In Focus

The persistence of The Gleaner in calling the two major political parties 'gangs' has grieved some people deeply. Many others are cheering The Gleaner on. Former Minister of Health John Junor is one of those aggrieved. He has made his irritation public and, no doubt, speaks for many party people. I am among those who strongly support the point The Gleaner has made in its editorial series.

As I understand it, Education Minister Andrew Holness is proposing that instead of funding tertiary institutions as a means of providing supplemental assistance to students, that the funding go directly to the students by way of a loan facility. This would mean that the Students' Loan Bureau (SLB) would be adequately capitalised so that it can provide loans to all students who require it.

In 1962, 66 Jamaicans were murdered, and the Jamaican homicide rate was lower than the United States of America's (USA). In 2009, 1,680 Jamaicans were murdered, and the Jamaican homicide rate was 12 times higher than the USA's.

Portia Simpson Miller had clearly anticipated the prime minister's Budget presentation the week before he gave it and attacked the thesis that the Jamaican economy had stabilised and that policies were right for growth.

The Boxill-RJR Group polls last week showed that almost 50 per cent of Jamaicans think that Bruce Golding should resign over the Manatt-Coke scandal.

So, terrorism's poster boy is no more. Or, as J.K. Rowling might put it, it all ends for Hairy Plotter. Incomplete scorecard reads Civilisation 2: Terrorism 0.

This is the second of a five-part series on Jamaica's new Charter of Rights. From where did bills or charters of rights spring? What is their place in the societal governance order? What is their contribution to the development of a people? What really...

Are fiscal-responsibility laws and transparency the new flavour of the month? Several other flavours have been in vogue and have been consumed internationally with varying...

Journalists Cliff Hughes and George Davis wondered aloud after Finance Minister Audley Shaw's Budget presentation how Omar Davies could recover from the politically devastating, feel-good Budget that had been delivered.

On April 19, the Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC), along with the National Consumers' League, released a Draft Code of Conduct - Banking Services, regarding the conduct of banking entities.

Guest columnist, Dr Orville Taylor, has apparently taken on the new role of political analyst in his piece in The Sunday Gleaner of April 10, regarding the by-election in South West St Catherine.

In 1960-61, on the eve of Independence, 61 per cent of Jamaica's national income went to 20 per cent of the population. Jamaica was a very unequal society. It had been so long before.