KINGSTON, Jamaica: Dancehall Artiste, Ikon D Link climbs ZIP FM transmitter, threatens suicide if song not played on radio....his song was played twice on the station as a part of the strategy to get him to come down....the crowd which joined in singing “I am stress, I am broke, I need something to smoke, it ain't no joke.”

Tuesday, August 12, 2014 | 8:43 PM 
KINGSTON, Jamaica -- An upcoming dancehall artiste created a stir in Half-Way-Tree Tuesday evening when he climbed a transmitter pole at ZIP FM radio station on Courtney Walsh Drive and threatened to jump if his song was not played.
The artist, who was identified as Ikon D Link, was reportedly observed climbing the tower sometime about 5:00 pm and drew scores of onlookers to the scene before he was rescued by the police and firemen and carted off to jail.
Another upcoming artiste, who gave his name as Sanchez Pinnacle, gave an account of the incident.
“I was sitting in  bar when I saw him about quarter way on de pole and me and fren rush go over ZIP and see him a climb and say play man tune,” he said.
A woman who was one the scene said she also heard him saying, “I am not going down till you play my song, play my tune.”
According to Senior Superintendent Fitz Bailey who was on the scene, the entertainer’s song was played twice on the station as a part of the strategy to get him to come down from the pole but he did not hear it and was shown a copy of the programme.
Bailey said that the artist appeared to be in a logical state of mind based on a mental assessment that was done and that he will be charged by the police for a number of breaches.
Shortly after the artist was rescued his song titled Stress was played on a loud speaker from a van much to the delight of the crowd which joined in singing “I am stress, I am broke, I need something to smoke, it ain't no joke.”
The crowd erupted into cheers when Ikon was transported from the compound in a police service vehicle as many onlookers blocked the path of the vehicle in an attempt to video and to take pictures of the artist.

IN JAMAICA: Police charge two for murder of St James children 10-year-old Meleeka Mitchell and 12-year-old Omari Sterling

Tuesday, August 12, 2014 | 7:34 PM    
KINGSTON, Jamaica -- Detectives from the Falmouth Police Station have charged two men for the deaths of 10-year-old Meleeka Mitchell and 12-year-old Omari Sterling of Paradise in Norwood, St James who were reported missing on Sunday, July 13. Their bodies were found in the Martha Brae River on Tuesday, July 15.
Twenty-year-old Jason Grey, a tattoo artist and 21-year-old Cashwayne Morgan, both of Hague Settlement, Trelawny were charged on Monday, August 11 for murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Information received is that on Sunday, July 13 Meleeka and Omari allegedly went to the ‘One Man Beach’ in Montego Bay, St James when they took a minibus with the accused men to the Martha Brae River in Trelawny where they were killed. Their bodies were found on Tuesday, July 15.
Both men are to appear in the Falmouth Resident Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, August 20.

JLP Opposition Leader Andrew Holness calls for establishment of human rights commission to safeguard the fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled....cited the controversial death of 31-year-old construction worker Mario Deane of Rosemount, St James.

BY HORACE HINES Observer staff reporter hinesh@jamaicaobserver.com  Tuesday, August 12, 2014  
MONTEGO BAY, St James — Opposition Leader Andrew Holness is calling for the establishment of a Human Rights Commission to safeguard the fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled.
He suggested that the Office of the Public Defender be promoted to such a commission.
Leader of the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP)
 Andrew Holness (second right) and JLP spokesman for
 national security, Derrick Smith (right), engage senior
members of the St James police during a tour of the
 Barnett Street Police Station, yesterday.
 (PHOTO: PHILLIP LEMONTE)
"We now believe it is time that the Jamaican State establish a commission on human rights. We already have the public defender [who does] some amount of work in protecting human rights, but we need to elevate that office now into a human rights commission," Holness argued.
He, however, noted that the commission should not be founded merely to react to human rights violations, but to detect emerging tendencies early on.
"A commission that will not just respond when there is an issue, but a commission that could look at trends and see where the trends are pointing to human rights abuses and intervene through the courts or by making proposals for changes in policies or laws," Holness argued.
The Opposition leader was speaking yesterday at a Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) press conference held at the Wexford Court Hotel in Montego Bay to look into the controversial death of 31-year-old construction worker Mario Deane of Rosemount, St James.
Deane died last week Wednesday at the Cornwall Regional Hospital after he was allegedly beaten by other inmates while being detained at the Barnett Street Police station for possession of a ganja spliff. more

