Pres. Obama and Prime Minister Portia Simpson at STONE LOVE DANCE in JAMAICA dancing to Montego Bay... Watch the Zig-Zag Rock and Boink Glide. #ObamainJamaica #BarckObamainJamaica

KINGSTON, Jamaica : President Barack Obama is in Jamaica....This historic visit marks the second to the island by a sitting US president. The first saw Ronald Reagan arriving in 1982...President Obama will engage in a number of activities tomorrow, including bilateral talks with the Jamaican Government and with Caricom heads of government, a youth forum at the University of the West Indies

Wednesday, April 08, 2015 | 7:31 PM    
KINGSTON, Jamaica — United States President Barack Obama arrived in the island a short while ago at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston.
This historic visit marks the second to the island by a sitting US president. The first saw Ronald Reagan arriving in 1982, with yesterday marking the 33rd anniversary of his visit.
Obama, who arrived on Air Force One, is expected to travel on the Marine One helicopter to the Jamaica Defence Force’s headquarters, Up Park Camp.
He is then expected to travel in the presidential limousine, The Beast, to a hotel where he is expected to stay ahead of tomorrow’s activities.
President Obama will engage in a number of activities tomorrow, including bilateral talks with the Jamaican Government and with Caricom heads of government, a youth forum at the University of the West Indies, and a wreath laying at the Cenotaph in National Heroes Park in honour of the Jamaicans who fought and died in World War I and II.
He will leave Jamaica tomorrow evening for Panama to attend the Seventh Summit of the Americas.
Governor General Sir Patrick Allen and Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller headed the delegation of officials who greeted President Obama on his arrival.
More information later.

KINGSTON, Jamaica: President Obama visits Bob Marley Museum

Pres. Barack Obama at Bob Marleys Museum
Wednesday, April 08, 2015 | 9:46 PM  
KINGSTON, Jamaica – United States President Barack Obama makes a late night visit to the Bob Marley Museum after he landed at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston Wednesday evening.
The Hope Road facility, which has been in operation for nearly 30 years, recently reopened it's doors after some structural upgrade.
The museum is reported to attract some 35,000 visitors per year. And President Obama has now been added to that list.
Bob Marley became a superstar in the 1970s, a fruitful period for roots-reggae. He lived at what became the museum in May 11, 1986.
He died of cancer in May 1981 at age 36. more

WARNING GRAPHIC VIDEO: Video Shows Officer Michael Slager Shooting Unarmed Black Man In The Back In South Carolina

Officer Michael Slager stands over Walter Scott after the shooting.
Killer Police stands over victim

The Huffington Post |  By Andy Campbell Email Posted: 04/07/2015 7:08 pm EDT 
A white South Carolina police officer was arrested and charged with murder Tuesday after video showed him fatally shooting a fleeing, unarmed black man in the back.
North Charleston Police Officer Michael T. Slager, 33, can be seen shooting 50-year-old Walter Scott after a confrontation on Saturday, according to The Post and Courier. Slager chases Scott and shoots at him eight times in the video recorded by a passerby and obtained by The New York Times.
Scott died there, though it wasn't clear if he died immediately.
The graphic video raises questions about Slager's original assertion that he used his gun because he felt endangered. more

Harold Ekeh 17 y-o, Got Into All 8 Ivy League Schools wants to be a Neurosurgeon., is a senior at Elmont Memorial High School in Long Island, New York, has a GPA of over 100, he got a 2270 (out of 2400) on the SAT, and – oh yeah – he's been accepted to all 13 colleges he applied to, including all eight Ivy League schools, as well as Johns Hopkins and MIT. His Humble Response Will Inspire You. (WATCH THE VIDEO)

