IN JAMAICA: US$1.00 = JMD 103.5 & $167.37 to the British Pound Sterling........Currency Rates Update September 27:

The Jamaican dollar traded at $103.50 to the United States dollar today. 

It traded at $100.49 to the Canadian dollar, $167.37 to the British Pound Sterling and $139.34 to the euro. read more...

THEY TALK! FIRST TIME SINCE '79.....Obama Announces That He Spoke With Iranian President Hassan Rouhani By Phone

President Barack Obama said Friday that he spoke by telephone with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, in what was the first communication between the leaders of the two countries since the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
The call came after U.S. officials said earlier this week that the two would not meet at the U.N. General Assembly. The officials said that a meeting would be too "complicated" for the Iranians given the country's internal politics.
"The two of us discussed our ongoing efforts to reach an agreement over Iran's nuclear program," said Obama. "I reiterated to President Rouhani what I said in New York: while there were surely be important obstacles to moving forward and success is by no means guaranteed, I believe we can reach a comprehensive solution."
"Resolving this issue could serve as a major step forward in a new relationship between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran, one based on mutual interest and mutual respect," he said.
Rouhani took to Twitter to relay details of the call: read more...

POWERFUL COMMENT: Can China, America or CSME save JAMAICA?

SINCE slavery, we have had a problem creating jobs. The well-intentioned PNP and JLP made no impact. Full employment was achieved by communists or managed democracies as Singapore — the work of firm leaders. Why can't we?
Dr. Franklin Johnson
I don't think we should cede the country to China. Is this our best? For 50 + 1 years we failed to entice America to grow our country for us. Here comes China — déjà vu! Why not openly sole-source growth to China? Leave the Goat alone and offer St Thomas. They do the work, we watch, have elections, kill each other, and chat? We have to get serious about our lives and legacy; our dads left us freedom, what will we leave our kids — debt? The IMF deal is to get us back on track, not create growth. Migration to America saved us. Can we give self-reliance another shot? Leaders have never truly taken control of this country or its people. Migration masked failure and we factored access to the USA in our plans. 
They took our jobless and we developed a penchant for avoiding work. China tried communism and failed, then embraced capitalism, and now disruptive development empowers capital and creates wealth. "Oh, we are only 50." Bulls! we have Chinese here who fled communism. A nation is greater than the person. We choose to exalt self above nation. Repent! Let's use Chinese cash, observe their model and give up some choice to gain Norman Manley's avowed economic freedom. We cannot live large and build prosperity at one time. We must choose. read more...

O.J. Simpson got caught stealing more than a dozen (12) cookies in prison

O.J. Simpson Seeks Retrial In Las Vegas Court - Day 1
OJ Simpson
When O.J. Simpson was sentenced to 33 years in prison in 2008 for kidnapping and armed robbery, the assumption of many was that would effectively be the last we heard of perhaps the most notorious athlete in American history.

NOT SO BRIGHT

Find out who tops our list of the most stupid athletes in sports.
Well, Simpson may have evaded tacklers as good as any running back in history, but he has struggled mightily to avoid trouble and headlines — and not even prison can change that.
The 66-year-old Simpson was reportedly caught by guards recently at Nevada's Love­lock Correctional Center trying to steal more than a dozen oatmeal cookies, a violation of prison rules. According to the Daily Mail, "Guards noticed the 66-year-old hiding something under his prison clothes as he walked back to his cell after lunch."
Simpson was reportedly let off with only a warning, but suffered humiliation at the hands of fellow inmates and was in strict violation of doctor's orders. read more...

IN CLARENDON, JAMAICA: Basic School To Get Light After 73 Years

Several leading educators have been touting the need for more schools to incorporate technology in the delivery of lessons.
However, many of these technological learning aids require the use of electricity, an energy source that some schools, such as the York Town Basic School in Clarendon, have been doing without for years.
Principal of the York Town Basic School, Paulette Dixon-Reece, said since the school was founded in 1940, it has been without power.
Established by the York Town Brethren Church, the school was relocated to its current location in 1990, and partially equipped with the requisite wiring, but has never been connected to the grid.
"We are not able to get computers here, and sometimes we want to use audiovisual aids - like DVDs and so on - to make the lessons more interesting, and we can't do it because there's no electricity," Dixon-Reece lamented. read more...

