******** HAPPY NEW YEAR 2018 ********

Guyana News Headlines Links – Kaieteur News – December 30-31. 2017

News – 31 December 2017

Four new Senior Counsel identified

Guyana deserves higher share of oil profit

$40.7M allocated for special swing doors at GPHC

GRA, SOCU, SARA, FIU to step up cooperation in 2018-Statia

DDL molasses supply threatened by GuySuCo’s production cuts- contemplates entry in sugar industry; wants estates remain operational

The Story within the Story… Of oil contracts, 2017 and a new year

  ……  See more News Links below  ……     

Guyana to host Inter-American Congress of Tourism in March 2018

Guyana to host Inter-American Congress of Tourism in March 2018

December 29, 2017. – Caribbean News Now

Photo: Permanent Representative of Guyana to the OAS, Riyad Insanally (L), with OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro. Photo: OAS

WASHINGTON, USA — Guyana will host the 24th Inter-American Congress of Ministers and High-Level Authorities of Tourism of the Americas on March 21-22, 2018. The government of Guyana and the OAS General Secretariat signed a cooperation agreement on Thursday for the organization of the event.

It will be the first ever high level OAS meeting in that country. The meeting’s theme will be “Connecting the Americas through Sustainable Tourism”.    

What is God? – By Rosaliene Bacchus

Three Worlds One Vision

Seated statue of El from Megiddo (1400-1200 BCE)
Photo Credit: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago

The final post of my three-part series covers “Part Three: What is God?” of Reza Aslan’s book, God: A Human History. The author traces the evolution of the nature of God from God is one, to God is three, and later to God is all.

The ancient Israelites worshiped the Canaanite god El as their chief god presiding over a pantheon of lesser gods. The very word Israel means “El perseveres.” The god who became known as Yahweh first appeared to Moses in the form of a burning bush. Around 1050 BCE when they established the Kingdom of Israel, Yahweh became their patron God. In the capital, Jerusalem, they built a temple to house the Ark of the Covenant, Moses’s covenant with Yahweh: the highest and strongest god over all other gods.

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Europe’s Unprecedented Challenge from the Authoritarians in the East – Jon Henley | The Guardian UK

Europe’s Unprecedented Challenge from the Authoritarians in the East

How the EU deals with members flouting core western liberal norms and values could overshadow Brexit wrangling in 2018

Jon Henley | The Guardian UK

 In 2017, Europe survived the crunch Dutch, French and German elections that – after Brexit and Trump – many predicted would mark the beginning of its end. In 2018, the biggest threats could come from the east.

When Poland and Hungary joined the EU in 2004, the integration of the former communist bloc countries was seen as critical to the bloc’s post-cold war advance. Barely a decade later, they risk becoming its first rogue states.    

Guyana aviation sector improves – Hoping to attract major airlines

Guyana closer to Category 1 status, as aviation sector improves

By Ray Chickrie – Caribbean News Now – December 29, 2017

CJIA Arrivals Entrance

GEORGETOWN, Guyana — Guyana over the past year has seen a dramatic growth in its aviation sector, especially in areas of safety and building institutions to oversee implementation and evaluation. The US$150 million project to expand the runway and modernization of the terminal at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) will be completed by late-2018.

For these reasons, the country is close to achieving Category 1 status, which means that Guyana-based carriers and others in the region can fly non-stop from Georgetown to any point in the United States, the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) said recently. However, the country is still finding it hard to attract legacy airlines from North America and Europe.     

GUYANA: Capitol TV News Videos – 29 December 2017

GUYANA: Capitol TV News Videos –  29 December 2017

CJIA confirms December 2018 completion – CEO Posted: 29 Dec 2017 02:39 AM PST The completion of the expansion of t2he Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) is now scheduled for December 2018. According to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the CJIA, Ramesh Ghir, this is inclusive of rehabilitation and renovation of existing structures.  …… Oil production scheduled for March 2020 Posted: 28 Dec 2017 03:46 PM PST The United States Oil and Gas Giant ExxonMobil on Thursday announced that it is likely to commence oil production by March 2020. This is according to Exxon’s Country Manager Rod Henson during a press conference  …… CDC: issues flood warming Posted: 28 Dec 2017 12:23 PM PST In light of expected heavy and continuous rainfall across the country, the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) is urging members of the public that there is a high risk of water accumulations or flooding in low-lying areas and those with poor drainage.

Guyana News Headlines Links – Kaieteur News – December 28-29. 2017

News – 29 December 2017

Guyana’s agreement “fair” for a new kid on the oil block – ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil says it does not take advantage of countries

Supplies being rushed to 200 flood-hit Canal No. 1 families

Paid 80% of monies…CJIA completion now set for next year-end

Govt. open to look beyond Exxon on natural gas project – Patterson

Sherriff Street/Mandela Ave. road project set to commence in January

First Indigenous MP to have building named after him

Body to hear complaints against lawyers functioning again

 ……  See more News Links below  ……        

The Power Politics Behind Trump’s Jerusalem Declaration – Raja Shehadeh | The New Yorker

The Power Politics Behind Trump’s Jerusalem Declaration

Raja Shehadeh | The New Yorker

Letter from Ramallah:  A few days after President Trump announced that the United States of America would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, I went to a friend’s house in Ramallah for dinner. We were by no means a cross-section of Palestinian society:

I am a lawyer, and among the group was an architect, a professor, a researcher, and a former employee of an investment fund that aided Palestinian small businesses. Nonetheless, we represented a group that is largely disengaged from the Palestinian national movement. For years, apathy and avoidance had caused us to rarely discuss the dire state of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, or Palestinian politics in general — but we found ourselves doing it over dinner.     

Our Community—New Year. New Strategy – By Yvonne Sam

Our Community—New Year. New Strategy

By Yvonne Sam

New Year has joined the list of things that are gradually becoming objects of derision and contempt among many people. These New Year pessimists reason that if a person has not been sufficiently inspired to follow their dreams in the present year, not much if anything at all, will change in the New Year.

Point taken and noted!  However, every New Year brings in its wake the probability for a new start, a new outlook. The operative word is “probable”, for it is probable that someone will seize the opportunity, take advantage and get their dreams back on track.