Mike Tyson touched down in Utah, but only to attend the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, which probably came as a big relief to those Mormon men, their multiple teen-aged wives and hella children.

Mike is a renaissance man?  Quit your bullsh*ttin.  More pics when you

WASHINGTON The length of a man's ring finger may predict his success as a financial trader. Researchers at the University of Cambridge in England report that men with longer ring fingers, compared to their index fingers, tended to be more successful in the frantic high-frequency trading in the London financial district.

Indeed, the impact of biology on success was about equal to years of experience at the job, the team led by physiologist John M. Coates reports in Monday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The same ring-to-index finger ratio has previously been associated with success in competitive sports such as soccer and basketball, the researchers noted.

The length ratio between those two fingers is determined during the development of the fetus and the relatively longer ring finger indicates greater exposure to the male hormone androgen, the researchers noted.

Previous studies have found that such exposure can lead to increased confidence, risk preferences, search persistence, heightened vigilance and quickened reaction times.

In a separate study last year, Coates and colleagues reported that the hormone that drives male aggression and sexual interest also seemed able to boost short term success at finance.

They studied male financial traders in London, taking saliva samples in the morning and evening. They found that those with higher levels of testosterone in the morning were more likely to make an unusually big profit that day. Testosterone, best known as the male sex hormone, affects aggression, confidence and risk-taking.

In the new study, the researchers measured the right hands of 44 male stock traders who were engaged in a type of trade that involved rapid decision-making and quick physical reactions.

Over 20 months those with longer ring fingers compared to their index fingers made 11 times more money than those with the shortest ring fingers. Over the same time the most experienced traders made about 9 times more than the least experienced ones.

Looking only at experienced traders, the long-ring-finger folks earned 5 times more than those with short ring fingers.

While the finger ratio, showing fetal exposure to male hormones, appears to signal likely success in high-actively trading that calls for risk-taking and quick reactions, it may not indicate people who would do well at other sorts of financial activities, the researchers said.

Some traders require additional skills on dealing with clients and sales workers.

And the advantage may even reverse for some, Coates team said, such as traders taking a more analytical and long-term approach to the markets.

One study, which looked at average finger ratios in university departments found that faculty from math, science and engineering exhibited longer index finger ratio, rather than ring finger, they noted.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090113/...nancial_finger
   

NASHVILLE, Tenn. An actor turns a dilapidated, inner-city mosque into a theater in just a few days. A 20-year-old buckles down on his studies at a historically black college after his mother dies of cancer. A community organizer decides his plan to create thousands of green jobs is too modest and enlarges it twenty-fold.

Barack Obama's election to the White House is the very realization of what so many black fathers have told their sons to aspire to for years, even if often it was just a confidence-booster, not meant to be taken literally. And long before he wrapped up the contest, his candidacy had driven these three black men and others to actions they say they might not have taken without his example.

Jeff Obafemi Carr, who had been a successful actor in New York, was debating whether to return there or stay in Nashville, where he wanted to turn a run-down mosque into Nashville's first black theater in a century. It was an ambitious and daunting idea considering that some in the neighborhood figured the building would wind up as a liquor store or a thrift shop.

Then the 41-year-old remembered a conversation he had with Obama during an Ohio campaign stop. The then-Democratic nominee encouraged him to keep working on his project.

"He told me that we're going to make a big change for the country with my help," Carr recalled.

When Carr returned from that event, he put his plan in motion. With the help of community volunteers, donated time from professional builders and materials from corporations, Carr set a date for construction and built the Amun Ra Theatre. Its first major performance will be next month with "Gem of the Ocean," by American playwright August Wilson.

Throughout the process, Carr said he and the workers repeated Obama's slogan: "Yes we can." Now the theater's Web site proclaims, "Yes, We Did!"

Justin Bowers, a junior at historically black Oakwood University in Huntsville, Ala., was thinking about dropping out after his mother died of cancer two years ago at age 48.

"It was a lot of stress," Bowers said. "I was struggling. It was really hard."

A friend pointed out Obama's perseverance after the president-elect lost his 53-year-old mother to cancer. Bowers said the story motivated him to stay in school and study harder to honor his mom.

"I know she would have wanted me to press on with my life regardless of what adversities might come," said Bowers, 20, who is majoring in accounting and marketing. "That's just how I was raised. And clearly, that's how Barack was raised."

Van Jones, 40, founded Green For All, a national program that seeks to create clean energy jobs. His Oakland, Calif.,-based program, which employs 25 people and has an operating budget of $4.5 million, was instrumental in passing a portion of a national energy bill, called the Green Jobs Act. It will use up to $125 million to train 30,000 people in jobs such as installing solar panels and retrofitting buildings to make them more environmentally friendly.

With Obama's election, Jones decided to shop a $33 billion proposal before Congress that would hire about 600,000 over the next two years for similar work.

"I wouldn't have believed in myself enough to come forward with an idea that bold," Jones said. "But now, you've got somebody who's up there, who's telling people, 'Let's be bold.'

"The ceiling has come off. We can dream of ... bringing new technologies and new jobs into communities that have been left behind. Yes we can."

Obama's historic run has provided ammunition for black fathers, too, who can point to it in motivating the next generation of black men. Will Rodgers, a communications manager at an electric company in Tampa, Fla., said he takes every opportunity to talk to his 12-year-old son about Obama and "how our nation has transformed."

"I want him to understand the gravity of what's happened," said Rodgers, who boasts of having been a conservative Republican who never voted for a Democrat for president until Obama.

"He can really be anything he wants to, even president of the United States." 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090113/...ol4DfD2s0NU E

OAKLAND, Calif. Protests over the fatal shooting of an unarmed man by a Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer turned violent Wednesday night with windows broken, fires set and train stations closed.

A few hundred protesters took the streets of downtown Oakland to condemn the shooting and call for criminal charges against 27-year-old officer Johannes Mehserle. Oakland police reported at least 14 arrests.

Mehserle resigned from the transit agency shortly before he was supposed to be interviewed by investigators Wednesday.

Mehserle is accused of shooting 22-year-old Oscar Grant of Hayward, who was lying face-down on the station platform when he was shot and killed early New Year's Day. Mehserle was one of several officers responding to reports about groups of men fighting on a train.

Protesters gathered in the afternoon at the Fruitvale BART station where the shooting occurred. It was peaceful at first but began to turn nasty after a splinter group left that site and marched downtown.

Protesters set fire to a trash container and tried to overturn a police car, smashing the front window. Police attempted to disperse the crowd and smaller groups of protesters marched to different areas.

Some protesters threw bottles, a window of a fast-food restaurant and other downtown stores were smashed, at least three cars were set on fire and many other automobiles were damaged. Police in riot gear threw tear gas to try to break up the demonstration.

"The crowd started to become more agitated, more hostile, started throwing stuff at the police," Oakland police spokesman Jeff Thomason said. "We gave a dispersal order four to five times over a 20-minute period, then we had our officers go in and start making arrests."

Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums went to the protest scene Wednesday night to urge for calm. He and several council members then led a group toward City Hall and further addressed them.

"Even with our anger and our pain, let's still address each other with a degree of civility and calmness and not make this tragedy an excuse to engage in violence," Dellums said. "I don't want anybody hurt, I don't want anybody killed."

