3 Dead, Shooting At Baltimore Mall, Police Confirm.....

COLUMBIA, Md. (AP) — Police in Maryland say three people died Saturday in a shooting at a mall in suburban Baltimore, including the presumed gunman.

Police move in from a parking lot
 to the Mall in Columbia after reports
 of a multiple shooting, Saturday
Jan. 25, 2014 in Howard County, Md. |
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Howard County police said via Twitter that a shooting took place at the Mall in Columbia, a suburb of both Baltimore and Washington.

Authorities received a call to 911 at around 11:15 a.m. from someone reporting that shots had been fired. Police responded to the scene and found three people dead, including one person who was found near a gun and ammunition.

Police said they believed that one of people found dead was the shooter. There was no other information available about the two other people. Later, police said that two people with minor injuries were transported to a hospital for treatment. The scene was "believed to be secure" police said in a tweet released at about 12:36 p.m. more

IN JAMAICA: Five-year-olds stage art show to help school

FIVE-YEAR-OLD Creative Kids Learning Academy students Zoë Anzinger and Noah Levy will mount an art show tomorrow, proceeds from which will be used to help update the classrooms at their school.

The art show, which will be held at New Local Space Limited on Mountain View Avenue in St Andrew, will see the young artists selling more than 20 pieces of their work..

"This exhibition is an opportunity for the public to celebrate and encourage two children's love of art and their initiative to help out their school," a press release on the event stated.

It said the exhibition will run by appointment until February 15. more

VYBZ KARTEL MURDER TRIAL: Court hears damaging voice notes in Kartel trial Talk of Murder

VOICE notes laced with expletives and death threats, which are believed to be from an accused in the Vybz Kartel murder trial, were yesterday played for jurors in the closely watched case before the Home Circuit Court.

In some of the voice notes, dated August 14, 2011, the sender said that he was informed that his two "new shoes" were missing and that the guilty party would be killed if the "shoes" were not returned by eight o'clock that evening.

"Hombre," one of the voice notes started in an angry tone, "den yuh nuh know seh [expletive deleted] Lizard and Wee a go call my phone today an tell me seh dem cyan find di two [expletives deleted] new shoes dem weh mi gi dem dawg. Seh dem lock dem up inna a house... you lock two shoes and cyan find... mi [expletive deleted] shoes brethren and a come tell me [expletive deleted]... mi jus tell dem seh mek sure mi get mi shoes by eight o'clock... ."

During the playing of the nine voice notes, Vybz Kartel, sporting a shaved head, could be seen resting his chin in his right palm, his hand propped up on his knee. A concentrated stare was on his face as he focused his gaze on a giant display screen set up in the number two courtroom. His four co-accused looked on with stern faces. The 12 jurors, who are to decide their fates, sat rapt to the side of the courtroom as the voice notes blared out of two speaker boxes. more

Jamaica, We Have A Bobsled Team. Here's All You Need To Know About The Olympic Duo.....In 1994, the team placed 14th overall -- beating both U.S. sleds. Looks like the Sochi Winter Olympics will be boring without Jamaica's Bobsled team.

There's a new chapter in the ultimate Olympic underdog story of the Jamaican athletes who captivated the world by competing in a traditional alpine sport with only a few months' practice, spawning the Disney cult classic "Cool Runnings."

Last Saturday, when the Jamaican bobsled team announced it had qualified for the 2014 games in Sochi next month, no one was sure the athletes and all their equipment would be able to make the expensive trip to Russia. The group couldn't even make it to the official qualifying event in Switzerland last weekend -- they had to rely on past scores and hope no one would out-sled them. But as soon as the Internet got wind of a potential "Cool Runnings" 2.0, supporters flooded PayPal, Crowdtilt,Indiegogo and Reddit -- using the crypto-currency Dogecoin -- to make donations.

On Monday, the Sochi organizing committee formally offered the Jamaicans one of 30 spots in the two-man bobsled event, which they accepted. more

Here's your guide to the Jamaican bobsled team at the 22nd Winter Olympiad: Driver: Winston Watts

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IN JAMAICA: Grade five students to run businesses. JAMAICA is to become the first country in the Caribbean and Latin America to have a Junior Achievement Biztown (JA Biztown)

(From left) Member of Parliament
for South Eastern St Andrew
 Julian Robinson (left) joins head
 of Junior Achievement Jamaica
 Alphie Mullings-Aiken, 

JAMAICA is to become the first country in the Caribbean and Latin America to have a Junior Achievement Biztown (JA Biztown), a model business town in which students in Grade Five will be allowed to run their own businesses while learning the basics of financial responsibility.