IN JAMAICAL : RENT-A-DREAD IN NEGRIL

Post by Jamaica IS Nice.
So recently i went to Negril and i notice alot a Rasta man with white woman and i was thinking they were some tour guides till i see 2 a dem a fight over one of the woman and i hear someone say dem a rent a dread and then i realise there was alot a rent a dread down Negril

Three sisters from a family of nine graduate from college years early....They are all bound for successful careers.

BOCA RATON, Fla. - Meet Grace, Gabrielle and Gisla. They are all bound for successful careers.
The sisters were enrolled in the dual program at Florida Atlantic University while in high school. All three now have college degrees. "I am 16-years-old and I want to be the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court," Grace Bush said.
Gabrielle wants to be a Secretary of Health and 19-year-old Gisla, who is named after her mother, said she wants to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. "I would stay up really late at night and get up really early in the morning, I had to study constantly," Grace said. Gabrielle says the hard work paid off. "Limited access to social media and the internet and made sure I stayed focus on what I had to do and seek help if I needed it." more

IN JAMAICA: Vybz Kartel, Gaza Slim corruption trial to pervert the course of justice delayed due to the unavailability of witnesses and the late serving of documents by the Crown.

 BY TANESHA MUNDLE Observer staff reporter mundlet@jamaicaobserver.com  Tuesday, August 12, 2014    
THE corruption trial of entertainers Vybz Kartel and Gaza Slim yesterday suffered yet another delay and failed to start in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court.
Vybz Kartel, whose real name is Adidja Palmer; Gaza Slim, whose given name is Vanessa Saddler; and their co-accused Andre Henry are facing charges of attempting and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
Vybz Kartel
However, the case was postponed due to the unavailability of witnesses and the late serving of documents by the Crown.
The absence of defence lawyer Pierre Rodgers, who is representing the female entertainer, also factored in the postponement.
Rodgers, who had an emergency and had to leave the island, was yesterday represented by Attorney Nicole Burgher. However, when the trial was about to start, Burgher informed the court that she had just received five witness statements and would need time to peruse the documents and to get instructions from her client.
She also told presiding magistrate, Simone Wolfe-Reece that she had not received two compact discs with telephone evidence and asked for an adjournment.
Prior to Burgher's request for an adjournment, attorney Christian Tavares-Finson, who was standing in for his father, Tom, complained to the court that he had not received full disclosure of the documents in the case. Tom Tavares-Finson, who is also off the island, is representing Vybz Kartel.
The issue of disclosure was eventually settled, but the court was then informed that the prosecution, too, was experiencing some challenges with the availability of witnesses for the matter.
The prosecutor told the court that one of the technical witnesses from telecoms company Digicel was also overseas on vacation, while another lived overseas, and that communication was normally done through the one who is on vacation. more

GREAT NEWS FROM JAMAICA: Dream alive for Medical Student SHENORDO Blagrove....Education ministry, Observer readers helping brilliant Shenordo who wants to study pathology.

