Staff Writer—————————————-
THIS WEEK”S SUMMARY
—————————————-
LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES TO MERGE—08/27/11
The Police Service Commission (PSC) and the Police Civilian Oversight Authority (PCOA) will merge as Jamaica’s government implements a major recommendation resulting from a review of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF). According to Arlene Harrison-Henry, attorney-at-law and member of the PCOA, the merger is designed to provide more effective civilian oversight.
PRINCIPALS SHOULD BE BETTER LEADERS, SAY SENIOR EDUCATORS—08/28/11
Poor leadership by school principals in Jamaica is one of the chief factors that cause students’ underperformance across the nation. In spite of all the other elements facing teachers and students, improved leadership could result in improving the quality of students at all levels of Jamaica’s education system. According to Elaine Foster-Allen, the principal of Shortwood Teachers’ College, and Dr. Tamika Benjamin, lecturer at Mico University College, there is a direct relationship between school performance and leadership by principals.
MARCUS GARVEY HIGH SCHOOL TARGETED BY HOLNESS—08/29/11
Andrew Holness, Jamaica’s Minister of Education, has targeted Marcus Garvey Technical High School in St. Ann’s Bay for intervention by the Ministry. According to Leslie Riley, the school’s principal, the coming intervention is particularly timely because of the special circumstances of the school. Riley noted that the school is not ordinary, but has experienced infighting at all levels that has impacted the morale of the staff. Residents of St. Ann’s Bay view the school as a troubled institution with performance below their expectations.
DEAL BETWEEN DIGICEL AND CLARO APPROVED—08/30/11
The Jamaican government has given its approval to a merger between Digicel Jamaica and Claro. The merger represents a joining of the largest and smallest telecommunications firms on the island. The combined firm will represent over 75 percent of the wireless market in Jamaica. The government is already facing criticism for the decision to approve the merger.
DRUG LORD PLEADS GUILTY IN NEW YORK—08/31/11
Christopher “Dudus” Coke, Jamaican drug lord, has entered a plea of guilty in a court in Manhattan in the United States. His plea ends an international anti-drug initiative that began in May 2011 with urban warfare in Kingston that resulted in the deaths of many Jamaicans. Coke leads the Jamaica-based crime organization known as the “Shower Posse.” He was indicted by the U.S. in 2009 on drug and weapons charges, and efforts to extradite him from Jamaica to the U.S. led to violent incidents and deaths in Kingston.
U.S. DOWNGRADE INCREASES UNCERTAINTY IN JAMAICA—09/01/11
Bryan Wynter, the governor of the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ), has stated that the downgraded United States credit rating, and the debt crisis impacting the Euro, have resulted in greater uncertainties in financial markets worldwide. The downgrade has caused global stock indexes to fluctuate wildly, especially in developed nations.
JOINT OIL EXPLORATION CONSIDERED FOR COLOMBIA, JAMAICA—09/02/11
Maria Angela Holguin, foreign minister of Colombia, and Jamaican foreign minister Kenneth Baugh, are investigating the possibility of conducting join offshore oil explorations in the maritime area shared by the two countries. The Hydrocarbons Agency of Colombia and the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica are performing environmental impact studies as part of the study.
POLITICAL UPHEAVAL COULD RESULT FROM “DUDUS” EVIDENCE—09/02/11
According to David Rowe, a Jamaican attorney and professor based in the United States, the written evidence submitted during the trial of Christopher “Dudus” Coke, former gangster-leader of Tivoli Gardens, could mean major upheavals in the political system of Jamaica. Coke pleaded guilty to drug and gun-running charges, providing detailed evidence describing the activities of others involved in the criminal incidents.
———————————————
JAMAICAN DIASPORA NEWS
———————————————
MENTALLY ILL JAMAICAN DEPORTED BY CANADIAN AUTHORITIES—08/29/11
A Jamaican man suffering from mental illness was deported from Canada in spite of a request to delay the deportation from the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. The man, who was deported after the Canadian Federal Court denied a final appeal in the case, was convicted of two counts of assault by a Canadian court in 2005.
