KINGSTON, Jamaica : Farewell Bunny Rugs

KINGSTON, Jamaica -- The funeral service for noted reggae singer William ‘Bunny Rugs’ Clarke was held on Monday (February 24), at the Holy Trinity Cathedral North Street, downtown Kingston.

Bunny Rugs, lead singer for the Third World band for over thirty years died in Orlando, Florida on February 2. more 

Vybz Kartel Trial: Defence closing arguments continue on Monday

KINGSTON, Jamaica -- Defence attorney Pierre Rogers Monday in the Vybz Kartel murder trial cited the alleged tampering of evidence by the police and the action of the Crown as reasons he thinks there was a conspiracy to imprison the five accused men.

"There is something stink in the state of Denmark," Rogers told the 11-member panel of jurors during his final argument to the court.

Rogers also pointed to what he said are various inconsistencies in the testimony of the prosecution's star witness as further evidence that the prosecution had no case against the accused men.

The five are on trial for the killing of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams believed to have been committed at Kartel’s Havendale home in August 2011. Kartel (Adijah Palmer), Shawn Campbell, Kahira Jones, Shane Williams and Andre St John will most likely know their fate by the end of this week. 

Two more defence attorneys, Tamika Harris and Everton Dewar, are expected to present their final arguments after Rogers. Justice Lennox Campbell will then present his summation before the matter is handed over to the jurors for their deliberation. more

Alec Balwin retires from public life...... Actor blames the ‘Gay Department of Justice’

Alec Baldwin

KINGSTON, Jamaica -- Actor Alec Baldwin has announced he is retiring from public life blaming the “Gay Department of Justice”.

Baldwin made his announcement via a lengthy article in the New York Magazine titled ‘I Give Up’, following a scandal-plagued 12 months.

According to News.com, Baldwin’s troubles began after fellow actor James Gandolfini’s funeral last June, when a reporter accused his wife, Hilaria, of live-tweeting the funeral. Baldwin responded by calling the reporter a “toxic little queen”.

After that, Baldwin was reportedly involved in a scuffle with a photographer, whom he allegedly called a homophobic slur. 

These two incidents led to a string of accusations of homophobia from members of the gay community.

The controversy surrounding Baldwin’s clashes with the media last year also led to the cancellation of his talk show ‘Up Late with Alec Baldwin’. Now, he says he’s done with all of the appearances — interviews, talk shows, red carpets — that are a part of a professional actor’s life. more

Acts Warm Music Fest.....Chronixx repeated: "The breeze cold, eeh?!!".....Tanya Stephens blamed the altitude and thin air, along with old age, when she forgot the lines to one of her popular tracks

HOLYWELL Recreational Park's chilly climbs took on a life of its own on Saturday's opening night of the two-day Blue Mountain Music Festival.

Every artiste who took the stage made mention of the less that tropical air.

Chronixx

Tanya Stephens blamed the altitude and thin air, along with old age, when she forgot the lines to one of her popular tracks; Kabaka Pyramid paid respect to all the persons who could just wear one layer of clothing — he was wearing three; and reggae's man- of-the-moment Chronixx repeated: "The breeze cold, eeh?!!".

A strong line-up, however, allowed patrons to forget the temperature and be warmed by the pulsating sounds of reggae.

Dub sister Jah9 was impressive as she kicked off the evening's major acts. Delivering all the popular tracks from her debut album New Name, she was able to get patrons going with a strong performance. more

JAMAICA call to decriminalising ganja.......Ganja green light this year Paulwell says Jamaica must not be left behind as world takes on marijuana

JAMAICA will this year join a virtual tidal wave of countries across the globe in decriminalising ganja, forerunner to the establishment of a medicinal marijuana industry estimated to be worth billions of dollars.

Paulwell

The undertaking was given to the Cannabis Commercial and Medicinal Research Taskforce (CCMRT) by Leader of Government Business in the House of Representatives Phillip Paulwell, according to one of the main taskforce leaders, Delano Seiveright.

In a press statement yesterday, Seiveright said Paulwell, who is also the minister of science, technology, energy and mining, told members of the taskforce at a meeting last Thursday that “ganja will be decriminalised in Jamaica this year and emphasised that Jamaica cannot be allowed to be left behind on the issue”.

“He also reiterated the multiple economic, social and cultural benefits that Jamaica stands to gain if the laws are adjusted sooner rather than later,” Seiveright said.more

NATION WIDE MANHUNT.....Child Rapist Escapes: Eric Eugene Hartwell, 51, was convicted of raping a 6-year-old Flees After Cutting Off Ankle Monitor, Police Say

A convicted child rapist living in a Denver group home has cut off his ankle monitor and escaped, police say. Eric Eugene Hartwell, 51, was convicted of raping a 6-year-old in 1991 and attempting to sexually assault a teen in 1996, according to 7 News in Denver.