BY VERNON DAVIDSON Executive editor - publications davidsonv@jamaicaobserver.com  Tuesday, August 12, 2014    
SHENORDO Blagrove, the first-year medical student who was forced to drop out of the University of the West Indies (UWI) because of lack of funding, has been given a lifeline by the Ministry of Education and Jamaica Observer readers.
01
Blagrove & Thwaites
Yesterday, Education Minister Ronald Thwaites told the weekly Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange that he met with Blagrove on Monday, August 4, a day after her story was published in the Sunday Observer.
A number of readers who commented on the story on the newspaper's website offered to help the 20-year-old former Convent of Mercy Alpha student get back into medical school.
"She has been very kindly assisted by a number of your readers who have called her... and so she is going to get from those persons who telephoned, the amounts that they would contribute and the Ministry of Education will pick up the balance, so Shenordo will be in medical school," Thwaites said.
Blagrove, who said she had always wanted to be a doctor, specialising in pathology, was one of a number of students whom the education ministry assisted with $2 million each towards their tuition last year.
However, she was unable to find the balance of the fee, which Thwaites yesterday revealed was a further $600,000.
Shortly after the start of the second term she applied for a semester break, but submitted the request late. Then, to make matters worse, she fell ill and had to be hospitalised in April this year.
Yesterday, Thwaites said that Blagrove was one of 34 students for whom the education ministry contributed $64 million in grants of $2 million each for medical studies.
"These were people who came to us with needs and no other way of supporting themselves," he said.
Blagrove, he said, represents "a growing cohort of students from the first and second quintile of the Jamaican society", that is, those at the lowest economic level who... "have done everything right and have qualified to go to university".
The epic importance of that, he said, was that these students stayed in school and did not allow themselves to be dragged into any anti-social circumstances that could derail their future. more

Robin Williams Dead at 63 y-o : Beloved Actor Dies In Apparent Suicide

LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 29:  Robin Williams attends the CW, CBS And Showtime 2013 Summer TCA Party on July 29, 2013 in Los Angeles, California.  (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
Robin Williams
Beloved actor Robin Williams was found dead on Monday, police reported. He was 63.
The apparent cause of death was suicide by asphyxiation, authorities said. Accordingto his publicist, Williams had been battling severe depression and spent time in rehab as recently as July.
Police said that Williams was found unconscious around noon in his home in Tiburon, California, near San Francisco.
Williams was best known for his starring roles in classic comedies like "Mrs. Doubtfire," "Good Morning, Vietnam" and "Jumanji," but also in acclaimed dramas such as "Dead Poets Society." He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Dr. Sean Maguire in "Good Will Hunting." He rose to fame while playing Mork the alien in the TV show "Mork & Mindy," a "Happy Days" spinoff.
In "Dead Poets Society," Williams plays John Keating, an electric English teacher at an elite all-boys high school. In a quintessential speech, Keating tells his students:more

Is this how Comcast "negotiates"? Comcast agent, technician, and supervisor lie about $180 charge! I Just went through the same problem with comcast a few days ago. COMCAST is a fraud.

Dear Counsellor, Her ex is stressing me out : I am married to a woman who has a child from a previous relationship. We have been together for almost a year now.

With Wayne Powell MA Counselling Psychology Relationship Counsellor
Monday, August 11, 2014    

Dear Counsellor,
I am married to a woman who has a child from a previous relationship. We have been together for almost a year now. We are not living in the same area, it's about an eight hour drive. Her ex lives in the area she's in. He does not want his child to have a stepdad. He doesn't see his child a lot, but when my wife is with me, he will ask permission to see the child. I'm so stressed because of this guy.
Model
One of the topics that will be discussed in premarital counselling sessions with couples where one or both partners have children from former relationships is the matter of dealings with the former spouse and the boundaries to be established. The fact that your wife has a child with her ex makes it very difficult for her not to communicate with him as they have to discuss matters pertaining to the child.
What is important is that clearly defined boundaries must be established between your wife and the child's father. This is even more critical with the fact that they live in close proximity to each other. He should not, for example, drop in unannounced and any inappropriate advances by him must be rebuffed by her. The onus is on your wife to ensure that she preserves the integrity of her marriage and she does not in any way send any mixed messages to her ex-boyfriend.
If the child lives with the mother who is married to you then it is almost impossible that you will not interact with the child. So his saying he doesn't want a stepfather is unfair. Even though you are miles away, when you do go home, as a caring husband, you will interact with the child and treat the child as your own. To be isolated from the child would not be in his/her best interest and could impair the child's emotional development.
If the father of the child insists on you not being involved in the life of the child, this could further complicate matters and cause tension between you and your wife. Again, your wife will have to play the role of mediator to make sure peace reigns between the men in her life whilst ensuring the psychological protection of the child. In the same way you have the baby mother drama, the baby father drama can be just as devastating to all parties concerned. more

