KINGSTON, JAMAICA: Alleged gang leader charged under new legislation....He has been identified as Omar Spaulding, a 31-year-old higgler of Bread Lane in Kingston, and the alleged leader of the Scare Dem Gang, which is based in West Kingston.

 By Kimmo Matthews  Thursday, January 22, 2015

POLICE yesterday laid charges against an alleged gang leader, the first such involving the head of a criminal organisation under the Criminal Justice (Suppression of Criminal Organisations) Act.

SSP Steve McGregor

He has been identified as Omar Spaulding, a 31-year-old higgler of Bread Lane in Kingston, and the alleged leader of the Scare Dem Gang, which is based in West Kingston. Spaulding was charged along with 11 other persons, including two teenagers, ages 16 and 17, who are all alleged to be gang members. The other adults charged are:

* Leon Williams o/c Coolie, 22-year-old upholsterer of Water Street, Kingston;

* Anthony Wright, o/c Bulbie, a 54-year-old taxi operator of a Christopher Road address;

* 22-year-old Derval Findley o/c Shortman, of Buff Bay, Portland;

* Orlando Harris o/c Biggy, of 22 Water Street, Kingston;

* Jermaine Fyffe o/c Timmo, 35-year-old higgler of Nelson Street, Kingston;

* Ricardo Dennis o/c Buddy Ruff, 28-year-old resident and footballer of 61 Dumfries Road, Kingston;

* Akeem Davis o/c Gallawas, 25-year-old entertainer from Nelson Street, Kingston; more

How to Make Fermented Salad Dressings....Serving salad is a common means of adding enzymes and freshness to our meals. Surely none of us can argue with a big plate of fresh, organically grown produce!

 By Shannon Stonger

Health Impact News

Serving salad is a common means of adding enzymes and freshness to our meals. Surely none of us can argue with a big plate of fresh, organically grown produce! But, might we improve upon it by the addition of a salad dressing teeming with enzymes and probiotics?

Sadly, many commercial salad dressings are laden with inflammatory vegetable oils and are topped off with questionable sweeteners, thickeners, and pasteurized vinegars. The salad beneath might be fresh but, in these cases, the dressing certainly is not.

The synergy between dressing and salad is where the goodness happens so it pays to optimize both. A simple combination of olive oil and raw apple cider vinegar can be utilized as a throw-together option. Indeed, this will add a host of benefits including the prebiotics found in raw apple cider vinegar.

To take it a step further – and perhaps to better utilize the fermented foods you may already be making – a fermented salad dressing can be prepared. This not only adds micro- and macronutrients, it also provides you with a variety of flavors and textures to dress your salads differently every day of the week.

There are a few options for creating a salad dressing that contains live, active cultures. One utilizes a common fermented food as the vinegar aspect of a vinaigrette. One uses its creamy tang as the base of the familiar ranch dressing. The final option is to ferment a dressing base of vegetables and fruits and then use it alongside olive oil as a dressing.

 

more 

Coffee Protects Against Skin Cancer, Study Finds...and it’s been praised for everything from preventing diabetes and protecting against Alzheimer’s to lowering the risk of heart disease and protecting against Parkinson’s disease....The study, the largest to date of the link between coffee consumption and melanoma, tracked over 447,000 retirees

Diana Vilibert January 21, 2015    

Coffee lovers don’t have to look very hard for evidence that their morning (and afternoon) cup is good for them. The effects of coffee on health have been researched for years, and it’s been praised for everything from preventing diabetes and protecting against Alzheimer’s to lowering the risk of heart disease and protecting against Parkinson’s disease.

Coffee anyone

And a new study published this week points to yet another reason not to kick the habit: it may protect against some skin cancers. The study, the largest to date of the link between coffee consumption and melanoma, tracked over 447,000 retirees over the course of 10 years. Researchers gathered data on the amount of sunlight in the participants’ hometowns, while participants reported on cancer risk factors like exercise, body mass index, and alcohol consumption…and of course, their coffee consumption.