Grant's family has filed a $25 million wrongful death claim against BART and want prosecutors to file criminal charges against Mehserle.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090108/...ation_shooting
   

CHICAGO (Reuters) Vicks VapoRub, a common cold remedy, can cause respiratory distress in children under 2 when inappropriately applied directly under the nose, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

They said using the Procter & Gamble Co product in this way can cause a young child's tiny airways to swell and fill with mucus, triggering severe breathing problems.

"The only problem we've seen is in a small child when it has been put under the nose," Dr. Bruce Rubin of Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina, said in a telephone interview.

Rubin said the ingredients in Vicks can be irritants, causing the body to produce more mucus to protect the airway. And since infants and young children have airways that are much narrower than those of an adult, any increase in mucus or swelling can narrow them severely.

"The company is really clear it should never go under the nose or in the nose for anybody and it shouldn't be used in children under 2," said Rubin, whose study appears in the journal Chest.

While the researchers only tested the Vicks product, Rubin said similar products, including generic versions, could cause the same negative effects in infants and toddlers.

Rubin and his colleagues began looking at use of the medication after treating an 18-month-old girl who developed respiratory distress after the salve was put under her nose.

They studied ferrets, which have an airway anatomy similar to humans. In the animals with a chest infection, the product increased mucus secretion and decreased the animal's ability to clear mucus.

"We were able to document changes that we think explain this," Rubin said.

David Bernens, a spokesman for P&G, said the finding came as a surprise. "Vicks VapoRub has been proven safe and effective through multiple clinical trials. It has been in the market for over 100 years," Bernens said, noting that the label says the product should not be used in children under age 2 without a doctor's advice, and not under the nose.

"We warn people not to do that," he said.

Since the initial episode, emergency doctors at the medical center have begun asking all parents of children in respiratory distress if they used the Vicks product in a similar way and they have seen two more cases, Rubin said.

"I recommend never putting Vicks in, or under, the nose of anybody -- adult or child," Rubin said in a statement, adding that he would never use it in a child under age 2.

Dr. James Mathers, president of the American College of Chest Physicians, said in a statement that parents should consult their doctor before giving any over-the-counter medication to infants and young children, particularly cough and cold medications, which can be harmful.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090113/...vicks_children

SHANGHAI, China A court in central China has sentenced a woman to death for hiring someone to strangle her 9-year-old son so she could have another child with her new husband without violating population laws, a court official and reports said Friday.

The case stems in part from Chinese policies _ in effect for more than three decades _ that limit most couples to only one child.

The Higher People's Court in Shaanxi province ordered the death penalty for former bank clerk Li Yingfang, overturning a lower court decision that might have allowed her a life sentence, said a court official.

Read more

 

A San Diego woman who is auctioning off her virginity said she has now received a bid of $3.7 million, according to a published report.

Natalie Dylan, a 22-year-old San Diego woman, said she got the idea for the auction after her sister was able to pay for her college education after prostituting herself for three weeks, according to the London Telegraph.


Dylan has a degree in women's studies. She told the paper she hopes to pay for an advanced degree in family and marriage therapy with the proceeds from the auction.

She told the Telegraph that she doesn't think she's the only one who will be benefit from the auction.

"I think me and the person I do it with will both profit greatly from the deal," Dylan told the paper.


http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/weird...s-Hit-37M.html

From Lloyd Browns myspace page:

It pains and distresses me to pass on the news that Lover's Rock Queen Jean Adebambo has died. It has been alleged that Jean had taken her own life.

I wish to pass on my condolences to her family and loved ones at this time. Jean had recently come out of retirement after 18 years to perform as a special guest as part of "The Kings and Queens of Lover's Rock Gala Award Show" which was held at London's Brixton Academy, September 6th 2008 spearheaded by LG Brown and Castro Brown, and was due to perform with Carroll Thompson, Sandra Cross, Mikey Spice, Sanchez and John Holt at Stratford Rex Valentine's weekend
Her anthem "Paradise" is always requested at every revival dance going and will be played for a long time to come.

a truly sad time for british reggae music
May your soul rest in eternal peace

The fella above, Jamarcus Usher, was killed trying to jack someone in Atlanta.  Victims arent putting up with being terrorized and are taking up arms:

A robbery suspect was shot and killed by his intended victim outside an East Atlanta Village bar late Wednesday, Atlanta police said Thursday.

Atlanta police identified the slain man as Jamarcus Usher, 29, of the Decatur area.

Police do not believe the shooting has any connection to the recent high-profile killing at a bar on Memorial Drive. The suspected robber carried a Colt .40-caliber handgun, while the gun that killed bar worker John Henderson was a 9mm, Atlanta police Detective Michael Willis said.

The killing Wednesday comes a week after Hendersons murder in another popular hangout about two miles away, Standard Food & Spirits, sparked an outpouring of community support and galvanized gra**roots efforts to improve public safety by some who say the city is becoming more dangerous.

SMH at the crimes above happening just a week apart from each other.  We gotta hash some sh*t out, yall.  We obviously have the killings out in Oakland and in New Orleans, which are a shame.  But Bossip folk, when our black males act like this so frequently, is it any wonder why people are so trigger happy when it comes to them?

File
A group of homeless people seem depressed as they sit on the sidewalk at East Parade in downtown, Kingston.

Avia Collinder, Sunday Gleaner Writer

WALTER MITCHELL, a 35-year-old unemployed gardener, says that all he needs to go back home are enough sheets of zinc and pieces of lumber to rebuild his house in Cross Roads, St Andrew, which was destroyed in a fire some years ago.

Mitchell is one of over 100 men and women who find solace at the Marie Atkins shelter in downtown Kingston, which is run by the Poor Relief Department.

The Poor Relief Department says, contrary to popular belief, at least a half of the hundreds who roam Kingston's streets in the day and sleep wherever they can in the nights, are mentally stable.

"Not all are mentally ill. Most are just unable to afford to pay rent. Others are drug addicts and deportees," one poor relief official discloses, adding that some beneficiaries are people affected by hurricanes - including Gilbert in 1988 - and have not been able to return to their homes.

Increasing crime rate

A good 50 per cent, however, are people in need of care for mental illness. The official notes: "There are also clients who have been to Bellevue and whose families do not want to take them back home. "The Marie Atkins night shelter sleeps approximately 110 person each night. These include many who used to sleep in the St William Grant Park last year and, because of increasing crime, have had to seek shelter elsewhere," says the poor relief official

"We place an extra 50 in the dining room on the office side. They sleep on extra mattresses which we provide," the official adds.

Hundreds more make their home throughout the Corporate Area, some of whom are picked up and taken to the drop-in centre at Bellevue where they are bathed and given a change of clothing.

Downtown, users of the shelter are given one meal each morning and they also get lunch when the Poor Relief centre receives donations from Food For the Poor. Then, most get an evening meal from the Salvation Army, which serves the indigent on Peters Lane in Kingston.

John Williamson, executive director of the William Chamberlain Centre, run by the Salvation Army in Kingston, tells The Sunday Gleaner, "We are providing roughly 500 meals a day downtown, including lunch and an evening meal as well, when more come.

