drop sixty dollars on a eye shadow quad.

Oh, and about that nail polish: It's called Gold Friction and will be released in stores along with the rest of the products from this Gold collection in July.

He will now remain in the succession. He's still getting married to the same person. His intended, Autumn Kelly, has conveniently converted to Anglicanism. She has been receiving instruction from the Dean of Windsor and was confirmed in the C of E. None of the news articles indicate which bishop confirmed her.

This has raised hackles on various sides of the argument. Reading the comments on the various online newspaper articles, some people are outraged that she would have to leave her faith for him to keep his place. Others ostracise her for giving in. Some think he is being selfish for making her leave the Catholic Church rather than giving up his place.

I really don't see what all the kerfuffle is about. News articles all say they don't know whether she was a practicing Catholic. If they would read their own articles they would realise that she wasn't. She has been living with Peter for a long time without the benefit of marriage. They have a flat in London and a cottage in Gloucestershire.  They live in open fornication.

The question I have is why she was confimed in the Church of England in the midst of what should be scandal. Sadly, this says a lot about the C of E.

A N B E F A L E S !

***

A speech by Project Censored's Director Peter Phillips, Project Censored 2007-2008 about censorship and the most mis-reported and un-reported stories of the last 18 months.

LISTEN

In this study researchers at Project Censored explore the degree to which the propaganda model of understanding self-censorship extends throughout the media culture including left-of- center independent media organizations. We examine the deepening propaganda model pressures inside the corporate media and hypothesize the potential for these pressures to impact left progressive media in the US.

Given corporate media‟s culture of compliance with governmental and corporate PR efforts and the post-9/11 atmosphere of media cooperation with the War on Terror