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THIS WEEK”S SUMMARY
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MORE INVESTMENT NEEDED IN EDUCATION, SAYS MEDICAL SCHOOL DIRECTOR—09/14/13
Dr. Ram Chalassani, the executive director of the All American Institute of Medical Sciences (AAIMS), a medical school in St Elizabeth, believes that educational tourism represents a way that education can influence investment in Jamaica’s economy. Educational tourism is tourism that is undertaken in order to learn something. Chalassani believes that investment in higher learning could increase the number of visitors arriving in Jamaica each year and improve the island’s economy.
BOB MARLEY STATUE DEFACED—09/14/13
The Bob Marley statue at Jamaica’s National Stadium was defaced after a World Cup qualifying match. The bronze statue, which is dedicated to Marley, has since been cleaned of the red paint that was found covering the piece after the 1-1 draw match between Jamaica and Los Ticos. The vandalism statue, created by Alvin Marriott, was described by Stephanie Marley, managing director of the Bob Marley Museum, as sad. No one has been arrested in the incident.
SHAW ANNOUNCES CHALLENGE TO HOLNESS FOR JLP LEADERSHIP—09/15/13
Audley Shaw, Jamaican Opposition Member of Parliament, has announced that he will challenge Andre Holness for the top spot of the Opposition Jamaica Labor Party (JLP). Shaw has called for the party to “recapture the fervor of the founding years of our nationhood, where every Jamaican believed that they had a stake in the development of this nation.” He is currently Opposition spokesperson on finance.
TERRORISM LAW REFORMS DEBATED IN SENATE—09/16/13
Jamaica’s Senate is considering a draft amendment to the Terrorism Prevention Act. The Senate is taking this action so that it can ratify the international Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism. It also wants to implement special recommendations made by the Financial Action Group on money laundering and terrorism financing. The amendment would expand the definition of “applicable property,” the goods that have been acquired from terrorist action, and modify the Terrorism Prevention Act to allow the Financial Investigation Division to request control, confiscation, or inspection orders.
NEW LEADER OF JFLL CALLS FOR MORE PUBLIC SUPPORT—09/17/13
Merris Murray, the new executive director of the Jamaican Foundation for Lifelong Learning (JFLL) is calling for more support of the organization’s programs by the public. The JFLL will continue to provide Jamaicans educational opportunities as part of its mission to improve the island’s human development capacity into the future.
PRIME MINISTER BACKS ANTI-DOPING AGENCY—09/18/13
Portia Simpson Miller, Jamaica’s Prime Minister, is supporting the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in its battle against doping. The organization warned Jamaicans that the athletes need to address claims by a former official of the island’s anti-doping commission concerning lack of adequate testing and other “troubling” problems. Simpson Miller has contacted the organization and reassured its director that Jamaica is committed to resolving any difficulties in its testing program.
ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCY WARNS AGAINST KILLING, EATING CROCODILES—09/19/13
The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) has called for Jamaicans to stop catching and eating crocodiles. Those who do not cease this illegal activity may be prosecuted. According to Monique Curtis, environmental officer of NEPA, noted that it is illegal to possess or interfere with any part of a crocodile, which is given protection under the nation’s Wildlife Protection act. There have been reports of growing consumption of crocodile meat in Jamaica.
JAMAICA NOT QUALIFIED FOR DIVERSIT VISA FROM U.S.—09/20/13
The United States Department of State has decided that Jamaicans do not have eligibility to apply for the 2015 Diversity Visa program. Diversity visas will be made available to countries that have low rates of immigration to the U.S. Only 55,000 diversity visas will be provided each year. Other countries not eligible for the diversity visa are Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Canada, and Brazil.
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JAMAICAN DIASPORA NEWS
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BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL TO FEATURE CARIBBEAN, DIASPORA WRITERS—09/14/13
Book lovers in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States will have the chance to celebrate the yearly Brooklyn Book Festival on September 22, 2013. The festival includes events and offerings for every kind of reader, including children, youth, and adults. Graphic novels, romance literature, food writing, and poetry will be featured, as will literature by writers in the Caribbean Diaspora.
EXHIBIT IN NEW YORK SPANS 50 YEARS OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA SOCIETY—09/15/13
A free “Lighthouse in New York” display at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, will offer a look into the lives and struggles of early Caribbean immigrants to New York, beginning September 27, 2013. The exhibit will show that Caribbean immigrants are not newcomers to the region, as the Antigua and Barbuda Progessive Society displays artifacts from its 75-year history in New York.
DIASPORA OPPOSES INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT OF GOAT ISLANDS—09/16/13
Representatives of the Jamaican Diaspora have stated their opposition to using the Goat Islands as the location for a huge industrial development proposed by investors from China. The proposal would build a transshipment hub on the protected islands and have a cost of US$1.5 billion. According to Sylbourne Sydial, representatives of the Diaspora in the United Kingdom fear that Jamaicans are losing their ownership of the country’s national assets.
