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THIS WEEK”S SUMMARY
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BISHOP OF MONTEGO BAY BELIEVES FIGHT AGAINST CRIME MUST GO ON—01/05/08
The Most Reverend Charles Dufour, Roman Catholic Bishop of Montego Bay, say Jamaica has no choice but to keep battling the circumstances that lead to murder, the availability of guns, and the tendency toward illegal behavior. Bishop Dufour made it clear the Jamaica can’t afford to believe that nothing can be done about the increase in crime. He made his remarks at the funeral of Renn Garfield Brown, Montego Bay churchman and accountant, who was murdered by gunmen recently.

ORIGINAL MUSIC RECORDINGS MISSING—01/06/08
A huge collection of music from the 1970s, including original recordings by Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, are missing from the archives of the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation. Thousands of vinyl records and CDs may have been stolen from the archives. The loss represents a major blow for the history of Jamaica, according to Olivia Grange, Information Minister. Former employees of the broadcasting corporation and musicians have criticized the government for not maintaining the archives in an appropriate manner.

WORLD WISE PARTNERS TO SPONSOR MISS JAMAICA UNIVERSE 2008—01/07/08
World Wise Partners has become the title sponsor of the Miss Jamaica Universe pageant for 2008. Pulse Investments Ltd., which has a license to the Jamaica preliminary to Miss Universe, is pleased with the support offered by World Wise in an agreement made in November 2007. This level of sponsorship will help the pageant to reach its potential in terms of production quality. The prize package will probably be the best in the history of beauty pageants in Jamaica and is expected to increase the attractiveness of the event.

GOLDING ENCOURAGES SUPPORT FOR SOLDIERS AND POLICE—01/07/08
Bruce Golding, Jamaica’s Prime Minister, is urging Jamaicans to have more consideration for the circumstances of security forces who fight against crime on the island. Golding acknowledges that sometimes the security forces receive bad treatment, but he honored them for the hard work they do, particularly in urban locations.

TEACHERS IN JAMAICAN START TERM WITH HOPE—01/08/08
Jamaican public school teachers feel hopeful that their salaries will be raised by the end of March to within 80 percent of what is paid to their peers in the private education system. Ena Barclay, president of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), says the finance ministry has permitted a review to be done as part of the Heads of Agreement, which was signed between the JTA and the Jamaican Government in October 2006. The study should be completed before the end of the current contract period on March 31, 2008.

DUTCH INVESTIGATORS TO PROBE TRAFIGURA DONATION—01/09/08
A Dutch investigatory team from the public prosecution department in the Netherlands has come to Jamaica to determine the circumstances of a donation from Trafigura, an oil company registered in the Netherlands, to a Jamaican political party. The donation of nearly $500,000 was paid to the People’s National Party in 2007 during its government rule. The donation resulted in the resignation of a cabinet minister. Investigators will meet with Bruce Golding, Prime Minister of Jamaica, and other political leaders. Trafigura denies any wrongdoing.

TOURIST BOARD TO FOCUS ON GOLD TOURISM—01/10/08
A strategic program aimed at marketing Jamaica as a leisure destination to tourists from India is under development at the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB). The program will focus particularly on golf. The JTB is eager to provide road shows in New Delhi and Mumbai in the final quarter of 2008.

US$ 10 MILLION EMERGENCY LOAN TO SUPPORT HURRICANE RELIEF—01/11/08
Audley Shaw, Jamaica’s Finance Minister, and Yvonne Tsikata, World Bank Director for the Caribbean, has agreed to an emergency loan package of US$ 10 million to support the government of Jamaica in its recovery efforts associated with Hurricane Dean. The loan is also intended to enhance the government’s ability to respond to any future natural disasters.

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JAMAICAN DIASPORA NEWS
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JAMAICAN RECEIVES HONOR IN CANADA—01/05/08
Christopher Harris, a Jamaican-born Canadian, is one of 27 individuals to receive the Order of Ontario for their work in community relations. Harris migrated to Canada over 40 years ago and is President of the Jamaica Ottawa Community Association. He is an advocate for social justice and has worked to develop Ottawa’s multi-cultural policy. Harris also received the Order of Canada, the country’s highest national honor, in 2006.

JAMAICAN GUILTY OF USING FAKE PASSPORT—01/06/08
Kevin Walters, a Jamaican who tried to re-enter the United States via the Virgin Islands with a fake passport, was found guilty of lying to federal agents. A jury also found him guilty of using a fraudulent U.S. visa and Jamaican passport and re-entering the U.S. illegally a year after he was deported.

