Born and raised in Jamaica, I migrated to Florida in 1979 when I was 18 years old. During my high-school years at Alpha Academy in Kingston, my parents never allowed me to attend Champs. Truth be told, I had very traditional parents and my social...
Cervical cancer continues to be a major health issue. Worldwide, it is both the fourth-most common cause of cancer and the fourth-most common cause of death from cancer in women. But the malady is easily avoidable. The Pap smear is a test that has...
Simply saying that everyone will experience prosperity will not make it happen. A few economic measures like increasing taxes and shuffling them around won't cut it. Given our status as a developing country, I dare say that the majority of...
One of the haunting stories of our popular culture, a tale that is told and retold in folklore at generational intervals, is the stellar rise and tragic fall of Jamaica's mad musical genius, the legendary Don Drummond. The trombone was the...
That is how the prime minister described the annual $30-billion public-sector pension 'bang-belly' of the Budget last Tuesday. And that figure will keep growing as early retirement is promoted, retirees live longer, and as pensioners...
It is not surprising that Peter Phillips, the new opposition leader, observed, as this newspaper did, the failure of the Government’s public-sector pension bill to set a timetable for the launch of a segregated pension fund, or to say when...
Mark Golding, the leader of opposition business in Jamaica's Senate, is a politician whom we tend to think acts on principle.That's why we are surprised at Mr Golding's statement that the People's National Party's (PNP) senators will decide "in a...
Last January, I wrote a column with the headline 'FLOW + LIME = minus zero'. One of the most humorous responses was this: "Your LIME/FLOW equation must be the most accurate since Einstein's famous solution!" What Albert Einstein discovered is that...
Chupski and I arrived at the Marescaux Road office of the National Water Commission (NWC) at 10:15 a.m. last Wednesday. Our ticket was B88 and they were servicing B64. They had about five desks with customer-care agents, plus about two others for...
I'm imagining that it's time for some kind of Consumer Affairs Commission geared towards politics and public policy. I'm thinking of the kind of place people can take a defective product so they can get some help in forcing the store to replace it....
American football, as distinctly different from the game of soccer, is a major sport in North America. The structure of the game is well defined in the USA. It starts its first organisational methodology at Pop Warner level at age seven, then steps...
Published:Friday | March 31, 2017 | 12:00 AMGwynne Dyer
“My administration is putting an end to the war on coal,” said Donald Trump, surrounded by the usual gaggle of officials and (in this case) coal miners, as he put his supersize signature on the Energy Independence Executive Order. But...
I don't remember being absent-minded, but my family sure does.I sat talking to my wife and two daughters when the conversation shifted to my memory. I admitted that recently, I wore two different-coloured shoes for about two weeks, and it was only...
The Jamaican Government has had to make some tough choices in its latest Budget. And there is growing consensus among the population that the election promise to raise the income tax threshold to $1.5 million is the big factor driving these...
Jamaica isn’t the only country hoping to battle an epidemic of obesity, and associated lifestyle diseases, by promoting changes in consumption habits, especially towards sugary foods. As the health minister, Christopher Tufton, was this week...
The Gleaner of May 21, 2016, quotes International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission Chief Dr Uma Ramakrishnan as stating that the Government’s 2016-2017 Budget “is being done in a prudent and responsible way so that it is fully revenue...
The experts, by and large, all feel it is a done deal for Kingston College and Edwin Allen to win Boys and Girls' Championships, respectively. I see some of these analysts checking out their spreadsheets almost daily and making adjustments here and...
As part of an initiative to foster a better relationship between 'town and gown', a concept adopted globally by many universities and colleges, The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, has embarked on an ambitious programme to redevelop Mona...
It is heartening to know citizen safety and security and our access to, and securing of justice, are national priorities which (seemingly?) enjoy the keen attention of both the Opposition and Government. The Prime Minister. Andrew Holness and...
A couple weeks ago, Dr. Winston Dawes, sports medicine expert, in commenting on the appealby the Jamaica Anti-doping Commission (JADCO) of the 12-month ban on the famous, flamboyant cricketer, Andre Russell, claimed that person or persons were '...
The two boys appeared to be about 14 and one was a bleacher. It was a weekday and I figured that they ought to be in school, instead of rolling spliffs and smoking weed."That thing not too good for you if you start smokingit early," I said to the...
Earlier this week, Ruel Reid, the education minister, repeated his intention to end the serving of sugary drinks with meals under the Government's School Feeding Programme, the aim being to improve the nutrition of students, thereby improving their...
Published:Monday | March 27, 2017 | 12:00 AMAnnie Paul
“Real leaders don’t care who they offend, if in offending they are serving the cause of humanity and working for the good of their country. Jesus Christ was the greatest offender when he was on earth, and we ought to take a leaf out of...
Not for the first time, Delroy Chuck, the justice minister, is a little ahead of himself, suggesting that Parliament has already passed the National Identification and Registration Act. It has not.Mr Chuck's haste may be understandably Freudian. He...
I could not hold my pen or in this case my fingers from typing a response to what I will call ISSA's (de)fence concerning the eligibility of Kingston College athlete, Aryamanya Rodgers of Uganda.I will start this précis with a disclaimer and a few...