Hartwell

Hartwell was released on parole in December after serving part of a 5-year sentence for failing to register as a sex offender in Texas. That conviction came after he cut off an ankle monitor and fled to Texas from a group home in Washington state in 2009 just one week after being placed on parole, the Department of Justice stated.

Hartwell is wanted by both federal officials and the Colorado Corrections Department. "This is an active investigation of an absconder that we are hoping not to send even farther underground," Colorado Corrections Department spokesman Roger Hudson told CNN. more

IN JAMAICA: Police commissioner gets warm welcome downtown......"A who dat? Nuh di man who me see pon TV every day. A wha him a do down here so?"

BY KIMMO MATTHEWS Observer staff reporter matthewsk@jamaicaobserver.com

Monday, February 24, 2014    

YOU got the feeling that a rock star was in town.

Police Commissioner Owen Ellington (left)
 talks with a vendor during a tour of the busy
 downtown Kingston market district last
Thursday.

Vendors, shoppers and business owners reacted with glee as Police Commissioner Owen Ellington and some of his officers walked downtown Kingston's busy streets last Thursday.

"Big up yuself, me boss. Mi feel safer from mi see you," shouted one vendor, who halted his activities near Coronation Market to shake the commissioner's hand.

"A who dat? Nuh di man who me see pon TV every day. A wha him a do down here so?" one vendor was overheard asking her colleague. "Nuh di big policeman Owen Ellington; it good to see that him come out an' a visit the area," said another woman.

One young female vendor rushed from her spot on a sidewalk to shake Ellington's hand and have a word with him.Others walked with him for some distance, sharing their daily experiences on the streets. Still others wanted to take pictures with the commissioner, while a few youngsters engaged him in a long discussion. more

UPDATE ON JAMAICAN ATHLETE WHO DIED IN TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Cavahn 'Jaguar' McKenzie's spirit lives on — Hawthorne......

Promising St Jago High athlete Cavahn ‘Jaguar’ McKenzie (far left)
 in action in the 6K event in which he collapsed and died
on Saturday, sending a shock wave of grief through the local
 track and field fraternity. McKenzie was competing at the
 three-day NACAC Cross Country Championships in Trinidad
 and Tobago on Saturday as part of a Jamaican team. Left: On
 site medical officials attend to McKenzie after he fell to
 the ground at the end of the fateful race.
 (PHOTOS: PAUL VOISON/ TRINIDAD EXPRESS)

BY HOWARD WALKER Observer senior reporter walkerh@jamaicaobserver.com

Monday, February 24, 2014    

THE young and promising St Jago High student Cavahn 'Jaguar' McKenzie who collapsed and died while representing his country, was said to be a young man with a big heart.

McKenzie, 17, was part of the 10-member Jamaican team to the three-day NACAC Cross Country Championships that started on Thursday in Trinidad and Tobago.

McKenzie is said to have collapsed at the end of the 6K event and died shortly after at the Scarborough General hospital.

Donald 'Danny' Hawthorne, the long-serving head coach of St Jago's track team, told the Jamaica Observer that McKenzie, popularly known as 'Jaquar' by his teammates, was a fighter to the end.

"He is a very quiet, sometimes unassuming and a fun person. One of those persons who was resolved in doing good in whatever he does. He never quits," said Hawthorne.

"I remember last year at Trials (Carifta), he was doing the 3,000 and he was injured. I left the stands and went down there and called to him twice to stop and he continued. The third time, I went to the official and begged him to take him off the track and he kept on going and finished the race and completed the 3,000m with a sprint," noted Hawthorne. more

IN JAMAICA: Bloody Mystery Uncertainty surrounds how babies, parents got blood all over them.... twin girls woke up with fresh blood all over their bodies, swollen faces and teeth marks on their skin.....“We have to sleep on the floor because is one bed we have and is seven of us,”

Half of the face of this
 one-year-and-five-month-old
 baby was swollen and smeared
 with blood while she slept
in her Kingston 5 home.

BY DONNA HUSSEY-WHYTE Sunday Observer staff reporter husseyd@jamaicaobserver.com

LINVAL Grant and Vicky Forrest have a lot of issues on their plates. One such is trying to figure out how their twin girls, aged one year and five months, woke up with fresh blood all over their bodies, swollen faces and teeth marks on their skin.

