Indy race car driver Danica Patrick has yet to learn that the funny little pedal on the left is the brake.

Cops confirm Patrick was busted earlier this month in Scottsdale, Ariz. for driving 54 in a 35 -- 19 over the speed limit -- which bested her last run-in with the fuzz where she was going 57 in a 40 -- only 17 over.

Danica received a citation and is due in court at the beginning of January.

http://katz.cd/

Selling craft items to tourists is not the only intention by some vendors who have been using rafts to access beaches at some hotels in Montego Bay, St James. Some of them are actually using it as a cover to sell drugs, THE STAR understands.

The vendors, who can be found on various properties, mainly in Montego Bay, have been using canoes and rafts to paddle through the waves and up to the buoys on the beaches of hotel properties to sell craft items and sometimes cocaine and ganja to tourists.

"We are aware that illegal activities (drug sales) are taking place, but the Marine police and the police from the affected areas have been offering the respective support to stop the activity," Assistant Commissioner Denver Frater, head of Area One Police Headquarters, told THE STAR.

When the news team visited one hotel property in Montego Bay recently, one of the vendors was seen on a raft filled with craft items. He told the team that he chose to go this route because the hotel did not allow him and other craft vendors to sell on property. This vendor, however, was not seen selling drugs and it was not observed among the items he offered for sale.

Proper channels

The vendors such as the one seen by the news team are being disowned by the All-island Craft Vendors' Association. "Those persons who go in the sea are not part of the association. They are on their own," Melody Haughton, president of the association, said.

She said that the association goes through the proper channels when trying to get craft vendors on hotel properties to sell their items. "We go through the hotel managers and try to work out something with them," she said.

Wayne Cummings, president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, was also upset about the practice, "It has always been a major concern but we have been working with the police," he said.

Cummings said the association had no problem with craft vending, but said it must be done in 'controlled spaces'. He said the practice makes the country look bad as this is not what the tourists want to experience.

In the meantime, ACP Frater said that the police were having some success in cracking down on the vendors. He said in the last three months, several crafts used by the vendors have been seized by the police and a number of persons have been arrested and charged for selling drugs and vending without a licence.

A young man said to be on the St James police's wanted list was shot dead during an alleged shoot-out with the lawmen in downtown Montego Bay, yesterday.

Up to press time last evening, police officials told The Star that they had not yet been furnished with the information. But witnesses said the man fled leaving his white sneakers and a gun behind on the sidewalk when the police bullets hit him.

Commanding officer in charge of St James, Superintendent Maurice Robinson, confirmed that an illegal firearm was taken from the man.

The man was only identified as 'Tatoy', 19, of Paradise Rowe, Montego Bay. Police say that at about 11:00 yesterday morning, Tatoy was reportedly involved in the robbery of a delivery truck driver, when he was surprised by a police party.

He fled and the police gave chase. Tatoy was shot and a gun reportedly fell from him. He was taken to the Cornwall Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The Star understands that Tatoy was wanted in connection with at least two murders committed recently, in close proximity to where he was shot.

Authorities in a Los Angeles suburb say that a man dressed as Santa Claus entered a residential home and opened fire at a Christmas Eve family party before committing sucide. Teri Okita reports.

A war of words has been brewing over the past few weeks between singjay Mavado and deejay Vybz Kartel.

In 2007, after intense lyrical feuding and spurts of physical violence believed to be linked to the lyrical war between the deejays, a press conference was held under the guidance of DCP Mark Shields and other stakeholders where the issues between the artistes were seemingly resolved.

Now, the two artistes seem to be back where they started, recording songs which 'diss' each other and members of their camps. This war of words was done on three different rhythms and singles, and onstage at the recently held Champions in Action in Portmore.

Despite the crossing of lyrical swords, when THE STAR spoke to Mavado, he denied being in a feud of any kind. He said: "Mi nuh inna no tracing thing wid nobody. A dem a do it. Mi nuh have time fi look pon people weh nuh have no life."

He continued: "Mi naah go entertain nobody weh a seh dem want a lyrical war and a talk 'bout madda and dem thing deh. Dat pass the musical level. Mi nah deal wid no devil."

Yet, on the Self Defense rhythm, Mavado accuses Kartel and members of his camp of homosexual behaviour in the song Dem A F... He sings: "Di boy dem a - well bleach out and full a tattoo like trad... a him nuh waan know God and God nuh waan know him, righteous way inna life him mumma neva show him."

Kartel also counteracts on the same rhythm with the song, Wha Dat Fah deejaying: "A wha do di girly Gadd, to how mi b- bad, mi nuh mus kno God... boy a yuh a tell man yuh name Gully Gadd go wha dat fah?...yuh bleaching argument stale out...barber boy mi a go all out...yuh just bad inna yuh song."

On the Silent River rhythm the words fly yet again in Mavado's Dem A Pree. He sings: "a b- ting dem a pree, dem live cross di water and dem caan go a sea... dem boy dem a nuh gangsta fi we."

Kartel counteracts on the same rhythm. "...a bare fish inna di sea, so mi nah go... nuh bring nuh argument to me, boy gangsta nah go swim inna sea wid, wid di fish inna di gully gully, mi nuh waan be nuh Gully Gadd..."

The latest rhythm 'Beauty and the Beast' takes the argument even further, as evident in Mavado's Gangsta Nuh Play. He sings: "A how yuh mus war mi a day when yuh fraid a di sun... from di war is on mi haffi win it... true dem love to talk mi realise some boy a lion widdout courage... I'm di craziest - inna dis game... war dats my subject."

Kartel doesn't rest either in Kill Dem All And Done as he says, "...when mi a war, rememba seh nowhere deh ya far...dem a gwaan like dem a gangsta mi waan know which God a dem sponsah."

More recently Kartel has gone on to insult the entire Alliance on a new song entitled Seh What Yuh Feel Fi Seh. Kartel targets persons such as Flex, Busy Signal, Mavado, Bounty Killer and the Alliance's management team of Julian Jones-Griffith and Sharon Burke. He ends the song with a daring invitation saying: "Say what yu feel fi say."

Mavado has officially finished his sophomore album Mr Brooks, which will be launched in Jamaica and the United States shortly.

Efforts to speak with Vybz Kartel was futile up to press time as his phone was off. Members of his camp also told THE STAR that they didn't think Kartel would want to speak on the matter.