The Huffington Post  |  By Katie Sola Email Posted: 04/07/2015 12:51 pm EDT
When Harold Ekeh was accepted into all eight Ivy League schools, he didn't boast about his amazing feat. Instead, he thanked his teachers and parents.
Harold Ekeh Accepted to Every Ivy League School
Harold Ekeh
"He came into school and the first thing he said -- rather than saying 'Can you believe it?' -- he said, 'Thank you so much. I got into all eight Ivy League schools,'" science teacher Michelle Flannory told Newsday. "And that is Harold, and that is what he is about."
The Nigerian-American teen came to the United States at the age of eight. His family lives in Elmont, New York, where Ekeh attends Elmont Memorial High School.
Ekeh isn't your average high school senior. He scored a 2270 on the SAT, according to Patch, and was a semifinalist in the Intel Science Talent Search. He's editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, and vice-president of the Model United Nations.
Feeling inadequate yet? Ekeh was also the homecoming king. He told Yahoo he hopes to become a neurosurgeon, a field he became interested in after his grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease.
First, he has the pleasure of choosing between Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Yale.
According to New York Magazine, Ekeh was also accepted to MIT, NYU, Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt, and SUNY Stony Brook.
Ekeh told Fox News Insider that he wrote his admissions essay about how his parents' resilience and determination to succeed in America inspired him.
"You can accomplish great things if you work hard and persevere," he told Newsday.TO VIEW VIDEO CLICK more
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Gertrude Weaver, World's Oldest Person, Dies At Age 116....Jamaica now boasts world's 4th oldest person, Viola Moss Brown at 115 y-o


 AP |  By CLAUDIA LAUER Posted: 04/06/2015 5:30 pm EDT
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- Just days after becoming the world's oldest documented person, 116-year-old Gertrude Weaver has died in Arkansas.
The Williams Funeral Home confirms that Weaver died Monday at the Silver Oaks Health and Rehabilitation Center in Camden, about 100 miles southwest of Little Rock.
Weaver became the oldest person in the world after the death of a 117-year-old Japanese woman last week, according to records kept by the Los Angeles-based Gerontology Research Group. Weaver was born on July 4, 1898.
Weaver told reporters last week that the key to her longevity was being kind to everyone and eating her own cooking.
Gertrude Weaver
Gertrude Weaver, World's Oldest
Person, Dies At Age 116
She also said she hoped President Barack Obama would come to her 117th birthday party in July....Meanwhile DUANVALE, Trelawny -- Viola Moss Brown, whose life spans three centuries, was on Sunday hailed by Queen Elizabeth II for reaching the age of 115, making her Jamaica's confirmed oldest person, and the smallest nation to produce a person of her age.
"Mrs Violet Moss Brown, my congratulations to you on achieving the remarkable milestone of 115 birthday and I send you my best wishes," Custos Rotulorum of Trelawny Paul Muschett read from a letter signed by Queen Elizabeth II.
Viola Moss Brown, 115 y-o  of
Jamaica raises her hands in the
 air as she acknowledges the accolades
heaped on her at her birthday party
The letter was read during a glitzy bash at the Glistening Waters Restaurant in Falmouth, on Sunday, to mark her birthday.
The milestone makes Brown, who is affectionately called Aunt V, the world's sixth oldest person, a mere two years behind the world's oldest person, Osaka, Japan's Misao Okawa whose birth date is listed at March 5, 1898.

IN JAMAICA: Grange Hill High Best from the West in the teenAGE Expression Tours (PHOTOS)

Tuesday, April 07, 2015 |
Last week the teenAGE Expression Tours went west, visiting Grange Hill High School.
The talent showcase was hosted by DJ Rushane, who was substituting for resident DJ, Cash Price.
01First to take the stage was Delano McMahon. This young man had the crowd in a frenzy when he performed a remix to Throat by Gage. In his remix, Delano deejayed about a female being overly interested in her cellular phone.
Christasha Watkins was next. She performed a rendition of Louise Bennett's Nuh Lickle Twang. She was well received by her peers. Kayonn Campbell followed the dub performance and, despite facing problems with the sound system, she pressed on and the crowd responded.
The crowd was treated with a series of hits played by DJ Rushane, much to their delight.
After the musical selections, Amanda Samuels was next to take the stage. The crowd seemed pleased with her performance.
Russalie Brown dramatized a piece that had the crowd erupting in laughter. The girl duo, Teena Kay Parish and Mickalia performed Beyonce's 1+1 and Celine Dion's To Love You More. These two girls delighted the crowd with their melodies and had everyone singing along.
It was now time for a giveaway courtesy of Flow. Renford Green was the winner of this giveaway. more