27 Jamaicans Awarded Sandals Scholarships In celebration of the Sandals Foundation five-year anniversary in 2014

Published: Monday | August 11, 2014 
Twenty-seven Jamaicans are among 41 secondary-school students, from across the Caribbean, who are recipients of Sandals Foundation five-year scholarships valued at US$30,000 annually.
Heidi Clarke (back row, fourth from left) and members of the Sandals Resorts International public relations team share a moment with some of the Care for Kids Scholarship recipients.
Heidi Clarke (back row, fourth from left) and members of the
Sandals Resorts International public relations team share a
moment with some of the Care for Kids Scholarship recipients.
Through the Care for Kids Scholarship Programme, hundreds of outstanding secondary- and tertiary-level students in Jamaica, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Antigua, The Bahamas, and Saint Lucia have received funding for tuition, books, uniforms, annual medicals and tutoring. The programme also encourages mentorship, community outreach and sports development.
In celebration of the Sandals Foundation five-year anniversary in 2014, an incentive programme was introduced for beneficiaries, who maintain 'B' to 'A' averages and show marked improvement in core subject areas, to receive additional funding valued up to US$200 each in the areas of education, health, music, extra-curricular activities and sports.
Guest speaker at the event and reigning Miss Hanover Festival Queen, Andrene Hutchinson, charged the awardees to capitalise on all opportunities for their development.
"I, too, was a beneficiary of financial aid in high school and it helped to make me who I am today," she said. more

JLP calls for boost to cruise shipping sector..... Robinson said that, currently, there is a "gross lack of direction" from the government on cruise shipping.

Monday, August 11, 2014 
OPPOSITION spokesperson on tourism and cruise shipping, Shahine Robinson, has called for a stakeholders' team to be established to address the problems affecting Jamaica's cruise shipping sector.
01Robinson urged Minister of Tourism Dr Wykeham McNeill, in a news release last Friday, to pull together a stakeholders' team to boost berthing capacity and cruise ship arrivals; balance the cruise ship traffic spread across the resort towns; and make the resort towns more attractive.
She suggested that the team should focus on aggressively courting major cruise lines; balance the cruise shipping traffic to include Port Antonio, which has massive potential for exclusive boutique tourism, and make the resort towns too attractive to be ignored by visitors.
Robinson said that, currently, there is a "gross lack of direction" from the government on cruise shipping. She pointed out that her concerns have come on the heels of recent announcements by the world's largest cruise operator, Carnival Cruise Lines, of its intent to develop a US$70 million cruise ship port in Tortuga, Haiti, and its scheduled opening of a another port in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. more

JAMAICA NEWS CAPSULE : JAMAICA's image damaged....Jubilee feels heat again...A US Congresswoman's charge...Pensioners feeling the heat

Pryce: Jamaica's image suffering over ganja spliff death

JAMAICA's image is taking a beating over the controversial death of construction worker Mario Deane while in custody at the Barnett Street Police Station, St James, where he was being held for a gan ... Read More
Jubilee feels heat again
MINISTER of Health Dr Fenton Ferguson might have ordered a probe into complaints of misconduct by members of staff at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital ...... Read More
A US Congresswoman's charge
MANDEVILLE, Manchester — United States Congresswoman Yvette Diane Clarke delivered a clear message to over 900 graduates of the Mandeville-bas ...... Read More
More pensioners feeling the heat
QUITE often, TV commercials are shown telling people to plan for their retirement and open pension funds. But many ignore them, thinking that t ...... Read More

GENOCIDAL IN IRAQ : At Least 500 Yazidis Killed By ISIS... Women And Children Buried Alive...Hundreds Of Women Kidnapped... Rape, Slavery Fears... TO THE RESCUE: Kurds Break Through, Thousands Freed... Many Still Stranded...

