So, on December 10, Wonderland finally came to Alice as Australia banned social media for users younger than 16. The compound idiocy of the ban was underscored in a statement by Meta regional policy director Mia Garlick: “For all our users [under...
In classrooms today, one figure sits quietly at the margins: not teacher, not therapist, yet essential to a child’s learning journey. Commonly known as ‘shadows’, these individuals were originally intended to serve as temporary bridges, supporting...
They mightn’t have cost the big sums that occasionally trigger an angry national venting. However, the latest management foozles at Parliament, including rookie bungling of procurement contracts, suggest the need for a deeper review, and probable...
If you ever wanted to experience ALL the political seasons in one year, then 2025 was the perfect opportunity to get on that political roller coaster of chaos and mayhem. It’s been terrifying enough to make you wish you never got on the ride in the...
Asked what he felt was the major fault line of American culture at this time, retired Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy named the absence of civility – defined as the practised respect – first for self (very different from self-obsession) and...
Even before Hurricane Melissa caused major destruction in the west of the island, early childhood education, like the rest of Jamaica’s education system, was in deep crisis. The storm has made the situation far worse, demanding immediate, and...
When the prime minister recently cautioned Jamaicans not to rush into building concrete roofs after Hurricane Melissa, did he offer wise advice? His point was simple: do not trade one hazard for another. To understand this deeper, we must...
A surname like mine often makes me the butt of corny jokes. However, having a dressmaker mother, and more than basic competence with a sewing machine and scissors, the joke is on those who asked me if I can fabricate garments. Even more...
With impressive speed, the Jamaican Government and its international financial partners announced a US$6.7 billion package to finance the island’s reconstruction from the destruction from Hurricane Melissa. The Category 5 storm, packing sustained...
Nowadays, I find myself either quoting or referring to my father (of blessed memory). He was a visionary trapped in and limited by a flawed bureaucratic system ... a system that still exists today. From way back in the early 1980s, he used to say...
Hurricanes are becoming more destructive. What cost Jamaica under US$1 billion in the 1950s now costs nearly US$9 billion in 2025 — damaging roads, water systems, cutting power to most of the island, and overwhelming communities from Catherine...
For older persons, technology covers a wide array of things, ranging from at-home devices to social media, especially WhatsApp, to financial management, and there are differing attitudes and responses from older persons depending on the technology...
There are ongoing concerns about the state of the world’s children, wherein one in five children in low- and middle-income countries are severely deprived in at least two areas crucial for their health, development and well-being. Drawing from data...
The Caribbean is living through a moment of rising geopolitical tension. As the United States intensifies pressure on the Maduro government in Venezuela, the ripples reach CARICOM shores fast. None of these countries chose this confrontation, yet...
At 80-plus years, my memory is not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my memory is not as sharp as it used to be. Not remembering what I’m saying makes me, like Winston Churchill, the British statesman, to meet my maker. As Churchill said, and I feel...
Trinidad and Tobago’s prime minister, her ministers and her defenders are involved in a fantastic and unconvincing attempt to deceive the public. Why have the Americans deployed their flotilla, including the US Joint Task Force, into the Caribbean...
The mention of infrastructure typically conjures up thoughts of buildings, bridges, roadways and other facilities. However, infrastructure and systems in public health refer to essential services and the capabilities to deliver these services...
All across the earth, there are examples of identity crises. A teenager might really not want to be a child, but is still a child. A boy might really not want to be a male, but is still male. A man cub might really want to be a wolf and therefore...
Every time I hear talk of “cancelling Christmas” I cringe. The celebration by Christians of “the Word becoming flesh” cannot be cancelled by governments or shopkeepers. Any talk of “Christmas in July” makes a mockery of a serious event which has...
Even within the widespread destruction and human misery caused by Hurricane Melissa in western Jamaica, the parish of Westmoreland is a special special case. It is in need of urgent and specific interventions. It is not merely that Westmoreland...
After the hurricane, the environment is impacted by flooding, erosion, and contamination from sewage, dead animals, debris, agricultural waste and chemical substances. The effect is already being felt. While this article was being written, the...
Hurricanes of Melissa’s intensity are not meant to appear with such frequency, nor develop such destructive force just moments before landfall. Yet here we are, facing the climate reality scientists have warned us about for decades. Homes reduced...
IN TODAY’S world many of us are losing sight of the fact that modern conflicts have negative impacts upon our own well-being and make it even more difficult for small island developing states to achieve developmental goals. The conflicts between...
Roston Chase, the captain of the West Indies’ Test team, is right that the Caribbean’s cricket infrastructure lags behind what’s available to most of the region’s international counterparts. While these deficiencies may factor in the team’s...
Published:Wednesday | December 10, 2025 | 10:45 AM
Saying there are significant concerns by many in Jamaica and in the diaspora that the government on its own cannot be trusted to distribute hurricane relief without bias and favour would be an understatement. There is context for these concerns....
