A FAMILY dressed their dead granddad up in new clothes and bought him a train ticket back to his home 1,700 miles away rather than pay for a hearse to take him there.

JAMAICAN DRUG lords are spreading their wings throughout the Caribbean, the annual International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, released by the United States (US) Department of State yesterday, claimed.

US President Barack Obama listed Jamaica as a "major illicit drug-producing and/or drug-transit" country.

According to the report, Obama and the US Congress were notified about Jamaica's unenviable position on September 15 last year.

Nineteen other countries, including Haiti, The Bahamas, Colombia and Mexico, are included on the list.

"Of these 20 countries, Burma, Bolivia and Venezuela were designated by the president as having 'failed demonstrably' during the previous 12 months to adhere to their obligations under international counter-narcotics agreements," the report said.

Obama noted that "as Mexico and Colombia continue to apply pressure on drug traffickers, the countries of Central America are increasingly targeted for trafficking, which is creating serious challenges for the region".

Integral roles

However, Obama, aside from naming Jamaica as a major illicit drug-producing and/or drug-transit state, did not make any other mention of the country in his declaration. The report, however, noted that Jamaicans have been integral to the drug trade in countries like The Bahamas as well as some Eastern Caribbean nations.

"There are no official estimates of hectares of marijuana under cultivation in The Bahamas. USG (US Government) and host country enforcement agencies believe Jamaican nationals are involved in the cultivation of marijuana on The Bahamas' remote islands and cays," the report said.

In 2008, the United States Department of States provided Jamaica with US$992,000 (J$88,3 million) and US$1.01 million (J$ 89.9 million) in 2009 to fight the narcotics trade in the country.

Major illicit drug-producing and/or drug-transit countries

• Afghanistan
• The Bahamas
• Bolivia
• Brazil
• Burma
• Colombia
• Dominican Republic
• Ecuador
• Guatemala
• Haiti
• India
• Jamaica
• Laos
• Mexico
• Nigeria
• Pakistan
• Panama
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Venezuela

LOVE cheats like Tiger Woods and Jude Law have lower IQs than faithful men, a study revealed yesterday.

The short life and long tortured death of Laura Cummings

Abused victim was mentally disabled

A good night for Laura Cummings meant being allowed to sleep on the kitchen floor in her familys North Collins home.

Usually in the weeks leading up to her death, she was forced to sleep shackled to a metal chair with a sack over her face.

Days were even more nightmarish for the 23-year-old mentally disabled woman, who was held captive and brutalized, allegedly by her own mother and half brother, according to an Erie County Grand Jury indictment returned Friday.

Cummings short life ended Jan. 21 with a long, tortuous death and a trail of missed chances to get her to safety.

A grand jury indicted Cummings mother, Eva M. Cummings, 51, and her half brother, Luke J. Wright, 31, on charges related to the homicide, but authorities continued to be confounded by the apparent lack of community concern for the defenseless womans welfare.

There were a lot of people who knew what was going on and said nothing, and that is a sad commentary on the human condition, said District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III.

Clues and reports about mistreatment inside the apartment at 2052 Sherman Ave. popped up frequently over the years.

Siblings and other relatives said they called Child Protective Services and Adult Protective Services. Whispers floated around town, including at the food pantry, that Cummings was being tied up at home.

This is the problem today nobody wants to get involved, added Caroline Lee, who lives down the street from the Cummings apartment.

The pantry was one of the few places in town where Laura Cummings, a petite woman with short brown hair who rarely made eye contact with people, was seen in public away from her home.

Lee called Laura Cummings younger brother, Richard, about the suspected abuse, and Richard contacted Erie County Adult Protective Services.

They never went inside the household and they never filed for a warrant to go inside, said Richard Cummings, who is serving in the Air Force and is stationed in North Carolina. Im wondering why ... Adult Protective Services didnt do anything about it.

Instead, the abuse intensified over the last few months of Lauras life, said investigators. Starting in November, theres a significant escalation of her debasement as a human being, Senior Trial Counsel Thomas M. Finnerty of the DAs Office said. It was happening on a daily or nightly basis.

Finnerty, who has prosecuted a number of heinous crimes in his 17 years in the DAs office, called it the worst case Ive ever seen.

Its sadistic, and its allegedly sustained over a long period of time, he said.

That was especially true of the unlawful imprisonment of Laura Cummings, in the weeks preceding her death.

Shes restrained more often than shes not, Sheriffs Capt. Ronald L. Kenyon said.

At other times, she was treated as an inanimate object, draped with a blanket so that visitors who stopped by the apartment wouldnt know she was there, according to authorities.

Eva Cummings and Luke Wright were indicted on a total of 15 charges in connection with the suffocation death of Laura Cummings. They are expected to be arraigned at 2 p.m. Monday before Erie County Court Judge Sheila A. DiTullio.

Eva Cummings faces a second-degree murder charge, while her son is charged with five sexual assault charges. Both are accused of using a broomstick to sexually attack the young woman, as well as forcing her to touch her own waste and scalding her with hot water, according to the indictment papers.

Mother and son also are accused of unlawfully imprisoning Laura Cummings because of her mental disability an elevated hate crime charge.

Its a hate crime because its motivated in whole or substantial part by the belief or perception regarding the victims disability, Sedita said.

Eva Cummings could face a possible sentence of 83 years to life on five charges, while her son could face 142 years to life on 10 charges, prosecutors said.

The charges, based on extensive investigation by four Erie County sheriffs detectives and statements from both suspects, paint an extremely troubling portrait of the alleged abuse against the young woman who talked with a speech impediment, had difficulty swallowing food and was said to have the mental capacity of a pre-teenage girl.

Sedita and Kenyon praised sheriffs Detectives Gregory McCarthy, Dennis Fitzgibbon, Matthew Noecker and Jack Graham.

The efforts of the Sheriffs Department were dogged, Sedita said. They didnt stop. They interviewed basically the whole town of North Collins.

Both mother and son are charged with unlawful imprisonment and endangering the welfare of a mentally disabled person.

If the allegations are true, it is clear that the defendants did not treat Laura as a human being, said Sedita. In fact, if these allegations are true, one wonders if either one of them even considered Laura to be a human being.

