Looming UK Border Issues Anticipated – PICA Chairman

Chairman of the agency responsible for securing Jamaica’s borders Joe Issa has said he anticipated the border issues now being predicted for the UK on account of Britain.

“It was on the cards the moment Britain voted to opt out of Europe. What is now being reported loomed ever since, because with Britain, it would not be business as usual. There must be changes in processing inbound and outbound traffic of both people and goods from all over the world at all border points – air and sea.

“But while it is not yet known what the future relation will be between the UK and Europe, it is arrivals and departures at airports that would pose the biggest challenge for immigration and customs officers, especially where they rely heavily on manual processing.

“And as is expected with Britain, collateral material including immigration and customes forms, passport and citizenship documents, as well as the appropriate staff level must reflect the new status of the UK,” said chairman of the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA), Joe Issa.

Issa was commenting on the recent UK Independent newspaper article which said that “the UK could struggle with ‘huge’ border changes” on account of British.

It quoted the National Audit Office (NAO) warning of pressure on UK border, stating that after British, border officials could struggle to cope as customs declarations are set to soar by 360% and immigration checks by 230%.

The new spending watchdog report is said to have “cast doubt over readiness at the border for March 2019- the official EU exit date – due to a reliance on outdated technology, manual processes, and staffing shortages.

Labour MP Meg Hillier, chair of the influential Public Accounts Committee (PAC), is said to have difficult seeing “how the Government could deliver on these huge changes in time for the EU withdrawal.

“The difficulties posed by Britain would heighten pressure on the border as immigration officials would need to make 230% more decisions a year if the existing regime for travellers from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) is extended to European arrivals.

“If customs declarations are required for trade between the UK and EU, the total number could soar by 360%,” the NAO reportedly said.

‘Fascination with Science’: Joe Issa Sees Largest Asteroid Whizing past Earth as Rare Opportunity to Glean New Knowledge

On Friday September 1, the largest asteroid in more than a century will whiz past earth, and science enthusiast Joe Issa is not worried, viewing the event as a rare opportunity to learn more about the space phenomenon, which will not happen again in a few million years.

 “If what the scientists say is true, and I have no reason to doubt them, we will be alright in the morning and our civilization good for another few million years, as it will pass us at a safe, even if unusually close distance.

“I am more fascinated by the close encounter because of the rare opportunity it provides to gain new insights into our own world and its survival, given the abundance of near-earth objects roaming at high-speed,” said Issa, who at the time was reacting to news of the imminent passing of an asteroid close to earth.

NASA was reported as putting the distance at about 4.4 million miles (7 million kilometres) which it said is unusually close.

According to AFP, “the asteroid was discovered in 1981, and is named Florence after the famed 19th century founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale.”

“Florence is the largest asteroid to pass this close to our planet since the first near-Earth asteroid was discovered over a century ago,” NASA was reported as saying.

The report rated the coming asteroid as one of the biggest in the Earth’s vicinity, measuring some 2.7 miles (4.4 kilometres) wide — or roughly the size of 30 Egyptian pyramids stuck together.

Manager of NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies Paul Chodas, said “while many known asteroids have passed by closer to Earth than Florence will on September 1, all of those were estimated to be smaller.”

Using ground-based radar imaging in California and Puerto Rico, scientists are planning to study the asteroid up close when it passes.

According to NASA, the radar images to be taken “will show the real size of Florence and also could reveal surface details as small as about 30 feet (10 metres).”

This pass will be Florence’s closest “since 1890 and the closest it will ever be until after 2500,” the US space agency was quoted as informing.

Asteroids are said to be small, natural rocky bodies that orbit the Sun.

Large asteroid collisions with Earth are believed to be rare, while a car-sized asteroid hits Earth’s atmosphere approximately once every year and burns up before it reaches the surface.

“About every 2,000 years or so, a meteoroid the size of a football field hits Earth and causes significant damage to the area…Finally, only once every few million years, an object large enough to threaten Earth’s civilisation comes along,” NASA reportedly said.

Scientists are said to be confident that Florence will not be one of them.

Transformative Research Visionary, Critical for Local Let Alone Global Corporate Success – Joe Issa

As academic research continues to provide the foundation for radical changes in organizations worldwide, founder of the dynamic Cool Group of over 50 companies Joe Issa, himself an academic with several firsts, is backing a UWI corporate transformation study to do the same for their counterparts in Jamaican.

