HEALTH NEWS : Adrenal fatigue and the role of the hormone cortisol.... Try to eliminate alcohol to reduce high cortisol levels.....Low salt intake is necessary to reduce high cortisol levels.
Sunday, June 07, 2015
The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprises him most about humanity, he said, "Man. He sacrifices himself to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate health. And then he is so anxious about the future, he does not enjoy the present."
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| The adrenal glands sitting atop the kidneys. |
That describes the rat race in which we live. Like the Energiser Bunny, we keep going and going and going.
Maybe I should speak for myself, but I know I am not alone. Sacrificing ourselves - and the poor adrenal gland feels the brunt of that sacrifice.
The adrenal gland is that little gland at the top of the kidney, little but very important as the storehouse of many of the hormones we need to fight, or to have flight, to endure stressful times.
At high levels it acts as an anti-inflammatory and increases blood sugar. These are good things, at first.
Our immune system is on high alert, and we have elevated blood glucose levels to do what we need to do, even if we do not eat. In an effort to create a balance, it then also begins to suppress the thyroid gland and this helps to slow us back down. Nature will always create balance with an inherent feedback mechanism. The aim of this is to prevent more cortisol release.
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| Try to eliminate alcohol to reduce high cortisol levels. |
But what happens when the stress is chronic? The feedback mechanisms do not work as they were not designed for that. Your blood sugar levels continue to be high. If you don't exercise, and curb eating, then insulin is secreted in excess. What happens next? Diabetes. The great anti-inflammatory effects we had at first, from cortisol, now become dysfunctional.
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| Low salt intake is necessary to reduce high cortisol levels. |
Food intolerances, weird allergies, chronic infections, pain issues now become more common. The pain is everywhere. This we are now beginning to understand are the roots of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. The interplay with other hormones also become dysfunctional. Osteoporosis is accelerated, cortisol is a steroid, after all. Fat begins to accumulate in the waist and protein breaks down more, because of insulin excess. Salt and water retention increase, hunger increases, insomnia is worse. These are effects of the steroid. more
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TRELAWNY, JAMAICA: A hidden treasure! Bunker’s Hill looks to ‘X-perience’ attraction for jobs .....Clover Gordon, a resident of Adelphi, St James, who operates the attraction, describes the start-up of the project as "a divine intervention".
MARK CUMMINGS Editor-at-Large Western Bureau cummings@jamaicaobserver.com Thursday, June 11, 2015
BUNKER'S HILL, Trelawny
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| Visitors to the Bunker’s Hill Cultural X-perience and River Tour enjoy the waterfalls at the attraction. |
THE venture is yet to be completed, but already Bunker's Hill residents are upbeat about the benefits to be derived from the community's newest and unique attraction -- the Bunker's Hill Cultural X-perience and River Tour.
The attraction which lies close to the Bunker's Hill/Dromilly border in Trelawny, features a botanical garden, cascading waterfalls and a huge cave, believed to be used as a hideout by chief of the Maroons Cudjoe, and his followers in the 18th century.
An office, a gift shop, a reception area, and a kitchen, which serves up mouth-watering dishes and delicious juices, are also located on the lush property.
Clover Gordon, a resident of Adelphi, St James, who operates the attraction, describes the start-up of the project as "a divine intervention".
"I didn't even know Bunker's Hill, but after three days of fasting in 2012 I was told through divine intervention that 'what I have to give you now is not limited to Jamaica, but it is for the world'. Then I was told 'Vivienne rivers'. So I went in search of all the Viviennes I know, and then I remembered that the name of my driver's girlfriend is Vivienne, and I remembered too that she said that her mother has a property with a river in Bunker's Hill," Gordon told the Jamaica Observer West.
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| (R) Bunker’s Hill resident Charles McKenzie enjoys a bowl of soup at the community’s newest attraction. (L) GRAY… the attraction is nice, but the roads leading to it are terrible. |
"The voice also said build thatch roof, look about traditional Jamaican food, you are going to get tourists, no alcoholic beverage must be served where you are, and everything must be natural, even the food... so I am going by that order," Gordon added.
