- Defendants in Jamaican lottery scam case reach plea deal with US authorities 7:40 PM
- Demoted executive shoots company CEO, commits suicide 7:14 PM
- Kellogg's sales hurt as dieters drop Special K 7:04 PM
- CPL T20: Tallawahs defeat Hawksbills in rain-affected match 6:36 PM
- PHOTO: A silver kiss for Mom 5:50 PM
- CPL T20: Tallawahs need 87 to win rain affected match v Hawksbills 5:30 PM
- FOREX: $112.85 to one US dollar 5:29 PM
- Trinidad Sports Minister Anil Roberts resigns 4:45 PM
- Rain! Rain! At last 4:26 PM
- Another 1-2-3 for Jamaica 3:20 PM
- Clean sweep men's 200m 3:15 PM
- Commonwealth Games: Okagbare wins 200m to take sprint double 2:53 PM
- Real estate developer on fraud charges offered bail 2:43 PM
- Commonwealth Games: Spencer wins 400m hurdles, Russell third 2:29 PM
- 8 cops in INDECOM case fined $650,000 each 2:16 PM
- CPL T20: Tallawahs win toss send in Hawksbills 2:14 PM
- Commonwealth Games: Jason Morgan gets discus bronze 1:19 PM
- Commonwealth Games: Livermore, Dwyer, Weir in 200m final 1:10 PM
- Commonwealth Games: Calvert, Henry-Robinson, McLaughlin through to women’s 200m final 1:05 PM
- Gov't allocates $57m for Grand Gala celebration 12:48 PM
- Antigua Attorney General to face court for passport fraud 12:35 PM
- US scientists indentify ‘suicide’ gene 12:16 PM
- Alicia Keys pregnant with second child 11:47 AM
- Thief puts on Rasta wig before robbing London woman 11:19 AM
- UPDATE: Twitter fans jump to Bolt’s defence 10:39 AM
Columns
Teachers dither, others rush to be professionals
A crucial issue in the education reform report of 2004 is of teaching "grounded in centuries of socio-cultural practices". Antiquity can be blessing or curse. Teaching is the engine room which delivers core content and "manners" in school, a big cost centre. The report cites "poor performance" of ... Read More
The water truck cometh
IT took almost a full week for our cries to be heard. "Please, if we can get some water... Please s ... Read More
Is Rev Al Miller up to his old tricks again?
Immediately after the German World Cup football side had registered its defeat against finalists Arg ... Read More
Loyola and 'emancipendence'
TODAY is the feast of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus. He died on Jul ... Read More
Protectionism is dead. Long live protectionism!
IF you follow the news, you will hear regularly various treaties — GATT's Uruguay Round, NAFTA, CAFTA, TPP — described as "Free Trade Agreements", whose purpose is to "reduce trade barriers". This is a lie. Without exception, such agreements actually strengthen the one form of protectionism most vital to safeguarding corporate interests against competition in our time: so-called intellectual property. In a recent Facebook discussion David K Levine, co-author (along with Michele B ... Read More
Engaged scholarship needed for Ja's growth and development
IS there lack of relevance or is there real contribution to the growth and development of Jamaica by the tertiary institutions? In general, one can argue from the standpoint that some of the studies conducted by tertiary institutions are of a scholarly background and tend to be in silos. They are based probably on the researchers' personal ego and bias, and, therefore, have no relevance to the real issues facing society. Another possible discourse is that faculty members may be influenced by ... Read More
God is speaking to our nation in the drought
"If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you rain in its season and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit in due season." Leviticus 26: 3-4 A wise people will listen to the voice that speaks and seek to understand what it is saying. Ignoring the loud voice that speaks is to our peril. The drought is the voice of God calling to a nation to examine itself and its direction to remember the God of their fathers, to return to the faith of their ... Read More
What does it mean to be Jamaican?
MANY of us, at home or abroad, have a love-hate relationship with our country. The love part is about the richness of our natural resources and the vibrancy of the culture we have created from the fusion of our predominantly African ancestry, sprinkled with Taino, Asian and Europeans. It manifests itself in our world view and lifestyles that are uniquely and proudly ours. The part that many of us are challenged by is our relationship to the State -- the political arrangement that has as its pr ... Read More
Jamaica's Federation of courageous women
It is a myth that Jamaican women do not support each other. Jamaica is blessed in her brave and compassionate sisters who have empowered not only women but all members of their national family. The Jamaica Federation of Women (JFW) emerged out of a history of strong leaders, like national heroine Nanny of the Maroons; Mary Seacole, who was an angel of mercy to soldiers in the Crimean War of the mid-19th century; and Jessie Ripoll, founder of Alpha in 1880. What a charge it gave us to share a ... Read More
'Free paper soon bun' — Homework time
— John Cotton Dana HOMEWORK is often a bad word for students. Yet, homework, otherwise known as practicing, is an important element in a student's overall success. Over the years, the issue of homework has been controversial and contentious. Opinions concerning homework are split among educators, parents and even students. Educators have diverse opinions about the need for homework. Parents, too, also have strong views about how often, how much, and what types of homework their child ... Read More
Let us pray ...for rain
THE God of the Judeo-Christian tradition, as portrayed in the Bible, is one who is concerned with the providential care of his people, which includes the forces of nature and history for the well-being of his people. Indeed, for those unfamiliar with this notion, Psalm 104 may be considered a song of praise to the God of creation capturing every facet of God's involvement in the life of the created order through the seasons and, most specifically for our purpose, the provision of the rains for t ... Read More
The flood of economic woes in the drought
It was a whopping 96 degrees in the shade last Thursday afternoon in the Grant’s Pen community as Liz complained to me that the drought was 'mashing up' her life. Uneducated, in her late 50s and with grandchildren to look after, the only work she has ever known is how to wash other people's clothes and, in general, satisfy their domestic needs like cleaning the bathroom, sanitising the bedrooms, washing the dishes, and keeping the kitchen clean. “Mi have two work dat mi would norm ... Read More
Passing IMF tests necessary, but not sufficient
"Loyalty to the country always. Loyalty to the government when it deserves it." Mark Twain TO say that the details of Dr Pauline McKenzie's letter to the Daily Observer last Tuesday are frightening is an understatement. Once again we see another example where our Government is falling down on the job disgracefully. Yes, Yes, I heard the arguments about IMF, resource constraints and tight fiscal space, and the rest of the formulised explanations for the rotten state of everything in Jamaica. Bu ... Read More
When Norman Manley won and lost a referendum (Part 1)
1953 was an active year for pioneer bauxite/alumina activities in Jamaica. Early in the year, on January 7, Alumina Jamaica (later known as Alcan), made its first alumina shipment, 2,300 tons, 'packed in stout paper bags', on the SS Trident, from Railroad Pier No 3 in Kingston. Reynolds had already shipped its first bauxite cargo on June 5, 1952, and dedicated its plant and shipping pier on January 9, 1953. Kaiser Bauxite Company made its first shipment from Port Kaiser on the Manchester /St E ... Read More
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