Kanye West: Been caught stealing? Critics are hailing the hip-hop artist's new album Yeezus as boundary-pushing....Kanye West’s Yeezus and the art of stealing

Kanye West

“Good artists borrow, great artists steal.” That quote has been variously attributed to people who are, indisputably, great artists: T.S. Eliot and Picasso, for starters. Those who create at a high level will be the first to acknowledge that even their greatest works aren’t completely original. It’s just that some artists are better than others when it comes to appropriating the past and incorporating it into their own work. READ More...

HE FOUND A HOME: Edward Snowden Asylum To Be Offered By Venezuela, President Nicolás Maduro Says

CARACAS, July 5 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro offered asylum to former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden on Friday in defiance of Washington, which is demanding his arrest for divulging details of secret U.S. spy programs.

"In the name of America's dignity ... I have decided to offer humanitarian asylum to Edward Snowden," Maduro told a military parade marking Venezuela's independence day.

"He is a young man who has told the truth, in the spirit of rebellion, about the United States spying on the whole world."

The 30-year-old former National Security Agency contractor is believed to be holed up in the transit area of Moscow's Sheremetyevo international airport. READ More...

OLYMPIAN Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce sharpening for 200m rewards

Fraser-Pryce

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce, last year, tested the water doing the sprint double at a major championship. Now she is a legitimate contender to take both 100 and 200 metres at the upcoming World Championship.

Fraser-Pryce surprised many by taking the 200m silver medal in London in a personal best of 22.09 and she’s positioning herself as a threat to the do the sprint double in Moscow. But the double Olympic 100m gold medallist admits there is a lot more work needed for her to reach that level in the 200m.

“Last year was a bit of testing the water for me, where I did the 100 and 200 at a major championships, which was rewarding. Now that I look back at it, I can take a lot from it,” Fraser Pryce said at a Diamond League press conference Friday.

“I’m definitely working more at the 200 because I can be a little off in the 200 because I’m still trying to learn the event. I’m not one of those athletes who will have a burst of energy to the line. I attack it from the start. The more 200s I do, the more I’ll know whether this works or that works,” she added. READ More...

 

IN JAMAICA: Policeman Accused Of Killing Pregnant Woman To Go On Trial December 2

Barbara Gayle, Justice Coordinator

Corporal Dwayne Smart, who is charged with the 2012 murder of a pregnant woman in St Thomas, is to go on trial on December 2. 

He was further remanded when he appeared before Justice Leighton Pusey in the Home Circuit Court today. Jusitce Pusey deferred a bail application by Smart’s lawyer, Valerie Neita-Robertson. 

It is to be heard in chambers by July 31. The policeman has been in custody since last September after being charged with the murder of Kay-Ann Lamont. The Crown is alleging that Lamont and Corporal Smart got into an altercation after he attempted to arrest her for using indecent language. 

During the scuffle, Corporal Smart allegedly shot the pregnant woman twice in the head, killing her. READ More...

IN JAMAICA: Businesswoman Shot Dead Off Weymouth Drive

Meliissa Clarke

A businesswoman was shot dead as she left her home near Weymouth Drive in Washington Gardens, south St Andrew this morning. 

She has been identified as 29-year-old Melissa Clarke, more popular known as Denise. 
Clarke operated Lavish Eyelash, a cosmetology store, located in Central Plaza, in Half Way Tree. 

Relatives say Clarke leaves behind a four-year-old daughter. 
According to one relative, Clarke had just closed the gate to her home and got into her grey BMW motorcar when a white car approached. It's reported that the occupants of the vehicle opened fire, hitting her three times. Clarke was rushed to hospital where she died. READ More...

Six-Y-O Wins Spelling Bee in JAMAICA

Rajae Watson of Gentles Kinder Campus,
 the Kiwanis Club of Linstead 2013
Champion speller, is flanked by
 second-place winner Breanna Nelson (right)
 of Mount Rosser Primary School,
 and third-place winner
Davinia Andrade (left), also
 of Gentles Kinder Campus. 

LINSTEAD, St Catherine:

IT WAS a proud moment for six-year-old Rajae Watson of Gentles Kinder Campus in Rosemount when he copped the Kiwanis Club of Linstead 2013 Spelling Bee championship.

Rajae, sponsored by Discovery Travel, pocketed the Asly Gayle Trophy.

Six-year-old Breanna Nelson of Mount Rosser Primary School, who was sponsored by JTA Credit Union, finished second, while Davinia Andrade of Gentles Kinder Campus, sponsored by Kingston Bookshop was the third-placewinner.

