IN JAMAICA (EXCELLENT CHRISTMAS NEWS): Island Grill, Wisynco combine to make 5,000 inner-city children and golden agers, happy....Companies donate $1m, toys to Mustard Seed’s Christmas treat for the poor

BY KIMONE FRANCIS Observer online reporter francisk@jamaicaobserver.com  Tuesday, December 23, 2014   

ON Christmas Day, the Mustard Seed Communities will be able to feed more than 5,000 inner-city children and golden agers, thanks to a $1-million donation from a partnership between the Island Grill fast-food chain and Wisynco Group Limited.

The donation will offset expenses for Mustard Seed’s annual Christmas Day Treat, which is in its 18th year, and which is scheduled to begin as early as 8:00 am.

Mustard Seed founder Monsignor Gregory Ramkissoon (left)
thanks Island Grill executives Thalia Lyn, CEO; Captain David
 McCrae (third left), director and shareholder; and Wisynco
 director of marketing, Francois Chalifour, for yesterday’s
donation of $1 million to Mustard Seed’s Christmas treat
 for inner-city children and golden-agers.
(PHOTO: GARFIELD ROBINSON)

Thalia Lyn, chief executive officer of Island Grill, explained to guests at the presentation ceremony yesterday, at the Island Grill restaurant in Washington Boulevard SuperCentre, that the funds were raised in a ‘Make Christmas Happy’ promotion.

She said that for every purchase of a large drink in a Coca-Cola Christmas souvenir cup, a portion of that money would go towards the donation for the Christmas Treat.

“The idea was that we give beautiful souvenir cups… Wisynco and Coca-Cola helped us to pay for the cups so we were able to give them to the customers free and what we said at Island Grill is that part-proceeds of any beverage bought in this cup would go towards Mustard Seed’s Christmas Treat and I hope that we can make it a tradition,” Lyn said.

In urging other companies to get on board, she added that: “If you’re only giving back because you feel to, that isn’t going to work. When you give back from your heart it makes you feel so good, that’s why you give back, because you feel as if you’re actually doing something worthwhile.” more

WESTMORELAND, JAMAICA: Fourteen-year-old Demaro Gayle, a third-form student of Belmont Academy was shot dead by intruders at his home

Tuesday, December 23, 2014    

THE Ministry of Education yesterday expressed regrets at the weekend death of a schoolboy in Westmoreland.

Fourteen-year-old Demaro Gayle, a third-form student of Belmont Academy in Westmoreland, was fatally shot by armed intruders at his home in Savanna-la-Mar on Sunday night.

Principal Rayon Simpson, who visited Gayle's parents yesterday, said the deceased was a good student who will be sadly missed by the Belmont Academy school community. The principal said trauma counsellors from the ministry's Mandeville Regional Office were on standby to offer support to family members.

Education Minister Ronald Thwaites, who sent condolences to Gayle's parents, relatives and friends, called on the police to swiftly bring Gayle's killers to justice. more

PALAS 2015 Public Service Announcement (PSA)... Goal is to award 125 scholarships and computers . PALAS has awarded 187 scholarships in the past 4 years. Please make your donation at www.PALAS1.org or Send a check Payable to PALAS *P.O Box 5461*Alpharetta, GA 30023 USA

AP Poll: Police Killings Of Blacks Voted Top Story Of 2014..... 1) POLICE KILLINGS 2) EBOLA OUTBREAK 3) ISLAMIC STATE- ISIS.....It was the worst Ebola epidemic on record, with a death toll now approaching 7,000, mostly in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea.

NEW YORK, (AP):The police killings of unarmed blacks in Ferguson, Missouri, and elsewhere and the investigations and tumultuous protests they inspired, was the top news story of 2014, according to The Associated Press' annual poll of United States editors and news directors.

POLICE KILLINGS:

Police wearing riot gear walk towards a
man with his hands raised, in Ferguson,
 where a white police officer fatally shot
Michael Brown, an unarmed black
18-year old, in the St Louis suburb.