"We serve approximately 200 for lunch and 300 in the evening. These are a c****ination of the homeless and some who have no income. There is a mix of all ages, but 70 per cent are older Jamaicans."

No low-income homes

Sixty-one-year-old Joseph Wright, who was unable to find a home after leaving prison, is grateful for the evening meal on Peters Lane. He relates, "From I come down here (Hanover Street) I just stuck. From my mother die, everything with my relatives breakdown."

At the Poor Relief centre, rehabilitation efforts include sending them back home or getting them employed. However, employment for the indigent, who are often low skilled, is very difficult to obtain.

Wright who works as a watchman, tells The Sunday Gleaner, "I could get a place to rent, but I am not living in certain areas. I don't want to be extorted," noting that although he had been attacked by gangs five times in downtown Kingston, living in the inner city would be much worse.

According to the poor relief officer, there are no low-income homes for persons in the lower socioeconomic grouping. "We have watchmen and days workers who cannot afford rent in Kingston. They do not want to go back to the country. They say there is no employment there."

The officer discloses that some shelter residents are enrolled in the Programme for Advancement through Health and Education, which provides them with $1,300 once every two months, but she says beneficiaries are encouraged to be independent.

Acquiring skills

Williamson says the charitable organisation wants to help people acquire skills that enable them to get jobs. "Soon, we hope to give some who come for meals training in computer skills, résumé development and basic literacy. We are also hoping to establish some business to employ some of them as well," says Williamson. "The solution to any economy is to get people to work."

"I wish there was a way out," states 43-year-old Carl McEon, who has been living in the Salvation Army shelter since 2005. Deported from Ohio, in the United States, where he lived since age six, he says he wants to complete studies in chemical engineering which he had started. He survives by "hustling here and there", but says he craves permanent employment. "I would give anything to be self-sufficient," says McEon.

ONDON A lawyer for Amy Winehouse's jailed husband says his client will be seeking a divorce on the grounds of the soul diva's alleged infidelity.

Attorney Henri Brandman said Monday that he had been instructed by Blake Fielder-Civil "to commence divorce proceedings on the grounds of Amy's adultery."

Winehouse and Fielder-Civil married in Miami in May 2007, but he was arrested six months later over an assault. In July he was sentenced to 27 months in jail for beating up a bar manager and then offering him a bribe to keep quiet about it.

Fielder-Civil was released into a drug rehab center in November but sent back to prison weeks later for breaching his bail conditions.

Winehouse shot to stardom with the multi-Grammy-winning album "Back to Black" in 2006 and has a fortune estimated by the Sunday Times at 10 million pounds ($15 million). But her music has been overshadowed by reports of drug use, run-ins with the law and her tempestuous marriage.

During concert appearances last year, Winehouse often exhorted fans to call for the release of "my Blake." But she has been linked by tabloid newspapers to other men and recently has been photographed on holiday in the Caribbean with an alleged new beau, Josh Bowman.

Winehouse's spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090113/...in_winehouse_4

Los Angeles (E! Online) Fantasia Barrino can still believe in the power of her attorneys.

Turns out the American Idol winner and Broadway star will not be losing one of her North Carolina homes, thanks to an eleventh-hour deal hammered out between her camp and the lending company that advanced Barrino some cash to pay taxes in 2006.

The details of the arrangement were not disclosed.

The $1.1 million home in the Charlotte area had been scheduled to hit the auction block Monday, to be sold by the Mecklenburg County Sherrif's Office in order to compensate Broward Energy Partners for the $68,000 loan.

Barrino cut a check for $10,000 at one point, but Broward sued for the rest in January 2008 after no further payments were received.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/eonline/2009...n_top_eo/78551

NEW YORK Jennifer Hudson will make her first public appearance since the killings of her mother, brother and nephew during sports' grandest event the Super Bowl.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy confirmed Wednesday that Hudson will sing the national anthem at the Super Bowl in Tampa, Fla., on Feb. 1. E! News first reported Tuesday that Hudson would perform.

Hudson hasn't made a public appearance since her 57-year-old mother, Darnell Hudson Donerson; 29-year-old brother Jason Hudson; and 7-year-old nephew Julian King were slain in Chicago in October. Her estranged brother-in-law has been charged in the killings.

Hudson, who had released her self-titled debut album shortly before the killings, is also scheduled to sing at the Grammys' MusiCares event in Los Angeles a few days later. She is nominated for four awards at the Feb. 8 Grammy Awards.

The 27-year-old Hudson already has an Oscar to her credit, a best supporting actress win for her role in "Dreamgirls." The former "American Idol" contestant's career was continuing its skyrocketing rise, with featured roles in movies like "Sex and the City" and "The Secret Life of Bees," as well as her album release, when the slayings occurred.

The Super Bowl is one of the most viewed spectacles on television. Bruce Springsteen is scheduled to sing during halftime of the pro football championship game.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090114/...ennifer_hudson

According to the NY Post:

HARARE, Zimbabwe - A 2-year-old boy has been released from jail after being held for weeks with his parents in what the Zimbabwean opposition calls a crackdown on dissent.

Nigel Mutemagau was released to other relatives Tuesday after the judge said there was no reason to hold him, defense lawyer Charles Kwaramba said.

The boy's parents, oppositionparty members Collen Mutemagau and Violet Mupfuranhehwe, are accused of plotting to overthrow

President Robert Mugabe. At a court hearing Wednesday, at which Mutemagau and Mupfuranhehwe appeared without Nigel in their arms for the first time since they were detained, Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausika ordered that all the defendants be taken to a hospital to investigate charges they were tortured.

Similar orders have been ignored.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change said Wednesday the charges against the boy's parents and six other defendants are "trumped up." The party said those detained - even Nigel - were abused by security agents.

Kwaramba said Nigel was hit as he and his parents were taken from their home, and that fact would be included in a dossier of evidence showing that detainees were beaten and tortured.

Police and prosecutors have denied such mistreatment.

Nigel and his parents were among a detained group that included prominent peace activist Jestina Mukoko, whose whereabouts had been unknown for weeks. Police denied they were being held.

The activists were finally brought to court Dec. 24, the same day state media reported they were accused in a plot widely dismissed as a fabrication. They have yet to be formally charged.

The defendants are accused of attempting to recruit anti-government fighters to train in neighboring Botswana.

Zimbabwean officials have repeatedly made such accusations, which Botswana and the opposition party have denied. South African President Kgalema Motlanthe dismissed the Zimbabwean allegations, saying the Southern African Development Community, the main regional bloc, opened an investigation when Mugabe's government first raised them, but "we never believed" them.

Activists fear the Mugabe government could use the charges as an excuse to declare a state of emergency and withdraw from powersharing talks.

A power-sharing deal signed in September calls for Mugabe to remain president and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to take the new post of prime minister. The agreement has stalled over a dispute about who would control key Cabinet posts - and over charges Mugabe has stepped up hara**ment of dissidents.

Cholera, meanwhile, continued to spread because of Zimbabwe's crumbling health-care system and water supply infrastructure. The death toll from cholera in Zimbabwe has risen to 2,106, with more than 40,448 people infected since the outbreak began in August.