The magic number? Four. Participants who drank four cups of (non-decaf) coffee per day were 20 percent less likely to develop malignant melanoma compared to those who didn’t drink coffee. Though the link with caffeinated versus decaf could be due to chance, according to study researcher Erikka Loftfield, it’s possible that caffeine itself (or another compound found in caffeinated coffee) could be offering protection. “Our results, and some from other recent studies, should provide reassurance to coffee consumers that drinking coffee is not a risky thing to do,” Loftfield told Live Science. Want to make your four cups a day even healthier? Stick to organic coffee to avoid crops that have been sprayed with pesticides and skip flavored syrups loaded with high fructose corn syrup and preservatives.

And if you’re sticking to decaf, you’ll still get major health benefits—those who drink three or more cups daily showed lower levels of four enzymes that cause poor liver function, according to a study published in October 2014.

MUST MUST READ: Virgin Coconut Oil Effective in Treating Diabetes....25.8 million children and adults in the United States, 8.3% of the population, have diabetes....Replacing longer chain polyunsaturated fats, such as corn and soybean oil, with the saturated fat of coconut oil, can reduce cravings for refined carbohydrates that contribute to insulin resistance....Coconut oil’s ability to control hunger and cravings is well documented. Coconut oil’s medium chain fatty acids promote thermogenesis and lead to increased metabolic rates

by Brian and Marianita Shilhavy 

Indeed Virgin Coconut Oil has a substantial effect on blood sugar levels. My wife and daughter (both have type 2 diabetes) measure their blood sugar levels at least three times a day. When they eat the wrong foods and their blood sugar levels get to 80-100 points above normal, they don’t take extra medication, they take 2-3 tablespoons of the coconut oil directly from the bottle. Within a half hour their blood sugar levels will come back to normal. Ed Coconut Diet Forums

Coconut and oil

25.8 million children and adults in the United States, 8.3% of the population, have diabetes.¹ The current rate of people becoming diabetic in the United states is doubling every 10 years. This has resulted in a windfall for pharmaceutical companies capitalizing on this “disease” with drugs designed to treat type 2 diabetes, but not deal with the underlying cause. These drugs have serious side effects.

One of the most popular diabetes drugs, Avandia, was pulled off the market in 2011 after a number of studies showed that the drug increased the risk of heart attacks among type 2 diabetes patients. The manufacturer of the drug reached a $3 billion settlement in December 2011 over its fraudulent marketing of the drug, the largest federal criminal drug-company settlement to date.

Information that is finally making its way into the mainstream media is that type 2 diabetes is a lifestyle and diet issue that can be reversed without drugs. This information has been known for years, however, among those in the alternative health crowd. Consider these testimonials (some over 10 years ago) from individuals who did not follow typical doctor’s advice: more

How to Eat a Coconut-Rich Breakfast...Coconut can be eaten in both sweet and savory dishes

The energy and nourishment needed for a productive day starts at the breakfast table; so why not start the day off right with the many benefits of coconut? Coconut can be eaten in both sweet and savory dishes, taking the place of many of the foods you may already be eating to break the fast. The forms of coconut are many. Using them individually or in combination with one another can produce health-giving, allergen-friendly versions of some of our favorite breakfast foods. more

'TONIGHT, WE TURN THE PAGE' : President Barack Obama hits a massive home run in State of The Union Address to Congress. House Speaker, John Boehner finds very little to applaud as the President outlines his proposals and vision for the next year. Looking to the future instead of the past. Leading with our values, that's what makes us strong. FOCUS ON INEQUALITY... Calls For Paid Sick Leave... Bold 'One Percent' Tax Proposal... Free Community College... Criminal Justice Reform... 'A Free And Open Internet'... WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE SPEECH? #RulaBrownNetwork

President Barack Obama's State of the Union address takes place Tuesday evening in front of a joint session of Congress.

President Obama

On December 19, Obama was formally invited by House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to give the annual address.January 20, 2015 President Obama's call to Congress last week to pass paid sick leave laws for workers marks a renewed push to make family leave the norm in the U.S. In Tuesday night's State of the Union address, Obama's expected to expound on that proposal, encouraging passage of a mandatory paid sick leave measure and asking Congress for more than $2 billion for states to create their own programs.