33rd anniversary of first visit by a sitting US president... Contrast between Ronald Reagan’s lashing of Cuba and Obama’s reconciliation.... The leaders- Reagan, Seaga, Obama, Castro

Tuesday, April 07, 2015    
ON the eve of the visit of United States President Barack Obama, Jamaicans are today marking the 33rd anniversary of the first visit to the island by a sitting US president, Ronald Reagan, who came in contrasting circumstances on April 7, 1982. While Reagan brought a strong anti-Communist message and lashed Marxist Cuba as the "only Caribbean nation which has totally enveloped itself in Marxism, a philosophy alien to this hemisphere", Obama comes against the backdrop of negotiations to lift the punishing embargo against Cuba.
01
The leaders- Reagan, Seaga, Obama, Castro
Today the Jamaica Observer reproduces excerpts of the address by President Reagan (who was accompanied by his wife Nancy), and the welcome address given by then Jamaican Prime Minister Edward Seaga at a state dinner at King's House:
Nancy and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the warm and gracious welcome that you've given us here in Jamaica. In the hours of flying down here today and seeing many of the islands for the first time and out over the vast blue of the Caribbean, it seemed as if we were getting a long way from home. It's very funny, but I feel very much at home right now.
It's been said here and it's true, Mr Prime Minister, you were the first head of state to visit us in the White House after my Inauguration. From the beginning I felt a special sense of closeness and common purpose with you. Your election was only one week before my own, and we were both given mandates to restore economic health to our respective nations and to secure the freedom which is so dear to us all.
I followed your progress with great interest and admiration as in my country there's still much to do. But I congratulate you for the significant accomplishments that you've already made since our last meeting...For the first time in seven years Jamaica has had real growth in its economy, and inflation has been dramatically reduced. You have set your country on a course for economic progress by making the hard decisions first and sticking to them. And I know from 14 months of experience how difficult that can be. more

Jamaica land 85 medals at 44th Carifta Games....The Jamaicans won 41 gold, 25 silver and 19 bronze medals, the 31st straight time they have topped the table and their second best ever haul since the schedule moved to 66 events, and just shy of the record 89 medals won last year in Fort de France, Martinique.

BY PAUL A REID Observer writer reidp@jamaicaobserver.com  Tuesday, April 07, 2015    
Jamaica's junior athletes once again proved they are the kings and queens of the Caribbean with another dominant display at the annual Carifta Games after amassing 85 medals at the 44th staging of the championships which ended at the newly renamed Kim Collins Stadium in Basseterre, St Kitts, yesterday.
01
JA Winning Team
The Jamaicans won 41 gold, 25 silver and 19 bronze medals, the 31st straight time they have topped the table and their second best ever haul since the schedule moved to 66 events, and just shy of the record 89 medals won last year in Fort de France, Martinique.
The Bahamas finished second on the table with 31 medals, eight gold, 13 silver and 10 bronze; Barbados were next with seven gold, four silver and five bronze; Trinidad and Tobago were fourth with six gold medals, eight silver and eight bronze, while Grenada won a gold, three silver, and four bronze to complete the top five.
Nineteen of the 25 countries that took part won at least one medal, while eight countries won at least a gold medal.
Jaheel Hyde Takes the Win
From Friday's opening session, the Jamaicans took charge and never let go, increasing their dominance with every passing session.
Yesterday, Youth Olympics champion Jaheel Hyde completed his second hurdles double after winning the Under-20 110m hurdles gold medal in a wind-aided 13.36 seconds (3.3m/s) to add to the gold medal he won in the 400m hurdles a day earlier.
Yanique Thompson
Xavier  of The Bahamas was second in 13.51 seconds, just ahead of Seanie Selvin, who took the bronze for Jamaica in 13.57 seconds.
IAAF World Youth champion Yanique Thompson won the girls' Under-20 gold in a wind-aided 13.21 seconds (4.8m/s) leading home teammate Jeanine Williams with 13.40 seconds, while Jeminise Parris of Trinidad and Tobago took the bronze in 13.85 seconds.
Janeek Brown set a new meet record 13.29 seconds (1.2m/s) to win the Under-18 title to break her own record of 13.48 seconds set last year. more

