Jamaica has a profoundly moral obligation to unequivocally condemn the vote by Israel’s Knesset to ban the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). So, too, must the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). For...
RECENTLY, CHINESE President Xi Jinping attended the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia. This marked his first overseas visit after the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and the first BRICS Summit...
TUESDAY EVENING’S public lecture on Jamaica’s critical cybersecurity framework was an eye opener for those of us who are not on the frontlines of the ongoing cat-and-mouse game between cybercriminals and law-enforcement agencies. For those who are...
As the presidential election approaches, Democrats are buzzing with enthusiasm. This fervour is critical; it can drive the momentum that determines the winner. The stakes in this 2024 presidential election are extremely high; this election is...
There have been several meetings to follow in the last two weeks. There was the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, October 22-23; the 27th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa, October 25-26; and the opening of the 16th meeting of...
With general election on the horizon and the penchant of governments in these circumstances to find creative ways to open the financial spigots, Courtney Williams is getting into the business end of his job at a critical period, especially with...
We make jokes about it. Some of us feel uncomfortable speaking about it. Some of us feel guilt when we do it. And we give it weird and humorous names such as “choking the chicken”, “spanking the monkey”, “ringing the devil’s doorbell”, “rubbing one...
Early voting in the US elections is well under way in many states, but the majority of Americans will vote on November 5. Many critical issues are on the ballot, but democracy is paramount for the future of America and for liberal democracies...
They may be offended that we do so, insisting that the concerns raised therein are not a threat in Jamaica. Recent events, however, cause The Gleaner to differ. We, therefore, bring to the attention of Jamaica’s political parties and key...
The Gleaner welcomes the British government’s apparent new willingness to consider reparations for that country’s role in chattel slavery. We, however, hope that Keir Starmer’s movement is not merely a ploy to buy time in wearying discussion,...
At this very moment, millions of biological processes are happening all around us. The plants in our homes, the vegetation in gardens and parks, the trees in forests, or species in the depths of seas, rivers, and mountains are all experiencing...
Deliberate, life-sapping cruelty is the worst sin. When cruelty is elevated to national policy, it robs the perpetrators and their agents of all legitimacy and right to respect. To force refugees, women and babies too, without due process, back to...
In the face of the government’s agreement with a Canadian outfit to advance Jamaica’s ambition for nuclear energy, The Gleaner again – for the third time – urges an robust stakeholder engagement of the issue to ensure that there is a clear grasp...
Policymaking is by its nature challenging. It becomes easier, however, when you accept a fundamental reality of leadership, which incorporates a card-playing analogy: You do not choose your hand but must make the best plays with the hand that you...
Sean ‘Puff Daddy’, ‘P Diddy’ Combs has not yet been convicted of anything, period. And as ghastly as the allegations are, we must be careful when we throw stones. No corny references to Jesus’ admonition to the onlookers when they wanted to stone...
When my mother came to Jamaica from Cuba, she joined her relatives at 18 West Avenue in Greenwich Town. My father, and his several family members, occupied the guinep tree yard at the intersection of Spanish Town Road and Waltham Park Road. The two...
It is indeed an ill wind that blows no good! On the approach of National Heritage Week, Metry Seaga of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica publicly essayed an injudicious, awkward proposal concerning how the Emancipation and Independence...
One reason countries hire public relations (PR) firms is to manage a crisis. Governments from time to time have been known to reach out to international PR outfits to help them manage public perception during crises. Some other reasons for such...
Have you heard about how much meat pastries cost in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad as well as the rest of the English-speaking Caribbean? An old sailor in a Port-of-Spain bar told us that in Jamaica, beef pies cost $1.50. Goat pies cost around $2...
In the councils of the Organization of American States (OAS) and at least two of its associate institutions – the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) – much is spoken about the...
David Abrikian’s latest lament on the subject – as have been recent observations of other columnists and letter writers – has roused an ongoing peeve of this newspaper: Jamaica’s consistent failure at maintenance, even of the small, but important,...
You have to admit that Nigel Clarke is a bright fellah! In the months before a general election, governments (read “parties in power”) would love to have billions of dollars of cash in hand to spend to woo voters without printing money (which...
Earlier this week, a prominent hotel was left in a royal mess when its workers staged a protest which significantly disrupted the hotel’s service for more than two days. On Monday, videos surfaced of what looked like hundreds of irate workers...
Leaders of small political organisations may grasp the wrong lesson and therefore apply inappropriate strategies to the latest survey findings that six in 10 Jamaicans are not inclined to vote for third parties in general elections. The information...
OCTOBER IS Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and next Wednesday, October 30, the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) will be partnering with the Mona School of Business and Management (MSBM) to host a public lecture titled ‘...
