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THIS WEEK’S SUMMARY
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HERO’S WELCOME FOR CAPTAIN IRVING—08/04/07
Captain Barrington Irving Jr. is the first black and youngest individual to fly around the globe solo. He was welcomed as a hero when he arrived at Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston by government officials and a large local crowd. Irving, 23, was born in Jamaica, but has not lived there since the age of five, flew around the world by himself in a plane he built.

JAMAICAN SENTENCED TO LIFE IN DRUG CASE—08/05/07
Dean Braithwaite, 28, was convicted of five felony counts relating to drug and gun possession. He faces a mandatory life prison term. Also known as Anthony Jerome White, the man was convicted of transporting 186 grams of crack cocaine, and some marijuana, from Reading to Adams County in Pennsylvania between 2004 and 2006.

BUCKNOR, BLAIRD TO BE HONORED WITH ORDER OF JAMAICA—08/06/07
Steve Bucknor and Bishop Herro Blair are two of the six citizens to be honored with the Order of Jamaica on National Heroes Day. The award is the fourth highest in the country. Bucknor, a cricket coach, will receive the award for outstanding contribution in sports, while Blair will receive the award in recognition of his religious and public service.

THREE JAMAICANS GUILT OF IMPORTING DRUGS—08/07/07
Winston Cargill Lewis, 35, Wayne Anthony Heslop, 36, and Eucal Norman Patterson, 41, were arrested in May for attempting to smuggle cocaine aboard a cruise ship. Lewis and Heslop said they had received the drugs from a man known as “Scarface.” They had hidden the drugs in their pants to smuggle aboard the ship and were to receive US$3,000 for their part in the smuggling operation. They admitted to the crime.

PNP and JLP IN DEAD-HEAT IN ELECTION RACE—08/08/07
According to the latest opinion polls, the People’s National Party (PNP), the ruling party, and the main opposition party, the Jamaica Labor Party (JLP) are in a statistical tie in the run-up to the general election. The election will be held on August 27, 2007. The PNP has a slight advantage over the JLP of 3.5 percent. Of those polled, 38.8 percent said they planned to vote for the PNP, while 35.3 percent said they would vote for the JLP. Portia Simpson Miller of the PNP was viewed as a better leader than the JLP’s Bruce Golding by 41 percent of those polled. Golding received the approval of 38 percent.

SPECIAL HAIRDO DEVISED FOR INDEPENDENCE DAY—08/08/07
Ann Marie Tomlinson, a bus driver, decided to celebrate Jamaica’s Independence Day by creating an original hairstyle. Her creation involves a tower of hair, a braid in Jamaica’s colors of yellow, green, and black, and accents of Jamaican bank notes in several denominations. The highlight of the hairstyle is the Jamaican flag located at the top. Tomlinson’s hairstyle was sponsored by Western Union.

JAMAICAN AND GERMAN MISSING IN WESTMORELAND—08/09/07
Claudia Liedl-Letts, 43, from Germany, and Clive Donaldson, a 34-year-old Jamaican electrician living in the White Hall Housing Scheme in Westmoreland, were last seen in a Honda Civic on their way home to Negil. Authorities investigating the disappearance say they have recovered the automobile, which had been in an accident with another car in Montego Bay, St. James. The police are questioning one of the three men in the car at that time.

PNP PLANS TO IMPLEMENT NATIONAL LITERACY PROGRAM—08/10/07
The People’s National Party (PNP) will implement a program designed to achieve a 100-percent literacy rate in Jamaica within five years. The program was described in the PNP’s 2007 Manifesto. The Party said in 2002 that it would provide 100-percent literacy for Jamaica’s school-leaving population by 2007. Jamaica’s literacy rate was 79.9 percent in 2004. The Jamaica Labor Party (JLP) has promised to eliminate tuition fees up to the secondary level.

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JAMAICAN DIASPORA NEWS

JAMAICAN-AMERICANS IN HOUSTON TO HAVE NEW COMMUNITY CENTER—08/04/07
The Jamaican Foundation of Houston held its 27th Annual Independence Gala, putting half of the proceeds from the event toward scholarships. The other half is earmarked for a Caribbean Cultural Community Center in southwest Houston. The Caribbean community center has been a dream for some time, but the Gala officially begins the campaign to raise $5 million to build the facility.

FAMILY DAY CELEBRATED IN NEW YORK STATE—08/05/07
The Jamaican community of Rockland, New York, celebrated Jamaican Heritage Week by hosting a family picnic. Volunteers prepared food for community members for the second year in a row.