Some witnesses said 18-year-old Michael Brown had his hands up in surrender; others said he was making a charge. But there was no dispute he was unarmed and shot dead by a white police officer in Ferguson. In New York City, another unarmed black, Eric Garner, was killed after a white officer put him in a chokehold during an arrest for unauthorised cigarette sales. After grand juries opted not to indict the officers, protests erupted across the country, punctuated by chants of "Hands up, don't shoot!" and "I can't breathe." In both cases, federal officials launched investigations.

EBOLA OUTBREAK:

An election worker takes the temperature
of a voter in the West Point slum before
 she casts her vote, during the
 senate election in Monrovia, Liberia.

The first wave of Ebola deaths, early in the year, attracted little notice. By March, the World Health Organization was monitoring the outbreak. By midsummer, it was the worst Ebola epidemic on record, with a death toll now approaching 7,000, mostly in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea. A Liberian man with the disease died at a Dallas hospital, followed by a few other cases involving US health workers, sparking worries about the readiness of the US health system.

ISLAMIC STATE:

Militant fighters from the Islamic State group startled the world with rapid, brutal seizures of territory in Iraq and Syria. The US and its allies responded with air strikes, hoping that Iraqi and Kurdish forces on the ground could retake captured areas. Revulsion towards the Islamic State intensified as it broadcast videos of its beheadings of several Western hostages. more

MOBAY, JAMAICA: Three masked gunmen rob armoured vehicle in shopping plaza.... Armed robbers wore masks, ballistic vests

BY MARK CUMMINGS Editor-at-Large Western Bureau cummingsm@jamaicaobserver.com  Tuesday, December 23, 2014    

MONTEGO BAY, St James — Three masked gunmen pulled off a daring daylight robbery of an armoured vehicle in a busy Montego Bay shopping plaza yesterday morning.

But a gunfight between the bandits and guards employed to Hawkeye Security Limited resulted in two of the robbers and a Hawkeye security guard being shot.

Police at the scene of a robbery at Farview Shopping Centre
 in Montego Bay yesterday. Hawkeye security guards delivering
money to Sagicor Bank from this armoured vehicle were attacked
 and robbed by three gunmen. (PHOTO: PHILLIP LEMONTE)

Last night, as police continued their investigation and search for the gunmen, the security guard, who was shot in his left arm, was being treated at hospital.

“He should be okay; it is not a lifethreatening injury,” a spokesman at Hawkeye told the Jamaica Observer.People claiming to have witnessed the robbery said that about 10:00 am the Hawkeye employees were in the process of delivering cash to the Sagicor Bank in the Fairview Shopping Centre when they were ambushed by the three masked gunmen wearing ballistic vests and who arrived at the plaza in a Toyota Townace van which had no registration plates.

“After the Hawkeye armoured vehicle drove up, the Townace van came up behind it. Three men with guns came out of the van, while another remained inside.

Two of the gunmen grabbed two bags from the Hawkeye men and started to run towards the van, then the shootout started,” a man who said he was an eyewitness told the Observer. He added that during the shootout one of the bags of money fell before the gunmen escaped.

That bag was later recovered by the police, the Observer was told. It was not immediately clear how much money the robbers escaped with. more

Mining to resume at Alpart in January -- Paulwell... said the re-commissioning of Alpart, including the refinery, port, mines and other facilitates, is expected to generate some 1,200 jobs in various capacities over the next 15 to 18 months.

Monday, December 22, 2014 | 3:41 PM 

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Mining operations linked to the Alpart bauxite/alumina plant in St Elizabeth, is set to resume next month, and the refinery will officially re-open in December, 2016, government has announced.

Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell

Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Minister, Phillip Paulwell, speaking today (December 22), at a press conference at the Office of the Prime Minister, said the agreement with Russian aluminium company, UC Rusal will facilitate the mining and export of up to two million tonnes of raw bauxite over the next 18 months, with an estimated value of US$60 million.

Paulwell said the re-commissioning of Alpart, including the refinery, port, mines and other facilitates, is expected to generate some 1,200 jobs in various capacities over the next 15 to 18 months.

“The new deal represents an expression of the Government’s commitment to ensure that the full potential of the bauxite/alumina industry is realised in the shortest possible time,” said Paulwell who added that the agreement also represents an expression of confidence on the part of UC Rusal in the future of the local bauxite and alumina sector.