The announcement came last Friday at the groundbreaking ceremony at Caenwood Centre, St Andrew..

JA Biztown is the Rotary Club of Kingston's major project for 2013-14.

"The aim of the project is to get 10,000 students across the island at Grade 5 level to participate and discover practical life skills that they can take with them for life. By participating, students will get a taste of the real world," said Allison Peart, president of the Rotary Club of Kingston. more

MICHIGAN CITY, Indiana: I-94 Pileup In Indiana Leaves Multiple People Dead, Dozens Injured in a more than 40 vehicle accident due to bad weather

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. (AP) — More than 40 vehicles, many of them semitrailers, collided amid whiteout conditions in a massive highway pileup that left three people dead and more than 20 others injured — at least one critically — in northwestern Indiana, police said Thursday. The pileup on Interstate 94 eastbound began Thursday afternoon near Michigan City, about 60 miles from Chicago, according to Indiana State Police, and at least one person was trapped in a vehicle for hours.

I-94 is the main highway heading east from Chicago to Michigan and Indiana, and the main thoroughfare between the nation's third-largest city and Detroit. Traffic was backed up for hours in frigid snowy conditions, though state police said one westbound lane was open late Thursday. Photos of the scene showed semitrailers and mangled passenger vehicles jammed together the width of the highway near an overpass. Some passenger cars were sandwiched in the wreckage. more

UPDATE: QUEBEC, CANADA: 8 dead, 32 missing confirmed and more feared after Quebec seniors' centre burns to the ground......24 seniors missing in nursing home fire feared dead

Five people have been confirmed dead but the final count could be much higher after a devastating midnight fire burned an Eastern Quebec seniors' home to the ground, leaving the fate of 30 aged residents in doubt.

Fire crews and emergency officials continue to search through the wreckage in L'Isle-Verte, a small community about 200 kilometres northeast of Quebec City. Quebec police have confirmed that three people were killed and as many as 30 others are missing and unaccounted for. Reports suggest 16 others have been rescued from the building and moved to a nearby school. The injured have been taken to a local hospital.

The building is home to approximately 50 seniors, many of whom remain missing from the scene. Acting Mayor Ginette Caron told reporters on Thursday that only five of the building’s aged residents were fully mobile. Others needed assistance moving around and several suffered from Alzheimer's disease. more

[ Related: Five dead and 30 missing in major fire at Quebec seniors home ]

The 16 Habits of Exuberant Human Beings....They surround themselves with other happy people.....They smile when they mean it.....They devote some of their time to giving & more..

Martin Seligman, the father of positive psychology, theorizes that while 60 percent of happiness is determined by our genetics and environment, the remaining 40 percent is up to us. Through his research, Seligman discovered that happy people have consistent habits which may be introduced into our day to day life. Take a moment to read this delightful article, in which Seligman introduce the 16 habits of exuberant human beings. In his 2004 Ted Talk. 

Seligman describes three different kinds of happy lives: The pleasant life, in which you fill your life with as many pleasures as you can, the life of engagement, where you find a life in your work, parenting, love and leisure and the meaningful life, which "consists of knowing what your highest strengths are, and using them to belong to and in the service of something larger than you are."After exploring what accounts for ultimate satisfaction, Seligman says he was surprised. 

The pursuit of pleasure, research determined, has hardly any contribution to a lasting fulfillment. Instead, pleasure is "the whipped cream and the cherry" that adds a certain sweetness to satisfactory lives founded by the simultaneous pursuit of meaning and engagement. more

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Police: Girl, 14, stabs 11 y-o sister 40 times because she felt unappreciated.....The 14-year-old was arrested and was charged with murder. (VIDEO)

(CNN) -- An 11-year-old Illinois girl was stabbed 40 times by her 14-year-old sister, police say, and the reason why has many in the small Chicago-area community of Mundelein reeling in disbelief.

