Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban apologizes to Trayvon Martin family....."If I see a black kid in a hoodie and it's late at night, I'm walking to the other side of the street."

 Thursday, May 22, 2014 | 5:31 PM  
DALLAS (AP) -- Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban apologized Thursday to Trayvon Martin's family over his choice of words in a videotaped interview in which he addressed bigotry and prejudice.

Mark Cuban arrives at the Billboard Music Awards
 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sunday,
May 18 in Las Vegas. (Photo:AP)

Cuban even revealed some of his own prejudices in the interview with Inc magazine, and said he believes everyone has "prejudices and bigotries" on some level. But after his words -- which came with the NBA still dealing with the fallout over racist remarks made by now-banned Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling -- created a stir in social media and other circles, Cuban took to Twitter to offer his apology.

"In hindsight I should have used different examples," Cuban wrote. "I didn't consider the Trayvon Martin family, and I apologize to them for that."

Cuban also said he stands by the substance of the interview.

Martin was the black Florida teen who was shot and killed by neighbourhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in February 2012. Martin was wearing a hooded sweatshirt -- commonly called a ‘hoodie’ -- that night, and that particular piece of clothing became a rallying cry for those who demanded justice.

Zimmerman was eventually acquitted.

"We're all prejudiced in one way or the other," Cuban said in the Inc. interview. "If I see a black kid in a hoodie and it's late at night, I'm walking to the other side of the street. And if on that side of the street, there's a guy that has tattoos all over his face -- white guy, bald head, tattoos everywhere -- I'm walking back to the other side of the street. And the list goes on of stereotypes that we all live up to and are fearful of."

When shown that excerpt of the interview Thursday, Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat cringed.

"It's just a sensitive time," Bosh said. more 

LIVERPOOL, LONDON : Man shot in chest by armed police at Liverpool house....Neighbour Craig Chadwick said he saw armed police "move in with all the shooting" after seeing "the fella with a knife to his wife's throat".

A man has been shot in the chest by armed police at a house in Liverpool.The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said investigators were at Shellingford Road, Dovecot, after a "non fatal police shooting".

Police have cordoned off the road while an
 investigation into what happened takes place

Neighbour Craig Chadwick said he saw armed police "move in with all the shooting" after seeing "the fella with a knife to his wife's throat". North West Ambulance Service said the "conscious and breathing" man had been taken to the Royal Liverpool Hospital.Merseyside Police said no officers had been injured. The IPCC said that following the shooting, it had "declared an independent investigation".'Horrible'Mr Chadwick said he had heard a police negotiator "trying to calm him down, but he was shaking his head at them". He said the moment armed officers entered the house was "horrible". "They had to throw [smoke] bombs into the house and then an ambulance came about half an hour later." more

This Day in History - May 22 : 1868: The Great Train Robbery takes place near Marshfield, Indiana, as seven members of the Reno gang make off with US$96,000 in cash, gold and bonds.....British model Naomi Campbell of Jamaican descendants was born in Streatham district of South London.

Thursday, May 22, 2014    

Today is the 142nd day of 2014 There are 223 days left in the year.

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHT

1868: The Great Train Robbery takes place near Marshfield, Indiana, as seven members of the Reno gang make off with US$96,000 in cash, gold and bonds.

OTHER EVENTS

1761: The first life insurance policy in the United States is issued, in Philadelphia.

1819: The American steamboat Savannah makes its first trans-Atlantic crossing.

1833: A new constitution in Chile gives greater power to the president and establishes Roman Catholicism as state religion.

1822: United States and Korea sign treaty of peace and friendship.

1840: Transportation of British convicts to New South Wales, Australia, officially ends.

1867: Canada becomes the first dominion of the British Empire, gaining a Parliament, cabinet and large measure of independence.

1939: Germany's Adolf Hitler and Italy's Benito Mussolini sign "Pact of Steel," a 10-year political and military alliance.

1969: The lunar module of Apollo 10 separates from the command module and flies to within 14 kilometres (nine miles) of the moon's surface in a dress rehearsal for the first lunar landing.

On May 22nd 1970, British model Naomi Campbell of Jamaican descendants was born in Streatham district of South London. Naomi established herself among the top three most recognizable and in-demand models of the late 1980s and the 1990s, and she was one of six models of her generation declared “supermodels” by the fashion world. 