Twenty-six students from basic schools in Ewarton, Bog Walk and Linstead participated in the contest which was held at the Linstead Methodist Church Hall recently. READ More...

WATCH: Former NFL Player Confronted By Son He Left Behind

WATCH: Former NFL Player Confronted By Son He Left Behind

Aveion Cason Sr. is a former NFL running back who spent nine seasons playing with the pros. Despite the rarity of his football success, Cason grew up experiencing a much more common epidemic faced by boys across the nation: He is a fatherless son. Yet when Cason had a son of his own, Aveion Jr., the former NFL player was absent in his child's life as well, continuing the fatherless-son cycle.

Though Cason recently reentered Aveion Jr.'s life, both still harbor strong emotions about growing up fatherless, something they open up about on "Oprah's Lifeclass" with Iyanla Vanzant.

"I grew up without a father," Cason says. "I feel resentment with my father coming up because he's never been around, and when I talk to my son, I feel like he feels the same way."

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IN JAMAICA- Gay Raid: Police Evict Men From Abandoned St Andrew Home...Members of a gay clan wept with despair late yesterday, after a large contingent of police booted them.

A Policeman watches over evicted gay men

Members of a gay clan wept with despair late yesterday, after a large contingent of police booted them from a previously abandoned house in upscale Millsborough Avenue, St Andrew, in which they lived after fleeing from the Golden Triangle.

"If mi go back home, mi dead," wailed one young man, whose face was bleached white, not unlike other members of his group.

The team of lawmen, wearing dust masks and armed with high-powered weapons, encircled the men in spectacular fashion and herded them out into the yard as they attempted to make their escape.

"Mi a beg you a week to find somewhere else," pleaded another. "Why the picture (photographs)?" he protested, as a team of journalists and photographers accompanied the police party on the premises.

The police told The Gleaner the building would be demolished today, after residents complained that the men have been wreaking havoc in the usually quiet neighbourhood. READ More...

Gay Runs 9.79 To Beat Asafa (9.88) In Diamond League Race Today.

Asafa Powell

Tyson Gay

Jamaica's Asafa Powell runs 9.88 coming in second behind Tyson Gay who clocked 9.79 to take first place in the men's 100m at the Lausanne Diamond League meeting today. 

Novlene Williams-Mills clocked 50.87 to take third place in the womens 400m, Francena McCorory came in first with 50.36 and Amantle Montsho second in 50.37. READ More...

Malia Obama Totally Took A Few Style Tips From Her Mom (PHOTOS)

Happy birthday, Malia Obama!

Turning 15 is no small milestone -- especially when you're celebrating in the White House. Fortunately, Malia has her mother, Michelle, to lead her into young adulthood with the grace and elegance of a first lady. Mrs. O has set quite an example for her daughters, and we suspect Malia will be spending her formative years decked out in the styles her mother has always favored. Hey, they're already coordinating outfits...

So in honor of Malia's birthday today (July 4), we're taking a closer look at just how much the first lady has influenced her own little lady.

An Affinity For Sleeveless READ More...

Nelson Mandela Being Kept Alive By Life Support, Health Described As 'Perilous'

Lehlogonolo Nkosi, 7, holds a portrait of Nelson Mandela as she and her grandmother Florah, 52, unseen, leave after visiting the entrance where flowers and get-well messages have been left by well-wishers at the Mediclinic Heart Hospital where former South African President Nelson Mandela is being treated in Pretoria, South Africa Wednesday, July 3, 2013. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

JOHANNESBURG -- Nelson Mandela is being kept alive by a breathing machine and faces "impending death," court documents show, as his family gravesite was restored Thursday.

Mandela's health is "perilous" and he is being kept alive by life support, according to documents filed in the court case that resulted in the remains of the former president's three deceased children being reburied Thursday in their original graves.

"The anticipation of his impending death is based on real and substantial grounds," the court filing said.

"He's basically gone," said Charlene Smith, an authorized biographer of the former anti-apartheid leader. "He's not there. He's not there." READ More....

Please donate to PALAS today online at www.PALAS1.org or send a check to PALAS, P.O Box 5461, Alpharetta GA 30023. Over 125 applicants in 2013 with outstanding school grades but a lack of funds to take them through school.

www.PALAS1.org

4 year old NATASHA BROWN'S FUNERAL IN TRELAWNY: 'There is a dress code for church!' Culture minister laments erosion of standards at murdered 4-y-o’s funeral

Lisa Hannah Speaks at Funeral

DUANVALE, Trelawny — Minister of Youth and Culture Lisa Hanna has called on the Church to insist that persons passing through its doors adhere to a dress code.