Shaggy Returns To Roots - Artiste Goes Back To Basics For New Album - Heads To Rae Town For Jamaican Launch

Fans and friends descended on the Milk River Café in Brooklyn, New York, for the release of Shaggy's 12th studio album.
Shaggy
SHAGGY
His success, encompassed in an exemplary career spanning more than a decade, is still something he takes time to analyse.
"Everything changes when you are a reggae artiste who falls under the American gaze. The recognition in Jamaica, while paramount, does not measure up to the United States validation of an artiste," said Shaggy, putting his crossover appeal into context.
Produced by Sly and Robbie, Out of Many, One Music promises to excite and thrill music lovers. The album came about by chance when Sly and Robbie and Shaggy ended up on a tour.
The album has already received tremendous feedback from industry tastemakers through various listening parties.
Shaggy told The Gleaner he decided to go 'back to the roots' with this album. read more...

Coconut Oil Is Even More Amazing Than We Thought....The Coconut Oils Behind This Artist's 'Anointing' Skincare Regimen

While taking a stroll in one of our favorite Brooklyn neighborhoods, Prospect Heights, we met a lovely woman with an appreciation for natural beauty. Linda Cousins-Newton is a retired New York City teacher-turned-artist and storyteller whose daily skincare regimen includes lathering her body with various coconut oils.
Coconutoil400"I anoint my face and body with African shea butter mixed with Aura Glow Coconut Musk oil combined with Black Rose coconut oil," she explained. "I make this natural care and anointing regimen an adventure of sorts in greeting each new day. While doing so, I play positive and uplifting music, which contributes to the care of the mind."
Cousins-Newton's routine adds a whole new meaning to body and soul healing, don't you think? She's certainly inspired us to continue slathering coconut oil on our skin, especially if it means we can get a glowing complexion like this ageless beauty. read more...

CAN'T EVEN PASS THEIR OWN PLAN!....House GOP Lacks Votes For Its Debt Limit Hostage Proposal... Conservatives Complain: Not Hardline Enough... Could Be Delayed A Week... SET TO SHOOT THE HOSTAGE... DIRTY: Boehner Rules Out Passing 'Clean' Bill... White House 'Not Negotiating With People With A Bomb Strapped To Their Chest'

Debt Limit RepublicansWASHINGTON -- House Republican leaders rolled out their latest gambit to use the nation's debt limit to extract concessions from Democrats, but they may have spoken too soon.
Numerous members of the GOP conference emerged from their weekly closed-door meeting Thursday expressing confidence in a bill that would seek numerous cuts and legislative changes in return for raising the country's $16.7 trillion borrowing cap. They said a vote could be scheduled swiftly, with an Oct. 17 deadline looming.
But reports surfaced later in the day, as members thought the plan over, that there might not be enough votes in the fractious Republican caucus to pass it.
Leadership sources told HuffPost that such reports were "premature," but acknowledged they were "still talking to members, still listening to concerns." "I'd guess we need more votes," one said. read more...

ST ELIZABETH, Jamaica -- Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) deputy leader Christopher Tufton has publicly endorsed Audley Shaw for party leadership

ST ELIZABETH, Jamaica -- Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) deputy leader Christopher Tufton has publicly endorsed Audley Shaw for party leadership, insisting that the latter was the man best able to restructure, unify and lead the JLP to victory in elections.
“I believe he (Shaw) has the experience to reorganise the party machinery for winning elections again,” Tufton told JLP delegates a short while ago at an internal campaign rally at the BB Coke High School in St Elizabeth.
Shaw will seek to unseat current leader of the JLP Andrew Holness when the party goes to national conference in November.
Tufton, seen as a prospective leader of the JLP prior to his shock loss by just 13 votes to the People’s National Party’s (PNP) Hugh Buchanan for the South West St Elizabeth seat in the December 2011 parliamentary elections, said his decision had been taken rationally and without emotion. read more.... 

Marissa Alexander Gets a New Trial

Marissa Alexander, escorted by
 prison guards 
Photo: Screenshot
 from Anderson Cooper 360°
Marissa Alexander was denied immunity under Florida’s Stand Your Ground defense—and was subsequently sentenced to 20 years in prison after firing a warning shot in the air during an altercation with her ex-husband, Rico Gray. Alexander made clear that she feared for her life during the incident. Gray had twice been arrested for domestic abuse against Alexander; one of those times included an attack during a time when Alexander was pregnant. 
The case against Alexander was prosecuted by Angela Corey—the same attorney who also oversaw the prosecution in the George Zimmerman murder trial that resulted in a jury finding Zimmerman not guilty in connection to the killing of Trayvon Martin. The cases drew striking parallels about Florida’s justice system. read more....

