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SOUTH AFRICA: The Handshake Seen Around The World, Obama shakes hands with Cuba's Raul Castro..... Will The Republicans make a big deal about this?
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — President Barack Obama has shaken hands with Cuban President Raul Castro at a memorial service for former South African President Nelson Mandela.
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| US President Barack Obama shakes hands with Cuban President Raul Castro at the FNB Stadium in Soweto, South Africa |
The handshake between the leaders of the two Cold War enemies came during a ceremony that's focused on Mandela's legacy of reconciliation. Obama was greeting a line of world leaders and heads of state attending the memorial in Johannesburg. He also shook hands with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who has clashed with Obama over alleged National Security Agency spying.
The U.S. and Cuba have recently taken small steps toward rapprochement, raising hopes the two nations could be on the verge of a breakthrough in relations. But skeptics caution that the two countries have shown signs of a thaw in the past, only to fall back into old recriminations. Read more:
Few Can 'Tess'- Jamaicans Assess Chin's Competition As 'The Voice' Nears End..... "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (VIDEO)....Tessane is # 2 on iTUNES DOWNLOAD
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| Tessanne- NBC photo |
- Davina Henry.
IN KINGSTON, JAMAICA: Gunman shoots his 6 month old infant niece, boy Police searching for gunman who shot kids
A gunman shot his six-month old niece and a teenage boy yesterday during a heated argument with other thugs at Pink Lane in downtown Kingston. Up to press time last night, the 16-year-old boy and the infant were still being treated in hospital.
Minutes later, gunshots were heard in the area,” said Superintendent Steve McGregor. “Since the incident, the police have launched a search for persons involved,” McGregor told the Jamaica Observer, adding that the police will be keeping a close watch on the area to ensure that the incident does not escalate. Read more:
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa: Barack Obama Remembers Nelson Mandela, His Legacy (VIDEO/PHOTOS).....Ubuntu, "I Am Because You Are".....
President Barack Obama spoke at the memorial service for South African icon Nelson Mandela. (NBCNews.com)
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — President Barack Obama arrived in South Africa on Tuesday for a day of remembrance and celebration for his personal hero Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid icon who died last week at age 95.
Obama's motorcade pulled up to a rain-soaked stadium
in Johannesburg about an hour into the ceremony, where world leaders and Mandela's grandchildren were lionizing the former South African president. Mourners erupted into massive cheers as they first spottedObama
in Johannesburg about an hour into the ceremony, where world leaders and Mandela's grandchildren were lionizing the former South African president. Mourners erupted into massive cheers as they first spottedObama 
and first lady Michelle Obama on television screens. Joining Obama on the 16-hour trip aboard Air Force One were former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter were also scheduled to attend the memorial service, but traveled to South Africa separately. read moreStar witness to be recalled in VYBZ Kartel trial
THE prosecution's star witness in the murder trial of entertainer Adidja Palmer, better known as Vybz Kartel, and four other men in the Supreme Court in downtown Kingston will be recalled to the witness stand.
Defence attorney Tom Tavares-Finson, who is representing Kartel, informed the court that he wanted to further question the witness in relation to a letter that the witness denied writing and sending to the Office of the Public Defender.
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| Entertainer Vybz Kartel entering the Supreme Court during a recent hearing. (OBSERVER FILE PHOTO) |
The team of defence lawyers contend that the witness penned the letter, claiming that he was forced by police to give a statement implicating Kartel, Shawn 'Shawn Storm' Campbell, André 'Mad Suss' St John, Shane Williams, and Kahira, Jones and that he had seen Clive 'Lizard' Williams after the day he was allegedly murdered in August 2011.
The defence is also claiming that the witness, who testified that he saw Williams' body lying motionless in the living room of a house Kartel owned at Havendale in St Andrew, gave his aunt the letter to deliver to the public defender.
Read more:
Vote for TESSANNE CHIN (855-864-2305) on The VOICE......SHARE & VOTE for TESSANNE- "Bridge Over Troubled Water"
Largely White Audience Turns Out To Hear Rand Paul Speak At African-American Outreach Event
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| Rand Paul |
WASHINGTON -- The Michigan Republican Party is seeking to increase its visibility in Democratic- and minority-heavy Detroit, and last week, it brought Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to the city to open the party's African-American Engagement Office. But if anything, the launch event put into stark relief just how much work the GOP has to do, when a largely white audience turned out to hear the senator speak.
Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus has said that attracting more minorities to the GOP is crucial for the party's future. He visited Michigan last month, hired radio personality Wayne Bradley to head the African-American Engagement effort in the state and launched the Michigan Black Advisory Council. read more
Fox News Paid Ousted Exec $8 Million In 'Hush Money': Gawker
We now know what it reportedly takes to keep a fired Fox News executive from spilling the beans on all the juicy inner workings at the network: about $8 million.
That's the figure that Gawker said Brian Lewis, the ousted former consigliere to Roger Ailes, was paid by Fox News in a recently uncovered settlement.
Gawker, which reported the figure on Monday, described the payment as "hush money." The site's report is just the latest in a long-running story of intrigue inside one of the most secretive and cutthroat companies in the media industry.
Lewis, who was Ailes' right-hand-man for years before falling out with him, was clearly a potential threat to Fox News and News Corp; as his lawyer told the media in a statement in June, "Roger Ailes and Newscorp have a lot more to fear from Brian Lewis telling the truth about them than Brian Lewis has to fear from Roger Ailes and his toadies telling lies about Brian Lewis."
Ice, ice baby: Thousands of flights canceled as wintry weather wallops East Coast
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Federal agencies in Washington will open two hours late Monday
- Parts of the East Coast from Virginia to New York could get a quarter inch of ice
- More than 3,700 flights have been canceled Sunday and Monday
- "The apocalypse has started," one Texan says
(CNN) -- As Texas begins to thaw from its bizarre deep freeze, East Coast states more accustomed to ice could see a lot of it Monday.
"The greatest area of concern is in central Virginia to southeast New York, where freezing rain is possible," the National Weather Service said. Some parts may see up to a quarter of an inch of ice before temperatures rise late Monday morning and the storm system leaves.
Federal agencies in Washington will open two hours late Monday due to the weather, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
And across the country, stranded travelers are now living at airports as the nasty wintry weather has canceled thousands of flights. read more
A city inside an airport
ENGLAND, UK: Rally For Black Music - Protesters Call For A Return Of Reggae, Soca, Gospel
MUSIC LOVERS braved the cold on Saturday, November 30, outside the Global Radio building in Leicester Square to protest the rebranding of the station as Capital XTRA.
Members of the community, holding placards, came out in force to show support for the 'We Want Our Choice' of music campaign chanting "What do we want? Choice FM! When do we want it? Now!"
The peaceful demonstration was organised by BECTU, the United Kingdom's broadcast media and entertainment trade union, and The Voice to protest against the rebranding of Choice FM's playlist.
Choice FM was renamed Capital XTRA on October 3, and shows playing the kind of music it was known for such as reggae, gospel and soca (required under the terms of the station's original licence) were dropped.
Campaigner Lee Jasper was on top form. He told the crowd of protestors: "This is disrespect to the black community."
The crowd cheered him on, chanting in response: "Our voice? Our Choice! Our voice? Our Choice!" read more
IN JAMAICA: Pastor lashes out at 'injustices' faced by gays....."How many Christians have you heard calling out for any kind of help for those young men who have taken refuge in the gully,"
Religious leaders have often come out against the lifestyle of homosexuals, also called gays, but one clergyman yesterday defended them, saying he was disappointed that more Christians were not speaking out against the injustices faced by the men, who are often scorned by the society.
"How many Christians have you heard calling out for any kind of help for those young men who have taken refuge in the gully," said Rev Sean Major Campbell, priest at Christ Church, Vineyard Town in St Andrew.
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| Rev Sean Major-Campbell (right) greets Counsellor of the South African High Commission to Jamaica , Peter Makwarela, after a religious service to mark International Human Rights Day and the life and work of Nelson Mandela yesterday at Christ Church, Vineyard Town, St Andrew. (PHOTO: JOSEPH WELLINGTON) |
He was speaking about an incident last week in which eight men, who police said were members of the homosexual community, were arrested in connection with a series of robberies in and around the New Kingston area.
"We need to repent as a church as we have too often been agents of negative silence," said the Anglican priest.The man of the cloth was speaking during Jamaicans for Justice's (JFJ) Church Service to commemorate International Human Rights Day and the life and work of Nelson Mandela. Read more:
7 Holiday Foods To Avoid If You Don't Want To Gain Weight.... 1) Eggnog 2) Caramel Popcorn 3) Meatballs 4) Green Bean Casserole and more......
The upcoming days will prove to be a virtual minefield of diet saboteurs and figure-fatteners, with holiday cheer all around. You'll encounter delicious cheese logs at the staff holiday party and be greeted by the sweet aroma of pumpkin spice at the coffee shop. There's no escaping it.
