THE CARIBBEAN, I suspect, has been waiting anxiously to hear when its neighbour, Haiti, will be in receipt of aid that could restore law and order in that country. The talk of a UN international-backed intervention, led by Kenya, has been in the...
I BELIEVE I speak for most parents when I say that my approach to parenting has been shaped mainly by my own personal observations and experiences, and a fair share of trial and error. Through a combination of acquired wisdom (that comes with age...
The question is: What happens to the rest of the stuff – the remaining 160,000 tonnes of medical waste Jamaica produces each year? That is a lot of material. It does not just evaporate in thin air. So, it must be disposed of somehow. But how and...
One of the biggest scams perpetrated on the Jamaican people is the myth that if recruiting for sports purposes by our schools is ended, Jamaica will be the loser. Nothing could be further from the truth! It reminds me of the saying “repeat a lie...
Every six years, Jamaica, as a developing country and member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), undergoes a trade policy review. Jamaica is currently preparing for its fifth such trade policy review covering the period 2018-2023. The previous...
Playing Gene Autry’s rules (double-six then the holder of double-six poses), Dessie drew bareback double-six (i.e. his only six) so posed double-five. Gene, second-in-hand, played five-six and the Dunce, after thought, played six-deuce. “Is mad yu...
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the Bhopal disaster rank among the most devastating industrial accidents in history. Both calamities resulted from a lethal mix of corporate negligence, inadequate safety regulations, and political corruption....
Richard Thompson seems to misapprehend a critical part of his job, especially how Jamaica’s Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) should balance its obligations during crises. The ODPEM executive director seems to believe...
Unlike his silence when the matter had been raised in the past, the police commissioner, Antony Anderson, should explain why the constabulary has been unable to produce video evidence from body-worn cameras in any fatal shooting by police officers...
Last week, our Government removed General Consumption Tax on imported horses, but declined to do the same on locally produced eggs. Given the mounting cost of feed and electricity and the inability of consumers to pay much more, there is a glut...
For me, the recent 5.6-magnitude earthquake began with a violent ripple underfoot as I was at my desk interviewing a new female patient. Our eyes locked as if to mutually and silently verify that we were not imagining that we were feeling the...
There is something to be said, we suppose, for Mark Golding naming 23 additional second-tier spokespersons, apart from the fact that there will now be a packed room at meetings of his shadow cabinet – 45 people – if all attend. It’s about re-...
As the Earth’s land-based resources are getting depleted, the world has turned its attention to the vast resources that lie beneath the ocean surface. However, the plans to open up the last untouched wilderness – the ocean seabed – to a new...
As a creative undertaking in the history of global trade, the First China International Import Expo (CIIE) was launched in Shanghai in November 2018. It has since then attracted much publicity and created an “open fast track” for countries and...
In November 2010, I got an email from Nirit Ben-Ari, an Israeli journalist in Tel Aviv writing for Haaretz. She asked: “Do you think that the choice of the name ‘Gaza’ represents a political awareness and identification with the underdog?” My...
When you start with the assumption that all human life is precious and sacred, then it is almost impossible for one to make major errors when it comes to the taking of another person’s life, whatever reason or pretext one may have. I want to...
It has become a huge talking point in Jamaica that the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) has found it necessary to drop potential candidates who had run afoul of the law. In the recent case involving St Elizabeth teacher Oshane Gayle who is...
There has been a surge in gang violence and gun violence in Latin America and the Caribbean, leading to a high level of murders and heightened fear in many countries. The figures are alarming not only for the countries of the Caribbean Community (...
We were doing Shakespeare’s King Henry V for our exams and our teacher “went to town” on the king’s speech to his soldiers to get them ready for the war against France. The king started with “Once more into the breach, dear friends, once more” and...
Gone are the days when the vast majority of Jamaican voters supported either the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) or the People’s National Party (PNP), and the “nowhereians” were in the minority. Recent opinion polls – and indeed the last general...
Tuesday’s conclusion by an expert panel that a breakthrough drug by a US pharmaceutical firm for the treatment of sickle cell anaemia is safe for clinical use is potentially good news for tens of thousands of Jamaicans who either have traits of...
In a world where technology dictates business operations, many companies have neglected the training of customer service staff in basic mathematical and critical-thinking skills. Organisations, particularly those generating billing statements,...
There has been widespread debate and criticism of the process of selection for some candidates who were selected to receive national awards at the recent ceremony held at King’s House. Many Jamaicans took to social media to express their discomfort...
Monday’s 5.6 magnitude earthquake is certainly our newsmaker of the week, dominating headlines and WhatsApp viral videos for days now. Despite the seriousness of the situation, some of the social media reactions have been priceless. Cliff Hughes...
One of Jamaica’s greatest assets used to be its principled conduct of foreign policy. It operated with a sophistication and moral clarity that allowed a pre-Independence government to ban imports from apartheid South Africa, and later decades...