IN JAMAICA: Digicel makes Penn Relays possible for 10 high schools with $1.5 million donation....Over 100 athletes from 10 high schools across Jamaica are now busy making final plans to attend and participate in the 2015 Penn Relays in the US from April 23-25.

 Monday, April 06, 2015    
Over 100 athletes from 10 high schools across Jamaica are now busy making final plans to attend and participate in the 2015 Penn Relays in the US from April 23-25.
This is made possible thanks to donation of $1.5m from telecommunications company Digicel to offset travel, accommodation and nutrition costs for the contingent of athletes.
According to the company's senior sponsorship and development manager Kamal Powell, this is a part of its continued commitment to supporting and developing youth athletics in Jamaica.
Listed as the oldest track and field meet in the USA, thousands of high school and collegiate athletes from across the world will converge at the University of Pennsylvania, at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, to compete in various athletic events.
Chester McCarthy, coach of the Holmwood Technical High School, who will be sending a 25-member contingent to the Relays said, "To be honest, it is going to be a tremendous help to us as right now we are constrained financially, and we weren't sure how we would make it to 'Penns' this year. So it was a big relief when Digicel said they will be helping us. Digicel and Jamaica can expect that we will put this money to good use, as we will definitely be giving of our best during the meet."
In the meantime, Powell said, "As you can imagine, being able to compete at an international level is a great achievement for these young athletes as they not only get to show their talent, but it's also a huge confidence and developmental boost for them. So Digicel is very happy to help to make this happen." more

PALAS Pitter Twins- Law Students at UWI-Mona Campus...Twins aspire to be great lawyers....Between them they have chalked up one accolade after another: honour roll recipients for all their years at Hampton School; certificate and Macmillan trophy for ranking first in Jamaica for CAPE law unit 1 for 2013; Peace and Love Academic Scholarships (PALAS) 2013; and certificates for being the top performers for CAPE Caribbean Studies and law unit 1 at Hampton School in 2012.

By CECELIA CAMPBELL-LIVINGSTON Career & Education reporter
WHEN proud father Grantly Pitter started giving his twin daughters Trishanner and Trishann quizzes on legal issues when they were young girls, little did he know that they would both one day be pursuing careers in law.
PALAS Pitter Twins- Law Students at UWI-Mona Campus
Whether by design or chance, both girls, born on September 7, 1994, share more than just being born minutes apart — they also share a passion for justice and wanting to be a part of the process that will see it happen.
From primary to high school they have been pushing each other to excel, and with that special bond that they share it's been a great journey with them always getting almost identical grades, and now starting the process towards becoming lawyers.
Both girls were accepted to the Sponsored Law Programme at the University of the West Indies for September. This programme will see them doing one year at Mona and the other two at Cave Hill, Barbados.
"Without law, order would be a mere delusion and pandemonium would engulf the earth. We aspire to become lawyers because we wish to play an astoundingly positive role in the future of the protection and preservation of the rights of Caribbean citizens," the girls wrote in an emailed response to Career & Education questions.
The girls are now over the moon, happy especially for their recently released Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Exam (CAPE) grades which saw Trishanner receiving six ones and two twos while Trishanna copped five ones and three twos.
Two years ago, in their Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate exams, Trishanner copped seven ones and two twos while her twin had all nine subjects at grade one.
"We are hardworking, focused, determined, and goal-oriented. We work towards our goals by putting God first in all that we do," the girls said.
For them their study regimen is simple — reviewing their notes very soon after they're given, as they say this prevents them from being swamped.
"We also read complementary information to widen our knowledge base."
They also credited their parents Grantly and Jennifer Robinson as well as their older sister Carmolla for daily inspiration.
And what would scholars be without their teachers? The girls know this well.
"Our teachers at both primary (Santa Cruz Primary) and high school (Hampton) levels have also motivated us by adding fuel to our burning desire for success," the girls said.
Being twins and sharing the same interests is something remarkable for the girls, as they get to study together and test each other on various topics. more

