TELECOMS company LIME signed dancehall artiste Konshens and former Miss Jamaica World Sara Lawrence

BY KEVIN JACKSON Observer Writer  Saturday, November 01, 2014  

TELECOMS company LIME signed dancehall artiste Konshens and former Miss Jamaica World (2006) Sara Lawrence as its newest brand ambassadors at Ribbiz at Barbican Centre in St Andrew, yesterday.

Konshens and Sara Lawrence 

Carlo Redwood, LIME's vice-president of marketing, said signing was a "no-brainer".

"Konshens is popular with Jamaicans. He loves Jamaica and he's very passionate about music and the charity work that he does. Sara is a genuine person. She has done well and she is the female that we were looking for," said Redwood.

Lawrence was crowned Miss Jamaica (World) in 2006. She placed sixth at the Miss World finals.

She is currently the Caribbean brand ambassador for L'Oréal.

Dancehall artiste Konshens shot onto the musical radar in 2007. He is known for a string of hits including Gal a Bubble, Couple Up, and Walk and Wine.

His Subkonshus Music label has been instrumental in working with new talent including Darrio, Delus, Tamarley and Javada.

LIME's other brand ambassadors are track star Yohan Blake and comedians Ity and Fancy Cat, Donald 'Ice Man' Anderson, and Pretty Boy Floyd.

4 DAYS FROM SEIZING SENATE?.....69% chance that Republicans will take control of the Senate....Do you think the Republicans will go after impeachment of President Barack Obama? Will Hillary Clinton run in 2016?

HuffPost Pollster begins by collecting every publicly released poll on the 2014 Senate races. We then use a statistical model to estimate the trend in support for each candidate based on all the survey data, adjusting for sample size and pollsters’ “house effects.” Interactive charts of those support trends are available here and on the HuffPost Pollster home page.

Mitch McConnell would be Senate Leader

By running a series of simulations (known commonly as the Monte Carlo method), the model allows us to quantify the uncertainty associated with the current polling snapshot. That uncertainty comes from multiple sources: sampling error in the polls themselves, uncertainty about the house effect corrections, and uncertainty about how quickly vote intentions are changing.

The model then calculates a “win probability” for each race that is displayed in the graphics on this page. This probability takes three factors into account:

• The time remaining between the current snapshot and the election.
• The possibility that the polls could be wrong or that some sort of major event could shake up a race in ways that the current polls can’t measure.
• The proportion of “undecided” voters in the polls. If the undecided proportion is high relative to the expected margin between the candidates, the outcome of that race must be less certain. more

23 Things Any 'Scandal' Fan Knows To Be True. Separating 'Scandal' Fans From TRUE 'Scandal' Fans...1) A glance between Olivia and Fitz is equal to another couple's 1000 kisses 2) And you know their relationship is toxic 3) But you want them to be together in spite of yourself and much more.....

Kerry Washington stars as Olivia Pope on SCANDAL

1. A glance between Olivia and Fitz is 
equal to another couple's 1000 kisses

2. And you know their relationship is toxic

3. But you want them to be together 
in spite of yourself


more

Low visitor traffic from Ebola-hit countries to Jamaica

Friday, October 31, 2014    

VISITOR traffic from Ebola-hit West African countries to Jamaica has been relatively low, with 66 persons coming from Sierra Leone; 65 from Liberia and 11 from Guinea, so far this year, for a total of 142. Countries, including Jamaica, have been on high alert for visitors from those West African nations, as fears of the deadly Ebola virus spread across the globe. Of the three countries, Sierra Leone has the largest number of visitors to Jamaica - 279 - in the past four years, broken down as fo ... More

VIDEO: Medical ganja company targets $4b in revenue by 2019; eyes IPO by 1Q next year....said the executive chairman of Medicanja Limited, Dr Henry Lowe. "This will give Jamaicans at home and in the Diaspora a chance to invest"....."We are talking big business, not monkey money," said former Prime Minister P J Patterson, who is a member of the Medicanja board.

BY TERRON DEWAR Caribbean Business reporter  dewart@jamaicaobserver.com  Friday, October 31, 2014    

LOCAL medical marijuana company, Medicanja Limited, expects to generate approximately $4 billion in sales within four years.

Executive chairman of Medicanja Limited, Dr Henry Lowe.

"Revenue from the sales and services of over 18 products that we have planned from Medicanja limited, including six product lines, will be in excess of $4 billion," said the executive chairman of Medicanja Limited, Dr Henry Lowe.