BLACK and white twins Hayleigh and Lauren Durrant proudly hold their new sisters Leah and Miya who incredibly are ALSO twins with different coloured skin. Their mixed-race parents Dean Durrant and Alison Spooner repeated the two-tone miracle after a seven-year gap. Ebony and ivory ... Alison and Dean Durrant with two sets of twins - Hayleigh and Leah on left, and Lauren holding Miya When the first set of twins arrived in 2001, the couple were astonished to see that Lauren took after her white mum, with blue eyes and red hair, while Hayleigh had black skin and hair like dad Dean. Then this year Alison, 27, found she was expecting again and lightning struck twice. She had twin girls again. And little Miya was born with dark skin like her dad and Leah is white like former recruitment consultant Alison. Dean, 33, of Fleet, Hants, said: The girls just love Miya and Leah to bits. Delighted We didnt think it was even possible when we had Lauren and Hayleigh and it didnt cross our minds that it could happen again. But we are just delighted that it has. Early days ... Hayleigh and Lauren in 2002 Alison said: I was shocked when I first found out I was pregnant with twins again but I never thought for one second they would turn out the same as last time. After the babies were born they werent breathing properly, so they were taken to a special care unit. It wasnt until about five days after they were born that we saw them side by side for the first time. And when they were together it was clear that one was darker than the other. It was unbelievable. Staff at Frimley Park Hospital, in Surrey, decided to deliver the babies by Caesarean section after just 37 weeks of pregnancy, when scans revealed both were breach. Doctors took 30 minutes to deliver them on November 13, with Miya weighing 4lb lloz and Leah 5lb 10oz. Alison said: Now the girls are back home with us and are very healthy. Lauren and Hayleigh think the new arrivals are fantastic. Block paver Dean said: It was a real shock to the system when I found out we were having twins again. I didnt think the same thing would happen again. The odds must be millions to one against it. Friends It was really stressful when they were first born, because they were being kept in different parts of the hospital, and the difference in shade wasnt apparent. Keen reader ... Hayleigh Solent News & Photo Agency I was running around all over the place between Alison and the girls and when we finally got them all together it was the first time I noticed the difference. I could tell straight away that one was darker than the other. But it wasnt as much of a shock as last time, as we had already been in this situation once. He went on: Leah and Miya are so small they havent been out much yet but some people have looked at us a little bit funny when were with Lauren and Hayleigh due to the colour difference. Looking so different has never caused them any problems and Im sure it wont for Leah or Miya either. When people see Alison and I they tend to realise why our children are different. T****oy ... Lauren Solent News & Photo Agency The most important thing is THEY know who their parents are. It doesnt matter what anyone else might think. Alison agreed: Everyone knows who their mum and dad is and it doesnt cause any problems why should it? Weve had the odd comment from people about how different Lauren and Hayleigh look. Children at school used to say to them, You cant be twins because youre different colours. Some of the other mums didnt believe they were twins either at first but then they see Dean and I together and realise. Dean added: Having two sets of twins is absolutely hectic and we havent even had a chance to work out how much it will cost us. "Thankfully weve had girls again, so we have some things put aside from when Lauren and Hayleigh were little. Friends and family are all offering help as well. Mixed emotions ... Durrant family Solent News & Photo Agency Little Lauren said: Me and Hayleigh are really good friends and we really enjoy playing puzzles together. Its very exciting having two new baby sisters as well. Mixed twins are rare but back in 2006 The Sun tracked down the parents of FOUR sets. Terri and Malcolm Rayhaman, of Cricklewood, North London, were convinced there had been a mix-up in the IVF clinic when their tots were born. Fair-skinned Luca was followed by his dark sister Marina. Terri said: It was such a dramatic difference. But as soon as I held Marina I knew she was mine. Malcolm, the darker of the two, has a Turkish mother. A couple from Basingstoke, Hants, had twin boys Oliver, who was dark skinned and Boyd, who was white. Mum Claire is white and dad Spencer is of mixed race. Kylie Hodgson, of Nottingham gave birth to blonde, fair-skinned Remee and twin sister Kian, who is black, in 2006. Both parents were of mixed race. And Kerry Richardson, of Middlesbrough, Teesside, told of her two-tone twin boys. Layton is like his dad who is white. Kaydon is more like his mum, who is of English-Nigerian heritage. Kerry said: Everywhere we go you can see people looking and you can tell they are dying to comment. I have to explain they really ARE twins. j.pyatt@the-sun.co.uk Musical differences AS well as different skin colours, Hayleigh and Lauren have totally different personalities and interests, mum Alison said. Advertisement The only thing the seven-year-old girls have in common is that they both dream of being in a pop band and becoming superstars when they are teenagers. Hayleigh SHE loves High School Musical and sings and dances. But she can quietly curl up with a book. She likes to dress up in bright colours and to look adult. Her favourite food is spaghetti bolognese but she will eat anything. Lauren SHE is on the go all day and will happily help her mum with housework if she has nothing to do. She is a t****oy who wears jeans and T-shirts and old trainers. She loves Hannah Montana and scoffing pizza or curry. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2082429.ece

The father of an 11-year-old girl who died, likely of hypothermia, after trying to walk 10 miles  in the snow on Christmas Day has been charged with second-degree murder and felony injury to a child.

Robert Aragon, 55, of Jerome, made an initial appearance Monday in 5th District Court, where Judge Mark Ingram appointed a public defender for him. The judge denied Aragon's request to lower his $500,000 bond. He was being held in the Blaine County Jail.

Aragon was emotional during the short hearing. He banged his head on the defendant's table as Ingram read the charges against him, The Times-News reported. After Ingram noted that second-degree murder carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, Aragon said "Oh my God" as he banged his head on the table one final time.

Read

 

Foreign powers stepped up calls for Israel and the militant group Hamas to end hostilities, after four days of violence in and around Gaza. Both the Quartet of Middle East peace-brokers and EU foreign ministers have called for an immediate ceasefire. Palestinians say more than 360 people have died in Israeli air strikes since Saturday. Four Israelis have been killed by rockets fired from Gaza. Israel has warned that it is ready for weeks of action to end the rocket fire. The calls came as Israel confirmed that a rocket fired from Gaza landed in the town of Beersheba. At 42 km (26 miles) inside Israel, it is the furthest a missile has ever reached. See detailed map of attacks In Gaza, Israeli missiles continued to pound buildings and installations linked to Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza. The Israeli military said it hit more than 30 targets. The UN says at least 62 civilians have died since Saturday; humanitarian agencies say they are struggling to contend with both the air strikes and a lack of supplies. "We have nothing in our warehouses," a spokesman for UNWRA, the UN agency in Gaza, told the BBC. "There is a serious shortage of medical supplies. Hospitals in the Gaza Strip are not equipped at all to handle this huge number of dead and injured people." Aid access The statement from the Quartet - which comprises the US, UN, EU and Russia - followed a teleconference involving key representatives. It called for a ceasefire "that would be fully respected" and for all parties to address "the serious humanitarian and economic needs in Gaza", a UN spokeswoman said. In pictures: Day four of raids The EU foreign ministers echoed the call following a meeting in the French capital, Paris. Food, urgent medical aid, fuel and humanitarian workers should be allowed in to Gaza and the injured evacuated, it said. Diplomatic efforts to achieve a lasting peace deal should be stepped up, it added. Earlier in the day French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner proposed a 48-hour truce to allow aid in to Gaza; Israel has yet to respond. But the BBC's correspondent in Paris says the Israeli government has little time for many European governments' positions and the ministers are well aware of their relative impotence. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said earlier that the air assault on Gaza was "the first in several stages" of operations against Hamas. Another top official said Israel was ready for "long weeks of action". Israel has massed forces along the boundary with Gaza and has declared the area around it a "closed military zone". Correspondents say the move could be a prelude to ground operations, but could also be intended to build pressure on Hamas. The Israeli air strikes strikes began less than a week after the expiry of a six-month-long ceasefire deal with Hamas. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 but has kept tight control over access in and out of Gaza and its airspace. GAZA VIOLENCE 27-30 DECEMBER 1. Ashdod: First attack so far north, Sunday. Woman killed in second rocket attack, Tuesday 2. Ashkelon: One man killed, several injured in rocket attack, Monday 3. Sderot: rocket attacks 4. Nevitot: One man killed, several injured in rocket attack, Saturday 5. Civilian family reported killed in attack on Yabna refugee camp, Sunday 6. Israeli warplanes strike tunnels under Gaza/Egypt border, Sunday 7. Three brothers reported killed in attack on Rafah, Sunday 8. Khan Younis: Four members of Islamic Jihad and a child reported killed, Sunday. Security officer killed in air strike on Hamas police station, Tuesday 9. Deir al-Balah: Palestinians injured, houses and buildings destroyed, Sunday 10. Tel al-Hawa - Interior ministry and Islamic University badly damaged, Monday. At least three buildings in ministry compound hit, Tuesday 11. Gaza City port: naval vessels targeted, Sunday 12. Shati refugee camp: Home of Hamas leader Ismail Haniya targeted, Monday 13. Intelligence building attacked, Sunday 14. Jebaliya refugee camp: several people killed in attack on mosque, Sunday 15. Beit Hanoun - two girls killed in air strike, Tuesday 16. Israeli soldier killed at unspecified military base near Nahal Oz border crossing - five other soldiers wounded in same rocket attack, Monday night. am so sad to see whats goin on in my own country

A lorry driver who climbed into bed with a young girl and kissed her on the lips has been cleared of sexual assault after experts said he was sleepwalking at the time.