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS

Richard Wagner, German composer (1813-1883); Mary Cassatt, US impressionist painter (1844-1926); Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, English author (1859-1930); Daniel F Malan, South African statesman, instituted apartheid (1874-1959); Sir Laurence Olivier, English actor (1907-1989); Bernard Shaw, US journalist (1940- ); Naomi Campbell, British model (1970- ); Bernie Taupin, songwriter (1950- )

more

JAMAICAN ganja — the race against time..... Three-day conference at UWI will tell law-makers opportunities slipping away...."We are 40 years late," said Dr Albert Lockhart, a leading opthalmologist who helped pioneer marijuana derived medicines such as Canasol for treating glaucoma, the eye disease and Asmasol for asthma sufferers.

BY DESMOND ALLEN executive editor - special assignment allend@jamaicaobserver  Thursday, May 22, 2014   

JAMAICA is already over 40 years behind in decriminalisation of ganja and a three-day conference which kicks off today at the University of the West Indies (UWI) will signal to legislators here that time is not on Jamaica's side.

"We are 40 years late," said Dr Albert Lockhart, a leading opthalmologist who helped pioneer marijuana derived medicines such as Canasol for treating glaucoma, the eye disease and Asmasol for asthma sufferers.

Lockhart, and the late Dr Manley West of the UWI intensified medical research on ganja in 1972 after then Health Minister Dr Kenneth McNeill invited them to address parliamentarians on their work and gave them permission to collect, transport and do research on the weed within the bounds of Jamaica.

The duo produced five drugs, starting with Canasol in 1976. When they saw the potential for greater success, they partnered with the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ) which was being run by the visionary William Saunders to form a commercial enterprise called AMPEC, a combination of the names Albert, Manley and Petroleum Corporation. In 1987, they produced Asmasol.

"We have other drugs that are not yet registered because registration is very expensive," Lockhart said in an interview with the Jamaica Observer, adding that the selling agents in Jamaica for AMPEC is Health Brands Limited.

Lockhart argued that Jamaica should have been much farther ahead in production of ganja for medicinal purposes but that the ball was dropped after the 1972 parliamentary committee breakthrough.

Science Minister Phillip Paulwell assured ganja advocates that decriminalisation of the weed would come this year but while the legal fine-tuning is being done, the rest of the world, led by a fast growing number of American states, is racing to decriminalise cannabis. Colorado, first out of the block with legalisation, is reporting millions of dollars in taxes raised from rapid sales of the weed, boosted by apparently successful treatment of children with epilepsy. more

IN JAMAICA: Two Mobile Reserve cops arrested, denied bail as part of a 'Police Death Squad'.....The lawmen, Constable Shannon Allen and Sergeant Mario Taylor were taken into custody yesterday and charged with the February 28 murder of Adolphus Reader in May Pen, Clarendon.

BY TANESHA MUNDLE Observer staff reporter mundlet@jamaicaobserver.com  Thursday, May 22, 2014    

TWO Kingston-based policemen, alleged to be part of a 'police death squad', were yesterday denied bail when they appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court on charges of murder.

The lawmen, Constable Shannon Allen and Sergeant Mario Taylor, who were stationed at Mobile Reserve, were taken into custody yesterday and charged with the February 28 murder of Adolphus Reader in May Pen, Clarendon.

The case was initially reported as a fatal shooting, but investigations carried out by the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) reportedly found that the incident was part of a series of unlawful killings that were being undertaken by the police.

INDECOM's head, Terrence Williams, in outlining the allegations yesterday in court, said the constabulary had reported that police officers went to accost Reader when he allegedly pointed a firearm at them and was shot and killed.

Williams told the court that an eyewitness reported that the policemen went into a room and were engaged in a conversation with Reader before killing him. A Browning pistol was allegedly recovered from Reader, but INDECOM is contending that the firearm was planted on the victim as spent shells that were recovered from another shooting incident in May Pen involving the police matched the pistol that was recovered. In that shooting incident Adif Washington was allegedly shot and killed while he was at the May Pen Hospital by two masked men. Two policemen were later charged with his death following forensic evidence, INDECOM said.

Williams, after outlining the allegations, submitted an affidavit to Senior Magistrate Judith Pusey, which noted that bail was being opposed on the grounds that the officers might interfere with the witnesses if they are granted bail, and that the witnesses were unwilling to cooperate while the policemen were free, and also that the policemen may abscond bail.

