A visually impaired man who is accused of scamming more than $200,000 from job seekers, claiming he could provide them with jobs in overseas markets, was granted bail on Friday.

Orelle Richards, has been charged with obtaining money by false pretence after he reportedly swindled hundreds of thousands of dollars from 18 persons under the guise that he was a Ministry of Labour and Social Security employee, capable of procuring work overseas on their behalf.

Not remorseful

Senior Resident Magistrate Glen Brown, who heard the matter, said, in the past, the accused did not appear remorseful about what he had done. Richards' attorney, however, noted that his client admitted that he did something wrong. His attorney also said his client would be making amends. After pleas from his attorney for bail, RM Brown eventually granted Richards $30,000 bail, with surety ,and set the matter to be mentioned on February 9.

Plea

When he appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court, Richards had quick and witty responses when he was being asked to plea in the matter. At the last court hearing, Richards said he felt he should be charged on evidence as he did not believe he had scammed 18 people.

Deputy Public Defender Noel Irving has revealed that, while a settlement has been agreed for an ex-woman constable who currently lives at the Marie Atkins Shelter in downtown Kingston, no funds will be disbursed until the issue of her residence is settled.

Case officer Howard Bennett told The Gleaner that the Office of the Public Defender was waiting to see the final disposition of the policewoman's case, but the matter was in the hands of the human resource department of the Jamaica Consta-bulary Force.

"We investigated her case and we brought it to the point where it was referred to the police human resource department," Bennett said. "They subsequently advised us that the process of settlement was complete, with the exception that the matter of her residence must be settled. Where she is now is not satisfactory. We will continue to oversee the case until it is finally settled."

Delayed dismissal

Lorna, as the policewoman wishes to be called, lost her job in December 2004, when she experienced "personal conflict with a supervisor".

She continued to do her duties until one day she returned to the Half-Way Tree Police Station from guarding a prisoner at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital to find that there were no duties listed for her.

Since that day, Lorna wrote letters to the Ministry of National Security and to the Office of the Public Defender regarding her reinstatement. In 2005, she was finally told by then Commissioner of Police Francis Forbes to return to work, but by then she was blind and sick. It is not clear what caused her loss of sight.

In January 2007, having lost all of her possessions and running out of funds, she was placed in the Marie Atkins Shelter for the homeless.

Last week, Lena Latibeaudiere, inspector at the Kingston Poor Relief Department, said several efforts had been made to place Lorna in a home, but she was apparently fearful of being exploited.

Currently, the department, she said, is in dialogue with the District Constable Association with regards to her care. The Gleaner was unable to get additional information from the human resources section of the JCF on its efforts to find housing for the policewoman.

Two men who were arrested in December for impersonating the police in addition to being charged with simple larceny are to reappear before the court on February 5.

Both men, Jerome Vassell and Akeem Davis, are alleged to have identified themselves as policemen to an illegal DVD vendor in Half-Way Tree before relieving the man of $3,000. The complainant reported that one of the men was wearing a red and black police vest.

Real policemen

The men were held after the complainant pointed them out to some real policemen after the incident. The vest has since been recovered.

Vassell and Davis have been in custody since last month.

LOCAL charity Food For the Poor (FFP) last Friday sent home approximately 15 workers, saying that it has seen a decline in donations because of the world financial crisis.

According to a source close to the organisation, shipping and wharf charges collected by the Jamaican Government also had a role to play in the staff cuts since they were the highest among the 16 countries where FFP operates.

Six departments have been affected by the job cuts, the source said, and among the staff issued with pink slips was CEO of public affairs Bradley Finzi Smith who left the charity last Thursday, a day before the other staff members were notified that they no longer had a job with immediate effect.

The letter issued to the workers, a copy of which was obtained by the Observer, said in part: "As it has for many other organisations in Jamaica and around the world, the new year has opened with significant challenges for our operations. The downturn in the local and global economy has resulted in a decline in the number of donors for Food for the Poor Jamaica and a reduction in the value of donations to carry out our work.

"In times of difficulty it is the poor who are most negatively affected, and therefore we at Food for the Poor have an inescapable duty to do everything we can to safeguard the interest of the poor whom we serve.

"In the current circumstances, it is essential that we reduce administrative cost to ensure that the value of gifts often given in the spirit of the biblical widow's mite go directly to fulfilling our mission.

"Following a review of our operations, Food for the Poor Jamaica must now summon the courage and discipline to undertake painful but necessary cost-cutting measures to ensure that our efforts continue to be directed at the purpose of our existence.

"As we continue God's work with less resources, several staff positions at Food for the Poor Jamaica will have to be made redundant. Unfortunately. your position is among those that will have to be sacrificed effective today," the letter said.

Last month, Finzi Smith's colleague, Ron Burgess, CEO of operations, admitted in an interview with the Observer that the organisation was out of food. However, he said that was a result of a delay in the renegotiation process with the United States Department of Agriculture from which FFP received the bulk of its supplies.

Burgess had said that the 18-month contract between the two organisations ended in October and was pending renewal, but was taking some time because of the US political transition.

Staff at the local arm of FFP were apparently expecting the cuts when officials from FFP Florida arrived in the island for a meeting with FFP Jamaica directors last week, the Observer was told.
"We had figured that there would have been redundancies but we just didn't know who and how many would be going," said one staff member who was not affected by the cuts.

One of those who was affected, told the Observer he was worst off now than when he started at FFP several years ago. He said he no longer owns a car since he sold it when the company told him he would be able to own the one issued after a few years.

The organisation told the affected staff that they would be contacted this week about payments.

Kingston College students make their way home after school yesterday. - Norman Grindley/Acting Photography editor

Two students of Kingston College (KC) were yesterday taken into police custody for their involvement in a violent incident that left one of their peers injured.

The latest incident followed another on Tuesday when classes at the school's North Street campus ended abruptly after several ninth-grade students attacked and beat a teacher.

After the fracas on Tuesday, sixth formers were assigned to man the classes while the teachers staged a meeting to strategise the way forward.

The teacher who was attacked did not report for duty on Wednesday.

Eye injury

He told The Gleaner that he sustained an injury to his eye. He said the scuffle was between him and a student but then other students from the class joined in and started to attack him.

A sixth-former said that the mêlée was broken up by fifth-form students who stormed into the classroom and rescued the teacher.

The teacher was reluctant to provide more details as he said it was now a court matter.

Everton Burrell, KC's principal, was out of office during our visit yesterday and Juliet Wilson, a vice-principal at the institution, refused to comment.

When The Gleaner visited the school's North Street campus, there was a loud roar as students rushed to a section of the schoolyard.

After the shouting and confusion subsided, our news team was told that at least two students had attacked another boy with knives. The boy, in defending himself reportedly struck one of his schoolmates in the head with his T-square. He had to receive medical attention.

On Wednesday, teachers, with the help of officials from the education ministry, school resource officers and guidance counsellors, conducted training and guidance sessions for the entire school day.

Margaret Muschette-Phillips, Jamaica Teachers' Association contact teacher at KC, said the boys were taught about ethics, how to deal with conflicts and the need to show respect to persons in authority.

Muschette-Phillips said the police warned the boys about the consequences of their actions and also briefed them about life behind bars.

She said teachers were not pleased with the student's misconduct.

Former president of the Kingston College Old Boys' Association, Dr Winston Davidson, said such aggressive behaviour displayed by the students should not be tolerated.

