IN JAMAICA (UPDATE): Police murder a wicked act, says Area Commander Kevin Blake... “This is further evidence that while significant gains have been made in reducing the number of murders in 2014, the fight against criminals is not over.

Friday, December 19, 2014 | 8:45 AM    
MANDEVILLE, Manchester -- Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) for Police Area Three, which includes the parish of Manchester, Kevin Blake, is describing the murder last night of Constable Orville Preddie as a wicked act and one which must be condemned by the entire society.
Constable Preddie ... second cop killed on 2014
“This is further evidence that while significant gains have been made in reducing the number of murders in 2014, the fight against criminals is not over.
“The manner in which Constable Preddie was murdered speaks to the callousness of these murderers. We mourn for our colleague and I offer my personal sympathies and that of the Constabulary to the family, friends and colleagues of Constable Preddie,” ACP Blake told OBSERVER ONLINE Friday morning.
Police say Preddie who was off duty and unarmed was relaxing with friends at a bar in the remote community of Farm in the Asia police division of southern Manchester when several men armed with guns entered the premises.
The criminals proceeded to rob patrons and in the process of going through their pockets discovered Preddie’s police identification. One of the gunmen promptly shot him in the head. He reportedly died on the spot.
Police Divisional Commander for Superintendent Melvin Brown says “no stone will be left unturned” in the hunt for the killers of the 34 year-old constable. “We will be unrelenting, turning over every stone, exploring every angle… we are resolved to find those responsible,” Brown told OBSERVER ONLINE.
Preddie was married with two children aged eight years and 18 months. He is the second policeman to be killed in 2014. more

'TIS THE SEASON: FEDS HAND WALL STREET ANOTHER GIFT....Fed Delays Volcker Rule, Giving Wall Street Another Holiday Gift Posted: 12/18/2014 6:36 pm EST

WASHINGTON -- Christmas came early for Wall Street this year. The Federal Reserve on Thursday granted banks an extra year to comply with a key provision of the Volcker Rule, a move that gives financial lobbyists more time to kill the new regulation before it goes into effect.
The Volcker Rule is a key element of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law that bans banks from engaging in proprietary trading -- speculative deals that are designed only to benefit the bank itself, rather than its clients. Thursday's move by the Fed gives banks an additional year to unwind investments in private equity firms, hedge funds and specialty securities projects. The central bank also said it plans to extend the deadline by another 12 months next year, which would give Wall Street a two-year reprieve through the 2016 presidential election.
The Fed's delay comes less than a week after Congress granted Wall Street a reprieve from another reform that had been mandated by the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law. The measure, known as the swaps push-out rule had eliminated federal subsidies for trading in risky derivatives -- the complex contracts at the heart of the 2008 banking meltdown. Bank watchdogs say the Volcker Rule delay adds insult to injury. more

Ron Muschette goes Mello FM....Richie B welcomes Ron from IRIE-FM, he is happy with the decision of his media colleague to join the ranks of the station whose line-up also include radio veteran Barry 'Barry G' Gordon.

BY RICHARD JOHNSON Observer senior reporter johnsonr@jamaicaobserver.com  Friday, December 19, 2014    
MELLO FM's morning man Richard 'Richie B' Burgess is calling the inclusion of Ron Muschette to the station's line-up as "formidable".
This comes after days of speculation as to the destination of Muschette after he quit at IRIE FM just over a weeks ago. He spent 14 years at the reggaeradio station.
Richie B & Ron Muchette
According to Burgess, he is happy with the decision of his media colleague to join the ranks of the station whose line-up also include radio veteran Barry 'Barry G' Gordon.
"I was doing an outside broadcast in Montego Bay during Soul in the Sun in October. I took a photograph with myself, Ron, Barry G and our station Manager Al Robinson and it went viral on the Internet. I interviewed Ron asking him to set his IRIE vibe aside and take on a Mello vibe, not knowing it would be a propheticstatement," Burgess told Splash.
"My station manager then met with Barry and myself as two veterans on staff and informed us of Ron's interest in coming to Mello. My words to him were: 'Run with it, anywhere he goes on the dial is an asset to that organisation.' It did not matter what time slot he was taking. So I welcome him with open arms. Having Richie B, Ron Muschette and Barry G on one station is a formidable line-up," he continued.
Yesterday, Muschette used social media to confirm what had been making the rounds since he shocked many with what seemed like a snap resignation from the St Ann-based IRIE FM.
In a teary, emotional video on his blog, Muschette noted that the decision to move away from IRIE came after a lot of thinking. more 

Carolina Skeletons (14 y-o George Stinney murder movie) with Lou Gossett Jr. and Bruce Dern....A Powerful Movie.