What's more, during the first quarter of next year, Medicanja plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) to raise funds from the market to continue product development and research.

"This will give Jamaicans at home and in the Diaspora a chance to invest" in a product that shares a strong brand association with the country, he said.

On Wednesday, the company launched seven new products that will hit the market in December.

VIDEO: Medical ganja company targets $4b
 in revenue by 2019; eyes IPO by 1Q next year

The products are among the first in a line of 18 pharmaceutical and nutraceutical items that the company plans to bring to market over the course of the next year.

'The magnificent seven', as the first line of products are called, was designed to help with the 'pain management of some 84 ailments using products such as marijuana-based rubbing alcohol (CanjaCol), healing oil (CanjaRub), pain-relief spray (CanjaSol), anti-inflammatory cream (CanjaFlam), Arthritis cream (CanjaSolve), sublingual drop (CanjaRelief) and nausea relief sprays (CanjaSure). more

Jazz & Blues signs Mariah Carey.... Best-selling female artiste of all time coming to Jamaica for the world-renowned festival, scheduled for January 29 - 31 at the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium on Jamaica's north coast.

Friday, October 31, 2014  

GLOBAL superstar Mariah Carey has been confirmed as the headline act for the 19th annual Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival next January.

Mariah Carey

Carey, regarded as the best-selling female artiste of all time, will be making her first-ever appearance in the Caribbean, and her signing is being seen as a major triumph for the world-renowned festival, scheduled for January 29 - 31 at the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium on Jamaica's north coast.

"Welcoming Mariah Carey to Jamaica's shores is truly exciting and we are extremely pleased to announce this iconic star as our headline act for 2015," festival producer Walter Elmore said yesterday. "Her agreeing to perform on our stage is a testament to the quality of our production. We are the only festival in the Western Hemisphere to present Mariah Carey since her last tour in 2006."

Yesterday, Carey was quoted as saying that she was anxious to perform in Jamaica.

"I'm thrilled to be performing in Jamaica for the first time ever," she said. "I can't wait to connect with my Jamaican fans and I am really looking forward to spending some time pon de island as well."

Carey has sold more than 200 million records and has logged 18 Billboard Hot 100 Number 1 singles, more than any solo artiste in history.

With her distinctive five-octave vocal range and prolific songwriting and producing talent, Carey has defined the modern multi-format performer. more

Former Miss Jamaica Universe and media personality, Yendi Phillipps, Files For Full Custody Of Her Child With dancehall entertainer, Chino McGregor...She is also seeking $60,000 per month in maintenance for the child.

Phillipps... is also seeking $60,000 per month in
maintenance for the child.

Barbara Gayle and Jerome Reynolds Gleaner Writers 
KINGSTON, Jamaica: 
Former Miss Jamaica Universe and media personality, Yendi Phillipps, has filed for full custody of her child with dancehall entertainer, Chino, whose real name is Daniel McGregor. 

The application was filed in the Supreme Court this week by the law firm Nelson-Brown, Guy and Francis. Phillipps is asking the court to grant her custody, care and control of the child. 

Chino McGregor

She is also seeking $60,000 per month in maintenance for the child. Phillipps is further asking the court to order Chino to pay half of the child’s 
medical and educational expenses. As part of the custody arrangement, Phillipps is asking the court to grant the dancehall entertainer access to the child twice during the week for three hours and once every weekend for seven hours. 

She has been ordered to serve the application on the defendant. No date has been set for the matter to be heard. 

IN JAMAICA: Shantayaé Grant, 22 y-o to be UWI valedictorian. She has a 4.09/4.0 GPA.... also has under her belt, 19 CAPE/CSEC passes with distinction from Alpha Academy

BY AINSWORTH MORRIS Career & Education writer  Sunday, October 26, 2014   

SHANTAYAÉ Grant, Jamaica Observer teenAGE writer, has been selected as a valedictorian for the 2014 graduating class of the Faculty of Humanities and Education at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona.

Shantayaé Grant, speaking at the launch of Purity’s
breast cancer awareness month campaign earlier this month.

Grant, 22, will be graduating with first-class honours from the first academic cohort of CARIMAC students with bachelor of arts degrees in Integrated Marketing Communication on October 31. She has been on the dean's list since her first year at UWI.