The United Nations and others caution the official figures may be far lower than actual cases because many Zimbabweans are dying before they can reach medical help.

i said monster hemp hire

(CNN) -- Two photographs of Madonna set to appear in a Christie's auction next month will probably sell for at least $10,000 each, according to estimates posted on the company's Web site.

One, a full-frontal nude black-and-white photograph of the singer, was taken in 1979 by celebrated American photographer Lee Friedlander for a series of nudes he was working on, said Milena Sales, a spokeswoman for the auction house.

Madonna was about 20 when the photograph, one of several, was taken.

A handful from the shoot appeared in Playboy magazine in 1985, Sales said. Christie's put price estimates for the photograph at $10,000 to $15,000.

The second photograph of Madonna was taken in the 1980s by Helmut Newton.

In the Newton photograph, which is in color, Madonna is wearing a short dress and black stockings with garters. The circumstances behind the photo shoot were not immediately clear.

The auction will take place in New York on February 12.

One man was shot and killed and two others injured in a shooting incident on the infamous Black Roses corner this morning.

The dead man, who is known as Rottweiler, is the third member of the Black Roses crew to have been killed in the last 12 months. Clifton 'Chocoto' Reid was killed during the shooting at the La Roose in March last year while Gully Creeper creator, dancer Ice, whose real name was David Alexander Smith, was shot and killed on Boxing Day.

Wednesday, 14 January 2009 11:40

Jailed rapper DMX recently revealed that he will finally be taking on preaching and also vowed to never return to Arizona where he currently faces more jail time for various crimes. As reported earlier, DMX is currently in an Arizona jail awaiting sentencing on charges of animal cruelty, identity theft and drug possession.  The rapper plead guilty to the charges earlier this month and is expected to serve at least 90 days behind bars. DMX, who hails from New York, has lived in Arizona for the past few years  but a chunk of his time in the state has been dogged with numerous run-ins with the law. In an interview with My FOX Phoenix yesterday (January 13), the rapper described what drew him to state before his troubles began. "When I first came to Arizona, I remember one day coming from the studio at six in the morning and pulled over on the highway just to watch the sunrise. It was at that point I fell in love with Arizona, DMX explained I said 'You know what, this has to be God's country'. I had never seen anything beautiful as that sunrise. I loved the scenery and the freedom it initially gave a person. We had four wheelers, we rolled the trails...then I met the devil in God's country." DMX then vowed he would not be returning to Arizona after he is released from jail. The house that the rapper bought in the state in 2003 was foreclosed and put up for the sale earlier this month. "I'm not looking back. I'm not coming back for a show, I'm not coming back for a visit, I'm not even driving through the states. If Im in a plane and they have to fly over, I'm gonna go around it," the rapper said with laugh. When asked if there were certain things in Arizona that drove him to trouble, DMX implied that the state's law enforcements have had it in for him. "I was never arrested at the scene of any crime, they always came and arrested me for something. It was always 'lets get an arrest warrant for this guy". DMX, who has repeatedly shown his spiritual side on his albums, revealed that his time in jail has drawn him closer to his calling of being a pastor and he will be releasing a gospel album and a TV show focusing on him reaching out to people. "I'm gonna start a TV show while Im in here [titled]  Pain and Perseverance," explained DMX. "It's about how I can reach people that the average person can't reach  because Im grounded. I'm gonna give my first sermon in church. It's gonna be incredible for me and I hope its gonna be incredible for the congregation of that church . I hope I'm able to reach somebody or touch somebody and bring them closer to the Lord." When asked whether he will be turning  his back on his earlier material and keeping it away from his children due to his new take on life, DMX responded: "No I [wont].  I encourage [my kids] to listen but they know what not to say. You cant hide something from a child because that only gets them more curious about it. What you do is say 'this is what is and this aint for you'. You can't hide things because when they find out they say 'It must be good because my father hid it from me all this time, he must wanted it for himself'. I tell them what it is, he added.  "I tell them, 'You touch it Ill break your arm'. If you get curious come talk to me about it because I've already been through it."

Rapper Young Berg is becoming a joke in the industry

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - A prominent fashion designer has sparked outrage in Chile by dressing up models like the Virgin Mary -- in some cases with ample, near-naked breasts.

The Roman Catholic Church condemned Ricardo Oyarzun's plans for a show featuring the models, and a conservative group tried unsuccessfully to block it in court.

Oyarzun said he had received telephone threats and had excrement smeared on his doorstep.

"There is no pornography here, there's no sex, there are no virgins menstruating or feeling each other up," Oyarzun said ahead of the catwalk show set to be held at a Santiago nightclub later on Thursday. "This is artistic expression."

He said his designs -- which include halos, look as though they come from a nativity scene and include religious icons -- were inspired by the Virgin Mary but not intended to represent her.

"We look on with special pain and deplore those acts which seek to tarnish manifestations of sincere love toward the Virgin Mary, which end up striking at the dignity of womankind by presenting her as an object of consumption," Chile's Episcopal Conference, which includes Catholic bishops, said in a statement.

The show is more evidence that Chile, heavily influenced by the church for decades, is shaking off its reputation as one of the most socially conservative countries in Latin America.

(Reporting by Monica Vargas; Writing by Simon Gardner; Editing by Xavier Briand)

(CNN) -- The debate over the practice of men marrying children in Saudi Arabia was back in the spotlight this week, with the kingdom's top cleric refusing to annul the marriage of an 8-year-old girl to a 47-year-old man.

"It is incorrect to say that it's not permitted to marry off girls who are 15 and younger," Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh, the kingdom's grand mufti, said in remarks quoted Wednesday in the regional Al-Hayat newspaper. "A girl aged 10 or 12 can be married. Those who think she's too young are wrong and they are being unfair to her."

The issue of child marriage has been a hot-button topic in the deeply conservative kingdom in recent weeks.

In December, Saudi judge Sheikh Habib Abdallah al-Habib refused to annul the marriage of an 8-year-old girl to a 47-year-old man.

The judge rejected a petition from the girl's mother, whose lawyer said the marriage was arranged by her father to settle a debt with "a close friend." The judge required the girl's husband to sign a pledge that he would not have sex with her until she reaches puberty.

Al-Sheikh was asked during a lecture Monday about parents forcing their underage daughters to marry.

"We hear a lot in the media about the marriage of underage girls," he said, according to the newspaper. "We should know that Shariah law has not brought injustice to women."

Christoph Wilcke, a Saudi Arabia researcher for Human Rights Watch, recently told CNN that his organization has heard many other cases of child marriages.

"We've been hearing about these types of cases once every four or five months because the Saudi public is now able to express this kind of anger, especially so when girls are traded off to older men," Wilcke said.

Wilcke explained that while Saudi ministries may make decisions designed to protect children, "It is still the religious establishment that holds sway in the courts, and in many realms beyond the court."

Last month, Zuhair al-Harithi, a spokesman for the Saudi government-run Human Rights Commission, said his organization is fighting against child marriages.

"The Human Rights Commission opposes child marriages in Saudi Arabia," al-Harithi said. "Child marriages violate international agreements that have been signed by Saudi Arabia and should not be allowed." He added that his organization has been able to intervene and stop at least one child marriage from taking place.