George Junius Stinney Jr. was, at age 14, the youngest person executed in the United States in the 20th century (1944) 
Because there is literally NO EVIDENCE AGAINST HIM (accused of murdering two white girls) ...the question of Stinney's guilt and the judicial process leading to his execution remain controversial (ie. there's a strong possibility they executed an INNOCENT person)

Great showing at Ghetto Splash at the Waterhouse Mini Stadium in Drewsland, St Andrew...the event drew an estimated 10,000 patrons whose musical thirst was quenched by a long list of performers.


BY KEVIN JACKSON Observer writer  Thursday, December 18, 2014    
THE Waterhouse Mini Stadium in Drewsland, St Andrew, was transformed into a musical kaleidoscope with the staging of the Shocking Vibes and Downsound Records' Ghetto Splash on Tuesday night.
The event, which was free to the public, drew an estimated 10,000 patrons whose musical thirst was quenched by a long list of performers.
Beenie Man
(right) and
Chi Ching
Ching in
performancePromoter Patrick Roberts of Shocking Vibes Productions was pleased with the staging of the event.
"We want to thank all the entertainers who performed and all the patrons who came out to support Ghetto Splash. Shaggy, who came on during Agent Sasco's performance, said 'he had never envisioned a professional show of this magnitude in the ghetto'. It just goes to show the level of work that went into the event," Roberts told the Jamaica Observer.
In the early segment, singjay Jahmiel set the pace with a stirring performance which was only eclipsed by the seasoned Beetle Bailey, who kept patrons in check with his stage performance and demeanor.
The musical flames, however, got intense once Konshens, Agent Sasco aka Assassin, Aidonia, Sizzla, Popcaan and Beenie Man hit the stage. They whipped the crowd into a frenzy delivering the hits that made them stars. ... Read More

JAMAICAN officials hail historic diplomatic breakthrough with US.... This is the best news in 50 years, says J’can who studied in Cuba. Jamaica's Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, in a statement, hailed the move by Obama and Castro for their "bold and visionary leadership"....What Do You Think?

BY HG HELPS Editor-at-Large helpsh@jamaicaobserver.com  Thursday, December 18, 2014
LEADING Jamaican political and medical figures and the senior Cuban envoy in Jamaica have welcomed yesterday's top global news story of efforts to normalise relations between the United States and Cuba after a stormy relationship that lasted more than 50 years.
01
Prez. Obama----Raul Castro
United States President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro stunned the world with the revelation that after 18 months of "secret" talks between Washington DC, the United States' political capital, and Havana, where most of Cuba's decisions are made, both countries were moving to, among other things, re-establish diplomatic ties that weakened drastically in January 1959, and were severed eventually in January 1961.
As part of the new dispensation, both countries agreed to a prisoner swap.
Jamaica's Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, in a statement, hailed the move by Obama and Castro for their "bold and visionary leadership", adding that both were deserving of commendation, following the news released simultaneously in both capital cities.
"This represents courageous action by the Governments of the United States and Cuba that will ultimately serve the best interest of the people of both countries and establish the foundation for the next required logical step of a total and formal end of the United States' unilateral trade embargo against Cuba," Simpson Miller stated, emphasising that the act now brings US and Cuban foreign policies in line with what she described as modern international diplomatic arrangements. more 

HACKERS HIJACK HOLLYWOOD : SPINELESS: Sony, Theaters Cave To Terror Threat... No Planned Release For 'The Interview'... U.S. Officials: North Korea Behind Sony Hack... Attack Far More Destructive Than Any Seen Before On American Soil... FBI Warns Theaters... U.S. Weighs Responses... 'Can't Let This Go Unanswered'... Obama Weighs In: 'Go To The Movies'... Could Cost Sony $100 Million... Another North Korea Film Scrapped... Sets Dangerous Precedent...

