According to the World Health Organization (WHO), loneliness is a subjective experience arising from a mismatch between expected and actual quality/quantity of connections. Interestingly, someone can be alone and not be lonely, or be surrounded by...
There have been, especially in the early days, many reasons – including technical ones – offered by police forces for their reticence to embrace body-worn cameras (BWC). Cost was usually high on the list, and sometimes, concerns about the...
Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic concept confined to science fiction films. It’s here, it’s real, and it’s rapidly changing the world around us. Remember when AI was primarily known for generating quirky images? Now, there...
Hand wringing and critical post-election analysis are the expected reaction to an unsuccessful election campaign. Most of the post-election analysts would have been among most who in the immediate pre-election period were among those who were...
It is as if there is a mad-house script being followed. Could the chaotic drama on our roads really be so brilliantly spontaneous? But then, if there is indeed a pattern to it all, which evil genius could be its author? It is my firm contention...
As she contemplates solutions to Jamaica’s crisis of poor educational outcomes, the new portfolio minister, Dana Morris Dixon, would benefit from the insights of Grace Baston, former principal of Campion College, Jamaica’s most successful high...
Killings by members of the security forces in Jamaica is once again increasing, with a staggering 152 people killed since January. This trend places Jamaica on course to record the highest number of killings by law enforcement in about a decade....
Recently, the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ) advised Jamaican media companies that they won’t any longer have to pay for real-time access of voting results from its information management system during elections. Or, as the ECJ put it, it...
He played within the rules and won fair and square. Politics and democracy are about what or whom the people want. As with the talent shows, like our Digicel Rising Stars, it is not what the judges, commentators or experts think. Only votes count....
There has never hitherto been a single period in Jamaica’s economic history where all our macroeconomic fundamentals have trended in a positive direction simultaneously. There have been times when one or a few major indicators have shown creditable...
Most would have heard the anecdote about the frog sitting in a pot of cool water. The water is heated up very slowly and the frog relaxes in the warmth. It accommodates to the increasing temperature and does not realise the danger until it is too...
Cuba needs powerful, vocal friends right now as it faces a growing energy crisis. Their national grid suffered several blackouts in recent weeks and is reported to have sustained further damage Thursday when category 3 Hurricane Rafael crippled its...
Like much of the world, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries – at both governmental and public levels – are contemplating what relations to expect from a new Donald Trump administration. Judging from the opinion pieces, editorials, and...
Trump’s victory in the US reminds me of Richard Nixon who, in 1972, accused Chairman Mao of China of not having a democratic government. Nixon asked him flatly, “When was your last election?” The 79-year-old chairman answered flatly, “Last night...
Well now, the voters in the United States of America (USA) have chosen their evil. As I have written twice before in this space, the choices offered to the US electorate were not between good and evil, but between evil and greater evil, between...
The new education minister, Dana Morris Dixon, signalled that tackling problems in the early childhood sector will be among her priorities for fixing Jamaica’s poor education outcomes. She has also said that no child should leave school unable to...
It is hoped that by 2030, Jamaica will become the place of choice to live, work, raise families and do business. People need homes to live and raise their families in, so the current state of affairs in the housing market should be of some concern...
Elections sometimes deliver unwelcome and confusing outcomes. Usually, though, the consequences of those results are felt only in, or overwhelmingly by the citizens of the countries where the ballots were cast. But if you believe in democracy, and...
THROUGHOUT JAMAICA’S tourism sector, numerous challenges have been overcome, but the disruption caused by the global pandemic in 2020 was unprecedented. This period tested resilience like never before, demanding strategic foresight, cross-sector...
TWO KEY events last week should have highlighted to even the most uninitiated that cyber has, and will continue to impact our lives in previously unimaginable ways. The first was last Wednesday’s public lecture on Jamaica’s critical cybersecurity...
The police chief, Kevin Blake, didn’t say if a specific incident caused him to raise the rank of officers, to at least inspector, who can authorise the seizure of motor vehicles for traffic offences. Dr Blake’s move, however, should be applauded....
Determining who should bear the title of National Hero in Jamaica has been a rather contentious issue. The recent announcement by Prime Minister Andrew Holness that a new Order of National Icon will have Miss Lou and Bob Marley as its first...
By the time this article is published, the US elections will be over and there should be some idea of who has won – whether it is the Democratic candidate, Vice-President Kamala Harris, making history as the first woman to become US President, or...
There is a severe crisis in Jamaica now affecting our women, at least the heterosexual ones, and especially those who are educated. It is the shortage of available eligible men. Over almost three decades of being an obstetrician and gynaecologist...
A few weeks ago, when I returned to Jamaica after visiting my family, I took an airport taxi home. My driver, Tahjay York (not his real name), who has been driving for several years, greeted me warmly. As we settled in, he showed me a picture of...
