When I learnt of the explosive clash between a medical doctor and the mother of an ill child at the accident and emergency unit of the Bustamante Hospital for Children, my initial reaction was empathy… for both the doctor and the mother. According...
Bolivia is the latest front line where the credibility of the Organization of American States (OAS) is on test, further underlining the need for urgent action to rebuild hemispheric trust in the organisation. Such a reboot would likely have to...
By our very nature, history and culture, Jamaicans are a proud people. We are proud of our identity as Jamaicans, and proud of our heritage that binds us as one. This is most evident when Jamaicans cross paths overseas. The mere recognition of our...
There is an obvious nexus between the exchange rate stability issues that have been concentrating Richard Byles’ mind and the Douglas Orane’s reflections, in a post on this newspaper’s blog site, Viewpoints, as well as the In Focus section of today...
Are leaders expected to behave better than the general public? It’s an interesting question, but not one I thought applicable to our situation where I believe it’s firmly established that we expect our leaders to behave worst than the average man...
I don’t know how much Spanish the Hispanic American Ambassador speaks, but in Jamaica his name Tapia means ‘stop here’ or ‘hold on’. Of course, in Spanish, it means ‘a wall’ but his role is that of a bridge. His is an intriguing story of how poor...
CHAKA-CHAKA SPELLING Mi woulda never lost mi pass go call dem deh ambassador ‘thief’. Donald Tapia an Tian Qi? No sah! Fi wi Jamaica proverb no directly mean seh a thief wi a talk bout. A metaphor! Yu see dat deh word. It come from Greek: ‘...
It will surely take more than platform speeches from Government ministers to get the hotel industry to embrace local foods and understand the concept of satisfying the emerging food tourist. Appeals, like the most recent one from Agriculture...
Because it is frustrating when you think you know all the answers but nobody bothers to ask you the questions, you advertise a lecture and, in addition to signs everywhere, including posts on Facebook, you promise free admission, food and drinks....
In 2015, 37,575 grade six students sat the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT). During the registration process, they identified five high schools in hopes of matriculating into one of them. Each school was complemented with a rationale for selection...
Three months into the job, Richard Byles is facing his first big test, not only of his technical skills, but of his nerves as a central banker. He is having to balance the social and political pressures that come with a sharp depreciation of the...
Recently, social media has been buzzing with images and information regarding the confrontation between People’s National Party councillor Kari Douglas and a medical doctor at the Bustamante Hospital for Children. According to the report in The...
As early as a child begins to put meaning to words, we start badgering them with the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” A child at age 10 is blissfully unaware of the differences between the work of an engineer versus that of an...
Last Saturday I attended the world premiere screening of Fly Me to the Moon, the latest product of Jamaican film-maker Esther Figueroa. This very informative documentary on the bauxite industry in India, Suriname and Jamaica showed in living colour...
The bane of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is its slowness in getting things done, and how little information, including hard data, it actually shares with its critical stakeholders: the people of the Caribbean. It hardly ever meets deadlines,...
As the Internet exploded exponentially in the late 1990s so did social media in the next decade and beyond. As soon as its marketing potential to build brands and to solidify well-earned reputations was recognized and utilized, so did the downside...
Admiral Craig S. Faller, commander of the United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), last week warned Jamaica to be wary of China’s activities throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, citing security concerns regarding China’s ties with...
Recently, the Qahal Yahweh church was subjected to a police operation, supported by the Child Development Agency’s investigations. Aspects of this operation were captured on video. The Qahal Yahweh Church is a separate community church with the...
Published:Wednesday | November 13, 2019 | 12:00 AM
The Jamaica dollar has been trading at an all-time low for the past three weeks. Yesterday morning, trading opened at J$141.95 to US$1. We asked our social media followers: How comforted are you by the pronouncements of the Bank of Jamaica that the...
Published:Wednesday | November 13, 2019 | 12:00 AM
It’s perhaps time for Kamina Johnson Smith, Jamaica’s foreign-affairs minister, to have a talk with Donald Tapia, the US ambassador. Not an informal one. Mr Tapia should be summoned to the foreign-affairs ministry, which Prime Minister Andrew...
Published:Wednesday | November 13, 2019 | 12:35 AM
I am from Discovery Bay. For fear of being sued, I am withholding my name. I am on the beach every day and I cannot sit by and watch Lee Arbouin, president of the Community Development Committee, being made out to be a liar when I myself have...
Published:Wednesday | November 13, 2019 | 12:00 AM
From November 3-9, the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, prime minister of Jamaica, led a delegation to attend the Second China International Import Expo (CIIE) and paid an official visit to the People’s Republic of China. It’s the first visit by...
Published:Wednesday | November 13, 2019 | 12:00 AM
On November 5, Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados, who has lead responsibility in the quasi-Cabinet for the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), hosted a regional town hall meeting on the CSME. This meeting was scheduled in the lead-up to...
Fifteen months, which is when the next general election becomes due in Jamaica, isn’t a long time from now. We’d be surprised, though, if Prime Minister Andrew Holness, seeking to take advantage of perceived divisions in the Opposition People’s...
This push to have Patois as an official Jamaican language is nuanced and complicated. Language has been one of the great dividers on this little rock. As people open their mouths, impressions are formed and judgements are passed about education,...