Jamaica increase Carifta Games medal tally to 47.... The Jamaican teams did one better than last year when they won three of the four 4x100m relays and closed the day on 47 medals -- 23 gold, 14 silver and 10 bronze -- but it looks unlikely they will beat the 80-plus medals won last year in Fort de France, Martinique.

BY PAUL A REID Observer writer reidp@jamaicaobsrever.com  Monday, April 06, 2015   
JAMAICAN teams swept the sprint relays last night as they pulled away in the medals table at the 44th Carifta Games at the Kim Collins Stadium in Basseterre, St Kitts.
The Jamaican teams did one better than last year when they won three of the four 4x100m relays and closed the day on 47 medals -- 23 gold, 14 silver and 10 bronze -- but it looks unlikely they will beat the 80-plus medals won last year in Fort de France, Martinique.
Jamaica’s Kimone Shaw powers home to victory in the
Under-18 4x100m relays inside the Kim Collins Stadium in
 Basseterre, St Kitts, last night. (PHOTO: COLLIN REID
 COURTESY OF SUPREME VENTURES AND COURTS)
The Under-20 boys' 4x100m team of Raheem Chambers, Michael O'Hara, Chad Walker and Nigel Ellis ran 40.39 seconds to beat The Bahamas, who clocked 40.41 seconds with Trinidad and Tobago third in 40.55 seconds.
The Under-20 girls' team of Jeanine Williams, Yanique Thompson, Saqukine Cameron and Natalliah Whyte ran 45.20 seconds to easily win over The Bahamas in 45.59 seconds, and Trinidad and Tobago in 47.64 seconds.
IAAF World junior champion and National Junior Record (NJR) holder Jaheel Hyde easily won the Under-20 boys' 400m hurdles on yesterday's third day to remain unbeaten in the event over the last two years.
Hyde, who set a NJR 49.02 seconds last weekend at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys' and Girls' Championships, was easy as he cruised to a 50.96-second clocking to add the gold to the Under-18 title he won last year in Fort de France, Martinique.
Hyde's teammate Marvin Williams repeated his silver medal from last year, running 51.11 seconds with Barbados's Stephen Griffiths taking the bronze in 51.77 seconds. more

Kwasi Enin got accepted Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, Yale (all eight Ivy League universities) ....How Do You Sweep The Ivy League? Practice — The Viola. (Really.)

Kwasi Enin
By now, you may have heard about Kwasi Enin, the impressive young man from Long Island who has been accepted into the classes of 2018 at Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, Yale (all eight Ivy League universities) as well as Duke and three campuses of the State University of New York. And you may have read about his stellar achievements: the 2250 on his SATs, his 11 Advanced Placement courses, his encouragement from his parents, both nurses who immigrated from Ghana in the 1980s, and his volunteer work at Stony Brook University Hospital's radiology department. You may have even heard it mentioned that the 17-year-old from Shirley, N.Y. plays in his public high school orchestra.
But what you may not know is that he has played the much-maligned viola for nine years, or how much music — and specifically classical music as well as the doo-wop group he sings in — seems to mean to him. (Also, it couldn't possibly have hurt his 12 winning college applications that he plays a pretty unpopular instrument.)
The New York Post quoted yesterday from his essay, but Business Insider linked to what they say is Enin's full piece (though it clearly says at the top "Draft #4"). In it, Enin writes that he simply enrolled in orchestra to meet a state requirement, but it became "the first self-taught and the longest course I have ever taken":
Music has become the spark of my intellectual curiosity. I directly developed my capacity to think creatively around problems due to the infinite possibilities in music. There are millions of combinations of key signatures, chords, melodies, and rhythms ... As I began to explore a minute fraction of these combinations from the third grade onwards, my mind began to formulate roundabout methods to solve any mathematical problem, address any literature prompt, and discover any exit in an undesirable situation. ... Lastly, music has become the educator that has taught me the importance of leadership, teamwork and friendship.
He concludes: "My haven for solace in and away from home is in the world of composers, harmonies and possibilities. My musical haven has shaped my character and without it, my life would not be half as wonderful as it is today."
I'm a little biased here as a one-time violist, avid champion of music I love and an alumna of one of the schools he might attend (not that I think that a Big Brand Name University is the key to personal happiness and fulfillment). And I hope Kwasi's experience doesn't become fodder for the junk science of the "Mozart Effect." But it is so nice to see an example of how playing music has helped make a young man shine — and, more importantly, how much pleasure and fun it has given him throughout his life. All I can say is: Go, Kwasi!