The incidents occurred in August last year and January this year, and have left the family of seven in fear and reluctant to sleep at night. “We have to sleep on the floor because is one bed we have and is seven of us,” Grant told the Jamaica Observer on Friday.

“The room cannot hold another bed, not even the smallest, so what we have to do is spread some sheet on the ground and sleep on it,” he said.

On January 16, Linval Grant
and Vicky Forrest woke up to
find one of their babies
covered in blood.

Grant explained that when the first incident occurred, one of the girls was on the bed while the other was on the ground with him. “Now she (Vicky) wake me up about 2 o’clock and say ‘Linval, what happen to you? Look on yuself’.

When mi look the whole of mi blood up and the pillow blood up. It was more than a pint of blood. The baby blood up and when you look underneath the bed you have some baby footstep in blood,” Grant stated.

“So me now assume that is drop the baby drop off the bed,” he said. “But when mi look on the top of the bed where the other twin was sleeping, I realise that she (Forrest) blood up too. So I say this weird. But it don’t look like when somebody bleeding out, it look like when you throwing something and it drop on you — like in drops.

O’Neil Irey, 11, takes care of his
twin sisters by feeding bag juice to
 one at their home in Kingston 5
 on Friday. (PHOTOS: LINVAL GRANT)

And it wasn’t on any of the other kids, it was just she (Forrest), me and the baby. So mi still assume that is drop the baby drop off the bed and she hold the baby and that’s how she blood up.
“So mi check the baby mouth and there was no damage or anything at all. I checked her nose, eyes, ears, and nothing. I took off her clothes and look ... and nothing.
So I called some friends and show them and they assume that maybe the baby drop and one assume that is ghost walk over the child. But I didn’t pay that any mind. I just leave it at that,” a still puzzled Grant said. Then, on January 16, he said that a similar incident occurred. It was around the same time of morning as the first, but this time the other baby was affected. “Her face blood up, but the way it was blood up was weird.
Nothing was wrong with her right cheek, but her left cheek swell up. So half of her face swell and the half that swell blood up, like she was sleeping on one side and the blood just get on the side that was up.
So I look on it and I said this is not real,” he revealed. After closer examination, Grant realised that the other twin had blood spots on her.
“So I’m saying it seems impossible because I was sleeping on the ground, they were in the middle and my girlfriend on the other end, and no blood didn’t touch us this time, no form of blood, not even a spot.

 more

UPDATE: 18-year-old JAMAICAN athlete, Cavahn McKenzie dies in Tobago.....Two more Jamaican athletes were taken to hospital late yesterday.

TRINIDAD EXPRESS -- Jamaican Cavahn McKenzie died after completing the junior men’s six-kilometre event at yesterday’s North America, Central America and Caribbean (NACAC) Cross Country Championships, at the Mt Irvine Bay Golf Course, in Tobago.

McKenzie competes in the steeplechase
 at the Vere High School track meet last week.
 (Photo:Bryan Cummings).

McKenzie finished 21st in 20 minutes, 26 seconds, but then collapsed. The St Jago High School athlete reportedly died in an ambulance while being taken to hospital.

National Association of Athletics Administrations (NAAA) president, Ephraim Serrette told the Express that 18-year-old McKenzie’s death was “cardiac related”.

Two more Jamaican athletes were taken to hospital late yesterday. At press time, no information about their condition was available. more

43 graduate from animation programme....which has provided the graduates with certification to get a foothold in the growing US$222.8 billion global animation industry.

FORTY-THREE Jamaican students have received certification and graduated from the inaugural six-month 'Animate Jamaica' certificate programme that was being offered by the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication (CARIMAC) in association with GSW Animation Limited and Toon Boom Animation Inc.

The graduation occurred in the form of two ceremonies.

The students who graduated from the
 inaugura l six-month 'Animate Jamaica'
certificate programme..

The first graduation was held on February 8 at UWI, Mona, at which 28 students graduated. The other 15 students graduated on February 12 from the Western Jamaica campus where they were trained.

Professor Archibald McDonald, principal, UWI, said the institution is pleased with the fruitful outcome from the newly formed tertiary level training programme which has provided the graduates with certification to get a foothold in the growing US$222.8 billion global animation industry...

"This is indeed a joyous and monumental achievement for our students, this institution and Jamaica as it heralds a revolution in education for our country. This first group of animators have become Jamaica's first real hope of breaking into the global animation market, a prospect that will certainly drive international investment for our country," Professor McDonald said during his address at the graduation ceremony for the cohort of students who were trained at Mona.....more

WHITE GOLD - Jamaica Looking To Earn Millions From Cotton......The Japanese government is investing just under US$107,000 (J$11 million).