"To be chosen to represent the graduating class of Humanities and Education is beyond an honour. This, I believe, is validation for my years of hard work and dedication. I've always worked hard for my achievements and it is truly humbling to be recognised in such a fashion," Grant, who has a GPA of 4.09 told Career & Education.

Grant was also valedictorian when she graduated from Convent of Mercy (Alpha) Academy in 2009.

Last year, her older sister Shoyea-Gaye Grant was also chosen as valedictorian at UWI. more

Can We Auto-Correct Humanity? Why I Refuse to Let Technology Control Me. You need not delete your social networks or destroy your cell phones, the message is simple, be balanced, be mindful, be present, be here. :)

IN JAMAICA: Daylight murder sparks fear Unease on Kensington Crescent after gunmen chase, kill 43 y-o man Collin Mann

BY KIMMO MATTHEWS Observer staff reporter matthewsk@jamaicaobserver.com  Thursday, October 30, 2014    

THE mid-morning murder of a man outside an apartment complex on the outskirts of New Kingston yesterday has triggered fear among residents and staff at businesses in the area.

Police at the scene of yesterday’s murder of a man by gunmen
 on Kensington Crescent on the outskirts of New Kingston.
(PHOTO: MICHAEL GORDON)

Detectives from the Kingston and St Andrew Major Investigation Task Force report that about 11:30 am Collin Mann, 43, and another individual were standing at the entrance to the complex on Kensington Crescent when a group of armed men, travelling in a car, drove up and alighted from the vehicle.

Mann, the Jamaica Observer was told, made a desperate attempt to escape but was chased and shot several times in the street.

The other individual, who was injured, was rushed to hospital where he has been admitted.

"Reports we received are that close to midday the two men were at the complex when they were attacked by criminals who shot them several times and then escaped in a waiting motor car," said one detective.

Police said a motive has not been identified, but explained that they were following several leads, one of them being that the attack, which they believe could be a contract killing, was linked to the shooting death of a couple in Lea's Flat, Red Hills, St Andrew over a week ago.

That, however, has not eased the fear of some residents, many of whom work in and around New Kingston and in offices in the vicinity of yesterday's brazen murder. more

Suge Knight And Katt Williams Arrested For Allegedly Stealing Photographer's Camera

The Huffington Post | By Michael McLaughlin Email Posted: 10/29/2014 7:45 pm EDT 

Hip-hop mogul Marion "Suge" Knight and comedian Micah "Katt" Williams have been arrested for allegedly stealing a camera from a celebrity photographer.

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office charged both men on Wednesday with one count of robbery for allegedly taking a camera from a woman outside a Beverly Hills studio on September 5.

Knight, the co-founder of Death Row Records, faces life in prison because of a previous conviction for assault with a deadly weapon, KVVU reports. The Associated Press reports that the charge carries a possible 30-year sentence for Knight.

Williams was busted when he showed up for court, according to TMZ. He was appearing in Inglewood on an unrelated assault charge and could be locked up for seven years.

Bail was set for Knight at $1 million and $75,000 for Williams, according to NBC Southern California.

Historic Leap (GREAT NEWS): Jamaica Surges 36 Places In Doing Business Rankings....jumped 36 places to 58 among 189 economies worldwide, according to the just-released Doing Business 2015 report. Last year, Jamaica ranked 94.

Avia Collinder, Business Reporter Published: Wednesday | October 29, 2014

Jamaica has achieved the Caribbean region's highest ranking on the ease of doing business, and has jumped 36 places to 58 among 189 economies worldwide, according to the just-released Doing Business 2015 report.

Last year, Jamaica ranked 94. Its vault up the rankings breaks a nine-year streak of decline.

However, the island has received a rap on the knuckles for the slow place of developing electronic interfaces that accompany its extensive reforms and for higher taxation costs.

Doing Business is produced annually by the World Bank, and is usually dated the year ahead of its actual release.

The 2015 report tracks performance from June 2, 2013 to June 1, 2014.

The new report indicates that six of 12 economies in the Caribbean - The Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, St Kitts-Nevis, St Lucia, and Trinidad & Tobago - implemented at least one regulatory reform making it easier to do business in the year of review.

Overall, they implemented 12 reforms, a historic high for the region.

The World Bank noted reforms for Jamaica in the areas of starting a business, getting electricity connections, getting credit, and paying taxes.