Among its developed peers, the U.S. is the only nation without a national requirement for paid sick leave. But in San Francisco, the first U.S. jurisdiction to enact such a law, the practice is nearly a decade old. The city's ordinance stipulates that workers accrue one hour of leave per 30 hours worked. The bill Obama endorses, the Healthy Families Act, follows the same rules, and allows for up to seven days of paid leave (San Francisco's version allows for up to either five or nine days, depending on the size of the company.)

San Francisco first enacted the ordinance in 2007. And in the years since, the city's workers—and businesses—have reaped the benefits. "San Francisco's economy is booming," Jim Lazarus, senior vice president for policy at the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, told The New York Times last year about the effects of the city's sick leave law.

Like the debate over raising the minimum wage—a policy Obama proposed in last year's address—critics argue that a national paid sick leave law would hurt businesses' bottom lines. To compensate, they'd have to cut wages and jobs.

Your Thoughts Affect Your Genes: 6 Surprising Things That Affect Your Brain a Care2 favorite by Megan, selected from Experience Life...In short, neuroplasticity means you have some control over your cranial fitness. While brain function naturally deteriorates somewhat as you age

Brain scientists in recent years have discovered a number of surprising ways that the brain influences our overall health, as well as how our behavior influences the health of our brain. And unlike in the days of old — when scientists believed the brain was “fixed” after childhood, only to start an inexorable decline in the middle to later years — today, research is showing that the brain is perfectly capable of changing, healing and “rewiring” itself to an unexpected degree.

It turns out that the age of your brain may be a lesser influence on its structure than what you do with it. Pursuits that require intense mental focus, like language learning, “switch on” the nucleus basalis, the control mechanism for neuroplasticity.

In short, neuroplasticity means you have some control over your cranial fitness. While brain function naturally deteriorates somewhat as you age (though not nearly as much as you might think), various strategic approaches can create new neural pathways and strengthen existing ones as long as you live. What’s more, these efforts to build a better brain can deliver lasting rewards for your overall health.

Here are just a few of neuroscience’s most empowering recent discoveries.

Your Thoughts Affect Your Genes

We tend to think of our genetic heritage as a fait accompli. At our conception, our parents handed down whatever genetic legacy they inherited — genes for baldness, tallness, disease or whatever — and now we’re left playing the hand of DNA we were dealt. But, in fact, our genes are open to being influenced throughout our lifetime, both by what we do and by what we think, feel and believe. more:

The Surprising Thing That Kills More People Than Obesity...According to researchers at the University of Cambridge, lack of exercise is responsible for twice as many deaths as obesity, and a brisk 20-minute walk a day is probably enough to lower your risk of early death

January 19, 2015   
Americans spend a lot of time worrying about weight. We try every new diet trick that comes along in our quest to lower that number on the scale. We do it because we want to look better and feel better. And because we know that carrying too much weight is unhealthy. But there’s something that else that’s killing us. It’s our sedentary lifestyle. If you think it’s okay to be a couch potato because you’re thin, you’re making a huge mistake.

According to researchers at the University of Cambridge, lack of exercise is responsible for twice as many deaths as obesity, and a brisk 20-minute walk a day is probably enough to lower your risk of early death.

Lack of exercise is associated with increased risk of heart disease and cancer, among other health concerns. While lack of exercise may put on weight, study authors found that the association with early death was not related to a person’s body mass index (BMI).

The Cambridge study involved more than 334,161 men and women across Europe. Researchers recorded the participants’ height, weight, and waist circumference. Physical activity during the 12-year study was self-assessed. During the study, 21,438 participants died. more 

KITTEN HYPNOTIZED BY IT'S OWN TAIL (VIDEO): Hypnosis has never been so adorable. Watch this little kitty keep her eyes on her tail, not fully realizing it’s actually part of her body.

Obama's State Of The Union Speech Will Aim To Influence 2016 Debate

AP Posted: 01/20/2015 5:40 am EST 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Key elements of the economic proposals President Barack Obama will outline in his State of the Union address Tuesday appear to be aimed at driving the debate in the 2016 election on income inequality and middle-class economic issues, rather than setting a realistic agenda for Congress.

