I got this information in an email this morning and thought I'd pass it along.
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The Ministry of Tourism, Entertainment and Culture will be commemorating WORLD TOURISM WEEK from November 26 – December 2, 2006.


The Theme for this year’s celebration is “Tourism Enriches Local Culture, Heritage and Communities”


On SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2006 there will be a “Tourism Awareness Concert” at Santa Cruz Plaza, Santa Cruz commencing at 6:00pm.


The Minister, The Hon. Aloun Assamba will be the main speaker at 6:35.


Please see below agenda for the evening:-


6:00pm - MC Announces the National Anthem

6:10 pm - Prayer by the Custos ofSt. Elzabeth

6:15 pm - Greetings by his Worship the Mayor of Black River

6:25 pm - Greeting by the JHTA Chairman – South Coast – Judy Schoenbein

6:35 pm - Remarks from the Minister of Tourism, Entertainment & Culture, Hon. Aloun Assamba

6:45 pm - Concert Resumes

10:00pm - Concert Ends


The Minister is counting on all Tourism interests to support the concert, so we do hope that you will pass on this message to all who are involved in the industry, and I look forward to seeing you in Santa Cruz.

Why Santa Cruz? I guess he is afraid/ashamed of his vehicle getting wrecked trying to get into Treasure Beach because of the road conditions for which nothing is being done to for soooooooooooo long in terms of fixing..
To me it should be held in Black River/Whitehouse/Treasure Beach.

SANTA CRUZ. GIVE ME A BREAK.
CONVENIENCE SURE IS GOOD FOR THE SOUL.

FYI, the Minister of Tourism is a woman, the honorable Aloun Assamba.

Can someone from Treasure Beach go there to represent the road conditions.

Hmmmm, Butch and Lee buying up Real Estate in the area?

Anything is possible...now I remember when I was a boy and Santa Cruz was...'sweet', that's the word!

If the sweetness hav fi tek out fi divelop mi nuh fi dat!

Off on a tangent again....Justice.

Justice: Ah, but you are not on a tangent when you say "If the sweetness have fi tek out fi divelop mu nuh fi dat."

Right on!

Yea really, everyone should understand that..it's a feeling not an intellectual thing.

'Environmentalism' seems to be a fad to some and gets their backs up. No one forgets the specialness of deep bush, remote unmolested beaches etc.

Unless like some city people the only 'sweetness' experienced is pseudo and they have no reference point until they feel 'sweetness'.

Unfortunatly 'sweetness' in Jamaica has other meanings!

Justice -

It is intellectual as well as emotional. We need only to look around and heed the clear warnings. Not to do so perpetuates the already-rampant denial.

Would not know about the other meaning of "sweetness," but surely we all have some sense that the wildernesses everywhere, including those in Jamaica (like the cockpit country) are vanishing, and at an accelerated rate.

There have recently been two "bleachings" of the coral reefs in the Caribbean Sea - one in 1998, the other in 2005. A reef expert studying all this blames it on the acidification of the oceans from all man's carbon dioxide emissions. Same expert speculates that if the destruction of the environment continues unabated, and radical measures aren't taken, by 2075, there is a good chance the reefs will be all gone, and what will happen to the all the species that live in and on the reefs? "Soon come" will not suffice if we mean to save the only world we know.

Individually we're equiped with survival skills
that help us stay intact.

Global warming, species depletion, addition of
new compounds to the soil, air and water etc for the most part do not impact individuals sufficiently for us to take heed of the problems and act on them.

Hunger, threat of fire or attack lead to immediate response.

Apart from some hot days and smoggy air someplaces that hint of change, most of us depend on the private or official media to advise us of the predicament.

On the whole we have been poorly served by the media some who seem to serve interests contrary to the good of the human species.

My home cooked approach apart from discussion is to encourage the exploration of
designs that radically reduce harm to the surroundings yet provide a healthy, beautiful and productive shelter for us.


I am encouraged by the general outrage at the attempt to convert parts of the Cockpit Country to US $.

As the USA and other large countries are either in denial or reacting slowly, here is a chance for Jamaica to be a major global player in participating in design and lifestyle changes that are called for by current developments.

Burning the midnight oil, Justice.

'Burning the midnight oil'. Justice,you have this amazing ability to be everywhere at once. What's your secret? Can you share it with us?