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THIS WEEK’S SUMMARY
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SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS DISMISSAL OF 11 POLICE OFFICERS—02/10/07
The dismissal of 11 members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) for alleged criminal actions was upheld by the Supreme Court. The officers were told of their dismissal in December 2005, but they challenged the decision reached by the Police Services Commission in the Supreme Court. According to Arthur Kitchin, attorney for the claimants, an appeal of the decision will be made. Kitchin said the appeal could be taken as high as the Privy Council, which is based in the United Kingdom, if necessary. In December 2005, the Police Services Commission decided to retire the officers because it was alleged that some were involved in a drug-smuggling ring.

TORRINGTON PARK COUPLE SHOT AND KILLED WHILE SLEEPING—02/10/07
Ronald Williams, 68, and Angela Allen 50, a common-law couple living in Torrington Park, were found dead in their home. Police reported that the individuals were shot several times while they were sleeping. It is believed that the killers entered the couple’s apartment by kicking in the door at about 6:00 a.m. The gunmen also tried to set fire to the Trench Town Police Station by throwing a Molotov cocktail into the compound, where it failed to ignite. Police believe the acts were taken in revenge for the fatal shooting by police of Gerald Burton, 21, and a man known only as “Sean.”

15,000 HOUSES REQUIRED TO MEET DEMAND OF TOURISM WORKERS—02/11/07
Some stakeholders believe the National Housing Trust (NHT) efforts to provide north-coast resort towns with enough housing to match the tourist expansion in the areas will not be adequate to meet the demand of workers coming to the booming towns. The NHT will place 3,416 houses in ten of its newest housing plans across St. James, Trelawny, St. Ann, and St. Mary between 2008 and 2010. According to Mark Kerr-Jarrett, real estate developer and chairman of the St. James Parish Development Committee (PDC), the tourist expansion program is expected to provide 12,000 hotel rooms and 15,000 direct jobs by 2010, making the 3,416 houses provided by the NHT insufficient to meet the demand.

NO SANCTIONS FOR JAMAICA PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY—02/12/07
Although the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) is reported to be at fault for the power outage that affected the entire island on July 15, 2006, the agency will not face any sanctions. The findings of a team of Canadian consultants cite the JPS for not maintaining protection mechanisms properly. These mechanisms protect the systems from short-circuiting. The Government requested the report, which investigated circumstances in which an island-wide blackout occurred when lightning hit a steel tower at the Duncans/Bogue transmission link in Trelawney.

MARKETING COUNSELORS LIMITED TOPS 2006 ADVERTISING SALES—02/13/07
Marketing Counselors Limited received the Top Billing Award from The Gleaner for the highest volume of ads placed in the firm’s publications. This is the third year in a row that Marketing Counselors has won the award.

POLICE NARROW SEARCH FOR COP KILLERS—02/14/07
Fewer than 24 hours after Detective Corporal Dave Daley was murdered, the police have reduced their list of suspects to two individuals. According to Michael Phipps, deputy superintendent of police at the St. Andrew South Police Station, said the men, who are known as “Harry Dog” and “Chris” are still on the loose. The police have information on them and are moving in on the suspects, said Phipps. He also recommended that they turn themselves in before the police find them.

DEFINITION OF RAPE TO REMAIN RESTRICTED—02/15/07
The definition of rape used in Jamaican law will probably remain limited to situations involving females as victims and males as offenders. The Joint Select Committee of Parliament agreed that it would not recommend the enactment of a gender-neutral definition of rape. The Committee is considering An Act to Amend the Incest (Punishment) Act and An Act to Amend the Offenses Against the Person Act. Other than the crime of rape, all other sexual offenses would be defined separately, which would make them gender-neutral.

MAN COMMITS SUICIDE AFTER HACKING WIFE TO DEATH—02/16/07
Hugh Wright hanged himself just hours after he killed Natalie, his wife, in front of several of their children at her house in Glengoffe, St. Catherine. According to reports, an argument began at the wife’s house, and Wright hit her in the head with a hoe. She fell while holding their two-year-old child. Wright then got a machete and chopped her all over her body. When two other sons tried to help their mother, Wright also attacked them with the machete. He then ran away and was not seen until the next morning, when he was found hanging from a mango tree at his farm in the Lucky Hill district. Natalie’s father said that Wright had repeatedly beaten and chopped her for the past 16 years. Glengoffe police said Wright had constant problems with the law.

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JAMAICAN DIASPORA NEWS
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WORKING CONDITIONS IN CAYMANS BAD FOR JAMAICANS —02/11/07
Approximately 11,000 Jamaicans are living and working in the Cayman Islands. While it is generally believed that these individuals are doing well, the reality is quite the opposite. Jamaicans, particularly those who work as store clerks or domestic helpers, experience discrimination, abuse, very low wages, and the threat of losing their work permits if they complain. According to Gordon Barlow, human rights activist and newspaper columnist, the authorities in the Caymans take the side of employers and Caymanians. Five years ago, the British Government also found that Jamaicans were subjected to unfair employment practices.

