Sometimes I wonder if I am missing something. The Government is trying to convince us that they have put the economy in the best place it has been in forty years, and that is why our finance ministry has been commended by the IMF, the World Bank,...
As chaotic as its implementation may have been, this newspaper welcomes the ceasefire in the Israel-Iran bombing war, and hopes that it holds. For while Jamaica and the other members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) are thousands of miles from...
NOBODY NEEDED a PhD, a lab coat or expensive testing equipment to figure this one out, but in a “surprising” revelation from the ever-brilliant minds at MIT’s Media Lab this week, it turns out that using AI might be making our brains lazier. Wow!...
RECENTLY THE commissioner of police made a most welcome and logical public announcement, namely the cessation of ticketing motorists for running lights that are permanently on, day or night. An increasing number of motor vehicles over the last...
Christopher Samuda, the boss of the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA), has crossed the first hurdle. He has shown empathy for the Jamaican athletes who are decamping to Türkiye to improve their economic prospects. Mr Samuda, however, must now do...
THE THIRD Commonwealth Trade Ministers’ Meeting was held in Windhoek, Namibia, June 19-20. This is the first Commonwealth Trade Ministers’ Meeting to be held in Africa. The first two were held in London, England. This meeting is being addressed...
THE JAMAICA Labour Party (JLP) was once led by towering figures like Sir Alexander Bustamante, Donald Sangster, and Edward Seaga who were not black. So it’s bizarre – if not downright hypocritical – that this party now injects racial animus into...
What a preckeh dung a KFC last Wednesday! The franchise announced that, celebrating its 50th anniversary in Jamaica, it would offer two extra pieces of fried cholesterol to anyone purchasing what it incongruously called a “Big Deal”. KFC followers...
On Friday, June 13, Israel launched ‘Operation Rising Lion’, an unprecedented attack on Iran, in response to intelligence it claimed showed that the country was “approaching the point of no return” in the development of a nuclear weapon. The...
The revelation by this newspaper that nearly four in 10 (38 per cent) of Jamaica’s four-year-olds lagged on developmental milestones for their age raises serious questions of what has happened in early childhood development/education in the four...
“When I was growing up I had to look at the West Indies and Brian Lara for a hero to idolise. Today, young kids have more faces they recognise on TV. We’re showing that black people can bat and we’re not just meant to bowl.” Temba Bavuma (...
It is, on its face, a vote of confidence in the country that a clear majority of Jamaicans (56.8 per cent) would stay put, even if they had an opportunity to emigrate. Policymakers should, however, be cautious before they celebrate. For the...
On June 21, Hope Botanical Gardens in Kingston came alive as over 350 people gathered in a spirit of serenity, movement, and unity to celebrate the 11th International Day of Yoga (IDY). Organised by the High Commission of India in Kingston in...
Globally, the 1970s were marked by oil price shocks, soaring over 900 per cent, and high inflation. For Jamaica, this led to high material costs and forced IMF borrowing that constrained public spending. Yet, the 1970s were Jamaica’s second most...
The Government’s offer last week to public sector workers of a seven and a half per cent wage increase over four years is a serious injustice. How does the political class dare to put this forward when they have given themselves increases of...
“Culture is the DNA of our humanity,” said Lazare Eloundou Assomo, director of world heritage at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). This was echoed in deliberations at the recent UNESCO international...
The confirmation that two of the island’s medallists from the last Olympics, throwers Roje Stona and Rajindra Campbell, are shifting allegiance to Türkiye, will be disconcerting for many Jamaicans. Some people will see it as an act of disloyalty...
Mother’s Day was last month. A day of celebrating women who have carried, birthed, and/or cared for the next generation. However, women don’t seem to be itching to become mothers anymore. Across the globe, birth rates are plummeting. In countries...
The United States became the leading power and influence in the Western hemisphere and [to some extent] across the globe. People from many nations flocked to America in search of sanctuary, protection, freedom, and the opportunity for a better life...
Belief and reality are not the same, although it is perception which determines what we do, rather than facts. For example, if we believe that an individual is a paedophile, even if his heart is as clean as a crackhead’s bank account, we treat him...
Allen Chastanet, the St Lucian opposition leader who has served as the country prime minister, may have temporarily lost track of time and space – as well as his common sense – and found himself in a twilight zone. How else could you explain Mr...
The situation in Haiti is worsening, and the ordinary people of Haiti — already among the most impoverished in the Western Hemisphere — are its most tragic victims. They continue to exist, barely, in conditions of extreme poverty, rampant violence...
I was born on August 10, 1945. Before me, and long before I was born, on the first day of that month, August 1, 1819, was Herman Melville who told the story of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship Pequod, for vengeance against Moby Dick, the giant...
One of the important principles of public probity is that public funds should not be mingled with those of the ruling political party, and that taxpayers money should not be used to cover party political expenses, including the financing of...
Since Wednesday’s ‘free chicken’ mayhem, some Jamaicans have been wanting to know more about the 11 herbs and spices used to season KFC’s fried chicken. Certainly, black pepper and garlic couldn’t be responsible for Jamaica’s strange obsession with...
