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CONTENTS
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Jamaica’s Portia Simpson-Miller quits politics

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 Election drama in the Cayman Islands

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Opposition wins big in Bermuda general elections

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 CARICOM offer to help Venezuela

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Arrest of Caribbean immigrants soar across the US

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Jamaican-born chief usher of the White House fired

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Major cruise lines pullout from Falmouth, Ja, over tourist harassment

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40 homes to be built by Food For The Poor in Jamaica this year

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 More heavy rains destroy roads, bridges; flood communities in Jamaica

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New app brings health services to Jamaicans by smartphone

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Ziggy gets lifetime award

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Jamaica football has lost its leader

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Hail Jamaica’s soccer coach Whitmore

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India brides get wooden paddles to beat drunk husbands

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UNDILUTED pays tribute to John Maxwell by featuring two previous columns by him from the Hot Calaloo UNDILUTED archives:

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Hot Calaloo's Undiluted Vol. 15, "The Audacity of Hopelessness"

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Hot Calaloo's Undiluted Vol. 14, "Cuba's Benevolence versus US Belligerence"

 
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by Michael I Phillips

List Price $11.95 (paperback)
Special Clearance
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Not just a book but an invitation to join the Goodwill Revolution against an unfair, unjust and deceptive system that keeps the world poor and without hope. Find out how you can join, quit the rat race, and achieve a happier more meaningful life for yourself and others through goodwill to all.  
For more book info see
     goodwillie.org

Buy through Paypal or  send check for $5 + $3 (shipping) to 
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cover River Woman by Donna Hemans ... $16.10
  The Rio Minho in Jamaica provides much more than a setting for this potent, accomplished debut by Jamaican-born Donna Hemans.

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cover  For the Life of Laetitia by Trinidad -born Merle Hodge  Price: $10.54
a wonderful book about a young girl in the Carribean, the first of her family to go to secondary school.

 

 

June_July 2017 

  Jamaica’s Portia Simpson-Miller quits politics

Former Prime Minister and People's National Party (PNP) Leader Portia Simpson Miller resigned from the JamaicaHouse of Representatives on June 29.  The 71-year-old Portia overcame many obstacles to become Jamaica’s only female prime minister.

 She served as Prime Minister of Jamaica from March 2006 to September 2007 and again from 5 January 2012 to 3 March 2016. She was the leader of the People's National Party from 2006 to 2017 and the Leader of the Opposition twice, from 2007 to 2012 and from 2016 to 2017.

During her tenure she took several measures toward strengthening the Jamaican economy such as:

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She was the leading architect of Jamaica's Master Plan for Sustainable Tourism Development while she was Minister of Tourism, an industry worth more than $1 billion in U.S. dollars to the nation. 

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She transformed the country's National Insurance Scheme into a major component of government service.  

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Simpson-Miller also led the charge in reforming the nation's drug laws. Marijuana in small amounts was decriminalized. 

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She also was among the first in the Caribbean to stand up to British Prime Minister David Cameron and call for reparations for slavery.

Her PNP party colleague and former Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr Omar Davies, are also handed in his resignation at the same time.

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Election drama in the Cayman Islands

Cayman Islands held elections on May 24 but no party won a majority. A new Government headed by the leader of the People's Progressive Movement (PPM), Alden McLaughlin, was sworn into office, after the party was able to put together a coalition with the Cayman Democratic Party (CDP).

Previously, McKeeva Bush, the CDP leader, said he had written to Governor Helen Kilpatrick to rescind an earlier agreement that was signed only hours earlier with McLaughlin.

Bush said then he was set to become premier.

“This has been a long and tedious election campaign, with plenty of ongoing discussion happening to select who will govern the country for the next four years,” Bush said in a statement.

Now it seems Bush has accepted the role of speaker in the new National Assembly, with McLaughlin as premier.

According to the new agreement, Moses Kirkconnell will continue to serve as deputy premier with independents Tara Rivers, Austin Harris and Dwayne Seymour being part of the new Government.