Police found the 11-year-old girl unconscious and in need of medical attention in an upstairs bedroom of the dwelling Tuesday morning. She later died. Because the sister, who called police, initially told officers an intruder was to blame for the attack, authorities briefly placed three schools on lockdown. The truth, when it emerged, was even more shocking. The 14-year-old, authorities say, repeatedly and fatally stabbed the victim -- her half sister -- with a kitchen knife because the teen thought she was ungrateful. more

LATEST NEWS: Mary J Blige's father stabbed, critically wounded

Mary J, Blighe

BATTLE CREEK, Michigan (AP) -- Michigan police say the father of multi-platinum-selling singer Mary J Blige was stabbed and critically injured Thursday. Police say his ex-girlfriend is in jail on an attempted murder charge. Battle Creek police say the attack happened about 7:00 am at the apartment of 63-year-old Thomas Blige. Police say he had a neck wound and was taken to Kalamazoo's Bronson Methodist Hospital, which says it has no information on his condition. Detective Sgt Jim Martens te ... More

SHAGGY AND FRIENDS PROCEEDS hands over a cheque valued at JMD $70 million dollars (approx. US$700,000.00) to Bustamante Hospital for children

SHAGGY AND FRIENDS PROCEEDS: Orville Burrel (left) better known as Shaggy hands over a cheque valued at JMD $70 million dollars, after expenses to members of staff at the Bustamante Hospital for children, today, Thursday, January 23, 2014. The cheque was proceeds from The Shaggy & Friends benefit concert. - Jermaine Barnaby/Photographer. Jamaica Gleaner.

UWI students excel at US Black Students Leadership Conference

Successful UWI students Cleopatra Parkins
 (second left) and Renee Osbourne (third left)
flanked by Head of the Department of
Government (UWI), Dr Lloyd Waller (left)
and facilitator Shinique Walters.

KINGSTON, Jamaica -- Two members of the University of the West Indies’ (UWI) Department of Government High Achiever’s Society, Renee Osbourne and Cleopatra Parkins, placed in the top five of the 26th annual Charles E Williams II Advanced Leadership Oratorical Contest, at the Southern Black Student Leadership Conference in Houston, Texas, January 16 to 19.

The four-day conference focused on developing the youth leaders skill set and characteristics to aid in motivating them to achieve goals and objectives, despite societal and personal limitations.

The oratorical contest is aimed at challenging and stimulating the minds of participants, and providing them an opportunity to display their talents of speaking and interpreting their ideas on a specific subject. more

Kartel trial: Cop says he saw video of tattooed man swinging pick-axe, asking questions

KINGSTON, Jamaica -- A cybercrimes forensic expert, a witness in the Vybz Kartel murder trial, Thursday morning testified that he extracted video footage from a Blackberry phone which showed a light-complexioned man with several tattoos on his neck swinging a pick axe and asking a question.

Detective Sergeant Patrick Linton said in the video, which lasted approximately 2minutes, 17 seconds, another man also with a tattoo with the word 'boss' in bright red ink was gesticulating and asking questions.

The court has taken a fifteen minute break in order to allow the jury to refresh themselves.

Kartel (Adijah Palmer), Shawn Campbell, Adirah Jones, André St John and  Shane Williams are on trial for the alleged August 2011 killing of ‘Lizard’ Williams at Kartel’s Havendale, St Andrew house. more

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GREAT NEWS FOR OBAMACARE: Uninsured Rate Drops Amid Obamacare Rollout: Poll.....Over 6 million signed up....9,000 interviewed

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation's uninsured rate dropped modestly this month as the major coverage expansion under President Barack Obama's health care law got underway, according to a closely watched survey released Thursday.

The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index found that the uninsured rate for U.S. adults dropped by 1.2 percentage points in January, to 16.1 percent. The biggest change was for unemployed people, a drop of 6.7 percentage points. That was followed by a 2.6 percentage-point decline for nonwhites. Traditionally both groups are far more likely to be uninsured than the population as a whole.

The survey found no appreciable change among young adults ages 18-34. Members of that coveted, low-cost demographic have been ambivalent about signing up so far.