Laura Cummings tragic life might have gone in a different direction on several occasions, starting when she was a youngster, according to various sources.

As a child, she and other siblings were placed with foster families in Florida that tried unsuccessfully to adopt the children, said Patricia Wright, Lauras half-sister.

The Cummings household, in North Collins and prior to that in Olean, was well-known to Child Protective Services in Erie and Cattaraugus counties, family members said.

Patricia Wright, 27, said she reported abuse to Erie County Child Protective Services and Erie County Family Court more than a decade ago.

I stopped talking to them when I was 17 years old because there was nothing being done, said Wright, who was legally adopted by a family friend and is pursuing a bachelors degree in forestry management. I kept trying to tell them, You need to get those kids out of there. And they said, No theres nothing we can do.

Patricia Wright said she was physically abused for years, resulting in a broken ankle and cracked vertebrae in her back.

I would get hit with baseball bats, spoons anything that mom could grab a hold of, she said. We got hurt every day. She didnt take us to the hospital.

She was even locked in a closet for a week, and her brother, Luke, sneaked her bread and water, she said.

After spending time at a facility for teenagers, Patricia Wright was legally adopted by Roland Grotke, a neighbor of her grandparents in East Otto.

She said she tried to return to the home and rescue Laura, but was rebuffed by her mother.

I knew my Mom was kind of off upstairs, said Patricia Wright. I knew she was incapable of taking care of a person like Laura, who needed that extra help.

Neither Richard Cummings nor Patricia Wright had been allowed to visit Laura Cummings in recent years, they said.

But other relatives were in regular contact with her, including another brother, Eddie Cummings, who lived in the house but is not a suspect in the abuse. Eddie Cummings, who left the house for work each morning by 7 a.m. and didnt return until after 9 p.m., declined to speak with The News.

Sources said Joyce Landahl, a cousin of Eva Cummings who also is legal guardian of Eva Cummings youngest daughter, made regular visits to the Cummings home, along with a family friend named Sue.

Everyone thinks I shouldve known more, said Landahl. I didnt know what was going on. I wish I knew more, but I dont know nothing.

Landahl visited the house to drop off food, but didnt go inside because she has difficulty climbing stairs, she said.

Eva Cummings could be verbally abusive to Laura, sometimes screaming at her daughter to clean up faster, said Landahl.

And when the children were younger, Landahl said she reported Eva Cummings on multiple occasions to Child Protective Services for neglect, not abuse.

She just wasnt a good parent in that respect, but I never seen her hurt nobody, said Landahl.

And Luke, she added, didnt exhibit violent behavior, either.

I never wouldve dreamed Lukey would do that. I cant imagine it, she said. I never seen nothing abusive with him. Never, ever.

Mark Engler, who owns the property where Laura was killed, often hired Luke Wright for odd jobs and was at the home the day of Lauras death to pick up Luke.

A lot of people are shocked I didnt know more, said Engler, of Angola. But it was nothing for me to knock on the door and walk in, and I never saw anything unusual.

AN infant was yesterday burnt to death when gunmen fire-bombed a house in the volatile Olympic Gardens community in St Andrew. Police said Jordane Gordon, who would have celebrated his second birthday next week, was found buried beneath a pile of rubble inside the bullet-riddled house his father and grandmother shared on White Wing Avenue.

According to the police, the child's skin was burnt from his body in some sections, exposing his bones which were blackened by the fire.

No one else was injured in the incident, which police believe was set by thugs in reprisal for the shooting death of Horace Goodison and the injury of another man in another section of the community about two hours earlier.

"There is a gang warfare between men from the White Wing area and men from the 'Columbia Click' gang operating out of Cling Avenue," said Inspector Steve Brown, director of the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN), the police's information arm.

"We are told that this morning men from the White Wing gang went on to Delissa Avenue where they shot two members from the Columbia Click gang. Men from that gang then retaliated and invaded this community where they fired several shots and firebombed the houses," Brown told the Observer yesterday afternoon.

The gunmen, said the CCN boss, were apparently after the child's father, whom he said was a person of interest in the investigation of the Dellissa Road shooting.

He could not say whether or not the child's father was inside the house during the gunmen's attack, but said that officers from several police divisions were mobilised to search surrounding premises for suspects of both shootings.

Yesterday, the child's mother, who lives in a nearby community, collapsed when she got news about the child's death. The grief-stricken woman rolled several times on ground, pleading with Inspector Brown to allow her to see her child's corpse.

"I just want to see him, officer. I just want to see my baby, please," she screamed, her cries drowning out her mother's wails in a distance.

She was consoled by persons on the scene, one of whom claimed that the brazen gunmen had ordered persons inside the burning building to rescue the child after they were told that he was trapped inside.

Lisa Hype has denied that she was kicked backstage by an Alliance fan after her performance dissing Bounty Killer at Magnum's Follow Di Arrow this morning.

"Ah neva me get kick, ah mi friend Crystal, she go backstage fi look fi mi phone and bwoy kick her inna her back. Da bwoy de lucky say she never war him because she fight like man and then yu woulda hear say Lisa Hype mash up Follow Di Arrow," Lisa Hype said.

"Mi siddown the whole night inna mi silver clarks and short pants between Mavado and Bounty Killer from about 1 a.m. and ah build. Nobody never diss me. Dem bwoy de only have woman strength, mi coulda walk go stage show wid 100 man but mi no de pon that. Mi ah enjoy myself and party and entertain the fans, that's not what Lisa Hype is about."

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A New Zealand TEENager, who says she auctioned her virginity online for $32,000 to raise tuition money, did not break any laws, but it might be risky for her to follow through on the deal, police warned Wednesday. The anonymous 19-year-old student offered her virginity to the highest bidder on the website www.ineed.co.nz under the name 'Unigirl', saying she would use the money to pay for her tuition. She said in a post that more than 30,000 people had viewed her ad and more than 1,200 had made bids before she accepted an offer of more than New Zealand dollars 45,000 (US$32,000).