JAMAICAN ARTIST TO EXHIBIT WORKS IN LONDON—09/17/13
The “Radiant Earth” show by Jamaican artist Laura Facey will be exhibited for two weeks in London at the Prince’s School of Traditional Arts. The solo exhibit will be featured as part of Black History Month events in the United Kingdom. The show will include cedar, mahogany and lignum vitae works by Facey and highlights the abundance of forest resources in Jamaica’s hills when she lives.
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CARIBBEAN NEWS SUMMARY provided by Caribbeantopnews.com
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EVACUATIONS OCCUR IN TRINIDAD DUE TO HEAVY RAINS, FLOODING—09/14/13
RUSSIA MAY HELP CARIBBEAN WITH OIL EXPLORATION—09/15/13
NATIONS IN CARIBBEAN CONSIDER LEGALIZING MARIJUANA—09/16/13
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO NAMED HAPPIEST CARIBBEAN COUNTRY—09/17/13
CARIBBEAN GOES FORWARD WITH EFFORT TO OBTAIN SLAVERY REPARATIONS—09/18/13
DIRECT MAIL SERVICE CONSIDERED BETWEEN CUBA AND U.S.—09/19/13
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BUSINESS NEWS SUMMARY
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DISTRIBUTORS PURCHASE JERK SAUCES FOR JAMAICANS IN PRISON—09/14/13
Companies that provide supplies to overseas prisons are ordering large quantities of jerk sauces to meet demands of the high number of Jamaicans who are incarcerated abroad. According to Virginia Burke, marketing consultant, providing jerk sauces to prisoners has become a big business. Caterers in prisons are buying the sauces to satisfy the dietary habits of imprisoned Jamaicans.
JAMPRO EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC MARKET—09/15/13
The Jamaican Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) will head a delegation of 15 exporters to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic in mid-September to strengthen trade relations between the two countries. This will be the first time that JAMPRO has led a trade mission to the Dominican Republic. It is cooperating in this effort with the Caribbean Export Development Agency and the Jamaica Manufacturers Association.
MAJOR HEALTH FINANCING CONFERENCE TO BE HOSTED BY JAMAICA—09/16/13
Jamaica will host the Caribbean Conference on Health Financing Initiatives in November 2013. According to Everton Anderson, chief executive officer of the National Health Fund, the conference will offer opportunities for best practices to be implemented and to help Jamaica use critical information to finalize a national health financing policy.
AIC BUYS WALLENFORD FOR J$4 BILLION—09/17/13
The Wallenford Coffee Company (WCC) has been sold to AIC International Investments Ltd. (AIIL) in a deal worth US$39.5 million, according to an announcement by the Development Bank of Jamaica. AIIL is wholly owned as a subsidiary of Portland Holdings Inc., and both are owned by Michael Lee-Chin. While the Cabinet has approved the deal, there are still some issues to be discussed before its finalization. Lee-Chin said he was eager to provide Jamaican coffee farmers with maximum financial benefits and to maintain the Blue Mountain brand.
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Caribbean Science and Technology News provided by Caribbeantopnews.com
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CARIBBEAN CORALS HAVE WHITE PLAGUE, MAY BE CAUSED BY VIRUSES—09/14/13
JPS TO MARKET HYBRID POWER GENERATORS—09/15/13
OPEN SOURCE OPERATING SYSTEM LAUNCHED BY ARGENTINA—09/17/13
SIX GEOTHERMAL ENERGY SITES SELECTED—09/18/13
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ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
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CARIBBEAN FILMS HAVE NEW OUTLET—09/14/13
The Caribbean Tales film festival offers an online streaming collection of films from the Caribbean region. The initiatives represents a partnership between Caribbean Tales, which is a multimedia company based in Canada, and Onlinefilm. The films on offer through streaming cover topics ranging from carnival to calypso. The goal of the endeavor is to make Caribbean films accessible to the global audience.
JAMAICAN MUSIC PRODUCER SHOT AND KILLED—09/15/13
The body of Patrick “Roach” Samuels, 46, a Jamaican music producer, was found in his car outside a party in Kingston. According to those attending the house party, several gunshots were heard, and partygoers later found the body behind the wheel of his parked automobile. No arrests have been made as yet. Samuels founded JA Productions Company with Justus Arison and created the “overproof” rhythm. The firm had several hits by dancehall artistes including Mavado, and Samuels had worked with Sean Paul and Vybz Kartel.
