In Focus

THE FIGHTER-BOMBER waggled its mighty wings as it circled the town, and then suddenly dived into a shallow bombing run. Bright light of the midday sun gleamed on its polished metal skin. The deafening roar of its straining Rolls Royce engines filled the ears of awe-struck children and adults on the ground alike.

CALLS FOR laws to address the "reckless and conscious transmission" of HIV touch a nerve. The ensuing public dialogue and quick political feedback are fuelled by increased awareness of the Caribbean's 18,000 new HIV infections every year, 2,100 of which are in Jamaica.

AFTER FORTY-NINE years of gaining political independence, Jamaica remains at a stage where it is still struggling to settle on certain foundational issues necessary for the development and establishment of true nationhood. Tangible evidence of this has been the disturbing lack of conviction and passion in undertaking the pilgrimage to the 'common good' as the primary goal of public life and policy.

Perhaps we should pause to consider what message Nelson Mandela, the powerhouse statesman of our time, would have had for us here in Jamaica, as he celebrated his 93rd birthday, had we sought such a message as our country prepares to mark 49 years as an independent nation.

We are approaching two periods in our history which coincide incidentally. First, there is a pending crisis in the economy resulting from a serious fallout in meeting the targets of the current International Monetary Fund (IMF) standby agreement ... Second, the 50th anniversary of the Independence of Jamaica is due next year.

They did it for sport. Chop off the head of your captives in one blow and you win the game. Of course, that is after you have brutalised them and taken away their humanity. If you did not decapitate him in one fell swoop, you had to try again with another victim or you lose.

Francis Wade is a young management consultant whose passion is the transformation of Caribbean workplaces, economies and societies. He wants to do so by getting people to think creatively about wealth and investments. He has been writing on the subject in this newspaper and elsewhere and has made me revisit a thought that seems appropriate at this time of reflection on Emancipation.

Next year when we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of political Independence, some thought, I hope, will be given as to who should wear the heroic garland for conceptualising and initiating the march towards Jamaican self-government.

Martin Henry takes strong exception to the targeting of partisan commentators.

More than four decades after sexually abusing his daughter, this man has been put behind bars. There are important lessons, writes Glenda Simms.

Over the past decade, there has been increased effort to converge the standards affecting the global financial reporting framework.

The recent Supreme Court decision that the amended Bail Act was unconstitutional is an important one for Jamaica's jurisprudence.