Just cooling down

Delaware - A concerned citizen called 911 to report two legs sticking out from the entrance of a homemade igloo. Officers responded to the call, searched the area, and saw two black shoes sticking out the igloo. The police found a Delaware TEEN hiding inside and in possession of an eight-inch fixed blade 'survival' knife, a hammer, two bongs used for smoking illegal drugs, and 7.5 grams of marijuana. He now faces drugs and weapons charges.

How much does your urine cost?

Los Angeles, California - Kevin Manuel Duron, 18, was arrested after he entered an elementary school campus and allegedly offered to pay a third-grader for his urine. He was charged with two misdemeanors for entering a Manhattan Beach school campus to collect urine from boys in the restroom. School officials retrieved the surveillance footage showing the man entering the school and provided it to detectives. The Breeze reports that school officials confronted Duron and he told them he was on campus to give his little brother lunch money. However, officials realised that he did not have a sibling at the elementary school. He was originally arrested for on suspicion of annoying or molesting a child, but the Los Angeles district attorney reduced the charges. Police said Duron allegedly offered two boys money to urinate in a cup for him. Investigators suspect the man was trying to collect urine to pass a drug test.

MILLIONS of PlayStation 3 consoles have been hit by a "Millennium Bug" - ten years late.

Fans switching on yesterday saw the console's calendar reset to January 1, 2000, locking them out of games and wiping away saved high scores.

The problem affects the older-style "fat" console - but appears to have hit all 23 million boxes around the world.

The flaw is thought to have occurred when the machines' clocks tried to tick over to March 1, 2010.

They were disconnected from the online gaming system PlayStation Network at midnight on Sunday.

The network is used by owners around the world to challenge each other to multiplayer games via the net.

But many furious fans have flooded messageboards to say they are unable to play off-line.

Many have lost hard-won "rewards and trophies" built up on hit titles such as Call of Duty.

Some owners have even reported calendars returning to 1999. Stuart Miles, editor of gaming website Pocket-Lint.com said: "This is to gamers what the Toyota's faulty accelerator pedal was to drivers. If you want to play games on a console, and can't, what good is it?"

A Sony spokesman said: "We've identified this problem as a bug in the clock functionality. We hope to resolve it within 24 hours."

The error is a big embar****ment for Sony, who have just launched a major UK TV campaign for their latest game title Heavy Rain.

SHOCKING PIC!!! CRAZED WOMAN FROM NEW YORK STRIPS NAKED DURING THE SNOW STORM . . . AND THEN STARTS CONDUCTING TRAFFIC . . . WITH HER PANTS WRAPPED AROUND HER ANKLES!!!

KANO, Nigeria (AFP) -- Nigeria has arrested 17 policemen who were filmed apparently executing unarmed members of a radical Islamist sect during a deadly uprising last year, a police source said yesterday.

The arrest followed the February 9 broadcast of a five-minute video by Al-Jazeera satellite station showing policemen shooting dead unarmed young men and teenagers outside police headquarters in the northern city of Maiduguri.

The victims are believed to belong to Boko Haram, a Nigerian Islamist sect styled on Afghanistan's Taliban that was behind an uprising in north Nigeria last July in which more than 800 people died, most of them sect members.

"Seventeen policemen who appeared in the footage were apprehended here in Maiduguri on February 23 and transferred to the force headquarters in Abuja for interrogation and further investigation," a police source told AFP by telephone from Maiduguri.

He said the arrests were carried out on the orders of the Acting President Goodluck Jonathan "to investigate the case and take appropriate action".

Lagos-based private Channels television quoted deputy national police spokesman Yemi Ajayi as confirming the arrest.

The officers suspected of involvement were arrested by a special police squad and brought to police headquarters in Abuja for interrogation, he said.

The video footage was posted on a string of websites, downloaded to mobile phones and circulated around Africa's most populous country, sparking public outrage.

The clip shows police officers ordering unarmed young men, some on crutches, to lie face down and shooting them at close range while hordes of residents watched.

Some of the police were recognisable with name tags visibly displayed on their chests. One officer could be heard shouting "shoot him in the chest not the head, I want his heart".

Nigeria's lower house of parliament on February 10 set up a special task force to probe the killings and report its findings within two weeks.

Boko Haram leader Mohammed Yusuf, 39, was killed after being captured by security forces who put down the July uprising. President Umaru Yar'Adua subsequently ordered an investigation into the violence and Yusuf's killing.

The Nigerian Taliban emerged in 2004 when it set up a base dubbed Afghanistan on the border with Niger, from where it attacked police outposts.

Its membership is mainly drawn from university dropouts.

The north of Nigeria is majority Muslim, although large Christian minorities have settled in the main towns, raising tensions between the groups.

Since 1999 and the return of a civilian regime to Nigeria's central government, 12 northern states have introduced Islamic Sharia law.

SCANDALOUS!!! RAPPER YOUNG JOC MOVES HIS JUMPOFF INTO THE HOUSE . . . WITH HIS WIFE!!! (DETAILS AND PICS OF THE TWO LADIES)

KEYSHIA COLE'S PREGNANCY UPDATE!! (EXCLUSIVE UP TO THE MINUTE NEWS . . . UPDATED FREQUENTLY)

Several sheets and pillows which were among the waste that the NSWMA says was dumped illegally in Dunnsville/ Exchange, St Ann. - Contributed

An all-inclusive resort and a garbage collection contractor, both on the north coast, yesterday found themselves in a messy situation after the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) discovered that the hotel's waste was being disposed of illegally, in a small community, in St Ann.

Speaking with THE STAR yesterday, Joan Gordon Webley, executive director of the NSWMA, explained that the resort had contracted a truck driver to dump its waste. However, the agency uncovered that the driver was not disposing of the garbage at designated landfills, but, instead, offloaded the waste at nights in "a little country community" in Dunnsville/ Exchange, St Ann, breaching the National Solid Waste Management Act.

"We discovered, in rummaging through the garbage, that items were coming from the hotel; there were sheets and other item," Webley said. "They were issued with tickets. We have given them a deadline to ensure that whatever is (dumped) there is removed."

