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THIS WEEK’S SUMMARY
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PRIME MINISTER OF JAMAICA URGES UNITY IN HURRICANE PREPARATION—08/18/07
Portia Simpson Miller, Prime Minister of Jamaica, has urged all residents to come together to prepare for Hurricane Dean. At a press briefing that followed a meeting of the National Disaster Committee, Simpson Miller said she asked the Leader of the Opposition to create a team so a bipartisan approach can be taken in the face of the hurricane threat. She urged special attention for the elderly, sick, physically challenged, and children.
BUSH ADMINISTRATION READY TO PROVIDE EMERGENCY AID TO JAMAICA—08/19/07
According to Gordon Johndroe, national security spokesman who is with President George Bush in Texas, the U.S. is prepared to provide emergency help to Jamaica if the island nation is hit by Hurricane Dean. The aid would include relief supplies, water containers, medicine, generators, and disaster hygiene kits. Bush gave his approval to a pre-landfall emergency declaration for Texas, a major change from his previously slow response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
ALCOA PLANT SHUT DOWN FOR DEAN—08/20/07
Alcoa Inc. will shut down its refinery in Jamaica temporarily before Hurricane Dean arrives on the island. The aluminum company said it would make a decision about reopening the plant after the hurricane passes and when damages, if any, are assessed. The Jamalco refinery has a 55-percent ownership by Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals. The other 45 percent is owned by the government of Jamaica.
EVERYTHING NORMAL AT RESORTS AFTER HURRICANE PASSES—08/21/07
Normal life has resumed at the RIU’s Jamaican resorts have Hurricane Dean passed over the island without causing problems to the firm’s three properties. All the resorts came through the storm without damage, and they are operating under normal conditions. Business is being conducted as usual, and guests are enjoying themselves as they had before the storm hit.
GOVERNMENT IN UK TAKES BACK TRAVEL WARNING—08/22/07
A warning against traveling to Jamaica has been rescinded by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The official advice was imposed due to the imminent arrival of Hurricane Dean. The new advisory notice recognizes that the hurricane passed 40 miles south of the island nation. It also noted that extensive damage had been done to the infrastructure and power in Kingston, which caused a state of emergency to be declared.
GENERAL ELECTION POSTPONED DUE TO HURRICANE—08/22/07
The electoral commission of Jamaica has postponed the general election, which was to have been held on August 27, 2007, due to the damage caused by Hurricane Dean. The hurricane hit the island before continuing through the Caribbean, resulting in the declaration of a month-long state of emergency from authorities. The election has been rescheduled to September 3, 2007.
SOUTH FLORIDA CONTRIBUTES HURRICANE RELIEF AID—08/23/07
In South Florida, relief organizations are working to help Jamaica after the passage of Hurricane Dean near the island nation. Food for the Poor, which is the biggest provider of aid to the Caribbean region, has started to prepare for the aftermath of the hurricane. The nonprofit group with work with the government to provide relief supplies and to develop a damage-assessment team.
JLP GETS “BOUNCE” FROM RECENT DEBATE—08/24/07
The Jamaica Labor Party (JLP) appears to have received a greater political boost than the People’s National Party (PNP) in a recent debate between Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller of the JLP and Opposition Leader Bruce Golding. Eighty-four percent of those who voted for the JLP in 2002 say they are more likely to vote for the JLP in the coming election. Comparatively, 56 percent of the PNP votes say they are more likely to vote for the PNP as a result of the candidates’ performance in the debate.
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JAMAICAN DIASPORA NEWS
DIASPORA ORGANIZATIONS IN U.S. DEVELOP HURRICANE AID PLAN—08/18/07
The Advisory Board of the Jamaican Diaspora Southern United States and the Jamaican Consulate General have started their hurricane aid plan with announcements of drop-off locations nationwide as the National Hurricane Center predict that Hurricane Dean will hit the island nation. Particularly needed are donations of non-perishable food items, batteries, flashlights, first aid kits, and bottled water.
JAMAICANS IN SOUTH FLORIDA PREPARE TO OFFER HELP—08/19/07
The Jamaican community in South Florida prepared to rush emergency donations and relief to the island nation following the impact of Hurricane Dean. Ricardo Allicock, Consul General of Jamaica in Miami, hoped that the hurricane’s path would spare Jamaica, but if it does hit, Jamaicans in South Florida are ready to help.