Alan Ball, 35, had fallen asleep on a sofa after drinking heavily at a house party, but during the course of the night he tried to get into bed with the girl who was sleeping upstairs.

He was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting her, however after experts examined his history of sleepwalking they concluded he had not known what he was doing, and he was cleared by a judge.

Today Mr Ball, who has a five-year-old daughter himself, said the year-long ordeal had destroyed his life and told of his relief at being absolved of blame.

'I knew I was innocent, but not a day went by when it went through my head: 'What if I end up in jail for something I have not done?"' he said.

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I HAVE 32 gig of music..and its climbing......... although i am shirking it down at the sametime

-- Edited by Dj Omari at 15:14, 2008-10-22

Hie my friends , this is definatly a simple but intresting question, we all on the same site , we from different countries from all over the world and all but when we here on the zone, we jus one big family. Now in a few hours to come we moving on to the new year 2009 @ exactly 1200 am some members are gona touch 2009 and some are still gona be in 2008 yet will still be browzing & chatting on the same site

So who thinks they gona touch 2009 first ? Is it a zone member from new zealand or is it jamaica,england,costa rica , africa , asia. Usa,Germany,Croatia etc check your time now mine says 20:37pm now

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????







MIGHTY DUCKS TAKING OVA 2009

there have been reports of a woman who abandoned her baby duaghter to attend a stage show..
MY GOD ...in these crazy times with child rapist etc.... dat deh mumma sick

Mother abandons baby girl to attend stage show

( L - R ) Blaine, Clarke

Children's Advocate Mary Clarke says she wants to meet with the mother who left her child in an abandoned building to determine what was going through her mind.

The infant was reportedly tied up and left in the building on Spanish Town Road in Kingston by her 19-year-old mother.

The police say elastic bands were used to bind the infant's hands at the wrists.

"Which heart does she have? I want to meet with her and see what went through her mind," said Clarke.

She noted that she was happy that the parent was found and would be held accountable.

Sacrifices

Clarke said that, when mothers have children, there are certain sacrifices that they have to make, and the needs and wants of the children have to be put before those of the parents.

"We shouldn't have children until we are ready to make sacrifices," she said.

The child was found by passers-by who heard the infant crying and called the police.

Meanwhile, convenor of Hear the Children's Cry, Betty Ann Blaine, told The Gleaner/Power 106 News that she was alarmed at the abuse of a two-year-old girl by her mother on Boxing Day.

Blaine said the mother should be severely punished.

She noted that the action by the mother brought into question the issue of teenage pregnancy among young girls.

According to Blaine, too many teenage mothers do not have the capacity to properly care for their children.

CDA care

She is also calling for the child to be placed in the care of the Child Development Agency (CDA) after being released from hospital.

Alison Anderson, chief executive officer of the CDA, said her office was horrified by the incident.

Anderson said there were some 6,000 children in state care who had been abused.

"They all have been hurt and we just need to get a grip now," she told The Gleaner.

Anderson noted that the court would make a ruling on the matter before the CDA would get involved.

The child was being treated at the Bustamante Hospital for Children in Kingston.

Edited by tawna at 20:36, 2008
12
30

-- Edited by tawna at 20:37, 2008-12-30

WASHINGTON, USA (AP) - The chairman of the Republican National Committee said Saturday he was "shocked and appalled" that one of his potential successors had sent committee members a CD this Christmas featuring a 2007 parody song called Barack the Magic Negro.

In spite of RNC Chairman Robert M "Mike" Duncan's sharply negative reaction, former Tennessee GOP leader Chip Saltsman said that party leaders should stand up to criticism over distributing a CD with the song. He earlier defended the tune as one of several "light-hearted political parodies" that have aired on Rush Limbaugh's radio show.

Saltsman, who managed former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee's presidential campaign, is seeking the RNC chairmanship. During the presidential campaign, GOP officials denounced efforts by those in the party who criticised or mocked Democratic nominee Barack Obama along racial lines. Obama was vying to be the nation's first black president.

A spokesman for Obama, now the president-elect, declined to comment on
the matter.

The ditty by conservative comedian Paul Shanklin refers to a March 2007 opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times by David Ehrenstein headlined Obama the Magic Negro. In the article, Ehrenstein argued that voting for Obama helped white voters alleviate guilt over racial wrongs in the past.

Shanklin's parody is sung to the music of Puff, the Magic Dragon. Among other Shanklin tunes on the 41-track CD that Saltsman sent with a Christmas message: I Can Talk Like a Coal Miner's Daughter, Love Client #9 and Down on the Farm with Al Gore.

Barack the Magic Negro calls into question Obama's racial identity. Born to a black father and white mother, the president-elect was raised primarily by his white grandparents.

"The 2008 election was a wake-up call for Republicans to reach out and bring more people into our party," Duncan said in a statement. "I am shocked and appalled that anyone would think this is appropriate as it clearly does not move us in the right direction."

In a statement that followed Duncan's, Saltsman said: "Liberal Democrats and their allies in the media didn't utter a word about David Ehrenstein's irresponsible column in the Los Angeles Times last March. But now, of course, they're shocked and appalled by its parody on the Rush Limbaugh Show.

"I firmly believe that we must welcome all Americans into our party and that the road to Republican resurgence begins with unity, not division. But I know that our party leaders should stand up against the media's double standards and refuse to pander to their desire for scandal," he said.

One of Saltsman's competitors for the GOP chairmanship, former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, didn't refer directly to Saltsman or the parody. Blackwell, who is black, contended in a statement Saturday that "there is hypersensitivity in the press regarding matters of race" because of Obama's election, and he concluded, "All of my competitors for this leadership post are fine people."

The Hill, a Capitol Hill newspaper that published a story about the CD on Friday, reported that Saltsman said members of the GOP committee have "the good humour and good sense" to see Shanklin's tunes as "light-hearted political parodies".

Police: 'Jena Six' teen shoots self, is treated

MONROE, La. A teen convicted in the "Jena Six" beating case shot himself in the chest and was taken to the hospital Monday, days after his arrest on a shoplifting charge, police said.

Mychal Bell's wound isn't life threatening, said Monroe Police Sgt. Cassandra Wooten. The 18-year-old used a .22-caliber firearm in the shooting around 7:40 p.m., she said.

Wooten believes Bell was upset over media coverage of the arrest last week.

"I think he was upset over the incident ... and didn't want to be in the news again," she said.

Bell was one of a group of black teenagers who once faced attempted murder charges in the 2006 beating of a white classmate at Jena High School. The charges for all of the defendants were reduced.

The severity of the original charges brought widespread criticism and eventually led to more than 20,000 people converging in September 2007 on the tiny central Louisiana town of Jena for the largest civil rights march in decades.

Bell was in the news again after he was arrested on Dec. 24 and booked on charges of shoplifting, resisting arrest and simple assault, police said.

Police said Bell tried to steal several shirts and a pair of jeans from a department store and fled when a security guard and off-duty police officer tried to detain him. After they found him hiding under a car, Bell "swung his arms wildly" and one of his elbows struck the security guard with a glancing blow, according to a police report. He was freed on $1,300 bond.

Wooten said Bell was taken to a hospital in Monroe, where a nursing supervisor wouldn't release his condition. Wooten didn't have further details on the shooting.

One of Bell's attorneys in the assault case didn't immediately return a call Monday seeking comment on the shoplifting case.

In the Jena case, Bell eventually pleaded guilty to a juvenile charge of second-degree battery.

Bell, the only one of the six who has been tried, has been living in a foster home in Monroe and attending school.

Eau Claire police said a man accused of stealing a soda worth $1.57 chose to go to jail rather than pay up, even though he was carrying more than $70. Police responding to the report of a theft recently say the 27-year-old man appeared drunk. An employee told officers the man had taken a cup from the counter, filled it and began drinking.