Details of the agreement between the parties were finalised in terms of Cabinet assignments, but McLaughlin said he has the full support of his team for the coalition and that the new Government reflects the will of the people.

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Opposition wins big in Bermuda general elections

The opposition Progressive Labour Party (PLP) have been voted into office in a resounding victory in general elections in Bermuda. The PLP, led by David Burt, secured a clear mandate to govern with 59 percent of the vote in a 24-12-seat victory.

 

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CARICOM offer to help Venezuela

Chairman of the 15-nation grouping, Grenada’s Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell, confirmed that leaders will formally offer their help to President Nicolas Maduro to help mediate the long-running, bitter impasse with Opposition forces, which has resulted in more than three months of violent unrest.

Dr Mitchell told the closing news conference that leaders have settled on a sending mission to Caracas. Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit had proposed a mission to include some leaders which he said could help clarify CARICOM’s understanding of the issues.

“CARICOM heads of government call for all parties to commit to engage in a renewed dialogue and negotiation leading to comprehensive political agreement with established timetables, concrete actions and guarantees to ensure its implementation. CARICOM heads of government offer their good offices to facilitate this dialogue,” Mitchell said.

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Arrest of Caribbean immigrants soar across the US

The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency says in the 100 days since US President Donald J Trump signed executive orders (EOs) regarding immigration enforcement priorities, immigration agents have arrested more than 41,000 Caribbean and other immigrants who are either known or suspected of being in the US illegally.The ICE said that this reflects an increase of 37.6 per cent over the same period in 2016.

Between January 22 and April 29, the ICE said its Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) deportation officers administratively arrested 41,318 individuals on civil immigration charges. Between January 24 and April 30, 2016, ERO arrested 30,028.

The arrest of immigrants at-large in the community increased by more than 50 per cent, from 8,381 last year to 12,766 arrests this year during the same period, ICE said.

It said the arrest of convicted criminal immigrants climbed nearly 20 per cent, from 25,786 last year to 30,473 this year, adding that violent crimes, such as homicide, rape, kidnapping and assault accounted for more than 2,700 convictions.

In total, since Trump signed the EROs, ICE said its immigration enforcement activity has resulted in more than 400 arrests per day, “including the capture of egregious and violent offenders.”

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Jamaican-born Chief Usher of the White House fired

The Jamaican-born chief usher at the White House has been fired by the Donald Trump led administration. Angella Reid, the second Black and first woman to hold the position, was appointed in October 2011 during President Barack Obama’s administration.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a spokeswoman for the President, told reporters that Reid was no longer in the chief usher position.

“She is no longer employed here at the White House, but we left on very good terms,” Sanders said. “It’s not uncommon you would have a transition of staff when a new administration comes in, and it’s nothing more than that.”

Reid was born in the eastern parish of St Thomas, Jamaica and attended high school in the capital, Kingston, before migrating to the United States. Before being appointed White House Chief Usher, Reid amassed over 25 years of experience in hotel management with Ritz-Carlton, managing properties in Miami, Florida, Washington DC and Arlington, Virginia

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Major cruise lines pullout from a Jamaican port over tourist harassment

Three major cruise lines have decided to pullout of the Falmouth pier in northern parish of Trelawny, Jamaica due to concerns over tourist harassment, among other issues.

According to the Mayor of Falmouth , Colin Gager, the pullout of the ships- all subsidiaries of Royal Caribbean, will result in losses of approximately J$5-million per month. He said the ships brought in close to 10,000 visitors each week. However the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ) says several other cruise lines are still committed to the port.

In a statement the PAJ – that has the responsibility of managing the island’s ports – noted that although the decline in earnings for the destination is noteworthy, it says the summer season generally records an approximately 40 per cent decline in cruise arrivals, compared to the winter season.  It says the 2018 summer season will not see a significant variation, when compared to 2016 and 2017.