The Japanese government is investing just under US$107,000 (J$11 million) to resuscitate the local West Indian Sea Island Cotton industry, for which there is an annual global demand of six-million pounds of lint.

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries
Roger Clarke
 (left) looks on

Less than one per cent of that amount is being supplied now.

The money from the Japanese will be used to purchase a row-crop tractor, a high-crop tractor, two boom sprayers, and a cultivator which are vital to get Jamaica on track to tap into this lucrative market where it enjoys significant competitive advantages.

Sea Island Cotton is grown commercially in Antigua, Barbados, Nevis and Jamaica. However, Jamaica is the only island capable of large production at this time.

Bales of Sea Island Cotton

Addressing the signing ceremony last Tuesday, Dalkeith Hanna, chairman of the Jamaica Agricultural Development Foundation (JADF), said that there is a niche to be filled.

Hanna - who represents Jamaica on the Board of the West Indian Sea Island Cotton Association (WISICA), the organisation which owns and controls the trademark - said there are few other crops which can compete with its potential for value addition. more

IN JAMAICA Careers & Education : Iris Gelly Primary shines.....MANY of its students are from poor single parent households or are orphans whose parents' lives were snuffed out through gun violence....manages to churn out scholarship recipients, talented athletes and socially aware students each year from its Arnett Gardens locale.

Grade 3 students take time from their
lessons to greet our cameras.
 (PHOTOS :KARL MCLARTY)

MANY of its students are from poor single parent households or are orphans whose parents' lives were snuffed out through gun violence. Still, Iris Gelly Primary School manages to churn out scholarship recipients, talented athletes and socially aware students each year from its Arnett Gardens locale.

The institution is highly regarded by parents from the surrounding communities in the Kingston 5 area, because the majority of students at the institution are able to get placement at some of the most sought after traditional high schools in the Corporate Area each year. The school's GSAT examination results surpass the national average and its present literacy rate is over 80 per cent. But perhaps even more encouraging for principal Veronica Gaynor is the fact that most parents have realised the role the school has been playing in the lives of their children to unearth their potential and give them a chance to extend themselves beyond their circumstances.

The Iris Gelly Cub Scouts

"Parents in here will call us the prep school of Arnett Gardens. 'Ghetto Prep', that's what they call us," said Gaynor.

"We try to ensure that the children achieve success and we try not to keep them in the inner city. We try to expose them as much as possible. So if a child wants to choose Campion College, we try to work with the child, work with the parents, and offer guidance," she said.

Gaynor said many of the students had not been made to venture far outside their immediate environs prior to going to the institution. As such, the school has sought to get them more acquainted with life outside the inner city. more

38th GIBSON RELAY SIMPLY BRILLIANT: Outstanding performances highlight at Gibson Relays in JAMAICA.....CALABAR High School produced some scintillating performances

Calabar changed baton ahead of Kingston College

CALABAR High School produced some scintillating performances at the 38th staging of the Gibson Relays in breaking the Class One and Class Three 4x100m relay records, while Kingston College responded by smashing the Class Two record in what could be a prelude of what is to come at next month’s ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships yesterday.

Calabar, with World Youth 200m champion Michael O’Hara anchoring, sped to a magnificent 39.61 seconds, erasing their old mark of 39.95 done in 2009.

The expected challenge by KC never materialised with news filtering through that star sprinter Zharnel Hughes was injured and the famed ‘Purples’ eventually messed up the final exchange and failed to finish.

But by then, the elegant, high knee-lifting O’Hara and Calabar were out of sight. St Jago World Youth 400m champion Martin Manley showed that his 10.42sec run at the Camperdown Classic was no fluke, carrying St Jago to second in a pretty good 39.99 seconds.

The outstanding Akeem Bloomfield and Jevaughn Matherson responded for KC and lowered the Class Two record of 40.76sec done by JC in 2012 to 40.65 seconds. more

Woman Attempts To Kill Husband Via Oral Sex By Adding Poison To Vagina......CAUTION, BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU LICK! COZ THIS TING MAYBE POISONOUS.

An unidentified Brazilian woman is being sued by her husband for allegedly trying to kill him, reports theUK Mirror. And what was the woman’s weapon of mass destruction? Her poisonous vagina!

 According to court documents, the woman actually painted a poisonous substance on to her vagina and lured her unsuspecting husband to bed.  She then asked him to perform oral sex on her.

