What man would buy his wife secondhand underwear? The question, attributed to a government minister, has reportedly led to a ban on the import or sale of used knickers in Zimbabwe, a country that has suffered indignities enough.

The importation of “articles of second-hand undergarments of any type, form or description, whether purchased, donated or procured in any other manner”, is now forbidden, according to statutory instrument 150 of 2011.

This is one lost freedom not being blamed on President Robert Mugabe. Instead, the measure is apparently the brainchild of finance minister Tendai Biti of the rival Movement for Democratic Change. Biti was shocked to discover many Zimbabweans bought used underwear from flea markets or stalls.

“I am told we are now even importing women’s underwear in this country,” he was quoted saying recently. “How does that happen? If you are a husband and you see your wife buying underwear from the flea market, you would have failed.”

The minister added: “If I was your in-law, I would take my daughter and urge you to first put your house in order if you still want her back.”

Zimbabwe has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world, estimated at more than 90%. Poverty has driven many to buy secondhand underwear from markets which are supplied with used stock or donations from the west.

The ban was introduced in a government shakeup which became effective on 30 December, NewsDay said. It has reportedly triggered protests from traders who say it will push them out of business.

But there are hopes the change will help protect Zimbabwe’s struggling domestic textiles industry. Local media also suggested that it would improve public hygiene and self-esteem.

In an editorial, NewsDay argued: “One of the best laws that our country has put in place in recent years is the total ban on the importation of secondhand underwear.

“Wearing used underwear is most dehumanising and no government worth its salt should allow its citizens to be abused to this extent. It is a fact that our flea markets receive bales of clothing, some of which is exclusively used underwear, some of which is soiled. What nation have we become that knowingly subjects its people to humiliation and disease? It is inconceivable for a country to open its borders for the importation of used underwear – to allow our women to wear undergarments that other women in other countries have used and discarded.”

Under the new legislation the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority will charge 40% duty and 15% VAT on all underwear imports and apply a US$3 levy on every kilogram of underwear entering the country.

Zimbabwe is not the first African country to enforce legislation to outlaw the sale of used underwear. Ghana’s government officially banned the practice in 1994 but started enforcing the law last year following concerns about a health hazard.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/09/zimbabwean-outlaws-sale-used-knickers?newsfeed=true

Presence of Evil — A Problem for Worldview Concepts
The presence of evil in the world has been the basis of intellectual debate for many centuries. While scholars have developed countless theories to explain the reality of the phenomenon in connection with the existence or non-existence of an all-powerful God, it is often difficult to reconcile the presence of evil with our worldview beliefs.

Presence of Evil – What is Evil, Anyway?
In order to understand how the presence of evil poses a problem under the magnifying glass of a particular worldview, let us first define evil. The Encarta Online Reference Dictionary provides the following:

Evil (adjective)– (1) morally bad: profoundly moral or wrong, (2) harmful: deliberately causing harm, pain, or upset, (3) causing misfortune: characterized by, bringing, or signifying bad luck, (4) malicious: characterized by a desire to cause hurt or harm, (5) devilish: connected with the devil or other powerful destructive forces (such as spirits), (6) disagreeable: very unpleasant

Evil (noun)—(1) wickedness: the quality of being profoundly immoral or wrong, (2) a force causing harmful effects: force believed to bring about harmful, painful, or unpleasant events, (3) something evil: a situation or thing that is unpleasant, harmful, or morally wrong
From these definitions, we are able to classify evils into two logical causal categories: moral and natural. In Making Sense of Your World, Phillips, et al, identify moral evils as “the choices made by free human agents.” Natural evil is the result of the inherent cycles of the earth. This type of evil “does not involve human willing or acting, nor does it necessarily reflect any observable, intelligent purpose.”1

Genocide, rape, and murder would be characterized as moral evils, while typhoons, earthquakes, and disease would be examples of natural evils. In some instances, natural evils are the direct result of free action based upon bad moral judgment, such as sexual promiscuity in direct correlation to sexually transmitted disease. In this case “the two categories [of evil] overlap into what some call mixed evil”.2