She explained that while investigations are yet to establish if the hotel knew the contracted haulier was illegally dumping the waste in a public place, they (the resort) still had the responsibility to ensure that the waste given to the truck driver was done away with properly and legally.

The NSWMA director said that initial checks have since revealed that the contractor was not registered with the agency. Investigations continue in the matter.

The police in St Thomas are now probing reports that a man whose head was severed and later found at least five miles away from the rest of his body was murdered due to allegations that he was an informer.

The severed head of Franklyn McCalla of the Stanton Housing Scheme, near Morant Bay, was found in the Red Hills area in the parish yesterday.

The cops subsequently launched a search and the remainder of McCalla's body was found in the trunk of a car on a farm, about five miles from where the head was found.

A source from the division told THE STAR that the police are probing rumours that the man's death is linked to the demise of Rupert Wallace, otherwise called 'Killer Miller', who was fatally shot last Friday during an alleged shoot-out with members of the Joint Task Force, in the Stanton Housing Scheme.

The source, an inspector from the Area 5 police, said they heard that a group of men accused McCalla of leaking information about Wallace to the cops and labelled him as an informer.

"We all know how the informer thing go and this is what we are hearing so far. He was murdered by men who accused him of informing on 'Killer Miller'. We don't have enough evidence to support it yet, but we are investigating," the inspector told THE STAR.

Meanwhile, the second head of a human being was also found in the parish yesterday.

That discovery was made early yesterday morning in the Retreat area. The police say investigations led them to a shallow grave where it is believed that the body is buried.

A police sergeant and a corporal who were alleged to be involved in the larceny of motor vehicles and parts from the Ramble Police Station in Hanover have been charged.

Sergeant Derrick Barnes has been charged with four counts of larceny, while Corporal Shane Givans was charged with one count of aiding and abetting larceny.

Both men were arrested and charged on Sunday by investigators from the Anti-Corruption Branch.

The two cops are to appear before the Hanover Resident Magistrate's Court some time this week.

ZJ Liquid.

Fans of the popular ZJ Liquid are rallying behind the radio jock on social networking site, Facebook, starting a fan page urging the station to get him back on air.

Weeks after his suspension from radio, fans want the ZJ back on ZIP FM, starting a fan page on Facebook called 'Put ZJ Liquid Back On Air'. Liquid, whose real name is Michael Brissett, was suspended on February 15th after he played an unedited version of Aidonia's Love It on his 'Fresh 2 Death' segment. His suspension is indefinite.

no formal request

When THE STAR spoke with ZIP FM's Station Manager, D'Adra Williams, she explained that the decision to suspend the 'zip jock' was an internal one and no formal request was sent by the Broadcasting Commission.

The ZJ has been with the station for seven and a half years. Williams, however, could not give a time as to when and if the ZJ would be back on air, saying, "we're not finished dealing with the situation internally."

The page, which doesn't show who started it and when, has over 600 fans and up to yesterday, persons were on the site. Thus far the site has been getting a number of comments from fans eager to get the zip jock back. A number of persons have suggested boycotting the radio station until his return, while others have said the station doesn't feel the same without Liquid.

One person commented, "me no good wid Zip till Liquid good wid it." Another pleaded, "alright, he made a mistake, my gosh, take him off suspension now. He is so talented and to me he really is ZIP FM, without him it will not be the same."

One angry person said, "no Zip widdout Liquid, an a him start di ting... To err is human, dem need fi sort out dem ways of thinking." An overseas listener said, "Liquid makes ma dayz... I'm overseas and home sick and Liquid lighten up my days wen he plays, I'm so sad, I don't even listen Zip anymore, please put Liquid back on da air!"

Williams disclosed that while she is aware of the Facebook page and appreciates the fans and their opinions, there are many decisions to be made before the ZJ will return. She said, "this is a matter that deals with the station's licence, all decisions will have to be made dependent on our broadcasting licence."

Phone calls made to ZJ Liquid went unanswered. In the meantime, the ZJ is seemingly busy starting a career as a deejay. In February, he released his debut song Dweet Girl on the 'Shaolin Temple' Rhythm. More recently he released Party Hard on Don Corleon's 'Gala' rhythm.

Lisa Hyper delivered a high energy performance at Club Cloud Nine in Guyana last Wednesday
in front of a club filled with screaming fans.

"It was a really great experience, I love the people of Guyana, they're warm and friendly, I had a great time performing for them, and I stayed in the club and took lots of pictures afterwards...I can't wait for my next show over there," Lisa Hyper told one876entertainment.com

Lisa Hyper is moving to shoot the video for her single, Rubba Bounce, and to finish shooting her popular Trust single As well.

"Things are going well, the fans dem can look out for a lot more things with Lisa Hyper, I just finished recording a collaboration with Major Mackerel and I have been approached by Platinum Camp and Daddy Biggs to do a remix of a single with Foxy Brown and Ron Browz so great things are happening," she said.

TELL ALL TV!!! POPULAR TRANNEY WHO IS LINKED TO MULTIPLE RAPPERS GETS HER OWN REALITY SHOW . . . AND SHE'S SNITCHIN!!!

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN  THE GREAT MUNGA HOUNORABLE, DO U FEEL HE WILL SURVIVE @ STING? WITH ALL THE LYRICKS WROTE AND LYRICKS THAT ARE IN THE PROCESS TO BE PUT ON PLASTIC, WILL THE CROWD FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD AT STING JAM WORLD WILL GIVE HIM HYPE? THE EMPIRE FROM PORTMORE ADDI THE TEACHA WHO RULES THE WORLD WHO IS THE GREATEST PORTMORE ARTIST EVER WILL THEY GIVE THE ALLIANCE OR THE JOP/EMPIRE THE CROWN? WHO DO U FEEL WILL TAKE IT? AND WILL AUTOTUNE BE IN THE MIC FOR THE HONORABLE? HAHAHA

                                                    BAGALAGALOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GERMANY, Europe's largest economy, has blacklisted 11 dancehall albums between 2008 and January 2010 this year because of their homophobic and violent content.

Albums by Sizzla, Elephant Man, Bounty Killer, Capleton, TOK and Baby Cham are on this list, or "index", compiled by the German Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons (BPjM) Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien in German.

