IN THIS CORNER – The Big Eagle… In this corner, the little doctor bird fighting for the heavyweight championship of the world… Ding-ding-ding…a tiny doctor bird flying into the face of a great big eagle, sharp talons, beak and all, to let that old raptor know “don’t joke wid wi. Wi little but we very tallawah.” In that spirit of tallawahness, we’re currently engaged in a battle which has many people confused.

This business of the request for the extradition of the man who is fast becoming a Jamaican urban legend has gone from a mere formality to high drama. After months of waiting for us to fulfil the request for the alleged accused to be delivered to them to answer allegations of drug and gun-running, the Eagle has decided to turn up the heat. They ramped up our status on the list of countries which they believe need to straighten up and fly right. They tested the patience of one of our prominent citizens by cancelling his visa, subjecting him to public embarrassment. Students of warfare will recognise the “warning shot across the bow”.

The prime minister accepted the challenge – and now the title bout is on. It is not the first time that a Jamaican prime minister has decided to play tough with Washington. In the testosterone-laden days of the 70s, Mr Manley sent packing the US Ambassador who was prone to lapses in appropriate behaviour. There is little or no formal evidence of the price Jamaica paid for being so uppity, but one thing’s for sure, these are not the 70s. Washington’s sense of humour is not quite the same. Thirty-odd years later, there is less to laugh about for both them and us, which makes the current season of defiance even more puzzling.

It is hard not to get dragged into the shark pool of our hometown politics, but it is tempting to ask whetherthe debate is about the fate of one man or the whole nation. After this, will issues of extradition be about all Jamaicans or selected individuals? And who decides when the argument is settled?

If the object of the exercise is to get Washington to show us respect, to admit that Jamaicans have constitutional rights which do not “stop at Liguanea”, to quote the PM, then why are we going about it this way? Other questions of the day include the query about diplomatic intervention.

OUR GOVERNMENT’S MESSAGE to the US seems to be to back off, to stop using American law to judge Jamaicans. Wire-tapping and secret testimonies are not our style. That’s illegal and we don’t deal wid dat. The question which is left for legal minds to help us to answer is, what of the treaty under which we have been operating up to now? Were those differences of interpretation not noticed before? Since they have become such serious anomalies now, how will they be rectified? Shouting and grandstanding are certainly not going to solve the puzzle.

While the lofty talk goes on, out on the street people want to know what this is going to mean for them. Will America retaliate by cancelling more visas, not only for the powerful but the powerless? The thought of never being able to go to Brooklyn again is enough to send some people into depression.

Never mind all that stuff you see on the news about economic recession in America, Jamaicans still want to go there. We’re not afraid of hard times. We are survivors. If anybody can make it in America, it is us. So… please, oonu leave the visa out of it.

Mr Golding says he is prepared to put his political life on the line for this one. He is convinced that he is doing the right thing for the Jamaican people. Some people are asking, though, if the difficulty is a matter of law, shouldn’t the solution be a legal one? If the treaty we signed years ago is now inadequate, should it be revisited? Then, there are the voices saying it is about time somebody let the Americans know that they don’t own the world. We are a sovereign nation, we have our rights too… which would be well and good if we weren’t so dependent on the largesse of the Big Eagle. Duppy know who fi frighten.

Mr Golding ended his presentation to Parliament on Tuesday night on a high moral note. “We are firmly committed to the treaties and agreements between our two countries… We have assured the US authorities of our full support in all extradition and other matters consistent with our obligations under the treaties and agreements and the upholding of Jamaican Law.” Now, let’s hear about American Law…

TESTING TIMES: Redundancy Day draws near for Air Jamaica. Before next month ends, it will be D-Day for the once proud symbol of a little country which really thought it could own a piece of the sky. Somebody should write that story…

YEAR ONE: Congratulations to GG Sir Patrick Allen and his Lady for a successful first year in the Big House. Fears about social difficulties caused by Sabbath worship proved baseless. They have got on with the job and done it well. Their current project is to transform some of the King’s House lands into a public garden with more trees, shrubs, etc. Anything to make us look better and feel better is most welcome.

The garden project reminds me of the days of the inimitable Sir Howard and Lady Cooke who didn’t just garden; they ran a farm, from kitchen garden to livestock, from chickens to cows. Sir Howard and “Miss Ivy” are enjoying their retirement out there in St James.

GIVE A THOUGHT TO the people of Chile, buried in the rubble of yet another earthquake. We might not know them as well as our Haitian neighbours, but distress is distress. I haven’t seen too many expressions of solidarity with the Chileans. Let us not forget – suffering is suffering in any language. Spare us the nonsense, please, about those people being more sinful than us which is why they, and not us, got the hit. Just cut out the foolishness.

gloudonb@yahoo.com