"With behaviour like that, those boys can't continue in the school. They should be expelled forthwith," he said.

Miranda Sutherland, president of the National Parent-Teachers Association of Jamaica, condemned fighting in school. Sutherland also said she believes that the violence in schools can be corrected, but not overnight. "It is not a situation that cannot be returned to normal but it will take time."

A ROOKIE cop was so determined to make his first arrest he chased a suspect despite having a BRANCH stuck in his eye.
John Nash, 25, only realised the horrific extent of the injury after the man he arrested told him: Mate, youve got to go to hospital.

John had been in the force only six days when he started pursuing two cars being driven erratically.

One of the cars pulled over and the cop began to chase the men but he slipped head-first into a bush and skewered his eye on the end of a branch.

The six-inch piece of wood snapped off but, incredibly, John was unaware how badly he was hurt. It had pierced his eyelid, smashed a cheekbone, forced itself under his eyeball and had come to rest against his brain. But John carried on chasing one of the men.

He said: I thought Id hit my baton as I fell. I just thought Id given myself a black eye.

The suspect was still trying to get over a fence and I grabbed his ankle. He kept referring to my face and I said, That doesnt matter come on. Then somebody said, Get an ambulance quick. I wondered whether he was talking about me.

John underwent three hours of surgery at Blackburn Royal Hospital (UK). He has retained some sight in the eye and hopes it will return to normal.

Surgeon Annaswami Vijaykumar said: If the wood had entered a few millimetres differently the eye would have been permanently damaged. John, who is engaged, added: I would do the same again tomorrow. I love my job.

The suspect was later released.


John at hospital after incident..

Lorenzo King, pastor of the Andrews Memorial Seventh-day Adventist Church, say it is very difficult to support the marriage ban as wedlock was one of the first God-given gifts to humankind.

"When God created Adam, He said the man should not be alone and so he proceeded to make Eve and marry them later," said King.

He added that marriage was necessary for individual and societal fulfilment as it was the primary institution of social engineering.

"As highlighted in the Bible, most of the people in the early days were married with a family, so it didn't say a person who is providing full-time service to the Lord shouldn't have a family," King argued.

King argued that though celibacy was a spiritual commitment, as evident in the life of the apostle Paul, that should be a personal decision, not an imposition from church authority.

However, the Rev Dr Karl Johnson, general secretary at the Jamaica Baptist Union, said he had great admiration for the devotion of priests and nuns.

"I respect persons who, in pursuit of their vocation, decide that they will forego the marital experience, as singleness is not a sin," Johnson said.

Women can stop worrying about pear-shaped figures fat bottoms have been scientifically proven to be a sign of good health.

New research, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, suggests the fat responsible for producing the pear shape flaunted by celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez and Beyonce may be active in protecting women from diseases by releasing certain hormones.

Buttock and hip fat may protect women against type 2 diabetes, researchers from Harvard Medical School found.

When buttocks and hip fat from mice was injected into other mice, their bodies easily used the *lo** sugar-regulating hormone insulin and lost weight.

They were also able to make better use of insulin, the main hormone linked to diabetes.

People with the apple shape, where fat is stored around the tummy, can be more prone to type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Those with pear-shaped bodies, where fat is collected in the buttocks, are less likely to have these disorders.

Researcher Dr. Ronald Kahn insisted that not all fat was bad for health.

"The surprising thing was that it wasn't where the fat was located, it was the kind of fat that was the most important variable," he said.

"Even more surprising, it wasn't that abdominal fat was exerting negative effects, but that subcutaneous fat was producing a good effect.

I think it's an important result because not only does it say that not all fat is bad, but I think it points to a special aspect of fat where we need to do more research."

Scientists also monitored the health of the mice given the fat transplants. When it was inserted into the tummy area, the mice lost weight and their fat cells shrank. The researchers will now try to identify the hormones.

 

ALL THOSE LADIES WITH THE BIG BUTTS CONTINUE DOIN WHAT YOU DOING

The teenage son of Jamaican immigrants calmly admitted in court yesterday that he beat his mother to death with a baseball bat after an argument over his grades at a prestigious private school.

The sixteen-year-old showed no emotion as he answered questions in a Baltimore County, Maryland, court about whether he understood the significance of his guilty plea to first-degree murder in connection with the prolonged attack on his mother and a similar beating of his father, who survived.

Lifetime of problems

The youngster killed his mother in May 2008 after an argument about his grades at McDonogh School, a prestigious private school. But Shannell Harleston, one of the teenager's attorneys, said the initial subject of the dispute with his mother was immaterial.

"This is a lifetime of problems that he's been dealing with that suddenly came to a head," said Harleston after the hearing. "This particular day was the first time he had ever argued back. ... He just snapped that day."

Harleston would not specify what led to his emotional difficulties, but the teen told police after he was arrested that his parents had pushed him too hard and he could not take it anymore, according to a statement of facts read in court Monday by Assistant State's Attorney Charles R. Gayle.

Harleston said the teenager had not been abused by his parents.

Prosecutors are seeking a life sentence with the possibility of parole when he is sentenced April 3. His attorneys plan to ask for all but 15 years of the sentence to be suspended and to have their client sent to a maximum-security psychiatric facility with a programme for young offenders.

In exchange for the teenager's guilty plea, prosecutors dropped all other charges, including a count of attempted murder for the attack on his father, who suffered two skull fractures when his son beat him with the same aluminium bat.

State's Attorney Scott D. Shellenberger said after the hearing that he did not believe Patuxent was an appropriate placement for the young man. Prosecutors will argue that he should serve his sentence in a state prison.

If he receives a life sentence, he could be eligible for parole after 12 years with good behaviour Parole for an offender serving a life sentence in Maryland requires the approval of the governor, which hasn't happened since 1994.

The teenager lived with his parents in an upper-middle-class neighbourhood in the Baltimore suburb of Towson. He had no history of violent behavior and took honours-level classes at McDonogh, where annual tuition exceeds $20,000.

FORT MYERS, Fla. - A Fort Myers Police Officer was arrested early Saturday morning at a Lee County Sheriff's Office D.U.I check point. Officer Leon Young faces misdemeanor DUI Alcohol 1st Offense charges.

He was released from jail on a surety bond Saturday just before noon.

The Lee County Sheriff's Office arrest report says deputies saw the car Young was driving pull into a parking lot just before the D.U.I. checkpoint at 7070 College Parkway. Believing the driver was trying to avoid the checkpoint, deputies approached the car.

The deputy said Young's eyes appeared to be *lo** shot and watery and he was speaking with a "thick tongue". The deputy said he could smell alcohol on Young's breath.

The deputy also saw a green leafy substance on Young's shirt that he believed to be marijuana. Canine deputies also smelled narcotics in the air, but when Young's car was searched, no marijuana was discovered.

According to the report, Young did not want to do the field sobriety check and just asked to be taken to jail. Eventually Young agreed to take the field sobriety test. Young was then placed under arrest.

When Young was asked to take a breath test he told the arresting deputy that the deputy was part of the KKK, the arresting deputy's father was part of the KKK, and Young would not take the breath test.

Reacting to Young's arrest Fort Myers Police Chief Doug Baker told WINK News, "I am extremely disappointed. This is not the conduct that we would expect from one of our officers. State Statute and department policy requires due process and Officer Young has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of a criminal investigation and an internal affairs investigation."