Obama's calls for increasing taxes on the wealthy, making community college free for many students and expanding paid leave for workers stand little chance of winning approval from the new Republican majority on Capitol Hill. But the debate over middle-class economics is looking critical for the coming campaign. more

SAD STORY: Stranded! Lloyd Bogle, the 64-year-old Jamaican, who has been living in England for the past 54 years, is now stranded in the island after enjoying a two-week trip — his first back home in all that time. "I knew no one in Jamaica; it was the first time I was travelling since I was seven," Bogle emphasised on the verge of tears.

BY KIMMO MATTHEWS Observer staff reporter matthewsk@jamaicaobserver.com  Tuesday, January 20, 2015

The 64-year-old Jamaican, who has been living in England for the past 54 years, is now stranded in the island after enjoying a two-week trip — his first back home in all that time.

Lloyd Bogle

Bogle said his ordeal started on October 13, 2014 when he got to Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay to take a return flight to England, only to be told by Immigration officials that they could not allow him to leave.

"I got the shock of my life when I was turned back and told by authorities that I would have to have a visa to leave the country," said the distraught-looking Bogle, who added that he was not aware of the travel requirement.

The reason for that is that Bogle, since leaving Jamaica in 1962 when he was seven years old and just before the country achieved political independence from Britain, never applied for British citizenship. In fact, he said he didn't renew his Jamaican passport until just before he travelled here on September 29, 2014.

"Since I migrated at age seven I have never travelled and never had any intention to. It was after I retired I decided to take a trip to Jamaica to see what the country was like," Bogle told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.

Receipt

"I knew no one in Jamaica; it was the first time I was travelling since I was seven," Bogle emphasised on the verge of tears. He said the two-week holiday in Portland was like a dream come true, but all of that changed when he got to the airport. According to Bogle, after getting over the shock of being told about the visa, he was on the verge of sleeping on the streets, as he had nowhere to go, neither did he know where he was. more

Jamaican to head US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)...UNITED States Marine Corps Major General Vincent R Stewart will assume duties as the 20th director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and commander of the Joint Functional Component Command for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (JFCC-ISR).

Tuesday, January 20, 2015 

UNITED States Marine Corps Major General Vincent R Stewart will assume duties as the 20th director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and commander of the Joint Functional Component Command for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (JFCC-ISR) on Friday, the DIA has announced on its website.

STEWART… entered the Marine Corps in 1981

Major General Stewart, a Jamaican who attended Kingston College and who entered the Marine Corps in 1981, will take up his new post after a 10:00 am ceremony scheduled for at DIA Headquarters, Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, DC.

"The US Senate confirmed his promotion to Lieutenant General December 11, 2014, and he will receive his third star just prior to assuming duties as DIA director and JFCC-ISR commander," the DIA news release said.

Major General Stewart, the DIA added, served most recently as commander, Marine Forces Cyber Command. Prior to that assignment, he served as director of intelligence at the US Marine Corps headquarters in Washington, DC.

"Stewart is the first Marine Corps officer and the first black officer to take office as the DIA director. As the full-time DIA director, Stewart succeeds US Army Lieutenant General Michael T Flynn, who left the DIA in August 2014, and subsequently retired. The agency has since been led by Acting Director David Shedd," the DIA stated.

The DIA provides military intelligence to warfighters, defence policymakers and force planners in the Department of Defense and the intelligence community, in support of US military planning and operations and weapon systems acquisition. more

WHO SAY INSPIRATION...WELL COME GET IT!

Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on His 86th Birthday

Today is the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Were he alive today, nearly 47 years after his assassination in Memphis, Tennessee, he would be 86 years of age.

 Posted: 01/19/2015 10:03 am

 ESTThis weekend our nation will observe its annual commemoration of this great man's life. It comes at a time when national and international events have provoked a lot of discussion about what Dr. King would say or do in response to those events if he were alive today.

Dr. Martin Luther King

An entire generation of Americans has grown up associating Dr. King almost exclusively with his 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech (which I copyrighted; it is now one of the most valuable intellectual properties of the King estate). Few people today know of his opinions on issues like poverty and income inequality, or of his early support for Israel and his public opposition to the war in Vietnam.

Although I have no polling data to support my belief, I estimate that he enjoyed an approval rating of 80 percent or higher at the time of his "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963, but that his approval rating had probably dipped to 40 percent or lower by the time he was assassinated five years later.

