In his latest critique of the failings of Jamaica’s political leadership, Howard Mitchell highlighted the inefficiency, bordering on laziness, of the island’s Parliament, and questioned whether those who run the show made the best use of existing “...
Gene Autry and I were playing against the Beast and the Dunce in a close, hard fought domino contest. With the score at five-all I drew an unbalanced hand (no fives; no fours) but posed double six because I held three sixes in all so was averse to...
Recently, I came across two news items that simultaneously piqued my interest and disturbed me immensely. One was the story of a woman in Iran who received 74 lashes for refusing to wear a hijab. The other was a news report on some Muslims...
Announcing an internal probe of the Charlemont Avenue scandal – presumably to unearth how its building inspector(s) missed eye-popping deviations from approved building permits to the Barnetts – is the least the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal...
In recent weeks there have been rumours of an impending Venezuelan invasion of Guyana’s largest county, Essequibo. The spectre of a Venezuelan military invasion was a quick headline grabber in a world where wars in the Ukraine and Gaza have...
The people of the United States of America (USA) paid for my first-rate undergraduate education and there, though a foreigner and in the maelstrom of the disastrous Vietnam War, that great nation tolerated and indeed encouraged my complete freedom...
On New Year’s Eve, my sister Donnette, our friend Cecile and I planned to go to Columbus Cove. I must admit I have issues with memorials to Columbus. I’m on the same page as the central character in the novel Annie John by the Antiguan writer...
Late 1970s, led by Head Boy Clyde McKenzie, we upper school boys at St George’s College often engaged our brothers from the other side of North Street, Kingston College, whose intellectual standard-bearer was Stephen Vasciannie while joking about...
I vividly recall making slingshots as a boy. You needed a firm piece of wood from a branch that formed a symmetrical Y. It was smooth and shaped so that the handle was long and comfortable to grasp. Then both arms of the Y were shaved and smoothed...
Two decades ago, in a discussion paper on defamation laws presented at a conference in Jamaica, the late Anguillan-Antiguan lawyer Bernice Lake made a profound case for why people who actively seek public office should expect, and accept, a harsh...
A fundamental tenet of every investment is that it should be based on robust data, a structured plan, and rigorous economic evaluation, which is crucial in the realm of national security. In this context, strategic planning provides a blueprint...
In the first week of 2024, 20 illegal guns were seized by local police. It’s the kind of headline that gives reason to hope in the ability of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) to get the country out of the current security nightmare it faces....
Ecuador, once celebrated for its tranquillity, now finds itself at the epicentre of a distressing surge in gang violence, its streets marred by the ominous shadow of armed groups fuelled by the trafficking of illicit drugs. On January 7, President...
Jamaicans say, “Sometimes yuh affi tek bad things mek joke.” This translates into “We are always joking and having a good laugh over any bad situation.” Political jokes are like that, and the reason I stay far from them is that they all get elected...
Jamaicans really don’t like jury duty. They prefer to go to the same jobs they gripe about at home and among their friends every day than show up to court when summoned for jury service. There is also no one busier and more critically needed at...
History is important! History creates customary rights! For decades I and thousands of other Jamaican ratepayers attended the offices of the National Water Commission (NWC) and the Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd (JPS) to pay our utility bills...
There have been several iterations, over many years, of Justice Bertram Morrison’s exhortation of defence and prosecution lawyers to stop wasting valuable court time with meritless cases. The behaviour does nothing for the cause of justice, but...
Jamaica, land we love, with our vibrant culture, stunning landscapes and warm hospitality, has long been a popular destination for tourists seeking sun, sea, and sand. However, what we offer to the world, and the potential we have, is far greater...
It’s not every day that the small spice island of Grenada makes the news. After all, with a population of barely 114,000 persons, it takes some doing to make headlines here in Jamaica. But that’s exactly what happened last week when the Grenadian...
This newspaper welcomes the pledge by the Jamaican authorities to aggressively go after the island’s criminal gangs, whose organisational and operational sophistication, Prime Minister Andrew Holness says, is often underestimated. But even as we...
The Israeli genocide in Palestine continues with support from the United States, United Kingdom, and Europe, despite South Africa charging Israel before the International Court of Justice with the crime of genocide. These events shape one’s view...
In the government of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), there is the ministerial portfolio of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. Looking at the new shadow cabinet of the People’s National Party (PNP), it led me to reflect on the role of the foreign...
With Jamaicans sceptical of the reported 10 per cent decline in major crimes last year, Prime Minister Andrew Holness has repeated his promise of a radically new approach to the crisis in 2024. Apart from the regular policing, he hopes to “...
The old year ended, as it began, with vulgar scenes of violence. Video circulated on social media showed a 14-year-old girl being attacked and brutalised in Clarendon by a female mob. Acting Senior Superintendent of Police, Carlos Russell, said “...
Last year, there were many murders in Jamaica, as usual. Two of the most publicised and horrific involved children, both female. The first was the case of Danielle Rowe, an eight-year-old girl who was abducted from school, had her throat slashed,...