In court yesterday, attorney Carolyn Reid-Cameron, who represents both men, said her clients had a constitutional right to be granted bail on the presumption of innocence, and that the primary consideration of the court should be whether or not they would return to court if bail was granted. more

THE Jamaica Forum of Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG) now advocating for decriminalisation of same-sex acts...... Gays change position..... “So, for instance, if a little boy or little girl should be raped in the anus, in the absence of the buggery law, there is no protection.

BY INGRID BROWN Associate editor — special assignment browni@jamaicaobserver.com  Thursday, May 22, 2014    

THE Jamaica Forum of Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG) said it is no longer calling for a wholesale repeal of the buggery law, but for the decriminalisation of sexual acts between consenting adults of the same sex.

In light of this, the community said it is not in agreement with the recent call by Opposition Leader Andrew Holness for the buggery law to be put to a referendum. Holness, who was speaking recently in Parliament, called on the Portia Simpson Miller-led Government to allow Jamaicans to decide whether the buggery law should be repealed through a referendum.

However, J-FLAG said a wholesale repeal of the buggery law would not be helpful to anyone because it would create a lacuna in the law.

“So, for instance, if a little boy or little girl should be raped in the anus, in the absence of the buggery law, there is no protection. So, as it is right now, the buggery law does serve some useful purpose, but it is problematic for consenting adults in private,” said Brian Paul, sub-regional co-ordinator of the Caribbean Forum of the Liberation and Acceptance of Genders and Sexualities (CariFLAGS) and advocate for J-FLAG.

According to Paul, a repeal would not necessarily be helpful because of the narrow definition of sex under the Sexual Offences Act of Jamaica. Under the Act, sex is defined as the penetration of a vagina by a penis, and by extension rape is defined as non-consensual sex between a man and a woman.

“Because rape is so narrowly defined, if it is a non-vaginal sexual assault, anal for instance, then the buggery law does serve some useful purpose, as the buggery law is the only way you can treat with ‘anal rape’,” Paul said.

He argued that a repeal of that law without requisite amendments to the Sexual Offences Act to make rape gender-and orifice-neutral would not benefit anyone.

“So what we have been calling for is for the buggery law to be reviewed, or limited, so as not to criminalise the consenting sexual habits of adults in private,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

This, he said, would be an amendment to the law to allow for consent as a defence, and for adults to engage in intercourse as they see fit, while allowing others to have the protection of the law if there is non-consensual buggery. more

BEAUTIFUL NEWS: Dr. Erika Hayes James Named Emory University Business School’s First Black Dean..... She has also distinguished herself as a consultant to several Fortune 500 companies

May 21, 2014 By NewsOne Staff

Emory University has announced that a black woman will become the next dean of its Goizueta Business School, making history among top business school programs. Erika Hayes James, a former senior associate dean for executive education at the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia, will assume her new role in mid July. James holds a Ph.D. in organizational psychology from the University of Michigan and has also distinguished herself as a consultant to several Fortune 500 companies. From Emory:

Dr. Erika Hayes James

Emory’s business school, founded 95 years ago, was honored to take its current name in 1994 from Roberto C. Goizueta, the innovative and influential business leader who served as chair and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company from 1981 until his death in 1997. Central to his vision and the school’s mission are excellence and principled leadership, which set Goizueta apart from others and greatly impact the experience of students and the curriculum.

“Erika James has all of the qualities that we want for a leader at Goizueta,” says Provost Sterk, who led the international search. “She brings a background of impressive scholarship and strong skills in academic administration, and she will work collaboratively with faculty, students, staff, alumni and supporters to take the school to the next level—all the while honoring the principled leadership of Mr. Goizueta’s legacy.” more

Controversial Photo of Willow Smith With Older Man Makes Moms Panic

13 y-o WILLOW SMITH

Admit it: you would have killed to have parents like Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith when you were 13. I know I would have saved myself a lot of humiliation and the trouble of telling lies my parents never believed anyway just so I could go do something stupid that I shouldn't have been doing in the first place. Well,Willow Smith has no such concerns.

The ridiculously hip -- as in waaaay too hip for someone barely out of her tweens -- daughter of the coolest parents ever was recently photographed hanging out on her bed with actor Moises Arias. Oh yeah,Moises is 20 and isn't wearing a shirt. Sounds a lot like what you were doing at 13, right?!