Based on interviews with more than 9,000 people, the Gallup numbers could be the first evidence that core provisions of Obama's much-debated law have started delivering on the promise of access for nearly all Americans. more

North Miami Mom Tortured Her 3-Year-Old Son To Death, Police Say (VIDEO)

A North Miami toddler's lifeless body told a tale of torture so harrowing it made a seasoned detective emotional.

Little Ghanson Debrosse, 3, was pronounced dead after being found with indications of severe trauma and sexual abuse at his mother's home early Tuesday morning, according to NBC6.

Ghanson Debrosse, 3

Police say the boy's mother confessed to it all. Fafane Caze, 21, has been jailed on one count of aggravated child abuse/torture, with additional charges expected.

North Miami Police spokesman Maj. Neal Cuevas said Ghanson's body showed signs of being burned in the past, and according to the Miami Herald other injuries were consistent with whipping by extension cord. His mother, detectives said, initially claimed the boy had been abused by someone else during a recent trip to Haiti. more

MIGHTY SPARROW HITS THE ROAD AGAIN

FANS and colleagues of calypso legend the Mighty Sparrow jammed Melanie's Sports Bar in Brooklyn, New York, last week for a concert in his honour.

The January 18 event was organised by Derek Parsons of WACK Radio and famed calypsonian singer Calypso Rose.

Mighty Sparrow

According to EVERYBODY'S Magazine, Sparrow, sitting on a tall chair, performed some of his classic songs including Jean and Dinah, Melda and Congo Man as well as a rendition of The Lord's Prayer.

He performed for 40 minutes. In September, there were rumours that the Grenada-born singer had died after going into a diabetic coma at a Queens, New York, hospital.

After regaining consciousness weeks later, Sparrow was discharged from hospital and placed in a therapy centre in New York City, where he is still recuperating. Ahead of his first public appearance in months, Sparrow spoke to EVERYBODY'S. more

ST ELIZABETH, JAMAICA: 'Mi a go kill somebody over yah' .....15-year-old boys were savagely hacked to death....Residents say suspect in murder of teen boys issued threats

THE 12 fish pots stand in Dog Bridge River in Thornton District, St Elizabeth as a memorial to their teenage owners — Desrick Williams and Ashnell Coke — who were savagely murdered there on January 8.

Police and representatives from
 Northern Caribbean University
pray with the relatives of both murder
victims at the home of Ashnell Coke
 last Friday. (PHOTOS: 
GREGORY BENNETT)

The section of the river that runs through an area of Thornton called Jackass Pasture, where the murders occurred, isn't deep and the pots are easily accessible.

On more than one occasion David Williams, Desrick's father, suggested to Ashnell's father, Joscelyn Coke, that they retrieve them. But for Coke, a return to the area where the 15-year-old boys were savagely hacked to death, is too painful a task.

Ashnell Coke (left) & Desrick Williams

In a cruel twist of fate, the teens started setting their fish pots at Jackass Pasture, about two miles from their homes, after their crayfish and shrimp catch were repeatedly stolen at the closer Line River and on the recommendation of the senior Williams.

In October last year, the 26-year-old man accused of killing the boys cleared a small patch of land on the bank of the Dog Bridge River where he planted ganja among legal crops, against the wishes of his father. more

WATCH: This Disease Is A Massive Looming Threat To Public Health.......Alzheimer's is going to be one of the biggest public health threats in the coming decades (VIDEO)

Alzheimer's is going to be one of the biggest public health threats in the coming decades, according to Dr. Murali Doraiswamy, M.D., of the Duke University Institute for Brain Sciences. And not because the disease is being diagnosed in any greater magnitude, but simply because we are living longer.

Thanks to advancements in treatments of potentially-fatal diseases like heart disease and cancer, the aging population is bigger than it once was, he said in an appearance on HuffPost Live in Davos, Switzerland, where the 2014 World Economic Forum annual meeting is taking place, on Wednesday.