An improved assessment of business-friendliness was widely expected for Jamaica, given its ongoing economic reforms agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme - under which gains have been praised both by the IMF's technical team as well as head of the agency, Managing Director Christine Lagarde. more

Jamaica has highest number of illegal immigrants in Trinidad says Trinidad's Minister of National Security...

Wednesday, October 29, 2014 | 1:52 AM  

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - There is no discrimination in the treatment of African illegal immigrants, National Security Minister Gary Griffith said yesterday.

He said there was absolutely no degree of profiling or prejudice by authorities in dealing with illegal immigrants.

Trinidad's Minister of National Security - Gary Griffith

“If you are an illegal immigrant, whether you are from African, the Caribbean or Mars, you are breaking the law and all I am doing as Minister is ensuring that the policy (with respect to illegal immigrants) is adhered to and enforced,” he said.

Griffith said there were 131 illegal immigrants at the Detention Centre, of which 23, or 17 per cent, are Africans (the bulk coming from Nigeria (14) and Ghana (7).

He said Jamaica made up the highest number (46 per cent of the 131) and Guyanese (23 per cent). The rest of those detained came from Venezuela, Bangladesh, China, Colombia, Pakistan, Barbados, Romania, Vietnam, Portugal, Senegal and Dominica.

He was responding to a release issued by the Emancipation Support Committee of Trinidad and Tobago which spoke of the plight of African illegal immigrants at the Immigration Detention Centre in Aripo and which urged Government to review its policy with respect to the deportation on Africans at the Centre in the light of Griffith’s statements about an “amnesty” to illegal immigrants. more

Four-time Olympic medallist Ato Boldon in sex scandal

Wednesday, October 29, 2014 | 2:00 AM    

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Four-time Olympic medallist Ato Boldon has said reports of a sex scandal involving him and Nova Peris, Australia’s first indigenous Olympic gold medallist and senator, were a gross fabrication.

Otto Bolden

The report, published in the Northern Territory (NT) News yesterday in Australia, alleges Boldon and Peris had an extra-marital affair back in 2010, when he was “handpicked” by Peris, now a senator, to run the ten-day Jump Start to London training programme.

The paper also alleged in its breaking story yesterday Peris used taxpayers’ funds to finance her “extra martial sexual tryst” with the then 35-year-old Boldon back then.

However, in a statement on his Facebook page yesterday, Boldon accused NT News of gross fabrications, saying Peris “is a former training partner of mine and has been a friend for almost 20 years”.

Boldon said his trip to Australia back in 2010 was for the purpose of holding several youth clinics and that it was a successful undertaking.

“The trip was co-organised by one of my now-deceased colleagues at Athletics Australia,” Boldon said, adding: “I will be following the senator’s lead, including, but not limited to, pursuing all legal action possible for this malicious misrepresentation of the details surrounding my presence in Australia in 2010.” more

Windowless Airplanes Of The Future Look Exciting... And Terrifying....The new aircraft design concept from the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) does away with tiny airplane windows, thus allowing for a thinner and lighter fuselage, lower airfare maybe. Would Board A Windowless Airplane? (VIDEO)

The Huffington Post | By Ed Mazza Email Posted: 10/28/2014 3:15 am EDT 

There's some new concept art out showing a possible airplane of the not-too-distant future. And depending on how you feel about flying, these images will either be exhilarating or terrifying.

The new aircraft design concept from the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) does away with tiny airplane windows, thus allowing for a thinner and lighter fuselage. But if you're afraid of heights, don't celebrate just yet because the interior walls themselves would become video displays for cameras mounted outside, essentially turning the entire aircraft into one giant window.

You can see more in the clip above.

Then again, the displays don't have to show what's really outside. Some people are already having fun with the concept on Twitter:Along with revealing thrilling/frightening views of the world (or the Death Star), the giant displays can highlight landmarks and provide important flight information. Of course, they can also be used to show ads: more

Toronto Elects John Tory As Mayor, Ending Rob Ford Era....John Tory had 40 percent of the vote, compared to 34 percent for Doug Ford, brother of outgoing Mayor Rob Ford.

TORONTO (AP) — Toronto has elected a moderate conservative as mayor, ending the scandal-ridden Rob Ford era.

John Tory had 40 percent of the vote, compared to 34 percent for Doug Ford, brother of outgoing Mayor Rob Ford. Left-leaning Olivia Chow was third with nearly 23 percent. The results were announced Monday night with more than 90 percent of polling stations reporting.