When employees told him he had to pay for the drink or leave, the man refused to do either.

A police officer told the man he could pay $1.57 or go to jail, and the man chose jail. The officer handcuffed and searched him, finding the money in his pocket.

The man was issued an ordinance citation for retail theft.

Posted here

A MAN whose wife allegedly set fire to his genitals while he slept has died.
Satish Narayan, 47, an engineer, lost his battle to survive at the Royal Adelaide Hospital yesterday, 20 days after sustaining burns to most of his body.

The incident has now been declared a major crime by police and it is likely his wife, Rajini, will face a charge of manslaughter or murder.

Police have alleged Mr Narayan's wife doused his genitals with methylated spirit and then set him on fire about 5.30am on December 7.

Mrs Narayan had been charged with causing serious harm to her husband, arson and endangering her children.

A neighbour told the Sunday Mail she had visited Mrs Narayan in the Adelaide Women's Prison yesterday, before she had been told of her husband's death.

She said she was providing support to her friend over what she said was a "terrible tragedy".

She said the pair had held hands and prayed during her visit. "She wanted him to live, more than anything," she said.

"I didn't know them very well but I've got to know her now through visiting her in prison.

"The children are beautiful and it's just a terrible tragedy."


A major blaze was sparked at the couple's Cleland Ave townhouse in Unley when Mr Narayan jumped out of bed and knocked over the bottle of methylated spirit.

The fire caused about $1 million of damage to the couple's home and an adjacent property.

Mr Narayan suffered burns to 85 per cent of his body. Mrs Narayan and the couple's three children escaped unharmed from the burning house.

Police spokesman Senior Constable Paul Noble yesterday refused to comment on whether police were considering upgrading the charges.

It is believed the Narayans only shifted to Adelaide from Canberra a few months ago, after Mr Narayan landed a job working on the Air Warfare Destroyer project.

Sturt CIB are continuing to investigate the crime.

Dancehall artiste Sheldon Lawrence more popularly known as Aidonia is getting ready to shoot the video for his Daggering song titled "Hundred Stabs" on the 'Sky Daggering Riddim' produced by acclaimed producer Gerry Digital. The project is set to be shot in the coming weeks and according to the deejay fans can expect an equally impressive video to match the song that is now enjoying major airplay on the local radio airwaves and party circuit. Speaking of daggering Aidonia's mentor and leader of the Portmore Empire Vybz Kartel is also slated to release his highly publicised 'Daggerin' Condoms later this month. According to the reports reaching 876radio.com the condom will officially be released on August 20th and be available to consumers at all major supermarket and shopping outlets island wide. Corey Todd, Kartels' business partner told 876radio.com that part proceeds from the sales of the condom will be donated to various organisation to help in the fight against HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted disease.

A woman surnamed Zhang, who lives in Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, noticed that her dog loved eating money.

"Once I left a 10-yuan ($1.40) note on a table at home, the dog climbed up and tore the note to pieces and ate it. Later, I found that it ate another 50-yuan note."

"Why did it do that?" Zhang asked.

According to a local pet doctor, the dog is not trying to deplete its owners earnings - rather, it is suffering from depletion of certain trace elements in its body. Those elements are present in small quantities in the printed notes.

He advised that the dog be brought to a pet hospital for treatment.

The most famous celeb rehab joint around is crazed over a story that claims Tara Reid's detox is a ploy to drum up business for the facility.

Star Magazine claims Promises Treatment Center is letting Reid rehab there for free -- with a luxury bedroom and a "no bag check policy."

Star claims attendance is down and profits are low, so Promises "asked around Hollywood to see who wanted to stay there for free."

Promises begs to differ: "The suggestion that Promises would search Hollywood for a celebrity who needs rehab in an effort to garner publicity is libelous, offensive and without merit."

The article has since been removed from Star's website. The mag didn't get back to us with a comment.

#10. Feist :: 1234

#9. Avril Lavigne :: Girlfriend

#8. Fergie :: Clumsy

#7. Justin Timberlake :: Lovestoned

#6. Leona Lewis :: Bleeding Love

#5. Jordin Sparks (Featuring Chris Brown) :: No Air

#4. Rihanna :: Umbrella

#3. Alicia Keys :: No One

#2. Akon :: Dont Matter

#1. Plain White T's :: Hey There Delilah

December 29, 2008. Ever since the untimely passing of his mother, Dr. Donda West, MediaTakeOut.com has been reporting on Kanye Wests increasingly bizarre behavior. But now its starting to look as if Kanyes descending into utter madness.

According to one UK publication, Kanyes taken to chanting in hopes of ridding his hone of evil spirits. Heres how its being reported:

Kanye has started this strange new ritual of chanting these spiritual songs. He thinks it rids his space of ghosts and spirits.

He reckons his singing will improve if he gets rid of the demons.

Ye it might be time to get some professional help

the event has passed and the clash has been won and loss by the two gladiators and fans alike..the critics of this column may say otherwise because they are die-hearted to the entertainer of their choice but like it or hate it...the truth must be told..this is a piece that is steered far from bias to a crew or the music faternity and as a whole i comment merely on my unbias opinion

Kartel
kartel must understand despite the fact that he probably might won...he had himself to blame for toying with the opponent n then lost because he allowed movado to get back in the game..this result in the so called knockout blow that allowed the debate of the win n lost situation to rise above the jamaican economic crisis and world policies...in truth kartel didn't delivered at sting and is known for his short clashes from 2003..the world's most deadly lyricists couldn't produce enough venom to kill the opponent before the second round...knowing that the event feted a featherweight against a heavyweight..with his repetoire the dispute should have left heads hung and lips sealed and as a result...in my opinion...i declared kartel the loser of the bout for his action..(song after sting, anger at ninja and the media)..the true performance of a loser

Movado
Movado like kartel did not delivered at sting...he was confused, unprepared and seemingly never had the intention to clash...but seeing as other artistes were booed because they failed to produced a clash as supporters were in warlike mood altogether..he called Kartel with his planned set..and so was being pinned against the ropes constantly being jabbed at..until kartel decided to play the roy jones junior dance..movado hit him with a *u*ker punch at the end of the bout to deter the judges decision...and like the true copy of the voting in rising star..he was declared the winner..which seems strange since he absorb so much punches...movado was shit at sting..

the general public
the supporters were the *u*kers of sting where they were bam***bozled out of their money to see a f**kery *lo**claat clash..(oh sorry)..i was also a supporter n this is the worse clash in history n i must say that i m prepared for the next... like assassin tune...a bottle ..a bottle     

-- Edited by chinojermz at 12:16, 2008-12-30

-- Edited by chinojermz at 12:17, 2008-12-30

WELL IM PLANNING ON BEING MORE FOCUS AND LESS SLACKING 09 IS DA YEAR OF THE GREATS... MORE MONEY IM SEEING IN MY VISION

When the news comes avail i will post it

Dhaima Brookes (left) collects her reward from Craig Morrison, managing director of Guardsman Armoured Limited, for handing over $1 million to the Waterford Police Station in Portmore, St Catherine. Guardsman Group Managing Director Valerie Juggan-Brown looks on. The presentation took place at the Guardsman head office in Kingston yesterday. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer

"You are one in a million!" Such was the adoration bestowed on Dhaima Brookes by Valerie Juggan-Brown, group managing director of Guardsman Limited, when Brookes stepped into the security firm's offices in St Andrew yesterday.

Brookes had been invited to the Guardsman offices to collect a reward for finding and returning $1 million inadvertently left at an ATM in the Portmore Mall, St Catherine.

"Others would not do what you did and for that we are truly thankful," said Guardsman Armoured Managing Director Craig Morrison as he made the presentation to Brookes.