UPDATE : 4 HOLMWOOD TECHNICAL STUDENTS KILLED....Mini-Bus Drivers In Holmwood Crash Had More Than 100 Tickets (VIDEO)

One of the three vehicles involved in the accident in the parish of Manchester yesterday morning. - Norman Grindley/ Chief Photographer
One of the three vehicles
involved in the accident
 in the parish of
 Manchester yesterday morning.
The head of the Police Traffic Division Senior Superintendent Radcliffe Lewis is reporting that the mini-bus drivers involved in Wednesday’s crash that claimed the lives of four students had been issued more than 100 traffic tickets in just over two years. 

The four students who attended the Holmwood Technical High School in Manchester, died when the buses, said to be racing, collided with a truck. One of the mini-bus drivers and five students remain in hospital while the other driver has been taken into custody. 

According to Lewis, since January 2011 one of the drivers has been issued 115 traffic tickets while the other received 105 tickets between November 2010 and this year. SSP Lewis has called for the authorities to get serious about implementing a registry for operators of public passenger vehicles.  read more....
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IN JAMAICA: HOLMWOOD TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL DAY OF HORROR - Four (4) Students Perish In Crash

It's a scene that is becoming too familiar, and not in a good way: grieving students weeping openly, and teary-eyed teachers trying to console them.
Once again, this was the picture at Holmwood Technical High School in Manchester.
Holmwood Technical High School students comfort each other after the deaths of their schoolmates. The students were killed in a three-vehicle accident in the parish yesterday morningThis after four more students were killed in an early-morning accident on their way to school yesterday. There was a feeling there was no simple 'moving on' from this one.
"I've seen accidents before, but I've never experienced anything like this," said staff member Patricia Reid-Clarke.
"This one I can't get past."
Reid-Clarke said she was among a few teachers travelling behind the ill-fated bus that collided with a truck on the Chudleigh main road.
Reid-Clarke was especially sad about the passing of one student, whom she felt could have been saved.
"We just couldn't get the back door open," she lamented. "You could see her wrenching in pain." read more...

JAMAICAN Singer Tessanne Chin wows coaches on US talent show with her voice on THE VOICE.

JAMAICAN singer Tessanne Chin blew away the four celebrity coaches on America's top vocal competition show, The Voice, with a powerful rendition of US singer Pink's hit song Try.
Tessanne Chin
The audience at the blind audition show, aired last night on NBC, erupted in wild cheers and applause when coach Christina Aguilera hit her power button to turn her chair around, signalling her interest in having Chin on her team, approximately five seconds after she started singing. WATCH PERFORMANCE.
The audience erupted again when fellow coaches CeeLo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton turned their chairs around before Chin had even finished the first verse of the song. At the end of her performance, Chin was praised by the coaches, all of whom are top musicians.
"You could easily win The Voice this year, I don't have a doubt in my mind," said Levine, the lead singer of pop rock band Maroon 5. Shelton, a country music singer, in his bid to woo Chin to join his team of competitors, said: "I won't lie to you like Adam and tell you you could easily win... it's very hard to win this. It takes a lot of hard work, but you're so far ahead of the game." read more.... 

Shaggy's 'Out Of Many, One Music' Hits The World

SHAGGY
Shaggy
Ranch Entertainment announced the release of Shaggy's 12th album yesterday. The album, titled Out of Many, One Music, produced by legendary Jamaican duo Sly & Robbie and Sting International, co-produced by Lenky Marsden, became available on iTunes and in music stores in the Caribbean. Shaggy, who appeared yesterday morning on one of New York's popular news morning shows, Pix 11, is set for a jam-packed week of promotions.
Shaggy will be hard-pressed to top achievements of the past - the artiste having two multiplatinum albums, eight No. 1 hits, 12 top-10 singles worldwide, a diamond-selling album and a Grammy for best reggae album.
However, reviews from elite members of the press and media have indicated that Out of Many, One Music is special. read more....