Stakeholders counter that up to 35 dancehall albums or songs had been blacklisted since the BPjM's conception including Legalise It by reggae icon Peter Tosh, which was later removed.

The BPjM told the Sunday Observer that it is illegal to advertise these albums or to sell them to minors in Germany, with additional restrictions placed on their sale and distribution. "Breach of ...[the] indexing is punishable by a fine or imprisonment," stated Corinna Bochmann, BPjM spokesperson, in response to Sunday Observer queries.

Ten of the 11 albums were not only considered "harmful to young people" but also contained violent lyrics, according to the BPjM, with lyrics that incite hatred and propagate to kill homosexuals. The BPjM indexed these albums following complaints by certain groups such as the German gay lobby. "The BPjM can only act on the request of other administrative institutions, not by itself. Once an official request has been filed, the BPjM is obliged to act," stated Bochmann.

Ellen Köhlings, editor of German reggae magazine Riddim told the Sunday Observer that dancehall is ironically filliping the gay lobby's agenda. "These lyrics violate German laws which gives the lobbyists legal grounds to successfully censor music and gain media exposure," Köhlings said.

"The gay lobby is looking for cheap forwards just like some artistes look for a cheap forward," she stated.

Köhlings added that artistes could compromise by maintaining their anti-gay stance but avoid the use of violence. "At the end of the day there are much more urgent things to talk about than homophobia, and artistes should leave out, in my mind, the violent bashing of gays."

Riddim magazine has at times assumed the role of dancehall mediator, as the industry has no lobby in Germany: "We have been doing everything we can to restore the image of Jamaica, but we can do only so much. In the long run Jamaica needs to take action," Köhlings noted.

Violent anti-gay lyrics have been a feature of dancehall music for over 15 years with the Buju Banton classic Boom Bye Bye credited as its progenitor. The international gay lobby, in response, has petitioned the German government to ban shows and the sale of records by these artistes. Last year, Banton and Beenie Man were yanked from shows due to the lobby in the US, Australia and New Zealand. Local gay organisation J-Flag told the Sunday Observer that Jamaican deejays are not being unfairly attacked by the international gay community.

"Their music promotes violence, hate and hardship for members of a community that at no time has threatened or hurt them in any way. This is an unwarranted and unprovoked assault on a set of people who have a right to exist," stated Jason McFarlane, J-Flag programmes manager. He added that dancehall artistes who continue to perform "hate-filled music" must be held accountable. "The influence of music on any society must not be under-estimated. What must be understood is that artistes have a right to express what they feel but also must be held responsible for the possible impact they can have on people. Music, in particular Reggae and Dancehall, is universal and so we must be aware of the wide reach of the possible influence of any one artiste."

Mr. Vegas delivered a stylish performance at the Magnum Follow Di Arrow concert at James Bond Beach over the weekend.

Hitting the stage after General B, Vegas burst on the stage singing Man a Gallis, and immediately had the crowd

"Dem say dem ban mi from Grenada, but ah Jamaica mi born, mi nuh haffi go a foreign," he declared as the crowd hooted its approval.

Then he sang, 'We Nuh Waan No Friend from Dem', and the crowd chipped in "ah fassy dem" and the band pulled up the song.

Feeding off the energy of the crowd now, Vegas went into Hands Up, segued into She's a Ho, and then got a huge forward fi Sucky Ducky.

Then he introduced another element into his performance by calling on his protege, Natel, and one of the Magnum girls, Bourisha. He invited
Natel to serenade Bourisha - dressed in a body-hugging red outfit that hugged her curves-- who obliged by doing All My Life. The girls screamed, especially a group at the front of the stage.

vegas laughed, and belittled the effort remarking: "Mi ah teach him and him nah learn." At this point, he vowed to teach him how to do it and sang Johnny Gill's 'Put On Your Red Dress'. The girls clapped and applauded. Then Natel hit back by doing a rendition of Brian McKnight's 'One'. Then Vegas asked for a verdict from the crowd.

"Wah oonu a say? Ah him a lead?" he asked. The girls screamed an emphatic yes. "Alright then, let through mi artiste mek him show how fi get gal."

Excitement ran through the crowd like an electric current as there was movement backstage and an umbrella popped up. Then on walked the popular Michael Jackson impersonator as the strains of 
'You Are Not Alone' filled the venue. Then the impersonator did a series of Michael Jackson moves to the Way You Make Me Feel as he danced with Bourisha. The crowd loved every minute of it, and some girls
mock-swooned as they shouted 'Michael Michael". After they left, Vegas consoled Natel: "see it de, Michael gone wid yu girl, better yu go church then." The crowd laughed.

It was a neat if obvious segue into the next stage of his act, as the band struck up the notes of 'Up Deh', and he launched into a gospel medley that had the huge audience at James Bond Beach rocking. He did 'Saints Go Marching', What a Mighty God, and did a piece of I Am Blessed and then exited the stage. The people screamed for more and he returned to do the song, capping off a memorable performance, one of his best in recent memory in Jamaica.

10 Unbelievable Facebook Stories

The woman who had her Facebook photo stolen and used as advertising in the Czech Republic

(Link)

The depressed woman who lost benefits over her Facebook beach photos

Nathalie Blanchard, a woman from Quebec on long-term sick leave has stopped receiving monthly benefits after she posted Facebook photos of herself having fun. A year and a half ago the woman was granted leave from her job at IBM in Bromont, because of a depression diagnosis and has been receiving sick-leave benefits every month by The Manulife insurance company.
However, the pictures posted on the networking site showed her frolicking on a beach, having fun at a Chippendales show and enjoying her birthday party made her look rather happy. So, theinsurance company assumed she was no longer depressed and stopped paying the benefits.
The woman said that she informed Manulife about the trip and that the pictures are not a proof that her overall mood had improved. Bad luck Nathalie I hope your depression doesn't get worse now!
(Link)

The groom who updated Facebook at the altar during his wedding

What is the groom supposed to do after the vows of love and obey? Kiss the bride? Hmmm, not in a geek's wedding. Before kissing the bride, Dana Hanna, a Software Developer took his cellphone and updated his relationship status on Facebook and Twitter. He also handed one over to his new wife to do the same. We appreciate you keep us informed Dana, but I hope you don't do the same at every stage of your honeymoon We get the picture anyways @;)

The husband who dumped his wife by Facebook

A separation is hard for everyone but finding out your marriage is over on the internet is too much! Emma Brady, a 35-year-old woman was shocked by a message her husband posted on the social networking site: "Neil Brady has ended his marriage to Emma Brady." The woman said she had no idea about it until her best friend in Denmark phoned her to check if she was all right.
Her ex husband Neil Brady, who is now living with his mother, stated he had mentioned the separation to his wife. And added 'Id had enough of her'. Weget the picture Neil but anyways, you could have told it clearly to her face.