Rob Ford's four-year tenure as mayor of Canada's largest city was marred by his drinking and crack cocaine use. He announced last month that he wouldn't seek re-election as he battles a rare form of cancer. His brother, a city councilor, ran in his place.

Despite the cancer, Ford opted to seek the City Council seat from the Etobicoke district where he launched his political career. He won his old seat in a landslide.

After months of denials, the mayor in 2013 acknowledged he had smoked crack cocaine in one of his "drunken stupors," but he refused to resign. The City Council stripped Ford of most of his powers but lacked the authority to force him out of office because he wasn't convicted of a crime. more

WHITE HOUSE WANNABES WALLOPED: 2016 hopefuls, Governors Cuomo (NY) and Christie (NJ) catch Ebola flak

Potential 2016 hopefuls are facing political peril as they grapple with the spread of Ebola in their backyards.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) encountered those exposed risks this weekend as he faced fierce criticism from a nurse who was quarantined in his state after treating Ebola patients in Sierra Leone. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), considered a possible Democratic contender or vice presidential pick, appeared with Christie on Friday to emphasize the risks of the virus. After facing criticism, on Sunday night he walked back a stringent Ebola quarantine protocol and said medical workers with no contact to Ebola patients could self-quarantine at home.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry was initially derided for traveling abroad while the first diagnosis was made in Texas, though he eventually cut his trip short to address the situation.

More broadly, Democrats have used the Christie and Perry incidents to argue Republicans are going too far on Ebola, saying that their calls for travel bans amount to fearmongering intended to turn a health crisis into a political advantage in the midterms and beyond.

"To the extent that this is going to be an issue for the 2016 field, when folks are running around scaring people, being hyperbolic, for what they perceive as their own short-term political gain, that leaves a bad taste in voters' mouths," said Democratic National Committee spokesman Michael Czin. more

RUEL LOWE'S EDITORIAL (10/28/14): Have we been failed by our parents? Are we failing our children, by preventing them from thinking freely? Is Christianity a natural religion for African peoples? These are some of the questions raised in this editorial by Jamaican, RUEL LOWE in trying to unravel the reason for the myriad of problems we are having today. WHAT'S YOUR THOUGHT?

Ruel Lowe

Those are the big questions we need to address immediately, because the answers will determine whether we continue to be mired in the slavery mentality engrain in us by our captors in the past, or move on to enlightenment and progress. 

A person, who is a free thinker, is a threat to the ruling class’ orderly society and the status quo! The ruler looks upon such a person as a mal-content and a rebel, which must be subdued, before his ideas awake the subjected/ruled and create a problem for him. 

How many of us have sat down and asked ourselves the questions, why am I here and what am I doing? If we did, we would see a picture that’s not pleasing! So many of us forget that our ancestors were kidnapped/captured and brought here (the western world) for a purpose! That purpose was and is to serve the captors!! more

38 y-o Elephant Man’s rape trial now for March 16, 2015.

Monday, October 28, 2014 | 6:14 AM

KINGSTON, Jamaica — The rape trial of entertainer Elephant man has been pushed back to March 16, 2015.

Elephant Man

The date was set when the entertainer, whose real name is Oniel Bryan, appeared in the Home Circuit for trial today.  The case could not start due to other ongoing cases.

The artiste's bail was extended.

The 38-year-old artiste is charged with rape stemming from a January 2012 incident involving a 31-year-old woman at his Hillcrest Avenue home in St Andrew. more

JAMAICAN WOMAN IN ENGLAND PROVIDES INTERESTING LAUGHTER READING THE SUNDAY SCRIPTURE IN CHURCH.....FUNNY

Post by Rulabrownnetwork.com.

U.S. Soldiers Quarantined: In Italy After Returning From Aiding Ebola Patients...The soldiers being monitored include Maj. Gen. Darryl Williams, There are currently 11 soldiers in isolation.

By Mollie Reilly Email Posted: 10/27/2014 12:15 pm EDT The Huffington Post  

American troops returning after aiding Ebola patients in Liberia have been isolated in Italy, CBS News and CNN reported Monday.

As CBS correspondent David Martin reports, troops are being isolated in Vicenza, Italy, home to a U.S. Army post:The soldiers being monitored include Maj. Gen. Darryl Williams who was the commander of the U.S. Army in Africa but turned over duties to the 101st Airborne Division over the weekend, Martin reports. There are currently 11 soldiers in isolation.