This blog post addresses some of the important contemporary domestic and international issues that I believe would be of major concern to Dr. King if he were alive today. My statements are not based on what I have read or on what some third party told me. They are based on my personal recollections of conversations and discussions I had with Dr. King one-on-one, and of conversations we had together with third parties, over the approximately seven years I worked with him as a political advisor, personal lawyer and draft speechwriter. more

Richest 1 Percent To Own More Than Half Of The World's Wealth By 2016, Oxfam Finds....Drill down the numbers even more and you'll learn that the 80 wealthiest people in the world possess $1.9 trillion

The Huffington Post |  By Jade Walker Email Posted: 01/19/2015 6:56 am EST 

The rich keep getting richer, and by next year, just a handful of the upper-class will have accumulated more than half of the world's wealth.

A new report released on Monday by Oxfam warns that this deepening global inequality is unlike anything seen in recent years.

Using research from Credit Suisse and Forbes' annual billionaires list, the anti-poverty charity was able to determine that the richest 1 percent of the world's population currently controls 48 percent of the world's total wealth.If trends continue, Oxfam predicts that the most-affluent will possess more wealth than the remaining 99 percentby 2016, The New York Times reported.

Drill down the numbers even more and you'll learn that the 80 wealthiest people in the world possess $1.9 trillion, which is almost the same amount shared by some 3.5 billion people at the bottom half of the world's income scale.

Thirty-five of the lucky 80 were Americans with a combined wealth of $941 billion. Germany and Russia shared second place, with seven uber-rich individuals apiece. more

The Jamaican who brought Malcolm X to Oxford University (UK) Anthony Abrahams promised to fill prestigious British Institution with Blacks

Monday, January 19, 2015   

Last month, the prestigious Oxford Union of the Oxford University, cradle of British political leadership, marked the 50th anniversary of the visit by Malcolm X, the American civil rights leader, on the invitation of Jamaica's Eric Anthony Abrahams, then president of the Union. Abrahams' sister, Hope Abrahams Calogero was present at the speech given by Malcolm X who was assassinated less than three months later. At the anniversary function, she was invited to give reflections on her brother and an event which was regarded as monumental in the context of the times. The Jamaica Observer is pleased to present the full text of her reflections:

American civil rights activist Angela Davis
 addressing the 50th anniversary
 commemorative event at Oxford.

Malcolm X and student Anthony
Abrahams on the cover of the
 book to commemorate the visit of
 the American civil rights leader. 

Fifty years ago, I sat in the Oxford Union listening to Tony and Malcolm X talk on the subject of extremism , liberty and justice. I'm not the orator that my brother was, and I've had a stroke that affects my speech. However, I could not pass up the opportunity to honour my brother's memory with a few reflections.

I had come two years before this historic moment to a debate at the Oxford Union, at my brother's invitation. It meant a lot to Tony that I be there. He used to say: I was his apple and he was my apple tree. At the time I was overwhelmed by the poshness and whiteness on display. more

IN JAMAICA: Missing for 10 years, Simone Neil.... St Elizabeth mom's pre-dawn departure, health challenges spur vigorous debate...On June 18, 2005, Neil disappeared without a trace, leaving behind her passport, birth certificate, clothes, and her cellular phone with every contact number deleted..."MOMMY, kiss my little brother for me, and in case of anything, be brave."

BY DONNA HUSSEY-WHYTE Sunday Observer staff reporter husseyd@jamaicaobserver.com  Sunday, January 18, 2015  

"MOMMY, kiss my little brother for me, and in case of anything, be brave."

Those were the last words that Erica Holness heard from her then 24-year-old daughter, Simone Neil, while she lived at New Forest, St Elizabeth, 10 years ago.

Simone Neil, missing

On June 18, 2005, Neil disappeared without a trace, leaving behind her passport, birth certificate, clothes, and her cellular phone with every contact number deleted.

Holness said that after the phone call she became very concerned, as she knew that her daughter was going through a deep state of depression. Shortly afterwards, she got a call informing her that her eldest of three children was missing.

Today, family and community members are torn between two opinions. Did the beautiful light-skinned girl who was accustomed to a flashy lifestyle leave on her own free will and is still alive? Or is she dead?