IN JAMAICA: Cari-Folk Singers' 40th Brings Out A Huge Crowd - No Disappointments After Fabulous Performances

A large number of persons showed up for The Cari-Folk Singers season finale on Sunday at the Little Theatre.
The Cari-Folk Singers perform the opening item 'From Under the Tree to Music Room' during the group's 40th Anniversary concert season at The Little Theatre on Sunday. - photos by Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
The Cari-Folk Singers perform the
 opening item 'From Under the Tree
 to Music Room' during the group's
 40th Anniversary concert
 season at The Little Theatre on Sunday.
They were rewarded with some fine performances from the group that began its musical journey 40 years ago with a bunch of sixth-form students from Excelsior High School. It was this beginning that inspired the opening act of the programme.
Aptly titled 'From Under the Tree to Music Room', the singers wearing what appeared to be Excelsior uniforms, re-enacted their musical birth with songs such as Bilban and Teacha lik de Gal. These were followed by an uplifting rendition of Gloria, and a spiritual delivery of Daniel God.
The gospel theme really began with the Prelude where the songs Give Thanks and Creation, were delivered with feeling, while the singersstood in a tightly bunched cluster. The cluster formation was repeated in various ways throughout the programme. read more...

JAMAICA AGAIN .....The Voice: TESSANNE CHIN: "Try"......Top performance for the night on NBC (CLICK VIDEO BELOW)

Tessanne Chin

This girl can sing.....Amazing rendition of "I Will Always Love You". Very Powerful Performance by ASHLY WILLIAMS on X-Factor

Ussain Bolt renews deal with PUMA

Usain Bolt (left) with PUMA CEO
Bjoern Gulden (PHOTO: PUMA)


 
KINGSTON, Jamaica -- Sprint sensation Usain Bolt has inked a renewed endorsement deal with PUMA that is to go beyond the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil, according to a release from the sports goods manufacturer Tuesday.
“PUMA has been with me since the very beginning. They recognised my talent at an early age and have supported me throughout, especially in the early years when I had some difficult times due to injuries,” Bolt is quoted as saying in the release.

“Their work and commitment to Jamaica is also very important to me. I have always been very happy to be a part of the PUMA family. I am proud to represent them and delighted to continue with them for the years ahead.” read more....

Anyone Who Pays $10,000 For A Gold iPhone Must Think It's Really Gold

Gold IphoneWe're starting to think that people believe Apple's new gold-colored iPhone 5S isactually made of gold.
Why else would anyone pay more than 50 times its retail value of $199 on eBay? But sure enough, some Apple enthusiast just paid $10,100 for a "VERY HARD TO FIND" 16GB gold iPhone 5s. In fact, he or she was just one of 51 bidders on the highly sought after device: read more...

4-Year-Old Boy Stands Up To Nairobi Gunman .......Elliott Prior, 4-Year-Old British Boy, Told Nairobi Attacker 'You're A Very Bad Man'

Elliott PriorOne of the Islamist attackers besieging a Nairobi shopping mall handed chocolate to a four-year-old British boy caught up in the crisis and asked for forgiveness, his uncle told a newspaper on Tuesday.
Four-year-old Elliott Prior, who had been shopping with his mother and sister at the Westgate mall when it came under attack on Saturday, confronted one of the militants, telling him "you're a very bad man," his uncle told The Sun.
Alex Coutts said the attacker took pity on the family and allowed them to escape, handing the children Mars bars as he told them: "Please forgive me, we are not monsters."
Elliott and his sister Amelie, both clearly distraught, were later pictured outside the mall, clutching the chocolate as a dead body lay behind them. read more...

Harvard University Announcement: No tuition and no student loans.....If you know of a family earning less than $60,000 a year with an honor student graduating from high school soon, Harvard University wants to pay the tuition

harvardFor another year, Harvard University announced on Friday, September 20th, 2013 that undergraduate students from low-income families will pay no tuition.In making the announcement, Harvard’s president Drew Faust (he replaced Larry Summers) said, “When only ten percent of the students in elite higher education come from families in the lower half of the income distribution, we are not doing enough. We are not doing enough in bringing elite higher education to the lower half of the income distribution.”
If you know of a family earning less than $60,000 a year with an honor student graduating from high school soon, Harvard University wants to pay the tuition. The prestigious university recently announced that undergraduate students from low-income families can go to Harvard for free… no tuition and no student loans! read more...

A Positive and Inspiring Story : From selling 'bag juice' to teaching in the classroom.......OLYMPIAN, Olivia McKoy fits in nicely at Hydel Group of Schools.

INSTEAD of toting bagged juices on the streets of Kingston, these days Olympian Olivia McKoy has her arms filled with books and markers as she heads to teach classes at the Hydel Group of Schools.
OLYMPIAN, Olivia McKoy pays
special attention to a student
 as she tries to further explain
the transposition
of formulae in Algebra.