Gordon said after making contact with Viviene, she and her husband, Obrian, visited the property and were "very impressed with its potential".
Work began on the site a year later.
Since then, the attraction has welcomed hundreds of visitors.
Kaliese Spencer wins 400mH in Oslo, VCB finishes 2nd in 100m
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| Kaliese Spencer |
OSLO, Norway — Defending Diamond League winner Kaliese Spencer stopped the clock with a commanding world-leading time of 54.15 seconds to take the 400m hurdles at the Oslo meet here Thursday.
Spencer, who currently heads the table with 12 points, finished ahead of American Georganne Moline (54.29) and The Czech Republic’s Zuzana Hejnová (55.14).
Meanwhile, Spencer’s compatriot Veronica Campbell-Brown was beaten into second in the women’s 100m event.
Campbell-Brown finished in a time of 11.08 seconds behind Murielle Ahoure (11.03) of the Ivory Coast.
Brazil’s Christina Oliveiera was third in a time of 11.27 seconds. more
CLAIM: HACKERS STOLE EVERY FEDERAL EMPLOYEE'S SSN......Social Security Numbers Of Every Federal Employee Stolen In Data Breach, Union Says
AP Posted: 06/11/2015 4:01 pm EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hackers stole personnel data and Social Security numbers for every federal employee, a government worker union said Thursday, asserting that the cyber theft of U.S. employee information was more damaging than the Obama administration has acknowledged.
Sen. Harry Reid, the Democratic leader, said on the Senate floor that the December hack into Office of Personnel Management data was carried out by "the Chinese" without specifying whether he meant the Chinese government or individuals. Reid is one of eight lawmakers briefed on the most secret intelligence information. U.S. officials have declined to publicly blame China, which has denied involvement.
J. David Cox, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said in a letter to OPM director Katherine Archuleta that based on the incomplete information the union received from OPM, "We believe that the Central Personnel Data File was the targeted database, and that the hackers are now in possession of all personnel data for every federal employee, every federal retiree, and up to one million former federal employees." The OPM data file contains the records of non-military, non-intelligence executive branch employees, which covers most federal civilian employees but not, for example, members of Congress and their staffs.
The union believes the hackers stole military records and veterans' status information, address, birth date, job and pay history, health insurance, life insurance and pension information; and age, gender and race data, he said. The letter was obtained by The Associated Press. more
IN JAMAICA (AN INSPIRATIONAL & POSITIVE STORY) : Damion Lawrence – From Illiterate To 1st Year Law Student at UWI is a Future Advocate... Lawrence a 2015 PALAS applicant has come a far way from the 13-year-old who had no interest in school, was illiterate, repeated classes, and saw going to school as a complete waste of time.
Published:Thursday | June 11, 2015Cecelia Campbell-Livingston
FIRST-YEAR Law student Damion Lawrence has come a far way from the 13-year-old who had no interest in school, was illiterate, repeated classes, and saw going to school as a complete waste of time.
FIRST-YEAR Law student Damion Lawrence has come a far way from the 13-year-old who had no interest in school, was illiterate, repeated classes, and saw going to school as a complete waste of time.
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| Damion Lawrence |
A lot has changed since then, thanks to his mother, Phillipia Nelson, who refused to give up on him in spite of his unwillingness to apply himself to schoolwork.
"I would never have thought I would have gained the ability to read. I showed no improvement in my schoolwork, I repeated classes when I was in the normal school system and, getting older to my teenage years, all hope was definitely lost," he told Rural Xpress.
Lawrence's mother would tell him time and time again that it's an embarrassment to see his name on a bulla and eat it!
"Thankfully, I had a mother who always wanted the best for me, even when I did not want it for myself. At the age of 12, I could not read as I was diagnosed with a learning disorder, and faced with the criticism of society. I was forced to believe that I was a slow learner and I initially accepted this," he said.