Currently, about 5 million Americans have Alzheimer's, he said. By the year 2050, 150 million people worldwide will have the disease. And it affects more than the people with it and their caretakers: We spend about $600 billion on Alzheimer's, according to Doraiswamy. If Alzheimer's were a national economy, it would rank at number 17 worldwide, he said. more

Peace and Love Academic Scholarship (PALAS), 100 scholarships & 100 computers for 2014. Please donate at www.PALAS1.org

Peace and Love Academic Scholarship (PALAS), 100 scholarships & 100 computers for 2014. Please donate at www.PALAS1.org or send a check payable to PALAS. PO Box 5461, Alpharetta GA 30023

Grammy Fashion: 40 Outrageous Outfits: Jennifer Lopez gave us some serious jungle fever in 2000!....Lady Gaga proved she was a star at the 2010 Grammys..

Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez gave us some serious jungle fever in 2000! Her tropical, flowing Versace gown with the infamous plunging neckline had everyone talking -- once they all stopped gawking, that is. We still can't believe how good J.Lo's body looked in that dress, but we have a feeling that's what she was going for. 
----------------------------------------------

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga proved she was a star at the 2010 Grammys by actually carrying one on the red carpet. The Judy Jetson look won raves from fashion critics, but we can't imagine her feet were a fan of those crazy shoes. more

This State Could Be The Next To Legalize Medical Marijuana.

Tennessee could become the 21st state in the country to legalize medical marijuana.

A bill introduced last week by state Rep. Sherry Jones (D-Nashville) would set up a regulatory framework to allow people suffering from certain diseases to use marijuana to treat their symptoms, as long as their doctor says the benefits of using cannabis outweigh the health risks.

"This is about compassion. It's about giving people better health care, giving them a better quality of life," Jones told The Huffington Post over the phone on Wednesday, acknowledging that there was a lack of understanding among Tennessee's Republican lawmakers about medical cannabis. "They think it's all blowing smoke in baby's faces, I guess. They don't understand there are other ways to use marijuana, like tinctures and lotions." more

News: 20 years' imprisonment for $3,932 loot in Jamaica's second bank robbery Crimes that Rocked the Nation

TWO young men were sentenced to 20 years in prison for a $3,932 loot when they staged Jamaica's second bank robbery at the then Bank of London and Montreal (Jamaica) Ltd at 13 Constant Spring Road, Half-Way-Tree on March 2, 1971.

20 years’ imprisonment for $3,932
loot in Ja’s second bank robbery

Cecil Gibson, 22, casual worker of 17 First Street, Kingston 12 and Glenford Blair, 20, casual worker of a Trench Town, Kingston, address, received the stiff sentences from Senior Puisne Judge Uriah Nathaniel Parnell, referred to as 'Judge Dread', in a retrial of the case in the No 1 Home Circuit Court in 1972.

The first trial had taken place before Justice Wilkie and a jury who imposed a similar sentence which was appealed by Gibson, represented in the Appeal Court by attorney Hugh Small (now QC).

In the retrial ordered by the Appeal Court, it was alleged by the Crown that three men, one armed with a gun, held up...more

IN JAMAICA: “The doctor at the hospital told us that the first shot crippled him. He was shot in the back,” by poilceman.....IRATE residents of Orange Villa in downtown Kingston Orange Villa residents want audience with PM over killing of man— angered by the police killing of a man in the community

Nakiea Jackson

IRATE residents of Orange Villa in downtown Kingston — angered by the

police killing of a man in the community — have vowed to keep

protesting until they are given audience by Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, National Security Minister Peter Bunting and Police Commissioner Owen Ellington.

For two consecutive days the residents mounted fiery roadblocks on

busy Orange Street to protest the shooting of 27-year-old Nakiea

Jackson on Monday afternoon. “Somebody have to come. We want higher

hierarchy.

The fiery roadblock mounted by
irate residents of Orange Villa in
 Kingston, yesterday.
 (PHOTOS: MICHAEL GORDON)

We nuh want superintendent. We nah take nuh chat from dem,” one angry

protester shouted. Jackson was shot and killed by police in his cook

shop. The police reported that they were on patrol in the area when

Shackelia Jackson (right), sister of the
 Nakiea Jackson, makes a point to Deputy
Superintendent Percival Anderson, crime
officer for the Kingston Central Police Division,
as head of the division’s Community Safety
and Security Branch, Deputy Superintendent
 Lena McBean, looks on.

they accosted a man who pointed a gun at them. However, the residents have accused the police of lying. more

Bob Marley tribute for Negril......This year’s event takes place February 1-6 at his MXIII venue in Negril.