Downtown Kingston gets performing and visual arts facility....Simon Bolivar Cultural Centre to open to the public soon... The facility, which is a multi-purpose centre for the performing and visual arts, was refurbished by the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) at a cost of $4.13 million.

Monday, April 06, 2015    
JAMAICANS will soon have the opportunity to learn about and experience the culture of Venezuela when the Símon Bolívar Cultural Centre in downtown Kingston opens its doors in another week.
Chairman of the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) Senator
 KD Knight (right) shares his thoughts regarding a small exhibit
 mounted at the Símon Bolívar Cultural Centre, in honour of the
 man for whom it is named. The senator was on a tour of the
 renovated building last Thursday prior to officially handing over
its management and operation to the Institute of Jamaica
 (IOJ), during a ceremony at the centre’s location in downtown
 Kingston. Also viewing the display (from left) are: General
Manager of UDC Desmond Malcolm; Director, UDC, Sonia
 Hyman; and Board Chairman, Programmes Coordination
 Division, IOJ, Dr Deborah Hickling.
The facility, which is a multi-purpose centre for the performing and visual arts, was refurbished by the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) at a cost of $4.13 million.
It will be managed and operated by the Institute of Jamaica (IOJ) following Thursday's official handover by the UDC during a ceremony at the centre's location at 10-12 North Parade.
Speaking at the event, chairman of the UDC, Senator KD Knight said the renovation works are in keeping with the agency's redevelopment plan for downtown Kingston.
He noted that a key reason for its establishment was to "have an edifice in honour of the Símon Bolívar, who is a national hero in Venezuela, and who was exiled here in Jamaica".
"There was also the desire to expose our youth to the culture regionally, so that there will be provisions here for that purpose, and we are very happy that we have come to this stage of the process that we can hand over the keys to IOJ, and they now will ensure that the vision, the concept will be implemented fully," he said.
Senator Knight expressed the hope that Jamaicans will take advantage of facilities being provided for cultural education, performances, and exhibits.
"We hope that visitors to the shore, touring downtown, will see this is an important building for them to come to see the exhibitions and so on," he said.
He informed of plans to renovate the centre's environs "to see what kind of retrofitting can be done to those buildings to make the entire area more pleasant." more

President Barack Obama and Jamaican David Panton share common feat...the first black president of the Harvard Law Review (HLR). Only two black men have held that post. Obama, president of the United States, and Jamaican David Panton. Mr. Panton is a graduate of Princeton University, Harvard University and Rhode Scholar at Oxford University in England.