But his mother, who saw beyond his inability, enrolled him in a special-needs school - the Edge Hill School of Special Education, which caters to students who are slow learners and who are faced with other cognitive challenges.
"I was always determined to make something of my life though being enrolled in this institution and, with the assistance of my teachers, I pushed myself towards learning to read," he said.
Lawrence made a discovery while attending Ocho Rios High School Special Ed Unit - that it's never too late to make something worthwhile of your life. That was the turning point in his life, where everything changed.
"I definitely did not want to spend another year in the Special Ed Unit, because, during that time, the students from the unit were looked down on as dysfunctional. Secondly, one of my classmates was selected to enter into the normal school system and I was determined that I wanted to matriculate into the normal school system as well and not to be left behind," he said.
Determined To Achieve
Determined that he could achieve whatever he set his mind to, Lawrence set about proving just that. It was not an easy road, as he had to work hard to drastically bring his grades up to the acceptance level. With determination on his side and a very supportive mother, he earned his desire to be a part of the regular school programme.
His path to law was brought about through watching a TV series called The Good Wife, where he had a lot of admiration for the actress's enthusiasm about her job. more
KINGSTON, Jamaica (SO SO SAD): 8-y-o Chad Robinson suspected to have committed SUICIDE. Chad's mother, Shelly-Ann Levy, said she tried everything to revive the child, who residents remembered as jovial and energetic youth. "Mi try everything; all CPR mi try to save mi son," said Levy. "What could make an eight-year-old act in that manner?" asked one woman, as others claimed that it could be the work of demons
June 10, 2015 Jamaica Observer
KINGSTON, Jamaica - The police's Corporate Communications Unit a short while ago issued a news release identifying the eight-year-old that is suspected to have committed suicide at his home in Gordon Town on Tuesday night.
He is Chad Robinson of Dublin Castle.
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| Chad Robinson |
It was further reported that he was later found hanging by shoe laces from a ladder in the yard.
The police were summoned, the scene processed and his body removed.
Up to Wednesday evening, police were still conducting interviews and investigating the circumstances surrounding the boy's death. PIERCING screams from a despondent mother Tuesday night drew the attention of dozens of people in the sleepy farming community of Gordon Town, where the frail body of her eight-year-old child -- Chad Michael Robinson -- was found hanging by a shoelace.
The discovery rocked the rural St Andrew community and left several residents asking questions, even as allegations swirled that the case could have been a suicide.
Yesterday, police investigators who were still combing the area for clues, declined to comment on the claims, but this did nothing to quell the fury of irate residents who demanded answers as they speculated about the incident.
Residents reported that about 9:00 pm on Tuesday, eight-year-old Chad, his 10-year-old brother, and another childhood friend ventured over to their neighbour's house, a location where they normally hang out and play.
The children, residents said, started arguing over a shoelace, which adults considered a trivial matter and did not bother to intervene.
Minutes later, two of the children returned without Chad.
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| Chad Robinson’s mother Shelly-Ann Levy shows a detective (centre) where her son was found hanging Tuesday night, while her common-law husband Otis Reid listens. (PHOTO: LIONEL ROOKWOOD) |
Mother and stepfather of the child said that queries were made about the whereabouts of the boy and, when no word was forthcoming, they went over to the house to locate the child. That was when the frail and lifeless frame of the child was found dangling from the shoelace that was said to be the centre of the argument earlier.
"When I saw the body of Chad I ran over [and] tried to lift his body to take off the weight," said Otis Reid, the child's stepfather. He said that after several attempts he was unable to pull the cord and had to cut it.
Chad's mother, Shelly-Ann Levy, said she tried everything to revive the child, who residents remembered as jovial and energetic youth. "Mi try everything; all CPR mi try to save mi son," said Levy.