 
McKoy, who was in July spotted at the intersection of Oxford Road and Knutsford Boulevard in New Kingston peddling bagged juices in a desperate attempt to make a living, has been given a place in the classroom by Hyacinth Bennett, director of the group of schools after her story was published in the Sunday Observer on July 21. On Friday, when the Jamaica Observer visited the school, McKoy stood in front of 32 students in a grade eight classroom, eloquently delivering the Mathematics formula to eager students bent on grasping just what was being written on the board. McKoy's professionalism and method of putting across the information resulted in the students positively responding to her questions after being shown an example in the transposition of formulae in algebra.
That was just one of McKoy's classes. She later explained that she teaches Mathematics and Literacy to grades seven, eight and nine students, while also helping out in the coaching of javelin throwers."I am teaching Math to seven, eighth and ninth graders, along with Literacy," McKoy said outside her classroom. read more...

IN JAMAICA: Businessman's murder shocks Mandeville......The house in which Mandeville businessman Alphonso Joseph was killed.

The house in which Mandeville
businessman Alphonso Joseph
was killed.


 
MANDEVILLE, Manchester — The local business community has responded with shock and sadness at news of the shooting death of businessman Alphonso Joseph, 48, at his McKinley Drive home late Thursday.
President of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce Wendy Freckleton urged the police high command in Manchester to conduct "the most thorough investigations to bring the criminals to justice".

Against the backdrop of a perception of rising crime in Manchester and the wider south central Jamaica in recent weeks, Freckleton told the Jamaica Observer that her organisation was "asking for more vigilance (from the police) throughout Manchester". She said that citizens, including the business community "were very concerned about their safety and were increasingly taking the necessary steps to protect themselves". The police said that Joseph, who operated a loan facility on Brumalia Road, was at home around 8:30 pm, when men entered the premises and demanded money. read more... 

Doctors: Anti-psychotic meds overused for dementia, kids

Anti-psychotic medications should not be the first treatments doctors or patients think of when dealing with dementia in an elderly person, behavior problems in a child or insomnia in an adult, a leading group of psychiatrists says in a new statement.
The American Psychiatric Association's (APA) new list of questionable uses of anti-psychotic medications is part of a broader campaign to educate patients and doctors about unneeded and possibly harmful medical treatments and tests. The campaign is called Choosing Wisely, and so far more than 50 medical groups have chimed in with lists of common practices that patients and doctors should question — everything from ordering too-frequent colonoscopies to using antibiotics for colds. read more...

IN JAMAICA : Baylis Joins Beauty Elites, Eyes Miss Universe Crown

Kerrie Baylis
Kerrie Baylis- Jamaican Beauty
Kerrie Baylis, a 24-year-old investment banker with a law degree, joined an elite cast of beauties who have won both the MissJamaica World and Miss Jamaica Universe crowns. She is the fourth woman to take the Miss Jamaica/Universe double, preceded by Sandra Foster, Christine Straw and Yendi Phillipps. However, Phillipps has been Jamaica's highest placed Miss Universe contestant to date, finishing second in 2010.
Baylis, who was crowned Miss Jamaica World in 2009, won the Miss Jamaica Universe pageant last Sunday evening at Jewels Resort in OchoRios.
She beat 10 rivals in the Uzuri International-hosted event, walking away with two sectional prizes: Most Aware and Best in Swimsuit. Baylis will represent Jamaica at the Miss Universe final in Russia in November.
With such a short time to prepare, Baylis told Flair she is very nervous. read more...

Dudus, Zekes' Relatives Among Long List Of Persons Of Interest

Dudus- File Pic
Individuals associated with well-known family names in the volatile Kingston Western and Central police divisions have appeared on a list of 35 persons of interest released by the Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) yesterday.
Amid a protracted gang war raging in the two police divisions, the CIB released the names of relatives of former Tivoli don Christopher 'Dudus' Coke, who is serving time in the United States after pleading guilty to gun and drug charges last year.
According to the police, the Coke relatives are associated with a gang known as Tivoli/Young Generations in the Kingston Western Division.
They are Leighton Coke, otherwise called 'Livity'; Michael Christopher Coke, otherwise called 'Titty Man'; and Lester Coke.
Others from the Tivoli/Young Generation Gang who have been summoned to the Denham Town Police Station are Okieve Rose, otherwise called 'Sugar'; Daniel Reid, otherwise called 'Mashi'; a man known only as 'Oliver' of a Wellington Street address; and a man known only as 'Sassa Frass'. read more...