THE introduction of a state of the art video identification system came in for high praises from members of the justice system, constabulary and others who witnessed the launch at the Kingston Central Police Station yesterday.

The system was funded by the United States and British governments at a cost of just under $15 million after a request last year by Police Commissioner, Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin, for assistance to modernise the constabulary. It will allow witnesses and victims of crime to identify suspects in a safe environment and will eventually replace the conventional identification parades.

At present, identification parades sometimes take weeks to be completed as law enforcement officials often struggle to compile a group of persons with similar features to those of accused persons, the police said.

According to head of the Serious and Organised Crime Branch, Assistant Commissioner Les Green, the video database will consist of head and shoulder moving images of suspects, along with volunteer images which will be shown to the witness or suspect.

Green said the compilation will be shown in the presence of the suspect's attorney or a Justice of the Peace.

In addition, all activities inside the new identification parade room will be recorded by a closed circuit television system to ensure the security and integrity of the system. The taking of the image and the showing of the parade will be done in the presence of an attorney or a Justice of the Peace to ensure that the interests of the suspect are upheld, Green said.

"We have over 20,000 images on the database already, but there are some particular volunteers who are not on the system - persons with long dreadlocks, rastafarians, albinos and other persons. It's persons with unusual appearances that are not on the system," Green said.

Director of Public Prosecutions, Paula Llewellyn, was full of praises for the system which she said will allow for the protection of witnesses and accused persons and will be a welcome enhancement to an overburdened justice system.

"This particular process will not only help the prosecution which has the responsibility to prove the case beyond any reasonable doubt, but to prove the identity of the offender," Llewellyn told reporters. "I see this as one other tool that law enforcement can use with integrity and fairness to make sure that the operational efficiencies of the justice system will be maintained."

And Public Defender Earl Witter also praised the implementation of the identification equipment while Director of the Narcotics Affairs Division of the US Embassy, Andrea Lewis, praised local authorities in their bid to modernise the capabilities of the island's constabulary.

The system will come on stream early next month and will be installed at police stations in Kingston, St Catherine, Manchester, St James and St Ann. Six police sergeants have been trained in the use of the equipment by cops from the British Metropolitan Police.

TRANSPORT Minister Mike Henry says he will be making a submission to Cabinet and later a statement to Parliament on the report about the December 19 Portland accident which killed
14 Jamaicans.

Henry said Thursday that he had received reports from both the Island Traffic Authority (ITA) and the Road Safety Unit of his ministry, on the accident.

Details of the reports were not made available, however, sources said it dealt with issues such as the experience and capability of the truck driver. The reports also dealt with the source of the accident, the road conditions and whether or not the vehicle was overloaded, the source said.

In the meantime, Henry, who has visited the accident scene on more than one occasion, has promised residents improvements to the road infrastructure in the rural parish, including the construction of a new bridge to replace the old Alligator Church Bridge.

However, he admitted at Wednesday's post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House that there was a resource problem, and suggested a joint effort with the Members of Parliament through their Constituency Development Fund resources.

Henry said that the area has great agricultural and ecological potential which should support infrastructural development.

Tragedy struck in Dam Bridge, Rio Grande Valley on December 19, when a truck with vendors travelling to the Coronation Market in Kingston plunged 30 metres over a precipice. Fourteen people were killed and several others were injured. The dead are from the districts of Millbank, Comfort Castle, Ginger Castle and Seaman's Valley.

The Government has assisted with the burial of the victims and has established a fund to provide long-term financial assistance to about 50 children who lost their parents.

Christopher Clarke, the 31-year-old mechanic/driver was charged by the Port Antonio police with 14 counts of manslaughter, driving without insurance, operating contrary to a driver's licence, and failing to report an accident. Clarke, who had fled the accident scene, turned himself in to the police on December 30.

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences is on the warpath against scalpers charging an astronomical amount for tickets to the Oscars.

In a lawsuit filed Monday in Federal District Court, the Academy claims McMurry Inc. and the individuals who run it are trying to sell packages to the Oscars at $175,000 a pop. The Academy says unsuspecting people may be buying the packages, not realizing the tickets are non-transferable and the guests would in fact be trespassers.

And get this ...the Academy claims the defendants are aware of the high security at the awards so the scalpers are doing their own screening for "celebrity stalkers and terrorists."

The packages -- offered on the McMurry website and it's magazine "6" -- include a seven-day stay in L.A., luxury hotel accommodations, a sightseeing trip and tickets to the Academy Awards.

The Academy is asking a judge for an injunction to put the brakes on McMurry. It also wants compensatory and punitive damages.

CHICAGO - A 14-year-old boy accused of impersonating a police officer and going on patrol has pleaded not guilty.

The teenager appeared in a juvenile courtroom on Monday with his hands cuffed behind his back. A judge ordered that he be held at the juvenile center because he could pose a danger to himself.

On Saturday the teen, wearing an officer's uniform, walked into a police station and was assigned to go on patrol. He partnered with another officer for about five hours before the ruse was discovered.

More

Cannabis has been reclassified as a Class B drug in England and Wales, amid concerns that it impacts on mental health, according to a BBC report.

The reclassification of the drug, which was a Class C, has come into effect despite complaints that the new laws are "illogical".

According to the BBC report, ministers went against their advisers to upgrade the drug because of worries about its impact on mental health.

Class C includes substances such as tranquillisers, some painkillers, GHB (so-called 'liquid ecstasy') and ketamine. Possession of Class C drugs is treated largely as a non-arrestable offence.

Magistrates welcomed the reclassi-fication, but said planned fines for possessing small amounts undermined the more serious classification.

They said it sent the signal that cannabis was not as bad as other Class B drugs.

There are plans to introduce a 'three-strikes' system for cannabis possession, starting with a warning, then an £80 spot fine for a second offence. Scotland and Northern Ireland have opted out of the penalties arrangement for England and Wales, retaining the former system for Class B drugs.

Only when a third offence is committed will the person be liable for arrest and prosecution.

Currently, police can only warn or prosecute people caught in possession of cannabis.

The maximum prison term for possessing cannabis rises from two to five years with its reclassification.

Home Office Minister Alan Campbell said: "Cannabis is a harmful drug and while fewer people are taking it than before, it poses a real risk to the health of those who do use it."

A woman was killed and 14 people injured during a motor vehicle collision at the intersection of the Sandy Bay main road and Bustamante Highway last Saturday.

Dead is Melrose Anderson, 27 of Cheapside, Manchester. Seven men and seven women of Manchester, Clarendon, Portland and St Andrew addresses were injured.

Police say about 7:15 a.m. a white Toyota Hiace minibus was travelling on the Bustamante Highway towards Kingston with passengers. When the bus reached the intersection it collided with a white Isuzu pickup, which was entering the highway from the Sandy Bay main road.

The impact caused the bus to overturn landing on Anderson who was thrown from the vehicle. She died on the spot . The injured persons were taken to the May Pen Hospital where 10 were treated and released and four admitted in stable condition. The driver of the Isuzu pickup is now in police custody.

The centenarian tuatara, named Henry, was thought well past the mating game until he was caught canoodling with a female named Mildred last March which resulted in 11 babies being hatched on Monday.

Tuatara are endangered New Zealand creatures that resemble lizards but descend from a distinct lineage of reptile that walked the earth with the dinosaurs 225 million years ago.