MICHAEL MANLEY TO BE INDUCTED INTO WALK OF FAME—01/08/08
Michael Manley, the late Prime Minister of Jamaica, will be inducted into the International Walk of Fame for his “sterling contribution to the international civil rights movement,” according to the Trumpet Foundation of Atlanta, George. The induction ceremony will be held at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic site in Atlanta, says Danny Roberts, chairman of the Michael Manley Foundation.

SOUTH FLORIDA JAMAICANS LEARN ABOUT INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES—01/11/08
The Jamaican Diaspora in South Florida is learning about investment opportunities in their home country. In a one-day forum, about 150 interested individuals met to find ways they can participate in investment opportunities that will contribute to Jamaica’s national development. The forum was organized by the Jamaica Consulate General together with the Jamaica USA Chamber of Commerce.

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SPORTS
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LEEWARD ISLANDS FALL TO JAMAICA—01/07/08
Jamaica defeated the Leeward Islands on the third day of the first round of the Carib Beer Series match. Jamaica won by five wickets and finished on 115 for five. Wavell Hinds hit the top score of 62.

JAMAICAN STRIKER A HANDFUL FOR NEWCASTLE—01/08/08
Ricardo Fuller, Jamaican international striker, was influential in Stoke’s draw with Newcastle, but he could not score. Stokes had a 0-0 tie with Newcastle United in the FA Cup in London. Fuller played in front his home supporters at Britannia Stadium, where Newcastle defenders could not pick him up during the later stages of the match.

ROYAL AIR FORCE RUGBY LEAGUE TO PROMOTE SPORT IN JAMAICA—01/09/08
The Jamaican Defense Force (JDF) and the Jamaican Rugby League Association (JRLA) will host the Royal Air force (RAF) during a historic tour of the island. Jamaica is famous for its sporting talent, but is new to the sport of rugby league. The RAF team wants to be part of supporting the JDF community relations program, which attempts to engage underprivileged young people in the rugby league in order to discourage them from using drugs or turning to crime.

JAMAICAN BOBSLED TEAM TO TRAIN IN U.S.—01/10/08
The bobsled team from Jamaica will begin to train in Park City, Utah, in the United States for three weeks in an attempt to qualify for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games to be held in Vancouver, Canada. The four members of the team will take on a full training schedule and compete with teams from around the Western Hemisphere.

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DEVOTIONAL
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Mind & Heart Wholeness

For the most part, most of us are extremely careful of what we say when we’re around other people. In the privacy of of our own thoughts, well, it’s sometimes a different story. Things we would not say out loud often percolate in our minds and hearts for days, weeks, months, and even years. Try as hard as we may, there are times when words leave our mouths and before we are through saying them, we wish we could take them back. But like an arrow from a bow, speeding toward its target, words spoken cannot be pulled back. Our culture allow us to make apologies, ask for forgiveness, to retract harmful words, and some of us have learned to graciously accept sincere apologies and retractions, but the fact remain that words uttered at the wrong time, and/or in the wrong place, do have the potential to cause tremendous anger, hurt, and pain.

Isn’t is amazing the tongue, such a small member of the body, can do so much good and so much evil? In talking about how great ships driven through rough winds are steered by a very small rudder wherever the steersman desires, James said, “So the tongue also is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how much wood is kindled by how small a fire! And the tongue is a fire: the world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the wheel of nature, and is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beasts and birds, of creeping things and things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed by mankind: but the tongue can no man tame; it is a restless evil, it is full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we the Lord and Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the likeness of God: out of the same mouth cometh forth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be” (3:5-10). Quite the indictment, huh?

There was no doubt in James’ mind; no one can tame his/her tongue. I believe it was this truth that David realized when he prayed, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my rock, and my redeemer” (Psalm 19:14). Jesus said what comes out of the mouth is a reflection of what’s in the heart (Matt. 12:34b). He clearly established the relationship between the heart and the mouth. It stands to reason therefore, that we need God’s help to keep the heart’s meditations right before Him. The way we think of ourselves, and of things and others around us, determines the way we speak to and of them. We cannot arrive at where we ought to be on the merit of our own efforts because we are incapable of it. Thank God, He stands willing and able to help. We just need to ask Him.

What words are you speaking? How are your heart’s meditations? Are they both pleasing to God?

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.

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