They apparently were met by Carabinieri in full hazmat suits. If the policy remains in effect, everyone returning from Liberia - several hundred - will be placed in isolation for 21 days. Thirty are expected in today, Martin reports.

Read the full CBS News report here.

Reuters later reported that none of the troops under isolation have shown Ebola symptoms.

CNN notes that the Pentagon declined to describe the isolation as a quarantine, instead describing it as "controlled monitoring." However, they are not allowed to return home to the United States until the 21-day monitoring period is over.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to The Huffington Post's request for comment on the matter.

In September, President Barack Obama announced that the U.S. would send 3,000 military personnel to help treat the victims of West Africa's Ebola crisis, which has claimed approximately 5,000 lives in recent months. In a press conference earlier this month, U.S. Army Gen. David Rodriguez, the commander of U.S. Africa Command, assured that the soldiers would not be a threat to public health upon returning home to the United States. Rodriguez said at the time that the military would use "careful reintegration" to protect the troops, but did not elaborate on what that entailed. more

The many moods of Holt...UNLIKE most of his rocksteady contemporaries, John Holt's career thrived in the 1970s

Monday, October 27, 2014   
 UNLIKE most of his rocksteady contemporaries, John Holt's career thrived in the 1970s. After leaving The Paragons, he released several well-received albums for small British record companies that kept his star shining in Britain.

In the early 1980s, Holt began working with hot producer Henry 'Junjo' Lawes and the Roots Radics band. They recorded a number of hardcore songs that won him a following among dancehall fans.

Those songs include Fat She Fat and Police in Helicopter. The latter is an anthem among marijuana advocates in Europe.

Holt's live set in Jamaica and the United States differed from his performances in Britain and Europe. Fans in Jamaica and the US were into his rocksteady classics while the Brits favoured songs from his 1974 1000 Volts of Holt album.

Europeans, however, love his work with Lawes and the 'Radics'. more

Seven for Best Reggae Act.... The Urban Music Awards is scheduled for November 15 in London

Morgan Heritage

THE 12th annual European Urban Music Awards nominations have been announced, with seven acts up for Best Reggae Act 2014.

They are Mavado, Gyptian, Demarco, Morgan Heritage, Sean Paul, Stylo G and Popcaan.

Stylo G, a Spanish Town-born, London-based deejay, copped the award for Best Reggae Album last week at the Music of Black Origin (MOBO) awards.

The Urban Music Awards is scheduled for November 15 in London. Winners are decided by fan votes.

Men: Why we’re afraid of Christian women... Jamaican men tend to seek the path of least resistance.

By KIMBERLEY HIBBERT  Monday, October 27, 2014 

THEY'RE usually seen as the cream of the crop -- saved, sanctified, untouched and ready to commit for life. They won't cheat, won't yield to temptation and won't crave the things worldly women do. They will love, honour, obey and see you as the man of the house, the king. But many men shy away from Christian women despite these attributes, leaving the church pews filled with eligible women and very few takers, and this week they're telling why.

File Photo

Richard G, non-Christian:

It's more like not wanting to touch the Lord's anointed. Christian women like to talk about marriage and most men don't like to feel as if they are being forced into something they're not ready for. Also, most men want to test the water, to see if it's what they expected. What if you run into marriage and you can't satisfy her needs? What if she can't satisfy yours?

Damion G, non-Christian:

Lots of women in the church are there because they have gone through some kind of emotional relationship or financial issues. Sometimes they are in church to clear baggage. This baggage is bound to show up in other relationships. The idea of holding out on sex is another thing, and also wanting to take the man to church. Jamaican men tend to seek the path of least resistance.

Sean J, Christian:

We're all humans and if we fall, she's going to come with something like, 'Let us pray together and ask for forgiveness'. If it was a non-Christian woman she would just leave it alone and let me deal with my sins.

Christopher B, Christian:

You can't get to do what you want to do. When you really think about it, a worldian woman is not afraid of anything, but a church girl will behave like if she sins, the world will end, or she will be a hypocrite about it. Furthermore, you have to go get approval from pastor, mother, father, and even her dog. I'm not about that life! more

IN JAMAICA (VERY INSPIRING): How Michelle Watkis Robinson beat breast cancer....For strength, she relied on her mother, now deceased, who was battling brain cancer at the time....."I don't overindulge. Though I love my pork and my pork skin, I eat a lot of green, leafy vegetables to get my body in an alkaline state. I drink a lot of alkaline water and green juice. Also, I drink guinea hen weed tea, prepared in a wine-based solution and that is very potent,"

By KIMBERLEY HIBBERT  Monday, October 27, 2014  

A  trip to Texas in 2010 for a wedding ended up changing Michelle Watkis Robinson's life. She was conducting a random breast self-examination when she found a lump.