Even with clear definitions and examples, how one approaches the presence of evil is another matter entirely.
Presence of Evil — Atheism and the Problem of Evil
The atheist, in true empirical fashion, wishes to logically compute the presence of evil into its simplest, rational form. Just like the belief in the null-existence of God, there is no such thing as evil. Conversely, anything identified as good is reciprocal to the concept of evil. Take, for example, the following statement by David Hume concerning both good and evil:

The more exquisite any good is, of which a small specimen is afforded us, the sharper is the evil, allied to it; and few exceptions are found to this uniform law of nature. The most sprightly wit borders on madness; the highest effusions of joy produce the deepest melancholy; the most ravishing pleasures are attended with the most cruel lassitude and disgust; the most flattering hopes make way for the severest disappointments. And, in general, no course of life has such safety (for happiness is not to be dreamed of) as the temperate and moderate, which maintains, as far as possible, a mediocrity, and a kind of insensibility, in every thing.3
By all accounts of this view, the presence of evil becomes one of hopeless, helpless existence in a world void of positive outcomes. Consequently, there are no moral boundaries for good or evil—you simply live life and hope to be luckier than the next guy in beating the odds of natural causes and processes.

Unlike atheism, which asserts that we do not know what we do not know, agnostics believe we just don’t know. Since we don’t know, we cannot have any knowledge of God. The agnostic believes it absurd to put stock in any notions of such a being or the hope that stems from it. At best, the agnostic faces a pessimistic, disheartening, hopelessness when facing the presence of evil. “The question of evil and its significance must—practically does for the agnostic, boil down to the refuge of what is called, in our stoic American slang, ‘making the best of a bad job.’”4
Presence of Evil — Theism and the Problem of Evil
In Judeo-Christian societies, the presence of evil has been explained in a few different ways. There is the “free-will defense,” which proposes that in order for God to abolish evil, He would also have to revoke man’s free will to choose to love or reject Him. “Certainly, God is capable of destroying evil—but not without destroying human freedom, or a world in which free creatures can function.”5 These believers would also contend that evil (pain, suffering, and natural disasters) brings them closer to God, which is the ultimate goal. Psalm 90:15 tells us, “Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery! Replace the evil years with good.”

The theistic worldview also maintains that everything works for good in the end, as in the specific case of the riches-to-rags-to-riches story of Joseph in the Old Testament. In the big picture, evil is real and terrible, but the reason for its existence and the plan for its ultimate demise is all figured out. This is noted by Phillips, et al., as they echo the sentiments of Prager and Telushkin, “The believer in God must explain one thing, the existence of sufferings; the nonbeliever, however, must explain the existence of everything.”6

Presence of Evil — Pantheism and the Problem of Evil
For worldviews influenced by Eastern, pantheistic, or transcendental doctrines, the presence of evil and suffering is innately tied to one of two sources: (i) evil and suffering are merely illusions created by the human mind, or (ii) evil and suffering are tied to unwholesomeness, impurity, or impiety of character. Buddhist teachings contend that all evil is a direct result of nescience –unknowing or original ignorance.7 Accordingly, consistent refining of the self through knowledge and enlightenment will eventually yield positive results and the ultimate end of transcending the oppressions of life in this material world. Unsuccessful attempts at transcending evil and suffering allow for future attempts through the doctrine of reincarnation.