AS a teenager living in New York City during the 1970s, Clive Pringle discovered the conscious message of Bob Marley who became, and remains one of his biggest influences.

Bob Marley

Pringle, known in his native Negril as ‘Kubba’, started the Bob Marley Birthday Bash in that tourist town in 1991, two years after returning to Jamaica permanently.

This year’s event takes place February 1-6 at his MXIII venue in Negril. Previously, the birthday bash was held over four days. Pringle says the expansion is a reflection of its growth and a renewed effort to rename Negril’s west end One Love Drive.

Seven years ago, Pringle and fellow businessmen started the Negril Cluster to revive interest in one of their town’s most popular enclaves. One Love Drive, they argue, would be a fitting name change.

“We think it would be a better marketing strategy for the area, seeing that it attracts so many tourists,” said Pringle. The week of shows begins with Tribute Night, followed by Punky Reggae Party, a Rastafari Nyabinghi Presentation, Icons of Reggae, Bands Festival and the Bob Marley Birthday One Love Celebration which concludes activities. more

IN JAMAICA: Prison Schools - Gov't Study Says Poor-Performing Institutions Produce Most Inmates

Education Minister Ronald Thwaites

Daraine Luton, Senior Staff Reporter

SOME OF Jamaica's lowest-ranked high schools have been churning out the bulk of misfits, who have ended up in thecountry's prisons, a government study has revealed.

The study, which was presented in the House of Represen-tatives yesterday by Education Minister Ronald Thwaites, shows that five institutions with the most persons in the penal systems are all poorly performing schools, according to ranking by the think tank, Educate Jamaica.

"The research unearthed evidence to suggest that the names of some schools were more likely to be featured than others. There is also overwhelming evidence to infer, with a high degree of confidence, that at least seven out of 10 inmates in our adult prisons have had some association with a non-traditional high school," the study said. more

Hydeia Broadbent, 'Oprah Show' Guest With AIDS, Shares What Life Is Like 18 Years After Her Appearance (VIDEO)

In 1996, 11-year-old Hydeia Broadbent appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" to talk about living with AIDS. Born HIV-positive, the young girl opened up about her experience in a candid, emotional and memorable interview that many "Oprah Show" viewers were unable to forget. "When I turned 5, I had had symptoms of AIDS. I had had fungus in my brain, blood infections, pneumonia," Hydeia told Oprah back then. "I went Code Blue a couple of times. And when I was 5, that's when they said I was full-blown AIDS." "What's the hardest part for you, Hydeia, living with this disease?" Oprah asked.

New Video of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Drunk, Swearing in Jamaican Patois? Bumboclaat! Rassclaat!

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East Coast Storm: Heavy Snow, Frigid Temperatures Forecast For Mid-Atlantic And Northeastern U.S. (VIDEO)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Another batch of heavy snow and frigid temperatures is forecast from Virginia to New England as a winter storm bears down on the mid-Atlantic and northeastern U.S.

The National Weather Service says the winter storm could bring up to 10 inches of snow Tuesday to New York and Philadelphia and bitterly cold air with wind chills as low as 10 degrees below zero later in the day. It warned of heavy winds and hazardous driving conditions throughout the day as the storm moves up the East Coast.

Temperatures are expected to remain in the 20s in many places and they could fall into the single digits Tuesday night. The weather service warns the storm could impact the morning commute in Baltimore and Washington. more

New trial sought for 14-year-old boy executed in 1944.......wasn't enough evidence to find him guilty 70 yrs ago of killing a seven-year-old and an 11-year-old girl.

New trial sought for 14-year-old boy executed in 1944

Tuesday, January 21, 2014 7:44 AM    

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (AP) — A 14-year-old boy executed by South Carolina nearly 70 years ago is finally getting another day in court. Supporters of George Stinney plan to argue Tuesday that there wasn't enough evidence to find him guilty in 1944 of killing a seven-year-old and an 11-year-old girl. The black teen was found guilty of killing the white girls in a trial that lasted less than a day in the tiny Southern mill town of Alcolu, separated, as most were in those days, by race. N ....More

IN ST, ELIZABETH, JAMAICA: Returned resident's shooting a contract killing, say police

