Commentary

A member of the JCF is seen wearing a body-worn camera.
May 1, 2026

Peter Espeut | Contempt for the people

“People shouldn’t be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people”. - Alan Moore, in V for Vendetta (1989). For democracy to work well, governments should be afraid of…
Kristen Gyles writes: All Jamaicans want is a reasonable explanation as to why officers who are engaged in planned operations are not being outfitted with BWCs. And why should they not get one?
May 1, 2026

Kristen Gyles | Civic engagement or ‘donmanship’?

After some years of muddy communication and mixed signals coming out of parliament on the use of body-worn cameras (BWCs) by our police, it is finally becoming clear. Apparently, the issue was never…
FILE - Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez smiles during a meeting with a delegation led by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, February 11, 2026.
April 30, 2026

Editorial | CARICOM and Caracas

Delcy Rodríguez’s charm offensive in the Caribbean, and her promotion of a Venezuela-Barbados partnership on renewable energy, highlight the need for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to fashion a…
Ruthlyn James
April 30, 2026

Ruthlyn James | Masculinity under pressure: The hidden curriculum of violence

A recent school incident unsettled the country, not only because a boy was physically assaulted on camera, but because of what the explanation seemed to permit. In the school’s public statement, the…
Former Reggae Boyz technical director, Rene Simoes, speaks to students of Garvey Maceo High School in Clarendon recently.
April 30, 2026

Dennis Blake | Jamaica is losing its classrooms — and we are all to blame

Jamaica is facing a crisis that can no longer be softened with polite language or buried beneath statistics. Violence has moved from the streets into our classrooms, and, in some cases, our schools…
Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness (centre); Dr Carla Barnett (left), secretary general of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM); and Dr Amstrong Alexis, deputy secretary general of CARICOM, during a Plenary Business Session at the 49th Regular Meeting of the C
April 29, 2026

Editorial | Searching for an SG

It is urgent that the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) engineer a sensible solution to the impasse over the extension of the mandate of its secretary general, Carla Barnett. At this point, that solution…
In this photo released by the Pakistan Foreign Ministry, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, right, meets with Pakistani Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, left, upon his arrival at Nur Khan airbase in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Friday, April 24, 2026.
April 29, 2026

Elizabeth Morgan | A global state of distress

Last week, this column looked at the oil crisis triggered by the US/Israel war with Iran, which started on February 28. This has led to the blockading of the Strait of Hormuz by both the USA and Iran.…
Norris McDonald
April 29, 2026

Norris R. McDonald | America and CARICOM’S psychology of ‘glad dependency!’

Dr Eric Williams, in From Columbus to Castro, warned that the Caribbean suffers from a crippling psychological dependence that shapes every aspect of life – economic, cultural, and political.…
Natalia Webber-Smith, principal attorney of Simply Legal Attorneys-at-Law, and CEO of Title Watch Limited
April 29, 2026

Natalia Webber-Smith | Land a nuh escallion and thyme

In Jamaica, we may have heard the phrase “land a nuh escallion and thyme”. This saying has been handed down through generations as a reminder that land is precious, limited, and should never be taken…