Paulwell said that the newly inked deal with UC Rusal will result in a number of benefits for Jamaica.

This includes a US$400 million investment in plant modernization; transportation infrastructure works; the development of port facilities and the establishment of an ethane co-generation facility by 2016. more

Mayor Bill De Blasio Asks That Protests Be Put On Hold Until After Officers' Funerals : De Blasio: 'An Attack On Every New Yorker'... 'Put Aside Protests' Until After Funerals... POLICE CHIEF BLAMES THE PROTESTERS!... Rift Between De Blasio, Police Force Rips Wide Open... Mayor Has Repeatedly Praised Police... NYPD Union Spokesman: 'Blood On Hands Starts On The Steps Of City Hall'... Police Unions' Long History Of Blasting Mayors... Police-Violence Protesters Face Backlash... Garner's Daughter Visits Memorial...

The Huffington Post |  By Sebastian Murdock Email Posted: 12/22/2014 2:47 pm EST

Mayor Bill de Blasio expressed his condolences to the family of two murdered NYPD officers while asking the public to put aside protests and political demonstrations during a period of grief.

Mayor De Blasio and Police Commissioner

"It was an attack on our democracy, our values, and an attack on every New Yorker, and we have to see it as such," de Blasio said at a police charity event on Monday.

De Blasio urged the public to stand by the families of officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, both fatally shot execution-style on Saturday in Brooklyn by gunman  Brinsley.

"We all see the world through the prism of our own families," he said. "It’s time for people to take stock of this moment."

The mayor did little to address burgeoning criticism from politicians and NYPD officers accusing him of not supporting police, but did ask that protests be put on hold.

"It’s a time to step back and just focus on these families," he said. "I think it’s a time for everyone to put aside political debates, put aside protests, put aside all of the things that we will talk about in due time. In the coming days, as two families prepare for funerals and figure out how to piece their lives back together, that should be our only concern: How do we support them?" more

Court Rules Orangutan Held In Argentina Zoo Is 'Non-Human Person' And Can Be Freed... Animal rights campaigners filed a habeas corpus petition - a document more typically used to challenge the legality of a person's detention or imprisonment

Reuters |  By Richard Lough Posted: 12/21/2014 5:43 pm EST

BUENOS AIRES, Dec 21 (Reuters) - An orangutan held in an Argentine zoo can be freed and transferred to a sanctuary after a court recognized the ape as a "non-human person" unlawfully deprived of its freedom, local media reported on Sunday.

Animal rights campaigners filed a habeas corpus petition - a document more typically used to challenge the legality of a person's detention or imprisonment - in November on behalf of Sandra, a 29-year-old Sumatran orangutan at the Buenos Aires zoo. In a landmark ruling that could pave the way for more lawsuits, the Association of Officials and Lawyers for Animal Rights (AFADA) argued the ape had sufficient cognitive functions and should not be treated as an object.

The court agreed Sandra, born into captivity in Germany before being transferred to Argentina two decades ago, deserved the basic rights of a "non-human person." "This opens the way not only for other Great Apes, but also for other sentient beings which are unfairly and arbitrarily deprived of their liberty in zoos, circuses, water parks and scientific laboratories," the daily La Nacion newspaper quoted AFADA lawyer Paul Buompadre as saying. more

IN JAMAICA: Slain cop had planned to leave the Force soon...Cop was well-loved figure in the community...," Felecia told the Jamaica Observer after the incident. "I never think that my husband would die, period."

 BY PAUL HENRY Observer staff reporter  Monday, December 22, 2014  

IT shouldn't have ended this way, the forever dream. The dream Felecia Preddie had of growing old with husband Orville, nurturing their two children into adults and having a hand in the upbringing of their grandchildren.

Orville

But the hand fate dealt would be heart breakingly unlike the dream Felecia had envisioned. Although her husband's duty as police officer placed him in the face of danger each time he left their Asia home in the parish of Manchester, it had never crossed Felecia's mind during her husband's 10 years in the force that harm would actually come to him. All she's left with now to usher her into her golden years is 14 years of memories with her 34-year-old husband.