“The harassment is straightforward. It’s the aggressive nature in which the drivers are soliciting business from the tourists …..we want to ensure that harassment is dealt with.”

Tourism officials are rushing to find an effective strategy to curtail harassment in and around the recently-built multibillion-dollar Falmouth cruise ship pier to avert any further fallout in the tourism trade.

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40 homes to be built by Food For The Poor in Jamaica this year

Charity organization Food for the Poor held its third annual 5K Walk/Run held on May 13 at Emancipation Park in St Andrew, Jamaica. At the Walk/Run event, Andrew Mahfood, chairman of FFP-Jamaica, announced that the charity intends to construct 100 houses in total from the event's proceeds, and that they are grateful for the 40 houses already committed.

Approximately $46.5 million was raised from the first 5K Walk/Run in 2015 and $53 million in 2016, thanks to donations made  by individuals, companies and others.  From these proceeds over 100 2 bedroom houses have been built for poverty-stricken families.

 

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More heavy rains destroy roads, bridges; flood communities in Jamaica

….rain, rain, rain
what a heavy rain ah fall
– Jamaican folk song

The Government says it is too early to give an estimate, but the cost to the country from relentless rains over the past three days could be staggering, considering that the damage from showers just a few weeks ago was preliminarily put at close to $500 million.

The Jamaica government ministry had just allocated $175 million in emergency funds to six parishes to help restore access to communities which were cut off as a result of those rains the previous month. Since then more relentless torrential rain even heavier has done even greater damage across the island.

More rains have again wreaked havoc on the island's infrastructure, dumping up to a month's volume of rainfall on some areas, washing away bridges, tearing up roads, forcing rivers to burst their banks, and leaving a number of Jamaicans marooned.

While there were no reports of deaths so far, more than 30 people have so far had to be rescued by the Jamaica Defence Force and the Jamaica Fire Brigade.

Flood waters also converted the Guy's Hill main road in St Catherine into a river. St Thomas, Kingston, St Andrew, St Catherine, Manchester, parts of Westmoreland, St Mary, Portland, and sections of northern St Ann were also severely impacted.

THE National Works Agency (NWA) says the preliminary cost for clearing roads and drains across the island that were impacted by severe rains between March 18 and May 17 is now at $2.1 billion and will probably be even more. A breakdown of the estimates for the clearance of roads and drains for the four periods of heavy rainfall show $3.37 million for March 18-22; $671,202 million for April 16 to 23; May 1 to 10, $14.69 million; and $936,632 million attributable to damage from May 13-17.

 

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New app brings health services to Jamaicans by smartphone

Jamaicans can now access reliable healthcare at a distance using the latest in information and communications technology (ICT). This is through the Doctor-on-Call application (app), which allows patients to consult with their doctors and obtain diagnosis through videoconferencing.

The app was launched by physician and head of the School of Health and Health Technology of the University of Technology, Professor Winston Davidson, and his business partner, Sanjeev Kumar Rangaiah, at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston.

Science, Energy and Technology Minister, Dr Andrew Wheatley, commended the innovators of the “game-changing” app, noting that it represents a paradigm shift in the way patients access healthcare services.

“So many of our people are plagued by their inability to access top-quality healthcare because of distance, cost and a variety of other impediments, but this (represents) a whole new set of possibilities and treatment options,” he said.

Professor Davidson explained that the 24-hour app has a number of features, including patient follow-up, adjustment of prescription, and patient case management, among others. He said the information and interaction between doctor and patient is confidential and can be accessed any time through cloud storage.

Doctor-on-Call can be downloaded free of cost from the Google Play Store for Android smartphones and tablet users, and at the Apple Store for users of iPhones and iPads by typing DoctorOnCallGlobal.

It is also available through Google Chrome for laptops or desktop computers at DoctorOnCallJamaica.com. Patients who use the application will be required to pay for the service by Visa and Master debit or credit card.