"As a young woman myself, over the past months I recognise that there is another value system in our midst that is being eroded — just the simple way we come, as women and men, to pay tribute to church and how we put ourselves together. The time has come for the church to say there is a dress code for church," Hanna said. She further noted: "We have to set standards, we have to set respect, and we must never be afraid as the people of this great country to tell the truth when the truth must be heard".

Students of Duanvale Basic
 School perform at  funeral

She was speaking at the Duanvale New Testament Church of God Saturday at the thanksgiving service for Natasha Brown, the four-year-old girl who was beheaded and dumped in a sinkhole in the community.

Hanna, who was among scores of mourners, underscored that she was not in attendance at the emotional service to "condemn anyone", but charged that everyone should shoulder the responsibility of "taking the community back". READ More...

 

IN JAMAICA: Six arrested in Portland gun, ammo bust 18 firearms, 1,279 bullets seized

The guns and ammunition seized
on display at the Buff Bay
 Police Station in Portland, yesterday.

 

BUFF BAY, PORTLAND — The Portland police yesterday seized 18 firearms and 1,279 rounds of assorted ammunition, believed to have been shipped from neighbouring Haiti, when they intercepted a minivan travelling in the parish yesterday. The haul included 10 pistols, five revolvers, two shotguns and one Intratec 9mm pistol. Six men have been arrested in connection with the find.

According to Assistant Commissioner of Police Ealan Powell, who heads the Area 2 Police, lawmen — acting on information received on Monday — began their operation at about 10:15 am on the shores of Drapers in the parish where the two male occupants of a boat, including its captain, were arrested and the boat seized.

That operation led them on the trail of the minivan, which was intercepted in the Buff Bay area at about 12:30 pm immediately after it allegedly unloaded a container with the contraband. The four men on board were arrested and their cellular phones confiscated. The police said at least two of the men gave Kingston addresses.

Yesterday, ACP Powell commended his team, which included members of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Coast Guard, for their effort. Read more...  

BET Awards Top Flow Ratings : As some of Jamaica's most popular dancehall artistes delivered the most-talked-about performance at the 2013 BET Awards, BET (Flow Channel 382) ranked as the No. 1 channel watched on Flow's network between 9:30 p.m. and midnight.

Elephant Man performs at BET awards

As some of Jamaica's most popular dancehall artistes delivered the most-talked-about performance at the 2013 BET Awards, BET (Flow Channel 382) ranked as the No. 1 channel watched on Flow's network between 9:30 p.m. and midnight.

Flow's Advertising Intelligence (AI) Report, the first digitally based media intelligence report available in Jamaica, reveal that as Dawn Penn, Chaka Demus & Pliers, Beenie Man and Elephant Man stole the show and made Nikki Minaj go nuts, BET commanded the highest viewership on Flow's digital cable television service.

"Once again, as Jamaicans took the spotlight at an internationalentertainment event, Jamaican fans at home were able to see the excitement as it happened live," said Michael Look Tong, director of media services at Columbus Communications Jamaica Limited, operators of the Flow brand in Jamaica. READ More...

'DREAM BIG!' Digicel, Camara Foundations Donate Computers To Arcadia Primary, Encourage Students To Pursue Excellence

Lindsay Templer (background) of the
 Digicel Foundation and Karl Gaynor,
 CEO of the Camara Jamaica Foundation,

A heartfelt plea from a small St Thomas school has been answered.

Last month, The Gleaner highlighted Arcadia Primary's good rating in the National Education Inspectorate (NEI) report, despite not having a computer for its students.

On Wednesday, Digicel and Camara Jamaica foundations, through their Project 1000, donated two desktop computers to the school.

Project 1000 seeks to provide a wide variety of information and communication technology support to 1,000 Jamaican schools over the next three years. An elated principal Carmen Chambers said the donation would be a big help.

"We do have some children who are slow and spelling is a problem, so it will help them," Chambers said. "It will help everybody, especially those who are struggling. We will work with them first." READ More....

IN JAMAICA- Gay Raid: Police Evict Men From Abandoned St Andrew Home...Members of a gay clan wept with despair late yesterday, after a large contingent of police booted them.

A Policeman watches over evicted gay men

Members of a gay clan wept with despair late yesterday, after a large contingent of police booted them from a previously abandoned house in upscale Millsborough Avenue, St Andrew, in which they lived after fleeing from the Golden Triangle.