BAGHDAD, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Islamic State militants have killed at least 500 members of Iraq's Yazidi ethnic minority during their offensive in the north, Iraq's human rights minister told Reuters on Sunday.
YAZIDIS
Yazidis on the run in Iraq
Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said the Sunni militants had also buried alive some of their victims, including women and children. Some 300 women were kidnapped as slaves, he added.
"We have striking evidence obtained from Yazidis fleeing Sinjar and some who escaped death, and also crime scene images that show indisputably that the gangs of the Islamic States have executed at least 500 Yazidis after seizing Sinjar," Sudani told Reuters. more

BEST LAWYER / INSURANCE STORY OF THE YEAR, DECADE, AND POSSIBLY THE CENTURY....QUITE BIZARRE, The Cigar Story

This actually took place in Charlotte , North CarolinaA lawyer purchased a box of very rare and expensive cigars, then insured them against, among other things, fire.
Within a month, having smoked his entire stockpile of these great cigars, the lawyer filed a claim against the insurance company. In his claim, the lawyer stated thecigars were lost 'in a series of small  fires.'The insurance company refused to pay, citing the obvious reason, that the man had consumed the cigars in the normal fashion.
The lawyer sued and WON!
(Stay with me.)Delivering the ruling, the judge agreed with the insurance company that the claim was frivolous. The judge stated nevertheless, that the lawyer held a policy fromthe company, in which it had warranted that the cigars were insurable and also guaranteed that it would insure them against fire, without defining what is consideredto be unacceptable 'fire' and was obligated to pay the claim.
Rather than endure lengthy and costly appeal process, the insurance company accepted the ruling and paid $15,000 to the lawyer for his loss of the cigars thatperished in the 'fires'.
NOW FOR THE BEST PART...
After the lawyer cashed the check, the insurance company had him arrested on  24 counts of ARSON!!! With his own insurance claim and testimony from the previous case being used against him, the lawyer was convicted of intentionally burning his insured property and was sentenced to 24 months in jail and a $24,000 fine.
This true story won First Place in last year's Criminal Lawyers Award contest.
ONLY IN AMERICA . .. . NO WONDER THE REST OF THE WORLD THINKS WE'RE NUTS.

IAN BOYNE: Women Will Always, Tragically, Be Seen As Meat...."My girl, yu serious, eeh? A ramp me a ramp wid yuh 'cause yuh body look so good!"

