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THIS WEEK”S SUMMARY
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INFORMANT AGAINST BUJU PAID FOR TESTIMONY—03/06/10
David Oscar Markus, the lawyer who represents Buju Banton in a drug case, claims that the prosecution’s confidential information was paid to help the U.S. law enforcement authorities. Markus has requested more information about the informant on the basis of information he received, which stated that the informant was paid on a contingency basis and will receive a part of any money Banton may be required to forfeit as a result of the case.
JAMAICA’S MUSICAL EVOLUTION TRACED IN NEW AUTOBIOGRAPHY—03/07/10
Errol Samuels has written an autobiography, “The Triangular Route,” focusing on his father’s love of music. The book functions as a history of music’s development on the island. Samuels, who was born in 1948 and lived in Kingston most of his childhood, credits his father’s love for all kinds of music as his inspiration.
NEW MUSEUM TO FEATURE RARITES LINKED TO MARLEY AND TOSH—03/08/10
Jamaica will open a music museum in 2011 that will feature rare pieces from its music history, including the only album produced by Bob Marley before he became an international star. Other artifacts to be displayed at the museum include a cassette tape in which Peter Tosh jams with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. The new Jamaica Music Museum is asking for donations to preserve the island’s rich music history. The museum will be operated through the government’s Institute of Jamaica, the authority that oversees cultural affairs.
UNEMPLOYMENT ISSUE IS CRITICAL TO WOMEN—03/09/10
Growing unemployment rates and increased violence against women are two of the most critical issues facing women in Jamaica on International Women’s Day 2010, according to Faith Webster, head of the Bureau of Women’s Affairs. Webster is concerned about women who have been laid off from their jobs and has called for additional strategies to help them. She noted that most of the households in Jamaica are headed by women, so these strategies will benefit the island as a whole.
JAMAICANS AFRAID TO APPLY FOR VISAS—03/10/10
Jamaicans have become increasingly uncertain about applying for visas at the United States Embassy in Liguanea, St. Andrew. They are afraid to apply because of the recent cancellation of the visa of a prominent local resident and rumors that others have been revoked as well. Recently, the U.S. visas of Wayne Chen, head of SuperPlus and those of a senior police officer in the Jamaica Constabulary Force, have been cancelled. U.S. authorities have denied any relation between the Jamaican government’s reluctance to extradite Christopher “Dudus” Coke and the visa cancellations.
MEN IN JAMAICA AVOID PROSTATE SCREENING—03/11/10
According to Dr. William Aiken, a consulting urologist at the University Hospital of the West Indies, Jamaican men are not getting screened for prostate cancer. Information from the Jamaica Cancer Society indicates that over 20,000 women were screened for breast and cervical cancer in 2009, but only 500 men were screened for prostate cancer during the same period. Aiken noted the discrepancy in testing between men and women, adding that the division occurred in spite of the fact that the prostate cancer screening is simple and quick.
JIMMY CLIFF INDUCTED TO ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME—03/12/10
Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican music legend, will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his activities as a major force in reggae for almost 50 years. Cliff gained fame with his 1972 film, “The Harder They Come,” which combined music with a realistic portrayal of ghetto life in Jamaica. Since that time, Cliff has made several acclaimed albums and influenced many artists, including John Lennon, Willy Nelson, and Fiona Apple. Cliff also collaborated with Elvis Costello, Joe Strummer, and the Rolling Stones.
JAMAICAN GOVERNMENT CRITICIZED AGAIN BY U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT—03/12/10
Another report from the United States State Department has criticized Jamaica’s handling of government corruption. The Department’s 2009 Human Rights Report accused Jamaica of insufficient attention to the corruption in the public sector, stating that Jamaican laws provide criminal penalties for such corrupt activities, but the government has not implemented the law effectively. The report also singled out Joseph Hibbert, former state minister for transport and works, and Kern Spencer, former junior minister for energy, for their specific contributions to public sector corruption.
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JAMAICAN DIASPORA NEWS
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UNITED KINGDOM, JAMAICA TO JOIN TO IMPROVE MATHS TEACHERS—03/09/10
A collaboration between the United Kingdom and Jamaica has resulted in 12 Jamaican teachers working toward Masters in Education degrees in Science and Mathematics Education at the School of Education at the University of the West Indies in Mona, leaving for a two-week visit to the University of Reading in the UK. The program is designed to create Champion Teachers of Mathematics and Science.
“GOOD TIMES” HEADING TO NEW YORK CITY—03/10/10
Good Times, the premier oldies party, will travel to New York City for an event at Mingles Cafe in the Bronx. This is the first experience for the party outside of Jamaica. Good Times, which is staged four times each year in Kingston, is known to Jamaicans in the Diaspora, and organizers believe that music fans in New York will appreciate the music dating from the 1970s and 1980s. The program is a collaboration between The Quorum of Jamaica and the Jam Media group in New York.
ELLINGTON TO VISIT SOUTH FLORIDA—03/11/10
Owen Ellington, the Acting Commissioner of Police in Jamaica, will visit South Florida for two days in March 2010. He is scheduled to observe elements of law enforcement that are relevant to Jamaican society. He will also be a guest speaker at a town hall meeting at the Lauderhill City Commission, where he will meet with Jamaican nationals and friends of the Diaspora concerning law enforcement issues in Jamaica.
JAMAICAN FASHION ENTREPRENEUR FEATURED AT HILTON HOTEL—03/12/10
The Break Away Moments “Forever Paradise” line of fashion will be made available to customers at the Hilton Hotel boutique, which is located in Altamonte Springs in Orlando, Florida. The introduction of the line dates from March 2008 at the Waterfalls in Kingston. Yola Gray of House of Flayva helped to create the fashions of Break Away Moment, which are meant to evoke the colors, heat, and beat of the Caribbean.