The hatchlings, born at the Southland Museum and Art Gallery, will boost the tuatara's genetic diversity, said curator, Lindsay Hazley.

More

what do you think about a remix contest here on the zone?

rules can be:

The Lalyce Gray Basic School, in Cassava Piece, recently benefited from a kind gesture from Mavado, who showed that he was not all about being a 'gangsta for life'.

On Tuesday, Mavado donated $150,000 to the school and pledged to equip the school with two computers and two water coolers.

According to Mavado, "dem ting yah is not so much about giving money alone, a fi mek di yout dem stay inna school to, cause mi sing bout di gangsta part a life an bout di real tings in life. An di peace officer dem deh yah fi support di ting, suh a community ting."

Mavado's son, Donta and daughter, Danielle, will be among the students to benefit from the donations. Both are currently in grades two and three, respectively, at the school.

After the presentation was made, the principal, Beverley Saddler, said it was a good venture and students will definitely stand to benefit.

"Well, it's a very good move and it will be of great service to the children and the Cassava Piece community. And seeing that he (Mavado) has two children here, it will definitely help them in their education too. We will also be purchasing some books to put in the school library for the students," Principal Saddler said.

Also overseeing the proceeding was Deputy Superintendent Beau Rigabie, who also felt it was "a positive move."

"It will most definitely help to furnish the school, help them to provide basic amenities which are always in need. It is displaying a positive side to the individual and I only hope that this is a stepping stone to a lot of good things that can come from him," Deputy Superintendent Rigabie said.

Mavado's kindness will not end there, however, as the artiste also has plans of making donations to the Constant Spring Primary and Junior High School which he attended as a youth.

"Wi out fi keep a concert fi do something to fi di bigga school, Constant Spring Primary and Junior High, because a da school deh mi use to guh. Wi haffi mek di yout dem comfortable, cause dem look up to we an wi haffi set di example," Mavado said.

Mt. Salem, Montego Bay
Krystofer Kirlew and Toian Gichie of Montego bay were involved in a car accident and now at the Cornwall Regional Hospital. According to reports both Christopher Kirlew and Toian Gichie are in critical condition. However, the latest update on this story has it that Christopher Kirlew has succumbed to his injuries, while Toian Gichie as reported is brain dead.

Please stand by for further updates...



[hope for the best people..hope this aint true]

latest update:
On reaching a section of the Salt Marsh main road, he attempted to overtake a line of traffic and collided with a Toyota mini bus which was heading in the opposite direction towards Montego Bay.
Kirlew lost control of the car which overturned and ended up in a ditch. Kirlew and the young woman sustained multiple injures. Both were taken to the Falmouth Hospital where Kirlew was pronounced dead and the female transferred to Cornwall Regional Hospital in serious condition.
Eyewitnesses noted that Allion appeared to have been speeding when his car clipped the bus and overturned, skidded and flipped for more than 100 metres before coming to a stop.
Kirlew and the woman were thrown out of the car as it overturned; he was thrown some paces away while the female passenger flew some twenty feet in the air, dislodging the branch off a guinep tree at the side of the road, when she fell.
Persons who went to their assistance said that Kirlew was unresponsive when they got to him but the young woman opened her eyes and tried to get up. However, she was instructed to remain still by one of the persons on the scene.
Both were transported to the Falmouth Hospital by ambulances. Kirlew was pronounced dead while the woman, who suffered a fractured skull, has since been admitted in serious condition. The Falmouth police are investigating.
Young Kirlew hailed from a well known Montego Bay family. His death has sent shock waves throughout the western city.

By Shamir Brown
Trelawny Correspondent
Source: Western Mirror

[my condolences to the enitre Kirlew family and friends]


-- Edited by dbizzle at 14:09, 2009-01-26

-- Edited by dbizzle at 18:39, 2009-01-27

Outta Zip103fm, Famefm,Iriefm ,Hitz92fm and RJR which one have di maddest mixes and vybz??????????

-- Edited by sting at 12:56, 2008-01-05

UNITED STATES President Barack Obama spent his first full day at the White House taking on issues likely to consume the early part of his presidency - dealing with the economic crisis, calling leaders in the Middle East, and moving towards the closure of the Guantánamo Bay prison.

Claiming his place in history as the first black US president, Obama faces the challenge of pulling the US economy out of its nosedive and also must move on his promise to withdraw American forces from Iraq and send still more soldiers to the US's other war in Afghanistan.

Obama met with top US military and economic advisers yesterday and also called the leaders of Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt and Jordan.

His press secretary, Robert Gibbs, said Obama emphasised that he would work to consolidate the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

The new president also signalled that a flurry of executive actions should be expected soon. His administration was already circulating a draft executive order that calls for closing the detention centre at Guantánamo Bay within a year and that would declare a halt to all trials currently under way at the facility.

It was not known when the president intended to issue the order.

Obama ventured into the Oval Office for the first time as president around 8:30 a.m., after returning to the White House from a round of inaugural balls about 1 a.m., Gibbs said.

Public visitors

The president and the new first lady, Michelle Obama, then headed to the National Cathedral for a prayer service, a tradition dating to the country's first president, George Washington.

In addition to meeting with his advisers, Obama was welcoming public visitors into the White House, as Congress was scrutinising his economic revival plan and taking up the nominations of Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state and Timothy Geithner for treasury secretary.

A new poll underscored the sense of anticipation that accompanied Obama into office.

Yesterday, the Senate voted 94-2, confirming Clinton as secretary of state.

The Associated Press-Knowledge Networks survey found that, by a 3-1 margin, people feel more optimistic about the country's future now that Obama has been inaugurated, including 30 per cent of Republicans.

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A ROOKIE cop was so determined to make his first arrest he chased a suspect despite having a BRANCH stuck in his eye.

PC John Nash, 25, only realised the horrific extent of the injury after the man he arrested told him: Mate, youve got to go to hospital.

John had been in the force only six days when he started pursuing two cars being driven erratically.

One of the cars pulled over and the PC began to chase the men but he slipped head-first into a bush and skewered his eye on the end of a branch.

The six-inch piece of wood snapped off but, incredibly, John was unaware how badly he was hurt. It had pierced his eyelid, smashed a cheekbone, forced itself under his eyeball and had come to rest against his brain. But John carried on chasing one of the men in Rochdale, Gtr Manchester.

He said: I thought Id hit my baton as I fell. I just thought Id given myself a black eye.

The suspect was still trying to get over a fence and I grabbed his ankle. He kept referring to my face and I said, That doesnt matter come on. Then somebody said, Get an ambulance quick. I wondered whether he was talking about me.

John underwent three hours of surgery at Blackburn Royal Hospital, Lancs. He has retained some sight in the eye and hopes it will return to normal.

Surgeon Annaswami Vijaykumar said: If the wood had entered a few millimetres differently the eye would have been permanently damaged. John, who is engaged, added: I would do the same again tomorrow. I love my job.

The suspect was later released.

TV's "King of Queens" is the now the king of screens - movie screens that is.

Chubby sitcom star Kevin James blew away the competition as his "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" collared $33.8 million and the top box office spot.

"In these tough, recession-laden times, you'd think people wouldn't want a movie that's based around a mall," said box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian. "But they totally do."

"Blart" pushed Clint Eastwood's "Gran Torino" to the No. 2 spot with $22 million.

Three new releases rounded out the top five with "My *lo**y Valentine: 3D" debuting at No.3 with with $21.9 million.