Ian Boyne, Columnist Published: Sunday | August 10, 2014 

Karen Lloyd's In Focus article last week, 'My vagina isn't public property', provoked an unprecedented number of responses to any article in this section.
Model (File Photo)
She recounts a man's groping her breast, to which she responded with a slap across his face, with his retorting in apparent surprise at her ingratitude for his expression of interest: "My girl, yu serious, eeh? A ramp me a ramp wid yuh 'cause yuh body look so good!" Lloyd says, "This is not only a personal issue ... . The vast majority of Jamaican women are harassed daily on the street by men who believe they have some inherent right to women's bodies. All my female friends share similar experiences on a regular basis."
Lloyd says, "Even more frightening is the fact that we hardly take street and sexual harassment seriously. Men will continue to grab and grope women in public because it is not a 'big deal' and is usually met with impunity at best and a 'forward' at worse by onlookers."
Lloyd has a big wish: "Perhaps I am asking too much, but one day I would like to be able to go through my day freely without being treated like a piece of meat to be positioned, handled and devoured." I doubt she or her children will live to see that day. Even if she is never touched or even spoken to suggestively, it is likely that men will still view her as a commodity to be positioned, handled and devoured, even if evolved social norms frown on it.
The sexual revolution did not liberate women from objectification and commodification. Women are seen in Western society as consumable meat. We, men, are the primary beneficiaries of the sexual revolution.
Men are socialised to see women as objects of their sexual gratification. And especially in our macho culture, which sees itself as threatened by 'growing homosexuality', some men are becoming even more aggressive in asserting their heterosexuality. Well, what one person calls sexism, others would celebrate as liberation. For London School of Economics Sociology Professor Catherine Hakim in her thought-provoking book,Erotic Capital: The Power of Attraction in the Boardroom and the Bedroom (2011), even feminists have unwittingly sold out to patriarchal ideas about what is proper for women, and have ignored the power of erotic capital. more

Battling Ebola - Jamaican Doctor, Louisa Baxter On Front Line Of Deadly Crisis..."It is a worrying issue for the international community," stressed Baxter, who had just returned to London, England, from Sierra Leone and Liberia, where she came face to face with the suffering of Ebola victims....which has already claimed at least 961 lives from 1,779 recorded cases on the African continent

Gary Spaulding, Senior Gleaner Writer  Published: Sunday | August 10, 2014
Dr Louisa Baxter
Dr. Louisa Baxter
A gutsy Jamaican doctor living in the United Kingdom, who has added her expertise to the gamut of international medical teams combating the Ebola crisis in West Africa, has given the islandhigh marks for taking the necessary precautionary measures to stave off a local outbreak of the disease.
Dr Louisa Baxter, who spent her early years in St Mary and once worked at the Kingston Public Hospital, told The Sunday Gleaner yesterday that vigilance must remain the order of the day to avoid a Caribbeanoutbreak of Ebola, which has already claimed at least 961 lives from 1,779 recorded cases on the African continent - a death rate of just more than 50 per cent.
"It is a worrying issue for the international community," stressed Baxter, who had just returned to London, England, from Sierra Leone and Liberia, where she came face to face with the suffering of Ebola victims.
"Jamaica is doing what it is supposed to, but the gravity of the situation (in Africa) must not be lost on anyone because the international community is so closely connected these days."
Ministry keeping informed
Last Thursday, Jamaica's Health Minister Dr Fenton Ferguson indicated that the ministry has been keeping itself informed of developments with respect to the Ebola outbreak through reports issued by the World Health Organisation.
The image of Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (left) appears on a banner warning people about the Ebola virus in the city of Monrovia, Liberia, on Friday. Over the decades, Ebola cases have been confirmed in 10 African countries, including Congo where the disease was first reported in 1976. But until this year, Ebola had never come to West Africa. - AP photo
The image of Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (left)
 appears on a banner warning people about the Ebola virus
in the city of Monrovia, Liberia, on Friday. Over the decades, Ebola
cases have been confirmed in 10 African countries, including Congo
where the disease was first reported in 1976.
 But until this year, Ebola had never come to West Africa. - AP photo
According to Ferguson, surveillance at the nation's points of entry is already in place and "we will be continuing with training and sensitisation of our health workers, as part of measures to increase our vigilance and preparedness for this disease".
He added: "I would like to assure that we continue to enjoy the support of the University of the West Indies Virology Lab, the United States Centres for Disease and Control and Prevention and the Caribbean Public Health Agency, for testing if needed." more

IN JAMAICA: Petrojam awards four students who excelled in the recent Grade Six Achievement Test ( GSAT) have been awarded scholarships....The students are Ricardo Anderson and Jahmella Irey, top boy and top girl from St Andrew Primary School; and Nicholas Grant and Brittney Green, top boy and top girl from Greenwich All-Age.

