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CONTENTS UNDILUTED pays tribute to John Maxwell by featuring two previous columns by him from the Hot Calaloo UNDILUTED archives:
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
the Life of Laetitia
by Trinidad -born Merle Hodge
Price: $10.54a wonderful book about a young girl in the Carribean, the first of her family to go to secondary school.
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 | “Cuba has
been a long-standing, supportive partner particularly in building
the region's human capital in fields such as public health and
sport. Our Community reiterates its call for the lifting of the
unwarranted economic embargo and sanctions on Cuba which were
strengthened recently,” he added. Washington strengthened the decades old embargo on the Caribbean island after it publicly stated its support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro whom the United States and several other western countries are seeking to remove from power. |
| CARICOM has
called for non-intervention in the internal affairs of countries and
that it has adopted this principle with regards to Caracas. |
| “The ongoing
political situation in Venezuela is worrisome and requires an urgent
and concerted response from all actors. Since the beginning of the
year, CARICOM has been very active on the issue and spared no effort
on its own as well as working with like-minded countries and other
parties, towards a peaceful internal outcome to the crisis, an
objective on which all member states agree,” he said.
The Secretary
General said that CARICOM has been operating within the framework of
the Montevideo Mechanism process established with Mexico and
Uruguay.
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Former
Jamaica PM Edward Seaga dies
Edward
Philip George Seaga, Jamaica’s fifth Prime Minister and
longest-serving Member of Parliament, has died. He
died on his 89th birthday in a Miami hospital where he had
been receiving treatment for cancer and related complications.
Seaga
was the last surviving framer of the Jamaican constitution.At the age of
29, the former prime minister became the youngest person to be nominated
to the Legislative Council (later the Senate) where he served for two
years before he became a Member of Parliament until his retirement in
January 2005.
But
even after his retirement, he remained active in the public arena, and,
later that year, was appointed as a Distinguished Fellow of the
University of the West Indies (Mona), whose Research Institute had
earlier been named in his honour.
In
2008, he was appointed Pro-Chancellor of the University of Technology,
Jamaica and two years later he became the institution’s second
chancellor after his predecessor, Lord Morris Handsworth, retired.
A
lifelong sports enthusiast, the former prime minster was chairman of the
Premier League Clubs Association, one of Jamaica’s governing football
bodies, from its inception until 2010.
He
also served as president of the football club of his former West
Kingston enclave, Tivoli Gardens.
On
May 15 when Prime Minister Andrew Holness visited Seaga in Miami, he
enquired about Jamaica’s football programme and was updated by the
Sports Minister Olivia Grange.
Seaga
was born on May 28, 1930 in Boston, Massachusetts, while his Jamaican
parents were on a visit to America. When he was three months old, he was
brought to Jamaica by his parents.
New
obstacle -Social media posts required for US visa
A
new mandatory requirement set by the racist US President Donald Trump
for applicant for US visas has gone into effect as of May 31.All
applicants must disclose all the social-media platforms they have
visited in the last five years, along with their user names. Beware
because these social media include Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Incredibly, this means that in order to just visit the US for a mere
week , will depend on not only what you may have written on social media
but also what you may have read!
The
US claims it is for the sake of national security, but already
applicants for immigrant visas have to undergo a detailed background
check, Obviously it will have a “chilling effect” on free speech.
Jamaica-born
immigration attorney based in the United States (US) Walker Huntington
commented critically that::.
“If
it’s for national security and you are asking for my screen name on
Twitter so you can go back and look at all my tweets that I have done
and whether or not I have been critical of the administration, the
question is how far is too far, and is what I’ve said going to make me
ineligible for a visa?”.
So
any applicant who has been critical of the present racist US President
Trump online in the last five years, forget it. On the other hand if you
want to enhance your chances, say how wonderful Trump is. Is there no
limit to this egomaniac?
Guyana
listed as world's fastest growing economy
The world's second largest stock market NASDAQ, has named Guyana as
the fastest growing economy in the world.
In a report, NASDAQ said that with a projected growth rate of 16.3
per cent during the four-year period 2018-2021, Guyana is the fastest
growing economy in the world.
NASDAQ says that with a GDP size of US$3.63 billion (2018 Rank: 160),
a growth rate of 4.1 per cent in 2018 and 4.6 per cent in 2019, Guyana's
economy is expected to grow by 33.5 per cent and 22.9% in 2020 and 2021
respectively.
The report added that Guyana is a middle-income country that has an
abundance of resources.
The report also pointed to the ExxonMobil discoveries in Guyana and
the income that will come to the country when oil production begins next
year.
Exxon is expected to start producing up to 120,000 barrels of oil per
day from the Liza Phase 1 development next year and the country is
projected to be among the world's largest per-capita oil producers by
2025.
Jamaican
banks lose J$4 million monthly to cyber theft
The 2018 Financial
Stability Report, published by the Bank
of Jamaica found that banks in Jamaica are the victims of an average
of about two cyber attacks every week, and in a single month,
cybercriminals stole J$10 million. Average losses total a little more
than $4 million per month. According to David Noel, the president of the
Jamaica Business Association and the president and CEO of Scotia Group
Jamaica, for the banks impacted, the situation represents significant
loss, and they are making efforts to work with law enforcement
authorities to protect their customers’ privacy, which is a critical
matter. The Bank of Jamaica views the issue as a growing problem and is
considering new rules to manage the risk. Between January and September
of 2018, 62 counts of internet banking fraud occurred in Jamaica,
with total losses reaching J$38.2 million. This amount represents J$4.2
million per month on average. The data came from the 2018 Financial
Stability Report, which is the most recent data available.