We're not necessarily saying you need to give up wine, bread, and cheese -- although it certainly wouldn't hurt after eating your body's weight in pumpkin pie over Thanksgiving. But if you don't want to give yourself an early Christmas present (we're talking an extra 5 pounds), then do yourself a favor and at least avoid these calorically-laden food offenders. read more
Patriots Stun Browns 27-26: Controversial Pass Interference Call Sets Up Winning Touchdown (VIDEO)
Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots celebrates following a touchdown late in the fourth.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — This was one impressive comeback, even for Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
Brady threw two touchdown passes in the final 61 seconds, helping the Patriots rally for a 27-26 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
The Patriots (10-3) cut the deficit to 26-21 on Brady's 2-yard touchdown pass to Julian Edelman with 1:01 left. Then Kyle Arrington recovered the onside kick at the Cleveland 40-yard line. The successful recovery was set up by an unnecessary roughness penalty for a hit on Edelman. That allowed the Patriots to kick off from the 50-yard line rather than their 35. Arrington recovered after Cleveland's Fozzy Whitaker touched, but couldn't control, the ball. read more
KINGSTON, Jamaica : Cocaine weighing 362 kilograms with an estimated street value of J$494 million was seized at the Kingston Wharf
KINGSTON, Jamaica -- Cocaine weighing 362 kilograms with an estimated street value of J$494 million was seized at the Kingston Container Terminal at Port Bustamante Saturday morning.
No one was arrested in connection with the seizure, the largest since the start of the year, police say. Information from the Transnational Crime and Narcotics Division (TCND) say that about 8:20 am security personnel were making checks at the facility when they came across “an empty container”.
The police and members of the Contraband Enforcement Team of Jamaica Customs were alerted. An examination of the container, which originated in Venezuela and destined for the Netherlands revealed ten travelling bags with rectangular parcels containing cocaine. Personnel from the TCND are investigating. Read more:Six Things Nelson Mandela Believed That Most People Won’t Talk About....1. Mandela blasted the Iraq War and American imperialism....2. Mandela called freedom from poverty a “fundamental human right.”...3. Mandela criticized the “War on Terror” and the labeling of individuals as terrorists without due process & more...
In the desire to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s life — an iconic figure who triumphed over South Africa’s brutal apartheid regime — it’s tempting to homogenize his views into something everyone can support. This is not, however, an accurate representation of the man.
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| Mandela & Castro |
Mandela was a political activist and agitator. He did not shy away from controversy and he did not seek — or obtain — universal approval. Before and after his release from prison, he embraced an unabashedly progressive and provocative platform. As one commentator put itshortly after the announcement of the freedom fighter’s death, “Mandela will never, ever be your minstrel. Over the next few days you will try so, so hard to make him something he was not, and you will fail. You will try to smooth him, to sandblast him, to take away his Malcolm X. You will try to hide his anger from view.”
As the world remembers Mandela, here are some of the things he believed that many will gloss over. read more
IN JAMAICA: Web Of Corruption - JPs, Doctors And Civil Servants Colluding To Allow Persons To 'Beat The System'....."I gave the man my $20,000 and the form in the morning and him drop off my driver's licence at mi house that night".
Western Bureau:The tag of corruption, placed on justices of the peace (JPs) who are collecting fees for the services they should be providing for free, is being linked to a wider scheme involving other public officials.
"It is all but impossible for a corrupt JP to get away with an act of deception without being in collusion with other public officials," a senior JP based in St James told The Sunday Gleaner, on condition of anonymity.
"For example, to get a driver's licence back door (illegally), it usually requires a corrupt JP, a corrupt doctor, a corrupt person at the examination depot and corrupt officials at the Island Revenue Department, all working in collusion."
The various corrupt officials work in tandem with a middleman who arranges the transaction, sometimes without the person getting the driver's licence having to leave his or her house.
"I gave the man my $20,000 and the form in the morning and him drop off my driver's licence at mi house that night," confessed one man who admitted to 'buying' his licence. read more
2 y-o Adam Kirby, Child prodigy becomes youngest member of British Mensa.....and he is already smarter than Barack Obama and David Cameron.....child prodigy Adam Kirby enjoys reading Shakespeare, learning Japanese, Spanish and French
A two-year-old has become the youngest member of British Mensa after taking an intelligence test that ranked him smarter than Barack Obama and David Cameron.
While most toddlers are busy learning to walk and scribbling on walls, child prodigy Adam Kirby enjoys reading Shakespeare, learning Japanese, Spanish and French, and even potty-trained himself.