FLORIDA LAW FIRM PART OF INDEPENDENCE CELEBRATION—08/06/07
Ellis, Ged & Bodden, P.A., a law firm, was one of the sponsors of the 2007 Independence in the Park celebration in Boca Raton, Florida. According to Howard Duncanson, vice president of the United Sports and Social Club. Inc. (USSC), more than 5,000 people came to enjoy the sounds of reggae music at the 45th yearly festival. The law firm says that sponsoring the event helps to keep it involved with the Caribbean community in the area.

JAMAICAN INDEPENDENCE CELEBRATED IN JAPAN—08/07/07
Jamaica’s Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller, expressed her appreciation for her country’s relationship with Japan on the date of Jamaica’s 45th anniversary of independence. Jamaica and Japan have a close friendship based on cooperation, trade, and investment. Japan is the leading market for Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee. Japan also hosts the One Love Jamaica Festival, which attracts thousands of visitors.

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SPORTS

CAMPBELL, BOLT WIN 200-METER HEATS—08/04/07
Veronica Campbell and Usain Bolt, both from Jamaica, had the only Caribbean victories at the Norwich Union London Grand Prix. Both won their 200-meter races. Campbell is the current Olympic champion in the 200 meters. She won the women’s race with a time of 22.55 seconds. Bolt won the men’s 200-meters with a time of 20.06 seconds.

JAMAICAN BASKETBALL PLAYER GIVEN TIME TO FIGHT DEPORTATION—08/05/07
The green-card application for Gavin Grant, 22, was delayed when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents began deportation proceedings against him in October of 2005. However, an immigration judge has found that the North Carolina State basketball player may apply for status as a permanent resident of the United States. Removal proceedings against Grant were removed as well. Grant has been in the U.S. since 1994 and has been married to a U.S. citizen for two years. They have a two-year-old daughter.

MAJESTY GARDENS WINS, BUT WILL NOT PARTICIPATE IN KFC FINAL—08/06/07
An 87-81 win in overtime over the Arnett Gardens Rockers was not enough to get Majesty Gardens basketball team into the mid-season final against St. George’s Slayers. The victory created a three-way tie between the Urban Knights and Denham Town Wizards. All three teams have 8-3 win-loss records. The Urban Knights will be accepted into the mid-season final due to a superior goal difference.

JAMAICANS TO PARTICIPATE IN PARA PAN AM GAMES—08/07/07
Eight members of Jamaica’s track team will take part in the Para Pan Am Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, beginning on August 12, 2007. At the head of the team is Tanto Campbell, a world record holder, and silver medalist Alphanso Cunningham. Sylvia Grant, a world championship javelin bronze medalist will also be included in the team.

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DEVOTIONAL
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The Surrendered Life (Part 1)

One of the most difficult challenges for today’s believer is the absolute surrender of ourselves, especially our will, to God. I use the word “absolute” because from God’s perspective, that is exactly what He demands. Jesus, the full representation of God on earth, made it plain to His disciples when He said: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23, KJV). In this Amplified Version, the verse reads: “If any person wills to come after Me, let him deny himself [ disown himself, forget, lose sight of himself and his own interests, refuse and give up himself] and take up his cross daily and follow Me [ cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying also].” For sure this is no easy task, and it’s no wonder Paul referred to the Christian calling as the high calling of God (Philippians 3:14).

What makes this so difficult is that we live in a secular humanistic world that encourages the pleasing of self above everything else. The Christian is not immune from this malady, and slowly but surely some have, and are, passively engaged in what is perhaps the most offensive of things to God – self idolatry. We become the centre of a world of our making, where the things that are truly important are only the things that makes us, the individual, feel happy. It is to this natural temptation to do that which is self-pleasing that Jesus unveiled what is meant to be a true disciple.

Lest we misunderstand the difficulty of the nature of The Call, it is worth remembering that during Jesus’ day, the cross was a symbol of suffering and shame; carried by the condemned person to the place of his execution. Introduced by the Romans, it was the means to a slow and agonizing death, and this would have been the picture in the minds of the disciples as they listened to their Master speak. There would be nothing easy about being a follower of Jesus Christ, and nothing has changed since then. Today’s believer who have accepted The Call, have also accepted the challenge of absolute surrender; the disowning of self and all that pertains to self for the purpose of conforming ourselves to the image of Christ, even if it means dying to achieve such a cause.

The life that is fully surrendered has only one focus. I believe this was what Paul had in mind when after doing an inventory of all he had accomplished before coming to Christ, he wrote: “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death. (Philippians 3:7-10, KJV). Absolutely awesome stuff, and a great example of the surrendered life. Can you say the same thing as he did?

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.