Yesterday, Levy tried hard to hold back the tears as she recounted the horrific ordeal when she found her child. With her voice trembling, at one time she held her stomach as she tried to regain composure.
Yesterday, as police continued their probe, residents gathered at the wooden gate to the concrete house perched on the hillside. "Right now, everybody in the area puzzled," said one resident, who identified himself only as Mark.
He was among several residents who all whispered among themselves seemingly in a desperate attempt to make sense of what had happened. moreLUCEA, HANOVER : Lotto scam murder... Police bust man in shooting death of 14-year-old student, brother... The deceased have been identified as Leon Grant, 14, and 20-year-old unemployed Travis 'Shane' McKenzie
LUCEA, Hanover BY HORACE HINES Observer West reporter Thursday, June 11, 2015
THE Hanover police have taken one man into custody in connection with the brutal slaying of a 14-year-old Rhodes Hall High School male student and his brother during a pre-dawn attack at their home in Lucea on Tuesday.
Investigators have linked the murders to the multi-million-dollar lottery scam targeting United States citizens, most of them elderly.
The deceased have been identified as Leon Grant, 14, and 20-year-old unemployed Travis 'Shane' McKenzie, both of Malcolm Drive, Lucea.
Their 24-year-old sister and stepfather have being treated for gunshot wounds sustained during the incident.
The double murder brought to 14 the number of homicides recorded by the Hanover police since the start of the year -- one shy of the 15 reported during the corresponding period in 2014.
The episode occurred about 2:00am Tuesday, after masked men kicked open the front door to the home and started shooting.
The schoolboy was hauled outside the house and shot execution style, even as his mother hurled a hammer at his killers, a police source told the Jamaica Observer West.
This led the detectives to surmise that McKenzie may have been the target of the attack because the shooters did not attempt to harm his mother when she went to her son's assistance.
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| The 14-year-old Rhodes Hall High student who was killed. |
Investigators later removed spent shells, fired from AK-47 and M-16 rifles, .9mm and .45 pistols, from the scene.
Gunshot holes that dotted the front section of the wooden structure served as a vivid reminder of the episode.
An incident on Labour Day in which a car belonging to a family member was shot up foreshadowed Tuesday's attack.
When the Observer West visited the Rhodes Hall High School, traumatised staff members and students were fighting to come to grips with the tragedy.
Principal Loreen Aljoe said the slain teen possessed leadership qualities. more
Vast Majority Of Jamaicans Remain Adamantly Opposed Same Sex Marriage....The study done by LAPOP found that 89 per cent of Jamaicans disapproved of same-sex marriage, with only 2.2 per cent strongly approving.
An international study has found that the vast majority of Jamaicans remain adamantly opposed to same-sex marriage, even as the acceptance of such a union has been increasing in neighbouring regional states and the Americas.
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| File Photo |
The study done by the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) found that 89 per cent of Jamaicans disapproved of same-sex marriage, with only 2.2 per cent strongly approving.
This is nearly 20 per cent more than the 70 per cent found by pollster Bill Johnson in a Gleaner-commissioned poll in 2008.
Titled Political Culture of Democracy in Jamaica and in the Americas, 2014, the study also found that in 2014, only 16 per cent of Jamaicans displayed approval for homosexuals' right to run for office in Jamaica. This reflects a decline from the 20.8 per cent approval in 2012.
The surveys, which were carried out in face-to-face interviews in 2012, using national representatives stratified and clustered-probability samples in both urban and rural areas, also found Jamaicans are more likely to support the political rights of advocacy groups and organisations described as 'regime critics' than homosexuals.
26 COUNTRIES
Described as The AmericanBarometer 2014, the study included 26 countries in the Americas and more than 41,000 interviews, which allows for comparison of the results of each individual country with others of the region.
Some 41.6 per cent expressed preference for the political rights of regime critics, while 16 per cent endorsed the political rights of homosexuals.
