This week’s “Believe It or Not” :

Coral reef (from http://www.silver-sands.com)
Hard on the heels of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce’s denunciation of the judgment halting construction of the Pinero Group’s 2,000 room hotel at Pear Tree Bottom, we have an endorsement of the judgment by the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) !!!!!
You can just go ahead and knock me and Peter Espeut down with a feather ! Not to mention that the JHTA has just put their cat down among the pigeons named Garnet Roper, Trevor Munroe, Tony Abrahams and Ronnie Thwaites, (who had not only urged that the development be allowed to continue forthwith, but managed to impugn the integrity, good sense and patriotism of individuals working for JET and NJCA).
Of course (once recovered from the shock ) it did occur to me that the two most influential members of the JHTA (Messrs. Butch Stewart of Sandals and John Issa of Super Clubs) might not be all that thrilled about the arrival of Spanish hoteliers on their home turf……. and that might, possibly, very probably, have something to do with the JHTA’s statement….
But no matter. If the JHTA has seen the light, and is suddenly interested in Jamaica still having nice beaches and reefs to sell to tourists in 10, 15, 20 years time, then it is all good…..

“Reef Fish Identification: Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas (Reef Set)” (Paul Humann, Ned DeLoach)
U.S. Congress to settle dispute between the Government and the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ) ?

It looks as though the decision by the U.S. Congress to lift current restrictions on the immigration of registered nurses to the U.S. means some kind of end to the current dispute between the Ministry of Finance and the NAJ over whether or not the Government will be offering the nurses an improved compensation package.
The U.S. Congress has put the Government of Jamaica on notice. No matter how little, or how much, it offers to the NAJ, Jamaican nurses will now have to have very good personal reasons for staying in Jamaica…..

Average U.S. salary for a registered nurse : US$ 62,194
Number of registered nurses needed in the U.S. as of April 2006 : 118,000

“Mary Seacole: The Black Woman Who Invented Modern Nursing” (Jane Robinson)
Man woman business:
Betty Ann Blaine has an upsetting article about children being raped by their mothers’ boyfriends and husbands. Her proposed solution is that Jamaicans should come together in loving, married couples to raise children. Well, nothing to disagree with so far. Of course, HOW we do that is another matter…..Orlando Patterson has some ideas.

“Rituals of Blood: Consequences of Slavery in Two American Centuries” (Orlando Patterson)
The Property (Rights of Spouses) Act has come into effect. Like the proposed Maintenance Act, it treats men and women equally when a marriage or common law relationship breaks down, however let’s just call it Helga’s Law.
Helga Stoeckert, ex-lover of the late Paul Geddes
Time longer than rope : Reneto Adams

Senior Superintendent Reneto Adams is concerned that he has not been reinstated following his failure to be convicted of murder in a trial by jury last December.
SSP Adams
SSP Adams evidently does not recall that the murders at Crawle were just one of the blots on his copybook. He was also not convicted of the murders of the Braeton seven, and he was not convicted of the carnage in West Kingston (25 dead).
However, during the time that SSP Adams has been out of the police force, the Jamaica Constabulary Force has, under Commissioner Lucius Thomas and with the assistance of Scotland Yard, been transformed from a posse into an increasingly effective (and increasingly respected) crime fighting organization.
DCP Mark Shields
I trust that Commissioner Thomas will find something for SSP Adams to do – perhaps in Hollywood, or maybe Iraq – where his type of policing may still be welcome. Where he goes should not be of any consequence. As long as he’s no longer in the police force in Jamaica.

(For those of us who believe in the power of prayer, please remember to pray for SSP Adams. Like all of us, he is much in need of forgiveness….)

“Police in Helicopter” (John Holt)

“Fallen Is Babylon” (Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers)
Goodbye, Desmond Dekker. Rest in peace.
(Did you know that some of his fans outside Jamaica believe that he is singing about the present-day inhabitants of Israel ? Whereas here, on island, we know he is singing about us, the inhabitants of present-day Babylon….)

“Israelites: Anthology 1963-1999” (Desmond Dekker)

[posted with ecto]

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