Excerpted from hellobeautiful.com

MAMA BEAR RESCUES Baby BEAR: Heroic Rescue Shows The True Meaning Of 'Mama Bear' (VIDEO) #RulaBrownNetwork

4 Million On The Edge Of Starvation In South Sudan.....Third Of South Sudan's Population Faces Starvation says Reuters

OSLO, May 20 (Reuters) - More than a third of South Sudan's population, 4 million people, will be on the edge of starvation by the end of the year as fighting rages on in the world's newest country, U.N. officials said on Tuesday.

Clashes between rebels and government forces have wrecked food markets and forced people to abandon their livestock and land, the aid experts added.

"We are losing time. Farmers should be planting their crops right now," Valerie Amos, the United Nations' aid chief, told a donors' conference in Oslo.

"If they don't, and if livestock herders are not able to migrate to grazing areas, people will run out of food." Violence erupted in the oil-producing country in December following a long power struggle between President Salva Kiir and his sacked deputy Riek Machar.

Kiir told the BBC that "the civilian population is going to face one of the worst famines that has ever been witnessed in South Sudan" and appealed to Machar for an end to the conflict.

"We have to stop this fighting so that we save the people's lives," Kiir said in the interview, first broadcast on Monday, adding aid must be allowed to reach civilians. Both sides have blamed the other for violating two ceasefire deals agreed since the conflict first erupted in mid-December. more

Entertainment : David Madden gives ‘good measure’....A JAMAICAN with over 50 years in the music industry to his credit, trumpeter David Madden still keeps in tune with modern trends.

 BY CECELIA CAMPBELL-LIVINGSTON Observer staff reporter livingstonc@jamaicaobserver.com  Wednesday, May 21, 2014    

WITH over 50 years in the music industry to his credit, trumpeter David Madden still

keeps in tune with modern trends.

His latest project is a self-produced four-song EP titled 4 Good Measure, released on April 25.

DAVID MADDEN

Cherrio, The Big Bang, Roots Man Love Song and the title song are on the mini set which is the follow-up to last

year's Pon De Internet, Madden's first EP.

Said the veteran musician: the latter "went well enough to have me looking forward and doing this new one".

Like the songs on Pon De Internet, 4 Good Measure blends contemporary beats with the sounds Madden was weaned on at Alpha Boys' School in Kingston.

Madden joined the Jamaica Military Band in his late teens, then went on to a successful career as a session musician at Studio One, as a composer/arranger with saxophonist Cedric Brooks and founding member of the Zap Pow band.

He enjoyed success with Zap Pow, playing on outstanding songs like Mystic Mood and This is Reggae Music.

Madden has always embraced reggae's evolution. In the 1990s, he played on roots classics like Everton Blender's Lift up Your Head and Raid The Barn by Anthony B. more

IN JAMAICA: MAN KILLS Common-Law WIFE, 32-year-old Kadian Oshane FOR HOLDING BACK SEX FROM HIM...Refusal to give lover sex led to woman’s death....Bailey reportedly jumped in front of a passing motor vehicle in an apparent attempt to end his life but was set upon and beaten by an angry mob. He was, however, rescued by the police but was subsequently charged.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014    

THE man accused of stabbing his common-law wife to death in downtown Kingston recently, allegedly killed the woman for withholding sex from him for two months, the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Courts heard yesterday.

The alleged motive for the brazen daylight killing was revealed yesterday when the accused, Vanden Bailey, made his first appearance in court before Senior Magistrate Judith Pusey. Bailey is charged with the May 8 murder of 32-year-old Kadian Oshane of Penwood Road in Kingston.

According to the police, Bailey, who was involved in a relationship with Oshane, about 9:00 am on the day in question, attacked the woman on North Street and forced her into a nearby vacant lot where he allegedly stabbed her repeatedly.

Police said that following the gruesome act, Bailey reportedly jumped in front of a passing motor vehicle in an apparent attempt to end his life but was set upon and beaten by an angry mob. He was, however, rescued by the police but was subsequently charged.

The court heard that when Bailey was cautioned by the police he told them that for two months he had not gotten any sexual favours from his companion and he believed that she was saving herself for someone else. The court also heard that Oshane's family members told the police that Bailey was always 'watching' the complainant. 