Last Thursday night her dream was shattered by gunmen during a robbery at the cop's favourite hangout close to his home in south Manchester.

Preddie and Orville

"I never think that something like this would happen, to tell the truth. I hear it all the while but I didn't think this would happen to me. I never think my husband would die in the police force," Felecia told the Jamaica Observer after the incident. "I never think that my husband would die, period."

If Felecia didn't think about life without her husband by her side, Orville, on the other hand, always had it in the back of his head, Felecia said, that he could die in the line of duty and leave his family. This concern formed part of his reason for wanting to leave the force he had so cheerfully joined years ago. more

Cornbread, Earl and Me, 1975 Movie (An Outstanding Movie...MUST SEE) Starring young Lawrence Fishburn, Bernie Casey & JAMAICA's MADGE SINCLAIR

Divinity Of Colours, Confluence Of Culture.... Ikebana is an art form that has transcended boundaries and, though embedded in traditional Japanese culture, its variants and manifests are limitless.

Amitabh Sharma, Contributor

Photos by Amitabh Sharma The beauty and abundance of
 nature with the bold red of the anthuriums elevating this Ikebana.

Published: Sunday | December 21, 2014 

It is that time of the year. As the skies turn grey, days become shorter, cool air kisses the skin, the world erupts with joyous emotions, colours and celebrations, nothing expresses the delight of any festive season more than flowers.

Ikebana is an art form that has transcended boundaries and, though embedded in traditional Japanese culture, its variants and manifests are limitless. This ancient form of flower arrangement combines aesthetics with therapeutics and transcendental energy.

Ikebana ... labour of love and meticulous
 craftsmanship.

Ikebana, loosely translated as the art of arranging cut stems, leaves, and flowers in vases and other containers, evolved in Japan over seven centuries ago. Though the arrangements might, like the Japanese tradition, look minimalist, there is a methodology involved in these creations

Ikebana ... labour of love and meticulous
 craftsmanship

"One can arrange the stems and flowers as one wishes," said Dr Pauline Milbourn, president of Ikebana International St Andrew Chapter. "But we have to be familiar with different ways of fastening and positioning the flowers, which come after training on Ikebana techniques." more

ST.ELIZABETH, JAMAICA (Centenarian): Louise Johnson, 100 y-o, speaks of her formula for long life.... BE good to people, especially children. She has a soft spot in her heart and could not resist looking after the children in her community

Sunday, December 21, 2014 

BE good to people, especially children. That, Louise Johnson said, is her formula for long life.

"People would ask me to help them look after their children. I even remember a lady coming to me with a young baby and said, 'Here, he is yours.' I raised him until he became an adult," Johnson, affectionately called Miss Ina recounted.

Louise Johnson, 100, along with some of her guests at her
100th birthday celebration recently

Born on August 16, 1914 in the peanut-farming community of Brinkley, St Elizabeth, Johnson devoted her entire life to looking out for the interest of others. She has a soft spot in her heart and could not resist looking after the children in her community, along with her two biological daughters.

However, she explained that many of the numerous children she cared for do not keep in touch with her, something that evidently disturbs her.

"I did not have a happy childhood," she disclosed. "I was one of eight children for my parents, but I grew up with my godparents from when I was 10 years old. They didn't send me to school; therefore, I had to stay home every day and do domestic work."

Not wanting a similar fate for her daughters, Johnson, a single parent, worked hard to send her children to school so that they could get what she didn't receive.

"I couldn't put up with the foolishness of the children's fathers so I had to work hard to take care of my children myself," the no-nonsense mother pointed out. "I did domestic work, buy and sell and farmed. I planted corn, gungo, banana, callaloo, sorrel and made bammy to sell. I would walk from Brinkley to Mandeville market two times for the week to take things there to sell, and to buy potato and tobacco to come back to resell in my community," she said, adding that the journey would take about four hours. more

IN JAMAICA: Blind woman raped again.... St Ann resident said she escaped being murdered by pretending to be dead... Paula Gayle, who lives in Mount Moriah, St Ann, revealed to the Observer that one of three men who broke into the house that she occupies raped her last Sunday

BY HG HELPS Editor-at-large helpsh@jamaicaobserver.com  Sunday, December 21, 2014 

A legally blind woman who has been featured in the Jamaica Observer in recent years, has complained that she was raped in brutal fashion a week ago, adding to the countless other challenges that she faces.

