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Commentary

Published:Tuesday | February 18, 2020 | 12:00 AMTracy-Ann McGhie-Sinclair/Guest Columnist

Our society has become obsessed with highlighting people’s shortcomings. This is quite evident in the way we talk about our leaders, partners, and even the unassuming man going about his business. This relentless focus on deficits has caused us to...

Published:Tuesday | February 18, 2020 | 12:00 AM

It seems that in Jamaica, road safety is more about motorists rather than all road users, including pedestrians, who make up the majority of road users. We are too lax when it comes to engendering greater safety on the roads for those who commute...

Published:Monday | February 17, 2020 | 12:00 AM

I grew up believing that Jesus was a white man. The Jesus I saw in my grandmother’s illustrated Bible was white, as well as the one in the framed ‘Sacred Heart’ picture displayed prominently in her living room...

Published:Monday | February 17, 2020 | 12:17 AMClinton Chisholm/Guest Columnist

In my recent column ‘Read the Bible Literarily, not LITERALLY’, printed in both the Jamaica Observer and the Jamaica Gleaner on Tuesday, February 4, I stressed the need to recognise various literary features of the kinds of literature in the Bible...

Published:Monday | February 17, 2020 | 12:17 AM

Recently, I was in line at a gas station when the driver directly in front of me wanted to get out from between me and the car in front of him. Instead of carefully backing up a little and then manoeuvring his way out of the line, he reversed so...

Published:Monday | February 17, 2020 | 12:16 AM

Strong, value-laden institutions are crucial for building and maintaining a culture of worth. Alexis de Toqueville, the French journalist who surveyed the strength of democracy in the young republic of the United States, correctly assessed its...

Published:Monday | February 17, 2020 | 12:00 AM

At their summit in Barbados in a week’s time, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders must clearly articulate their vision for the Commonwealth, including how they expect the organisation to serve their interests, and whether its current secretary...

Published:Sunday | February 16, 2020 | 12:00 AM

Lots of people, like this newspaper, will be excited by the idea of the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) adding electric buses to its fleet, as the Government has promised for the new fiscal year. Forty-five are to be acquired, Governor General...

Published:Sunday | February 16, 2020 | 12:00 AM

The Caribbean is located in the most violent zone in the world. It is not a zone of intimate harmony or partnership. In two pieces of research done on over 400 families, we found 25.3 per cent of youth reporting that their parents fight. This...

Published:Sunday | February 16, 2020 | 12:00 AM

“And you shall know the [bitta] truth! And the [bitta] truth shall set you free!” The Book of John 8:32 The Democratic Republic of Ethiopia has the fastest-growing economy in the world today, with an average growth rate of 9.5 per cent...

Published:Sunday | February 16, 2020 | 12:32 AM

CHAKA-CHAKA SPELLING Sunday gone, mi go fi a lickle walk eena di early morning. One nice breeze did a blow an mi feel sweet. Mi buss one corner an wa mi see? One hell of a dog eena di road! Di dog start bark after mi an a gwaan like seh it waan...

Published:Sunday | February 16, 2020 | 12:00 AM

It was an episode of Star Trek the Next Generation, and Commander Will Riker, first officer of the USS Enterprise, was on a Klingon ‘Bird of Prey’ ship. For the non ‘Trekkies’, the Klingons are a fictional race of humanoids, who are very much like...

Published:Saturday | February 15, 2020 | 12:00 AM

We believe Kingston’s Mayor Delroy Williams is sincere when he articulates his vision for transforming Kingston into a great place in which to live, work and spend leisure time. Indeed, business people and residents have been yearning for that kind...

Published:Saturday | February 15, 2020 | 12:00 AM

The Yoruba in Nigeria call it ‘Agbalumo’, Hausas know it as ‘chiwo’ and to the Igbo it is ‘udara’. Throughout Africa they boast about its many health benefits. One writer claims it can do everything, including preventing gum diseases, minimising...

Published:Saturday | February 15, 2020 | 12:00 AMOneil Madden/Guest Columnist

“I love you” are three of the most life-changing and relieving words that bring melody to the human ear; yet, this affirmation of affection or deep care is one that is hardly uttered by many men. Former American psychologist, Abraham Maslow, in...

Published:Friday | February 14, 2020 | 12:00 AM

Whether it was of its own volition, or nudged by the Holness administration, the Integrity Commission’s appointment of Greg Christie to be its executive director was an inspired move. At the same time, no one should expect that, in his new position...

Published:Friday | February 14, 2020 | 12:00 AM

Many of us have never been homeless, but thousands of Jamaicans live this reality on streets, in open lots, and in abandoned structures. A recent interaction with a homeless person struck a deep chord with me and caused me to reflect on life. It...

Published:Friday | February 14, 2020 | 12:00 AM

I am sure almost all of us who live in Jamaica have to go through two, three or four police/military checkpoints as we go about our daily business. What do the authorities hope to achieve by these operations? Do the young boys and girls who staff...

Published:Thursday | February 13, 2020 | 12:00 AM

In recent times, I attended – twice - the Basil Dawkins’ play Once a Man, Twice a Wife. The second time was with friends, Sharon and her husband, Timothy Stewart, the first non-American to head the 2.5-million-strong membership of the Progressive...

Published:Thursday | February 13, 2020 | 12:00 AM

Economist Mark Ricketts’ outline (Sunday, February 9) of Jamaica’s economic scene, both positive gains and persistent landmines, appears to be a fair one. In short, everyone agrees that the solution to the problems has escaped us so far. No one,...

Published:Thursday | February 13, 2020 | 12:00 AM

Last week, while enjoying a cup of coffee and listening to the morning news, I was bemused by a sound bite of Transport Minister, Robert Montague, citing the police for being unnecessarily punitive in seizing taxis being operated in a reckless...

Published:Thursday | February 13, 2020 | 12:00 AM

The rediscovery of the manuscript a decade ago, and Penguin Classics’ publication this week of Claude McKay’s novel, Romance in Marseille, is a big deal in literary America. It should be in Jamaica, too. Perhaps the attention on McKay can be used...

Published:Wednesday | February 12, 2020 | 12:00 AM

Jamaica’s law-enforcement authorities should explain their seeming inability to catch, and prosecute, anyone in the notorious guns-for-drugs trade between Jamaica and Haiti, which appears to be heavily concentrated at Old Harbour Bay, on this...

Published:Wednesday | February 12, 2020 | 12:16 AM

An article in The Sunday Gleaner of February 2, 2020 titled ‘ACP sugar producers want UK to provide new incentives’ led me to reflect further on the UK-ACP relationship post-Brexit. Resulting from the membership of the United Kingdom (UK) in the...

Published:Wednesday | February 12, 2020 | 12:00 AMJohn Mahfood/Guest Columnist

There is no shortage of discussion on the issue of crime and violence in Jamaica and the possible causes and cures. For certain, there are many causes, and many possible actions to be taken to combat it, but there has been no clear plan of action...

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