JAMAICAN-AMERICANS IN NEW YORK WORRY ABOUT HURRICANE DEAN—08/20/07
Many Jamaican-Americans in the large community in New York are concerned about family members and friends on the island, which is in the direct path of Hurricane Dean. The Consulate General of Jamaica in New York is ready to host an emergency food and donations drive to help those impacted by Hurricane Dean. In 2004, the Consulate General provided similar aid when Hurricane Ivan hit Jamaica, killing 16 people and creating widespread looting and food shortages.
OAS NAMES JAMAICAN AS NEW TRADE, TOURISM DIRECTOR—08/20/07
Dr. Jose Miguel Insulza, the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), appointed Pamela Coke Hamilton to be the first woman, and first Jamaican national, to serve as director of the Department of Trade, Tourism and Competitiveness (DTTC). Her mission is to boost and support efforts of OAS member states to expand trade, increase competitiveness, and encourage economic integration in North and South America.
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SPORTS
FIFA INSTRUCTOR IMPRESSED WITH JAMAICAN REFEREES—08/19/07
Sandra Hunt, an American FIFA instructor, was impressed by the discipline, interest, and camaraderie shown by the Jamaican referees at a training program at GC Foster College. While the threat of Hurricane Dean decreased the two-day JFF/Referees Commission event to only six hours, the 38 referees, which included 36 men and 2 women, were eager to learn and very receptive to information and instructions, said Hunt.
JAMAICAN “MUSHER” READY FOR YUKON QUEST—08/20/07
Devon Anderson, the head musher, will be training with Hans Gatt, who has won the Alaska Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race three times. According to Anderson, he must frequently correct people who think he is training for a bobsled race, as was immortalized in “Cool Runnings,” a 1993 film about the Jamaican bobsled team’s participation in the 1988 Calgary Olympics. The Yukon Quest race runs from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Whitehorse, Alaska, a journey of 1,500 kilometers.
TYSON GAY MAKES POWELL VULNERABLE AT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS—08/21/07
Sprint star Tyson Gay from the United States seems to have created some vulnerability in the position of Asafa Powell, Jamaica’s 100-meter world record winner. Gay has a leading time of 9.84 seconds in the 100 meters, which calls into question Powell’s attempt to take his first world championship in Osaka, Japan. Powell as thus far struggled with tendonitis in his knee and a groin injury. His final warm-up in Stockholm was 10.04 seconds.
JAMAICANS RECEIVE WARM RECEPTIONI AT IAAF CHAMPIONSHIPS—08/22/07
Jamaican athletes participating in the IAAF World Athletics Championships, which will be held in Osaka, Japan, got a warm welcome from the Tottori Prefecture Government in Yonago City. The Jamaicans will participate in a pre-competition camp designed to fine-tune their skills for the beginning of the IAAF event. Ludlow Watts, head of the Jamaican delegation, said the supportiveness of their hosts allowed the Jamaicans to relax and attain peace of mind.
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DEVOTIONAL
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The Surrendered Life (Part 3)
To dethrone self is one of the hardest task the willing Christian will undertake, yet by His perfect example, Jesus showed us what it meant to deny self and allow the will of God to take precedence in our lives. It is easy to forget that when He walked the earth He did so as a man, and not as God (Philippians 2:6-8). He was faced with the same temptations we face (Hebrews 4:15), and there were times when his human will, the self, was in direct conflict with that of the Father, yet of Him it is written “Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God” (Hebrews 10:9).
We see the magnitude of this surrender in the Garden of Gethsename. Matthew recorded that as he spent his final moments with his disciples together, after asking them
to watch with him, “he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (26:38,39). Lest we forget, Satan had previously offered Him a way out (Matt. 4:1-11); a way to bypass the worse form of execution then – death by crucifixion. Jesus, however, knew that from before the foundations of the world God had purposed that He should be so bruised (Gen. 3:15; Isaiah 53:10), and so despite His soul being “exceeding sorrowful, even unto death”, He purposed to conform His will to that of the Father. It wasn’t easy. Luke tells us, “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (22:44). Can you picture that? What awesome struggle! Despite the ruthless cruelty of the cross, and the weight of the sins of the world upon His shoulders, He willingly surrendered self in order to accomplish God’s ultimate
purpose – our redemption!
This is the example that is set before us. Jesus has not asked us to do something He has not done. He has set the standard for what it means to be a true disciple,
and for those who choose to take up The Call, there’s no way around that standard. For God’s will to get done in the earth, it will require disciples who are willing to
dethrone self and unconditionally surrender their lives, and all it entails, to His service. To borrow the words fromm an old hymn: “Love so amazing, so divine / Demands my soul, my life, my all.”
Can you offer that to Him?
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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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