Sargassum
scourge
threatens Caribbean beaches
Caribbean
Fisheries Ministers is urging urgent action to address the ongoing
Sargassum scourge, as well as Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU)
fishing—two of the most pressing challenges responsible for
multimillion-dollar losses to the regional economy.
Sargassum, a brown-colored seaweed that reeks when it decomposes, is
predicted to wash up en masse on Caribbean coasts beaches this year.
The
call came at the recent 13th Regular Meeting of the Ministerial Council
of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) in St Kitts and
Nevis.
Jamaica’s
Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and
Fisheries, Floyd Green, spoke of the problems that Jamaica has been
facing due to IUU fishing by vessels from countries such as Honduras,
Nicaragua and Venezuela. Jamaica has had to extend the close-season for
the Queen Conch fishery indefinitely, due to the adverse effects of IUU
fishing on stock abundance.
Former
FIFA vice-president Warner loses $120 million lawsuit
A
United States District judge has found disgraced former FIFA
vice-president Trinidadian Austin “Jack” Warner in default, in a
US$20 million lawsuit brought against him by CONCACAF. Judge William F
Kuntz entered judgement against Warner, who is facing extradition to the
US in a separate criminal case.
Warner,
who is also former president of the North American, Central American and
Caribbean football confederation, is accused of taking millions in
bribes and kickbacks. It is alleged that Warner and fellow former FIFA
official Chuck Blazer made a fortune through embezzlement.
Warner
never responded to the lawsuit by CONCACAF after he was served with it
in October 2017. Kuntz granted CONCACAF’s motion for default judgment
against Warner, with no opposition, as he was unrepresented in court.
The lawsuit, filed in April 2017, mirrored allegations in the US
indictment that resulted in charges against several top football
officials.
In
Jamaica NEPA urge students and teachers to protect birds
The
National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) engaged
primary-school students and teachers in the protection of shore and
water birds ahead of International Day for Biological Diversity (IDBD)
on May 22.
Approximately
70 students from 12 primary schools in the Ministry of Education Youth
and Information's Region 6 participated at a sensitisation session at
the Mount Nebo Primary School and Baptist Church in St Catherine on May
16.
NEPA's
Senior Public Education Officer, Ava Tomlinson, said that the
session included “a
presentation to the students to show them how their solid waste, in
particular plastics, impacts our marine environment”.
Teachers
in attendance also received training and certification in the Cornell
University Ornithology Laboratory's Bird Sleuth Programme, administered
through NEPA.
The
Bird Sleuth Programme engages children in scientific study and real data
collection. It is supported by a kit of resources and materials to
support scientific inquiry by the students, enabling them to increase
their knowledge and interest in nature and science.
Jamaica
ranked 8th on 2019 World Press Freedom Index
Jamaica
has been ranked Number 8 on the World Press Freedom Index for 2019
compiled by Reporters Without Borders. While it retains its status as
one of the countries that most respect freedom of information and the
press in the world, the ranking is two places lower than that attained
in 2018. In 2018, Jamaica was ranked sixth on the index. This was the
highest rating for a country in the Caribbean region since 2002 when the
index was first compiled.
The
index has been tabulated since 2002 and measures the level of media
freedom in 180 countries around the world. The measurements include
pluralism, media independence, environment and self-censorship, legal
structure, transparency, and quality of the infrastructure that supports
news and information production. The index does not assess government
policies. Results are determined on the basis of scores assigned to each
nation, which are calculated from answers given on a questionnaire
presented in 20 languages and completed by experts around the world.
Norway, Finland, Sweden, The
Netherlands, and Denmark, respectively, were ranked Numbers 1 through 5
for press freedom on the 2019 index. Replacing Jamaica at Number 6 in
2019 was Switzerland, followed by New Zealand at Number 7. US fell two
positions to 45.
Five
Caribbean destinations achieve marine protection goals ahead of schedule
Five
Caribbean countries and territories were recognized for their early
achievement of the ambitious marine protection target they committed to
when joining the Caribbean Challenge Initiative (CCI).
The
CCI 20-by-20 Conservation Goal challenges members to conserve and manage
at least 20 percent of their marine and coastal environment by 2020.
The
Dominican Republic led the list of early achievers with approximately 75
percent of its marine area under protection, followed by St Kitts and
Nevis (50 percent), the US Virgin Islands (44 percent), Puerto Rico (27
percent), and Haiti (23 percent).
The
CCI is an innovative platform uniting government, the private sector and
partners, such as funding agencies and NGOs in a collaborative movement
to conserve and sustainably manage the Caribbean’s marine and coastal
environments.
Launched
in 2008, the CCI aims to incentivize Caribbean governments to meet their
marine conservation objectives and to support them by catalyzing new
funding and accelerating meaningful action. It also works to create more
prosperous and stable economies, achieved through sustainable
development and growth, to help ensure a more secure future for the
entire region.
Bunting
challenges Phillips for PNP leadership in Jamamca
Central Manchester Member of Parliament, Peter Bunting, ended months
of speculation by confirming
that he will challenge Dr. Peter Phillips for the leadership of the
81-year-old Peoples National Party. Bunting, an investment banker and
former party general secretary, The next general election is due in
2021.
“Scratch”
Perry still scratching out hits
At
83 years old, Lee “Scratch” Perry is the oldest person to make the
Billboard Reggae Albums chart since its inception in 1994. He earns a
career-best number two place with Rainford, a nine-song set.
The
legendary producer/artiste, known for his work with The Wailers, Junior
Byles and Junior Murvin, has made the chart 13 times. Rainford
was released by On-U Sound on May 10. Perry, a Grammy winner, has
developed a massive following in Europe and the United States with his
manic personality.
Let us know what you think. Email us at hotcalaloo@yahoo.com