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Ziggy gets lifetime award

Ziggy Marley is the first reggae act to receive the  Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement.The presentation took place at the Spring Sing held on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Established in 1988 and hosted by the UCLA Alumni Association and Student Alumni Association to honour George and Ira Gershwins' contributions to American music, the annual event is also a showcase for the best student talent on campus.

Ira Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century. He died on August 17, 1983 while George pre-deased him in 1937. Their songs include Rhapsody in Blue, Summertime, and Porgy and Bess.

“We wanted to acknowledge a genre of music that hasn't been represented before among the Gershwin Award winners,” said Alyson Beckman of Marley's selection. One of the event's organisers remarked, “No reggae artiste has ever won it.” The award is intended to honour the creators of all musical genres.

“He brings a different perspective that's optimistic, positive, and different from the rock-and-roll artistes who have a history of winning this award in the past,” Beckman said of Marley.

Ray Charles, Julie Andrews, MC Hammer, Pete Townsend, Anthony Kiedis, Alanis Morissette, Brian Wilson, and Ella Fitzgerald are all recipients of the award.

With eight Grammy Awards and an Emmy, Marley, 49, has managed to transform the music industry with his progressive agenda during his three-decade career, and build on the rich musical legacy of his father, reggae icon Bob Marley.

 

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Jamaica football has lost its leader

Captain Horace Burrell, President of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF). Has died. He made history in leading Jamaica, the first English speaking Caribbean country to a FIFA World Cup final.

Burrell, who was 67 years old, had been ill for the past year and was undergoing treatment at the Johns Hopkins Cancer Treatment Center in Baltimore, Maryland

In the words of Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia 'Babsy' Grange:

The country owes Captain Burrell a huge debt of gratitude for his work and his legacy will forever influence Jamaica's football. His passing has left a void that will take some time to be filled."

 

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Hail Jamaica’s soccer coach Whitmore

Editorial

Hail Jamaica’s soccer coach Theodore Whitmore! At the time of this writing, Jamaica’s national soccer team is waiting to play the US in the finals of the Gold Cup competition. Along the way they have beaten the favorites and traditional winner Mexico. This is a tremendous accomplishment for Jamaica’s coach, Theodore Whitmore and against great odds.

The greatest obstacle he faced was the failure to recognize his talents by his own country. It is classic, “A prophet is without honour in his own country”. Unfortunately this is commonplace in Caribbean and African countries. Their fellow countrymen are not considered good enough and they seek out European coaches. We see team after team of black faces headed by a white European coach.  I consider this an insult.

Previously, Jamaica had brought in the German, Winfried Shafer, to coach the team at great expense. But, not only at great expense, but the Jamaica Football Federation makes all sorts of resources  available to him. In contrast, for  preparation for the Gold Cup, coach Whitmore was not even provided a satisfactory field to practice on. This type of thing is typical. I remember when Whitmore was preparing the team for the previous World Cup, he was unable to get friendly matches with foreign teams. But, coach Schaefer had no such problems. Even this time for the Gold Cup, English based Jamaican players were not made available to Whitmore.

I hope the success of coach Whitmore is a milestone and will bring about the respect local-bred national coaches deserve. No more knee-jerk "great white father' national coaches.

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India brides get wooden paddles to beat drunk husbands

An Indian state minister has given hundreds of wooden bats to newly-wed brides, urging them to use the paddle as a weapon if their husbands turn alcoholic or abusive. Gopal Bhargava gave the bats -- which are used to get dirt out of clothes in traditional laundries -- to nearly 700 brides at a mass wedding organised by the government of central Madhya Pradesh state recently.

The nearly foot-long paddles are emblazoned with messages that read: "For beating drunkards" and "Police won't intervene".

Bhargava told the brides to reason with their husbands first, adding that they should "let the wooden paddles do the talking" if their spouses refuse to listen.

Perhaps the Caribbean may be next.......

 
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