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LIKELY 'AT BOTTOM OF THE SEA' : SEARCH RESUMES... Oily Spots, Unknown Objects Spotted In Water... Too Early To Connect With Missing Plane... EARLIER: Airbus Vanishes... 162 On Board... A Grim Year In Malaysian Aviation...Missing AirAsia Plane Likely 'At The Bottom Of The Sea' ....

AP |  By TRISNADI MARJAN and MARGIE MASON Posted: 12/28/2014 10:34 pm EST

SURABAYA, Indonesia (AP) — An Indonesian helicopter searching for the missing AirAsia jetliner saw two oily spots in the water Monday, and an Australian search plane spotted objects elsewhere in the Java Sea, but it was too early to know whether either was connected to the aircraft and its 162 passengers and crew.

Air Bus

In any case, officials saw little reason to believe AirAsia Flight 8501 met anything but a grim fate after it disappeared from radar Sunday morning over the Java Sea. Wary of bad weather, one of the pilots had asked to raise the plane's altitude just before it vanished, but was not allowed because another aircraft was in the way.

"Based on the coordinates that we know, the evaluation would be that any estimated crash position is in the sea, and that the hypothesis is the plane is at the bottom of the sea," Indonesia search and rescue chief Henry Bambang Soelistyo said. The Airbus A320-200 vanished in airspace thick with storm clouds on its way from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore.

Jakarta's Air Force base commander Rear Marshal Dwi Putranto said an Australian Orion aircraft had detected "suspicious" objects near Nangka island about 100 miles (160 kilometers) off central Kalimantan. That's about 700 miles (1,120 kilometers) from the location where the plane lost contact, but within Monday's greatly expanded search area. more

'The society is lacking love' JAMAICA-born US-based nurse, Recisa Fearon engendering kindness by delivering school supplies, toys and toiletries to more than 150 school children in JA..... "It's a heart-warming feeling, knowing that I did my Master's and also the charity together and finished them both in December, I really feel accomplished," said the nurse.

BY ANIKA RICHARDS Observer staff reporter richardsai@jamaicaobserver.com  Monday, December 29, 2014   

 A Jamaican-born nurse who now resides in New Jersey, USA, sought to bring smiles to a few young faces for the festive season. On a five-day trip to the island, Recisa Fearon travelled to Westmoreland, St Mary and Kingston to deliver school supplies, toys and toiletries to more than 150 children.

Jamaican-born nurse Recisa Fearon, who now resides
in New Jersey, USA, shares a moment with students at
 the Yallahs Basic School in St Thomas, during her five-day
 visit to donate school supplies and other items to more
 than 150 children.

Originally from Portmore, St Catherine, Fearon told the Jamaica Observer that she migrated some 10 years ago, but that her aim for 2014 was to complete her Masters' degree and deliver supplies to children for Christmas. She managed to complete both in December.

"What I did was to group up with six friends and donate some funds, then we got the stuff and decided to give it to different communities and a children's home in Kingston," Fearon explained in a recent interview.

It is a mission she started in 2013, which saw her visiting Jamaica in May for Child's Month. However, she was unable to visit a few schools then, so she vowed to return - and with more goodies. Since Fearon first donated school bags, books, pencils, crayons, markers, coloured pencils, sharpeners, toiletries, among other basic items, about 16 schools across the island have benefited.

Students at the Breakthrough Basic School in Islington,
St Mary, examine school supplies donated by Recisa Fearon,
 a Jamaican now living in the United States.

"I want to make a change in Jamaica, the society is lacking love, the society needs people who can be an inspiration to others and I hope that others will see what I have done and try to help the little ones," Fearon shared. "I just think that if you can show them how to love then they will grow up in love and one day somebody will do what I did." more

WARNING, WARNING: This is unbelievable, astonishing... l am speechless just watch this. Remember you were warned.

Post by Sonia Sonia.

Is It In The Knees? Researchers try to discover how Jamaican sprinters outrun the world....Scientists have long wondered about Bolt's extraordinary speeds.

Published: Monday | December 29, 2014

Researchers try to discover how Jamaican sprinters outrun the world

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt is the fastest person in the world.