Paula Gayle

Paula Gayle, who lives in Mount Moriah, St Ann, revealed to the Sunday Observer that one of three men who broke into the house that she occupies raped her last Sunday, while two others ransacked the premises in search of undetermined items.

St Ann police yesterday confirmed that she had filed a report that she was raped and the matter was being investigated by the Centre for the Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse (CISOCA), officials from which took her to see a doctor last week.

Gayle has been embroiled in a court battle to have avoid being evicted from a St Ann house that she has occupied for over 20 years. The property's owner has returned from living overseas and wants to reclaim it, a recent court hearing was told.

She has long chronicled several tales of woe and pointed a finger at members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force whom she said were working in collusion with criminals to fleece her of her belongings and keep her mouth shut after she had filed a report in 2007 about illegal activities that involved a policeman. She reported to police that she was first raped on July 21, 2008.

In the latest incident, Gayle said that, had she not decided to play dead, she believes that her attackers would have finished the job of strangling her, which one started after she was raped.

Despite the Sunday Observer highlighting her complaints over the past year, the Police High Command has failed to look into the matter, forcing her to take her issues to human rights organisation Jamaicans For Justice (JFJ), and other individuals and groups who are willing to listen. more

Health : 7 anti-aging foods you should be eating today... 1) Salmon 2) Blueberries 3) Quinoa 4) Yogurt 5) Almonds 6) Green Tea 7) Brussels Sprouts

Salmon

What we eat can cut the risk of developing chronic diseases that make us old before our time: high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity. Abundant scientific research has shown how important food is to healthy aging. 

What is meant by "anti-aging"? It's not a vague beauty term, its markers are radiant hair, skin, daily physical activity, a positive mindset and preventing chronic disease. 

Fifty may be the new 40, but one biological fact does change over time: some nutrient demands do increase, so the importance of nutrient DENSE foods becomes more important for as we get older. Science-backed healthy eating plans, like the Mediterranean diet and the USDA's MyPlate strategy, have this in common:  

Blueberries

Green Tea

• abundant colorful fruits and vegetables
• lean protein (both animal and plant sources)
• heart healthy, unsaturated fats
• fiber-rich grains
• low-fat dairy products (or equivalent). 
• limiting processed foods with added salts, sugars, fats, and calories

Consume these "double-duty" foods regularly or daily: they'll boost your intake of essential nutrients like protein, calcium, vitamin D, and omega-3-fats, along with the “value-added” antioxidants, used throughout the body. You'll see and feel the difference, inside and out. more

2 NYPD Officers Dead In Brooklyn Shooting...“The perp came out of the houses, walked up behind the car and lit them up,” a high-ranking police official told the Daily News (VIDEO)

The Huffington Post |  By Andres Jauregui Email Posted: 12/20/2014 5:11 pm EST 

Two NYPD officers are dead after a gunman shot into a patrol car in Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon, police said.

Cops Shot

The gunman was pursued by other officers and entered a subway station, where authorities said he then fatally shot himself in the head. “The perp came out of the houses, walked up behind the car and lit them up,” a high-ranking police official told the Daily News.

Ismaaiyl Brinsley

While the shooter had not yet been identified, the suspect is said to have earlier threatened police in a social media message, a law enforcement source told WNBCand News12. The suspect may have come from Baltimore, and law enforcement wasinvestigating the suspect's background, unnamed officials told the New York Times' J. David Goodman.

The New York Post reports: more

Long Road Home MOVIE, starring Danny Glover (A Movie to WATCH)

LIME projects US$281-million growth in revenues from Flow acquisition, according to Chairman Chris Dehring....The increase would equate to a two-thirds jump in LIME Jamaica's $18.4 billion (US$170 million) total revenues

BY STEVEN JACKSON Business reporter jacksons@jamaicaobserver.com  Friday, December 19, 2014  

TELECOMS provider LIME Jamaica expects to grow annual revenues to US$281 million with the Flow acquisition, according to Chairman Chris Dehring.