The question of whether homosexuals should be allowed to seek public office has been a subject of public debate in Jamaica for some time. It is a question that was raised during an interview with a journalist on the BBC's 'HARDtalk' programme, in 2008, that prompted former Prime Minister Bruce Golding to declare: "Not in my Cabinet!" more
'Jinx', Bolt and the power and danger of social media...."Between the bikes... loud, horrid music, parties and screams, I honestly wish he would go back to where he came from. He's a horrible neighbour. I cannot wait to move,"
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
The social media revolution is not over, by far. One can safely conclude that it has had possibly the greatest impact on free speech and communication of all times, rivalling the newspaper and even threatening its existence. But that, of course, is not the end of the story.
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| Usain Bolt / Jodi Stewart-Henriques |
Recently, we've seen a demonstration of the sheer power, but also the danger, of social media in all its unbridled glory, when the wife of entertainer Sean Paul, Mrs Jodi Stewart-Henriques, popularly called 'Jinx', complained about intolerable noise coming from a neighbouring property in upscale Norbrook, St Andrew, allegedly owned by Mr Usain Bolt, the revered runner and world's fastest man.
"Between the bikes... loud, horrid music, parties and screams, I honestly wish he would go back to where he came from. He's a horrible neighbour. I cannot wait to move," 'Jinx' posted on Facebook. She added that her recourse to the police for help had been futile because "it's Bolt".
The complaint went viral on social media and had tongues wagging intensely, until 'Jinx' issued a comprehensive apology, which suggested that something happened in the interim to make her change her mind about the tone and content of her initial complaint.
"After some much-needed introspection, I would like to publicly apologise for the comments made about Usain Bolt. Not only were they unwarranted, but also highly inappropriate, and for this I am truly sorry," she said in a letter to the editor.
"My intention was never to degrade or disrespect anyone, but without realising, I did. I allowed pent-up frustration to get the better of me and did not conduct myself in a respectful manner. I apologise to those persons who I hurt, including friends, family, my husband, and the Jamaican people at large, but especially Usain Bolt."
The problem is that whether the apology was coerced from her by her husband or Mr Bolt's lawyers, or was genuinely of her own decision, the damage was already done. Mr Bolt being world renowned made the international news as a result, and not for breaking a record!
It is instructive that the letter of apology was sent to a newspaper. We are not at all surprised.
If indeed the complaint was first sent to a newspaper that follows the tenets of journalism, efforts would have been made to ascertain the truth of Mrs Stewart-Henriques' complaint, with comments from Mr Bolt, prior to publication. more
FDA Panel Backs New Drug That Could Drastically Lower Cholesterol.... A panel of experts recommended voted 13-3 to recommend the Food and Drug Administration approve Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceutical's injectable drug.
Associated Press Posted: 06/09/2015 5:48 pm EDT
GAITHERSBURG, Md. (AP) — Federal health advisers are recommending approval for a highly-anticipated cholesterol drug, but with the caveat that more data is needed about its long-term ability to reduce heart attacks.
A panel of experts recommended voted 13-3 to recommend the Food and Drug Administration approve Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceutical's injectable drug.
But in a surprising development, a number of panelists said the drug should only be used in patients with abnormally high cholesterol levels caused by an inherited disorder. Before it is used more broadly, most panelists said they wanted to see more data about whether the drug ultimately reduces heart problems.
The drug is part of an experimental class of medicines that lower cholesterol more than statins, the older medications that have been the standard treatment for more than 20 years. more
Judge Orders Inmate's Release After More Than 40 Years In Solitary Confinement....After 40 Years in Solitary, Angola 3 Prisoner Albert Woodfox Ordered Freed for 3rd Time in Louisiana
AP | By CAIN BURDEAU
Posted: 06/08/2015 11:14 pm EDT
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The last of the "Angola Three" inmates, whose decades in solitary confinement on a Louisiana prison farm drew international condemnation and became the subject of two documentaries, was ordered released Monday.