Adam, from Mitcham, south London, took the Stanford-Binet IQ test and scored 141, 10 points higher that two of the most powerful world leaders and four points short of Genius level, despite not even being able to speak in full sentences yet.
Scroll down for video
The toddler’s parents Dean, 33, and Kerry-Ann, 31, say they realised their son was different when he’d potty-trained himself after reading a book on the subject aged just one.
MENSA: THE WORLD'S BIGGEST GENIUS CLUB
Mensa was founded in England in 1946 by Roland Berrill, a barrister, and Dr Lance Ware, a scientist and lawyer.
The society welcomes people from every walk of life whose IQ is in the top two per cent of the population.
Albert Einstein apparently had an IQ of 160, while former US presidents Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin and Bill Clinton also racked up very high IQs - mustering 128, 160 and 137 respectively.
Napoleon Bonaparte scored 145 and Sigmund Freud had a score of 156.
There are currently more than 1,000 members of Mensa aged under 18.
Children under the age of 10-and-a-half can join Mensa by submitting prior evidence of their IQ score being in the top two per cent.
Adults and children over the age of 10-and-a-half, take the Mensa Supervised IQ Test.
The youngest person to ever join British Mensa was Elise Tan Roberts in 2009 aged 2 years and four months.
At 29 months, Adam is able to spell 100 words, has conquered most of his times tables up to 10, has learnt his periodic table, and even mastered a world map puzzle designed for adults. Read more:
Wow: Columnist's Awful Comments On Mandela's Death
The world mourned the death of Nelson Mandela on Thursday, but at least one British columnist wanted it to stop mourning quite so much.
Rod Liddle--a writer for the Spectator magazine whose views on race tend towards the incendiary--scoffed at the amounts of coverage he was seeing on the BBC:It's as if the poor bugger now has to bear your entire self-flagellating white post-colonial bien pensant guilt; look! Famous nice black man dies! Let's re-run the entire history of South Africa. That's better than watching the country we're in being flattened by a storm.
Liddle hedged his bets by allowing that, "on balance," Mandela had probably done good in the world.
Joshua Bedford is young, gifted & Black......6 year-old studies Philosophy, Math, and History at Oxford University.... Scoring mostly 95 to 100 percent on all of his assignments
For those of you who may have taken a breath upon reading this headline, please be mindful that this feature is reflective of what has become a common norm for African American and global youth profiles in this particular Courier series.
He is young, gifted & Black. Joshua Bedford is now the youngest student to study at the University of Oxford. At the age of 6 in 2011, he earned over five Distinction Certificates in philosophy, mathematics and history.
As cited by his father, Knox Daniel in a contributing article on “10 Extraordinary Child Prodigies” in a January 11, 2012 posting of ODDEE, Joshua earned five distinctions at the Oxford, England campus and had additionally completed a master-class Research Project in Historical Enquiry on the Great Plague of 1665, earning him yet another Distinction. read more
NELSON MANDELA SONG.....Performed by Nomfusi & The Lucky Charms
Dedicated to Nelson Mandela and De Klerk who ended Apartheid peacefully
in South Africa and freed a whole nation. Performed by Nomfusi & The Lucky
Charms She is the new soul sensation from The Rainbow Nation
For more informations and bookings go to www.delicioustunes.com ,
join Nomfusi on Facebook and on Twitter www.nomfusi.com
Thanks to Richard Mills director of photography.
Thanks to Richard Mills director of photography.
Revered anti-apartheid fighter Nelson Mandela dies at 95
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP) — Nelson Mandela, the revered icon of South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle and a towering figure of 20th century politics, died yesterday, aged 95.
The Nobel Peace laureate, who was elected South Africa’s first black president after spending nearly three decades as a political prisoner, died at his Johannesburg home surrounded by his family, after a long battle against lung infection.
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| JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Nelson Mandela and Winnie Mandela give black power salutes as they enter Soccer City stadium in the Soweto township of Johannesburg shortly after his release from 27 years in prison on February 13, 1990. |
The news was announced to the nation and the world by a clearly emotional South African President Jacob Zuma in a live broadcast to the nation.
“Our beloved Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, the founding president of our democratic nation has departed,” said Zuma, who was also imprisoned on Robben Island. “Our nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a father.”
Mandela was discharged from hospital in September, but continued to receive intensive care at home. He had a long history of lung problems after contracting tuberculosis while in jail. Read more:
Biography of Nelson Mandela: End of Apartheid (VIDEO)
He was the first black president of South Africa, and he helped negotiate the end of apartheid rule. http://www.WatchMojo.comlearns more about the life and accomplishments of Nelson Mandela.