Joey Issa

Stating in an interview, that the National Commercial Bank (NCB)-sponsored applied research is visionary, Issa suggests that the findings could be critical in transforming businesses that respond inappropriately to the challenges of small island states.

“It’s an interesting initiative and I hail NCB for coming up with the idea, which years from now could be viewed as one of the most significant developments to have taken place in Jamaica’s business landscape.

“I also commend Mr. Lee-Chin (head of NCB, Michael Lee-Chin) for his philanthropic gesture of not keeping the results to himself, but instead sharing them for the benefit of local and regional organizations, which face the same challenges of small market size and low economic growth.

“The extent to which business models take account of the business environment, its demands and processes, will determine the success level of organisations,” says Issa, whose Cool Group model has been likened to that of the UK-based Virgin Group headed by his colleague Sir Richard Branson.

Issa’s comments are said to be backed by his experience in developing the business model for the Cool Group, which has enjoyed immense success in the local market and is being leveraged internationally, with a view to becoming a global company.

The transformation research programme, which is said to be the first of its kind in the Caribbean and will benefit NCB, UWI and other organisations in the region, was initiated by NCB after observing that many companies in the Caribbean needed to radically change their behavior, in order to survive locally, let alone globally.

With a paucity of academic studies to cope with challenges such as small market sizes and low economic growth, it is believed that the research in business transformation could provide the foundation.

The research project is being undertaken in two phases with the first phase researching business models and business intelligence for corporate transformation, to provide the foundation for the second phase.

Phase 2 is said to involve the establishment of a Professional Chair at UWI to advance knowledge in corporate transformation, and the results will be published in a book and scholarly academic papers. The Chair will also develop curricula and cases for educational purposes, the Jamaica Observer reported.

Healthy Seas, Happy People: Joey Issa Likes What Makes Sense

Successful entrepreneur, Joe Issa, who is believed to know more than most what makes sense in business and philanthropy, now adds the environment on his list, as he supports the slogan: “Healthy Seas…Happy People. Makes Sense!”

Commenting on an article of the same title which shames humans for littering the sea with garbage and destroying critical fish habitats, Issa says “it makes sense to keep the sea healthy so that we can continue to exploit its resources much to our pleasure and happiness.”

That the resources of the sea are depleting rapidly by human actions, Issa remarked, “You can’t argue against that; the evidence is glaring all along our coastlines and harbour, which serve as repositories for garbage such as plastic bottles and Styrofoam washed away by rivers and gullies whenever it rains.”

In addition to garbage, humans are also said to be constantly polluting the sea with untreated or partially treated sewage, industrial effluent, ship pollution, or the runoff of chemicals used in agriculture. As much as 40 per cent of the world’s oceans are believed to be heavily affected by human activities including pollution, depleted fisheries, and loss of coastal habitats.

“It’s common sense that if we do not restore the health of the sea by proper disposal of garbage and cleaning and replenishing our coral reefs and mangroves, sooner or later we won’t have a fish to put on the table and a beach to go to, and we won’t be too happy about that,” says Issa.

In agreeing with the article that “the beach is a constant lure for Jamaicans in all walks of life…an escape, the epitome of relaxation and quite simply, the sea makes us happy”, Issa warns, however, that “soon, this will no longer be the case when the sea becomes too polluted to swim in and harbour marine life.”

Noting that the sea has been a source of livelihood for billions of people throughout the world, Issa argues that “if we continue to take from the sea without giving back to it, eventually, it will be unable to sustain life as we know it.”

According to the United Nations, it is the oceans – their temperature, chemistry, currents and life – that drive the global systems that make it possible to live on earth, stating that “our rainwater, drinking water, weather, climate, coastlines, much of our food, and even the oxygen in the air we breathe, are all ultimately provided and regulated by the sea.”

While lamenting the senseless human actions that are causing the earth’s temperature and sea level to rise, Issa finds some comfort in the oceans’ ability to counteract them, contending that “it’s a good thing that the oceans are able to absorb some 30 per cent of the carbon dioxide which we produced, otherwise the impacts of global warming would have been more pronounced today.”

In acknowledging the might of the world’s oceans Issa invokes UN data which show that they cover three quarters of the Earth’s surface, contain 97 per cent of the Earth’s water, and represent 99 per cent of the living space on the planet by volume.