Fraser-Pryce (left) and Carter.-File

He is the very first Olympic athlete to hold 100 metres and 200 metres world records, having accomplished the former in just under 10 seconds in 2009. He can also travel for 30 miles per hour on foot and in some small towns, that is already the driving norm.

Scientists have long wondered about Bolt's extraordinary speeds.

In their search for Usain's sprint secrets, researchers stumbled upon Bolt's country Jamaica, home to some of the world's most elite sprinters. Researchers have begun to wonder how Jamaica, a country with less people than New York City, gave birth to some of the best runners history has ever known.

physiology

Bolt

Rutgers University decided to investigate the Usain Bolt phenomenon, and their first step to uncover the secrets of Jamaica's greatest runners is to go through the physiology.

Scientists hypothesised that the alignment of the knees may have had something to do with how Jamaican runners perform on the track and they began to test their ideas by examining the knees of 74 elite Jamaican sprinters, including well-known names such as Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Nesta Carter. more

Sting 2014 - Gully Bop (Performance) (HD)....Will Gully Bop match Ninja Man One Day? What a Day That Would Be.

IN JAMAICA : $55,000 worth of grocery in 90 secs. Mother of two, LESA Nicholas, 33, wins Christmas goods courtesy of Jamaica Observer ...."I've been unemployed for about two years. I do odd jobs here and there, sometimes I would work at (Boys' and Girls') Champs, little jobs like that"

BY DONNA HUSSEY-WHYTE Sunday Observer staff reporter husseyd@jamaicaobserver.com  Sunday, December 28, 2014    

LESA Nicholas, 33, had never won anything in her life.

Lesa Nicholas hurled herself onto the refrigerator
 to retrieve chickens, roasters and hams during her
 supermarket dash for Christmas groceries

So she was very surprised when she got a call from the Jamaica Observer informing her that she was one of two finalists chosen to dash for groceries at the Hi-Lo supermarket in Pines, Portmore two days before Christmas.

Nicholas could not contain her excitement as she had been unemployed for years and had no idea where groceries would come from to feed her two children and make Christmas as merry as possible for them.

"I'm so excited!" a smiling Nicholas told the Jamaica Observer which organised the event and was the main sponsor of it.

An elated Lesa Nicholas shows off the
 total of her ‘grabbings’ at the Hi-Lo
 Supermarket two days before Christmas

"I've been unemployed for about two years. I do odd jobs here and there, sometimes I would work at (Boys' and Girls') Champs, little jobs like that ... any little thing that come up, I do it. But I haven't had a steady job for about two years."

Nicholas said that she only just completed training as a municipal police officer in Spanish Town.

Lesa Nicholas (left) and Venisa Clarke-Lee (right)
 were elated after grabbing groceries totalling
almost $100,000 courtesy of the Jamaica
Observer at the Hi-Lo Supermarket in Portmore
 last Tuesday. Store manager Yvonne Gingoor
(second left) and marketing officer at the
Jamaica Observer Stacy-Ann Neilson were
only too happy to share in the occasion.

Even while her excitement was evident, it was a nervous Nicholas who mapped out her game plan as she stood in the supermarket an hour before she was expected to make her 90 seconds dash for groceries. She chose one of the largest trolleys the supermarket had, while placing another at an intricate location at the top of one of the aisles just in case she had enough time to grab more than one trolley could accommodate.

"I don't do any Christmas shopping yet because I never had the money and then this comes right in time. When I got the call I was like YES! So whatever I grab today will be my Christmas shopping. So I will be shopping in 90 seconds, that is like faster than Usain!" more

IN JAMAICA: Market Mayhem Thugs continue to rob, abuse and extort Coronation vendors...The 'dem bway' being referred to were from the Lizard Town section of Tivoli Gardens, the vendor insisted..."Dem nuh want no goods yuh know sah," she went on. "All dem do is wait pon yuh 'till dem believe yuh mek enough money and then dem draw dung pon yuh," she said.

BY HG HELPS Editor-at-large helpsh@jamaicaobserver.com  Sunday, December 28, 2014    

DESPITE the efforts of police personnel, vendors at the Coronation Market in West Kingston continue to be robbed, verbally and sometimes physically abused by thugs.

The vendors, many of whom are from the Corporate Area, as well as various sections of rural Jamaica, told the Jamaica Observer on different visits to the largest market in the island that they were frustrated and are near the point of packing their goods and venturing elsewhere.