Bashful

Overwhelmed by the token of appreciation offered to her by the security firm for her act of goodwill, Brookes was bashful as she accepted a cheque for an undisclosed sum of money.

Throughout the banter, Juggan-Brown and Morrison discussed the many security measures in place which would have tracked down Brookes had she made a different decision. She was adamant that even if she could not have been caught, her choice would have been the same.

Brookes told Juggan-Brown that her conscience would not be clear had she listened to the naysayers.

"A lot of people have been negative," she said. "But they couldn't tell me what to do because if I had taken the money, I couldn't sleep at night."

Honesty has brought even more rewards as several corporate entities have contacted The Gleaner to get in touch with Brookes to praise her with gifts for her integrity.

After finding the cash at the ATM on Sunday, Brookes handed the find over to the Waterford police in Portmore with the assistance of Michelle Lewis, a policewoman attached to the Elletson Road Police Station in Kingston.

People which big artist unu feel say dont mek it when unu watch dem pon stage?

Mi feel say is Assassin

After Sting 2k8, when Kartel And Movado Finish Dem clash ninjaman approach di stage... while Ninjaman Was Talkin kartel sed "suk ya mudda" to Him,...Ninjaman replied with vocals....Do U think the war between the 2 will continue and if so who will remain king?

Me seh Katel ah win ninjaman.. ninjaman av good lyrics but addi di teacha finish dem..

-- Edited by showahman at 14:08, 2008-12-30

Sections of the troubled St Catherine communities of Gravel Heights and Tredegar Park remained tense yesterday following a fresh round of violence Sunday in which two abandoned houses were torched.

Residents of both communities have been living under the gun for the last three weeks after armed thugs aligned to the notorious Klansman and One Order gangs ordered them to leave their homes or face certain death.

Yesterday, the area was tense and resembled a ghost town in parts. Some residents refused to speak with the Observer while the ones who did warned the news team not to enter Gravel Heights.

"I wouldn't advise you to drive up there, things tense and anything can happen," said one man who asked not to be identified.

One woman just stared blankly when questioned about a planned march to be led by a political representative, while another walked away briskly as soon as she recognised the Observer logo on the vehicle.

According to Deputy Superintendent in charge of crime in the St Catherine North Police Division, Derrick Champagnie, the area was relatively calm for the last three weeks until Sunday's arson incident in Gravel Heights. He said both gangs were responsible for more than 20 murders and an equal number of shootings in recent weeks.

But despite the residents' fears, the police have vowed to sustain their presence in the community until the residents are able to move about freely and the criminal elements are flushed out.

"The police will not ease up in our efforts to bring calm to those communities. It will take a sustained drive. But we are in it for the long haul. A person's greatest investment is a house and if they are forced to leave their homes then where will they stay?" Champagnie asked.

The police yesterday walked through both communities to get a better understanding of the difficult terrain and will take up residence at certain spots known to be the lairs of the rival gangs, Champagnie said.

Police have identified the main culprits as James Hinds, also called 'Carpenter', and Donovan Brown, more popularly known as 'Negus' or 'Handsome'.

Champagnie said Brown and Hinds are the leaders of the rival gangs who have been running amok in both communities.

Hinds is said to lead the Klansman faction based in Tredegar Park, while Brown is the leader of the One Order faction based in Gravel Heights.

Police say Brown is the brother of Wayne 'Waynie Bones' Dawson, who was fatally shot by police during a shoot-out in Red Hills last May. Dawson was a leading member of the Klansman gang and was sentenced to life in prison for murder but managed to escape. He switched allegiance along with Brown after they fell out of grace with the leadership of the Klansman Gang.

Police say Hinds is slim and has a light complexion and bulging eyes. He is wanted for the murder of Roy Anthony, also called 'Guyah' at Lauriston, St Catherine in August last year and is known to frequent the Tredegar Park, Gravel Heights, Rivoli and Jones Avenue areas of St Catherine.

Hinds and Brown were once cronies, police say.

The Jamaica Public Service (JPS), frustrated by electricity theft amounting to billions of dollars over the past three years, is now installing what it says are tamper-proof cables in some communities that will immediately cut off electricity to all houses connected to those lines once an attempt is made to steal power using throw-ups.

The JPS head office in New Kingston.

Under this system, 24 houses will be connected to each insulated cable, and according to Sangeet Dutta, JPS vice-president of customer operations, any attempt to tamper with the wire will result in a short circuit, thereby cutting off electricity.

"The minute someone interferes with the line it will affect the rest of the 23 houses," Dutta told the Observer last week in an interview at his office in New Kingston.

He said the measure became necessary because of the heavy losses being incurred by the JPS because of electricity theft.

In 2007, the company lost $4.8 billion of which customers had to absorb $2 billion. In 2006, the losses amounted to $4.1 billion with customers absorbing $1.8 billion, while in 2005, $3 billion was lost to theft and JPS customers were made to pay $1.4 billion of that cost.

Although electricity theft is prevalent in inner-city communities and poor rural neighbourhoods where some residents throw thin cables across JPS lines to receive free power, the company says big businesses are just as guilty of stealing, only that it is done in more sophisticated ways.

Of 600,000 customers, Dutta said 7,100 are referred to as large accounts, contributing to 50 per cent of total energy sales.

He said that in 2007, nine per cent of those customers were found to be stealing energy.

According to Dutta, priority will be given to the installation of the insulated cables in those areas most prone to illegal connections.

However, by the first seven months of 2009, Dutta said, the JPS is expecting to cover nearly 50,000 of its customers.

Additionally, Dutta said JPS will be introducing an automated metre infrastructure (AMI) which will enable the firm to monitor consumers' energy use from JPS offices.

"So if someone tries to tamper with the metre we will be able to see it and back bill them for up to six years based on their consumption pattern," he said.

In addition, he said they will be able to reconnect and disconnect electricity without having to visit the premises.

By the end of 2009, at least 5,000 large accounts are expected to be on the AMI system, and following approval from the Bureau of Standards for the use of the metres, another 20,000 residential customers will be on the system in the first phase.

The metres, which cost US$350 each, will be installed at JPS' cost.
Also in the New Year, Dutta said the JPS will be appealing to the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) for the introduction of a penalty for persons caught stealing electricity.

Arguing that the current regulation is not stringent enough to act as a deterrent for persons who continue this practise, Dutta said that in some countries the penalty is up to 10 times the recovery amount.

The penalty, he said, is used in those countries to fund public projects and suggested that the same could be applied here.

Dutta explained that in Jamaica, total electricity loss amounts to 23 per cent, which is considerably high.

He said loss is calculated through technical loss, which accounts for nine per cent, and commercial loss, which is 14 per cent. He said it is this 14 per cent which is of great concern.

Of this total 23 per cent loss, he said, the OUR only absorbs 15.8 per cent and anything above that has to be absorbed by the JPS.

This loss, he said, greatly hampers the firm's daily operation and curtails its ability to provide the type of service it would want to offer customers.

He said that following a clampdown on theft last year, the JPS recovered about 40 gigowatt hours of energy which translates to over $400 million.

"If we did not discover this theft, loss would have been 30 per cent instead of 23 per cent," he said.

 

 

Erica Swaby laments the alleged abandoning of a two-year-old girl by one of her neighbours.

Residents of Goffe Way in Denham Town, west Kingston, are angry with the police over what they say was a failure to protect a two-year-old girl they claim was left by her mother to die.

Nineteen-year-old Nicolette Ledford was yesterday detained under the Child Care and Protection Act after she allegedly abandoned her daughter in an old animal shelter off Spanish Town Road in Kingston.

Superintendent Delroy Hewitt, head of the West Kingston Police Division, said they would seek legal advice from the director of public prosecutions before laying charges.

Two years of abuse

Ledford's neighbours are pointing to what they claim were two years of abuse of the child and one bad decision by the police which thwarted their efforts to save the baby born with a physical deformity.