(Link)

10 Unbelievable Facebook Stories

Published on 12/15/2009 under Stories - by Gracie Murano - 189,310 views

The woman who had her Facebook photo stolen and used as advertising in the Czech Republic

Everybody say cheese!! What a beautiful moment for this Missouri family posing for their Christmas card photo. But what they didn't expect is that the photo would end up somewhere else than their living room. Yes, a giant version of the image was spotted by a college friend of them on a food store in Prague, the Czech Republic. The photo was being used as an advertisement without any authorization. Grazie store in Prague's owner, Mario Bertuccio said he took it from the internet and he had no idea it belonged to a real family. Well Mario, say that to the Judge

(Link)

The depressed woman who lost benefits over her Facebook beach photos

Nathalie Blanchard, a woman from Quebec on long-term sick leave has stopped receiving monthly benefits after she posted Facebook photos of herself having fun. A year and a half ago the woman was granted leave from her job at IBM in Bromont, because of a depression diagnosis and has been receiving sick-leave benefits every month by The Manulife insurance company.
However, the pictures posted on the networking site showed her frolicking on a beach, having fun at a Chippendales show and enjoying her birthday party made her look rather happy. So, theinsurance company assumed she was no longer depressed and stopped paying the benefits.
The woman said that she informed Manulife about the trip and that the pictures are not a proof that her overall mood had improved. Bad luck Nathalie I hope your depression doesn't get worse now!
(Link)

The groom who updated Facebook at the altar during his wedding

What is the groom supposed to do after the vows of love and obey? Kiss the bride? Hmmm, not in a geek's wedding. Before kissing the bride, Dana Hanna, a Software Developer took his cellphone and updated his relationship status on Facebook and Twitter. He also handed one over to his new wife to do the same. We appreciate you keep us informed Dana, but I hope you don't do the same at every stage of your honeymoon We get the picture anyways @;)
(Link 1 | Link 2)

The husband who dumped his wife by Facebook

A separation is hard for everyone but finding out your marriage is over on the internet is too much! Emma Brady, a 35-year-old woman was shocked by a message her husband posted on the social networking site: "Neil Brady has ended his marriage to Emma Brady." The woman said she had no idea about it until her best friend in Denmark phoned her to check if she was all right.
Her ex husband Neil Brady, who is now living with his mother, stated he had mentioned the separation to his wife. And added 'Id had enough of her'. Weget the picture Neil but anyways, you could have told it clearly to her face.

(Link)

The teenager who walked away from assault charges thanks to a Facebook alibi

Rodney Bradford, a 19-year-old man would have never thought that a message typed on Facebook would become literally- his passport to freedom. Where's my pancakes" Rodney typed On Saturday, Oct. 17, at 11:49 a.m. from his father's apartment in Harlem.
The day after, the young man was arrested as a suspect in a robbery. His defense lawyer, Robert Reuland, used the Facebook entry, which was made at the time of the robbery, as his alibi. This, was later checked by the district attorney, who dropped the charges as soon as the Facebook alibi was confirmed.
(Link)

The kidnapped kid who found his family after 22 years with help from Facebook

Alex Anfuso, an Italian man kidnapped by his own father at the age of 5, has lived in Cairo, the Egyptian capital for the last 22 years using a different name. The man reappeared via the famous socialnetworking site with the following posts: "My name is Alex. I am looking for my family. I am looking for my mother".
In 1987, while Alex's mother was in Rome's Rebibbia prison jailed, his father took the little boy from Guidonia, Italy and brought him to Egypt, where he has since lived. Anfuso, who is now 28 years old, doesn't have an Egyptian birth certificate or even residency in Egypt.
After all these years, in a desperate attempt to get in touch with his Italian relatives, he sent messages to many people with the last name 'Anfuso'. He also contacted Pino Anfuso, a TV technician who works for state broadcaster RAI and in spite of not being his relative, he decided to share the story with the popular TV show "Chi l'ha visto" ("Who has seen them?"). Alex went on air to tell his story and unfortunately, he found out his mother had died.
(Link)

The boy who set a Facebook poll saying If I get 1,000,000 I will get the 150 Pokemon tattooed on my back! He had to hide himself after failing to keep his promise.

A young Ecuadorian decided to open a group on Facebook under the name of ¨ If I get 1.000.000, I , José Romero, will tattoo the 151 Pokemon on my back ". But he wouldn't imagine that the challenge would attract thousands of worldwide followers that were willing to support him in his exploit. Such was the euphoria of the people inspired by the boy's promise that after 24 hours, 50,000 people had already joined the group. The young man might have felt intimidated by the number of followers that kept growing by the second, that decided to suppress his profile so that nobody could find him.
The disappointed users of the group wanted to give him a drubbing for his prank and his absence of word, so decided to open a call to find his whereabouts. The space has so far, 600.000 followers!
(Link 1 | Link 2)

The couple --with the same full name-- that got married after meeting through Facebook

What is so unusual about this couple is not that they met online but that they have exactly the same name! A guy from Texas named Kelly Hildebrandt met this cute gal from Florida also named Kelly Hildebrandt and they are about to get married. The love-birds met when Kelly, the girl, looked up her own name on Facebook. I was like, I wonder if there's any other Kelly Hildebrandts on Facebook, so, I searched my own name and he's the only one that came up. And actually, in the picture, he didn't have his shirt on, and I'm like, oh, he's cute!'. Kelly, the man was also intrigued. She started off, Hey, I see we have the same name, and I thought it was kinda cool, so I wanted to say hi, I guess' he said Well, 8 months after that love at Facebook sight', Kelly proposed to Kelly, and here they gostraight to the happy ending! (Link)