Thugs continue to rob, abuse and extort Coronation vendors

"Me tired a dis now yaa sah," one woman told the Sunday Observer on a visit to the market close to 11:00 one night leading up to Christmas Day.

"Me soon pack up me things because dem bway from over so soon come rob me," the vendor said.

The 'dem bway' being referred to were from the Lizard Town section of Tivoli Gardens, the vendor insisted, adding that they would do her physical harm if she did not 'let off'.

She said that she had been robbed of money on five occasions.

"Dem nuh want no goods yuh know sah," she went on. "All dem do is wait pon yuh 'till dem believe yuh mek enough money and then dem draw dung pon yuh," she said.

Interestingly, five minutes before the Sunday Observer stopped at her stall, a group of police personnel was seen buying vegetables from her.

"So what happen to them police who just leave yuh stall," was the obvious question posed to her.

"Who dem? Dem caan even protect themself, much more protect di higgler dem. Di police dem a Darling Street station 'fraid fi dem bway over so," she insisted. more

BREAKING NEWS: AIRBUS VANISHES 162 ON BOARD.....AirAsia Flight From Indonesia To Singapore Goes Missing with several passengers & crew on board

Reuters Posted: 12/27/2014 10:24 pm EST 

Rumours abounded after it emerged that the
 tickets for two passengers who used stolen
 passports to travel on a missing Malaysia
Airlines flight were booked by an Iranian man
 known only as “Mr. Ali", according to the FT.
But one of those travelling has been identified
 as a 19-year-old Iranian, almost definitely headed
 to Germany to seek asylum, with no links
whatsoever to terror networks. Besides,
 it would be baffling as to why Iran would
 want to hijack a plane almost entirely compromised
 of Chinese passengers. China is a key ally of Iran.

SINGAPORE, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Budget carrier AirAsia confirmed on Sunday that its flight QZ 8501 from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore had lost contact with air traffic control.

The Airbus 320-200 had 155 passengers and crew on board, Indonesian transport officials said.

Indonesian media said 149 Indonesians, three people from Korea, and one from Singapore, Britain and Malaysia were on board.

A search and rescue operation had been launched, Malaysian-based AirAsia said. (Writing by Robert Birsel; Editing by Dean Yates) more

Sean Paul gets death threats....The Grammy-winning artiste was reportedly issued a death threat by an Islamic group claiming to have ties in Syria.... No word yet if show will go on

Saturday, December 27, 2014    

A DECISION is yet to be made as to whether or not reggae act Sean Paul will perform at a New Year’s Eve gig in the Maldives.

The Grammy-winning artiste was reportedly issued a death threat by an Islamic group claiming to have ties in Syria.

The video message was posted online. Carlette DeLeon, publicist for the artiste, said a decision would be taken following a meeting with Sean Paul’s management team and authorities in the Maldives.

Sean Paul

“We are aware of the developing situation. We are currently in contact with all related parties concerning the concert to address the matter. No further details are available at this time,” DeLeon told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.

Britain’s Independent newspaper reported the video message carries the logo of the Bilad Al Sham Media (BASM) group, an organisation which claims to comprise Maldivian jihadists based in Syria and the Maldives.

“Sean Paul, if you visit the Maldives, the world will see your burned and blood-drenched dead body,” said cards held by a cloaked figure in the video posted on YouTube late on Wednesday night.

“It is for all Muslim to jihad in the name of Allah.

Hence disbelievers like Sean Paul, who are like the worst of the devil’s advocates, deserve nothing but death,” the threat continued.

A Twitter account allegedly belonging to BASM denied being behind the threat, revealing in a tweet: “We would clearly like to announce that our media have nothing to do with the Sean Paul death threatening video.

Sean Paul was set to perform at a free concert in the country’s capital Male. more

Extravagant NINJAMAN! "Laing, gwaan wid yuh pop- dung show, mi neva know sey Laing so bruk an' poor. After Downsound lef', him run go tek up one-teeth madman outa gully fi come war mi," he said, as patrons roared.... Doctor sey mi a work too hard and mi a suffer from dehydration an' mi fi rest fi four day, but I don't care, mi haffi dead up ya," he said to blaring horns.