ICONIC UK RECORD VENDOR CLOSES—08/30/11
The Dub Vendor record shack in Clapham Junction, London, closed and was replaced by a pound shop three years ago. Now the street where the legendary reggae-dancehall music store was located for three decades has been wrecked by rioters during recent sociopolitical protest demonstrations. The store location and the building next door were burned to the ground, and John McGillivray, founder of Dub Vendor, has decided to sell the property and do business solely online instead.
FORGED PASSPORT USED BY JAMAICAN WOMAN TO GET JOB—08/31/11
Hazeldine Holding, a Jamaican woman in the United Kingdom, used a forged passport to get a job with a farm company, which paid her more than £60,000. Holding, 61, pleaded guilty to owning a false identity document with the intent to deceive. She was sentenced to five months in Jail.
JAMAICAN-CANADIAN JOURNALIST WRITES AUTHOBIOGRAPHY—09/01/11
Ewart Walters, Jamaican-born journalist who started his own newspaper in Canada, has written an autobiography describing his experiences at Calabar High School in Kingston and his work on the paper. Walters left Jamaica in 1951 after Hurricane Charlie left hundreds of thousands of island residents dead, injured, and homeless. His book also covers his years with the Jamaican government as Counselor in Ottawa and as an advisor on privacy and access to information in the office of the President of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
————————————————-
CARIBBEAN NEWS SUMMARY provided by Caribbeantopnews.com
————————————————-
CARIBBEAN SMUGGLING ROUTES TARGETED BY UNITED STATES—08/27/11
CARICOM CHAIR CALLS FOR CLOSER TIES TO CENTRAL AMERICA—08/28/11
SEVEN DEAD FROM HURRICANE IN CARIBBEAN, U.S.—08/29/11
EDUCATORS LOOK FOR SOLUTIONS TO POOR MATH PERFORMANCE—08/30/11
ECONOMIC FORUM WITH CHINA TO BE HOSTED IN TRINIDAD—08/31/11
PRIME MINISTER IN TRINIDAD THREATENED BY GIRL ON INTERNET—09/01/11
———————————————
BUSINESS NEWS SUMMARY
———————————————
GOVERNMENT TO SPEND MILLIONS ON OCHO RIOS RESORT REVAMP—08/27/11
The government of Jamaica will spend $21 million to revitalize the resort town of Ocho Rios. Over $11 million will go toward the construction of an artisan village that will enable visitors to purchase items made locally. According to Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, the rest of the money will be spent on physical improvements that include a weekly maintenance of street drains. The improvements will be implemented over five years.
ISLAND GDP INCREASES BY 1.5 PERCENT FOR JUNE QUARTER—08/28/11
The real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Jamaica rose by about 1.5 percent for the quarter ended in June 2011, according to Dr. Gladstone Hutchinson, director-general of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ). This was the second consecutive quarter of growth.
COFFE FARMERS NOT TOLD OF OVERDUE PAYMENT—08/29/11
Derrick Simon, the president of the All Island Jamaica Coffee Growers’ Association, says coffee farmers are “left in the dark” about important issues, including an overdue final payment to some farmers growing Blue Mountain coffee. The payment was for the crop year that ended in May 2011. The overdue payment has had a negative impact on the ability of some farmers to prepare for the July 2011 crop year. Donovan Stanberry, permanent secretary in the Minister of Agriculture, said that negotiations are underway with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to provide financial help to the farmers.
LIME HAPPY TO BRING CHAMPIONSHIPS TO JAMAICA—08/30/11
LIME, a major Jamaican telecommunications company, is glad to sponsor coverage of the IAAF World Championship in Daegu by the Observer newspaper. According to Steven Price, LIME’s regional special projects manager, said the paper’s distribution and award-winning coverage of sports, made the partnership between the two entities a perfect fit.