The man, who is also unidentified, was reportedly more than willing to oblige his seemingly sex-fueled wife, but when he began to perform his husbandly duties, he noticed an unfamiliar odor emanating from her privates. 

The man reportedly became so concerned about the strange smell — fearing that there was something medically wrong with his wife — that he insisted she accompany him to the nearest hospital to be examined by a physician.

After the pair arrived at a Sao Jose do Rito Preto hospital, the woman was put through a series of tests in order to find the root of the foreign odor. The wife’s ruse was reportedly discovered when doctors detected the poison and it was revealed the woman had in fact concocted a plan to orally poison her hubby with her vagina. more

Fire! 13 homeless.....6 houses razed in East Kingstonn tenement......"I lost everything," she said, as she struggled to hold back the tears.

A policewoman offers a drink to
 Jacqueline Shawna Russell who
 lost all her possessions in yesterday’s
 fire in East Kingston. Russell was
 one of 13 victims of the blaze.
 (PHOTOS: KARL MCLARTY)

Thirteen people, including five children, were yesterday left homeless when fire of unknown origin gutted six houses in a tenement yard in East Kingston.

Police report that at about 11:30 am residents in the area saw smoke coming from a house located off Wellington Street and raised an alarm.

"I was on the road talking to a friend and I heard someone shout out fire," said Deadre Lewis.

The 47-year-old female resident said she rushed to investigate and found that her house was among several buildings on fire. The discovery triggered a mad rush as residents, armed with buckets of water, made a desperate attempt to put out the blaze.

They were forced to beat a hasty retreat as the heat and smoke from the angry blaze made their task difficult.

Residents remove furniture from
 one of the houses gutted by
 fire off Wellington Street,
 East Kingston yesterday.

As the fire razed the houses, residents from neighbouring streets rushed to remove furniture and other items from their homes in fear that the fire would spread.

Lewis was not so lucky. "I lost everything," she said, as she struggled to hold back the tears.

Jacqueline Shawna Russell, 36, was another female resident counting her losses as she was left with only the clothes on her back. "Everything I work hard for gone," said the obviously distraught Russell, who sat on a sidewalk, her head in her hands as she wept. more

Tell Barbados to pay Jamaican Shanique Myrie the nearly $4 million in damages she was awarded by the CCJ last year.....Sen. Bobby Montague presses Nicholson on CCJ ruling

BY ALICIA DUNKLEY Senior staff reporter dunkleya@jamaicaobserver.com

Saturday, February 22, 2014   

OPPOSITION Senator Robert 'Bobby' Montague yesterday called on Foreign Affairs Minister Senator AJ Nicholson to press the Barbadian Government to pay Jamaican Shanique Myrie the nearly $4 million in damages she was awarded by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) last year.

MONTAGUE… says the lack of quick payment
 by our sister nation makes the dream of
 a Caribbean Court of Justice just a
 dream, nuff bark but no bite

"Let us insist, Mr Minister, that Miss Shanique Myrie be paid the funds the court has ordered. The lack of that quick payment by our sister nation makes the dream of a Caribbean Court of Justice just a dream, nuff bark but no bite," Senator Montague told the Upper Chamber yesterday during his contribution to the 2014 State of the Nation Debate.

Myrie, in 2011 on a visit to that island, was detained at Grantley Adams International Airport and subsequently deported after being subjected to an illegal body cavity search and what she said was demeaning treatment.

She filed a suit against the Barbadian Government but is yet to receive the US$38,620 in pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages that the CCJ awarded her in October 2013. 

"Can you imagine the cries and howling if it was Jamaica to pay?" Senator Montague asked yesterday. "Minister, the weakness of your Government is showing; it seems they all tek us fi bwoy. We can't allow our citizen to be poorly treated; get a court ruling in her favour and allow others to be thumbing their noses at us. more

Highly-placed source says sprint superstar, USAIN BOLT will miss Gibson Relay in JAMAICA.

OLYMPIC and World sprint champion, the mercurial Usain Bolt, will not run at the prestigious Gibson Relays at the National Stadium today, an impeccable Jamaica Observer source said.

Usain Bolt competing at last year’s
Gibson Relays.
 (PHOTO: BRYAN CUMMINGS

Leading up to the meet, speculation had been rife over whether or not the world's fastest man would grace the track as part of the Racers Track Club relay team.

Also, meet organisers and Bolt's coach Glen Mills yesterday would not say if the superstar would make an appearance. Ryan Peralto Jnr, a member of the organising committee, told the Observer that he could neither confirm nor deny Bolt's participation.

