First, it was Contractor General Greg Christie persistently pointing out the lack of accountability at Sandals Whitehouse. Then it was Dr. Lloyd Goldson and colleagues exposing the horrific conditions at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital. And now, it is whichever person provided Bruce Golding with the documented Trafigura money trail from Amsterdam to Team Jamaica. Yes, Mr. Golding did a fine job of presenting it to the public, but as Opposition Leader that's his job. It's the unsung hero who provided the smoking gun cheques that really deserves the praise in this instance.

Portia Simpson Miller proved again last weekend that she is our most inspirational Prime Minister since Michael Manley. 'Sista P' not only brought out the largest PNP conference crowd since Joshua's halcyon days.

Whatever planet earth’s other problems, democracy is thriving. Never before have so many voted so freely and fairly. But the law of averages means that the more elections held, the more close ones you get. So it’s no surprise that razor thin vote counts are becoming increasingly common. In the past year Germany, Costa Rica, Italy, the Czech Republic and Mexico have all seen elections won by less than 1% of ballots cast. Might it be Jamaica’s turn soon to have a ‘too close to call’ election night?

Where Do 'Baby Daddies' come from?
The OED lists baby-daddy and baby-mama as 'colloquial, chiefly African-American' variants of the Jamaican terms baby-father and baby-mother; its first citation for baby-mother hails from the Kingston Daily Gleaner in 1966. Reggae songs using the terms made their way to the U.S. By the late '90s, baby-daddy and baby-mama were appearing regularly in American hip-hop. These days Baby-daddy is the new bling. Baby-mama has even made inroads in Japan. Salon recently called Tom Cruise 'Katie Holmes' baby-daddy' even though the couple is engaged.

"Glorianna's homecoming sparks near riot ­ Patrons who went to see the Montego Bay premier of 'Glory to Glorianna', threatened a stampede on Thursday."

­The Observer, May 8, 2006

"Exciting premiere of 'Glory to Gloriana' ... Despite their exuberance, the delighted patrons were quite disciplined as they lined up along the red carpet."

­

THE RECENT Budget Debate proved again that a week is a long time in politics. Before it started the PNP was a strong favourite to win the next general elections. But after Bruce Golding's tour de force and Portia Simpson Miller's rather hesitant performance, it now appears a real horse race.

But though the intelligentsia avidly followed the debates, most voters ignored them.

Dear Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller,

THE FAMED anthropologist Bronislaw Malin-owski considered the principle of legitimacy a universal sociological law. The crucial determinant of legitimacy in his view was the male's public commitment to his child's mother, not the widely varying concept of legality. So let's dispose of the 'out of wedlock' red herring immediately. What matters is not a piece of paper, but the father's willingness to give emotional and material support to his offspring.

COLUMNISTS KEEP banging on about this Government's corruption and economic mismanagement and its miserable inability to control crime. But the 'Woe is us!' brigade is obviously wasting its time.

So what if Jamaica's murder count went from 414 in 1989 to 1670 in 2005? According to the March 14 Gleaner Bill Johnson poll, '83 per cent of Jamaicans feel safe living in their communities'.

JAMAICA NOW stands on the brink of a third political revolution. If Busta led the 'mental' revolution and Joshua the 'socialist' revolution, Sister P now heads the 'woman' revolution. Since Jamaican women are usually smarter, harder working, and more disciplined than Jamaican men, this is potentially a very good thing. But only if Portia uses her immense political capital wisely.

What would you say

To the coming of a brand new day

When the shadows are falling away

Even from the eyes of yore.