Sony Pictures will not release "The Interview" on Christmas Day, and the studio has"no further release plans" for the film, this according to a studio spokesperson. It had been speculated that Sony would consider releasing the film either via on-demand services or in theaters at a later date.
Sony announced "The Interview" will not come out as planned in a statement: In light of the decision by the majority of our exhibitors not to show the film The Interview, we have decided not to move forward with the planned December 25 theatrical release. We respect and understand our partners’ decision and, of course, completely share their paramount interest in the safety of employees and theater-goers.
Sony Pictures has been the victim of an unprecedented criminal assault against our employees, our customers, and our business. Those who attacked us stole our intellectual property, private emails, and sensitive and proprietary material, and sought to destroy our spirit and our morale – all apparently to thwart the release of a movie they did not like. We are deeply saddened at this brazen effort to suppress the distribution of a movie, and in the process do damage to our company, our employees, and the American public. We stand by our filmmakers and their right to free expression and are extremely disappointed by this outcome. more

U.S. Wealth Gap Hits Record 30 years High : While median middle-income wealth was flat between 2010 and 2013 -- stuck at $96,500 -- the wealth of upper-income families jumped to $639,400 from $595,300. Lower-income wealth dropped slightly to $9,300 from $10,500.

The Huffington Post |  By Maxwell Strachan Email Posted: 12/17/2014 4:30 pm EST 
Never in the 30 years since the the Federal Reserve first starting collecting wealth data has the divide between the rich and everyone else been so large, according to a new analysis by the Pew Research Center.
pew research centerThe wealth gap in the U.S. last year was the biggest since at least 1983, according to the report. The median wealth of upper-income families was 6.6 times that of middle-income families in 2013, up from 6.2 in 2010.
Those same upper-income families are now nearly 70 times wealthier than low-income families -- also a record gap.

Thirty years ago, the richest households’ wealth was only 3.4 times that of middle-income households. (Source: Pew Research)

There are two main reasons for the growing gulf between the rich and everyone else:stagnant middle-class wages and the rising wealth of America’s richest families. While median middle-income wealth was flat between 2010 and 2013 -- stuck at $96,500 -- the wealth of upper-income families jumped to $639,400 from $595,300. Lower-income wealth dropped slightly to $9,300 from $10,500. more

HELLO, HAVANA! Obama Speaks On Relations With Cuba, Release Of Alan Gross : Obama Announces Breakthrough In U.S., Cuba Policy... Most Significant Shift Since 1960 Embargo... U.S. To Open Embassy In Havana... Normalized Banking, Trade Ties... Raul Castro Welcomes Renewal Of Relations... Pope Played Instrumental Role... Cuba Releases American Alan Gross After 5 Years In Prison... 3 Cubans Jailed In U.S. To Be Freed In Exchange For Unidentified 'Intelligence Asset'... Senator: 'Vindicates Brutal Behavior Of Cuban Government'... Rubio Blasts Deal...

 Posted: 12/17/2014 11:07 am EST 
President Barack Obama spoke Wednesday on U.S. relations with Cuba, hours after American Alan Gross was released from a Cuban prison, where he'd been for five years.
Gross was accompanied back to the U.S. by Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.). The Cuban government had detained Gross for setting up satellite Internet access as a subcontractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development, and charged him with violating the country's "territorial integrity."
"Today, Alan returned home, reunited with his family at long last," Obama said in remarks delivered from the White House. Three Cubans who had been jailed in the U.S. for spying, along with a U.S. intelligence source who had been jailed in Cuba for more than 20 years, were also released on Wednesday. Obama said that U.S. source was released "separately" from Gross.
Several lawmakers were quick to criticize the release of the Cuban spies, including Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.).
“Trading Mr. Gross for three convicted criminals sets an extremely dangerous precedent," Menendez said in a statement. "It invites dictatorial and rogue regimes to use Americans serving overseas as bargaining chips."
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) also criticized the spies' release, saying during an interview on Fox News that it "sets a very dangerous precedent," and calling the normalization of relations with Cuba "absurd." more 