BY HOWARD CAMPBELL Observer writer  Monday, April 06, 2015    
IN February, the liberal Huffington Post website republished a New York Times feature from 1990 on 28-year-old Barack Obama becoming the first black president of the Harvard Law Review (HLR).
01
David Panton & President Barack Obama-  Former President of the Harvard Law Review (HLR).
Only two black men have held that post. Obama, president of the United States, and Jamaican David Panton.
Obama, who visits Jamaica on Wednesday, retains the universal celebrity that accompanied his historic election as US president in November 2008.
Panton, a successful financier in Atlanta, is largely unknown to his countrymen. A former member of the Jamaica Labour Party's youth affiliate, G2K, he served briefly in the Senate before migrating.
Professor Orlando Patterson, a Jamaican sociologist, is a senior member of the Arts and Sciences faculty at Harvard. He told the Jamaica Observer that it is "hardly surprising" that Panton never attained political success in Jamaica.
"Jamaica is a funny place. Whom Jamaicans choose to recognise is a mystery," said Patterson.
According to the 74-year-old academic, being president of the HLR is a big deal at Harvard and in American legal circles. The most influential legal minds in the country often use the publication as reference in high-profile cases.
Obama is among a distinguished list of HLR presidents who went on to achieve. Others include Supreme Court justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John G Roberts, Jr, and Antonin Scalia; former New York governor Eliot Spitzer; current Republican senator and presidential hopeful Ted Cruz; and Jeffrey Toobin, a senior legal analyst at CNN.
(L-R) OBAMA… retains the universal celebrity that accompanied
 his historic election as US president. PATTERSON… my sense
 generally is that academics are not recognised in Jamaica.
 PANTON… was not involved in politics long enough to grow on
Jamaicans politically.
After flirting briefly with politics, Panton moved to Atlanta where he operates Panton Capital Holdings, a private equity business. He was recently named one of the Atlanta Business Chronicle's '40 Under 40' Rising Stars.
Patterson, who was an adviser to Jamaica's prime minister Michael Manley from 1972-79, remembers Panton's election as HLR president. He believes it is difficult for people like him to make a mark in Jamaica.
"My sense generally is that academics are not recognised in Jamaica. People are more into persons in popular culture, sports and finance... It's the nature of the Jamaican standard," he said. more

Combating Cancer With An Everyday Pantry Item....Did you know…that baking soda has been shown to fight cancer, stave off colds and flu, and even treat radiation poisoning…all for just pennies a day? After 10 days of daily dosing with a special baking soda solution, Johnston went in for a second bone scan. After a few days of frantic waiting, the results finally arrived: “No convincing evidence of an osseous metastatic process.” In other words, the baking soda had stopped his cancer.

baking soda and cancerDid you know…that baking soda has been shown to fight cancer, stave off colds and flu, and even treat radiation poisoningall for just pennies a day?
Vernon Johnston has a very important question for you: “do you want to live?” That was the question he asked himself when he was diagnosed with stage IV prostate cancer in 2008.
His answer was a resounding “yes!” Despite the fact that the doctor who diagnosed his cancer told him there were no treatment options, Johnston is still alive today, thanks to sodium bicarbonate, more commonly known as baking soda.

One Man’s “Dance with Cancer”

By the time Johnston’s cancer was diagnosed, it had already spread to his bones. When his doctor delivered the news, Johnston remembers thinking, Stage IVThere is no stage V. But his online research led him to a website promoting the Baking Soda And Cancer Cure.  This became the cornerstone of Johnston’s self-applied treatment program.
After 10 days of daily dosing with a special baking soda solution, Johnston went in for a second bone scan. After a few days of frantic waiting, the results finally arrived: “No convincing evidence of an osseous metastatic process.” In other words, the baking soda had stopped his cancer.

Stopping Fungus Might Stop Cancer

Two medical pioneers–Mark Sircus, Ac., OMD and Dr. Simonchini, an oncologist in Rome–have conducted compelling research on the potential of baking soda and cancer treatment.
Their groundbreaking work is based the hypothesis that fungal infections and cancer proliferation are connected, and that stopping the fungus can stop the cancer.
According to health writer Mike Adams of Natural News, “Dr. Simonchini “originally made the connection between fungal infections and cancer proliferation. He realized that when a tumor was flushed with baking soda (which is anti-fungal), it shrank and completely disappeared within days.”
Dr. Sircus expanded on this research further, exploring the effects of ingesting baking soda to halt cancer.