Bailey's lawyer did not address the allegations or have his client enter a plea, instead he requested copies of the statement to facilitate a bail application on June 9. As a result the magistrate ruled that disclosure be made before June 9 and remanded Bailey in custody. more

IN JAMAICA: UWI sacks professor Bows to gay, human rights groups....it has sacked Professor Brendan Bain as director of the Regional Co-ordinating Unit of the Caribbean HIV/AIDS Regional Training (CHART) Network

 BY VERNON DAVIDSON Associate editor - publications davidsonv@jamaicaobserver.com Wednesday, May 21, 2014
THE University of the West Indies (UWI) yesterday announced that it has sacked Professor Brendan Bain as director of the Regional Co-ordinating Unit of the Caribbean HIV/AIDS Regional Training (CHART) Network, echoing a view by gay and human rights activists that he has lost the confidence of the programme's target community.

The UWI publicised its decision two days after the Sunday Observer reported that a coalition of 33 lobby groups from across the Caribbean had been advocating Bain's removal because of expert testimony he gave in a constitutional challenge brought by a gay Belizean man against that country's criminal code in September 2010.

Caleb Orozco had argued that the code, which states that "every person who has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any person or animal shall be liable to imprisonment for 10 years", violates his right to the recognition of human dignity, to personal privacy and the privacy of the home guaranteed by the Belize constitution.

In August 2012, Professor Bain offered expert testimony in the case on behalf of a group of churches seeking to retain the 1861 law.

Bain, regarded as a pioneer in clinical infectious disease practice in the Caribbean and a leading medical authority on the HIV epidemic in the region, pointed out in his testimony that the risk of contracting HIV is significantly higher among men who have sex with other men (MSM). more

IN MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA (FULL STORY OF TWIN BROTHERS DROWNING) : Grief in MoBay Tears as bodies of twin brothers, Brandon and Brayden Jones, recovered from sea...... Five female relatives had to be rushed to hospital after they fainted outside the police tape which encircled the corpses

BY HORACE HINES Observer staff reporter hinesh@jamaicaobserver.com  Wednesday, May 21, 2014    

MONTEGO BAY, St James — Tears flowed freely yesterday as the bodies of twin brothers, Brandon and Brayden Jones, were fished from the harbour near the Dump Up Beach in this resort city by the Marine Police.

An undated photo of 9 y-o twin brothers Brandon and
 Brayden Jones, who were washed away by flood
waters Monday in Montego Bay.

The battered and bruised bodies of the two siblings, who resided at St Georges Drive, Cornwall Courts in this parish, were Monday afternoon swept away by angry flood waters in the North Gully.

It was a sombre atmosphere at the waterfront yesterday morning as a large crowd gathered after news spread throughout the city that the bodies of the twin brothers were found.

Relatives of the deceased who were early on the scene broke down when they saw the bodies of their loved ones on the ground. Five female relatives had to be rushed to hospital after they fainted outside the police tape which encircled the corpses which were laid on the beach awaiting the arrival of funeral home workers.

Teary-eyed onlookers openly expressed their sympathies with the family and friends of the deceased.

The children's mother reportedly returned to the island yesterday after getting news of the tragedy Monday night. However, she could not be reached yesterday. The father, the Jamaica Observer understands, also resides abroad, but another of his children, Taje-Joan Jones, 19, said he was aware of the family tragedy as he was the one who called Jamaica and informed him.

"I was down town at a barber shop when I heard that two kids [were] washed away but I never felt anything about it until after I reached home and was around the computer when I my father called me from abroad and told me that he heard that the twins died. It flashed back in me mind the same time about what I heard earlier," Jones told the Observer in a telephone interview. He said he rushed to Cornwall Courts immediately, but by then it was dark and the large crowd had to call off the search.

A relative of twin brothers Brandon and
 Brayden Jones, who fainted after
viewing their bodies at Dump Up
Beach in Montego Bay, yesterday,
 is assisted by a firefighter.

According to Sergeant Peter Salkey, communications liaison officer for the St James Division Police Division, a search was launch for the boys immediately after the police received a report that the two children were washed away by flood waters in Cornwall Court about 5:30 Monday afternoon.

The Observer learnt that the boys were walking home from school when one jumped in the drain to play in the water and was swept away. His twin brother, in a bid to save him, jumped in the rushing water and was also washed away.

The tragedy yesterday caused a postponement of classes at the Green Pond Primary School, where the two attended classes.