"If mi go back home, mi dead," wailed one young man, whose face was bleached white, not unlike other members of his group.

The team of lawmen, wearing dust masks and armed with high-powered weapons, encircled the men in spectacular fashion and herded them out into the yard as they attempted to make their escape.

"Mi a beg you a week to find somewhere else," pleaded another. "Why the picture (photographs)?" he protested, as a team of journalists and photographers accompanied the police party on the premises.

The police told The Gleaner the building would be demolished today, after residents complained that the men have been wreaking havoc in the usually quiet neighbourhood. READ More...

2 Men Cured Of HIV? No Trace Of Virus After They Underwent Stem Cell Transplants

After undergoing stem cell transplants as treatment for cancer, two patients with HIV now have no trace of the virus in their systems and haven't required their HIV medication for several weeks, doctors reported today.

However, doctors cautioned that it's still too soon to say that the patients have been definitively cured, as they have only been off their treatments for 15 weeks and seven weeks, respectively.

The research, led by Dr. Timothy Henrich of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, reported the findings today at the International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention.

"They are doing very well," Henrich said at the conference, as reported by the Associated Press. "While these results are exciting, they do not yet indicate that the men have been cured. Only time will tell." READ More...

IT'S A COUP: CRACKDOWN: Muslim Brotherhood Leaders Arrested... Al Jazeera Offices Stormed... Constitution Suspended... Report: 5 Dead In Clashes... Morsi Defiant: I'm Still President... Moved To Undisclosed Location... U.S.: 'We're Not Taking Sides'... American Diplomats Ordered Home... PHOTOS: Egypt Celebrates... LIVE: JOY IN TAHRIR SQUARE... LATEST UPDATES

The Egyptian military has announced the removal of Mohammed Morsi as president, presenting a roadmap for reconciliation in the country.

In a televised statement on Wednesday, Egyptian military chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced that the plan calls for the temporary suspension of the constitution and the institution of a technocrat government. The chief justice of the constitutional court will lead the country in the interim.

Tahrir Square, where thousands of people had gathered during the day, erupted in celebrations as soon as the news was announced.

According to the Associated Press, an aide to Morsi said the Muslim Brotherhood leader has been moved to an undisclosed location.

More from the Associated Press: READ More...

8 Surprising Facts About Your Reproductive System: Surprising Reproductive System Facts: Test Your Know-How (QUIZ)

Ah, the glorious reproductive system. It's such an important part of women's lives, and yet so many of us know so little about it.

It's not our fault, really. If we're lucky, we get a crash course in what's what when we are tweens or teens in sex ed class, then it's just little drips and drabs of info gleaned from our annual visits to the OBGYN. But health experts say there are good, nay great, reasons for us women to brush up on our facts. Understanding how the reproductive system works helps us monitor our own well being and get help when something seems off. It also helps us make smart, informed decisions about big issues like family planning, and grounds us in the sense that we have agency when it comes to our reproductive health.

So, think you know all about your reproductive system? Take our quiz and put your know-how to the test. And if there are any favorite factoids we left off the list, let us know in the comments. READ More...

IN JAMAICA: Two policemen charged with the murders of Derrick Bolton and Rohan Dixon in Tredegar Park, St Catherine, will have to pay $350,000 each before they will be released on bail.

The two policemen charged with the murders of Derrick Bolton and Rohan Dixon in Tredegar Park, St Catherine, will have to pay $350,000 each before they will be released on bail.Justice Bryan Sykes made the order yesterday when he granted the policemen bail in the sum of $700,000, each with one to four sureties. They are to return to the Home Circuit Court on July 11.

Corporal David Hutchinson and Constable Kenneth Daley were charged with the double murder following a ruling by the director of public prosecutions (DPP).

Hutchinson is being represented by attorney-at-law Valerie Neita-Robertson while Daley is represented by attorney-at-law Peter Champagnie. READ More...

'I Want To Continue Dominating Until 2016' - Usain Bolt Wants To Rule Track Up To Rio Olympic Games

PARIS (AP):

Bolt at Press Conference in Paris

Older and wiser, Usain Bolt is out to dominate his rivals on the track at least until the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

The six-time Olympic champion, who is competing at the Areva meetingin Paris on Saturday, looks to be back in shape after his form and motivation were questioned following a defeat by American sprinter Justin Gatlin at the Golden Gala on June 6.

Bolt has recovered since then by winning the 200 metres at the Bislett Games and running 9.94 on home soil over 100 metres at the Jamaican trials on June 21.

And he clearly wants to keep that form going.