"Usain Bolt always speaks of his support for Gibson, but based on history, I don't have anything to predict this year," he said. "Mr Mills spoke at our Howard Aris Memorial Lecture at GC Foster last night (Thursday) and then we got a request for some additional persons to run in a particular individual event... but they didn't quite want to say," Peralto added.

Meanwhile, queries to Mills revealed little. "Check the start list," was his terse response. more

IN JAMAICA: Agent Sasco's (also known as Assassin) crime plan...... the authorities should stop focusing on certain communities when there is an upsurge in a particular area. Rather, they must look at the issue as a Jamaican problem. DO YOU AGREE with his suggestion?

Agent Sasco
 (also known as Assassin)

BY RICHARD JOHNSON Observer senior reporter johnsonr@jamaicaobserver.com

Saturday, February 22, 2014   

LONG-TERM solutions and not quick fixes. That's the suggestion to authorities by deejay Agent Sasco, in order to curb the spate of violence gripping Jamaica.

For Agent Sasco (also known as Assassin) the authorities should stop focusing on certain communities when there is an upsurge in a particular area. Rather, they must look at the issue as a Jamaican problem.

"It is not a Dunkirk or East Kingston problem. When you look at it, it is the same violent acts which just pop up from community to community," the deejay insisted.

"We really need to look into ourselves and establish why certain acts of violence take place and work towards solutions for the country as a whole... it can't be a three-month thing. Police, soldier and curfew, and once the violence die down they move on to the next community."

Police on guard in Dunkirk

During the past two months, East Kingston has been rocked by a series of violent acts including the be-heading of a woman last weekend.

Agent Sasco spent his formative years in the troubled McIntyre Villa (Dunkirk) community of East Kingston. He told the Jamaica Observer that based on his interaction with persons in these communities, there is lack of hope.

"When you talk to the people who live in these realities one gets a sense that they feel they do not have much to live for -- a sense of hopelessness. In addition they feel marginalised by the wider society." more

CHRISTIE'S MANSION OF SKETCHINESS: Chris Christie's Mansion Fund Collected Millions From Political Favor Seekers.....Prudential itself has given gifts totaling at least $150,000 over the last several years.

WASHINGTON -- In January 2010, as newly elected New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) took office, there was a major change at the top of the Drumthwacket Foundation, a nonprofit that has restored and helps maintain the majestic, white-columned governor's mansion in Princeton, N.J.

John Strangfeld, the chairman of insurance giant Prudential, and his wife, Mary Kay Strangfeld, volunteered to serve in the top two positions on the foundation's board. They were elected chairman and vice chairman, respectively, by the rest of the board that same month.

The posts may have appeared largely ceremonial. But within the Christie universe, they were significant. The governor and his family don't live at the mansion, but the first couple is invested in its restoration and upkeep. In 2012, Chris and Mary Pat Christie hosted 72 events there, or about one every five days. The governor is the honorary chairman of the Drumthwacket Foundation. His wife is the president.

The Strangfelds, in turn, played the role of fundraiser. Behind the scenes, they helped raise money from other donors to ensure the foundation's success, and they were good at it. Prudential itself has given gifts totaling at least $150,000 over the last several years.

In November 2011, as the foundation's revenues skyrocketed, the Christie administration awarded Prudential a record-setting $250 million tax incentive to move its Newark headquarters a few blocks down the street, to a shiny new glass office tower. more

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IN JAMAICA: Manchester Member of Parliament, Peter Bunting has disclosed cave attack on a 17-year-old male linked to lottery scamming

Mandeville, Manchester - Minister of National Security and Central Manchester Member of Parliament Peter Bunting has disclosed that the near fatal attack on a 17-year-old male in Manchester may be linked to lottery scamming.

Security minister - Peter Bunting 

He spoke to the press following a visit to the cave in his constituency Friday morning.

“As I have been briefed by the police on where the investigations have reached thus far, it seems to suggest that it is somehow related to lottery scamming. At least one or more of these young men seem to have been involved….,” he said.

Police reports are that the student who did not return from school on February 12 was reported missing.

He was found in an isolated cave two days later in an unconscious state and severely wounded.

Two teenagers were remanded when they made their first appearance in the Mandeville Residents’ Magistrates court Thursday in relation to the incident. They will return on March 12, while another teenager is still on the run.

“Wherever this lottery scam activity goes violence follows,” said Bunting. more

Lawsuit charges Sony cheated 'Idol' winners....Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Clay Aiken, Chris Daughtry and Jordin Sparks.

NEW YORK, United States (AP) — A federal lawsuit filed in New York charges that Sony Music Entertainment cheated "American Idol" contestants including Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood out of at least US$10 million in royalties.