Wajeha al-Huwaider, co-founder of the Society of Defending Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia, told CNN in December that achieving human rights in the kingdom means standing against those who want to "keep us backward and in the Dark Ages."

She said the marriages cause girls to "lose their sense of security and safety. Also, it destroys their feeling of being loved and nurtured. It causes them a lifetime of psychological problems and severe depression."

The Saudi Ministry of Justice has not made any public comment on the issue.

LEWISTON, Maine Somebody probably got cold feet at this wedding, but the ceremony went on as planned. Stacy Ramsey and Matt McCorkle kept their vow to be married on the second anniversary of when they got together, and were married Thursday night in Lewiston.

It turned out to be the coldest night of the winter so far, with temperatures just a few degrees above zero and headed down.

The bride and groom both wore fur-lined hats and a couple of bonfires blazed as they exchanged vows in a backyard. Jets of frost steamed from their mouths as the couple said "I do."

McCorkle, who's spent most of his 19 years in Florida, says he was the one who came up with the idea. A dozen people witnessed the icy nuptials.

BBC News in Perugia

Amanda Knox was voted a personality of the year in Italy

As the Meredith Kercher murder trial starts, much of the attention will be on just one of those accused of her death - her friend Amanda Knox.

 

Perugia is set to become gridlocked with television satellite trucks.

Around 150 journalists are expected to descend on the central Italian town to cover the murder trial of 21-year-old British student Meredith Kercher.

And they are prepared for the long haul. The trial could last until July.

The prosecution alone has filed a list of 90 witnesses and the court will sit only two or three times a week.

The raw facts surrounding the death of Meredith Kercher - she died on 1 November 2007 between 2030 and 2300 in Perugia - are not in dispute.

Pretty much everything else is.

Which is how we've arrived at this point of two people on trial for killing her.

Throat cut

Meredith Susanna Cara Kercher was from Coulsdon, South London, and was a student at Leeds University.

She was part of the Erasmus student exchange programme and it took her to Perugia.

She became a friend of, and shared a house with, Amanda Knox, an American student from Seattle in Washington State.

Amanda Knox had a boyfriend called Raffaele Sollecito, another student at the University of Perugia.

Police say Meredith's body was found under a *lo**-soaked duvet in an upstairs bedroom of the house she lived in with Amanda Knox. Her throat had been cut.

Initially, detectives believed she may have been attacked by a burglar, as the door to her room was locked and one of her windows broken.

Meredith Kercher was a British student in Italy

But they now suspect the break-in was staged.

They believe that Miss Knox stabbed Miss Kercher while Mr Sollecito held her down and a third man tried to rape her during a sex game that went badly wrong.

That third man is Rudy Guede, who has already been convicted of killing Meredith after a separate trial last year. He was given a 30-year life sentence.

Miss Knox and Mr Sollecito claim to have been together at Mr Sollecito's apartment at the time of the murder and therefore could not have done it.

That apparently contradicts earlier statements to the police in which Miss Knox stated she had heard Meredith's screams and that she had put her fingers in her ears as she was so frightened.

Her defence team say that her memory was clouded because she had been smoking hashish that evening.

But police say they have more evidence.

They say they found Miss Knox's DNA and Meredith's DNA on a knife in Mr Sollecito's kitchen which investigators believe is the murder weapon.

They also claim there were traces of Miss Knox's *lo** mixed with Meredith Kercher's in their bathroom.

And they say there were traces of Mr Sollecito's DNA on a clasp from Miss Kercher's bra.

Shoplifter Who Lifted Designer Purses From Fla. Store Gets Run Over Twice By Her Getaway Car(AP) Authorities are looking for a shoplifter who was run over twice by her getaway car after stealing $1,200 worth of designer purses from a Cape Coral store. A T.J. Maxx security guard told police she saw a woman stuff six designer Dooney & Bourke purses into her pants Tuesday morning and walk out of the store. The guard said she was confronting the woman when a car pulled up.

A report said the shoplifter tried to get into the vehicle but fell out and was run over by the car. She then got up and jumped onto the hood of the car. As the car was driving away, the report said the woman fell off and was run over again. On her third attempt, she finally made it into the vehicle.

Police are using the car's license plate and a check the woman dropped to track her down.
___

Information from: The News-Press, http://www.news-press.com

LONDON, England (CNN) -- A new sleeper virus that could allow hackers to steal financial and personal information has now spread to more than eight million computers in what industry analysts say is one of the most serious infections they have ever seen.

The Downadup or Conficker worm exploits a bug in Microsoft Windows to infect mainly corporate networks, where -- although it has yet to cause any harm -- it potentially exposes infected PCs to hijack.

Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at anti-virus firm F-Secure, says while the purpose of the worm is unclear, its unique "phone home" design, linking back to its point of origin, means it can receive further orders to wreak havoc.

He said his company had reverse-engineered its program, which they suspected of originating in Ukraine, and is using the call-back mechanism to monitor an exponential infection rate, despite Microsoft's issuing of a patch to fix the bug.

"On Tuesday there were 2.5 million, on Wednesday 3.5 million and today [Friday], eight million," he told CNN. "It's getting worse, not better."

Hypponen explained to CNN the dangers that Downadup poses, who is most at risk and what can be done to stop its spread.

How serious is it?

It is the most serious large scale worm outbreak we have seen in recent years because of how widespread it is, but it is not very serious in terms of what it does. So far it doesn't try to steal personal information or credit card details.

Who is affected?

We have large infections in Europe, the United States and in Asia. It is a Windows worm and almost all the cases are corporate networks. There are very few reports of independent home computers affected.

What does it do?

It is a complicated worm most likely engineered by a group of people who have spent time making it very complicated to analyze and remove. The real reason why they have created it is hard to say right now, but we do know how it replicates.

How does it spread?

The worm does not spread over email or the Web. However if an infected laptop is connected to your corporate network, it will immediately scan the network looking for machines to infect. These will be machines that have not installed a patch from Microsoft known as MS08-067. The worm will also scan company networks trying to guess your password, trying hundreds and hundreds of common words. If it gets in, even if you are not at your machine, it will infect and begin spreading to other servers. A third method of spreading is via USB data sticks.

How can I prevent it infecting my machine?

The best way is to get the patch and install it company-wide. The second way is password security. Use long, difficult passwords -- particularly for administrators who cannot afford to be locked out of the machines they will have to fix.

What can I do if it has already infected?

Machines can be disinfected. The problem is for companies with thousands of infected machines, which can become re-infected from just one computer even as they are being cleared.

old skool dancehall fans weh unnu seh?

-- Edited by the doc at 22:44, 2008-04-11

Good morning my famous celebrity peeps, this is your girl Abena coming to you wid news on the artiste dem life on the QT and definitely hush hush. Mi feel like miself again, mi boss gone off pon a business trip so mi have until Monday before she come back inna the place. Yesterday, mi girlfriend call me and tell me say her man ah give her crazy woman problem and all these things. Dem used to live together but she kick him out but it work out inna fi him favour 'cause now him can drop by anytime him feel like and still have him other ends dem weh him sleep. Mi tell her straight up say she ah move like a gugu bat, if it were me, him get move up long time, after all, nuh cactus nah grow inna mi face, and my vajayjay nuh handicapped! After all, it nuh cut cross way or one jaw nuh longer than the other, so mi muss can find somebody fi myself, too much AIDS out de, mi nah share nothing, especially wid dem pap-down-crawny-batter-ears-eat-fry-chicken-back-pon-a-Sunday gal out de. Mi no de pon dat! Enough about me, time to get back to the artiste dem now.   

