Patrice Lumumba, the independence leader of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the first prime minister, was brutally murdered and his body burnt in a horrific act of criminal cruelty in 1961. Only Lumumba’s gold-capped tooth remained to...
Among the potentially most consequential decisions by Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders in recent times was their agreement in March to amend the community’s operating treaty to allow it to proceed on multiple tracks. Or, enhanced cooperation...
After the schedule of international meetings held this month engaging CARICOM heads and ministers, the 43rd CARICOM Heads of Government Conference will be hosted by the President of Suriname Chandrikapersad (Chan) Santokhi in Paramaribo, July 3-5...
World leaders and people who believe that women should have inherent autonomy over their bodies have reacted with outrage at the decision by the US Supreme Court that overturned Roe v Wade, a half-century-old ruling that confirmed the...
Children squabbling over toys in a sandbox are only acting as expected. But when the sandbox becomes a Parliament or public fora of national discourse, it’s time to heed the advice in 1 Corinthians 13:11: “When I was a child, I spake as a child;...
It was at least a decade ago. I was leaving a hotel in New Kingston after a meeting, and walking by the poolside bar. A man with a familiar face, but whose name I could not recall, approached and greeted me. He reminded me that I had managed his...
After Kamina Johnson Smith’s failed effort to unseat Patricia Scotland to become secretary general of the Commonwealth, Jamaica can perhaps find solace in the agonising narrowness of the foreign minister’s defeat and how a few more votes might...
With all this confusion, concerning every pundit trying to parse the Emergency Powers Regulations, why not keep it simple? Anyone detained should be brought before a court at least once a week for a judge to determine custody, bail or release....
Many years ago, a perspicacious friend of mine remarked that the culture of a nation is so important that it should be directed/guided and not simply left to seek its own path. In this setting, culture’ is defined as: “The arts and other...
Prime Minister Andrew Holness is no doubt absolutely sincere when he asserts his commitment to liberal democracy and his willingness to defend the principles of this form of government. He will, therefore, understand that many people are uneasy at...
George Lamming, poet, novelist, essayist, political philosopher – one of the Caribbean’s finest writers – joined the ancestors on June 4. Born in colonial Barbados on June 8, 1927, Lamming intimately understood the racial politics of his times. A...
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak...
I hadn’t so much supported incumbent Commonwealth Secretary-General Baroness Patricia Scotland’s candidacy. Instead, I strongly opposed Kamina Johnson Smith’s candidacy for the role as Johnson Smith was Boris Johnson’s pawn. Yet, tellingly, more...
The Hon Kamina Johnson Smith, our minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade, was defeated in her challenge against Baroness Patricia Scotland, by three votes, for the position of secretary-general of the Commonwealth. This is a classic example...
She didn’t needs any help from the eponymous Scotland Yard to find the three votes, but British Baroness Patricia Scotland, born in Dominica with an Antiguan parent, beat back the challenge of Jamaican candidate Senator Kamina Johnson Smith and has...
For all the misery that the COVID-19 virus has wrought upon the world, it is also being credited for swelling the worldwide ranks of billionaires since 2020. Oxfam, the well-known UK charity, has revealed that a new billionaire was minted every 30...
It is time that several nations, led in the Western Hemisphere by the US and Canada, correct a foolish wrong. Among those countries are two member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), namely, Haiti and Jamaica. That wrong was not only...
There are organisations that add value and some that only provide ‘ad’ or advertising value. I saw one which said its product was “For those who keep coming”. Another of its ads boasted, “One of the greatest erections by a man!” and asked, “Want to...
One month ago, Thomas James was released from a Florida prison after spending 32 years behind bars. In 1991, at age 23, he was convicted of first-degree murder because the victim’s stepdaughter testified that she had seen James participating in the...
The real deterrent to committing murder (or any crime) is the certainty of being caught, charged, tried, convicted, and sentenced in a court of law. In my view, one of the causes of the high crime rate in Jamaica is the inability of our police...
Whatever is the final verdict in the remaining charges against the 28 alleged members of One Don/Clansman Gang still before the court for being a member of a criminal organisation and other crimes, it is clear that police and prosecutors have to...
It is entirely acceptable for persons, priests, social workers, researchers, and related institutions to engage criminals, hoping to persuade them to alter their ways. That is what they do. And there is value in such interventions. However,...
The world’s agri-food systems are facing mammoth challenges that are intertwined. These include conflict, weather extremes, economic shocks, the lingering impacts of COVID-19. Their ripple effects have pushed millions of people in countries across...
We are failing our children, and nothing seems to prod a sense of deep concern and urgency among very many of us. Yes, we talk about a myriad of issues, sometimes, but quite often, we quickly move on to the next hot topic. Seldom do we dedicate...
Senator Kamina Johnson Smith could be the catalyst that breathes new life and renewed meaning into the Commonwealth of Nations; arguably an institution which has mostly represented a space of silent contention with regard to its identity as a union...