JAMAICA's Security Minister Peter Bunting says crime down but no letting up....He said there have been "dramatic reductions" in Westmoreland, where violent crime is down "very significantly this year"

Wednesday, December 17, 2014 
SECURITY Minister Peter Bunting says there will be no letting up in the fight against crime despite the country seeing reductions in all categories of violent crimes.
Security Minister Peter Bunting (second left) addresses
 a meeting yesterday at the Ministry of Tourism and
 Entertainment in New Kingston to discuss security issues
affecting the tourism sector. Listening (from left) are Minister
 of Tourism and Entertainment Dr Wykeham McNeill and
 Commissioner of Police Dr Carl Williams. (PHOTO: JIS)
"We are seeing double-digit reductions right across the board in all serious and violent crimes in Jamaica. We know we are not where we need to be but at least we are closing in on being in line with the rest of the Caribbean and we are not going to let up until we are below the Caribbean average," Bunting told a meeting yesterday at the tourism ministry's New Kingston offices to discuss security matters affecting the tourism sector.
He said there have been "dramatic reductions" in Westmoreland, where violent crime is down "very significantly this year", adding that murders in the parish have been reduced by almost 50 per cent "and we are seeing encouraging results right across the board".
In the parish of St James, he said, "We are starting to see some modest improvement there and we are not going to let up."
Commissioner of Police Dr Carl Williams, in his address at the meeting, made it clear that the mission of the Jamaica Constabulary Force is to ensure that people are safe. more

GOOD BUSINESS FOR JAMAICA: Honey Bun's rum fruit cakes now available in UK's ASDA....Honey Bun posted $23.4 million in profit from $741 million in sales for its September year-end or one-third less profit year-on-year.

BY STEVEN JACKSON Business reporter jacksons@jamaicaobserver.com  Wednesday, December 17, 2014  
HONEY Bun Ltd started selling its rum fruit cakes in the United Kingdom-based ASDA Groceries which supported the tripling of its exports year-to-date.
The company also plans to test the market with two new undisclosed products in 2015.
01
"For the first two months of this fiscal year (October and November), exports have already increased by over 350 per cent. The Buccaneer Jamaica Rum Fruit Cakes were exported to the UK in November and are available in ASDA this year for the first time and we plan to continue on our increase in exports," Michelle Chong, co-founder and chief executive at Honey Bun, told the Jamaica Observer in an e-mailed response to Business Observer queries.
ASDA, owned by Walmart, is the second largest UK supermarket chain by marketshare and operates in over 550 locations. The Honey Bun export explosion for its first quarter 2015 comes within the context of exports increasing 62 per cent in 2014 over 2013.
Honey Bun, which received the Jamaica Manufacturers' Association award for Champion Exporter in the small category, indicated the growing exports would offset challenges faced in an austere local environment.
Honey Bun posted $23.4 million in profit from $741 million in sales for its September year-end or one-third less profit year-on-year. more
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'Incredible news': Mayor Rob Ford of TORONTO, CANAD says tumour starting to shrink ...."It's incredible news," said Ford. "The tumour has been reduced by more than 50%."

TORONTO - Councillor Rob Ford says he received positive news for Christmas from doctors at Mt. Sinai Hospital which has made him hopeful he can beat his aggressive cancer. "This is a good news story," he told the Toronto Sun on Monday.
Mayor Rob Ford
Rob Ford
The Etobicoke North (Ward 2) councillor said doctors told him the extensive chemotherapy he has been taking is starting to work. He has learned the cancerous tumour in his abdomen is starting to shrink to a point where his medical team can begin thinking about scheduling a surgery to remove it.
"It's incredible news," said Ford. "The tumour has been reduced by more than 50%."
Ford said doctors told him "the tumour has shrunk from 13 cm to 6 cm. It is a lot smaller."
It means this should be his final week of having to suffer through chemotherapy. He is now enduring his fifth session of chemo since doctors diagnosed him with liposarcoma in September -- something that forced him to leave this year's mayoral race.
"They told me this should be my last round of chemotherapy and next they will do radiation before having a surgery," the former mayor said. "I have been blessed to have such good medical care." Mt. Sinai spokesman Sally Szuster said Monday night she couldn't "offer comment on Mr. Ford's condition." Ford added doctors told him a huge amount of the drug, Adriamycin, is what eventually started to knock his stubborn tumour down.
The outspoken municipal politician also said "understanding the medical stuff for me is like others trying to figure out the city budget."
When a friend teased Ford that he would be looking forward to getting his hair back, he responded: "Definitely, but I'm also looking forward to getting my life back."
 more

LITTLE GENIUS: This boy is only 4 years old and his attempt at being a call centre operator is amazing. He totally nails it. Cutest thing ever!!!

