Commentary
It is noted that the Jamaican and US governments have provided only scanty details of the December 11 talks in Kingston between Prime Minister Andrew Holness and senior officials of the US Department of Defense. But in the context of recent actions...
Comments
The HIV response in the Caribbean stands at a critical crossroad. Global funding is contracting, foreign aid cuts are accelerating, and a UN reform report has even proposed folding the Joint Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) into other agencies....
Christmas is a time for celebration. This is done through food, drink, music, dance, family gatherings, parties, church, social gatherings, occasions for frolicking, and, just simply having fun. Not to be outdone is the Christian focus on what we...
The advent of every new year reminds us that we are ageing. According to WHO 2020 data, the life expectancy of Jamaican males is around 74.4 years (the worldwide life expectancy for males is 70 to 71 years), and Jamaican females are expected to...
No Jamaican child born in 2025 or 2026 should be named Melissa. Never mind that the name means ‘honey bee’ or the bearer of honey. She is the story of the year. Wreaking havoc, more than 40 persons killed, thousands rendered homeless, innumerable...
The recent report on the decline of Jonkonnu celebrations in Moore Town is unsettling, and it should be for Jamaicans alike, especially those who are passionate about the country’s deep-rooted identity. Jonkonnu, a living expression of resistance...
First of all, I should have gone earlier to put things together and make sure they worked, demanded and liked by my wife especially. Unfortunately, I waited too long. Going into the weekend immediately before Christmas and hoping to complete all...
Jamaica’s economy depends on a workforce ready for change. Yet, our technical and vocational education and training (TVET) system remains segmented. A unified, high-standard accreditation framework is essential. Jamaica has long acknowledged the...
If that is indeed their intent, Antigua and Barbuda should abandon any plan to promote a boycott – whether domestically or region-wide – of imports from Trinidad and Tobago (TT). For while such a move might provide visceral satisfaction to those...
I read with great interest the article in The Gleaner of Monday, December 22, by Winsome Callum, director of corporate communications at the Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd (JPS) as she tried to explain why electricity bills for those of us not...
Welcome to the first day of ‘Twixmas’. ‘Twixmas’ is a relatively new term to describe the transitional period betwixt Christmas and the New Year. It’s that awkward period where people don’t quite know what to do with themselves. The festivities of...
Even though significant gaps remain in the justice system, the Jamaican courts are emerging as an important bulwark against actions – whether by private citizens or state officials – that would weaken constitutionally guaranteed rights and freedoms...
We are in Christmas week, a period that should be about joy, hope, generosity, peace and love. There has been a very strange build up to this Christmas. There has been the lingering pall of the destruction wrought by Hurricane Melissa in western...
Jamaica’s chronic water shortage in rural communities and the impact of neglect on food security is a ticking time bomb. Are we ready to address the crisis, or will history continue to repeat itself? In Lottery, St James, residents have lived for...
In times of crisis a good place to start the search for answers is in history – looking for how similar, or relevant, situations were handled in the past. Having only recently clawed its way back to a path of potential stability and for...
For the 14th time I celebrate my days around Gene Autry’s domino table by handing out awards named for the regulars. International Dunce Award: How does Donald Trump not win this award hands down? Elementary, my dear Watson. Firstly, there’s...