———————————————————————-
CARIBBEAN TECHNOLOGY NEWS SUMMARY provided by Caribbeantopnews.com
———————————————————————–
CAYMANS TO ENHANCE SECURITY SCREENING—08/29/11
NEW WI-FI, INTERNET SOLUTIONS PROVIDED BY COPIA—08/30/11
CITY OF LAMENTIN TO USE VIDEO SURVEILLANCE FOR CRIME REDUCTION—08/31/11
U.S. COAST GUARD RESCUE 21 USES CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY—09/01/11
—————————————————–
TECHNOLOGY NEWS SUMMARY
—————————————————–
SCIENTISTS BELIEVE RECYCLED NEWSPAPERS COULD FUEL VEHICLES—08/30/11
Scientists at Tulane University have found a type of bacteria that is able to transform paper into butanol, which is a biofuel that can be used in place of gasoline. The bacteria are known as TU-103, and it was discovered in animal droppings. It is thought to be the first bacteria in nature that can produce butanol from cellulose directly. The researchers at Tulane have experimented with old copies of the newspaper the Times Picayune from New Orleans and reported having success in obtaining butanol that can be used as fuel.
VEHICLE COULD BE POWERED BY NUCLEAR REACTOR—09/01/11
Cadillac introduced its World Thorium-fueled concept car at the Chicago Auto Show in 2009 to show that a vehicle lasting 100 years without requiring maintenance could be built. The car did not have working thorium capabilities, however. Now, Charles Stevens at Laser Power Systems is developing a prototype thorium-powered laser, which could be used to generate energy sufficient to power a car while producing zero-emissions. Scientists are touting thorium as a better source of nuclear fuel than uranium because it is less radioactive and more lentiful.
—————————————————–
ENTERTAINMENT
—————————————————–
CALYPSO MUSICIAN USES MUSIC AS COMMENTARY—08/27/11
David Rudder is using Calypso, the party music famous around the world, to communicate on serious topics. Rudder, who is from Trinidad, thinks it is important to return the music to its roots in social commentary as created by African slaves. According to Rudder, Calypso was really used to tell the news and comment on current affairs. Rudder was a member of the 1980s pioneer band Charlies Roots. His latest album features the tradition of commentary on issues important to Caribbean people.
RAS ZACHARRI PERFORMS AT PETER TOSH MEMORIAL CONCERT—08/28/11
The 24th Annual Peter Tosh Memorial Concert will be held in Lusaka, Zambia, in September 2011. The concert will feature the famous Jamaican reggae star Bogle Broadie, or Ras Zacharri. He will bring his message of peace, love and unity, performing music from his latest album, New Horizon.
JOLLY BOYS A HITWORLDWIDE—08/29/11
Three elderly Jamaican musicians known as the Jolly Boys are making a splash around the world with their particular brand of folk music. After entertaining tourists in Jamaican hotels for almost 60 years, the Boys are enjoying a revival. They play acoustic, homemade instruments and perform the mento, Jamaican dance music developed by people descended from African slaves during the 19th century. The Jolly Boys combine traditional mento with contemporary sounds and rock-and-roll tunes by the likes of Amy Winehouse and Lou Reed.
JAMAICAN ENTERTAINER OFERED MONEY NOT TO RUN FOR POLITICAL OFFICE—08/31/11
L.A. Lewis, a popular Jamaican entertainer, says he would like to become a Member of Parliament for West Kingston and plans to run for the office. However, his plans are not welcomed by everyone, and he has even been offered money to withdraw from the race. Someone left J$100,000 on Lewis’s doorstep to encourage him not to mock the election and remove his candidacy. Lewis intends to run, however, and plans to campaign for the Tivoli seat.
