Peter Phillips lost it last Tuesday evening. Badly. Stung by a charge from government Member of Parliament Gregory Mair that he was a CIA agent, Phillips, after wailing that government members had put in danger the lives of himself and his family, threatened, "Mr Speaker, let them come, because I can deal with all of them."
Farmer Joe had a lot on his mind: neither Harry nor I could get in a word edgewise. He was irate, livid. Who will ever forget Farmer Joe, with cellular phone at his ear, among his cultivation in the massive Jamaica Labour Party advertising campaign during the last general election campaign, advising Sista P: "A nuh mi seh suh?"
Hosni Mubarak has finally capitulated under massive and intense people protest and has left the Egyptian government in the hands of the armed forces. The protesters wanted democracy in place of autocratic rule. Are they about to get it?
The Government of Jamaica is to be congratulated on raising US$400 million in the eurobond market. Coming a year after a painful restructuring of domestic debt, and with concerns about heightened debt in a context of protracted economic contraction, the achievement is even more remarkable.
The national vision statement in the Vision 2030 Jamaica, National Development Plan (the Vision 2030) is to make "Jamaica the place of choice to live, work, raise families, and do business".
When Dorothy Lightbourne declared that she heard about Manatt, Phelps & Phillips' involvement with the Government of Jamaica only when Peter Phillips made the revelation in Parliament, many were willing to believe her, even though her ignorance had a ring of incredulity to it.
The youths have turned upon the minister with responsibility for them - and then upon each other. But why should there even be a Ministry of Youth? And, logically, where is the Ministry of Children, of the Aged, and of the age group in-between? We do have a growing child sector in government and one for gender, which really means women.
Two trends in political studies of the past 40 years are captured by the titles, What Makes Democracies Endure and Why Men Rebel. Scholars have tried to find out how democracies emerge, survive and consolidate themselves. They had thought that there was a wave of democratic consolidation following the rebellion against military regimes from the 1970s and the fall of communism post-1990.
Enquiry, shamquiry. That was pretty much the initial attitude of the general public towards the ongoing Manatt-Dudus commission. Not only have we grown accustomed to enquiries costing taxpayers lots of money and producing nothing of value, but the relentless press coverage of the Manatt saga over the past year left most people utterly sick of the topic.
Jamaica is not the only developing country feeling the effects of rapid globalisation in the furniture and woodworking industries. I thought it would be of interest to share the challenges of the Jamaican industry - including the issue of globalisation - and what companies here are doing to fight back.
When Prime Minister Bruce Golding inadvertently commented in the House of Representatives, "Give me another Greg Christie," it served to pay Contractor General Christie a supreme accolade that spoke for the feelings of a great many people who value the work of the fearless administration.
Most developing countries, like Jamaica, are characterised as rural nations, based on the greater part of their populations living in the rural areas and who are engaged primarily in agricultural enterprises.
The day Minister of Justice and Attorney General Dorothy Lightbourne takes her seat at the Manatt-Dudus commission of enquiry - assuming she recovers soon from her illness - this country will be totally shut down, with the largest live television...
In November 2010, UNAIDS released its report on the global AIDS epidemic. This very important and eye-opening report has provided the needed information for every nation to revise and reaffirm the world's commitment to conquering the scourge of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Jean-Claude Duvalier is back in Haiti. The worst fear is that the Duvalierists there are trying to take advantage of the confusion and political vacuum since the unbelievably bad decision...
Whenever there is an announcement by the minister of labour of an increase in the national minimum wage, it has always sparked a controversial debate about the appropriateness of the increase.
The front-page story of The Sunday Gleaner, January 23, titled 'Boot 'Babsy': youth leaders want portfolio shifted to education ministry', is an exaggeration, but it brings to the fore a number of issues surrounding youth development.
I believe in heavy doses of capitalism as the foremost formula for a nation's economic strength and material development. I am also aware that it is a prescription with some dangerous side effects that can weaken the will of a people and damage their national spirit.
Libel Reform joint select committee member Horace Chang was especially poignant in Parliament last Tuesday as the House passed the long-overdue report of the committee. "Freedom of expression is not synonymous with freedom of the press, as the press in the modern world is not free but very much part of the business elite."
Below is an excerpted address by P.J. Patterson, CARICOM's special envoy to Haiti, to the Jamaica Stock Exchange Investments and Capital Markets Conference last Wednesday.