RODNIESHA TO THE WORLD!
One876 understands that the name of the latest addition to the Warlord brood is four month old Rodniesha Pryce, the daughter of Bounty Killer himself. Bounty's babymom lives at a well known apartment complex in town, one of Bounty's many properties. The mother is reportedly a former Rising Star competitor who put her career on hold to bring the Warlord's child into the world. We try to respect the artiste's privacy as much as possible so we won't divulge any more details other than to say, congratulations, Rodney. Ah Rodniesha to the world we say!!!

BENZLY HYPE AND INNOCENT SITCOM SHOOTING GOING WELL
The sitcom ah shoot inna Rose Town and mi hear say it ah go well. Rik 'The Rikster' Elgood ah direct it, and the whole ah the Innocent Kru except the recently deceased Clumzy inna it.Deva Brat also landed a role in the sitcom and several other entertainers have been playing cameos alongside bigwigs such as Audrey Reid. 

PEOPLE WAAN FI KNOW...
If a really Jokify Thursdays Buck a try bring back?

Where was Michiboo all this time?

Who is Barbee Three Star babyfather?

Who ah the best new producer inna the game today? Russian, Jordan or Notnice.

I SAY TARRUS RILEY

-- Edited by BRAINSBOX at 16:39, 2009-01-17

i think they both cheat equally wha yall tink

-- Edited by Dj Ink at 12:41, 2009-01-17

-- Edited by Dj Ink at 12:43, 2009-01-17

-- Edited by Dj Ink at 12:44, 2009-01-17

St Ann Bauxite Limited (SABL) announced yesterday that approximately 150 positions, or about 20 per cent of its workforce, would be made redundant during the first quarter of 2009.

In a release from its Discovery Bay plant, SABL said the reduction would affect employees, contractors and temporary workers at all levels and would involve workers at the company's facilities in Discovery Bay, Brown's Town and Water Valley - all in St Ann.

The company said the staff cuts represented part of an ongoing cost-reduction programme that has become necessary because of the global financial crisis and "the unprecedented decline" in the demand and price of bauxite and alumina.

But in a quick response, the University and Allied Workers' Union (UAWU), which represents production workers, accused SABL of breaching the Labour Relations Code and said it would write to the company to protest this.

Prudently manage costs

Larry Holley, president of St Ann Bauxite, said: "While we continue to believe that the long-term fundamentals for bauxite and alumina are quite positive, we must prudently manage costs in the current environment.

"We regret the impact that this will have on the affected employees, their families and the local communities. Functional consolidations, which affect valued employees, are always very difficult, but are required at this time in support of the long-term sustainability of SABL," Holley said.

Lambert Brown, UAWU president, told The Gleaner yesterday that the company met with unions representing workers on the day the release was issued, but said the announcement was not consistent with laws relating to labour relations.

"The law says we should have proper consultations and this was not done. I will be writing to the company to insist on this, as they need to be consistent with the Labour Relations Code. We need to work out issues relevant to any redundancy that may take place," Brown said.

It is the second time this week that a bauxite company announced it would be cutting staff.

On Wednesday, Aluminium Partners of Jamaica announced that 250 non-permanent and unskilled workers were to lose their jobs.

That latest reduction brought to 400 the total number of persons the company would have sent home.

This latest news also follows that of another bauxite company, Windalco, which sent home 150 non-permanent workers in December.

The job cuts in Jamaica's bauxite sector come as demand for alumina falls, triggering a decline in aluminium production.

This is as a direct result of the economic crisis now affecting North America, Europe and China, which has seen a slowdown in the construction, transportation and packaging sectors, areas largely responsible for alumina consumption.

almost got stuck under a bed.....i dont rememer how i got under there either  ..

UPDATE: We've learned the "grenade" found in Knoxville's bag was the real deal -- but had no explosives. In other words, it was not a toy.

Only a jackass brings a grenade to an airport -- and cops say that's exactly what Johnny Knoxville did today.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Knoxville was detained this morning at LAX after security found a fake grenade in his carry-on bag. He was in terminal 4 (American Airlines) when a screener saw something suspicious.

Knoxville was detained, cited and released. We're told the citation was for carrying a "prohibited item" into an airport.

But check this -- Knoxville made his flight.

Eleven persons are now homeless and seeking help as fire, believed to have been caused by an electrical short circuit, destroyed three houses in Grange Hill, Westmoreland on Thursday.

No one was at home when the fire started in one of the houses and despite desperate attempts by community members, the inferno got out of control and spread to two adjoining houses consuming the structures and their contents.

Patricia Forbes, owner of the third house to be affected, said she managed to save most of her furniture and appliances, thanks to the community but her family in the other houses lost everything.

The total damage to the three houses is estimated at just over $5 million, there was no insurance coverage.

The families are asking for assistance. The numbers to call are 879-9675; 485-9255; 846-9070 and 918-6048.

LOS ANGELES Patrick Swayze has been released from the hospital one week after checking himself in with pneumonia, his publicist said Friday.

Annett Wolf said in a statement that the actor was at home resting. The news was first reported in a statement Wolf released to People magazine. An assistant publicist would not comment on Swayze's condition, and a message left with Wolf was not immediately returned.

Swayze, who has battled pancreatic cancer for the last year, checked himself into a hospital Jan. 9 for observation after contracting pneumonia.

Swayze, 56, announced last March he was suffering from a particularly deadly form of cancer. Some reports gave him only weeks to live, but his doctor said his situation was more optimistic.

Swayze told ABC's Barbara Walters last week that his battle with cancer put him "through hell" while he pushed ahead on a new TV series.

Swayze had been working on a drama series "The Beast," which premiered this week on the A&E network. Producers have said they found out Swayze had cancer four hours after learning A&E had picked up the series.

They also said filming was completed on all episodes of the first season and hoped Swayze could continue in the role for a second season.

olice were left baffled after a resident magistrate put off a case even after the accused pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of counterfeit notes.

The case was put off until Thursday.

Thirty-four-year-old Roger Hendricks of Spring Mount, St James pleaded guilty to having 30 one thousand dollar counterfeit notes in his possession when he appeared in the Santa Cruz Resident Magistrate's Court.

Following an explanation by the accused of how he came in possession of the notes, presiding Resident Magistrate, Stanley Clarke, remanded the accused.

Rochelle Farquharson, a 20-year-old higgler who was taken into custody after she was found in possession of a one thousand dollar counterfeit note, was freed after Hendricks told the court he had passed it on to her without her knowledge.

In the meantime the Lacovia Police are warning of a possible counterfeit ring operating in the area.

The police say people need to check all notes received and in their possession for serial numbers beginning with KU75, KU15, FL88, FK24, FB90, FU90, FX90 AND EZ28.

The policeman, who is accused of carnal abuse involving a 14-year-old girl who went missing a few weeks after she made the report to the police, has been denied bail.