"We see the little baby girl naked and eating her own filth and we take her to the Denham Town Police Station, but the police returned her to her grandmother who took her back home," a livid neighbour, Erica Swaby, told The Gleaner.

However, an officer at the Denham Town Police Station defended the action of the police.

"We returned the child to the grandmother because we found her to be a fit and proper person to take care of the child," the officer said.

Efforts to contact Nicolette's mother were unsuccessful as she was said to be at work.

The residents of Goffe Way were not sure if their neighbour was at home, but they were adamant that the entire family, including the grandmother, should shoulder the blame for endangering the life of the two-year-old.

In nearby Trench Town, residents who assisted the firefighters in their search for the child on Friday night were equally upset and bewildered by the action of the 19-year-old whom they considered as a "bright (intelligent)" girl who attended Denham Town High School.

Ledford was held by the police at a friend's house, also in Denham Town, as she prepared her hair to attend the popular dancehall stage show Sting last Friday night. The man who gave her the tickets is still in shock.

"Mi get the pass them fi go Sting but true me change me mind, me give her and me see say something wrong but when me ask her, she say she cool," the popular videographer told The Gleaner.

ina my opinion sting (clash kartel vs vado) did lame, and bias, first things first. look where the venue is, portmore (+ for kartel), who a d bands man? dasacre (+ for vado). me a vado fan zeen, but kartel draw more punch tune dan vado, but look at the 1 or 2 tune dem weh vado do and get a big 4ward, and bcaz the crowd did bias, mi caa even use dem fi help judge the thing. if it did go tune fi tune and vado never but een when kartel a do him tune dem, and d thing did more suttle, kartel wuda win (TO ME!!). but me caa judge da 1 deh

Prt1




Prt2
 



-- Edited by Thug Lord at 09:53, 2008-12-27

-- Edited by Thug Lord at 09:57, 2008-12-27

-- Edited by Thug Lord at 10:35, 2008-12-27






-- Edited by Thug Lord at 10:40, 2008-12-27

-- Edited by Thug Lord at 10:40, 2008-12-27

-- Edited by Dj_Rubbut at 18:26, 2008-12-27

http://www.myvideoflex.com/mavado-and-vybz-kartel/clash-sting-2008-who-is-the-champion-video_efed4edd6.html

Forget Viagra: scientists are working on an electronic "pleasure chip" that will be able to stimulate pleasure centers in the brain and hardwire humans for sexual enjoyment.

The prospect of the chip is emerging from progress in deep brain stimulation, in which tiny shocks from implanted electrodes are given to the brain, The Australian reports.

It has already been used to treat symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

In recent months, scientists have been focusing on an area of the brain just behind the eyes known as the orbitofrontal cortex.

This area is associated with feelings of pleasure derived from eating and sex. A research survey conducted by Morten Kringelbach, senior fellow at Oxford University's department of psychiatry, and reported in the Nature Reviews Neuroscience journal, found the orbitofrontal cortex could be a "new stimulation target" to help people suffering from an inability to experience pleasure from activities such sex and eating.

Stimulating this area can produce pleasure as intense as "devouring a delicious pastry," he said. His colleague Tipu Aziz, a professor of neurosurgery at the John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford, predicted a significant breakthrough in the science behind a sex chip within 10 years.

More

ok ppl mi want an answer..who u think win sting 2008 kartel or vado????

In this Nov, 5, 2008 file photo, Lelia LaRue, right, shows her father, George Francis, 112, a copy of the morning newspaper with President-elect Barack Obama on the front page, at the Sacramento, Calif. nursing home where Francis lives. Francis, the nation's oldest man who lived through both world wars, man's first walk on the moon and got to vote for the first black president, has died. He was 112



SAN FRANCISCO George Francis, the nation's oldest man, who lived through both world wars, man's first walk on the moon and the election of the first black president, has died. He was 112.

Francis died Saturday of congestive heart failure at a nursing home in Sacramento, his son, Anthony Francis, said Sunday.

"He lived four years in the 19th century, 100 years in the 20th century, and 8 years in the 21st century. We call him the man of three centuries," said the younger Francis, 81.

UCLA gerontologist Dr. Stephen Coles, who maintains a list of the world's oldest people, said Francis lived 112 years and 204 days.

With Francis' death, Walter Breuning of Montana, who is 112 years, 98 days old, becomes the country's oldest living man. At 114, Gertrude Baines of Los Angeles is the nation's oldest living person. The world's oldest person is Maria de Jesus of Portugal, who is 115 years, 109 days old, and the oldest man is Tomoji Tanabe of Japan, who is 113 years, 101 days, Coles said.

Francis, who at his prime barely weighed more than 100 pounds, was born June 6, 1896, in New Orleans. As an African-American in the South, he felt the sting of the Jim Crow-era segregation laws in his early life.

His son said Francis tried to enlist in the U.S. Army during World War I but was turned down because of his stature.

"We always attributed his longevity to his mental and physical toughness," Anthony Francis said.

George Francis quit school after the sixth grade, became an amateur boxer as a young man and later worked as a chauffeur, an auto mechanic and a barber.

He and his wife, Josephine Johnson Francis, had a son and three daughters. Josephine Francis died of cancer in 1964.

Even in his waning days, Francis never lost his passion for politics, his family said. He voted for Franklin Roosevelt in the 1930s and for Barack Obama in 2008.

In an interview with The Associated Press after Obama's victory, Francis, who used a wheelchair, said he felt like jumping up and down.

"He is going to give black men a break in the world, and give them a better opportunity to live and make more money," he said. "For people who say voting doesn't matter, I think that's crazy."

Anthony Francis said his father was devoted to his family and that he attributed his longevity to them.

"He said `My children and my friends, I live off of them,'" he said.

Besides his four children, Francis is survived by 18 grandchildren, 33 great-grandchildren and 16 great-great grandchildren.

As you may remember an altercation took place in North Carolina between Fat Joe's camp and Papoose. Sources told us that Fat Joe and his crew rushed the rapper, and jumped him. Hotel security had to seperate the fight before Law Enforcement could get to the Hotel.


Well Now, Round 2 has Officially Begun and it Looks like Papoose is winning! According to inside sources, Papoose and his crew were inside the lobby of Club Prime when they spotted a well known member of Terror Squad. Our sources tell us that Papoose and his crew recognized the suspect from the first altercation and all hell broke loose. Fists started flying and sources confirmed that Papoose & crew really gave the man a severe beating. The chaos finally ended when law enforcement officials came in and starting masing everybody and seperated the parties involved. Sources confirmed that the NYPD had to pepper-spray Papoose to get him to back off of the victim.

Adijah 'Vybz Kartel' Palmer poses with his wife, Stacy Elliot, at their wedding reception held on December 22, 2005, in Havendale, St Andrew. The two are no longer together. - file

After discussing his beginnings, his Empire, Bounty Killer and Mavado, in the previous three instalments of the five part interview, Kartel gets more personal talking about his family, women and children.

KH: What does your mother think about you being an artiste and about your career?

VK: Anyting mi do, as long as it not illegal, my mother haffi accept it.

KH: What's her name and does she approve of music?

VK: Theresa, not mother Teresa but my mother Theresa. Memba seh her brothers use to deejay, so she accept it.

(Kartel's mother is known to be a Christian woman whereas Kartel the artiste has included a number of intriguing statements about religion in his music.)

KH: Are you a Christian?

VK: "No. mi grow up in a Christian family. my mother and sister are Christian. Mi have a Christian name and grow up in a Christian society but I'm not a religious person. Religion is good to control di masses and keeps society in check. I'm not a religious person, I'm a pro-life person. life is the ultimate."

(In recent months, the artiste has taken to referring to himself as the Devil with a number of religious references. In 'Wha Dat Fah' he deejays, "to how mi -bad mi nuh mus know God." In Weh Dem A Go, he says: "Addi di Devil too hard." he continues in Broad Daylight with, "tings mi do people seh mi mus go a hell, mi seh -mi nuh mus know God." An email entitled 'Is Vybz Kartel Really Evil?' has also been circulating. It claims that the artiste is a free mason.)