PAKISTAN SCHOOL MASSACRE, TALIBAN KILLS 125 STUDENTS: Taliban Gunmen Hold Hundreds Of Students, Teachers Hostage In Peshawar...Soldiers Surround Building… Heavy Gunfire Heard From Inside… Rescue Operation Underway... One Of Pakistan's Bloodiest Attacks In Recent Years… More Than 100 Children Dead… Taliban Spokesman: 'We Want Them To Feel The Pain'... LATEST...

At least 126 people were killed and scores were injured Tuesday when Taliban gunmen attacked a military-run school in Peshawar, Pakistan. More than 100 of the dead were children, officials said.
As distraught parents watched, more students were still being held hostage inside the school for grades 1 through 10 in the northwest part of the country, provincial minister Inayatullah Khan told local television. Explosions and gunfire were heard from the school hours after Taliban attackers first entered, according to the Washington Post.
"My son was in uniform in the morning. He is in a casket now," wailed one parent, Tahir Ali, as he came to the hospital to collect the body of his 14-year-old son Abdullah. "My son was my dream. My dream has been killed. "Most of the dead were between 12 to 16 years old, said the chief minister of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pervez Khattak.
"We were in the examination hall when all of sudden firing started and our teachers told us to silently lay on the floor," one student inside the school at the time of the attack told a private television channel. "We remained on the floor for an hour. There was a lot of gunfire. When the gunfire died down our soldiers came and guided us out." more

OUTAMENI FALLOUT: Environmental and women’s groups suspend participation in Partnership for Jamaica....Ten environmental organisations and 13 groups representing women, in separate letters to Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, hauled the Government over the coals for disregarding the views of civil society on the Outameni purchase by the National Housing Trust (NHT).

Tuesday, December 16, 2014    
Front cover of today's paperTHE Government yesterday faced more fallout from its handling of the Outameni purchase when two influential sectors announced the suspension of their participation in the Partnership For Jamaica (PFJ) on the basis that the Administration has breached the agreement.
Ten environmental organisations and 13 groups representing women, in separate letters to Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, hauled the Government over the coals for disregarding the views of civil society on the Outameni purchase by the National Housing Trust (NHT).
The groups are the latest to object to the purchase, which critics have said is outside the remit of the NHT.
Simpson Miller and her Cabinet have also been blasted for refusing to cashier the NHT board, the members of which, have insisted they did nothing illegal and that they acted in the best interest of the NHT's contributors.
Amid growing calls for the board to be dismissed, Simpson Miller appointed new members after three directors resigned at the height of the controversy.
The environmental groups said that, over the past 16 months, they have been profoundly disappointed by the lack of progress towards the transformation in public life which the PFJ explicitly states is necessary.
They said that the recent events concerning the Outameni transactions, as well as other matters, demonstrate that the commitments are not being adhered to by the Government. more

Forex: J$114.29 to one US dollar Monday, December 15, 2014 : Canadian dollar closed at J$98.46 & British pound ended trading at J$178.87


KINGSTON, Jamaica – The US dollar on Monday, December 15 ended trading at J$114.29, up from J$114.12 according to the Bank of Jamaica’s daily foreign exchange trading summary.
Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar closed at J$98.46, down from J$99.90 while the British pound sterling ended trading at J$178.87 down from J$179.73.

Story of the $72 million teen trader unravels..."A Stuyvesant High School Senior made $72 million trading stocks on his lunch break."