"I want to continue dominating until the next Olympics. I have to work hard, train hard and stay focused," Bolt told a news conference yesterday. "I've won everything already, but now it's to show that I can be a dominant sprinter. You want to dominate for the rest of your career."

In some ways, losing to Gatlin may even have helped the tall Jamaican to get back into his stride. READ More...

'Mothers, Wives, Sisters And Daughters Are Dying At Rates We Have Never Seen Before'.....Drug Overdose Deaths From Prescription Painkillers Spike Among Middle-Aged Women

ATLANTA — Overdose deaths in the U.S. are rising fastest among middle-aged women, and their drug of choice is usually prescription painkillers, the government reported Tuesday.

"Mothers, wives, sisters and daughters are dying at rates that we have never seen before," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which compiled the data.

The problem is one of the few health issues the CDC is working on that are clearly getting worse, he added.

For many decades, the overwhelming majority of U.S. overdose deaths were men killed by heroin or cocaine. But by 2010, 40 percent were women – most of them middle-aged women who took prescription painkillers.

Skyrocketing female overdose death rates are closely tied to a boom in the overall use of prescribed painkillers. The new report is the CDC's first to spotlight how the death trend has been more dramatic among women. READ More...

Dennis Rodman Wants Nobel Peace Prize Nomination, Former NBA Star Tells Sports Illustrated

Dennis Rodman says he wants to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Here, Rodman attends 'All Star Celebrity Apprentice' Finale at Cipriani 42nd Street on May 19, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Robin Marchant/Getty Images)

Dennis Rodman has high hopes for the coming year. Specifically, the former NBA star says he hopes to clinch a nomination for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize.

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Rodman spoke about his surprise trip to North Korea earlier this year, saying that he's made it his "mission…to break the ice between hostile countries."

“Why it’s been left to me to smooth things over, I don’t know. Dennis Rodman, of all people. Keeping us safe is really not my job; it’s [President Barack Obama's] job," the former Chicago Bull said. "But I’ll tell you this: If I don’t finish in the top three for the next Nobel Peace Prize, something’s seriously wrong." READ More...

EDDIE MURPHY - "REDLIGHT" feat...Snoop Lion (SINGS A WICKED REGGAE CHUNE) :BRAND NEW VIDEO HOTTEST MUSIC OUT TODAY IS A REGGAE :

Please donate to PALAS today online at www.PALAS1.org or send a check to PALAS, P.O Box 5461, Alpharetta GA 30023. Over 125 applicants in 2013 with outstanding school grades but a lack of funds to take them through school.

www.PALAS1.org

JAMAICA BET AWARDS 2013 with BEENIEMAN, ELEPHANTMAN, DAWN PENN, NIKI MINAJ, CHAKADEMUS & PLIERS (PLAY VIDEO)

BOOST FOR DANCEHALL MUSIC from BET Boost?

SOCIAL media lit up following the performance of four Jamaican acts — Dawn Penn, Chaka Demus and Pliers, Beenie Man and Elephant Man — at the BET Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday night.

The event offered the Jamaicans a five-minute medley which saw Penn performing her perennial hit No No No; Chaka Demus and Pliers dropping Murder She Wrote, Beenie Man offering Who Am I (Girls Dem Sugar) and Rum and Red Bull while the 'energy god' Elephant Man brought the arena to its feet with Pon Di River and Signal Di Plane.

Elephant Man (left, foreground) performing at the BET Awards held in Los Angeles, California, on Sunday night. (Photo: AP)

For many, this represents a shot in the arm for dancehall music's faltering presence on the international scene.

One person expressing this sentiment is Aaron Talbert, vice president for marketing at VP Records — the world's leading distributor of dancehall music. Read more:

CHRISTIANA, Manchester: A lifeline for slow learners Holmwood's reading programme changing lives

CHRISTIANA, Manchester — Up until last year, when Holmwood Technical High School received its first batch of students from the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT), the majority of the student population came through the Grade Nine Achievement Test (GNAT), according to principal, Paul Bailey.

The drawback of such an arrangement, he said, was that the majority of the students entering the institution were not reading at their grade level. That meant their general academic performance was negatively affected.

One of two top female progressive readers, Semoy Clarke, collects the award for being most outstanding, sponsored by Christiana businessman and President Elect of the Rotary Club of Christiana Paul Patmore.(PHOTOS: GREGORY

Bailey said that it was not uncommon to have students graduating from fifth-form well beyond the average age of school leavers because upon entering the institution they had to repeat grades to be brought up to par. Read more: