On May 21, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) delivered its Advisory Opinion on climate change and international law, in a case led by two courageous leaders of small island states, Prime Minister Gaston Browne, of Antigua...
Dedicated to our dog Mitsi, who left us at the age of 18 going on 19 (about 90 human years old) In January 2021, I wrote an article about our dogs and called it ‘Much ‘adog’ about something’. Earlier this year, just about five months ago, I...
The recommendations of the Constitutional Reform Committee (CRC) are exactly what I expected from a bunch of political appointees representing the party in power, dedicated to make proposals to increase the power of the ruling party over the...
Many young people, particularly women, get the privilege of seeing smiles shrivel under the awkward weight of disappointment when they can’t answer the “No kids yet?” question. We live in an intergenerational world, characterised by people of...
While it may still be insufficient to offset the cost of contributing a day’s worth of civic service in the courts, the 200 per cent increase – to J$6,000 per day – in the stipend that jurors will now receive is clearly a move in the right...
We are joined by the spirit of the land we call the “Rock”. We are bound by the country of our heritage, where ours or our ancestors’ umbilical cords, our navel strings, are buried. We are bound by being Jamaicans by birth or descent. Being...
Following my column last week revisiting the May 24, 2010 security operations in west Kingston, several persons reached out to me to offer their recollection of the events and to commiserate on the fact that we seem to have forgotten how dire, how...
Prime Minister Andrew Holness’ appointment of Senator Dana Morris Dixon as the information minister in this week’s minor shuffle of his Cabinet is a logical alignment of portfolios that could yield gains for the Government, if Dr Morris Dixon is...
Biodiversity is essential for life on our planet. Despite the technological advances of today’s world, human beings will always depend on healthy ecosystems for water, food, medicine, clothing, fuel, shelter, and energy, among other essential...
“I leave m’yard early-mornin time An set m’foot to de mountain climb, I ben m’back to de hot-sun toil, An m’cutlass rings on de stony soil, Ploughin an weedin, diggin an plantin” – From Evan Jones’ Song of a Banana Man We are in...
It’s reprehensible that what should be a serious debate of who, under a reformed Constitution, should sit in Jamaica’s Parliament is now wallowing in a new bout of race-baiting against the opposition leader, Mark Golding. Prime Minister Andrew...
“A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but by how it treats its lowest ones.” – Nelson Mandela To the Jamaican Government, opposing leaders and other ‘powers that be’, how are you treating ordinary Jamaicans and...
In the week of April 14, some school children were once again involved in scandalous brawls at the Transport Centre in Half-Way Tree and elsewhere. A video showed a young man lift up a bicycle and forcefully ram it on to another student. Boys...
Prime Minister Andrew Holness might have been too consumed with what Michael Witter calls “the tyranny of the immediate” to have noticed the economist’s recent prescription for how the PM might address the problem of violence that haunts Jamaica’s...
My Ancestry.Com DNA test results tell me that I am 81 per cent African and 19 per cent European. Like so many Jamaicans, my DNA is from different parts of Africa and Europe, even with a little Jewish ancestry for good measure. I came to America in...
Life is too short, hunger too gnawing and love too compelling for us to tolerate the mix-up concerning constitutional reform. Clearly, many of us think we are immortal. We waste scarce time on purpose. Why not cut short all the fuss as to who...
Daryl Vaz’s disclosure of the Jamaica Urban Transit Company’s (JUTC) plan to eke new life out of the large, inoperable chunk of its aged fleet, seems an economically sensible idea. For, according to Mr Vaz, not only can the buses be repaired...
A notable absence from Horace Chang’s statement to Parliament last week on the performance of his ministry was any significant mention of the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA). Dr Chang alluded to MOCA twice: once to list the...
It is 2024. I have been searching the regional media for the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of LIAT (1974) Ltd. Alas, I have not seen even a letter. The truth is that the iconic regional air carrier was unceremoniously shuttered in January...
CHAKA-CHAKA SPELLING Nuff man would a dead long time if dem never have wife. Dat a if di wife care bout dem. Becau nuff man an woman a live lakka puss an dog. Dem deh eena di same house, but dem nuh business wid one anodder. A sake a ‘might...
Some things have not changed, despite the century of international labour standards. We are in Workers’ Week, a bittersweet week. For the first time, in my four decades of labour advocacy and scholarship, I was able to visit Frome Labour Park, the...
In 2004, right after Hurricane Ivan, I was driving through an intersection on my way to buy drinking water. The intersection had a two-way stop sign, and I was on the right of way. Someone disobeyed the stop sign and no sooner had my passenger...
In the dancehall world, the name Nigy Boy is celebrated by fans for his trendy hit Continent. But Nigy Boy, born Nigel Hector in Montego Bay, deserves to be celebrated for many other reasons. A video of the visually impaired singer, robed in red,...
When I read the article, “Help the Hopeless” in The Gleaner of May 13, describing the hostile antisocial and even criminal behaviour of students and urging for greater resources to deal with mental health issues of students, I asked myself what I...
Dedicated to my son, Zubin Deyal, for telling me that what each of the Cricket West Indies bosses needs is a good bat or two made from bamboo. As a youngster always hungry, and in my teens when with some of my friends we looked down at a lady...