BY PAUL HENRY Co-ordinator -- Crime/Court Desk henryp@jamaicaobserver.com | Tuesday, January 21, 2014    1 comment

THE murder last Friday night of a 75-year-old returned resident in St Elizabeth is believed by the police to be a contract killing. Robert Campbell was attacked and shot near his two-storey home on Baptist Road in Middle Quarters by a gunman who called out to him before opening fire. Campbell's household helper, who was travelling with him in his van, wasn't injured. A police source told the Jamaica Observer about the suspicion of a hit, while adding that the 'trigger man' and two other men ha ...More

More Internet training for Jamaican youth........ Google engineer hosts app workshop at UWI

FOR two hours a day last week, some university students were briefed on best practices and industry techniques by software Google engineer, JJ Geewax.

Students pay keen attention to Google’s
 JJ Geewax during the software engineering
 workshop at the UWI campus recently. 

Twenty computer science students at the University of the West Indies were taught techniques in web development and software engineering, how to make better use of software development tools, and how to avoid common mistakes and pitfalls when building applications.

Computer science Lecturer at the UWI, Dr Daniel Coore, lauded Geewax for his efforts in aiding the development of the tech landscape in Jamaica.

"One of the things I'm happy about in seeing people like JJ participate in Jamaica is the fact that he provides not just financial support, but also provides encouragement for students, who are interested in (tech) activities; that it is an option." more

Canada Wants Weed - Medical Ganja Company Boss Says Country Would Purchase Jamaican Marijuana

Canada is willing to purchase marijuana from Jamaica, a lucrativedeal that could potentially earn billions of dollars for the country on an annual basis.

Blaine Dowdle, chief executive officer of Canada-based MedCannAccess, is urging Jamaica to act quickly and seize the vast economic opportunity that could come from legalising marijuana and establishing an export market for the product.

Blaine Dowdle, CEO of MedCannAccess,
 Canada, looks on as Wanda James,
member of Cannabis Global Initiative
 out of Colorado

According to Dowdle, his country is looking to engage in the potential CDN$1.2-billion medical marijuana market. However, it is very expensive to grow marijuana in Canada, and hence investors there would be more than willing to import it from Jamaica.

Noting that medical marijuana currently retails for approximately CDN$7-$10 per gram in Canada, he said the product was in demand, which makes it a very profitable market. more

World's 85 richest people have as much as poorest 3.5 billion: Oxfam warns Davos of ‘pernicious impact’ of the widening wealth gap......Oxfam calculated that almost half the world’s wealth – $110trn – is owned by just 1 per cent of its population......85 richest people own as much as bottom half of population, report says (VIDEO)

The 85 richest people on Earth have the same amount of wealth as the bottom half of the population, according to a new report that highlights growing income inequality as political and business leaders gather for the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Those wealthy individuals are a small part of the richest 1% of the population, which combined owns about 46% of global wealth, according to the report from British humanitarian group Oxfam International.

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The study found the richest 1% had $110 trillion in wealth -- 65 times the total wealth of the bottom half of the population.

That bottom half of the population owned about $1.7 trillion, or about 0.7% of the world's wealth. That's the same amount as owned by the 85 richest people, the report said.

The findings undermine democracy and make it more difficult to fight poverty, the report said. more

Entertainment : Boombastic times for Shaggy

The Grammy Awards are scheduled for January 26 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. Five nominees (Beres Hammond, Ziggy Marley, Sizzla, Snoop Lion and Sly and Robbie) are up for Best Reggae Album. Leading up to the big event, the Jamaica Observer presents a daily reflection on the reggae category. Today, we look at Shaggy's Boombastic.

IT was his third studio album, 1995's Boombastic, that announced deejay Shaggy as a genuine pop star. It gave him his sole Grammy Award for Best Reggae album the following year.

Shaggy

Distributed by Virgin Records, Boombastic has sold over one million copies in the United States, which earned it platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. In the United Kingdom, it went gold for sales of over 300,000 copies.

Five hits came from the album: A cover of Mungo and Jerry's classic In the Summertime (featuring Rayvon); Boombastic, Why You Treat Me So Bad (featuring rapper Grand Puba); The Train is Coming (with Ken Boothe); and Day Oh, a Japan-only release. more