KH: So, what's with the Devil thing? Why do you call yourself a devil?

VK: It's just me. me represent everything that is devilish. dem seh God create man from his image, but really a man create God, we create him in our minds, when dem seh tings like dese yuh play wid it, play wid di masses.

KH: There is an email going around that says you are in a Lodge, is that true?

VK: Mi believe inna society. whether it be a society of notion or a society of specific groups or sects, so let's leave dat in di open.

(Unwilling to speak more in depth about the Lodge rumours, the STAR soon switched to discussing Kartel's ex-wife. In 2005, much to the surprise of the entertainment fraternity, Kartel married bank supervisor Stacy Elliott, who lives in New York. After two years the two got divorced.)

KH: You were married once and are now divorced, is that right?

VK: Yeah.

KH: People say you got married to an American to get a visa, is that true?

VK: No.

KH: So why did you get married?

VK: Well, why do people get married?

KH: Are you single now?

VK: No. Vybz Kartel is never single.

KH: How do you deal with female attention?

VK: Well it depends on what kind of attention. it varies from female to female.

KH: A lot of females throw themselves at you?

VK: Duh (laughs).

KH: How many kids do you have and what kind of father are you?

VK: Four mi get. mi know all of dem. mi close to two cause mi live wid dem - Jaheim and Rahiem. As a father, I'm strict and use tough loving.

KH: Do your children listen to your songs, and do you think they should be listening to your lyrics?

VK: Yes they do because what is hidden from the wise and prudent should be revealed to di babe and *u*kling, not to be confused with *u*king.

Finally, the perfect stocking stuffer for Republican's dreaming of a White Christmas a CD called "We Hate the USA" with the hit track, "Barack the Magic Negro."

It's true -- RNC candidate Chip Saltsman pimped the 41 track CD to fellow committee members to get them in the holiday spirit.

As if the RNC Kool-aid couldn't get any more bizarre, the Obama tribute is sung by an Al Sharpton impersonator, to the tune of "Puff the Magic Dragon."

The song, first spun live by Rush Limbaugh, includes the lyrics "See, real black men, like Snoop Dogg, or me, or Farrakhan, have talked the talk, and walked the walk, not come in late and won."

What's next -- "Ivory and Ebony" and "The Star Spanglish banner?"

Wait, they're on the CD too.

WASHINGTON The chairman of the Republican National Committee said Saturday he was "shocked and appalled" that one of his potential successors had sent committee members a CD this Christmas featuring a 2007 parody song called "Barack the Magic Negro."

In spite of RNC Chairman Robert M. "Mike" Duncan's sharply negative reaction, former Tennessee GOP leader Chip Saltsman said that party leaders should stand up to criticism over distributing a CD with the song. He earlier defended the tune as one of several "lighthearted political parodies" that have aired on Rush Limbaugh's radio show.

Saltsman, who managed former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's presidential campaign, is seeking the RNC chairmanship. During the presidential campaign, GOP officials denounced efforts by those in the party who criticized or mocked Democratic nominee Barack Obama along racial lines. Obama was vying to be the nation's first black president.

A spokesman for Obama, now the president-elect, declined to comment on the matter.

The ditty by conservative comedian Paul Shanklin refers to a March 2007 opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times by David Ehrenstein headlined "Obama the 'Magic Negro.'" In the article, Ehrenstein argued that voting for Obama helped white voters alleviate guilt over racial wrongs in the past.

Shanklin's parody is sung to the music of "Puff, the Magic Dragon." Among other Shanklin tunes on the 41-track CD that Saltsman sent with a Christmas message: "I Can Talk Like a Coal Miner's Daughter," "Love Client #9" and "Down on the Farm with Al Gore."

"Barack the Magic Negro" calls into question Obama's racial identity. Born to a black father and white mother, the president-elect was raised primarily by his white grandparents.

"The 2008 election was a wake-up call for Republicans to reach out and bring more people into our party," Duncan said in a statement. "I am shocked and appalled that anyone would think this is appropriate as it clearly does not move us in the right direction."

In a statement that followed Duncan's, Saltsman said: "Liberal Democrats and their allies in the media didn't utter a word about David Ehrenstein's irresponsible column in the Los Angeles Times last March. But now, of course, they're shocked and appalled by its parody on the 'Rush Limbaugh Show.'

"I firmly believe that we must welcome all Americans into our party and that the road to Republican resurgence begins with unity, not division. But I know that our party leaders should stand up against the media's double standards and refuse to pander to their desire for scandal," he said.

One of Saltsman's competitors for the GOP chairmanship, former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, didn't refer directly to Saltsman or the parody. Blackwell, who is black, contended in a statement Saturday that "there is hypersensitivity in the press regarding matters of race" because of Obama's election, and he concluded, "All of my competitors for this leadership post are fine people."

The Hill, a Capitol Hill newspaper that published a story about the CD on Friday, reported that Saltsman said members of the GOP committee have "the good humor and good sense" to see Shanklin's tunes as "lighthearted political parodies."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081228/...h/obama_parody
   

COMMUNITY COLLEGES in rural Jamaica are still being forced to fight what their principals describe as an urban bias in favour of their counterparts in the Corporate Area and St Catherine.

According to the educators, colleges in the Kingston Metropolitan Region tend to get more support from the Government and the private sector than those colleges in rural Jamaica.

"There is an urban bias in this country and it is something we have to confront," said principal of the Brown's Town Community College, James Walsh. He is one of several heads of community colleges who recently participated in an Editors' Forum at The Gleaner's central Kingston head office.

Lack of response

"When I was trying to set up the nursing school (at the community college) I wrote a number of letters to corporations because, to me, this is a really necessary thing. What I found is that if I (were) keeping a dance or a nude wedding they would have been more responsive," he related.

Walsh said the school only received support from past students or institutions with which it conducted business. He argued, though, that community colleges were faced with this situation often because they do not market themselves well.

Weak marketing

"We have been weak in marketing and, therefore, the recognition is not there," he reasoned. "So, when somebody thinks of who I should hire to train my workers in a six-week or five-week course, they don't think of the community colleges when, quite often, we have a better capacity than some organisations (which are) hurriedly cobbled together, but who have a better marketing approach," he added.

Principal of the Portmore Community College in St Catherine, Karen Hewitt-Kennedy, agreed that community colleges, especially those in rural Jamaica, needed to unite to promote themselves.

"We have shrinking budgets and we do recognise that the ministry's emphasis is on early childhood and primary education, rather than tertiary, so we had better band together or we will perish," she said.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. - Wal-Mart will start selling Apple's popular iPhone on Sunday, the chain said, confirming earlier reports by employees.

Bentonville-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will become the second independent retail chain after Best Buy Inc. to sell the phone. It is also sold at Apple Inc. and AT&T Inc. stores.

Wal-Mart will sell the phones for $2 less than the regular price with a two-year contract: $197 for the 8-gigabyte model, or $297 for the 16-gigabyte model. Best Buy is discounting the phone by $9.

Reports that Wal-Mart would sell the phone, but not the exact launch date or the terms, surfaced early this month through store employees who had been briefed.


http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/200812...al_mart_iphone

BIG PLANS are afoot to improve rehabilitation programmes in the island's correctional facilities.

Acting Commissioner of Corrections June Jarrett says millions of pounds provided by the United Kingdom (UK) Department for International Aid will boost a number of projects in the upcoming year. The funds will develop the prison rehabilitation system over an 18-month period.

Among the projects slated for funding is another radio station and studio for prisoners which will, this time, be placed at the St Catherine Adult Correctional Centre. The Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre already has one such facility.

Expansion of trade training

The funds will also see to an expansion of trade training facilities through the establishment of training centres at both St Catherine and Tower Street.