DEHRING… has been on a talk tour
 of 30 countries in 14 days

It's a signal to investors vying to evaluate possible earnings arising from the local leg of the regional merger. The increase would equate to a two-thirds jump in LIME Jamaica's $18.4 billion (US$170 million) total revenues earned at its March year end.

The merger would not affect mobile revenues but augment other revenues currently at $12 billion (US$110 million) per annum.

"Broadband, TV and fixed-line voice; all of that revenue, when we add Columbus and LIME together it's US$150 million a year in revenues with a very high cost base," Dehring told the Jamaica Observer Wednesday in a phone interview on the final leg of his talk tour of "30 countries in 14 days".

He undertook the tour as part of his wider capacity as head of government relations and regulatory (affairs) at Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC), LIME Jamaica's parent company.

He then asserted that the merged entity would still result in a smaller revenue base than main competitor Digicel Jamaica at some US$415 million to US$430 million.

In November, CWC Plc announced that it had acquired Columbus Communications, the parent company of Flow Jamaica, for US$3 billion. more

Bashment Granny 3 with Keith 'Shebada' Ramsay, the latest episode in the popular local play franchise, opened yesterday, at Green Gables Theatre in Kingston.

Bashment Granny 3, the latest episode in the popular local play franchise, opened yesterday, at Green Gables Theatre in Kingston.

Starting in 2007, the first Bashment Granny pulled in consistently strong audiences and launched the career of Keith 'Shebada' Ramsay, playing across Jamaica, and to the Jamaican diaspora in the United States of America and the United Kingdom. The sequel did over 100 performances overseas and more than 200 locally.

Garfield Reid (left) and Keith 'Shebada' Ramsay
 in a scene from the play
 'Bashment Granny'.-File

Seven years ago, the story started out with a desperate Bad Boy Trevor using his 'father' in an attempt to fleece millions of dollars from the wealthy Miss P, a generous girlfriend from the UK. Trevor was eventually incarcerated and missed the chance to cash in on the fruits of his deceit.

In 2010, Shebada and Mr Bashy had a stroke of luck and inherited the ill-gotten gains of Trevor's nefarious scheme. Flush with new cash, they invested the money, but the plan quickly went sour and the money went up in smoke, even as the unsavoury Half-a-Dog, the money's real owner, jetted in from New York in a bid to collect what was thought to be rightfully his. Bashy and Shebada slunk off into the shadows.

Now, in 2014, Bad Boy Trevor is released from prison only to find that Shebada is still in hiding and Half-a-Dog is sniffing around for his cash. A meeting between the Dog and the Bad Boy is imminent and a few bullets are on the agenda. more

RAPED ABROAD: Jamaican woman fears for her life after attack in The Bahamas....“Mi fraid! Mi fraid! God know mi fraid!” These are the cries of a Jamaican woman who alleges that she was abducted and raped by a senior immigration officer

Jamaican woman fears for her life after attack in The Bahamas

By Noelle Nicolls, Gleaner Writer
NASSAU, Bahamas:“Mi fraid! Mi fraid! God know mi fraid!” These are the cries of a Jamaican woman who alleges that she was abducted and raped by a senior immigration officer in The Bahamas earlier this week. 

After the traumatic series of events unfolded, the victim said her attacker “had the nerve” to supply his phone number, suggest they could date, and ask for a kiss before leaving her. The incident unfolded even as The Bahamas is under intense international scrutiny for its recently amended immigration policy, which came into effect on November 1. 

Human rights critics have blasted successive governments over their failure to seriously address repeated claims of corruption and human-rights abuse at the Department of Immigration. 

The Jamaican woman, who is from Ocho Rios, St Ann, said the ordeal began early on the morning of Saturday, December 13, when police arrested 11 women on suspicion of prostitution during a raid at a local bar. Police reported the raid in their weekend crime report. 

Off all the women picked up, the alleged victim, who worked as a bartender, was the only employee. 
The low-key bar sits on the bottom floor of a rundown two-storey plaza in a part of town under police radar. The woman says the minimum-wage salary she earns at the bar goes towards feeding her three young children. more

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.

Promoter 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.

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