"Notorious," a biopic about slain rapper Notorious B.I.G. opened at No. 4 with $21.5 million, and the family comedy "Hotel for Dogs" earned $17.7 and fifth place.

"Bride Wars" and "The Unborn" continued to make strong showings with $11.75 million in ticket sales for "Brides" and $9.8 million for "Unborn," which landed them the sixth and seventh spots respectively.

"Defiance," starring James Bond's Daniel Craig and based on the true story of Jews who survived the Holocaust in the forests of Belarus, reached No. 8 and made $9.8 million as it expanded nationwide this weekend.

The holiday comedy "Marley and Me" continued to dog the competition, holding its own in ninth place with $6.3 million.

The big winner at last weekend's Golden Globes, "Slumdog Millionaire," crept into the No. 10 spot with $5.9 million.

BY JANE H. FURSE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Stylist says hormonal pop star grabbed clippers from her hand


A tearful Britney Spears defiantly shaved her head at a Los Angeles hair salon after the owner refused to take part in the embattled pop stars latest extreme makeover, news reports said on Saturday.

The Friday evening visit to Esthers Haircutting Studio in the Tarzana district of Los Angeles was followed by a trip to a tattoo parlor where the 25-year-old mother of two young sons added two designs to her body.

The transformation came on the same day People magazine and other entertainment media reported that Spears recently entered a rehabilitation center in the Caribbean island of Antigua and checked out a day later. The reports were denied by Spears representatives.

Hormonal star grabbed clippers from stylist

Spears busy Friday night began in the salon of Esther Tognozzi, who told the syndicated television gossip show Extra that she was afraid to shave Spears head in case she was sued for ruining the singers image.


After Tognozzi protested that Spears was maybe being hormonal and would feel differently the next day, Spears coolly grabbed the buzzer and started buzzing her own hair off. ... I just cleaned it up when she was done with it, she said.

Tognozzi said Spears seemed to be just there in body and not really emotionally there, but did get a little bit teary-eyed when she realized her mother might get upset.

The whereabouts of the hair was a mystery, although an enterprising person in Pennsylvania was selling 10 lots of the purported locks on eBay at $50 per lot.

She was screaming and flipping out
After Spears bodyguard paid Tognozzi a tip, the party headed to the Body and Soul parlor in the suburb of Sherman Oaks, where she spent $80 for a black-white-and-pink cross on her lower hip and red-and-pink lips on her wrist.

An artist at the parlor, Emily Wynne Hughes, said Spears appeared distraught and disturbed, and was difficult to work with.

She was screaming and flipping out from the pain and wiggling her body all around, Hughes told reporters.

Spears representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.

Eminem and Kim Mathers Photo by: Stefanie Keenan

Eminem Not Engaged (Again) to Kim Mathers | Eminem, Kim Mathers
Don't believe a report that Eminem is engaged to Kim Mathers a third time.

Britain's Mirror tabloid reported Tuesday that rapper Akon, who duets with Eminem on "Smack That," said of Slim Shady and his ex: "He can't live with her, and he can't live without her. But they are meant for each other. They are engaged again."

But Dennis Dennehy, a rep for Eminem, tells PEOPLE: "Those reports are absolutely untrue."

Eminem (real name: Marshall Mathers), 34, and the former Kim Scott, 32, first wed in 1999 and divorced two years later. They have a daughter, Hailie Jade, 11.

The couple were estranged for years, but remarried in January 2006, only to split again less than three months later.

On an episode of ABC's 20/20 that aired Friday, Kim Mathers told correspondent JuJu Chang: "Money is great, but it doesn't make your husband stay at home with you. Or sleep in the same bed with you. Him being on the road and on tour that was like the big one. I mean, constant infidelities, all the time."

Through a spokesperson, Eminem said in a statement to 20/20: "For the sake of our children that we raise together, I have made a decision to not participate in matters such as this."

Despite his recent legal troubles, DMX is continuing to stay busy as he ventures into the realm of fashion.

The rapper is prepping the launch of his DMX Authentic and Earl Simmons Signature Collection clothing lines, an effort that promotes "real clothing for real people," according to a source from DMX's design team.

DMX Authentic will offer basic, classic pieces, while the Earl Simmons Signature Collection will have higher-end specialty pieces.

The rapper's style philosophy is described as no frills, utilitarian clothing that combines quality, style and comfort worn by people who understand that clothing is part of a lifestyle.

The clothing -- which is targeted for the young, aggressive and hip market looking for clothing to match their lifestyle -- will initially include graphic t-shirts.

Officials cite the motivation to communicate the DMX brand image as the reason behind launching the lines.

Clothing images on the initial products will serve as a representation of DMX as a man and artist as well as highlight the lyricist's interests, which include cars, music, life, his pitbulls and his journey and evolution in attaining a more profound spiritual existence.

Plans are currently underway to feature stylish, tough, rugged wear for Hip-Hop, sports, extreme sports, automobile, and racing enthusiasts.

Consumers can look for groupings of denims, leathers, camouflage, cotton, and knits for men and women within the next couple of months.

The DMX Authentic and Earl Simmons Signature collections will be available to the public on Friday (Feb. 9).

The launch is the latest achievement for DMX. However, the rapper (born Earl Simmons) was recently arrested in Yonkers, NY for driving with a suspended drivers license.

According to reports, DMX was arrested Friday (Feb. 2) after authorities pulled the rapper over for running a red light on Yonkers Avenue.

DMX is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 14

ru Life mocks Weezy, takes more shots at Jones. Tru Life is definitely making a strong bid for next year's Pulse Report Awards. It looks like Weezy has been shot by association. Tru recently sounded off on Lil' Weasel and his affiliation to Dipset. "Tell Whoopi Goldberg to go work on 'Sister Act 3' or keep hosting the Apollo," Tru told hiphopgame. "Don't get it ****ed up. We run New York. They are not even ****ing Harlem. Roc la Familia is Harlem, OG Juan is Harlem. Even though Weezy Goldberg might have been comfortable running with the pink banging bunnies, that era is over. This is our city." Of course, Tru couldn't let the week pass by without talking about Jim Jones. During a brief interview on the "Wendy Williams Experience," Tru explained his gripe with the Harlem crew. He told Wendy he thinks the Dips don't respect rap and is appalled that they would take shots at legends. Who wants to bet that Tru will talk more ish about Jones next week?

Dancehall artiste Mavado was fined $100 or ten days for possession of ganja when he appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court on Friday.

The artiste whose correct name is David Brooks was fined after pleading guilty to possession of a 'spliff '.

But following the guilty plea, Brooks' record was tarnished as the offence was placed on his record despite pleas by his attorney for Resident Magistrate Judith Pusey not to do so.

Brooks was arrested on Thursday, January 18, by officers from the Constant Spring Police Station.

According to the police, officers were in the Cassava Piece area at about 10:30 p.m., when they saw the deejay and requested a search. A small, transparent parcel containing marijuana was found on the deejay's person and he was arrested and charged

Since his split with Beenie Man, Don Mafia has upped the ante in the personal beef with his former friend putting a death threat voice recording from Beenie Man on wax. The recording, which appears on the Rebel T label, is called (what else) Death Threat.
The Death Threat single, which appears on the 'Crush Ice' rhythm, has been creating a lot of buzz because of its controversial lyrical content. Clock the lyrics:

Tell me say dem cold
Tell dem say me frozer
Say dem a run the place
See say dem a poser
Who sell apartment fi buy Range Rover?
Coulda chat till you blue, yu nuh rich like.