The ruling would free 68-year-old Albert Woodfox after more than 40 years in solitary, which human rights experts have said constitutes torture.
U.S. District Judge James Brady of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, ordered the release of Woodfox and took the extraordinary step of barring Louisiana prosecutors from trying him for a third time. A spokesman for the Louisiana attorney general said the state would appeal Brady's ruling to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals "to make sure this murderer stays in prison and remains fully accountable for his actions."
Tory Pegram of the International Coalition to Free the Angola 3, who is working with Woodfox's lawyers on his release, said they are all "thrilled that justice has come for our innocent friend."
Woodfox was placed in solitary confinement in 1972 after being charged in the death of a Louisiana State Penitentiary guard in April of that year. The prison farm is more commonly known as the Angola prison and it is Louisiana's only maximum-security prison. more
Move Over Coconut Oil, Pumpkin Seed Oil Has Beauty Benefits Too
Thrive Market June 7, 2015
Coconut oil may be the reigning queen of oils—and for a ton of good reasons—but pumpkin seed oil is worthy of a royal title of its own when it comes to beauty.
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| Pumpin Seeds |
The iconic orange fruit pops up in everything during the fall months, including spiced lattes and rich, creamy pies, but it tends to fall off the map after Thanksgiving dinner ends. And that’s a shame, because pumpkins—particularly the pumpkin seeds—are packed full of vitamins, fatty acids, and omega-3s that can boost your beauty naturally. How? Let us count the ways.
That Gorgeous Glow
The amount of antioxidants and fatty acids found in pumpkin seed oil help your skin retain moisture, while the vitamins A and E helps improve your skin’s texture and tone. The zinc also works to fight free radicals, meaning it’ll give you a youthful glow.
And—like coconut oil—pumpkin seed oil is a carrier, meaning you don’t have to mix it with anything else before slathering it on your skin. (Though you can mix it with essential oils if you want the aroma.) Simply rub it onto clean skin, or add equal parts of tea tree oil or witch hazel to create an anti-acne toner that will keep your skin balanced all summer long.
Tresses That Rival Rapunzel’s
All of the vitamins and fatty acids that make pumpkin seed oil so great for your skin makes it great for your hair, too. Pumpkin seeds are rich in vitamin K, a vital nutrient needed for strong and shiny hair. The zinc also helps with scalp health.
Sold? Create a simple deep conditioner by combining one tablespoon of shea butter to one tablespoon of pumpkin seed oil. Add the mixture to freshly washed hair and leave on for 20 minutes before rinsing.
Goodbye, Hair Breakage
Can this oil really stop your hair from falling out? Recent research says yes. According to a 2014 study from a group of Korean researchers, pumpkin seed oil inhibits 5-alpha reductase, an enzyme that is said to produce DHT from testosterone. Translation: It won’t make new hair grow, but it could help strengthen the hair and keep more of it from falling out.
A Key Player in the Kitchen
Yes, you can cook with pumpkin seed oil, but don’t assume you can use it exactly like you do olive or coconut oil. The dark, nutty flavor works well in marinades or dressings, but it has a low smoke point, meaning it loses its nutrition when heated.
You can also drink it straight to absorb its antioxidant benefits, which lets the oil do its magic from the inside out. more
IN JAMAICA (UPDATE) : Lisa Hanna Recuperating Following Car Crash On Highway 2000
The Youth and Culture Minister Lisa Hanna is at home recuperating following a car crash along Highway 2000 near the Spanish Town exit last night.
Eyewitnesses say the Honda Accord had reduced its speed on approaching the scene of an accident on the highway. That's when the vehicle in which Hanna was travelling slammed into its rear resulting in extensive damage to both vehicles.
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| Lisa Hanna |
The Minister told The Gleaner/Power 106 News a short while ago that although she sustained no fractures or broken bones, she was in tremendous chest pain from the airbag and seat belt impact. Hanna said she also received minor seatbelt burns.