BY SIMONE MORGAN Observer staff reporter  Saturday, December 27, 2014    

THERE were no long band changes, outrageous or drawn-out performances at the GT Taylor Christmas Reggae Extravaganza on Thursday.

Ninjaman had the crowd’s undivided attention.
 (Photos: Gregory Bennett)

The popular show, held at Independence Park in Black River, St Elizabeth, featured some of dancehall/reggae's finest acts including Sizzla Kalonji, Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Ninjaman and Coco Tea, who all gave stellar performances.

The stage was set by singer Cocoa Tea who dedicated part of his set to John Holt, who died in October. He did renditions of Police in Helicopter and If I Were a Carpenter.

The diminutive veteran from Clarendon could do no wrong as the fair-sized crowd sang along to Lost my Sonia, Love Me Truly and She Loves Me Now.

Ninjaman, who said he defied doctor's orders to be at the show, acknowledged the promoter and fans.

"Because of the respect mi have fi mi fans an' GT Taylor mi force the issue an' come here. Doctor sey mi a work too hard and mi a suffer from dehydration an' mi fi rest fi four day, but I don't care, mi haffi dead up ya," he said to blaring horns.

Deejays Beenie Man and Bounty Killer in performance at
GT Taylor Christmas Extravaganza in Independence Park in Black
 River, St Elizabeth, in the wee hours of Friday morning.

He then free-styled with Supreme Promotions head Isaiah Laing and media sensation Gully Bops his main topics.

"Laing, gwaan wid yuh pop- dung show, mi neva know sey Laing so bruk an' poor. After Downsound lef', him run go tek up one-teeth madman outa gully fi come war mi," he said, as patrons roared.

Earler this week, Ninjaman announced that he will not perform on Laing's Magnum Sting, due to alleged threats on his life.

The most fiery peformance came from Sizzla Kalonji who took the stage just before 5:00 am. He 'set fire' to Babylon, homosexuality and anything he deemed unrighteous. more

My Christmas Day (2014) at Hosea Feed The Homeless in Atlanta, GA. Over 20,000 people served at the annual Christmas Dinner Event – the nation’s largest sit-down dinner for the homeless and hungry.

Brother and Sister with a Christmas Smile on Their Faces

Homeless men wait patiently for a FREE haircut

Food time for all at Hosea Feed The Hunger

KWANZAA: A Celebration of Family, Community & Culture, December 26 through January 1.

As an African American and Pan-African holiday celebrated by millions throughout the world African community, Kwanzaa brings a cultural message which speaks to the best of what it means to be African and human in the fullest sense. Given the profound significance Kwanzaa has for African Americans and indeed, the world African community, it is imperative that an authoritative source and site be made available to give an accurate and expansive account of its origins, concepts, values, symbols and practice.

Dr. Maulana Karenga

Moreover, given the continued rapid growth of Kwanzaa and the parallel expanded discussion of it and related issues, an authoritative source which aids in both framing and informing the discussion is likewise of the greatest importance. Therefore, the central interest of this website is to provide information which reveals and reaffirms the integrity, beauty and expansive meaning of the holiday and thus aids in our approaching it with the depth of thought, dignity, and sense of specialness it deserves. 

The holiday, then will of necessity, be engaged as an ancient and living cultural tradition which reflects the best of African thought and practice in its reaffirmation of the dignity of the human person in community and culture, the well-being of family and community, the integrity of the environment and our kinship with it, and the rich resource and meaning of a people's culture. It is within this understanding, then, that the Organization Us, the founding organization of Kwanzaa and the authoritative keeper of the tradition, has established and maintains this website. more

CAPACITY CROWDS: Audiences 'Let Freedom Ring' At 'The Interview' Screenings In New York City... Meanwhile, Sony and independent theatres agreed to release it in over 300 venues on Christmas.

Posted: 12/25/2014 3:12 pm EST 

"The Interview" probably should have been called "The Honey Pot."

EXCLUSIVE - Director/Producer/Screenwriter Seth Rogen,
 Randall Park and James Franco seen at Columbia Pictures
World Premiere of "The Interview" on Thursday
, Dec 11, 2014, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Invision
for Sony Pictures/AP Images)

It's a term and idea frequently referenced in the Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg co-directed film, in which Rogen's character explains, "It's an attractive spy woman who lures men into doing shit they're not supposed to do."