Kelly Clarkson (Photo: AFP)

The lawsuit was filed Thursday by 19 Recordings, a music company founded by "Idol" creator Simon Fuller.

The lawsuit says 19 discovered the royalty issue from two separate audits of Sony's records.

Other artistes named in the suit include Clay Aiken, Chris Daughtry and Jordin Sparks.

Attorney Richard Busch, of the Nashville firm King & Ballow, says the legal action was necessary to protect the rights of 19's artistes. A Sony spokeswoman said she had no comment on the lawsuit. more

Canada Defeats United States 1-0 To Reach Sochi Olympics Hockey Gold Medal Game (PHOTOS)

Hockey bragging rights will stay north of the International Boundary for another four years.

Canada's men's hockey team defeated the United States 1-0 in the semifinals of the Sochi Olympics tournament on Friday at Bolshoy Ice Dome. Canada's Jamie Bennscored the only goal in a tense semifinal matchup between the North American rivals who faced off for gold at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Canada won that matchup 3-2 when Sidney Crosby scored the winning goal in overtime. With goals harder to come by in this clash and Crosby yet to score during these Olympics, Canada's defenders smothered a United States squad that had racked up goals since arriving in Sochi.

“It doesn’t get much better than that," Benn said after win, via CBC. "We found a way to win and it was a great team effort.” more

STORY CONTINUES BELOW

CLARENDON, Jamaica : More MADNESS outta Jamaica. When will it end? 77-year-old elderly man Lloyd Robinson MURDERED....A group of men shot and killed the 77 y-o man then set his house on fire.

CLARENDON, Jamaica — An elderly man was shot dead at his home in Settlement, Four Paths, Clarendon, in the wee hours of Friday morning.

He is 77-year-old Lloyd Robinson.

Reports reaching OBSERVER ONLINE are that about 12:05 am, Robinson and other tenants were at home when they heard a commotion and went outside to investigate.

A group of men, wearing masks, were allegedly seen dressed in army attire and brandishing guns. They opened fire and Robinson was hit.

The other tenants managed to escape injury. The armed thugs then set the house on fire.

The police were summoned and on their arrival Robinson was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead. more

Police intensify search for accused in east Kingston beheading......Police release photograph of 'Hopeton', the murderer.

39-year-old Desroy Barrett,

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Police say they have intensified the search for the man who is accused of chopping and beheading a mother of six in east Kingston on Sunday.

He has been identified Desroy Barrett otherwise called Hopeton.

Thirty-four-year-old Karen Renford was killed a few metres from her house off Mountain View Avenue, allegedly by Barrett who is the father of four of her children.

"The search for the suspect in the case has intensified… we have some leads" a senior police from the division told ONLINE OBSERVER Friday.

Neighbours of Renford said that they heard screams coming from the house shared by the couple, and when they went to investigate her headless body was discovered outside. Her head was found a short distance way.

Barrett, who was at the house on Sunday, has not been seen since the incident.

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Police on Friday released a photograph of 39-year-old Desroy Barrett, otherwise called ‘Hopeton’, who they say is wanted in connection with Sunday's murder of Karen Rainford.
His last known address is Hampstead Place in St Andrew.
The police are appealing to Barrett to turn himself in immediately, and are also urging anyone knowing his whereabouts to contact the Elletson Road police at 928-1261, police 119 emergency number or the nearest police station.  more

13 Famous People Who Once Got Food Stamps.....1) Bruce Springsteen 2) Senator Patty Murray 3) Dr. Ben Carson 4) Barbara Buono & more.......

WASHINGTON -- When Jan Koum sold his company, WhatsApp, to Facebook for $19 billion on Wednesday, he signed the paperwork against the front door of the welfare office where his family used to collect food stamps.

Koum's not the first famously successful person who has gotten food stamps in the past. Here is a list of 13 others who've received benefits from what is now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which currently benefits 47 million Americans.

Bruce Springsteen: The Boss was on food stamps once, at least according to former bandmate Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez, who told The New Yorker's David Remnick in 2012about Springsteen's early days in Asbury Park.

"In the late afternoon," Remnick wrote, "after lunch, Lopez and I were driving around Asbury Park and he started laughing and pointing. 'That’s where we went to get food stamps -- all of us, Bruce, too,' he said." more

President Barack Obama called A 'Subhuman Mongrel' by a Republican......Rick Perry: I Have A Problem With Ted Nugent Calling Obama A 'Subhuman Mongrel'......Rand Paul: He Should Apologize.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) said he takes issue with rocker Ted Nugent calling President Barack Obama a "subhuman mongrel."