Michelle Watkis Robinson
(PHOTO: KARL MCLARTY)

"I have a thing where I say anything foreign in my body has to come out, so I went to see my doctor when I returned to Jamaica," she said.

She was told to do a mammogram, which confirmed the presence of a suspicious growth, initially misdiagnosed as benign.

"I told them to just remove it," she said.

But things took a turn when Watkis Robinson was told she also had to do a pregnancy test before any procedure could be conducted. She thought of the request as ludicrous, but followed protocol.

"Lo and behold, I was pregnant. I couldn't do anything and I couldn't be exposed to radiation. I was told to ride it out and after the baby I could have it removed," she said.

By the time she was six months pregnant, Watkis Robinson said the lump grew to the size of a golf ball.

"I was very concerned and when the baby was born I was willing to not breastfeed my daughter Marissa, but I was told the lump was benign and what I had was an infected breast duct so I should continue breastfeeding. However, breastfeeding was painful and after four months I had to stop."

She decided on another biopsy, and just by glimpsing the slides with the naked eye, the doctor was able to determine that something was indeed wrong -- the lump wasn't benign. more

PALAS Medical Student, Julene Barrett with SaveAbee_Medical Out Reach providing well needed healthcare to the Guyanese people

IN JAMAICA: No working fire extinguisher at Jubilee’s nursery.... Maintenance staff praise ‘Carlos’ for bravery Sunday, October 26, 2014

There is no functioning fire extinguisher at the nursery of the Victoria Jubilee Hospital, the Jamaica Observer understands.

The matter arose after a fire broke out at the facility last Thursday night, leaving one nurse with a fractured wrist, and other workers having to be treated at the Accident and Emergency department of the adjoining Kingston Public Hospital.

Jubilee Hospital

The nurse fractured her wrist in a bold bid, along with other staff members, to save over 20 babies who were being treated at the nursery, following the fire, caused by an air-conditioning unit which exploded.

“There is no fire extinguisher here just in case a fire breaks out, so if a fire starts, unless we move fast by using some skilful measures, we could be in trouble,” one maintenance worker told the Sunday Observer yesterday.

Those ‘skilful measures’ relate to the quick-thinking, fast-acting push by maintenance staff, headed by one popularly called ‘Carlos’ who kept the blaze in check and took the babies to safety.

“The maintenance staff was responsible for putting out the fire, while the nurses removed the babies and some of the other stuff. But one man stood out — Carlos. So by the time the fire brigade came, the firefighters had little to do, because the blaze was put out,” the worker said. more

IN JAMAICA (NICE STORY): Law breakthrough for 26 y-o Cieanna Smith, after sitting CAPE/CXC exams in hospital.... Young St Ann professional urges volunteerism by more Jamaicans....Imagine sitting several examinations in a hospital bed while in pain and facing discomfort.

BY RENAE DIXON Sunday Observer staff reporter dixonr@jamaicaobserver.com  Sunday, October 26, 2014    

CIEANNA Smith is a true representation of determination.

There were many dark clouds which hung over her life, but the 26-year-old, who is expected to be called to the legal bar soon, was always determined to achieve.

Cienna Smith

Imagine sitting several examinations in a hospital bed while in pain and facing discomfort. That was what Smith endured during her final year at the Brown's Town Community College. She was involved in an accident just a day into sitting her second units of CAPE exams. Smith said that she believed she recognised most of her strengths following her car accident in 2007.

"I had my first CAPE exam the Monday and I had my next exam the Tuesday morning," said Smith.

She was involved in the accident the Monday night but was determined to do the exams despite being in hospital and so she insisted that her mother bring her books to her.

"It felt like a dream. When I woke up in the hospital, I said, 'Oh my God, I really met in an accident', but all that was on my mind was that I had exams for the week," she recalled.

Not wanting to repeat the year, she called her mother who in turn telephoned college principal James Walsh who contacted the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) governing body in Barbados explaining that she had been involved in an accident and wanted to sit her exams in the hospital.

"I did all my other exams in the hospital and when I was leaving Brown's Town Community College I was named top performer," she said, adding that it was a big surprise to many. more