At the 10 a.m. Christmas Day screening of "The Interview" at Cinema Village -- the only theater currently showing the film in Manhattan -- it was hard not to feel like audiences had been honey-potted in some respect. In this case, they were lured into showing up with notions of protecting free speech and and the sexiness of sticking it to the hackers who, last week, dared to evoke the memory of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in their threats.

The idea that seeing "The Interview" in theaters was important or even patriotic was only amplified by the scene in and around Cinema Village. Many media members (myself included) pounced on moviegoers as they purchased tickets. Inside, theater manager Lee Peterson introduced the comedy by quoting "My Country, 'Tis of Thee."

"Let freedom ring," Peterson said to the crowd of around 100 people. "No one can tell us what we can or can't see. So enjoy the film."

It's a seductive narrative, mostly because people don't like being told they can't see something --especially by hackers that may or may not be working for a brutal dictatorship in North Korea. It's likely one of the reasons that all of Cinema Village's afternoon screenings are sold out -- even after Sony made the film available to stream online for half the price of a theater ticket. more

Sting 2014 promises ‘clashes’....Facing off in this year's edition at the Boxing Day stage show are:Gully Bop/Countryman, Gage and Tommy Lee Sparta and Major Mackerel and Wickerman.

Friday, December 26, 2014    

ST CATHERINE, Jamaica — The 30th staging of Magnum Sting kicks off later today at the Jamworld Entertainment Complex in St Catherine.

A total of eight clashes are expected to take place for a prize purse of half of what was offered last year, $1.5 million.

Gully Bop

According to Isaiah Laing, CEO of Supreme Promotions, organisers of Sting, the lyrical battles will be compelling.

"We decided to go back to basics and clashes are what brought Sting to the forefront. The Sting audience loves excitement, so we are doing just that. We will just be having intense lyrical fun within a peaceful environment," he said.

Facing off in this year's edition at the Boxing Day stage show are: Gage and Tommy Lee Sparta and Major Mackerel and Wickerman.

Also included in this year's line-up are Aidonia and dancehall's newest sensation Gully Bop/Countryman.

Last year, Blak Ryno surprised the Sting crowd when he walked away with $3 million after he dethroned champion Kiprich.

In addition to the local acts, Sting will also feature a number of regional and international dancehall/reggae artistes including Japan's Ackee and Saltfish, Bermuda's Imari and England's Savannah. more

A Look Into The 'Double Lives' Of America's Homeless College Students....Sean McLean is one of more than 58,000 homeless college students in America today, according to Free Application for Federal Student Aid data from the 2012-2013 academic year.

Posted: 12/26/2014 12:02 am EST 
Sean McLean's first day of college at the University of Massachusetts Boston came on the heels of sobering news: The night before, he and his family were evicted from their home in Woburn, 9 miles north of Boston.

"I went to school knowing that later that day I would be packing up everything I owned and going to a shelter," said McLean, now 19.

Sean McLean, a 19-year-old homeless student at the University of
Massachusetts Boston,
 is one of more than 58,000 homeless college students in America today.

McLean is one of more than 58,000 homeless college students in America today, according to Free Application for Federal Student Aid data from the 2012-2013 academic year. The figure -- which does not account for students who either do not realize they qualify as homeless (i.e., couch-surfers) or those who choose not to report their cases out of fear or shame -- marks a more than 75 percent increase over the previous three years. Administrators and poverty advocates nationwide attribute the recent spike in homelessness among college students to several leading factors: a parent losing a job, a lack of affordable housing and rising tuition costs. Unlike the homeless population at large, homeless college students are largely indistinguishable from their peers. Many live out of their cars. Some spend nights in the school library pretending they fell asleep studying; others couch-surf at friends' houses. The rest shack up on the streets or in shelters or motels.

McLean found himself in the latter group last fall. His mother was no longer able to work after taking custody of her infant granddaughter in 2012, and McLean's part-time job as a maintenance assistant at a school for students with special needs became their primary source of income. They were evicted from their home in September 2013 after falling behind on rent. The state Department of Housing and Community Development placed McLean, his mother and his 2-year-old niece at the Bedford Plaza Hotel in Bedford, Mass., which operates as a family shelter. more

Season's Greetings from RulaBrownNetwork (RBN) with RULA BROWN, TORONTO QUEEN, BEVERLEY MORGAN, EMPRESS TEE & Sir KEITH ANTHONY.

