Mention the names Desmond McKenzie, Greg Christie and Danville Walker and immediately we see individuals whose actions, then and now, are indicative of men who are unafraid to buck the system.

As the only politician in the small group, McKenzie has earned my ire in the past, but since 2003 when the JLP won the local government elections, as mayor of Kingston, he has worked tirelessly to bring order to a city steeped in a culture of flouting laws, dirty and poorly maintained roadways, extortion and open displays of civic misbehaviour by our people.

McKenzie has been often misunderstood and there are still many who see too much 'politician' in him. Although it has not been captured by the political analysts, there ought to be more than an 'honourable mention' for his role (as a no-nonsense KSAC mayor) in paving the way for the JLP's election win in September 2007.

Once seen purely as a creation of Eddie Seaga, McKenzie has, in the last five years, used the time to forge his own template, especially where he has been seen to be coming head to head with the current 'everything-is-everything' culture. The irony is that the same power tools and approach which McKenzie used to assist the JLP's close win in 2007 may just tip the balance against the JLP next time out, especially where his actions in trying to clean up a stubborn city will be seen as fighting against the interests of the poor.

We may never know why Eddie Seaga put a leather strap to McKenzie's behind in his formative years, but increasingly the mayor is becoming an open book and although it appears that the JLP cannot afford any rumblings associated with a deputy leader's race, it would have been an eye-opener to have seen how far McKenzie could go in attempting to snare what would otherwise have been Derrick Smith's recently vacated post.

Greg Christie as contractor general has been at many times in the not so recent past that part of the nation's conscience that we ought to be very proud of. I am certain that, like most public officials, he has been approached from all fronts by angels and devils who have feared the findings in his quite comprehensive reports.

Christie has been vilified discreetly and openly, and just when some thought that he was relaxed on the JLP administration, he has issued it warnings on contract exemptions for certain state agencies. And he was criticised by none other than the prime minister who seems to be under extreme pressure at this time.
The good news is that there are many more good Jamaicans in the system, but the bad news is, they do not remain here for too long. A man like Greg Christie could easily operate in a first-world environment with salary package to match. And he would not need to feel that any and every professional 'T' crossed and 'I' dotted would expose him in the high-risk game which every important job in Jamaica seems to be of late.

We need to celebrate the Greg Christies of this land, even as the noises from the sub genres are threatening to make us into a nation of madmen.

To some of us, Danville Walker's dual citizen status makes him 'unpatriotic'. Hogwash, I say! In the last five years, the Internet has so shrunk the size of the global village that pretty soon we will be forced to define what 'citizen' really means.

If a man lives and works in Dubai, Laos, Australia, Jamaica, Canada, UK or the United States, all that each state could ask of that man is that he abide by the local laws which allow him to 'blend in'. In other words, he must pay taxes, be kind to his neighbour, be civil to all and avoid having sex on the midnight subway. And of course, if a serious conflict should begin to fester between the land of one's birth (or where one considers 'home') and the country where one works, the solution is, go home.

Danville Walker has brought respectability to what was once an electoral system with very significant flaws in it. Many of us who attempt to analyse our electoral processes have, in the past, casually excused the 'tiefing' by accepting that since both sides do it, it would be cancelled out, so, our conclusion was, no election could be stolen.

We ought to be thankful that in a close election, Danville Walker was in charge. Again, we have not given him his due.

In the tense moments following the September 2007 elections, with Portia Simpson Miller making a mockery of leadership by refusing to immediately and openly accept the JLP's victory, were Walker someone who was not trusted by Jamaicans, we could be now involved in walking down a path of a different but unpleasant fork in our history.

As head of the Customs Department Walker has come under the most extreme pressure, facing threats and all sorts of coercion. He is a man on a mission, and at every step of the way we must remind ourselves that his job is not one that we would want, if the job is to be done well.

Some of us really do serve. We need to laud these men whose role in trying to shape a nation going fast off track, again, is being drowned out by the noise of our narrow thinking and our daily clutch at a few dollars more.

Good men and the ton loads of women in Jamaica doing double duty know about honour as described by a person responding to a political blogger in the US. It was pointed at John McCain and his rapid descent into using political nastiness as strategy.

"Honour is only meaningful when there's something at stake: your choice is to behave honourably and risk losing, or to debase yourself and defile your team in the hopes of winning. To have honour means that you accept that there are things more important than winning: that there is a code of conduct that you cannot break without breaking something fundamental in yourself. Honour is a character trait and is indivisible: you can't be honourable in some circumstances and not in others."

Is there some truth to this?

A few years ago, against my better judgment and with the urging of my special lady, I purchased Kevin Trudeau's book, Natural Cures 'They' Don't Want You To Know About.