JAMAICAN ARTIST RENEE COX DISCUSSES PHOTOGRAPHS—02/11/07
Renee Cox, a Jamaican artist who lives and works in Chappaqua, New York, created a photographic installation entitled “Queen Nanny of the Maroons” for the 2006 Jamaican Biennial exhibition. Discussing her work with Dr. Jonathan Greenland, executive director of the National Gallery of Jamaica, Cox talked about the body of work she has done over the past few years that focuses on the Maroons, the Blue Mountains, and particularly, Queen Nanny of the Maroons. In a photograph of herself as Queen Nanny, wearing an English red coat and brandishing a machete, Cox says she is showing how Nanny succeeded in “beating the English at their own game,” transitioning from “the defeated to the empowered.”

ZIGGY MARLEY WINS FOURTH GRAMMY AWARD—02/12/07
Ziggy Marley, the eldest son of Bob Marley, won the award for the Best Reggae Album at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. The album, “Love Is My Religion,” is his second solo studio album. It beat out four other nominees to win the award. The album expands on the persona, social, and political subjects Marley explored in his debut album, “Dragonfly.”

NO ARRESTS YET IN WINNIPEG JAMAICAN HALL STABBING—02/14/07
The police in Winnipeg, Manitoba, have not yet made any arrests connected with a stabbing and shooting that occurred at the Jamaican Association of Manitoba Hall. A security guard was shot in the shoulder, and a second man was slashed in the face during a concert at the Hall. Both men are in stable condition, and police have little information about the party who attacked them. According to witnesses, the attacks occurred after a scuffle on the dance floor.

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SPORTS
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JAMAICA DISAPPOINTS, LOSES TO TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO AT KFC CUP—02/11/07
Trinidad and Tobago defeated Jamaica in a one-day Carib Beer Series match at Sabina Point. Jamaica’s loss ended their attempt to gain a place in the semi-finals of the KFC Cup for 2007. Jamaica, tied with Guyana on eight points, were in position to qualify, even with the loss, since the Windward Islands were three points behind. Unfortunately, the Windward Islands won, and Guyana lost to Barbados, giving them the same number of points as Jamaica. Since they also beat Jamaica, they advanced to the semi-finals.

SABINA PARK TO HAVE IMPROVED CRICKET FACILITIES—02/12/07
The new Sabina Park will provide an indoor practice area and Cricket Academy when it is completed. Jackie Hendriks, the president of the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA), says the organization will “ensure that Jamaica becomes the premier cricket territory in the West Indies.” He cited the improved facilities, administration, and global connections that will sustain the growth of cricket in Jamaica. When completed, Sabina Park will be the home of the Cricket Center of Excellence, a state-of-the-art facility.

ICC TO BEGIN INVESTIGATION INTO SAMUELS AND BOOKMAKER—02/13/07
Members of the International Cricket Council’s Anti-Corruption Unit arrived in India to begin investigations in the alleged involvement of Marlon Samuels with an Indian bookmaker. Police in India arrested Samuels, batsman of the West Indies team, for allegedly providing team information to Mukesh Kochar in telephone conversations held before the one-day international between the India and West Indies teams in January 2007. No other player on the West Indies team has been named in the investigation, and Samuels denies all the allegations.

REGGAE BOYZ FACE MEXICO IN PREPARATION FOR CONCACAF—02/14/07
The Reggae Boyz, Jamaica’s under-17 team will face the world champion “Tricolores,” as Mexico is known, in the first of two games at Harbor View Mini-Stadium. The Reggae Boyz plan to use the games as preparation for the final round of CONCACAF qualification in FIFA’s Under-17 World Cup tournament. This tournament will be held from April 21 to 29. The qualification group includes Costa Rica, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada, and the United States. Three of these teams will go on to the World Cup held in South Korea in August.

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DEVOTIONAL
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Seeing Jesus

Amidst all the hustle and bustle of our days, it has become increasingly difficult to find moments of solitude. Those important times of mediation and quiet reflection that we all need to focus on things eternal; times to spend time with God. It is unfortunate that the more pressed we are for time, it is those moments that tend to go first as we try to accommodate the things that demands our attention. Yet amidst all that is going on around us, is there anything else really more important to us than those moments of fellowship?

On the occasion of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, John tells us “much people”, came from all parts to worship at the feast, not just because they heard that Jesus was coming to the city, but also to see Lazarus whom Jesus had raised from the dead (John 12:9, 12). However amidst all the excitement, John records an event that we could easily gloss over. Some Greeks who came to worship at the feast met the disciple Philip and requested of him, “Sir, we would see Jesus” (12:21). Oh, we cannot begin to comprehend the depth of such a request! These Gentiles could have found any number of things to occupy their time. They could have been caught up in the excitement of simply being where Jesus was when he rode into the city, a story they could tell to their children, but that was not their focus. I firmly believe they did not just wanted to see his face, but rather to spend time in his company and be taught by him. Amidst the hustle and bustle, they “would see Jesus”; this was their priority, everything else could wait.

What is your priority? Are you a part of the Christian crowd that is distracted by things in the moment? Being where Jesus is does not mean we are having fellowship with him. To have fellowship, we have to resist the lure of activities around us and carve out for ourselves those moments when “we would see Jesus”. It is during those moments that we can enjoy the intimacy of our relationship with our Heavenly Father; when we can experience for ourselves the experience of the hymn writer, “And he walks with me and he talks with me / And he tells me that I am his own / And the joy we share as we tarry there / None other has ever known”. No matter how busy life gets, I challenge you to make the time to see (spend time, fellowship, become intimate with) Jesus. I submit, nothing else is life is as important.

CEW

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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.