Police Constable Rushan Hamilton, 22, has been remanded to return to the Home Circuit Court on February 27. A trial date has been set for March 16.

The Crown is alleging that the girl was sexually molested on October 4 last year at the barracks at the Elleston Road Police Station in Kingston.

A report was made to the police on October 10 and Hamilton was subsequently arrested and charged with carnal abuse and indecent assault.

Defence lawyer Peter Champagnie, in making the bail application yesterday, argued that statements he had received pointed to another policeman being the offender and Hamilton had had nothing to do with the incident.

Crown Counsel Sasha Smith opposed bail on the grounds that after the report was made to the police, attempts were allegedly made to get the complainant to drop the case.

The Crown will be applying under the Evidence Amendment Act to have the girl's statement admitted in evidence when the trial begins.

Justice Carol Beswick, in denying Hamilton bail, told him that his lawyer could renew the application when he returned to court.

The girl went missing from her gate at Harbour View, St Andrew, in late October last year and has not been seen since.

President-elect Barack Obama finishes speaking about the economy, on Thursday, January 8, at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. When George Bush lifts off in his helicopter on Inauguration Day, leaving Washington to make way for Barack Obama, he may not be the only thing disappearing into the horizon. To a number of social analysts, historians, bloggers and ordinary Americans, January 20 will symbolise the passing of an entire generation: the baby boomer years. - AP

NEW YORK (AP):

Barack Obama enters the White House with public expectations of his success far higher than for any president in a generation, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll.

On the eve of his Jan. 20 inauguration, the poll found that 65 per cent of those surveyed believe Obama will be an "above average" president or better, including 28 per cent who think he will be "outstanding."

According to previous pre-inauguration polls, just 47 per cent believed George W. Bush would be an "above average" or "out-standing" president when he entered his first term, 56 per cent thought Bill Clinton would be "above average" or better and 38 per cent thought George H.W. Bush would be. The earlier pre-inaugural numbers all came from the Gallup Poll, except for Clinton's, which came from the ABC News/Washington Post poll.

Economic crisis

With the United States facing the gravest economic crisis since the Great Depression, the poll found broad optimism that Obama could help turn things around. Seventy-one per cent of those polled said the economy will likely improve during the first year of his presidency; 65 per cent said unemployment will go down; 72 per cent said the stock market would be on the rise; and 63 per cent said their personal economic situation would improve.

"He cannot not succeed. He has to succeed because the world really depends on him right now," said Richard Kern, 51, who works in a home remodeling business in Bernalillo, N.M. "We're all hanging in by the threads of our shoes, waiting for the economy to break. We need good news."

Leadership skills

Respondents also gave the president-elect high marks for his leadership skills and empathy, particularly for the concerns of the middle class.

Even Ronald Reagan, who won a landslide victory over President Jimmy Carter in 1980 during another period of economic uncertainty, was viewed more skeptically than Obama before his inauguration. At the time, 51 per cent said Reagan would be a good or great president, according to the Gallup Poll.

The AP-GfK poll was conducted Jan. 9-14 and involved landline and cellphone interviews with 1,001 randomly chosen adults. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

Associated Press polling director Trevor Tompson and AP writer Christine Simmons in Washington contributed to this report.

Charli Baltimore is speaking out about Lil Kim, claiming that she is delusional:

Charli totally opens up and gave Yo! Raps some very valuable information we are sure most rap fans didnt know.

Me and Faith had words and we definitely had our little moments but we never had any physical altercations. It wasnt anything totally disrespectful. When B.I.G. passed, I called Faith and gave my condolences to her children because I thought that was the right thing to do. She knew about me and I knew that B.I.G. still had feelings for her. They were going through a separation, a divorce. The problem that comes is that Lil Kim made it seem like she had a relationship with B.I.G. that they really didnt have, Baltimore said about her relationship with Biggies wife Faith Evans. Charli went on to talk about Biggies wannabe girlfriend Lil Kim.

Kim goes out of her [Faith Evans] way to say she was B.I.G.s girl. No, Kim wasnt his girl! Straight up! She wasnt! She benefited from the situation because she became Lil Kim. She has a career and shes grateful to a n*gga for helping her in that aspect, but she was never his girl!

Kim I dont know what the hell she thought or maybe shes delusional as to what B.I.G. and her had going on. I dont know, Baltimore added.

Charli remembered a crazy situation that happened at B.I.G.sfuneral. I remember being at the funeral and Lil Kim fell out on the floor and I was just like Yo! What the f**k! Like, Faith was up there singing and she was very composed and very respectful. And here goes Lil Kim on the floor and she starts rolling around on the floor! I was like What the f**k is going on?

Furthermore Baltimore cleared up rumors of her having a romantic relationship with Jay-Z.

There should never be a point where one person is putting in 60% and the other person is putting in 150%. That goes with any kind of relationship. I dont know how Jay is now, but back then, I felt as though Jay was all about Jay.

Saying that Kim was just a jump off is what Faith and Ms. Wallace did not want to say. We guess she had it coming since she got out of pocket first. Like a gangbang, its flying at Lil Kim from all angles now. We cant wait to hear the rebuttal.

The man convicted of the brutal murder of three children at Kilancholly, St Mary, in January 2005, became the first person to be sentenced to hang since both Houses of Parliament voted late last year to retain the death penalty.

Jeffrey Perry, 34, security guard, of Kilancholly, was sentenced to hang on all three counts of murder. The children murdered were Dwane Davidson, 15; Sue Ann Gordon 13, and Shadice Williams, four.

The bodies of the three children were found by their mother, Sonia Williams, when she returned from church on the night of January 28, 2005.

A few days later, Perry was taken into police custody after he confessed to the crime and led homicide investigators to the murder weapon.

Perry reportedly told the police that he had been driven by external forces to commit the hideous crimes.

Perry, also called 'Greg', was charged with murder several years ago, but he was freed because of insufficient evidence to link him to the crime.

Senior Puisne Judge Marva McIntosh, in passing sentence yesterday in the Home Circuit, told Perry that he had shown no sign of remorse for what he had done.

A voice

Perry admitted to the police that he had stabbed the children, who were his cousins, several times and slashed their throats. But he said it was a voice that told him to kill.

During the sentencing yesterday, Perry, who is short in stature and clean shaven, showed no sign of emotion. He bowed his head while the submissions were being made.

The Crown, represented by Lisa Palmer Hamilton, senior deputy director of public prosecutions, and Melissa Simms, Crown counsel, led evidence that the offences were committed between January 27 and 28, 2005, at the children's home. A 12-member jury convicted Perry on December 5 last year.

"The manner of execution of the murders was callous, cruel and cold," McIintosh told Perry. The judge said Perry's case was one which was appropriate for the death penalty to be imposed. "Perry, your sentence on each count is that you suffer death in the manner authorised by law," the judge stated.

"I feel justified with the sentence," Michael Williams, father of one of the children and stepfather of the others, told The Gleaner. He said a man like Perry should not go back into society. He disclosed how traumatic and stressful the incident had been for him and also for his wife Sonia Bailey Williams.

Perry's mother, Juliet McEachron, described Perry as her best son. She broke down in tears as she told The Gleaner yesterday how Perry, the eldest of her three sons, took care of her and was very considerate towards her. She said she was very sorry for what had happened to the children.