Family members of Simone Neil (left to right)
 Dave Holness, Juliet Holness, Nicolea
Morgan and the missing woman’s
son David Golding.
 (PHOTOS: GREGORY BENNETT

"She is my first daughter and sometimes I have sleepless nights - even last night," the mother of three who resides in the United States told the Jamaica Observer in a telephone conversation last Thursday. "It's been hard for me. But to be honest she was very depressed."

At the time that Neil went missing, family members said she left in the wee hours of the morning, without taking her then three-year-old son.

Holness explained that her daughter suffered from depression after she gave birth in June 2002 to David Golding (DJ). The child was born with Down's Syndrome, and also had a hole in his heart. She said that the child's father could not accept this fact, or come to grips with a special needs child, and began to accuse Neil of infidelity, while also declaring that the child did not look like him, thus segregating himself from both mother and child. more

ISLAMIC EXTREMISM IN JAMAICA: CNN exposé on extremist Jamaican Imam who supports ISIS and inspired many to commit terrorist attacks all over the world

Post by Matthew Thomas.

IN JAMAICA: Alia Atkinson (swimmer), Nicholas Walters (boxer) - Sportsman and Sportswoman for 2014.... Atkinson became the first black woman to win a gold medal at a swimming world championship & Walters successfully defended the WBA World Featherweight title and later won the WBA Super World Featherweight crown

Friday, January 16, 2015 | 11:37 PM 

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Swimmer Alia Atkinson and boxer Nicholas Walters are the 2014 RJR Sports Foundation's National Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year (2014).

 Boxer Nicholas Walters and swimmer Alia Atkinson

Atkinson became the first black woman to win a gold medal at a swimming world championship, in the process equalling the world record in the 100m breaststroke.

The last time a non-track and field person won the award was in 1976 when cricketer Vivalyn Latty-Scott triumphed.

Atkinson joins Belinda Phillips (1974) and Frances Noble (1968) as the only other swimmers to have won this prestigious  award. Kaliese Spencer was the runner-up. Spencer was listed at the end of 2014 as the top 400m hurdler in the world.

Nicholas 'Axeman' Walters became the first boxer in 24 years to win the award, the last being Michael 'The Body Snatcher' McCallum in 1990.

Walters successfully defended the WBA World Featherweight title and later won the WBA Super World Featherweight crown to remain undefeated in 25 professional fights. O'Dayne Richards was the runner-up for winning the shot-put at the Commonwealth Games.

The 2014 Sports Awards is a landmark one for the RJR Foundation as it is the 10th year that RJR is staging the event.more

JAMAICAN and past student of Vere Technical High, Jeneil Williams, model featured in L'Oreal Paris' make-up video

Friday, January 16, 2015

Jeneil Williams

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaican-born international model Jeneil Williams on Friday shared a L'Oreal Paris video with OBSERVER ONLINE in which she is the only black woman featured.

The video highlights the company’s new Infallible 24H-Matte foundation.

Jeneil Williams at Video Shoot

In the 32-second video, close-ups of Jeneil's face and skin can be seen as she, along with a few other models declared: “I don’t just wear it, I live it”.

Jeneil Williams

Jeneil, a past student of Vere Technical High School in Clarendon, has made strides in the global modeling industry and has been featured on the cover of Vogue as well as the Pirelli calendar.

She also shared the video on her Facebook page.

OBSERVER ONLINE brings you a few screenshots from the video.

WEH DEM A DO! Mavado says former colleague behind attacks....to have him deported from the United States....Created on the White House's website on Sunday by Maryland resident Trudy A Miller, the petition stated that the dancehall entertainer is a non-residing felon living in the USA.

BY SIMONE MORGAN Observer reporter morgans@jamaicaobserver.com  Saturday, January 17, 2015    

DANCEHALL artiste Mavado has responded to a recent petition to have him deported from the United States.

In an exclusive with the Jamaica Observer, Mavado — whose given name is David Brooks -- said a former business associate is behind the scheme.

DANCEHALL artiste Mavado

"Is somebody that used to work with me. Me find out him no real and let him go, so a fi him way dis to get back at me. I don't know if him create the page or ask someone to do it, but he is the mastermind behind everything," said Mavado.

The singjay, however, declined to name the former associate.