The thirteen year old girl who met a man on Facebook, had sex with him and then hid him in her closet

A very shocked woman called the police after she opened her teenage daughter's bedroom closet and found a 19-year-old man hidden inside. The 13-year-old girl admitted she had had sex with the man after meeting him on Facebook. Actually, according to the police, the man had been hiding in her closet since at least 2 days. The Facebook Romeo was arrested and is in custody awaiting possible criminal sexual conduct charges. (Link)

The bride-to-be who cancelled the wedding after spotting her fiancée embracing another woman on Facebook

A few days before the wedding, a furious fiancée dumped her boyfriend after catching him fondling another girl's boobs on Facebook. The angry woman plastered posters all over Rome, when she saw snaps of her husband-to-be, identified as Antonio M. by the Italian media, embracing another woman on the social networking website.
On the posters, a picture - taken from Antonio's Facebook profile - shows him nestling his head between a girl's naked boobs. This message can be read underneath "Thank goodness there's Facebook! At least I've discovered you're a traitor pig before the wedding! Signed, your former betrothed bride and the 548 guests of our wedding".

Note: according to our reader, Simon, this story is not real, but a viral campaign for the Italian movie "Feisbum". The guy with the boobs on his head is actor Corrado Fortuna, who plays the part of Antonio. (Link 1 | Link 2)

(Link 1 | Link 2)

Stacious delivered a brilliant performance this morning at Magnum Follow Di Arrow, stealing the female segment of the show. However, it is Lisa Hype who is the focal point of most conversations as fans disect the show as she did the heretofore unthinkable, dissed Bounty Killer in front of a partisan audience. And what's more, she emerged from the experience relatively unscathed.

Tiki started well but overstayed her welcome while Ikaya was quite good, stunning everyone with her poise and onstage delivery. She hit the stage singing her top ten hit, Good Up, and immediately fire rockets lit the night sky. She introduced her songs well explaining her beef with Macka Diamond, and when she called up Unicorn and they did the controversial
Calling Up Mi Name together, they earned a huge forward. However, her set was marred when Unicorn was roundly booed when he tried to deejay another song dissing Macka Diamond. The crowd was not in the mood for it but Ikaya showed great poise and determination by remaining onstage and completing her set.

Next up was Stacious was arguably gave the best performance among the females. Introduced as the Queen of the Gully Squad by emcee Ragashanti, she hit the stage singing Goodas Clap, then segued neatly into Nah Gi None. The diss song directed at Lisa Hype earned at least three forwards for choice lines such as 'shine daddy john like soldier man boot', and "when mi over Gullyside ah buss shotty, yu over Big Yard ah suck c**ky'. She also took a jab at Nuffy as well with a harsh 69 reference.

She then did two of her popular tracks, Good Life and Fight Back before closing with Eenie Meenie Minie Mo, a song out of her older catalogue which she revamped with new lyrics. She got a big forward when she referred to Vybz Kartel saying, 'mi nah de wid him because mi no waan get no lick'.

Macka Diamond came onstage armed with a prop, that of a picture of her son, saying she did not want to disgrace herself even though they were trying to 'draw her out'. Her attack against Unicorn lacked real venom and sting and her set soon fizzled. She closed on a high note when she declared "mi want a c**ky long like the one Lisa Hype a lick'.

Surprisingly, Queen Paula crashed and burned in spectacular fashion. The writing appeared to be on the wall when a man in the VIP section declared loudly 'she old eh!'. She attempted to deejay a few bars of a song but the crowd volleyed a crescendo of boos towards the stage. She exited post haste.

Face generated a lot of excitement in a short spicy stint where she levelled allegations that Paula ah gring off Macka, and that Paula had - get this - a pum pum face. The crowd roared with laughter at the latter remark and bawled out for 'more'. She closed with a peppery verse which ended with a reference to Paula saying 'inna yu bleach out face, mi waan chuck yu'.

Nuffy introduced Lisa Hyper with much fanfare, even listing out all her names and monickers, Lisa Swiper included. She hit the stage to a big roar from the crowd when she declared: 'a who dem a *lo**cloth ramp wid?'. She deejayed Death Sentence making direct references to Stacious. She got a forward but then made a cardinal, but maybe calculated error to diss the Warlord before what has been traditionally an Alliance crowd.

She deejayed: "Bounty go St. Thomas go **** off the donkey". She got an immediate roar of approval from the Gaza section, followed by loud boos from the Alliance fans.
A Magnum bottle whizzed dangerously close to her right temple and she stepped back in time for a few other missiles to drop harmlessly at her feet. To her credit, Lisa Hype appeared unmoved and continued to deejay her songs. One irate man in the VIP section of the crowd threw what looked like a large square of white paper at her.

She hissed at him: "Bet say mi stay ya so and **** yu up right de so". She deejayed a final song as the tension mounted in the venue before Nuffy ushered her off the stage.

NEWARK, NJ (WABC) -- A sexy billboard for jeans in Newark is drawing criticism from the Mayor and citizens.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, some people say two words come into mind when they view a new billboard ad in Newark.

The racy billboard is for Akoo Jeans, a clothing line by rapper T.I.

It's perched at the corner market and Washington Streets in Newark.

The Ad snows a woman knelt in front of a man.

His jeans are unbuckled, his underwear is exposed, and her hand is wrapped underneath him.

People on the street said they never noticed the billboard before, but once Eyewitness News pointed it out, they had plenty of opinions.

Many felt it was not right in their community.

Mayor Cory Booker says he's fed up.

In a statement to Eyewitness News, Booker said, "So often when I am out in the community I see kids wearing their pants too low and others using inappropriate language in public." He added while there are lots of fronts to fight, "I will work with my city council to see if we can address it so we don't see these types of advertisements displayed in our city in the near future."

South African Court Lends Support to White Zimbabwean Farmers

White Zimbabweans, who lost their farms under President Mugabes land reform program, are a step closer to suing for compensation.