The social enquiry report, which was read in court, disclosed that members of the community did not want Perry to return. They described him as a threat to society. Some of the residents said if Perry returned, they would take the law into their own hands. His mother said Perry told her that he had sexual desires for the 13-year-old girl and he did not hate the children.

Defence lawyer Linton Walters pleaded with the judge not to impose the death penalty and described Perry as a bright young man. He pointed out that the judges were imposing death sentences but they were not being carried out. He asked the judge to bear in mind evidence given in court that Perry was suffering from a mental disorder.

In response, Ms Palmer said the Crown was calling for the death penalty to be imposed on Perry. She referred to the "calculating manner" in which the murders had been committed and the fact that Perry was a threat to society.

It was in 1988 that Jamaica last hung someone. Executions are not very common in the English-speaking Caribbean. However, St Kitts and Nevis resumed hangings last December, when they executed a man who was found guilty of killing his wife nearly five years earlier. That was the first execution in the English-speaking Caribbean in eight years.

Internet sources are reporting that Dancehall Artiste Deva Bratt was stabbed by four men during an altercation which occurred in Portmore this morning. At approximately five this morning, Deva Bratt in attendance at an event called Fresh Money Sundays held at the cookie night club when the incident occurred. Details are that the men grbbed him at one point but Deva managed to escape but was immediately pursued and was eventually caught again where he suffered blows to the body and was also stabbed repeatedly. Luckily for Deva Bratt a police squad car which was patrolling the area and accosted the men who are now in custody are being questioned but not yet charged. The source was also unable to ascertain the exact status of Deva Bratt.

The country should know by next week if Air Jamaica will be cutting staff, even as efforts continue to divest the ailing airline. Since last week, reports have surfaced that the management of the airline is to slash some routes and significantly reduce its staff in the face of the current economic turbulence. However, the management says no decision has yet been made. "We have gone through a review and we are developing a plan that is going to the Ministry of Finance and the Cabinet and it would be inappropriate for us to comment on that now. As soon as we have word, we will let you know," Bruce Nobles, president of Air Jamaica, told The Gleaner yesterday. "We have no final decision and when any decision is made, we will talk with the appropriate groups." Nobles' comment came hours after the Jamaica Airline Pilots Association put more than 150 pilots employed to Air Jamaica on alert. "We have told our members that this is a possibility but we have not had any information," Russel Capelton, president of the pilots association, told The Gleaner. However, the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU), which represents flight attendants, managerial and some ground staff at the airline, says it has not yet had any dialogue with its members. "Nobody has said anything to us. We have heard some rumours but that is not enough for us to take to our members," Kavan Gayle, president of the BITU, told The Gleaner. "We want to know about the plans to divest the airline and a management plan for the future. It cannot be that there is a staff reduction first without any long-term plan being released for the airline," Gayle added. Nobles, a veteran in the airline industry, was employed by Air Jamaica last year to lead the restructuring of the carrier and prepare it for divestment by March 31. The Bruce Golding administration has made it clear that it does not want the cash-bleeding airline on the books in the 2009-2010 Budget which is now being crafted. Golding has reported that Air Jamaica has accumulated losses in excess of US$1 billion with US$170 million being lost by the airline in 2007. The Government has contracted the services of IFC, the private-sector arm of the World Bank, as consultants/advisers in the divestment process. (Jamaica Gleaner)

(CNN) -- President-elect Barack Obama looks to President Abraham Lincoln for his inspiration, so it's only fitting that the president-elect would retrace Lincoln's 1861 trip from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Washington, D.C. to assume the presidency. Obama will appear Saturday at an town hall meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, around 10 a.m. before boarding the train for its 137-mile journey. The train will take its first "slow roll" in Claymont, Delaware, meaning the president-elect will wave at residents gathered near the tracks. Claymont is also the town where Vice President-elect Joe Biden's family moved in 1953 when he was 10 years old. The train arrives in Wilmington, Delaware, to pick up Biden and his family. Obama and Biden are also expected to make brief speeches before embarking again. The next "slow roll" is expected to be in Edgewood, Maryland, located 25 miles northeast of Baltimore. The whistle-stop tour then stops in Baltimore before reaching its final destination: Washington, where Obama will head to Blair House, his temporary homeSecurity for Obama's train ride will be tight. Law enforcement from 40 jurisdictions will provide protection from the ground. The U.S. Coast Guard will be stationed at different points throughout the waterways to ensure the president-elect's safety. The Federal Aviation Administration is establishing "moving" flight restrictions that will prevent private pilots, news helicopters, balloonists and others from getting anywhere near the train. FAA spokesman Paul Takemoto said flights will be restricted from 9:30 a.m. to noon Saturday in Philadelphia, and move with the train. The FAA is imposing additional airspace restrictions in Washington on Sunday during pre-inaugural activities, and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, the day of the inauguration Nearly 2 million people are expected to hit the streets of Washington on January 20. Police will shut bridges across the Potomac River into the city, along with a huge chunk of downtown. Two of the major routes coming into the city -- Interstates 395 and 66 -- will be closed to inbound traffic, at least for private vehicles. All bridges between Virginia and Washington will be closed. Those coming from Virginia will have to walk or take public transport, such as the metro area's subway system. Amtrak says it has increased the number and length of trains running to Washington on Inauguration Day. Tickets are still available, but are going fast, it says. Security officials also say charter buses, taxis and car services are an option for those attending. There are several obvious items that are prohibited, according to the U.S. Secret Service, including: "Firearms, ammunition, explosives, weapons of any kind, aerosols, supports for signs and placards, packages, coolers, thermal or glass containers, backpacks, bags exceeding size restrictions, laser pointers, animals other than helper/guide dogs, structures, bicycles and any other items determined to be a potential safety hazard." Items surrendered to security officials will not be returned. Other banned items include baby strollers and umbrellas.

PALM BEACH GARDENS- Two people jumped from a second-floor balcony to escape from a blaze at the Mira Flores Apartments early this morning.

"I heard screaming. Then I saw flames. That's when I saw somebody jump," said Drew Lakatos, a 22-year-old gas station attendant who was on his computer in a building next to where the fire broke out.

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 to reach the ground, Palm Beach Gardens Fire Rescue Division Chief Evan Bestland said.

"Good thing they left the lights up there," he said.

About 20 people, some in pajamas, were soon gathered outside as the fire engulfed a second-floor unit in the complex just north of The Gardens Mall around 2 a.m.

Bestland said they had not determined what caused the fire in the eight-unit building, but said it was accidental.

While one apartment had been engulfed by the flames, the other seven had extensive smoke and water damage.

The two who leapt from the balcony, as well as the other residents, were unhurt. Two firefighters were treated and released at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center for minor injuries.

City officials condemned the building due to damage to the roof's trusses. Residents retrieved their belongings before the Red Cross helped them find hotel rooms.

They will eventually be moved back into other apartments at Mira Flores, said Brandon Blalock, whose apartment is next door to the one that burned.

"I was sleeping. I heard banging on my door. I looked through my peephole. All I saw was flames," said the 20-year-old Walgreens employee. "We got out. Fast."