Last month, four of us went on an excursion to Cane River Falls. We had gone to Bob Marley Beach and decided to make a detour on the way home. Incidentally, the wall on which the sign for the beach was painted has been knocked down. So we missed...
Jamaica is privileged to have a cadre of late 30s to late 40s women, who carry a lot of weight internationally. Say what you want about the expenditure and the failed campaign to become secretary general of Queen Elizabeth’s Commonwealth, Kamina...
If the speed at which the news of the Rio Cobre fish kill faded from the news cycle is a measure of how serious we are about the environment, our children are in trouble. The land in which we live was not bequeathed to us by our parents but lent to...
So far in this attempt to answer the question, “Has CARICOM reached its limits of regional integration”, it has been established that, after almost 50 years, the regional project has failed to deliver the commitments expected from the 1973 Treaty...
I was born to be an optimist. My blood type is AB positive. If life gives me a bag of horse manure, I tear it apart looking for, and expecting, a horse. I don’t ask for much and am always willing to take much less. This morning, as I woke up...
Where does transparency end and privacy begin? Do serving politicians have the right to accept gifts from the private sector and have them remain secret? Because of the danger of the ‘ quid pro quo’ and influence peddling, the received wisdom is...
There are many layers to the declining unemployment rate. Recently, I wrote about what appeared to be the rapid growth of low-income employment sectors and the relation this had to the decreasing unemployment rate. This week, entrepreneurship, self...
Based on reporting by this newspaper, there is another push for the redevelopment of the western section – the old market district – of downtown Kingston. This time, it seems, it might actually happen. We have three immediate observations about the...
Having offered the appropriate words, it is now for Audley Shaw, the mining minister, to take the practical steps for a reset of the bauxite/alumina industry, with less hostility, if not full embrace, from environmentalists. Mr Shaw’s next move...
Jamaica has had many opportunities to view social media video clips in 2022 to realise that its citizens and the security forces are at war in certain communities. Lone police officers, taking on communities, brandishing and...
In the months leading up to Jamaica’s 60th year of Independence, a renewed sense of urgency emerged for Jamaica to become a republic. Understandably so, as it symbolises and affirms maturity in our sovereignty. But, after 60 years, are we mature as...
Extreme hunger and poverty affect four out of every 10 persons in the world, and it is worsening. And there are many other major problems, such as drought, soil erosion, agricultural food crisis, and other negative impact of climate change. The...
It is surprising that the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), a professional and advocacy group for the island’s educators, never engages in the public debates on the status of Jamaican Creole/Patois, or how English should be taught in schools....
Jamaica marked 60 years of Independence on Saturday, August 6, being one of two CARICOM countries to become independent in 1962. Trinidad and Tobago will also mark 60 years of independence on August 31. Like many others, I was very interested in...
After Saturday’s Grand Gala, I dreamt of a domino reunion with the players from my teenage years. Back then, we were all young and idealistic. So, in my dream, I asked them if 2022 reality matched their 1970 Jamaica 60 expectations. Dessie, the...
Last week I came across an interesting post on Facebook. It depicted a couple, Danna Sultana and Esteban Landrau, expecting a baby. But this couple was different from those we are used to seeing. The feminine-looking mummy (Danna) was born with...
When the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) holds its annual conference in Montego Bay later this month, they must make it a substantial and substantive affair that delivers ideas and decisions that are transformative of education in Jamaica. In...
Delroy Chuck’s recent remarks about what should constitute Jamaica’s final court appears to be a contortion to avoid the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), without doing much, if anything practical, to improve access to justice for more Jamaicans....
How come there has been virtually no reaction to the sharp criticisms of our education system set out by Bruce Golding recently? He pointed out the necessity of political comity to ground and generate the national consensus which could lead to the...
Even now, after 60 years of Independence from British rule, there are citizens among us who rue the day that we separated from Britain. Some grew up under the law and order of British overseers. More than anyone else, they view the current general...
Diplomacy and statecraft often require deft movements and delicate balances. Which is what the United States and China have largely been able to achieve over the last half-century in the question of Taiwan. Sometimes, however, tricky manoeuvres are...
As we celebrate Jamaica 60, it is only fitting that we highlight our many achievements as a nation. As one of the few countries on the planet to introduce and propagate a universally popular genre of music and one of a handful of nations to spawn...
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Independence, my sister, Donnette Cooper, was asked to read one of the lessons at the annual church service jointly sponsored by the Embassy of Jamaica and the Jamaican Community of Washington. As a member...
Sixty years of independence yesterday and we boast a homicide rate which is the highest rate in the English-speaking world and it places us in the top five globally. And yes, it is the same set of demographics that make our headlines. Young men,...
Go is an ancient board game developed by the Chinese about 4,000 years ago. Like chess, it is a strategy game but that is where the similarities end. Go is simpler, as there are only black and white stones placed permanently, while chess has...
