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THIS WEEK”S SUMMARY
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MacMILLAN ENCOURAGES CARIBBEAN UNITY TO FIGHT CRIME—05/17/08
Senator Col. Trevor MacMillan, Minister of National Security, wants regional Commissioners of Police to create an exchange program that would make it easier to move personnel among forces in order to battle crime. MacMillan made his remarks at the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police (ACCP) Annual General Meeting and Conference in Ocho Rios. He noted that the drug trade, the chief cause of violence in the Caribbean, is beyond the capacity of any single country or institution to handle.
CASINO PLAN UNDER ATTACK FROM CHURCH—05/18/08
Prime Minister Bruce Golding supports casino gambling for Jamaica, saying that it would mean jobs, tourists, and more revenues for the country. However, the Bishop of Jamaica, the Rt. Rev. and Hon. Alfred Reid and other leaders of the Council of Churches and the Evangelical Association, object strongly to the idea. They believe casino gambling would be “social destructive” and contribute to Jamaica’s moral decline.
LYNCH CALLS FOR “BOOT CAMPS” FOR DELINQUENT STUDENTS—05/19/08
Growing violence and lack of discipline in Jamaican schools has prompted Lawman Lynch, safe schools ambassador in the Ministry of National Security, to suggest active involvement by secondary students in uniformed groups or service clubs. If delinquents then fail to meet disciplinary requirements in these groups or clubs, they should then be enrolled in a boot camp, he says.
DOCTORS IN JAMAICA NOT TRAINED TO PERFORM ABORTIONS—05/20/08
Dr. Errol Daley, former president of the Medical Association of Jamaica, warns women who want to get an abortion that Jamaican doctors are not trained in how to do the procedure. Since abortion is not legal in Jamaica, no training is provided in how to perform it, says Daley. He says that patients who think their doctor knows how to do the procedure are wrong.
GOLDING BLASTED FOR GAY/LESBIAN REMARKS—05/21/08
Bruce Golding, Jamaica’s Prime Minister, is under fire for remarks he made during an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Golding strongly objected to the fact that Britain and other Commonwealth nations criticize the way Jamaica treats gays and lesbians. Golding said “Jamaica is not going to allow values to be imposed on it from the outside.” Golding said he would “never” appoint an openly gay person to his cabinet. The Prime Minister strongly supports the island’s sodomy law, which makes gay sex illegal and punishable by ten years in jail.
JDF TRAVELS TO IRELAND FOR EXCHANGE TRAINING—05/22/08
The Second Battalion of the Jamaica Regiment (Charlie Company), a group of 115 soldiers of the Jamaica Defense Force (JDF), is traveling to Northern Ireland for a six-week exchange training course. According to Colonel Paul Collingwood Dunn, all ranks will be represented, from lieutenant colonel to private.
BUNTING RETRACTS STATEMENTS ABOUT SHAW—05/22/08
Peter Bunting, Member of Parliament for Central Manchester, has retracted statements in which he accused Audley Shaw, Finance and Public Service Minister, or misleading the House with claims of a “sweetheart deal.” Bunting told the House that there was a “misunderstanding” on his art about the transaction referred to by Shaw.
GOLDING DEFENDS HIS POSITION ON GAYS—05/23/08
Bruce Golding, Jamaica’s Prime Minister, is defending his statements in an interview with a BBC talk show that he would not welcome homosexuals in his cabinet. Golding says his Government will not erode Jamaica’s “innate values” that determine its morals and prejudices. Values involve prejudices, he says, and questions whether the rights of incesters and prostitutes should be recognized and these people included in his Cabinet.
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JAMAICAN DIASPORA NEWS
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MEMO OF UNDERSTANDING SIGNED WITH COLLEGE IN BRITISH COLUMBIA—05/17/08
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed between the Ministry of Labor and Society Security and Okanagan College in British Columbia, Canada. The agreement is designed to obtain employment for certified workers from Jamaica. The college already provides employment and training for skilled Jamaican workers in BC. Under the MOU, trained workers will be able to bypass “red seal certification’ and apply to the British Columbia Training Authority.
SPENCE TO FACE FOOD NETWORK STAR IN CULINARY BATTLE—05/20/08
Nigel Spence, a Jamaican chef and restaurateur, will again face celebrity chef Bobby Flay in an hour-long match-up on May 25, 2008. The competition, entitled “Rematch on the Grill,” will form an episode of Flay’s Food Network program, “Throwdown with Bobby Flay.”