"The children have been sent home because it is a sad day; we have done all that we could have done for the day. Several persons came and those who couldn't come sent their condolences to us [including] the minister of education," Winnifred Hall Clarke, principal of Green Pond Primary School told the Observer. more

'Shield' Star Michael Jace Charged In Fatal Shooting Of Wife

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Authorities say actor Michael Jace is charged with homicide after his wife was found shot to death in their home.

The Los Angeles Times reports (http://lat.ms/1jQAKlU ) that city police arrived at the couple's home in the Hyde Park neighborhood around 8:30 p.m. Monday and that 40-year-old April Jace was found dead inside.

Detective Eric Crosson tells the newspaper that Michael Jace was taken into custody Monday night and arrested on a homicide charge later. Jace was in custody and unavailable for comment.

The 50-year-old Jace plays a police officer in the TV series "The Shield" and had roles in "Forrest Gump" and "Planet of the Apes." The couple were married nine years and have children. more 

Teen Jacob Lavoro, 19, Faces Life In Prison Over Hash Brownies

The Huffington Post  | by  David Moye

A teenager who allegedly made and sold hash brownies could serve life in prison because of the ingredients he used.

Officials in Round Rock, Texas, have charged Jacob Lavoro, 19, with a first-degree felony because he chose to use hash oil rather than marijuana.

That allows the state to use the entire weight of the brownies -- sugar, cocoa, butter and other ingredients -- to determine the weight of the drugs, KHON-TV reports.

The brownies confiscated by Round Rock officials weighed about 1.5 pounds. Lavoro could be sentenced between five years and life in prison.

The punishment is too harsh, according to Jamie Spencer, the legal counsel for the Texas division of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

"That's higher than the punishment range for sexual assault, higher than the punishment range for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. It's kind of crazy," Spencer told KUTV.com.

Lavoro's lawyer, Jack Holmes, is also outraged by the charges. more

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Daughter of Bishop T.D. Jakes discusses being pregnant at 14, overcoming trials in new book ‘Lost & Found’

Sarah Jakes and her father Bishop T.D. Jakes.
 (Photo courtesy of Rubenstein PR and Sarah Jakes)

For Sarah Jakes, the daughter of Bishop T.D. Jakes, one of the nation’s most powerful and prominent pastors, childhood presented some unique challenges.

Her upbringing was heavily influenced by her family’s deep involvement with the church – so when she became pregnant at 14, Jakes faced the most difficult moment in her life.

“I was terrified,” Jakes told theGrio, thinking back to the events leading up to her parent’s discovery of her pregnancy. “You have this idea of ‘I’m going to get in trouble,’ like ‘I’m going to be grounded forever’ because you have nothing else really at that point to compare it to.”

Jakes recounted the memories she still holds from that day, sharing that it was her sister who broke the news to her parents after she wrote a letter and left it in the family’s mailbox.

“My parents were speechless. I mean, my father was a preacher, who speaks for a living, and he was speechless,” Jakes said. “And that’s when it dawned on me that this was so much bigger than being grounded. [I was] bringing a life into the world and while I certainly had other options, whether abortions or adoptions, there was something inside of me that said I could do it.”

It was this tough experience – along with several other similarly trying moments — that motivated Jakes to write a book detailing some of the burdens she’s carried and the strength she found to overcome them. more

13 year old becomes a published author of two books

One Brooklyn eight-grade student has turned her hobby into an early profession, granting her the title of published author.

13-year-old Angela Content from Brooklyn, NY, 

13-year-old Angela Content says reading is one of her favorite activities — so much so that she decided to write her own stories that have now turned into two self-published books.

Angela’s mother, Marie Content, told CBS New York that she had no idea her daughter was serious about becoming an author until she approached her one day and was surprised to hear the news.

“At first she said, ‘Mommy, I’m going to write a book. I’m writing my own book,’ I said, ‘OK.’ She said, ‘I’m going to publish it.’ I said, ‘OK,’” Marie Content told CBS. “And then finally one day she said: ‘Mommy, my book is going to publish. I already transmitted everything — it’s going to take 24 hours, they’re going to review it. I said, ‘OK,’” Marie Content said. “And then the next day, I heard it’s on Amazon. I’m like, ‘Oh my God!’”  more

IN JAMAICA: 'Mi don't think the road can get any worse' Commuters forced to walk for miles as protesters block Whitehouse main road

Tuesday, May 20, 2014    

WHITEHOUSE, Westmoreland — Students and hotel workers were among hundreds of commuters left stranded yesterday after disgruntled residents blocked several sections of the roadway in eastern Westmoreland to protest the deplorable road conditions.

