What is it like to live in a country where the government decides what you can hear or say? It's a state of mind those who consider free speech a birthright really can't comprehend. And it's something Jamaicans could and would never tolerate.

"Is like mi grandmother dead!" That was the reaction of a friend to the passing of Louise Bennett-Coverley. And it's probably how most Jamaicans feel. Rex Nettleford and Barbara Gloudon are no doubt right that Miss Lou would not wish us to mourn and we should be celebrating her life and legacy. But, when someone who has brought so much joy to so many leaves us, well it's hard not to shed a tear.

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?

IT'S HARD not to admire those who spend a lot of time and energy for little pay defending the rights of the less fortunate.

So, I greatly respect bodies like Amnesty International and Jamaicans for Justice. But, rubbish is rubbish even when it emanates from organisations founded on noble ideals. And ­ of late ­ human rights groups have been making some rather dubious comments about the Jamaican situation.

For all that, and all that,
It is coming yet for all that,
That man to man the world over
Shall brothers be for all that.

LAST MONTH, my friend Nadine McKenzie and I fell into a conversation, not for the first time, about the mystifying behaviour of Jamaican women. Or at least they're mystifying to us, as we both lived abroad in early adulthood and so perceive monogamous relationships as the norm.

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.

ISAAC NEWTON was the greatest scientist in history and, perhaps more than anyone before or since, changed the world with his ideas.

'Nearer the Gods' said Edmond Halley 'no mortal may approach'.

Newton never had any children and is believed, like Adam Smith and Immanuel Kant, to have died a virgin. So arguably, the three most influential intellectuals of modern times never had sexual relations with a woman. Maybe there's a lesson there.