——————
SPORTS
——————
BOLT DISQUALIFIED FOR 100-METERS IN DAEGU—08/28/11
Usain Bolt, Jamaica’s champion sprinter, was disqualified from running the 100 meters due to a false start at the world championships race at Daegu, Korea. He was disappointed, but told reporters that there would be no tears. However, the disqualification means Bolt will not be able to win the “golden triple,” a gold medal in each of the 100, 200, and 4×100 relay competitions, which he had wanted to accomplish. Instead, the gold in the men’s 100 was won by fellow Jamaica Yohan Blake with a time of 9.92 seconds.
JAMAICANS ADVANCE IN 100, 400 WOMEN’S COMPETITIONS—08/29/11
Kerron Stewart and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce have had the fastest qualifying times among the Jamaicans into the next round of women’s 100-meter races. Both runners achieve the fourth-fastest time with 11.13 seconds. Veronica Campbell-Brown and Jura Levy also went through to the next round with 11.19 seconds and 11.34 seconds, respectively.
JAMAICAN GOLF TOURNAMENT SET FOR OCTOBER 2011—08/30/11
The Hear the Children’s Cry 2nd Benefit Golf Tournament is scheduled for October 2, 2011 at the Caymanas Golf and Country Club. Sixteen children from St. Annie’s and St. Aloysius schools in Kingston who have shown golfing potential will participate. They are part of the City Golf Project, which provided them with weekly lessons at the Club.
WALKER WINS SILVER IN WOMEN’S HURDLES—098/01/11
Jamaican Melaine Walker has won a silver medal for her country in the women’s 400-meter hurdles in Daegu. She ran a personal best of 52.73 seconds. Walker was the defending champion going into the competition, but finished second behind Lashinda Demus of the United States, who clocked a world-leading time of 52.47 seconds.
—————————————————————-
DEVOTIONAL
—————————————————————-
Tried and Refined
The narrative of Job’s life and experiences, as recorded in the book bearing his name, is one with which some of us are familiar. With divine permission, Satan unleashed a wave of events that saw Job – whom God described as unique in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God and shunned evil (Job 1:8) – losing his family, his wealth and his health. Unknown to Job, he was like a pawn in a cosmic chess game. Satan had called his integrity and fidelity into question, and God was confident that Job would stand firm against the onslaught. Satan could do whatever he wanted to do with Job, but God had set the boundaries within which he could operate.
Standing firm against Satan’s attacks was not easy. Job knew that his life was in the hand of a sovereign God who not only had the power to give but also to take (1:21), and that whatever happened to him had to be permitted by God. To go through difficult times feeling the presence of God can be very comforting, but what happens when God seems nowhere to be found? In reality, God’s presence is everywhere, but many are the saints who can voice the words of the Psalmist, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me?” (Psalm 22:1a).
As he struggled under the weight of Satan’s hand upon his life, Job lamented, “Even today is my complaint bitter: my stroke is heavier than my groaning. Oh that I knew where I might find Him! that I might come even to His seat! Behold, I go forward, but He is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive Him: On the left hand, where He doth work, but I cannot behold Him: He hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see Him. (Job 23:1-3; 8-9, KJV). However, instead of becoming despondent, he recognized that even if he could not see God, God could see him; even if he did not know where God was, God knew where he was, and so he encouraged himself, “But He knoweth the way that I take: when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (v. 10).
Job knew something we need to remind ourselves of – nothing touches our lives that do not pass through the hand of God first. Though what had befallen him was Satan’s doing, He recognized the hand of God at work in his life. The sovereignty of God meant that there was nothing Satan could do that was not permitted by God. Job knew at the end of his time in the valley, if he remained faithful, he would come out “golden”. The same goes for you; the same goes for me. Our challenges can be likened to the refiner’s fire. The aim is to purify our hearts, to cleanse us from within, set apart for God and ready to do His will. With this perspective, we will not spend time blaming the devil, but we stand strong, trusting God even when we cannot see Him. He is there working things out, all for our good and all for His glory.
—————————————————————–
CREDITS/SOURCES
—————————————————————–
The weekly news is compilation of new articles from top Caribbean and Jamaican news sources.
jamarch