"I wouldn't have used those words," Perry told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Thursday. Perry quickly shifted from Nugent's comments, telling Blitzer people need to be focused on things like jobs instead.

Ted Nugent (L) & Rick Perry (R)

"The idea that Ted Nugent has said something that's outrageous shouldn't surprise anybody. He's been saying outrageous things for a lot of years," Perry added. "He shouldn't have said that about the president of the United States." Perry addressed the issue earlier Thursday after a breakfast appearance before the Texas State Society, according to the Dallas Morning News.

“That’s Ted Nugent…That’s just Ted. Anybody that’s offended -- sorry, but that’s just Ted,” Perry said. “I don’t take offense, no. If we would spend a whole lot more time talking about how to create jobs instead of trying to pick apart people’s descriptions of somebody, we’d probably get a lot further along in life.” more

Business in JAMAICA: Gov't expects US$500m from private sector partnerships......it is possible to realise capital investments amounting to in excess of half a billion US dollars

GOVERNMENT expects to earn over US$500 million from partnering with the private sector in operating it air and sea ports.

Dr. Peter Phillips

The transactions aim to save the cash-strapped government capital expenditure on these assets. These include the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA), Kingston Container Terminal (KCT) and Port Community System.

The government expects to earn from taxes, concession fees, capital expansion works. It also expects greater technology transfers and efficiencies from the transfers. The assets would be transfered via Public/private partnerships which are government services or ventures operated by the private sector. Among the types of PPP projects that are commonly provided are roads, utilities, buildings, schools, and hospitals.

"Based on our financial modeling and forecasts it is possible to realise capital investments amounting to in excess of half a billion US dollars over the concession period when all of these are combined," indicated finance minister Dr Peter Phillips in his address at the public/private partnership conference held at Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston on Thursday. "For example the privatisation of KCT is expected to stimulate economic growth — not just in the investment — but the further development of Jamaica as a logistic centre of the Caribbean." more

Malcolm X was more than King’s alter ego..... TODAY is the 49th anniversary of the assassination of Malcolm X .

BY PENIEL E. JOSEPH

Friday marks the 49th anniversary of the assassination of Malcolm X, and the 20th-century icon is still making headlines.

Malcolm X

His memory remains contested and debated, as witnessed by the recent controversies over his depiction in rapper Nicki Minaj’s cover art and a Queens, N.Y., public school teacher forbidding students to write about him during Black History Month out of ignorance over his true political and historical legacy, describing Malcolm as too “violent.”

Malcolm X, though, stood astride the world stage alongside Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi, and should be remembered as a working-class hero.

He’s frequently reduced to being King’s opposite number: eloquent, but angry. But in reality, Malcolm X became black America’s unofficial prime minister, a brilliant and prophetic activist, organizer and intellectual whose life reminds us of the possibilities of a liberated future in America and beyond.

Malcolm’s outsized status as one of black America’s most enduring and important icons makes it easy to lose sight of his humble origins. Malcolm Little was born on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Neb., the son of Earl and Louise Little, pioneering black nationalists who followed the teachings of Marcus Garvey. As a teenager he came of age during the global freedom surges of the early 1940s, but drifted, in between short stints at various blue-collar jobs, into the criminal underworlds of Detroit, Harlem and Boston, which eventually landed him in jail for almost seven years. more

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/02/20/3948376/malcolm-x-was-more-than-kings.html#storylink=cpy

Former New York DJ, 78 y-o David Herman, indicted on 7 y-o child sexual exploitation charge in the Caribbean

NEWARK, United States, Thursday February 20, 2014, CMC – The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency says a retired New York radio personality has been indicted by a US federal grand jury for attempting to transport a 7-year-old girl from Bergen County, New Jersey to the Caribbean to sexually abuse her.

David Herman, 78, of Airmont, New York,
 and St. Croix, was arrested in October 2013
 at the St. Croix airport, where he
 expected to meet the child,
 ICE said. (Credit: lohud.com/)

 

On Wednesday, ICE said the indictment follows an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Newark, HSI San Juan and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.

David Herman, 78, of Airmont, New York, and St. Croix, was arrested in October 2013 at the St. Croix airport, where he expected to meet the child, ICE said.

He was indicted on Tuesday on one felony count of attempting to transport a minor to engage in sexual activity.

“This case shows anyone who attempts to exploit a child can and will be held accountable for their criminal actions regardless of where in the world the investigation leads or how much time has passed,” said Andrew McLees, special agent in charge of HSI Newark. more