A section of the road which is in need of repairs.

From as early as 4:30 am, irate demonstrators used huge tree trunks and other debris to block several thoroughfares from Belmont to Whitehouse in the parish. The roads from Beeston Spring and Petersville leading to Whitehouse were extensively blocked in several sections by trees, which the protesters used power saws to cut down.

The police worked feverishly to remove the numerous blockades, but protesters engaged the law enforcers in a cat-and-mouse game, restaging the roadblocks the minute their backs were turned.

The police, however, managed to clear the main road from Whitehouse to Belmont freeing up vehicular traffic in the afternoon.

Some workers employed to Sandals Whitehouse were unable to get transportation to work as all roads leading to the area were blocked to vehicular traffic.

Senior vice-president, Sales North America, Unique Vacations, Gary Sadler said the operations team was mobilised immediately to ensure that Sandals' guests, due to depart for the airport, were comfortable and that the protest did not negatively impact their visit to Jamaica. more

IN JAMAICA: Lisa Hanna faces the heat in Sectoral Debate today....."(1) What is the status of the Child Care and Protection Act review? "(2) What progress, if any, has been made on the minister's commitment on compliance with international and local obligations by the end of 2014?

BY BALFORD HENRY Senior staff reporter balfordh@jamaicaobserver.com  Tuesday, May 20, 2014 

YOUTH and Culture Minister Lisa Hanna faces a number of issues when she speaks in the sectoral debate, which continues in the House of Representatives, today.

Hanna is scheduled to speak just ahead of Opposition spokesman on national security Derrick Smith, who will respond to National Security Minister Peter Bunting's presentation last week.

Lisa Hannah

It should be another very interesting day's proceedings in the annual debate, which involves ministers who did not speak in last month's budget debate.

Chief among the issues which have been raised in anticipation of Hanna's presentation today are four questions posed -- in a statement issued yesterday — by the local human rights group, Jamaicans For Justice (JFJ) concerning the status of children who are in the care and protection of the Government.

It is the second consecutive week that JFJ has raised questions on the eve of a minister's presentation, as last week the organisation raised several questions for Buntng to answer. Most of them, however, have received no response.

According to the JFJ release, today's contribution by Hanna, "provides an important opportunity to report on the result of Government action to improve the welfare of Jamaica's children and on policies to be implemented during the upcoming year".

"The impact of these measures on Jamaica's children is of utmost importance. Jamaicans For Justice has long-standing, ongoing concerns regarding the situation facing some of Jamaica's most vulnerable children and looks forward to the update the minister will provide," it added.

JFJ then proceeded to ask four questions of the minister:

"(1) What is the status of the Child Care and Protection Act review?

"There is urgent need for amendments to this legislation to ensure improved care and protection of Jamaica's children. Therefore, the minister is obliged to give an update on the current state of the review process and timeline by which the draft amendments will be brought to Parliament and subjected to consultation and debate, and ultimately passed. more

IN JAMAICA (A VERY TRAGIC & SAD STORY): Twin Tragedy..... 9-year-old twin brothers, Brandon and Brayden Jones washed away, feared dead in Montego Bay

Tuesday, May 20, 2014 Horace Hines Jamaica Observer Excerpted   

MONTEGO BAY, St James — Nine-year-old twins Brandon and Brayden Jones are feared dead after they were swept away by flood waters from heavy rains that pelted the western end of the island for more than five hours yesterday afternoon.

Nine-year-old twins Brandon and Brayden Jones

Up to late last evening, police and firefighters were searching the Montego Bay Harbour for the missing boys. The Jamaica Observer was told that about 3:00 pm the brothers were returning home from school — Green Pond Primary — when one of them fell into a drain filled with the angry flood waters near their Cornwall Courts home.

His brother attempted to rescue him, but was also swept away. more 

Teen Who Was Shot In Eye Delivers Anti-Gun Violence Speech....A New York City youth who was shot in his eye last month reacted, not with bitterness, but by giving a speech against gun violence Saturday (VIDEO)

A New York City youth who was shot in his eye last month reacted, not with bitterness, but by giving a speech against gun violence Saturday, the New York Daily News reports.