Thursday, a South African High Court confirmed a ruling made by a Southern African Development Community Tribunal that the farm seizures were illegal.  The decision came after a South African civil rights group, AFRIFORUM, took up the case of the white farmers several months ago.

A computer engineer who offered a woman a ride home and then raped her has been sentenced to four years' imprisonment.

A jury more than a week ago convicted 39-year-old Michael Reid, of a St Andrew address of the rape charge.

Supreme Court Judge Ingrid Mangatal had put off sentencing until Thursday.

In July 2007, Reid was convicted by a Home Circuit Court jury and sentenced to seven years' imprisonment for rape. The Court of Appeal ordered a retrial last year because no character evidence was given at his trial.

The Crown represented by Crown Counsel Sharon Millwood-Moore led evidence at the trial in the Home Circuit Court that Reid and the complainant knew each other before the incident.

Had to stop

On January 27, 2006, Reid agreed to give the complainant a ride home. However, while they were on their way, Reid said he had to stop at his apartment to check on the lights. The complainant went with Reid into his apartment where he raped her.

Reid in his unsworn statement, said he did not rape the complainant.

In July 2007, Reid was convicted by a jury and sentenced to seven years' imprisonment for raping the woman.

But he appealed against his conviction and sentence and filed several grounds of appeal. One of the grounds was that his lawyer did not inform him of his right to call character evidence as part of his defence during his trial.

A police station in St Catherine was the scene of hostility yesterday after residents demanded their own brand of justice for four men who they believe are lovers.

Police reports are that about 5 p.m. the men were at home when one went to a nearby shop and persons started to call him 'fish'.

The man went and reported this to his friends who drove to the shop. They were attacked and their car damaged. They went to report the matter to the police, when a mob converged and demanded that they come out.

deal wid dem business

"We want them fi let out di bwoy dem mek wi deal wid dem business, in a cold cold time yah dem a wrap up in a de place," an irate woman screamed.

"A long time mi a notice sey dem a fish and we want them bad fi gi dem a proper beating," another woman said.

The men told THE STAR they were homosexuals.

"Yes, you can let the world know that although we a fish, we a pay mortgage for the house for two years and want to live in peace," one who gave his name as Barbee said.

The men danced up a storm and declared that they would live their lives as they want.

Persons climbed trees and roof tops to get a glimpse of the men.

Up to late last night, the men could not be released as the angry residents remained resolute that they wanted to administer their own form of justice.

SHOCKING PICS!!! PREGNANT VH1 REALITY STAR DANGER PHOTO'D SMOKNG CIGARETTES . . . AND DRINKING AN EXTRA LARGE CUP OF COFFEE!!!

Four persons were shot, two fatally by gunmen in separate incidents at Windsor Lodge, and Wagon Wheel, in Rosehall both in St James on Saturday night.

Dead are Leroy Duhaney, 53, of Lilliput and Steadman Morant, 42, while injured are two men, aged 42 and 21, both of Somerton, St James.

Police said about 11:30 p.m., Morant was among a group of people at Windsor Lodge playing cards and dominoes when a Nissan motor car drove up. Two gunmen alighted and ordered the group to lie face down on the ground before robbing them of cash and cellular phones.

Upon leaving, the gunmen shot Morant, who died on the spot. Two other men were injured and admitted to hospital in serious but stable condition.

In a bid to leave the community the driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed. He was subsequently taken into custody, while the others escaped.

In the second incident, about 10 minutes later, Duhaney was closing his shop at Wagon Wheel when he was surprised by three gunmen who robbed him of more than $70,000 cash and $10,000 worth of phone cards. Duhaney used a machete to chop one of his attackers but was overpowered, shot and chopped several times. He died on the spot.

The Montego Bay police are probing the incidents.

Forty-two year-old Garrel Facey, otherwise called 'Tony', taxi operator of Flamstead district, Mavis Bank, St Andrew, was mobbed and stabbed to death by residents in the community on Saturday.

Reports are that about 3 a.m., Facey armed himself with a firearm and opened fire at a member of the community. He was chased by residents to a coffee farm in the area, disarmed and then stabbed to death.

The police were summoned and the scene processed; a .38 Smith and Wesson revolver serial number AAU63128 was handed over to them. The body was removed to the morgue for post-mortem.

The Constant Spring police are investigating.

Investigators probing the abduction and subsequent murder of Corporal Miguel Cuffe, say they have heard several theories as to the reasons behind the killing.

Included in these theories is the belief that the lawman was killed by men from one community and his body dumped in the next, so those residents would be blamed for his killing.

The 29-year-old policeman from the Police Statistics Department, was abducted from a house at Rosemary Lane, Naggo Head in Portmore, St Catherine, and later found dead in Southboro.

Deputy Superintendent Clive Blair, Operations Officer for the St Catherine South Division, told THE STAR he has heard talk of a community feud being one possible motive for the policeman's death. He said, however, that like many other theories that have abounded, the police are unable to confirm it.

He said: "We have heard about a million things so far. Everyday something new comes up. However, our investigations are ongoing." He said the police so far, have no concrete leads or suspects in the murder.

Reports said shortly after 4 a.m. on February 22, armed thugs went to a house where Cuffe, who is from Cavaliers, St Andrew, was spending the weekend with his girlfriend.

He was reportedly called from the house by the men pretending to be policemen.

The men are said to have tied his hands before putting him inside his Toyota Hiace van and took him to the neighbouring community of Southboro where he was reportedly shot three times in the head.

Before leaving, the gunmen are said to have opened fire and set ablaze the two-storey house from which they took Cuffe.

A 39-year-old man was stabbed to death at Portmore Lane, Newlands, St Catherine, on Saturday. His 36-year-old common-law wife has been taken into custody.

He is Rohan Hall of Portmore Lane, Newlands.

Information received by the CCN is that about 11:30 p.m., Hall was at home when an argument developed between him and his partner. During the dispute a knife was used to stab Hall in his neck.

The police were called and the injured man was assisted to hospital where he was pronounced dead and the woman arrested. The Portmore CIB is investigating.