In the altered theatre of 2026 geopolitics, where Donald Trump’s second act is no longer conjecture but wars of impulse, an ancient question presses itself upon us with renewed urgency: can a leader, swollen with self-attributed glory, descend into a form of madness akin to that of King Nebuchadnezzar—until reason is restored not by counsel, but by consequence? The book of Daniel offers no ambiguity...

By the time a fish reaches the immense size typical of a Goliath Grouper, the toxin load can be dangerously high. Ciguatera poisoning often begins within hours of eating contaminated reef fish. Early symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, and profound weakness. In severe cases patients experience muscle pain, irregular heartbeat, low blood pressure, or difficulty walking. Public health authorities & consumers should therefore exercise caution if me

When viewed together, these institutions form the foundation of what might be described as a Caribbean training corridor. Haiti could provide the first stage of preparation, including language instruction and foundational studies. The Dominican Republic and Cuba could serve as large-scale centres for professional training in medicine, engineering, and agriculture. Jamaica and Guyana could provide specialised programmes in education, maritime logistics, technical trades, and e

In every functioning state, certain responsibilities stand above partisan manoeuvre or diplomatic fashion.  Among them, none is more fundamental than the protection of the population’s health. A government may disagree about taxation, infrastructure, or foreign alliances, but the continuity of medical care for its citizens is a sacred obligation. When that continuity is placed at risk by political calculation, the issue ceases to be administrative. It becomes a question

Why was there no trial run of direct deposits, a solution floated during negotiations in July, October, and December 2025? While Cuba reportedly left some of those overtures unanswered, one must ask: where was the legislative tweak or the updated Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to bridge the gap? Jamaica has the capacity to make such arrangements work for essential services. Instead, the government chose to wash its hands of the matter, leaving 277 specialists high and dry

Over the years I have been a direct beneficiary of Cuban medical assistance. Members of my own church family, as well as countless residents of Port Antonio and the wider parish of Portland, have received care from Cuban physicians and nurses whose dedication and conspicuous competence earned the deep respect of our community. To speak plainly: their presence mattered. They strengthened our hospitals, steadied our clinics, and brought reassurance to families facing illness

Jamaica, like many small nations, faces a critical challenge: building a knowledge-driven economy in an increasingly competitive world. Modern industries—from digital technology to renewable energy to biotechnology—require a workforce capable of sophisticated thinking. If our education system does not consistently produce such individuals, we will remain dependent on low-value economic activities and vulnerable to global shocks. Sixth Form therefore represents more than an

Is it an exaggeration to call this an “epidemic”? I think not. If we look at the hallmarks of depression—anhedonia (loss of interest), fatigue, and a sense of hopelessness—and map them onto our national productivity figures, the correlation is staggering. We are a nation in a state of prolonged, untreated grief and systemic burnout. By pretending we are a “chilled” people, we ignore the high-cortisol reality of Jamaican life. We have one of the highest murder rates per capi

After decades of navigating the working world across four continents, I am forced to ask a more haunting question: Could a nationwide epidemic of depression be the primary anchor dragging down Jamaica’s productivity?

Our seismic exposure, hurricane vulnerability, grid scale and fiscal realities make FOAK SMRs an imprudent gamble. If we are serious about competitiveness, we must look beyond brute-force energy expansion and towards precision. The real opportunity lies in aligning Jamaica’s renewable trajectory with the emerging quantum frontier. Quantum is not brute force; it is precision force. This distinction matters for Jamaica. Our renewable trajectory — solar, wind, storage and

HANDCUFFS MUST REACH CONFERENCE ROOMS My dear friends, the relationship between elite impunity and street crime is not simple imitation. It is structural. Corruption weakens institutions, diverts resources from education and employment, widens inequality, and erodes trust. This unfair, unjust situation of corruption, waste, fraud, and abuse must be stamped out. No society can build durable prosperity on selective justice. • Handcuffs must become as conceivable in boardro

Norris McDonald’s article is superb: morally lucid and economically grounded. Dr Beverley Brown-Sands rightly defends its core truth — corruption is economic violence. Anyone, whether masked as Insight4Sight, Clirey, VXtruth, XAMYCA or otherwise, may write and look like a saint, but does not fool critical-thinking, evidence-driven citizens for long. Resources amplify echoes; they cannot sanitise a reptilian's rattle. Would you not agree that Jamaica must resist ever-smiling

A leader who voluntarily discloses, who invites independent audit, who answers hard questions without defensiveness, strengthens legitimacy. Transparency builds resilience. When scrutiny is welcomed rather than resisted, trust deepens. Conversely, when scrutiny is framed as hostility, when legitimate questions are dismissed as partisan attacks, polarisation intensifies. The public discourse coarsens.

Yours has been a faithful, disciplined, and luminous ascent. Jamaica and the wider Caribbean await your integrity, vision, accountability, and fearless national service.

Let us be clear: this is not an argument for cruelty, austerity, or technocracy without soul. It is an argument for adult seriousness. Small societies cannot afford cultural sludge. We do not have surplus generations to waste, nor slack decades to drift. Every cohort lost to low 'McGreror Gully and Taylor Land' standards is a compound loss. (Please refer to The Honourable Mr Desmond McKenzie who should, by now, be able to interpret what that means.) The Caribbean has no sh

Hurricane Melissa has given us a rare national gift: the chance to choose differently while memory is still fresh—while silt lines still mark the walls, while culverts still gape, while shorelines still bear witness. If we squander that gift, the land will not argue with us. It will simply remember. And one day, without ceremony, a child will ask why a place bears an odd name. The answer will come as it always does with follies: because once, power spoke louder than wisdom—a

When a society decides that wealth is the ultimate evidence of wisdom, it stops doing the hard work of critical analysis. We stop asking if a policy is sustainable and start asking who is proposing it. If the proposer is a billioneerer with a fleet of yachts, the policy is given a "wisdom premium."The expensive transport, the houses, and the raiment are tools used to maintain a hierarchy that prioritises "the look" of leadership over the substance of it. It creates a psycholo

For more than four decades, the Caribbean Examinations Council has been one of the region’s most consequential institutions. Beyond certifying students, CXC has shaped curricula, classroom priorities, parental expectations, and — quietly but decisively — the values our societies reward. It is precisely because of this influence that I write to you now.

For as ancient wisdom quietly reminds us, without vision a people perish — and empathy, patiently taught, is among the clearest forms of vision a society can possess.

Leadership worthy of the name emerges not from spreadsheets alone, but from disciplined moral imagination. Repairing the world order does not mean restoring some imagined golden age. It means recalibrating our collective compass: re-centering truth over traction, responsibility over reach, and long-term consequence over short-term gain. The academy also performs another quiet but essential function: formation. It does not merely produce research; it shapes minds...Read More