 By Tom Kludt   @CNNMoney December 15, 2014: 9:36 PM ET

It didn't take long for New York Magazine's story on a 17-year-old stock whiz with a rumored net worth of $72 million to make a splash. But the story's juicy premise unraveled almost as quickly.

mohammed islam
17 y-o Mohammed Islam
Jessica Pressler wrote the profile of Mohammed Islam, a senior at Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, for a feature called "Reasons to Love New York." After getting an advanced look at Pressler's piece, theNew York Post put the improbable story on its Sunday front page. By Monday morning, Islam's story was one of the hottest on Facebook.
Then it fell apart. In an interview with the New York Observer published Monday night, Islam admitted that he fabricated the whole story and has never actually made a return on any investment. "So it's total fiction?" asked the Observer. "Yes," Islam said. (updated)
Early Monday, CNBC's Josh Brown wondered if Islam was duping "an overly eager press willing to believe."Pressler, who will be heading to Bloomberg News next year to lead a financial investigative unit, takes exception to Brown's characterization.
"I still think the piece is skeptical enough," she told CNNMoney early Monday afternoon. "The story says, 'This is a rumor and draw your own conclusions.'" more

This Is Why The Price Of Oil Is Crashing The price of oil has dropped nearly 40% in six months, and nobody can pin down exactly why that is. And it’s got a lot of countries feeling nervous.

Since June, the price of crude oil has gone from around $115 per barrel to less than $60 USD as of Monday morning. But here’s the thing: There’s no one reason behind the drop and so nobody is sure exactly why oil is crashing as hard as it is. The Economist has some ideas, pointing to four factors affecting the prices:

Demand is low because of weak economic activity, increased efficiency, and a growing switch away from oil to other fuels.
Since June, the price of crude oil has gone from around $115 per barrel to less than $60 USD as of Monday morning.
Second, turmoil in Iraq and Libya — two big oil producers with nearly 4m barrels a day combined — has not affected their output. The market is more sanguine about geopolitical risk.
Thirdly, America has become the world’s largest oil producer. Though it does not export crude oil, it now imports much less, creating a lot of spare supply.

Here's the thing: A lot of countries that mainly export oil tie their budget to its market price, needing it to be a certain cost to break even. As this chart shows, at less than $60/barrel, a lot of these countries are in for a world of fiscal pain.
Finally, the Saudis and their Gulf allies have decided not to sacrifice their own market share to restore the price. They could curb production sharply, but the main benefits would go to countries they detest such as Iran and Russia. Saudi Arabia can tolerate lower oil prices quite easily. It has $900 billion in reserves. Its own oil costs very little (around $5-6 per barrel) to get out of the ground. more

Donkey cart operators angry, say they need justice.... "We need justice," said a distraught Violet Perrin, who also farms in Kingston. "The motorist dem using the road as if it is for dem alone."

BY KIMMO MATTHEWS Observer staff reporter matthewsk@jamaicaobserver.com  Monday, December 15, 2014    
"WE need justice!" It's an almost daily cry from Jamaicans who are either complaining about the lack of a service -- any service; or who are angry at agents of the State whom they accuse of extrajudicial killings.
The injured donkey is seen on Mandela
 Highway as a wrecker crew is about to
 leave the crash scene with the bus that
 hit the cart the animal was pulling
 last Friday morning.
Now, the cry for equity is coming from angry donkey cart operators -- mostly farmers -- who travel on the busy Mandela Highway that links Kingston with St Catherine and other parishes west of the capital city.
The appeal was made last Friday after one of their colleagues -- a Kingston farmer -- was struck from his cart by a minibus travelling from Spanish Town to Kingston.
The man, whose name the Jamaica Observer was unable to ascertain, has been admitted to hospital in serious condition, the farmers said.
"We need justice," said a distraught Violet Perrin, who also farms in Kingston. "The motorist dem using the road as if it is for dem alone."
Police report that about 9:00 am the farmer was attempting to cross the busy highway on his donkey-drawn cart when the crash occurred.
"The impact of the crash mash up the cart; all the donkey get injured," said another furious cart operator as he tried to collect what
was left of the wrecked wooden carriage. more

Bill Cosby Says He Expects 'Black Media' To Remain 'Neutral' Over Sexual Assault Allegations