Phillips, et al, point out two failures related to the illusory theory of suffering and its ability to solve the problem of evil. First, it simply “does not fit with the actual experience of the world or of evil.” Second, “the problem of evil is not answered by identifying it as illusion.” Furthermore, what of evil defeated? “Whenever evil seems to be properly dealt with, is the satisfaction of seeing justice triumph over evil not also an illusion?”8

From the second perspective of human unwholesomeness, impurity, or impiety, “any evil that one experiences in life is the result of negative energy from former incarnations” or from negative “deed” or action performed in this life. The problem, as Phillips, et al. allude to, is that this view assumes that pain and suffering is deserved as a result of actions you have performed prior to your current existence. Among other issues, this belief ultimately “discourages acts which would help to alleviate the suffering of others.”9

Presence of Evil — Conclusion
The presence of evil in the world poses a potential threat to the foundations of any worldview. Even those of us with the greatest philosophical answers and strongest core beliefs, whether natural or spiritual, find it difficult to reconcile the existence of evil with logic and reason (atheism/agnosticism), or spiritual necessity (theism); or self-actualization/illusory concepts (pantheism). Even for some who plead passive ignorance, the presence of evil still remains a huge problem that ultimately challenges the human mind and heart.

Vybz Kartel, Gaza Slim to face music
By PAUL HENRY Crime/Court Desk Coordinator [email protected]
Monday, January 09, 2012

JAILED dancehall entertainers Vybz Kartel and Gaza Slim are scheduled to appear before the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court today to answer to charges of conspiracy and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Vybz Kartel, whose real name is Adidja Palmer and Gaza Slim, christened Vanessa Saddler, were remanded into custody when they appeared in court in December.
KARTEL… to appear in the Circuit court on january 13
1/1
The charges stem from allegations that text messages were sent from Vybz Kartel to Gaza Slim’s cellphone instructing her to make a report to the Constant Spring police that she had been robbed by Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams. Williams, is the person whose murder Kartel and his associates — Andre St John, Shawn ‘Shawn Storm’ Campbell, Cairo Jones, Calvin Haye and Shane Williams — are charged for.
The prosecution is contending that the report was made in order to give the impression that Williams was not dead. But in making a failed bail application for Saddler last month, attorney Pierre Rogers said that the masked man who held up Saddler identified himself as Williams.
Williams is alleged to have been murdered on August 16 over the disappearance of an illegal firearm. His body is yet to be found. The prosecution, however, said they have video and other evidence to prove the murder.
The men are to be tried in the Home Circuit Court for the murder. Kartel, Jones, Campbell and Haye have already been transferred to the circuit court, where they will next appear on January 13.
Williams and St John are to appear in the magistrate’s court on January 13 as part of the process to have them join the other accused men in the Home Circuit Court.
On a separate matter, Kartel is to return to the Resident Magistrate’s Court on February 13 when he will be tried on a ganja possession charge.
Kartel and his associates are also facing murder and other charges in relation to the shooting death of Barrington ‘Bossie’ Bryan of Gregory Park, St Catherine in July. He was offered bail to the sum of $3 million in relation to this charge and will next appear in the RM court on today on that charge.

Read more:
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Vybz-Kartel—Gaza-Slim–to-face-music_10505816#ixzz1j0TM18Vd

controversial dancehall DJ Vybz Kartel is to return to court on February 1, after he was remanded in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court.

His compatriot Gaza Slim was given bail in the Home Circuit Court and must return to court on the same date.

The two are before the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court, on the charges of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

It is alleged that Kartel, whose real name is Adidja Palmer and Vanessa Saddler, more popularly known as Gaza Slim, were a part of a plot to undermine a police investigation into the murder of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams.

Kartel is accused of killing Williams.

Saddler had filed a report with the police, claiming that Williams assaulted her during a robbery in Havendale, St. Andrew.

She claimed that the incident occurred on October 29, five days after Kartel was charged with William’s murder.

It is alleged that Saddler and others made up the story to help Kartel with his defence.

Meanwhile, the attorneys for Vybz Kartel have asked Senior Resident Magistrate Pusey to outline her reasons for denying his bail application in writing.

The attorney Christian Tavares-Finson told the Gleaner/Power 106 News Centre that this will be used to decide his client’s next move.

He said one of the options being considered is to make the bail application in the Supreme Court.

Tavares-Finson said this will be discussed with Palmer after RM Pusey complies with their request.