RELATED STORY: What Are Your Ideas To Stem Chicago Gun Violence?

Addressing the Kings County Hospital’s community advisory board, Gama Droiville (pictured) said that “gun violence affects everyone more than they realize. Other kids like me need programs to help them.”

Droiville was with his aunt in the East Flatbush of Brooklyn on April 14 when a bullet struck him in his right eye. Twenty-one year old Kareem Potomont was arrested and charged in the shooting. He was reportedly aiming at a rival. Officials have charged him with attempted murder, reckless endangerment and assault.

Thirteen-year-old Droilville remains unable to see in his right eye. “Only God knows. For now, we’re just waiting,” his aunt, Marie Droiville, said Saturday about his condition. “He’s going to a specialist this week.” “He’s a lovely kid,” commented NYPD Officer Abraham Hidalgo, who saw Droiville as he first arrived in Kings County Hospital’s emergency room. “It’s a big difference, how he is now from then. Before, he was a disaster. We thought he was going to lose his life. He still has a long road ahead, but is so much better.”

Droiville also received a standing ovation for singing the national anthem with his church choir at Citi Field last Thursday. more

YOHAN BLAKE plans career change, eyes 100 world record....Will look to play cricket in the UK..... English county side Yorkshire has offered him a chance to fulfil a childhood dream

Monday, May 19, 2014    

LONDON, England (CMC) — Yohan Blake said he plans to make a career change when he retires from the track in another six years.

YOHAN BLAKE

The former world 100 metres champion from Jamaica said English county side Yorkshire has offered him a chance to fulfil a childhood dream of playing cricket at a high level.

“Cricket is my first love,” said Blake in an interview with the BBC. “I’ve wanted to play for Yorkshire or in England for a long time.” Blake said he wants to follow in the footsteps of legendary West Indies captain and current manager Richie Richardson and play for the club in the north of England.

The 24-year-old Blake is a decent fast-medium bowler and decent middle to lower order batsman and has turned out regularly for Kingston Cricket Club in Jamaican club championship.

Getting down to business, Blake said he has overcome the hamstring injury that prevented him from defending his world 100m crown at last year’s World Championships in Russia.

He said his eyes are also firmly set on establishing a new mark for the 100 and toppling compatriot Usain Bolt from the top of the pedestal. “This is a good year to return to top form,” he said. “When I came on the scene in 2009, I’ve been leaving personal bests every end of the year, so you might see one this year.

“If I break the world record, it’s my time. Usain’s had his time, and is still having it. Whatever I do this season I just want to give a surprise to the world. My potential is far greater than what I’m running now.”

Compatriot Bolt established the world record of 9.58 seconds five years ago at the World Championships in Berlin — but Blake is unfazed by challenging his Racers Track Club teammate. “I wouldn’t say Usain’s record is untouchable,” said Blake. more

Nation Of Crooks - Pastor Rennard White Blasts JAMAICANS As Morally Weak....."In Jamaica, we are not a people who are very strong morally and ethically...."Dishonesty has gone into all our institutions," he added.

Published: Monday | May 19, 2014 Jermaine Francis, Staff Reporter

A senior member of the clergy has called for the society to fess up to the reality that Jamaicans are not honest people.

Reverend Rennard White

The Reverend Rennard White, vice-president of the Jamaica Evangelical Alliance and president of the Missionary Church Association, said it was no secret that, for a very long time now, dishonesty has permeated all facets of the society.

Delivering the sermon during yesterday's National Workers' Week and Labour Day Thanksgiving Service at the Covenant Moravian Church in Kingston, White said: "This is a country that has made a way of life out of dishonesty."

He said it might be difficult for many to face this harsh fact, but if the country must progress, it must admit to this inconvenient truth.

Not our strong point

"In Jamaica, we are not a people who are very strong morally and ethically ... . This is not our strong point. We are good athletes; we are great in some other stuff, but that's our weak area," he told the congregation.

"Dishonesty has gone into all our institutions," he added.

Kids looker on at ceremony

Relating recent reports of widespread electricity theft across the country, White said this was only one of the many areas in which Jamaicans have demonstrated their dishonest behaviour.

He also lambasted the many businesses and persons that have been evading the tax net over the years. more