 The Huffington Post | By Lauren Zupkus Email Posted: 12/14/2014 11:46 am EST 
Bill Cosby says he hopes the black media will remain neutral in light of his recent sexual assault allegations, according to a report by Page Six.
“Let me say this. I only expect the black media to uphold the standards of excellence in journalism and when you do that you have to go in with a neutral mind,” Cosby told Page Six in a phone interview on Friday.
This is not the first time the 77-year-old comedian has taken a dig at the media for its coverage of the allegations against him. In a video interview with the Associated Presson Nov. 6, Cosby initially declined to comment on the alleged sexual assaults, and then pressured the reporter not to air the footage if he wanted to maintain his "integrity."
"Of what value will it have? I would appreciate it if it was scuttled," Cosby told the reporter, while still on camera and wearing a microphone. "I think if you want to consider yourself to be serious, that it will not appear anywhere." more

Toni Braxton calls on Shaggy...."We were contacted by Toni Braxton, saying she wanted a track with a reggae feel for a Christmas album she was putting out"

BY RICHARD JOHNSON Observer senior reporter johnsonr@jamaicaobserver.com  Monday, December 15, 2014 
This is the second of the Jamaica Observer's daily 12-part series, 12 Days of Jamdown Chrismus. The series ends on Christmas Day.
He is known for his Boombastic, pelvic-thrusting 'girl tunes'â so when Shaggy delivered a Christmas song with R&B sensation Toni Braxton people took note.
Shaggy-Toni Braxton
Christmas in Jamaica was the second and final single from Braxton's Christmas album, Snowflakes, which was released 2001.
It was the petite singer with the sultry voice who made the first move on Mr Lover Lover to collaborate on the project.
"We were contacted by Toni Braxton, saying she wanted a track with a reggae feel for a Christmas album she was putting out. I wrote the part with Dave Kelly in New York and sent to her and she loved it. We never worked together in studio as we both recorded separately, but were in touch constantly speaking about the direction of the track. She was always very enthusiastic and pleased with the way it turned out," Shaggy told the Jamaica Observer.
The diamond-selling reggae act was riding high at the time with the fresh release of his acclaimed album Hot Shot. The tracks included the popular Angel and It Wasn't Me.
For Shaggy, Christmas is all about family and friends.
"I just love being with family and friends ... it's all about family and friends and the feeling they bring. I will definitely be in Jamaica to celebrate Christmas. There's no place like home for the holidays -- Christmas in Jamaica," he said. more

FALSE STORY: ***Breaking News Alert*** White House Is In Shock As President Obama’s 16-Year-Old Daughter Malia Confirmed Pregnant....False story alleged spread on Facebook


Claim:   President Obama's 16-year-old daughter Malia is pregnant. 

FALSE

Example:   [Collected via e-mail, December 2014] 

Found this article on facebook and it states that Obama's 16 year old daughter is pregnant!? This can't be true, can it?

Origins:   On 28 November 2014, Empire News published an article claiming that President Obama's 16-year-old daughter Malia was pregnant: 

In what promises to be the biggest White House scandal since intern fellatio, President Barack Obama's daughter, 16-year-old Malia, has confirmed that she is pregnant.

For now, Malia is staying hush-hush about the father's identity, but one thing she would say is that he is white.

"My mom always hoped I would get with a nice mixed-race man like dad, but love is so colorblind. Mom was probably right though. The dad already left me for some tramp. And of course, like all white men, my baby daddy won't want to pay his child support. I already told him, 'You want to keep your license so you can drive that bleach-blond tramp around in your little Jaguar, right? Better step up.'"

The article was written to appear as if it were a genuine news article, but there is no truth to the above-referenced story. Empire News is an "entertainment" web site and doesn't publish factual articles. The site currently features fake news articles such as "Obama to Sign Executive Order Changing U.S. Currency From Dollar to Euro," "Best Buy CEO Says Black Friday Sales Went Well, 'Only 47 Deaths This Year,'" and "Woman Gives Birth During Black Friday Sale; Leaves Baby, Buys Big Screen TV." 
more 

JAW DROPPING PERFORMANCE.....HOW THEY DO IT?