The single appears on Father Dozers Rebel T label.

Ah Rebel T mi ting de right now, the man who likes to sport awesome gangster suits that would have made Alphonse "Scarface Al" Capone himself green with envy, told One876Entertainment.com.

The video, he said, will have the caption, In loving memory of Gerald Levy.

Mi no hate dem, mi waan dem sleep good inna the house weh dem capture and say ah dem build it alone, he said, referring to the allegation that he has been excluded from having any share capital in Mafia House Productions.

Mi no inna the war and mix-up, I am only doing music, mi love Mumma Angel, mi nah diss no man over a marriage, mi just cut up over the house title, dem wipe off mi name offa it like mi neva carry no block, steel and nail, even though a him, Beenie Man provide the building material as the big man.

Don Mafia, who has been writing for Beenie Man for several years, penned the One Bag a Lie hit which served as a strong, stirring proclamation of Beenie Mans innocence in the wake of rumours that he had been somehow involved in the death of Gerald Bogle Levy, a charismatic dancer from the Black Roses crew of Arnett Gardens.

Now is me him waan to kill, Mafia said, shaking his head.

Other Don Mafia songs in rotation are Welcome to the Mafia World which has an accompanying video, and a single called High Grade is Burning with Beenie Man on Jam2s Duck rhythm.

It is official, deejay Aidonia has been booted from the Bounty Killer-led Alliance.

Although Aidonia was unavailable for a comment because he was in studio, his Road Manager, Kurt says the artiste wants to make it clear that he did not switch from the Alliance, but was kicked out.

"Well wi get a call still, the morning after Spectrum, saying Aidonia is disrespecting too much members of the Alliance and a meeting was held and they said they would rather that he leaves," Kurt said.

Kurt says, "the main problem stems from just one song, December's Deadline about stuff that happened to Aidonia during that time. An a really one line weh say, Mi neva call him name, but Busy dead a Sting, di people dem seh boo, instead a fling, a dah one line deh a di problem."

He continued, "and tru Aidonia seh Addi A Mi Daddy which was voiced from bout September last year. Nobody had a problem with that song up until the whole Kartel drama. But whole heap a tings happen to Aidonia from some a di other members of the Alliance ... all we do is stand our ground."

Aidonia's camp still feels that there is still the possibility of things being mended, as Aidonia still has respect for Bounty Killer and other artistes within the Alliance.

However, Kurt says Aidonia's focus right now is only on music.

"A deh suh wi deh pon, doing music fi people. From morning him (Aidonia) inna di studio an him record bout four song already, all one a dem him a rap - cultural tune, girl tune, dem ting deh wi deh pon, wi done wid dem ting deh - wi done si seh is not a fair game," Kurt said.

Despite reports that Aidonia got the boot from Sharon Burke, head of Solid Agency, Burke says she had nothing to do with that.

"We still manage Bounty Killer and he is an integral part of our company (Solid Agency) and we still manage Aidonia. But I have nothing to say about that (Aidonia being kicked from the Alliance) because artistes have their differences and they need to work that out," Burke told The STAR.

Aidonia was recently signed to bmobile and is featured in the next edition of Vibe Magazine. The deejay will also be releasing his third mix Cd soon.

Aidonia, an admitted protégé of Vybz Kartel, a controversial figure who left the Bounty Killer-led Alliance late last year in an explosion of headlines, may now be joining his mentor on the outside looking in -- at dancehalls most powerful and controversial group of artistes.

Still, there is no truth to the rumours that both have started a new club called Life After the Alliance (LAA) in the wake of their decisions to leave the influential group.

Tensions had been heightened in the past two months, especially after the fisticuffs onstage between entourage members during Mavados cataclysmic birthday bash at the Arizon Inn in Portmore. Since that time, the relationship between Aidonia and Bounty Killer, Busy Signal and Mavado had been strained and it appears, despite the much-affected public displays of unity, the personal animosities between Aidonia and Busy Signal festered still.

The battle lines were drawn again with Aidonias insistence on performing the December Deadline song, and the allegations by his entourage that a bottle-throwing incident at Spectrum 2007 was orchestrated by Alliance members.

He didnt get a memo or anything like that, he just got word from someone at Solid Agency that he was no longer welcome in the group, Kirk Roberts told One876 Entertainment.com.

I am not surprised, I saw it coming, based on what is going on, certain things look inevitableah just so it go, Michael Lunan of Solid Agency said.

If Aidonia say hes out, hes out, whatever him say, no body can force a man to be in something he doesnt want to be in, I just hear on ER say he is not in the Alliance, he said that someone in Solid call him and say re-re, Aidonia is just a young artiste I rate, he is still my little artiste and I wish him the best same way, I hope it is the right decision, he is a good yute, but unfortunately, it had to end this way.

Lunan said the Alliance will continue to strive as Mavado's debut album Gangster For Life is coming out in March, while Busy Signal recently recorded a remix of Come Around with Collie Buddz.

Busy Signal is reportedly working on his sophomore album for Japan's JVC label, which is expected out this summer.

P Diddy has revealed he's already bought his six-week old daughters their first piece of bling.

Diddy's long term girlfriend Kim Porter gave birth to the twin girls Jessie James and D'Lila Star on 21 December and Diddy, real name Sean Combs, told People recently that he is very much the doting dad.

He said: "I bought them their first pair of diamond earrings. Tiny Tiffany diamonds for babies."

Diddy, who runs the fashion label Sean John, hopes such gifts will pass on his interest in style: "If they're not into fashion, that's cool. But I think they will be."


He added that even at six weeks, the girls are easy to tell apart because Jessie is "always smiling" and D'Lila is "loud and fiery". The girls are named after Sean and Kim's grandmothers respectively.

One of the stars on "CSI" did not rely on high-tech crime fighting techniques when he thwarted a crime -- he just beat the criminal down.

Gerald McCullouch -- aka crime scene investigator Bobby Dawson -- was on a train from JFK Airport in NYC when a very large man tried grabbing his laptop. McCullouch -- a trained boxer who had just been in the ring 8 hours earlier -- treated the criminal to a body shot to the chest, according to the New York Daily News.

Now get this. The 6-foot-3-inch, 240 lb scofflaw pulled out a kitchen knife with a 10-inch blade. As other passengers ran for cover, the dude tried to plunge the knife in McCuullouch's back, but his leather jacket protected him.

McCullouch says he was in the guy's face and punched him again. The train had just left the station when it stopped. McCullouch said, "You are f**ked, buddy." "Buddy" then came at him again with the knife.

At that point 10 cops jumped on the train and busted the guy. And get this -- cops told McCullouch the culprit may be the same guy who stabbed two cops.

Henry Lee, eat your heart out. This dude knows how to solve crimes.

In a Daily Beast/CNBC exclusive, Charlie Gasparino reveals how Merrill Lynchs CEO spent over $1 million and hired the Obamas' decorator to redecorate his office last yeareven as the firm faced a financial crisis.

Big ticket items included $87,000 for an area rug, four pairs of curtains for $28,000, a pair of guest chairs for $87,000 and fabric for a "Roman Shade" for $11,000.

UPDATE: Bank of America has just announced that Thain will leave the firm, less than a month after its merger with Merrill.