According to Jarrett, many inmates leave prison better individuals than they had come.

"They are involved in auto-mechanics, metal craft, cabinet making. We even have a gentleman who does painting and he had a exhibition at a gallery on Trafalgar Road," boasts Jarrett.

She says a move is being made to have all the programmes the prisons offer accredited by HEART Trust/NTA.

Training for managers

The UK's aid also includes training for managers.

Meanwhile, there will be a roll-out of more prison work programmes come next year. Jarrett says there has been increasing demand for their work. Last year, prisoners completed 18 public works projects, she says.

"It is not true that prisoners come there to get fat and brown," Jarrett states. "Not all of them. There are some of them who we can't take on the outside. They are impacting on the community with the limited resources we have," she adds.

She says prisoners completed projects on a number of schools this year including the Cumberland High School in St Catherine, where the grounds were in poor condition, playing haven to criminals.

"You could not stay from there Cumberland High School and see houses which were a few chains away," Jarrett reports. "But if you go to Cumberland now all the shrubs all the bushes are cut down and even the park for the children was cleaned and developed."

Cheap labour

She adds that the project was slated to cost over $2 million, but prisoners completed it for a little over quarter million dollars.

"They work hard. They don't let up and they complete the job. They don't joke when you see them out there. They wear their red cap, red T-shirt, khaki pants and boots," she says.

Jarrett says the Bellevue and National Chest hospitals are also among institutions slated to be improved by prisoners next year.

LEAVING home for college is a rite of passage that is more like a dream come true for many university-age students every year.

Many go off to find themselves, others vow to excel in their studies while others simply plan to indulge in popular on-campus social practices - chief among them, alcohol consumption and regular partying.

But every year, for some, this 'newfound freedom' comes at a costly price. Owing to the excessive drinking and partying, their academic studies are compromised, and sadly others lose their lives - leaving relatives and close friends to mourn. Many of us will not forget the road accident in October that claimed the lives of two promising pre-university students in Petersfield, Westmoreland and three UWI Mona students, who perished in a vehicular accident on the Heroes' Weekend.

Police reports are that at about 3:30 am on Monday, October 20, Andy Lopez, 20, Shericka Wright, 20, and Jemile Fong-Chung, 22, were killed when the vehicle they were travelling in, slammed into the Rio Nuevo Bridge in St Mary. They were returning from an event called Truck Fest in St Mary. At UWI, Lopez (the driver) held the position of cultural and entertainment affairs chairperson (CEAC) on the UWI Guild and studied history. Fong-Chung studied sociology, while Wright was enrolled in the Distance Education Programme.

The motor vehicle in which the victims (and one survivor) were travelling, was driving along the Rio Nuevo main road when the car reportedly drifted too much to the right and collided with a Toyota Corolla. The car then slammed into the bridge and burst into flames. All three died on the spot. The lone survivor (Fong-Chung's brother) was rescued by passers-by and taken to the St Ann's Bay Hospital, where he was treated for several burns and released a day later.

Several theories have been tossed around about what caused Fong-Chung to lose control of his vehicle. Many believe the crash was alcohol-related. Michael Clarke, student services manager at Mona's Chancellor Hall (where Fong-Chung and Lopez were residents), told the Sunday Observer that while intoxication has not been confirmed as the cause of the crash, the entire UWI community was still in mourning. Seven students from Chancellor Hall have died tragically (some in road accidents) since 2001.

"It's a devastating experience. They were brilliant young men and we were very close. We are deeply saddened and we continue to ask our students to exercise more control and maturity in how they enjoy themselves," said Clarke. "It is popularly known that the younger ones drive more recklessly on the roads. And we want them to have more respect for life, exercise more intelligence, patience and control."

In the United States, college students driving under the influence of alcohol and crashing is a regular occurrence. In fact, based on findings from a 2003 Harvard University study in the United States, among college students ages 18-24 from 1998 to 2001, alcohol-related unintentional injury deaths increased from nearly 1,600 to more than 1,700 - an increase of six per cent per college population. The proportion of 18-24-year-old college students who reported driving under the influence of alcohol increased from 26.5 to 31.4 per cent, an increase from 2.3 million students to 2.8 million.

Between 2000-2001, more than 500,000 American college students were unintentionally injured because of drinking, and more than 600,000 were hit/assaulted by another drinking student. For the same period, of the eight million college students in the United States, more than two million drove under the influence of alcohol and over three million rode with a drinking driver.

Here in Jamaica, data from the 2007-8 Jamaica Health and Lifestyle Survey shows that the current use of alcohol among Jamaicans is highest among persons 15-24 and 25-34 years (64 per cent). The same age band accounts for the most marijuana use. According to Superintendent Fred Hibbert, head of the traffic and highway division of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), most fatal accidents on our roads involve persons between 20 and 40 years - the major factors being speeding and driving under the influence.

"It is definitely cause for concern because the majority of these accidents involve people, especially males, who are supposed to be part of the workforce," Hibbert told the Sunday Observer.

Meanwhile, Clarke argues that college drinking is "a phenomenon across the world, whereby students indulge in the practice as a social norm".

"It's not something that we support here. We have programmes where we discuss such issues and point out the disadvantages to the students," he said. But when asked if he believes on-campus activities like regular 'drink-ups' on 'the party halls' like Chancellor, Irvine and Taylor, affects the academic performance of participating students, Clarke said he has seen little evidence of this.

"The UWI [Mona] campus is a community and students try to find ways to c****at stress and exam pressures. But activities like drink-ups are now being discouraged, and I've seen a significant reduction in the practice on our hall," noted Clarke, who has been student services manager at Chancellor Hall for eight years.

Dr Grace Kelly, head of the Counselling Unit at the Manchester-based Northern Caribbean University (NCU), says student practices like binge drinking and drug use should not be tolerated on our college campuses.

"I know that for some students it affects their academic performance negatively but you have some who say it enhances their performance. But that is not something I support. It should not be tolerated because it's an unhealthy practice," Dr Kelly emphasised. "It is not tolerated at NCU so I have not come across any such practice but I am not saying it does not happen here, but we do not subscribe to that kind of behaviour here. That's the bottom line at NCU."

Over at the Mico University College, student body president Nina Dixon said the strict monitoring of social events has helped in curtailing alcohol consumption at the teacher-training institution, while 19-year-old Nicholas Spence, student body president at the Montego Bay Community College, said only a minority of students are engaged in heavy partying and drinking.

Ava Simpson, lecturer in the Faculty of Health and Applied Science at the University of Technology (UTech), told the Sunday Observer in a phone interview that alcohol consumption can have both short and long-term effects on students.

"The higher the alcohol consumption, the more it could affect them later in life. They may not show any signs now but symptoms will definitely appear later on. It is definitely not acceptable because the short-term implications for students could involve oversleeping, non-attendance at lectures and ultimately low grades," Simpson said.

In the meantime, medical research has indicated that youths who drink excessively - even before they enter college - are more likely to experience alcohol-related problems in their later years. What's more, students who regularly drink to the point of intoxication are more likely to experience alcohol-dependence throughout college. They are also likely to engage in frequent heavy drinking, to drive after drinking or to be injured under the influence of alcohol.
As such, Simpson argues that increased screening, counselling programmes and comprehensive interventions to reduce college drinking in Jamaica and the associated harm to students and others should be pursued.

"I think on-campus counselling centres are very important. Presently, I know counselling is offered on our college campuses but people are still falling through the cracks. I think identification of the high-risk students from early is important because peer pressure can influence those who were not high-risk to begin with," the lecturer noted.

Dr Kelly also believes such efforts - screening and counselling strategies - can prove efficient among college populations.

"I think it's extremely important that colleges also utilise the services of organisations like RISE Life to help with counselling because not all our colleges have the adequate resources. With all that's happening in our society nowadays, we have to do all we can to help our students."