By AINSWORTH MORRIS Career & Education writer  Sunday, August 10, 2014    
FOUR students who excelled in the recent Grade Six Achievement Test ( GSAT) have been awarded scholarships totalling $240,000 from Petrojam Limited.
The students are Ricardo Anderson and Jahmella Irey, top boy and top girl from St Andrew Primary School; and Nicholas Grant and Brittney Green, top boy and top girl from Greenwich All-Age.
From left, Brittney Green, Ricardo Anderson, Jahmella Irey
and Nicholas Grant, top performing boys and girls
 from St Andrew Primary School and Greenwich All-Age
 School. (PHOTO: TYRONE SIMMS)
The 12-year-olds scored the highest overall averages from their respective schools. They were awarded at the 2014 Petrojam Limited GSAT Awards Luncheon at Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel on July 31.
Irey scored 71 per cent in mathematics, 73 per cent in language arts, 85 per cent in science, 85 per cent in social studies and 9/12 in communication tasks. She will be attending Excelsior High this upcoming academic year. She was also awarded by Petrojam for being the most disciplined student at the school.
Anderson scored 100 per cent in mathematics, 95 in social studies, 95 in language arts, 92 per cent in science and 11/12 in communication tasks. He will attend Ardenne High.
He was also awarded for being the most outstanding student at St Andrew Primary, outstanding achiever in mathematics and outstanding achiever in arts.
Green scored 85 per cent in science, 90 per cent in social studies, 92 per cent in language arts and 11/12 in communication tasks. She will attend Wolmer's Girls.
Grant scored 80 per cent in language arts, 86 per cent in mathematics, 90 per cent in science and 82 per cent in social studies. He will be attending Meadowbrook High.
In addition to these four awards, Petrojam also awarded four other students from St Andrew and five from Greenwich in other award categories.
From St Andrew Primary, D'Andre Bartley was judged most improved male student; Tashieca Bowen was judged most improved female student; and Raheem Buckley and Shanneal Parker were awarded for best attendance/punctuality. Buckley was also given the award for outstanding achiever in sports. more

2 y-o boy raps and grooves nicely on the beat. Check it out....WICKED

IN JAMAICA: Man's family retains Miguel Lorne to seek redress after mysterious death..... Despite men charged with Mario Deane’s murder, relatives insist on police link

BY KARYL WALKER Editor — Crime/Court Desk walkerk@jamaicaobserver.com  Sunday, August 10, 2014    
THE grieving relatives of Mario Deane, whose death while in the care of the Barnett Street police has caused howls of outrage, have retained the services of attorney Miguel Lorne to act on their behalf in the controversial matter.
01Lorne confirmed that he was in fact representing Deane's disgruntled relatives and said he would be moving with alacrity in seeking justice for his clients.
"As early as Monday morning we intend to write the minister of justice and the attorney general informing them of our intention to file a lawsuit against the police officers involved, the Jamaica Constabulary Force, and the attorney general, who represents the Government of Jamaica. Justice must be realised in this matter," Lorne said.
Deane died in hospital after he was severely beaten while in the custody of the State and his relatives have been left with bile in their mouths days after his untimely demise because of what they say is the uncaring action of the police.
"They did not come to us. We had to go to them. None of the senior police never saw it fit to reach out to the family and even offer condolences. It was us who went to them," Deane's sister, Sadiki Deane, said.
The situation has grown upon his mother, Marcia Fraser, who has lost her only son.
"She seemed to be holding up at first but as the days go by it is wearing her down. We feel further frustrated by the way they are treating the matter. Our hearts hurt more and more each day," she said. more

64 y-o Marcia Griffiths to receive Order of Distinction at King's House. It is the country's fifth highest honour.