Read more

-- Edited by MZJ at 22:11, 2009-01-22

The Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) yesterday denied reports that a new official car valued at $13 million was being purchased for Prime Minister Bruce Golding.

"A contract, in the amount of US$64,400 (J$5.4 million), was approved by the National Contracts Commission (NCC) on December 10 for the purchase of an official vehicle for the prime minister," the OPM said in a release.

"However, Prime Minister (Bruce) Golding gave instructions for the order to be cancelled, as he considered it important to set an example at a time when Government must use every possible means to reduce expenditure and contain the fiscal deficit," the release added.

The release pointed out that the official car being used by the prime minister is 16 years old and was "purchased shortly after Mr P J Patterson became prime minister in 1992".

"It has broken down on four occasions while conveying Prime Minister Golding and a decision was taken for it to be replaced. With the cancellation of the order for a new vehicle, the prime minister will continue to use the 16-year-old vehicle," OPM said.

The OPM also disclosed that a letter issued by Golding on January 19 gave instructions that there is to be no expenditure on official vehicles or official residences for Government ministers during this year, except for essential maintenance.

January 24, 2009. LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) One of Nigeria's biggest daily newspapers reported that police implicated a goat in an attempted automobile theft. In a front-page article on Friday, the Vanguard newspaper said that two men tried to steal a Mazda car two days earlier in Kwara State, with one suspect transforming himself into a goat as vigilantes cornered him. The paper quoted police spokesman Tunde Mohammed as saying that while one suspect escaped, the other transformed into a goat as he was about to be apprehended. The newspaper reported that police paraded the goat before journalists, and published a picture of the animal. Police in the state couldn't immediately be reached for comment. Belief in black magic is widespread in Nigeria, particularly in far-flung rural areas.

Yet another claim that a common and contagious virus is linked to some cases of obesity is in the news today.

Studies on humans show that 33 per cent of obese adults had contracted an adenovirus called AD-36 at some point in their lives, according to an article in the UK's Daily Express, whereas only 11 per cent of lean men and women have had the virus.

The research, to be presented in a BBC television special, is not big news to scientists, however. Further, some worry that the portrayal of obesity as something you simply catch could obscure the fact that overeating remains the biggest driver of obesity.

The facts

The National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about one-third of U.S. adults are obese, as are 16 percent of children and adolescents age 2 to 19.

Obesity increases the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke and other illnesses.

It is increasingly clear, several experts say, that viruses might play a role in some obesity cases. There are 49 known human adenoviruses. They cause everything from the common cold to gastrointestinal problems and eye inflammation, pneumonia, croup, and bronchitis.

Original posts

A report reveals that half of the Palestinian children wounded during the 23-day Israeli attacks on Gaza have been permanently disabled. A report reveals that half of the Palestinian children wounded during the 23-day Israeli attacks on Gaza have been permanently disabled.

The report conducted by the Algerian Authority for Developing Health and Research says that 50 percent of the children wounded are now classified as disabled. According to the UN figures, 460 Palestinian children were killed and 1,855 others were wounded during the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip. The study, which is based on the findings of an Algerian media team in Gaza, also found that almost 800,000 Palestinian children suffer from mental health disorders caused by the Israeli offensive on Gaza. The report by the Algerian organization comes as the UN Children's Fund has announced that children are the main victims of the Israeli offensive into Gaza. "Each day more children are being hurt, their small bodies wounded, their young lives shattered. This is tragic. This is unacceptable," said UNICEF executive director Ann Veneman in a statement. UN special expert Richard Falk also said that '46 percent of all Gaza children' suffered from acute anemia and many others are dealing with hearing disorders, deafness as well as mental disorders. Apart from the consequences of the 23-day war, the Israeli siege of Gaza has also put the lives of many children at stake. Children in the Gaza Strip are denied of basic rights, including access to food, medicine and health care.

A 22-year-old white man is being held without bail on charges he shot three Cape Verdean people, killing two. Police said Keith Luke told them he was "fighting for a dying race" and planned to kill as many black people as possible and he had been planning to kill all "non-white" people.

According to papers filed in court, Luke said he had been planning to kill African-Americans, Hispanic and Jewish people and he had planned to go to a Jewish synagogue near his home that night and "kill as many Jews as possible on bingo night."

Luke of 1177 Pleasant St., Brockton, pleaded innocent to two counts of murder, kidnapping, aggravated rape and other charges in Brockton District Court Thursday morning. He was ordered held without bail.He told police in an interview after his Wednesday arrest that he purchased a 9mm handgun with 200 rounds of ammunition about six months ago outside Gilmore Academy on Clinton Street. He said he planned to kill himself after his killing spree.

Luke, who attended Brockton High School in 2001 but didn't graduate, told police he went to his former home at 103 Clinton St. around 12:20 p.m. Wednesday and planned to kill one of his former neighbors Salma Goncalves, 20, but another woman answered the door.

He asked if he could come in to use the phone because his van broke down, then he pulled out his gun and forced his way inside. He told police he brought a backpack that contained two sets of handcuffs, a blindfold, hammer and a mouth gag.

He told police he cuffed the other woman behind her back then sodomized her on the living room floor and on the floor of one of the bedrooms. About 20 to 25 minutes later he heard someone banging on the door, got dressed, grabbed his gun and answered the door.

When he opened the door he found Salma Goncalves holding a knife ready to stab him.

He pointed the gun at her and tried to pull her inside and she started to run.

He said his plan began to "fall apart" so he shot her in the back as she fled.

He said he went to the bedroom where he left his rape victim and saw her kneeling on the ground holding a white teddy bear.

He said he fired through the teddy bear a few times, striking her. Then he went outside to his van and reloaded his gun.

As he backed out of the driveway, he saw Salma Goncalves on the sidewalk and saw a "nonwhite" man helping her.

He said he fired a few shots at the man while he was in the driver's side of his van but wasn't sure if he struck him.

Luke said he then drove off searching for other "nonwhite" victims.

That's when he saw a "nonwhite" homeless man pushing a carriage. he placed his van in park, walked over to the man identified as Arlindo Depina Goncalves, pointed the gun and fired.

Pakistani soil continues to be targeted with suspected US missiles, a trend which started under the former US president George W. Bush.

On Friday, suspected US-operated drones fired missiles at Pakistan's troubled tribal belt near the Afghan border killing at least fourteen people.

The tribal regions along the common border with Afghanistan became safe havens for militants after the 2001 US-led invasion which toppled Taliban's regime in Kabul.

Washington alleges that pro-Taliban militants use Pakistani soil to launch attacks on the US-led international forces based in Afghanistan, and has frequently warned that it would take due action should Islamabad fail to curb the insurgency.

Over 30 missiles targeted 'suspected militants hideouts' in northwestern Pakistan last year. The attacks often result in civilian casualties.

The strikes have mounted tension between Islamabad and Washington and have triggered anti-American sentiments among the Pakistani people.

The newly-inaugurated US President Barack Obama is expected to change the unwelcome measures adopted by his predecessor who has left him with two costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a deep-in-recession economy among other things.

The commander-in-chief, however, says he has no intention of cutting down on the counterterrorism operations abroad, emphasizing that Pakistan and Afghanistan are the central fronts in the US war against terrorism.

"The deteriorating situation in the region poses a grave threat to the global security. It's an international challenge of the highest order. That's why we are pursuing a careful review of our policy," he said.