GOLDING MOBBED IN LONDON—05/22/08
Bruce Golding, Jamaica’s Prime Minister, faced a huge crowd that showed up to greet him on his first visit to London as Prime Minister. The Kensington Town Hall in southwest London was at overflow capacity, and many people could not get in to hear his speech. As all seats were taken, the Kensington borough chiefs allowed many in the crowd to stand along the sides of the ground floor and balcony.
JAMAICAN ATTORNEY SEEKS COMMISSION SEAT IN FLORIDA—05/23/08
Ghenete Wright Muir, an attorney in Sunrise, Florida, and the vice-chairperson of the City’s Planning and Zoning Advisory Board plans to run for the Group D City Commission Seat for the City of Sunrise. Wright Muir is 35, married, and the mother of two sons in public school in Sunrise. One of her main issues will be the current state of public high schools in the city.
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SPORTS
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CAMPBELL-BROWN WINS AT TRACK CLASSIC—05/18/08
Veronica Campbell-Brown, world 100-meter champion, beat American Lauryn Williams at the 2008 Adidas Track Classic in Carson. The win shows that Campbell-Brown has returned to her previous status after a defeat in 2007. She ran the 100 meters in 11.14 seconds.
COACH DYSON LAMENTS BAN OF SAMUELS BY ICC—05/19/08
John Dyson, coach of the West Indies cricket team, laments the loss of Marlon Samuels, batsman, in the upcoming Australia series. Samuels was banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for breaking rules concerning ties with bookmakers. Samuels received a two-year ban after being found guilty of receiving money, benefit, or other reward that could bring the game of cricket or Samuels himself into “disrepute.”
POWELL BELIEVES JAMAICA READY TO BREAK WORLD RECORD—05/21/08
Asafa Powell, who holds the world record for the 100 meters, said that Usain Bolt’s times of 9.76 and 9.92 seconds mean that Jamaica is likely to break the world record set by the United States in 1992 at the Barcelona Olympics. At 9.74 and 9.76 respectively, Powell and Bolt are the two fastest men in history over 100 meters.
SINCLAIR TO MEET MUTOLA AGAIN—05/22/08
Kenia Sinclair of Jamaica is to revive the long-time rivalry with Maria Mutola of Mozambique at the 34th annual Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon on June 8, 2008. This match-up will represent the fourth time the pair will meet. On the previous three occasions, Sinclair finished second to the pre-meet favorite. Sinclair won a silver medal at the 2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships and Commonwealth Games
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DEVOTIONAL
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Sweet or Sour: How Are Your Words?
All throughout the Scriptures, we’re reminded of the power of words. By themselves they are neither good or bad, but how we use them, and our intent, determine their impact. Jesus taught that from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matt. 12:34; Luke 6:45), and in the Proverbs we read, “The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips” (16:23, KJV). Because the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9), Solomon admonished “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee” (Proverbs 4:23,24). Obviously, God places a lot of emphasis on the words we speak.
This becomes absolutely important in our dealings with others. The careless use of words can hurt, destroy, humiliate, and provoke other feelings of emotional distress (Proverbs 15:1). However, on the flipside, we see its positive potential: “Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones” (Proverbs 16:24). The pleasant words spoken of are not flattery, flowery words expressed with insincerity or selfish motives, but rather words seasoned with grace that seeks to encourage, edify, instruct, comfort, and which has their foundation in the Word of God. The right words, at the right time, spoken in the right way, are sweet to the soul and literally like medicine to the bones. The Psalmist experienced this when he wrote, “This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened [repaired, restored] me” (119:50).
I believe when David said “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11), he was thinking of relationships at all levels, including those with his fellow men. Earlier he wrote, “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (v. 103). The hidden word would permeate his entire being, instruct his tongue, and find its expression in ways that would be pleasing to both God and man.
Undoubtedly, many have been wounded by things said of us, and to us. However what about the things we say of, about, and to others? How are your words? What effect do they have on the people you interact with? It really is worth thinking about.
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CREDITS/SOURCES
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The weekly news is compilation of new articles from top Caribbean and Jamaican news sources.
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