GULLY BOP aka COUNTRYMAN: RAGS TO FAME IN 4 WEEKS ONSTAGE

Up to month ago Gully Bop was a shabby hungry man roaming the streets of Kingston;
 often referred to as a madman. Today Bop is the most talked about artiste in Dancehall – a
 phenomenal rise from rags to fame in just four weeks.

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Season's Greetings from RulaBrownNetwork (RBN) with RULA BROWN, TORONTO QUEEN, BEVERLEY MORGAN, EMPRESS TEE & Sir KEITH ANTHONY.

DJ Ninjaman quits sting.... "I’m no longer affiliated with Sting... I’m not on the show ‘cause violence is not my style, war is not my style, disrespect is not my style"...."He's still on the show as far as I know," says Sting boss Isaiah Laing

BY RICHARD JOHNSON Observer senior reporter johnsonr@jamaicaobserver.com  Wednesday, December 24, 2014    

UNCERTAINTY surrounds whether or not veteran deejay Ninjaman will appear on Sting — the popular one-night reggae/dancehall stage show — which is set to unfold at the JamWorld Entertainment Complex in Portmore, St Catherine, on Friday night.

NINJAMAN... I’m no longer affiliated with Sting...
 I’m not on the show ‘cause violence is not my style,
 war is not my style, disrespect is not my style

The 'Don Gorgon' confirmed his withdrawal from the annual show and told the Jamaica Observer that his decision was based on threats on his life over comments made regarding Internet sensation Gully Bop in media interviews.

"Mi deh a studio yesterday and a bag a Grants Pen man come fi gang me and mi jus' jump inna mi car and drive away 'cause mi nuh inna dat deh life," said Ninjaman.

He said that prompted him to inform his management team to return the money paid by the Sting organisers.

"I'm no longer affiliated with Sting... I'm not on the show 'cause violence is not my style, war is not my style, disrespect is not my style. Entertainment is not my style," said the deejay, who is known for his biting, on-the-spot lyrical prowess.

However, Sting boss Isaiah Laing is declaring that he has no official report that Ninjaman will not be appearing on his event

Isaiah Laing

"He's still on the show as far as I know," a calm-sounding Laing said in response to the Observer's queries. "All the required money has been paid over to the artiste and he is expected to be at JamWorld on Boxing Day," he continued.

But Ninjaman is adamant that he will not be on the show.

"Dem a try draw me back inna the ting but me nah take no more disrespect. Mi a big man now. January 24 mi a 49. Mi done with the careless life. I'm moving ahead steadfast, mi done with Sting. Even if them give mi $200 million mi nuh want it." more

BREAKING NEWS (HIGH TENSION) : Antonio Martin, 18 y-o Black Teenager, Fatally Shot By Police 2 Miles From Ferguson.... #AntonioMartin (VIDEO)

Report The Huffington Post |  By Sebastian Murdock Email Posted: 12/24/2014 3:07 am EST

A Missouri teen was fatally shot by police on Tuesday night just two miles from Ferguson, Mo., according to witnesses at the scene. Antonio Martin, 18, was shot at a Mobil gas station in Berkeley, Mo., the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

It was originally reported that the shooting occurred early Wednesday. However, according to The Associated Press, the incident actually took place late Tuesday: County police spokesman Sgt. Brian Schellman says a Berkeley police officer was conducting a routine business check at a gas station around 11:15 p.m. Tuesday when he saw two men and approached them.

Schellman says one of the men pulled a handgun and pointed it at the officer. The officer fired several shots, striking and fatally wounding the man. Schellman says that the second person fled and that the deceased man's handgun has been recovered. The victim's mother, Toni Martin, spoke to The Dispatch and confirmed her son had been shot by police.

The hashtag #AntonioMartin is trending on social media. Those at the scene, along with The Dispatch, report approximately 60 to 100 people have gathered around the gas station where the shooting took place.

Livestreams at the scene show residents verbally clashing with police. A woman identified as Martin's mother could be heard sobbing "That's my baby!" on the feed. more

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