Created on the White House's website on Sunday by Maryland resident Trudy A Miller, the petition stated that the dancehall entertainer is a non-residing felon living in the USA. It further stated that it is "grossly unfair that undocumented immigrants with no serious criminal records are deported daily, while a convicted felon, such as Mavado, has carte blanche to live and work here".

So far, fewer than 10 persons have signed the petition.

Mavado said this is not the first time that his reputation and music career have been attacked by this individual.

"This individual has contacted several media outlets and told them that I had limited amount of days to leave the States, among a bunch of other things; all of which are lies," he said.

The singjay said he has contracted the services of an immigration attorney, who is handling the matter.

"I have been living here [the United States] for three years. My wife and two of my kids are Americans and I have never committed a crime here. All I am doing is spending time with my family while doing music," he said.

A member of DJ Khaled's We the Best Music Group, Mavado said he is busy working on his upcoming 16-track album slated to be released in May.

On Thursday the singjay released I Ain't Going Back Broke, a collaboration with hip-hop artistes Ace Hood and Future. A mixtape entitled The Hands of the Gully God will also be released in two weeks.

Sister Nancy's "Bam Bam" tops iTunes iTunes Reggae Top 100 Chart....Recorded in the mid-1980s for producer Winston Riley

Saturday, January 17, 2015    

Bam Bam, a three decade-old single from deejay Sister Nancy, is receiving a new lease on life. It currently holds the number one spot on the iTunes Reggae Top 100 Chart.

Recorded in the mid-1980s for producer Winston Riley, the track is from the album One Two.

Sister Nancy

Bam Bam is one of two Jamaican songs on the soundtrack of the controversial movie The Interview. The Vybz Kartel-penned Pon de Floor, performed by EDM group Major Laser, is the other.

The Interview had a limited release by Sony on Christmas Day in the United States. The comedy, starring James Franco and Seth Rogen, surrounds a plot to assassinate North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.

The movie angered North Korea, which threatened military strikes against the United States if it was released. Sony initially postponed the release but it opened it on Christmas Day in only 331 cinemas.

Sister Nancy (given name Ophlin Russell-Myers) is the younger sister of veteran deejay Brigadier Jerry. She is a bank accountant in New Jersey and still performs in North America and Europe. more

Dr. Fuhrman's Nutritarian Pyramid...is based on the principles of high nutrient eating as illustrated by his Health Equation: Health = Nutrients / Calories (H = N / C). Low-calorie, nutrient dense foods are at the base of the pyramid, and high-calorie, nutrient poor foods are at the top. As nutrient density decreases, the quantity of room in the diet decreases.

Dr. Fuhrman’s Nutritarian food pyramid is based on the principles of high nutrient eating as illustrated by his Health Equation: Health = Nutrients / Calories (H = N / C). Low-calorie, nutrient dense foods are at the base of the pyramid, and high-calorie, nutrient poor foods are at the top. As nutrient density decreases, the quantity of room in the diet decreases.

Nutritional science in the last twenty years has demonstrated that colorful plant foods contain a huge assortment of protective compounds, most of which still remain unnamed. Only by eating an assortment of nutrient-rich natural foods can we access these protective compounds and prevent the common diseases that afflict Americans. Our modern, low-nutrient eating style has led to an overweight population, the majority of whom develop diseases of nutritional ignorance, causing our medical costs to spiral out of control.

The base of the pyramid – the foundation of the diet, foods consumed in the highest quantity – should be the foods with the highest ratios of nutrients to calories – these are vegetables. Ninety percent of the daily diet should be made up of nutrient rich plant foods, whose calories are accompanied by health-promoting phytochemicals: green and other non-starchy vegetables; fresh fruits; beans and legumes; raw nuts, seeds, and avocados; starchy vegetables; and whole grains.