It said over three billion people depend on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihoods and estimated the global market value of marine and coastal resources and industries at $3 trillion per year or about five per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP).

Mindful that the oceans and seas have been vital conduits for trade and transportation throughout history, Issa supports the suggestion that “careful management of this essential global resource is a key feature of a sustainable future.”

Joe Issa’s Great Secret in Global Positioning

How Joe Issa came to position his business on the global market is a mystery only to those who are not aware how intelligent he is, and how, with his great quality education he is able to engage anyone at any level of business and socialization anywhere in the world.

Those who do not know of Issa’s uncanny knack of finding solutions also do not understand the business of diversifying, branding and leveraging on the international market.

The art of diversifying, branding and leveraging a business brings great value, which can be multiplied when executed multi-dimensional – interdisciplinary thought…thinking from all different disciplines converging on the same problem…using all sorts of mediums to aid in inquiry and business conclusion.

Multidimensional thinking has also been described as “thinking about a problem from multiple dimensions, rather than simply adopting one approach,” says one person, adding, “It is desirable because it allows for greater intellectual penetration, and also because being an able multidimensional thinker allows one to think without relying heavily on framework.”

Another person noted that “multidimensional thinking applies to virtually anything worth thinking about. So long as the issue is not black and white with an obvious solution, multidimensional thinking aids one in thinking critically and reaching conclusions.”

Through multidimensional thinking Issa has been able, within a relatively short time to build a group of over 50 Cool branded companies operating in many areas in the economy and are being leveraged internationally with the view to making Cool Corporation a global company.

In getting to where it’s at, Cool Corporation has created thousands of jobs for the people of St. Ann and St. Mary through its Cool Card technology alone costing over $100 million.

Coming up with the idea alone, required multidimensional thinking, which has added value to the deal by enabling the business to be operated at the largest possible scale and making the clients self-employed.

Fast Forward Global Warming for Reality Check

One of Jamaica’s largest distributors of petroleum products, Joe Issa, once advocated that “in order to stay connected with tomorrow’s children, we need to create a better world for them today, than we were welcomed into yesterday,” stating that “the best way to visualize it, is to fast forward and then rewind.”

Issa, who is also a philanthropist was at the time agitating for a cleaner air regime, ahead of the Climate Change Conference in Paris due to end today.

Issa is worried that the talks will come to an end without a firm commitment from today’s world leaders to clean up their environment.

“It is heart rending that those who are most responsible for polluting the air that we breathe and destroying our environment, do not even accept blame, preferring instead, to hide behind political clouds.

“But when they drift away in the remaining years of this century, what will be left in the aftermath is pain and suffering for tomorrow’s generations,” says Issa.

Fast forward to 2050 Issa, now 100 years old and living in the highlands describes a recent photo of Jamaica’s north coast.

Says He: “Look at it and tell me what you see – nothing! The beaches are all gone, the mangroves have disappeared and with them, the tourism industry,” as he points to a section of the sea near the now rugged coastline, where hotels once flourished and the Montego Bay International Airport was located.

Characterizing then, the events which had led him to take to the hills, Issa says, “Every year more and more people take to the hills as the sea level rises and gobbles everything; and if I live to see another 50 years I will probably be living somewhere on the Blue Mountains, and many of our sister islands in the Caribbean will have disappeared underneath the sea.”

Rewind to 2015, Issa says, “That’s why we have to fight hard in Paris to get the developed world to accept the reality of global warming and its impact on rising sea level, and get them to accept a cap of 1.5 ^oC in global temperature rise, in order to protect the future of our vulnerable Caribbean islands and the generations to come.”

Joe Issa Urges Caribbean to Join 1point5 to Stay Alive Climate Justice Campaign

 

As concerns mount about the reality of climate change and the vulnerability of the low-lying Caribbean region, Executive Chairman of Cool Corporation, Joe Issa, one of Jamaica largest indigenous petroleum dealers, says he is pleased with the under-2 ^oC cap in Global Warming reached at the just concluded Paris Conference and urges strict monitoring of country pledges to sustain that goal.