VYBZ KARTEL MURDER TRIAL: PATRICK LINTON, The court was told that his evidence had implications for national security....Jurors sent home to allow court to decide on admissibility of evidence
KINGSTON, Jamaica -- Jurors have been sent home and the courtroom cleared in the Vybz Kartel murder trial to allow the court to determine the admissibility of certain evidence in the case.
Patrick Linton, former head of the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Cybercrime Unit is giving evidence. The court was told that his evidence had implications for national security, hence the need to have the courtroom cleared. Linton's evidence relates to telephone and other devices seized from the entertainer.
Kartel, whose real name is Adijah Palmer, and four other men are on trial for the murder of Clive 'Lizard' Williams. The prosecution is contending that the murder was committed at the entertainer’s Havendale, St Andrew home on August 16, 2011. Read more:
Mandela is dead: Chronology of an icon
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Key dates in the life of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela:
July 18, 1918: Born into Thembu royal family in Mvezo village in southeastern South Africa.
1940: Expelled from Fort Hare University College for participating in a student strike.
1941: Moves to Johannesburg, becomes policeman at a mine.
1944: Officially joins the African National Congress (ANC).
1944: Marries Evelyn Mase, a trainee nurse.
1948: National Party takes power in South Africa with its policy of racial segregation known as apartheid
1952: Opens the first black law practice in Johannesburg with Oliver Tambo.
December 5, 1956: Is among 156 political activists arrested and charged with treason.
Read more:
The NELSON MANDELLA MEMORIAL - Song Free Nelson Mandella
It consists of 50 ten metre high laser cut steel plates set into the landscape, representing the 50 year anniversary of when and where Nelson Mandela was captured and arrested, on August 6, 1962 prior to his 27 years of incarceration. Standing at a particular point the columns come into focus and the image of Nelson Mandela can be seen.
The sculptor is Marco Cianfanelli, of Johannesburg, who studied Fine Art at Wits. Amazing.
Narrated and Edited by Rula Brown of RulaBrownNetwork.com and PALAS1.org.
NELSON MANDELA DEAD at 95........Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (Xhosa pronunciation: [xoˈliːɬaɬa manˈdeːla]) (18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999.
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (Xhosa pronunciation: [xoˈliːɬaɬa manˈdeːla]) (18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the first black South African to hold the office, and the first elected in a fully representative, multiracial election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid through tackling institutionalised racism, poverty and inequality, and fostering racial reconciliation. Politically an African nationalist and democratic socialist, he served as the President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1991 to 1997. Internationally, Mandela was the Secretary General of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1998 to 1999..
A Xhosa born to the Thembu royal family, Mandela attended the Fort Hare University and the University of Witwatersrand, where he studied law. Living in Johannesburg, he became involved in anti-colonial politics, joining the ANC and becoming a founding member of its Youth League. After theAfrikaner nationalists of the National Party came to power in 1948 and began implementing the policy of apartheid, he rose to prominence in the ANC's 1952 Defiance Campaign, was elected President of the Transvaal ANC Branch and oversaw the 1955 Congress of the People. Working as a lawyer, he was repeatedly arrested for seditious activities and, with the ANC leadership, was prosecuted in the Treason Trial from 1956 to 1961 but was found not guilty. Although initially committed to non-violent protest, in association with the South African Communist Party he co-founded the militant Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) in 1961, leading a bombing campaign against government targets. In 1962 he was arrested, convicted of sabotageand conspiracy to overthrow the government, and sentenced to life imprisonment in the Rivonia Trial.
Mandela served 27 years in prison, first on Robben Island, and later in Pollsmoor Prison and Victor Verster Prison. An international campaign lobbied for his release, which was granted in 1990 amid escalating civil strife. Becoming ANC President, Mandela published his autobiography and led negotiations with President F.W. de Klerk to abolish apartheid and establish multiracial elections in 1994, in which he led the ANC to victory. He was elected President and formed a Government of National Unity in an attempt to defuse ethnic tensions. As President, he promulgated a new constitution and initiated the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate past human rights abuses. Continuing the former government'sliberal economic policy, his administration introduced measures to encourage land reform, combat poverty, and expand healthcare services. Internationally, he acted as mediator between Libya and the United Kingdom in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial, and oversaw military intervention in Lesotho. He declined to run for a second term, and was succeeded by his deputy, Thabo Mbeki. Mandela subsequently became an elder statesman, focusing on charitable work in combating poverty and HIV/AIDS through the Nelson Mandela Foundation. Read more
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