Commentary

For the past 10 years, I have asked Santa Claus for the same gift.

Growing up, Gene Autry and I were avid comic collectors.Comics arrived on Thursdays.

P.J. Patterson not only has a good brain, but is an astute politician who, as prime minister of Jamaica, spoke deliberately, weighing his words with seeming care. He was known to explain to people who complained about his style that it was better that way. It was more difficult for him to be taken out of context.

We all pity the people of Cuba who have lived under tyranny and deprivation most, if not all their lives. The things we take for granted they can only dream of. Therefore, any help offered to them must be welcomed, provided it is offered in principle and in such a way that it will help them and not their oppressors.

So,another year has almost passed and Christmas is upon us again. The time of year when we reflect on the birth of someone we are told is our Lord and Saviour, who we better accept or we burn eternally in Hell.

As a doctoral student in the United Kingdom, I had the opportunity to visit Cuba a few times as part of my thesis field research examining that country's recently introduced foreign direct investment laws and the impact on their tourism, tobacco and rum industries.

Barack Obama's announcement of his decision to thaw and normalise America's frigid relations has inevitably triggered a flurry of discussion, including in official circles, on the impact this policy shift may have on Jamaica and its partners in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).