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CARIBBEAN NEWS SUMMARY
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FUNDS SENT FROM U.S. TO LATIN AMERICA, CARIBBEAN WILL STABILIZE—03/06/10
According to a report from the Inter-American Development Bank’s Multilateral Investment Fund, the amount of money transferred from Latin American and Caribbean migrant workers in the United States to their families in the home country is like to stabilize during 2010. Remittances to the region dropped to US$58.8 billion in 2009, the first time in which the total was lower than that sent in the previous year.
ONLY PROFITABLE ROUTES FOR CARIBBEAN AIRLINES—03/07/10
Caribbean Airlines says it will only take over the profitable routes of Air Jamaica. Colm Imbert, Works Minister of Trinidad, said that the airline will absorb the profitable routes in order to ensure that Jamaica can maintain its tourism link to major markets in Europe and North America. The government of Trinidad will not take on any Air Jamaica debts, Imbert said.
RELEASE OF U.S. MISSIONARY IN HAITI DELAYED—03/08/10
A judge in Haiti has signed an order freeing one of the two American missionaries jailed on charges of child kidnapping. However, a problem with the paperwork has delayed the release of Charisa Coulter, a U.S. citizen. The leader of the American missionary group, Laura Silsby, will remain in jail, accused of trying to take 33 Haitian children out of Haiti without the proper documentation.
ZELAYA TO LEAD PETROCARIBE POLITICAL COUNCIL—03/09/10
Manuel Zelaya, former president of Honduras, has accepted the position of head of the newly created political council of Petrocaribe. Nicolas Maduro, foreign minister of Venezuela made the announcement, saying that Zelaya will oversee the “strengthening of political independence and defense of popular democracy” in Latin America and the Caribbean.
CARIBBEAN HINDUS PARADE IN NEW YORK—03/10/10
Hindus from the Caribbean nations of Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago joined in celebration of the 21st Annual Phagwah Parade in Queens, New York. The parade featured floats from many Hindu temples in Queens, in addition to hundreds of participants who showered each other with colored powder to mark the yearly spring Hindu festival, which celebrates the victory of good over evil.
NO SECURITY PROBLEM SEEN WHEN U.S. TROOPS LEAVE HAITI—03/11/10
The United Nations does not foresee any security issues arising when the United States troops join other foreign troops in exiting Haiti after providing aid in the earthquake zone since the disaster occurred. UN police and military are under a mandate to provide security in Haiti, but other nations took over the protection of food and water deliveries after the earthquake on January 12, 2010. The UN will now be responsible for humanitarian relief. U.S. troops are to leave on March 15.
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SPORTS
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JAMAICAN PARTICIPATES IN IDITAROD—03/06/10
Newton Marshall of Jamaica is scheduled to join defending champions Lance Mackey and Hans Gatt in the 38th annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska. The race covers 1,770 kilometers and is among the most legendary competitions in the world. While the race has increasingly gathered competitors from around the world, this is the first time a Jamaican will participate.
JAMAICA TO BUILD BASEBALL FIELD WITH HELP FROM NEIGHBORS—03/07/10
Jamaica plans to build a new baseball field supported by Major League Baseball. Officials on the island say the new diamond will form part of a new stadium in Trelawny near Kingston. This will be the first investment of Major League Baseball on Jamaica, if the project receives approval. Renaldo Peralta, MLB manager for baseball in Latin America, says the group is committed to developing the game on the island and giving Jamaican youth new sports opportunities.
BROOKS WINS IN FRANCE—03/08/10
Sherry Ann Brooks, 27, ran the 60-meter warm-up in 7.20 seconds in France, maintaining her preparations for the World Indoors competition in Doha, Qatar. Brooks, who is the current Commonwealth Games women’s 100-meter champion, achieved a photo-finish victory over Myriam Soumare of France in the 60 meters. Brooks has returned to racing in 2010 after clearing her name, which was linked to a doping scandal in 2009. The case against her was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sports.
SMITH WINS SPRINT AT INTER-COLLEGIATE INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS—03/10/10
Kimberly Smith of Jamaica led a number of Caribbean victors at the National Association of Inter-collegiate Athletics Indoor Track and Field Championships in Johnson City, Tennessee. Smith won the 60 meter and 200 meter races. Jamaicans Verone Chambers and Francine Simpson also won championships at the meet at East Tennessee State University.
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DEVOTIONAL
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“To Obey is Better”
When Samuel confronted Saul about his disobeying the voice of the Lord in not carrying out His instructions to “utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed” (1 Samuel 15:15, KJV), Saul’s defense was, “Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal” (vv.20-21).
Samuel was in no mood for the technicalities. The narrative continues, “And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king. And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice” (vv. 22-24).
Before we allow our righteous indignation to judge Saul harshly, can we honestly say we have not walked in his shoes? How many times have we not done the things God commands because we feared what others would think or say about us? How many times have we taken the easy way out by neglecting to take a stand for Christ in situations where such a stand is necessary? There in no denying that we are all capable of allowing, and we have allowed, others to influence the things we do. Unfortunately, this sometimes means we disobey the LORD; instead of doing the things we are supposed to do, we often end up doing the things we are not supposed to do. However, let us bear in mind that God’s instructions are not mere suggestions, but mandates to be followed regardless of the consequences to ourselves. In the words of Samuel, “to obey is better.”
The consequences to Saul were tragic; the LORD rejected him from being king over Israel (vv. 25-26). May God grant us the grace to do the things He says we should do. Today is a good time to start.
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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.