BY HOWARD CAMPBELL Observer senior writer  Thursday, August 07, 2014    
MARCIA Griffiths, one of reggae's enduring talents, leads a field of entertainment stalwarts receiving awards in the annual National Honours and Awards.
01Griffiths will receive the Order of Distinction (Commander class) at the ceremony which takes place October 20 at King's House. It is the country's fifth highest honour.
Griffiths was previously awarded the OD (Officer class).
The 64-year-old singer is celebrating her 50th anniversary in the music business, an accomplishment recognised this year by organisers of the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival and organisations like the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association.
Her recording career began at Studio One in the rocksteady era. There, she cut a number of dance hits including Feel Like Jumping, Melody Life and Really Together (with Bob Andy).
A highlight of Griffiths' career came in the 1970s when she toured and recorded as a member of the I Three, Bob Marley's harmony group. more

IN JAMAICA: The garrison — Our great shame of Independence

The garrison — Our great shame of Independence


IT happens every year as we celebrate our Independence that we grab for the names of a few icons — living and those who left us — and parade them as the true spirit of what is in us, b ... Read More

TWENTY-FIVE-YEAR-OLD attorney, Ashley Ann Foster to take PNP East Central St James constituency


Ann Foster
MONTEGO BAY, St James - TWENTY-FIVE-YEAR-OLD attorney, Ashley Ann Foster, is likely to be elected Chairman of the People's National Party (PNP's) East Central St James constituency. Delegates in th ... Read More

IN JAMAICA: Glen Mills headlines nine sports personalities receive National Honours and Awards

Nine sports personalities receive National Honours and Awards


Glen Mills
GLEN Mills, head coach of Racers Track Club, headlined nine Jamaican sports personalities who were appointed to the Orders of the Societies of Honour and awarded the Badge of Honour with effect fr ... Read More

Teacher Turns Up Drunk And Pantsless On First Day at Wagoner High School : Cops

Lorie Ann Hill
 Lorie Ann Hill
Don't worry about forgetting your homework; this teacher forgot her pants, witnesses said.
Oklahoma schoolteacher Lorie Ann Hill, 49, was allegedly spotted drunk and without pants on her first day of work at Wagoner High School Monday, Fox 23 reported.
“She was found in a room kind of disoriented,” Police Chief Bob Haley told Tulsa World. “By the time we got there she was in a room and wearing shorts.”
Hill was hired by the school this yearfor a special education position, according to the Muskogee Phoenix. She allegedly admitted to drinking vodka before coming to work, and was charged with public intoxication.
Classes do not start in Wagoner until Thursday.

Stitchie Pens Autobiography......Titled, The Power of Determination, "No ghostwriter, I wrote it myself,"

Published: Wednesday | August 6, 2014
Having had his fair share of struggles during his formative years, gospel artiste Stitchie has penned an autobiography that he hopes will provide motivation for others.
Stitchie-  File
Stitchie
Titled, The Power of Determination, the book is set for release later this year.
"No ghostwriter, I wrote it myself," Stitchie told The Gleaner.
"That makes me the first reggae artiste to write a book. A lot of books have been written about them and for them. This is real. It is my autobiography. It is a motivational tool," he said.
According to Stitchie, physical and digital copies of the book will be available by the end of September, and on his website,kingstitchie.net.
Stitchie has been in the music industry for decades so, according to him, it was important, "to document my life experience and share them with others, because I believe others can benefit from them as well. I will also show that people can be academically inclined and gifted in the performing arts."
He also explained that he thought it necessary to write the book, as it shows his journey, and the fact that he did not allow his environment to consume him despite growing up very poor.
"I never had the textbooks, but I was never in the low grade. I was one of the top students. Once you want to move forward, you will find ways and means to do it. Going to a tertiary institution, it was not finances that brought me there, it was determination," said Stitchie, who studied physical education and biology at the GC Foster College.
Stitchie also plans to give persons a taste of his book at Morris Heights Health Center (MHHC) National Health Center Week Festival and Fun Day in Bronx, New York, on August 16. more