IN JAMAICA: Japanese ambassador hands over classrooms valued at JA$11.5 million to Boundbrook Primary...Education Minister Ronald Thwaites said: "This is exactly the kind of partnership that we want and I am happy that Ambassador Takase is here.

Sunday, December 14, 2014   
The Boundbrook Primary School is the recipient of three classrooms block courtesy of the Japanese Government through their "Grassroots programme" that were officially handed over and opened by Japanese Ambassador to Jamaica Yasuo Takase at the school last week.
The school benefited through the Japan-Jamaica relationship, which is now celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations and friendship. The project costs approximately $11.5 million and the classrooms will host grade 1 students at the school and a resource centre for students who have challenges with literacy.
(From left) Minister of Education Ronald Thwaites; Janet Brimm,
 director, Region 2 in the Ministry of Education; Lola Palmer,
principal, Boundbrook Primary; Gwendolyn Lindsay-Johnson,
 former VP Boundbrook and acting principal at Orange Bay
Primary applaud after Japanese Ambassador to Jamaica
Yasuo Takase cut the ribbon to the threeclassroom block
 donated to the school. Other officals share in the celebrations.
(PHOTO: Everard Owen)
Japanese Ambassador to Jamaica Yasuo Takase at the handing over said: "The Government of Japan highly values the education in the conduct of our assistance to Jamaica. Education of the people has made Japan to advance to one of the most powerful industrialised nations in the world. After visiting the school, the embassy saw the need to construct the classroom facilities that would enhance the education here in this community."
Education Minister Ronald Thwaites said: "This is exactly the kind of partnership that we want and I am happy that Ambassador Takase is here. It is a wonder act on the part of the government and people of that country to benefit primary education in Jamaica as they do in so many arenas. This means Boundbrook will do better, the students will improve over the years and eventually they will be able to come off the shift system due to other benefits which we hope will follow this one with other stakeholders and partnerships. We have a plan; to plan what is really necessary that Boundbrook Primary can come off shift by June of 2016" more 

IN JAMAICA: 18,000 tablet computers to be distributed by mid-December says Minister of Science & Technology Phillip Paulwell


Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Minister, Phillip Paulwell
Phillip Paulwell
Sunday, December 14, 2014 
MINISTER of Science, Technology, Energy, and Mining Phillip Paulwell says that 18,000 of the targeted 25,000 tablet computers will be delivered to students before the end of the Christmas school term on December 18. The remaining 7,000 devices will be distributed during the early weeks of the Easter term in 2015. He was speaking at a distribution exercise at the Cambridge High School in St James last Wednesday, where 1,588 students were presented with tablets under the Government's $1.4 billion ...More

16-y-o Kevaughn Campbell stops clock in record time in boys’ 100-m breaststroke in 1:12.65 minutes

Sunday, December 14, 2014    
Sixteen-year-old Kevaughn Campbell stopped the clock in record time to win the boys’ 100-metre breaststroke and starred in the morning session on day two of the Amateur Swimming Association of Jamaica (ASAJ) Christmas Open  Swimming Championships at the National Aquatic Centre yesterday.
Kevaughn Campbell
Campbell, who entered the event with a seeded time of 1:12.65 minutes, erased the three-year-old record of 1:13.17 minutes set by Antoine Young in 2011. The Swimaz Aquatics Club representative stopped the clock at 1:12.04 minutes, which is also a new personal best.
Second-placed Sean-Douglas Gooden (1:12.76) of Tornadoes, also went below the record, with Bryce Butler (1:13.27) of Swimaz Aquatics in third. Ivana Chang, who also represents Swimaz Aquatics, won the girls’ equivalent in 1:24.68 minutes, ahead of Annastazia Chin (1:25.56) of Tornadoes, and Gabrielle Hopkins (1:28.37) of Blue Seal.
Naomi Eaton of Wahoo Swim club won the girls’ 10-12 equivalent with a time of 1:27.94 minutes, ahead of Paris Clare (1:34.47) of Speedos and Thandiwe McDonald (1:34.88) of Swimaz Aquatics. Cameron Brown of Speedos won the boys’ age-group category in 1:24.55 minutes, followed by Adrian Grant (1:28.79) of Blue Seal, and Akeem Alleyne (1:29.00) of Swimaz Aquatics. more