HIGH COMMISSIONER IN UK WANTS MUSIC BUSINESS TAKEN SERIOUSLY—09/16/13
Aloun Ndombet-Assamba, Jamaica’s High Commissioner in the United Kingdom is calling for everyone involved with the reggae music industry on the island to take the business side of the industry more seriously. Speaking at an event designed to launch the book “Global Reggae” edited by Dr. Carolyn Cooper, professor at the University of the West Indies, the High Commissioner expressed her concern that the business of reggae is being taken seriously everywhere in the world but not on the home island. She wants Jamaicans to find a way to make money from reggae and improve the country’s economy.
UCF FEATURES CARIBBEAN ART AND LECTURES—09/17/13
The University of Central Florida is presenting a series of lectures and exhibits called “Caribbean Expressions: Art, Life and Culture,” which features works from the Bryant Collection, the Shoemaker Collection, and the General Library Collection. All of these are on loan from the university’s special collections. Pieces from the collection of Haitian artist Edouard Duval Carrie are also on display. Artists celebrated at the exhibit include Wilson Bigaud, Préfète Duffaut, Prospere Pierre-Louis, Mallica “Kapo” Reynolds, Everald Brown and Wifredo Lam. The show runs through September 27, 2013.
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SPORTS
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SUBSTITUTE GOALKEEPER TAKES BLAME FOR COSTA RICA GOAL—09/14/13
Richard McCallum, a substitute goalkeeper, says he is responsible for the mistake that permitted Costa Rica to score in the tie World Cup qualifying match in Kingston. McCallum was made part of the Jamaican squad only after Donovan Ricketts was suspended and Dwayne Miller received an injury. He said it was a “clash of culture” in styles of playing that resulting in his choice of short pass that created the goal.
DIPLOMAT WANTS MORE SUPPORT FOR BASKETBALL IN JAMAICA—09/16/13
Ambassador Sharon Weber is calling for increased support for Jamaica’s senior men’s basketball team following the team’s performance at the FIBA Americas Championship. Weber said that the government and private sectors in Jamaica should view basketball as worth of their investment. The game should be taken more seriously, Weber said, and more resources should be allocated to a sport that is attracting a growing number of young players.
FRASER-PRYCE GIVES OUT SCHOLARSHIP GRANTS—09/17/13
Seven high school athletes received scholarship grants from Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Jamaica’s women’s sprint champion, at a ceremony at Devon House in Kingston. The grants totaled over $100,000 each and are designed to pay student tuition, lunch money, and additional expenses associated with their education. The grants represent part of an effort by Fraser-Pryce to help student athletes in Jamaica through her Pocket Rocket Foundation.
BOLT WINS THIRD GOLD MEDAL IN MOSCOW—09/18/13
Jamaica’s Usain Bolt won another sprint championship, while his fellow Jamaicans overpowered all competitors. Bolt is the most successful athlete in the 30-year history of the world championships. Bolt and his team received a gold medal in the 4 x 400 relay. Bolt said he was “very satisfied” with the results of the competition. Bolt has now surpassed Carl Lewis’ medal total by winning eight golds and two silvers in the world championships.
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DEVOTIONAL
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It’s A Heart Thing
There is something delightfully pleasing about doing something with one’s whole heart. Even the dreariest of tasks can take on meaning and purpose when we put all of ourselves, so to speak, into it. It is the highest expression of effort and even if the end results were not as expected, not very many people would argue with maximum effort. We can deduce, therefore, that it is possible to do a thing half-heartedly or even without much ‘heart’ into it. Sort of like going through the motions.
I thought of this as I read and reread David’s “I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart” (Psalm 9:1a, KJV), taking note of two important determinations in that desire. Firstly, a casual reading of the verse does not capture the emphatic nature of the expression “I will”. The “will” is the mental faculty by which we deliberately choose or decide upon a course of action and implies a diligent purposefulness. Among all the options available to the Psalmist, he chose diligently and purposely to praise. That totally ignores whatever circumstances he found himself in at the time. His praise would not be situational. Secondly, he was not just content to praise but he purposed to do so “with my whole heart”. On this verse, I agree with noted Bible Scholar Matthew Henry who writes, “If we would praise God acceptably, we must praise him in sincerity, with our hearts, and not only with our lips, and be lively and fervent in the duty, with our whole heart.”
In Old Testament times, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, Joel, to name a few, all challenged the people to serve/love God “with all your heart”. Through Jeremiah God declares, “Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (29:13). When Jesus was asked which was the great commandment in the law, He mentioned two, the first being, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37). God has not changed. What He desired then, He still desires now: nothing but the very best of ourselves, all of our hearts, in love, in praise, and in worship.
It is not enough to merely go through the motions as God takes no delight in such actions. In this quiet time of reflection, now is as good a time as any for a heart check. “I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart”; can you say that? Remember, it is not based on situations or emotions; it is a heart thing.
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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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