Baking Soda for Colds and Flu

Research has shown that baking soda can also be helpful in combating contagious illnesses like colds and flus. With cold weather arriving fast, many are seeking natural alternatives to harsh and ineffective antibiotics and vaccines.
For those who wish to use baking soda for that purpose, experts recommend the following dosage:
Day 1: Consume a total of 6 doses of half a teaspoon of baking soda in 1 cup of water. Take at 2-hour intervals.
Day 2: Continue the same protocol, but reduce to 4 doses.
Day 3: Consume only 2 doses, 1 in the morning and another at night.
Day 4: Continue on day 4 and thereafter with 1 dose in the morning until illness is cured. 
read more...

Jamaican 15-year-old star Christopher Taylor clocks 46.64secs in 400m, breaks Bolt’s 13-y-o Carifta Game Record ...Meanwhile, Jamaican Akeem Bloomfied won the Under-20 boys’ 400m in a modest 45.85 seconds

01
Jamaican star Christopher Taylor (right) approaches the
 finish line ahead to win the Under-18 400m in a new record
of 46.64 seconds inside the Kim Collins Stadium in Basseterre,
St Kitts, yesterday. (PHOTO: COLLIN REID COURTESY
OF SUPREME VENTURES AND COURTS)
Jamaica’s Christopher Taylor was one of the outstanding athletes on yesterday’s second day of the 44th Carifta Games at the Silver Jubilee Stadium — to be renamed the Kim Collins — Stadium in Basseterre, St Kitts, as he broke Usain Bolt’s 13-year-old record in the Under-18 boys’ 400m.
The 15-year-old Taylor, who won the Class Two event at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Championships last weekend, ran 46.64 seconds to erase Bolt’s 47.33 seconds set in 2002 in Nassau, The Bahamas.
Jacob St Clair of Trinidad and Tobago was also under the old mark with 46.73 seconds to take silver, while Devaughn Ellington of Jamaica was third with a personal best 47.43 seconds.
Ellington just edged The Bahamas’s Jamal Walton, last year’s bronze medallist who was also clocked in at 47.43 seconds.    
Jamaica won three of the four 400m gold medals and both of the girls 100m titles to finish the day with a preliminary count of 29 medals comprising 14 gold, seven silver and eight bronze.
The Bahamas had won 13 medals with four gold, two silver and seven bronze, while Barbados won two gold in their seven-medal haul so far.
A number of results of field events had not been posted at press time last night and the medal count could swell even further.
Shellece Clarke (centre) of Jamaica eases after crossing
 the finish line to win the Under-18 100m final ahead of Tristan
Evelyn (left) of Barbados and Brianne Bethel
 (right) of The Bahamas.
(PHOTOS: COLLIN REID COURTESY OF
 SUPREME VENTURES AND COURTS)
Meanwhile, Akeem Bloomfied won the Under-20 boys’ 400m in a modest 45.85 seconds, by his standards, getting to the line ahead Antigua and Barbuda’s Rai Benjamin in 46.19 seconds and The Bahamas’s Henri Deluze in 46.81 seconds.
Shaquania Dorsett of The Bahamas won the Under-20 girls’ 400m in 53.40 seconds, getting home ahead of the Jamaican pair of Dawnalee Loney in 53.58 seconds and Tiffany James in 53.71 seconds.
Junelle Bromfield was dominant in the Under-18 girls’ final, running away to win in 53.48 seconds to finish ahead of teammate Shanique Walker in 54.23 seconds, and Grenada’s Meleni Rodney in 54.56 seconds.
Shellece Clarke and Natalliah Whyte won the Under-18 and Under-20 girls’ 100m titles, while the boys had to settle for lesser medals in the stellar event of the day.
Clarke ran 11.50 seconds (1.3m/s) to win her first gold with Barbados’s Tristan Evelyn second in 11.54 seconds and Brianne Bethel of The Bahamas taking the bronze in 11.63 seconds.
Whyte, who won the Under-18 last year, stepped up to the Under-20 without missing a beat and clocked 11.56 seconds (0.5m/s) to hold off Kianna Albury of The Bahamas in 11.64 seconds and her teammate Jenae Ambrose in 11.74 seconds. more