Dr. Fred Hickling is calling for a cultural therapy programme to find the psychological mechanisms that will rid Jamaicans of personality disorders and psychoses. He says these disorders affect one in two persons here and that we have not taken mental illness seriously. The professor of psychiatry at UWI offers solutions in this biting article.
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He says the place is insane
Failures of Followership
Chris Burns pointedly questions the actions of the JLP Government on the Manatt Phelps and Phillips affair. He urges Jamaicans to hold the Prime Minister and government officials such as the Attorney General and the Solicitor General accountable and calls for their resignations. He is clearly frustrated with what he sees as their blatant flouting of the law, and believes the current media posturing is an insult to the intelligence of the Jamaican people. Burns emphatically opposes these symptoms of bad leadership but also doesn’t care for apathetic followership.
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News as entertainment
It's arguable that we have heard enough of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, but we certainly have not exhausted our delight with Carolyn Cooper's unique take on this sordid affair. Looking at it as a literary critic, she brings chuckles to every paragraph with her keen eye for irony and a detective's ability to spot the most subtle contradiction. You will also laugh loudly.
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Firing “The Driver”
Lloyd B Smith challenges calls for the resignation of Prime Minister Bruce Golding in light of e-mails proving his involvement in the Manatt Phelps and Phillips affair. He questions whether Golding’s loyalties lie with the nation or the JLP, and suggests that the PM’s interference with the extradition of Christopher Coke constitutes obstruction of justice. Smith argues that lesser civil servants have been sacked for much smaller offences, and implies that US authorities have the right to hold Mr. Golding on such charges.
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Cutting the cord
Lloyd B Smith assesses the nation’s level of independence after 48 years and finds it wanting. He sees a culture of dependence in Jamaica, stemming from colonialism and funnelling into the present day system of ‘donmanship’. Smith blames the handout mentality of Jamaica’s politicians, and proposes that only self sufficiency will lead to true economic and social freedom.
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