 

 Issa was commenting on a December 12, 2015 article in the North Coast Times titled “Joe Issa Urges Caribbean to Join 1point5 to Stay Alive Climate Justice Campaign” at http://www.northcoasttimesja.com/?p=3449, in which he urged the Jamaican and Caribbean public to join a growing call to limit global warming to 1.5 ^oC above preindustrial levels by 2100, noting that major land loss of Caribbean territory could occur at higher temperatures.

 

 “I thought it was important to get people to buy into the campaign because it is a worthy one as the reality of global warming is already coming to pass and we need to curb or stop it altogether. I believe that all of us have a duty to defend our generations and I think the time is now because there won’t be another Paris any time soon. It’s the last opportunity to at best, minimize the catastrophe waiting to happen. It’s a threat that must be countered in Paris with a strong, unified lobby to resist any attempts to cap temperature rise above 2 ^oC.

 

 “Now that the Paris Conference is over, I didn’t get exactly what I wanted, but I am pleased with the compromised agreement of a cap of under-2 ^oC in global warming. What I want now is for the Jamaican and Caribbean negotiators to keep monitoring the pledges made by the UN countries to the agreement, especially the big developed countries who are most responsible for carbon emission into the atmosphere, to ensure that the targets set are binding and are being met on an ongoing basis, and that they are sufficient to achieve the goal,” says Issa.

 

 Noting that it was never going to be easy to get the rich nations to increase their carbon-cutting pledges while assisting poor countries in meeting their targets, Issa, who a Eucharistic Minister in the Roman Catholic Church, and whose parents once hosted Pope John Paul at their Kingston residence, said that “we needed divine intervention and it came in the form of a plea by Pope Francis.”

 

According to Wikipedia’s report, “2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference” accesses on October 28, 2015 at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 2015_United_ Nations_Climate_Change_Conference, Pope Francis had released an encyclical to influence the outcome of the conference. In it, he called for action against human-caused climate change. The report also cited the International Trade Union Confederation, which called for the goal to be ‘zero carbon, zero poverty’, as well as General Secretary, Sharan Burrow, who has repeatedly said ‘there are no jobs on a dead planet’.

 

As Issa had anticipated, what happened in the dying moments of the conference to reach a compromised agreement is described in Fiona Harvey’s December 14, 2015 article in theguardian titled, “Paris climate change agreement: the world’s greatest diplomatic success”at http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/13/paris-climate-deal-cop-diplomacy-developing-united-nations.

 

Hailing the Paris agreement as “historic, durable and ambitious”, it informed that all 196 UN member countries will be required to cap their carbon emissions to relatively safe levels of 2 ^oC, with an aspiration of 1.5 ^oC, and that there would be regular reviews “to ensure these commitments can be increased in line with scientific advice.”

 

The article noted that finance would be made available to poor countries to assist them in cutting emissions and coping with the impacts of extreme weather. It added that countries affected by climate-related disasters would gain urgent aid.

 

“Like any international compromise, it is not perfect: the caps on emissions are still too loose,” the article said, stating that they could lead to global warming of 2.7 ^oC to 3 ^oC above pre-industrial levels, which it said is a breach of the 2 ^oC threshold “that scientists say is the limit of safety, beyond which the effects – droughts, floods, heat waves and sea level rises – are likely to become catastrophic and irreversible.”

 

It said that “poor countries are also concerned that the money provided to them will not be nearly enough to protect them” and that “not all of the agreement is legally binding, so future governments of the signatory countries could yet renege on their commitments.”

 

Concerned by the bleak prospects for mother earth, Issa says that “the agreement was needed as a benchmark to follow, but it will depend on us, as small, poor nations to ensure that they are not only followed, but lowered to the safer level of 1.5 ^oC”, noting that “our countries in the Caribbean are low-lying islands with much of its social and economic life taking place along coastal areas…most of our villages, towns and cities are located along the coasts and are the first targets of rising sea levels which are caused by global warming…we have the biggest stake in this global agreement to reduce greenhouse gases.”

Hard at work

SUPERCLUB’S GOES GLOBAL: Global education 2000 continues to flourish with the generous assistance of Sans Souci Lido and the personal support of its general manager, Joe Issa. This month Broward Elementary school teachers and business partners visited their ‘twin’, Three Hills All Age School in St. Mary. While the Broward Elementary school teachers taught lessons, business partners, Tony Fusco and the staff of San Souci Lido made book shelves for the library and repainted the school.