Commentary

Jamaica, even if only a little bit, is a better place today than a fortnight ago. One of its citizens rediscovered Jamaica and her love for it. A slew of people affirmed the primacy of love.

There has been a noticeable increase in people (represented by individual lawyers and legal firms) making personal injury (PI) claims on insurance companies for motor vehicle crashes (MVCs). There was a time when doctors became involved in the management of their own patients that were victims of MVCs.

I've never eaten a blueberry while getting a tattoo in a hot-air balloon. I might consider doing this, if my checks reveal there are no special taxes involved. Our friends in parts of the United States aren't afforded such privileges.

That's the far-from-flaccid opening line of the poem Ralph Thompson performed on the open mic at the Calabash International Literary Festival, held last weekend in Treasure Beach.

It is Dr Peter Phillips' claim that Mr Audley Shaw, and the Jamaica Labour Party administration more broadly, squandered the opportunity afforded by the Jamaica Debt Exchange (JDX) - the arrangement under which domestic holders of Jamaica's bonds agreed in 2010 to lower yields and longer maturities.

The city of Montego Bay has a major problem - that of an ever-increasing number of street persons. Many of them can be seen in and around the Sam Sharpe Square area and on nearby streets. There are more than 50 persons living on the streets of the city, and they are suffering from a number of medical problems, including mental illness and drug addiction.

I am happy to be able to say that for many years I have always received excellent treatment at Cornwall Regional Hospital for myself and others that I have taken there, whether in emergencies or when admitted to the wards.

The Horror of Dracula had come to the cinema in our little town of Siparia in South Trinidad, a long walk through a pitch-black playground (or 'savannah', as we called it) to and from my home. Even the poster with Count Dracula holding a woman in white in his arms, and the menacing background featuring a distant castle, was scary, but not enough to dissuade me from wanting to go to the movie.

It's an open secret that some of the most egregious breaches committed on our nation's streets are carried out by operators of public passenger vehicles. Many treat red lights as suggestions instead of orders, disregard pedestrians' right to use the road, and are known to let off passengers in the middle of busy streets.

That Jamaica is in deep financial crisis is not in dispute.

In Jamaica, the debate continues about the status of Patois.

Some days ago, I read an interesting letter written to Minister of Health Dr Fenton Ferguson concerning the disgraceful service that many persons have been receiving at the Cornwall Regional Hospital.