It was one big disappointment. Just a big sales gimmick. One part of his book states, "It is interesting to note that when you are toxic, your body becomes highly acidic. Your body pH should be alkaline. When your body pH is acidic you are susceptible to illness and disease. When your body pH is alkaline, you virtually can never get sick! Every single person who has cancer has a pH that is too acidic!"

Is that really so? Why have we not seen any comments on this from our medical community? One reader, someone I know, has sent me the following.

"Most of us are going to be surprised to find out that there is an oncologist in Rome, Italy, Dr Tullio Simoncini, eliminating cancer tumours with sodium bicarbonate. Sodium bicarbonate is safe, extremely inexpensive and unstoppably effective when it comes to cancerous tissues. It's an irresistible chemical, cyanide to cancerous cells for it hits the cancerous cells with a shock wave of alkalinity, which allows much more oxygen into the cancer cells than they can tolerate.

"Cancerous cells cannot survive in the presence of high levels of oxygen. Sodium bicarbonate is, for all intents and purposes, an instant eliminator of tumour formations. Full treatment takes only days, as does another cancer treatment that heats the cancer cells with laser-generated heat."

He quotes the late Dr Otto Warburg, Nobel Prize winner from Germany as saying: "A true understanding of any cancerous condition is impossible without understanding why some tissues in the body are deficient in oxygen and therefore prone to fermentation. Cancerous tissues are acidic, whereas healthy tissues are alkaline. Water (H2O) decomposes into H+ and OH-. When a solution contains more H+ than OH- then it is said to be acid. When it contains more OH- than H+ then it is said to be alkaline. When oxygen enters an acid solution it can combine with H+ ions to form water.

Oxygen helps to neutralise the acid, while at the same time the acid prevents oxygen from reaching the tissues that need it. Acidic tissues are devoid of free oxygen. An alkaline solution is just the reverse. Two hydroxyl ions (OH-) can combine to produce one water molecule and one oxygen atom. In other words, an alkaline solution can provide oxygen to the tissues."

Dr Warburg who died at age 86 in 1970 was a specialist in cell biology. He goes on further to explain to those who need a crash course in pH. "The pH scale goes from 0 to 14, with 7 being neutral. Below 7 is acid and above 7 is alkaline. The blood, lymph and cerebral spinal fluid in the human body are designed to be slightly alkaline at a pH of 7.365.

"At a pH slightly above 7.365 cancerous cells become dormant and at pH 8.5 cancerous cells will die while healthy cells will live. This has given rise to a variety of treatments based on increasing the alkalinity of the tissues such as the pH Miracle Living diet, the drinking of fresh fruit and vegetable juices, and dietary supplementation with alkaline minerals such as calcium, potassium, magnesium, caesium and rubidium. But nothing can compare to the instant alkalinising power of sodium, magnesium, potassium, and calcium bicarbonate for safe and effective reversal of cancerous tissue."
I would like to hear more on this from our medical community. I invite them to e-mail me.

MPs need to do more

About 10 years ago, I wrote a piece covering what I saw as flaws in the MP/constituent relationship. Then, I suggested that all MPs who do not live in the constituency they represent should 'live' in the constituency for one week out of every six weeks.

In other words, he or she would not be just a placement in the constituency for a few flourishing moments every five years just so that he or she can get the opportunity to kowtow to the prime minister.

Until we evolve to separation of powers where a parliament will really be a parliament, we need to see our MPs make a public show that they are actively trying to put 'representation' in member of parliament.

1. All MPs must identify a location in the heart of the constituency where they will leave from in the mornings for work. It will be OK if the stock of whisky is taken there but the rule is, the MP must live and sleep there for one whole week every six weeks. The idea is to allow the MP to get a feel for the lives of his constituents beyond a visit to his constituency office.

2. All MPs must develop a skills bank for the constituency. In knowing the occupational profile of adult constituents, especially of those in the artisan trades, the MP at all times is in touch with what the constituency can do and how much manpower planning is needed.

3. All MPs need to develop a profile of the school population. Close monitoring is the only way to go on this one.

4. MPs must work with the police. I fail to see how well-known murderers and rapists can run riot in this country when every smart cop and MP knows who are committing these crimes. Every killer lives in some constituency and is usually known by most in that area.

5. MPs must speak up loudly against extortion. Most of the lame talk we hear is mere lip service. Politicians cannot come out openly and tell us that extortion is allowed because it 'spreads the wealth around' better than they could do it.

6. All MPs must know what percentage of underage girls in the constituency are pregnant and the identity of those men who have got them this way. The MPs must act on it, that is, if they themselves are not involved.

It is by no means an exhaustive shopping list but we need to begin somewhere. I am certain that there are MPs who will be prepared to tell me that they are ahead of the game on these matters. Well I, would love to hear from them so that I can write in these pages and tell readers that I am talking nonsense.

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