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Wint, McKenley must be bawlingArthur Wint and Herb McKenley were two of Jamaica's great stars of athletics. They would be below Usain Bolt on the platform of sprinting achievements, but their off-track contributions make up for some of that, especially in the case of McKenley.It was shortly after they, along with Les Laing and (Dr) George Rhoden, won the 4x400 metres relay gold at the Olympic Games in Hensinki, Finland in 1952 - Rhoden also taking individual gold in the 400 metres - that the Jamaica colonial Government named Olympic Way, then a part of Kingston's 'uptown' region, in what is now St Andrew West Central, in honour of the Olympic feat.In addition, all four had roads leading off or close to Olympic Way named after them - Wint Road, McKenley Crescent (which, for some unexplained reason, is spelt McKinley), Rhoden Crescent, and Laing Road. But look at what has been happening in recent weeks at McKenley Crescent and Wint Road. Another Jamaican hero, Donald Orlando "Tabby Diamond" Shaw, was shot dead on the road named after Herb McKenley, while in what police described as a reprisal attack, two men were killed less than 48 hours later on Wint Road.Luckily, there has not been much gun action along Laing Road recently but I fear that Dr Rhoden, the only living member of that quartet at age 95, must be in California listening out and asking if his solid name will be stained with blood too.I wonder sometimes if the people who tote guns and consistently fight for turf in that area have ever considered the significance of the names of the streets on which they choose to perpetuate their heinous crimes? Or do they know?Yes, there is Arthur Wint Drive too, near the National Stadium, which is named in the great man's honour; and also Herb McKenley Drive, it too located close to the National Stadium. But in a community like that which is represented in Parliament by the prime minister, more respect should be shown to those great men.Several people were literally slaughtered in that section of the Corporate Area during the 1980 General Election campaign. Luckily, the numbers have fallen significantly over the years but it is still bad news.I think that Wint and McKenley are crying uncontrollably, in particular Herb who used to shed tears for every little thing. When they look at what has been happening in an area to which great pride was attached, and when that personal touch was applied - being the first roads named for them - they must throw down some liquid. Such a shame.Johnson Smith's painful realityOne positive for Jamaica that could emerge from Senator Kamina Johnson Smith's elevation to the post of secretary general of the Commonwealth Secretariat is that this island would have a new minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade, preferably one who fully understands foreign policy.As for the dogfight that has emerged between Johnson Smith and incumbent Commonwealth Secretary General Baroness Patricia Scotland (of Dominica and Britain), it is painful that the Caribbean has been split on it, and seemingly, trust has been lost.With the powerhouses of the Commonwealth - Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand - supporting Johnson Smith's candidacy, it is almost a certainty, barring a major resistance by Africa, that she will join Scotland and Sir Shridath "Sonny" Ramphal (1975 to 1990), now 93, as the other Caribbean people who have risen to the post of secretary general, though Guyanese Sir Shridath, the organisation's second secretary general, was a specimen of a leader.Both Prime Minister Andrew Holness, and Opposition Leader Mark Golding have highlighted Johnson Smith as being "competent" to occupy the position that will represent the interests of 2.6 billion people, across 54 nations, 12 of which are Caribbean-based, though we are not told on what basis they have formed that conclusion as she has never taken on such an assignment before. And it could not be based on her performance as minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade.Since Johnson Smith has now emerged as a serious candidate, there are some things that she needs to consider if she eventually gets the nod. One of them would be to avail herself of the finer points of foreign policy, because there have been more than a few missteps by her as minister.The foreign ministry, in its dealing with some of Jamaica's great allies under Johnson Smith - top of the list being Venezuela - has not been encouraging. How the ministry, too, handled the matter of the Jamaican students in dire straits in Ukraine was like a sick joke. Why would any government want to lend money to its students to buy airline tickets to fly home at a time when confusion reigned and everything was in short supply, including money? Luckily, the Government came to its senses.Holness has said that Jamaica, among other things, has put forward a candidate to "bring about unity".What? Is this candidate - the same individual who walks out on people in the Senate - now seen as one who unites others?The matter of her pettiness, if not fickle display in the Senate, whereby whenever Opposition Senator Lambert Brown speaks, she, as Leader of Government Business in the Upper House, leaves the chamber to conveniently use the washroom, or find some place else to chill until Brown's contribution is over, is a wrong attitude and cannot be taken elsewhere. That matter was not addressed by the prime minister, who should have told his ally that the Senate is not her backyard. It is a mature playing field for mature adults who are allowed to criticise others, as the constitution allows, and ought to be able to embrace criticism too. She just cannot take up her jacks and leave the area when things do not go her way.Also, her claim of receiving "threatening e-mail" from former Foreign Minister AJ Nicholson is another sore point because, as it turned out, there was no threat at all...only a figment of her imagination.The office of Secretary General of the Commonwealth calls for fortitude, strength of character, and strong negotiating skills. She will not survive without those.A victory for RastafariNow, the Office of the Public Defender, which reports to the Jamaican Parliament, has stirred up a red ants nest by its findings, based upon its own investigations in the matter that involves trimmed Rastafarian woman Nzinga King.It differs from other findings conducted by the police and the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM), and also flies in the face of a ruling from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions that no one should be held criminally responsible for slicing Ms King's locks while she spent time in the custody of the State at the Four Paths police lock-up in Clarendon last year.In this case, it is hard to blame the Office of the DPP for its ruling as it acts on evidence supplied to the office and is then asked to make a determination.Striking, it is, that INDECOM and the police came up with such vastly different conclusions to the public defender's on the issue. In interviews last week though, Arlene Harrison Henry, who has since retired as public defender, suggested that circumstantial evidence figured, in part, in her office arriving at its conclusion. She also insisted that some of the information that was gathered by her office could not be glued to particular people - in other words the information was acquired in confidence, in much the way that the police or media gather information.Well, let us see if the public defender's recommendation for, among other things, Ms King to be compensated, will be handled by the State.It has always been my view, based on information that often comes my way, that it was a member of the police force who trimmed Ms King's locks. The public defender's latest missive has made that even firmer.Jamaica losing grip on reggaeInstead of leaning against the wall and blaming American bad-minded people for allowing American group SOJA to win the Best Reggae Album at the Grammy Awards in Las Vegas a week ago, those in Jamaica's music industry should take heed.The reality is that Jamaica has been losing the reggae music that it introduced to the world over 50 years ago, due mainly to the influx of pretenders who perform in the same style, use too much of the language that the international community cannot understand, and in many of their songs (if we can call them that) something as simple as a bass line, a key reggae ingredient, is absent from the musical arrangement.It is true that, minus Spice, there were some credible nominations in the reggae category this year, but Jamaica's treatment of their own music has resulted in others who are in love with quality reggae music capitalising on the slackness that the original factory has been churning out in recent years.Maybe in another decade Jamaica will lose its crown as reggae king of the globe, thanks to the garbage that many of this land approve as credible material to satisfy the decibels.