If desired, the remaining 10% of the diet may include minimally processed foods such as tortillas, coarsely-ground or sprouted whole grain breads or cereals, tofu, tempeh and a limited amount of animal products, preferably not more than 5 percent of total caloric intake. By keeping low nutrient foods to a minimum and striving to eat at least 90% of calories from the unrefined plant foods that comprise the base of the pyramid each day, you construct a health-promoting, disease-preventing diet. This high nutrient eating style is considered a Nutritarian™ diet. more

SEX AND HEALTH By Walter Last.....According to psychological studies and statistics in the longer term the vast majority of sexual relationships cause more distress and unhappiness rather than happiness...Sexual factors that may contribute to health problems are nutrient deficiencies, hormonal and bio-energetic imbalances, and emotional distress. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

By Walter Last

According to psychological studies and statistics in the longer term the vast majority of sexual relationships cause more distress and unhappiness rather than happiness. It is obvious, at least to me, that stress due to failing relationships also has a major impact on our health, emotionally and biologically. Even medical thinking now regards stress as an underlying problem that aggravates all other diseases.

Getting ready (Stock Photo)

Sexual factors that may contribute to health problems are nutrient deficiencies, hormonal and bio-energetic imbalances, and emotional distress. Several of these may be involved in any one case, and they cannot always be identified.

Nutrient deficiencies relate mainly to loss of ejaculate. The seminal fluid is high in zinc and requires much vitamin B6 and omega-3 fatty acids, which are found in fish oils and linseed oil. Deficiency of these is widespread, especially in teenage boys with frequent loss of seminal fluid. The same deficiencies are common in schizophrenia, which starts most frequently in teenage boys. I believe that there is a causal connection.

Formerly doctors maintained that excessive masturbation could lead to insanity. They may have been right after all although, without proper investigation, modern medicine dismisses this as a myth. Zinc deficiency also leads to underdeveloped male sexual organs and later in life to enlargement of the prostate gland. By pointing out these connections I do not want to create guilt about masturbation but rather improve nutritional awareness. Also orgasm and schizophrenia are both associated with high and unstable levels of dopamine, while during depression dopamine levels are low.

A medical arthritis specialist observed that arthritis tends to get worse with frequent ejaculation (Arthritis can be Cured by Bernard Aschner, MD, The Julian Press, 1957, or Arco Publ. N.Y.).

Hormonal imbalances, especially dopamine excess or deficiency seem to be the greatest contributors to addictive behaviours, such as drug abuse, compulsive behavior and gambling as well as aggression, violence and attention deficit disorder. Oxytocin, on the other hand, has a beneficial influence on these problems. For a referenced discussion of this subject see http://www.reuniting.info/science/sex_and_addiction.

The main factor in raising our stress levels is probably the inability to discharge bio-energetic static. One common example is watching exciting movies that fire us up, and then going to bed without releasing the induced tension. It is likewise with conventional sex. Initially the body may get charged with skin stimulation and anticipation, but then there is little release, especially for women, if the union lasts for less than 30 minutes. No wonder many women develop emotional problems and gynaecological or nervous complaints, or just switch off and abstain from sex. Men, being less emotionally aware, may just develop physical symptoms instead, such as hypertension, heart disease, prostate problems or impotence. more

North Miami Beach Police Use Mug Shots Of African-Americans For Target Practice..."The public thinks there should be one woman and one white man and one black, but that's not really what test is about," Katerman said. "We have targets of all races."

The Huffington Post |  By Michael McLaughlin Email Posted: 01/15/2015 8:29 pm ES

Officers from a South Florida police department are drawing fire after getting caught using photos of real-life suspects for target practice.

Critics told NBC South Florida, which first reported the controversy, that the North Miami Beach cops are racially insensitive because the six mug shots used at the firing range feature only African-American suspects.  A Florida National Guard sergeant arrived at the shooting range on a Saturday last month for training and recognized her brother's 15-year-old booking photo among the bullet-riddled targets left behind by North Miami Beach police officers, the station said.

Major Kathy Katerman told HuffPost that the department has multiple lineups for target practice. Some feature only white men, others are all Latino and one features photos of only women.

"The public thinks there should be one woman and one white man and one black, but that's not really what test is about," Katerman said. "We have targets of all races."

Police Chief Scott Dennis told NBC South Florida that officers used poor judgment. No one would be punished, however, Dennis said.

The misstep was reminiscent of a flap in 2013 over a Port Canaveral, Florida police sergeant who was fired for distributing targets of Trayvon Martin for shooting practice. Martin was the 17-year-old unarmed teenager who was followed and fatally shot by George Zimmerman in February 2012. more