Catastrophic earthquakes could hit the Caribbean causing tsunamis. - Contributed

The Caribbean has a reputation for being ravaged by hurricanes. However, what many do not realise is that a natural-disaster time b**** is slowly ticking in the region.

This month marks the 102nd anniversary of an earthquake that measured a relatively mild 6.5 on the Richter scale, but killed over 800 people in Kingston, Jamaica.

The 1907 earthquake that devastated Jamaica occurred on January 14 at 3:32 p.m. on a hot, cloudless Monday.

Devastation exacerbated

The earthquake was preceded by the sound of a mighty wind and followed by the sound of a train roaring in a tunnel.

The ground shook so violently that people and buildings were tossed about like puppets. In less than a minute, Kingston was flattened, with hundreds lying dead or dying buried beneath piles of rubble.

Twenty minutes later, the devastation was exacerbated as fire engulfed the streets of Kingston and raged continuously for four days.

However, it is water, not fire, that is the principal danger where earthquakes are concerned.

In the first documented major earthquake in the Caribbean, Jamaica's Port Royal was devastated on June 7, 1692.

The city was turned upside down by massive tsunami waves that dumped the harbour's ships on to the once bustling streets and *u*ked the dead bodies and bones from uprooted graves out into the harbour.

In total, it is estimated that between 1,500 and 2,000 people died.

Experts from the University of North Carolina and University of Texas in the United States (US) believe they have evidence of at least 10 significant tsunamis in the northern Caribbean since 1492.

All 10 have been triggered by earthquakes caused by friction along the boundary of the North American and Caribbean tectonic plates.

This boundary, which lies along the north coast of Hispaniola, extends for 3,200 kilometres from Central America to the Lesser Antilles.

Warning system

All earthquakes of 7.0 magnitude or greater on the Richter scale have the capability of creating a tsunami, and within the last 500 years, there have been at least 12 global earthquakes of such magnitude.

The last major Caribbean tsunami took place in 1946 and killed about 100 people at Matanzas, near Nagua in the Dominican Republic.

Since then, things have been ominously quiet and due to the clockwork-like nature of the region, scientists are wondering when, not if, another tsunami will strike.

Despite proposals to build an early-warning system in the Caribbean following the deaths of over 225,000 people in the 2004 Asian tsunami, there is no such system yet in place.

A tsunami early-warning system for the Caribbean region may come into place by 2011.

Data-sharing system

It took a major step closer to realisation on March 12 last year, when a United Nations-backed coordination group decided to give the go-ahead for a regional data-sharing system.

However, this means that the 40 million inhabitants of the Caribbean will have no forewarning in the meantime and no contingency plans should a tsunami take place.

Geologist Uri ten Brink of the US Geological Survey, who has been studying the seismology of the Caribbean, believes the area is at major risk from natural disasters.

"The threat of major earthquakes in the Caribbean, and the possibility of a resulting tsunami are real," he said.

"Local earthquakes, such as from the fault line of Hispaniola, or effects from distant earth-quakes, can be severe.

According to ten Brink, landslides and volcanic eruptions can also cause major earthquakes and potential tsunamis in this region.

"It has happened before, and it will happen again."

As ten Brink warns, the Caribbean is under extreme threat from potential tsunamis brought about by landslides and volcanic eruptions.

The biggest danger comes from all the way across the Atlantic. British scientists have identified a geological time b**** that will create the extraordinary pheno-menon known as a mega tsunami. This 'time b****' is located on one of the Canary Islands, just off the coast of North Africa.

Dr Simon Day, who works at the Benfield Greig Hazard Research Centre, at the University College of London, warns that one flank of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the island of La Palma could be plunged into the ocean by the next volcanic eruption.

"If the volcano collapsed in one block of rock, weighing 500 billion tonnes, it would create an undersea wave 2,000 feet tall," said Dr Day.

"Within five minutes of the landslide, a dome of water about a mile high would form and then collapse, before the mega tsunami fanned out in every direction, travelling at speeds of up to 500 miles per hour."

Bill McGuire, director of the Benfield Grieg Hazard Research Centre reports that mega tsunami waves last much longer than a regular tsunami.

"When one of these comes in, it keeps on coming for 10 to 15 minutes," Professor McGuire said.

Between nine and 12 hours after the collapse of the island, waves between 20 and 50 metres high will crash into the Caribbean islands and eastern seaboard of North America, having crossed 4,000 miles.

"The US government must beware of the La Palma threat. They should certainly be worried, and so should the island states in the Caribbean that will really bear the brunt of a collapse," said Professor McGuire.

Catastrophic disasters rare

Catastrophic natural disasters are rare, according to the experts, and occur on average every 10,000 years.

However, some, including Professor McGuire, fear La Palma could collapse at any time.

"The thing about La Palma is we know it's on the move now," said Professor McGuire. Scientists believe the chunk of land is slipping slowly into the water and think it is highly likely that another eruption will make the entire western flank collapse.

The potential of a massive human disaster is not only limited to the Caribbean and North America. Britain will also face the fury of some of the tsunami. Britain's southern seaside resorts and ports will be hit by waves of around 10 metres, causing huge damage.

Even with an early-warning system in place, experts are worried that a huge tsunami would offer no safe place for Caribbean residents to escape to in time.

While day-to-day life carries on in these islands, the ticking geographical time b**** could go off at any time, turning paradise into a living hell.

by now we should all know that mavado is growing dreads!!!

do you think dats going to change the way people see him????

Mavado Pleads Guilty and New Tunes a road

The Gangster for life Mavado ..has pleaded guilty to the charge of using indecent language at the recent Sting stage show at Jamworld in Portmore St. Catherine.
The artiste would either pay a fine of JA$3000 (not per word) ..or serve time of up to 1 month..
He paid the fine....
It is reported that Vybz Kartel will answer to similar charges when he appear in court next week.

But while these guys are under police probe ... they have not been wasting any time in the studios ..already there have some new tunes running the place from both artist as well as the expected top chart buster for the 2009 Busy Signal..

check these out..

Mavado - Every Situation
Kartel - My Mama
Busy - Grades
Mavado - Again and Again
Busy - Nah Help Yuh
Mavado - High Yana
Kartel - Baby

In the second of our feature, in which we highlight how parents deal with sensitive and troubling issues, we related how a Portmore mother dealt with her teenage son, after seizing an assortment of vicious knives from him. She handed him a series of tongue lashing, seasoned with threats to box him down, but her mother, who had also taken knives from him, prayed for him and reprimanded the teen's mother about the type of words she told him, since grandma said, words are powerful. We asked readers how would they have dealt with this situation. Here is one response.

I told him ... 'Bite your tongue!'

I too am a single mother with a young adult son who I had to confiscate knives from.

I had to take away only two, but I did not argue with him. I sat him down and talked about it. He said he wanted to be able to protect himself because he was teased sometimes too. However, I explained to him that although we don't always know when people may want to harm us, we must be prepared to take responsibility for our actions.

I told him that if in protecting himself he was killed, I would lose and if he killed the person, I would still lose. I made him understand that when we have weapons, we are less likely to walk away from simple arguments.

I taught him to bite his tongue and walk away because although words can be hurtful, a stab, cut, chop, thump or a gunshot wound hurts even more and can be fatal. He still gets angry sometimes and I am still trying to make him understand to take it easy, but talking is key.