"The impact was severe," Hanna said. Last night, the minister underwent a series of x-rays and CT scan.
Hanna was a passenger in a white motor car which slammed into the back of a Honda Accord motor car.
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| The crashed vehicle |
The five occupants of the Honda Accord also sustained injuries particularly whiplash and are being treated at hospital. more
JAMAICA records 5% increase in tourist arrivals for the 2014/15 winter tourist season — TOURISM and Entertainment Minister Dr Wykeham McNeill
Tuesday, June 09, 2015
TOURISM and Entertainment Minister Dr Wykeham McNeill says Jamaica recorded a five per cent increase in overall visitor arrivals for the 2014/15 winter tourist season over the corresponding period last year.
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| MCNEILL ... wants a year-round tourist season without the traditional breaks. |
Speaking at the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association's (JHTA) 54th annual general meeting and convention at Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa in Montego Bay on Saturday, Dr McNeill said Jamaica recorded a 9.1 per cent increase in stopover arrivals from the United States, with 445,000 visitors coming from that country between January and April 2015.
This was 37,000 more than the corresponding period in 2014.
The minister said 61,670 visitors arrived from the United Kingdom, up from 48,363 last year, representing a 27.5 per cent increase, and described this as a "marked improvement over previous years."
He further said that cruise ship passenger arrivals increased by 11.2 per cent for the period under review, compared to 2014.
The minister attributed these outturns to renewed and significant growth in the United States, Jamaica's largest source market, as well as the United Kingdom and Europe.
Dr McNeill said based on these figures, Jamaica should record a positive 2015 summer tourist season, with expectations high for the autumn, and 2015/16 winter periods, based on the continual upward trend in visitor arrivals.
"The sector continues to perform well, even with the challenges we are having with the harsh (global) economic environment. We are building on the successes of 2014, which was, again, another record year for Jamaica in which we broke the two million (stopover arrivals) mark again," he pointed out. more
IN JAMAICA: GSAT Clarity... Minister Says Majority Of Students Will Get Their Choice Schools (AUDIO)
The Education Ministry has issued a statement seeking to assure that the majority of students who sat the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) this year will be placed in the high schools of their choice based on their performance.
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| Grade six students of Calabar Infant, Primary and Junior High School in Kingston celebrate the end of the Grade Six Achievement Test. The Education Ministry says the majority of students who sat the Test this year will be placed in the high schools of their choice based on their performance, but the others will be manually placed in schools near their homes. |
However, the ministry said GSAT students who are not assigned to any of the institutions of their choice will be manually placed in schools near their homes.
According to the Education Minister, Ronald Thwaites, the new manual placement policy will affect about 15 per cent of the GSAT cohort. The Education Minister offered the clarification this afternoon as concerns mounted over a JIS release on the weekend that the ministry was moving to place GSAT students in schools near their homes to reduce travel time and expenses.
Today, he restated, however that many parents find it very expensive to send students to schools far away from their homes, resulting in about 20 per cent of them with very poor attendance records. According to the Ministry, in some cases, children’s attendance is limited to three days per week and schools have been concerned about how their learning is affected.
LAUSANNE, Switzerland : Three The Hard Way - Powell, Gatlin, Gay For 100m Diamond League Showdown...The three fastest men in the world this year
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP):
The three fastest men in the world this year are set to race each other in the 100 metres at the Athletissima Diamond League meeting. Organisers of the Lausanne meeting say Justin Gatlin, Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay are entered for the race on July 9.
Usain Bolt, the world-record holder and two-time Olympic champion over 100 metres, has opted to run the 200m as usual at Athletissima. Gatlin, the 2004 Olympic gold medallist, ran a world-leading 9.74 seconds at the opening Diamond League meet last month in Doha, Qatar. Powell has clocked 9.84 this year and Gay's season-best is 9.88.
Last year in Lausanne, Gatlin won in 9.80 ahead of Gay, who was returning from a one-year ban for doping.
Unite Jamaica People (UJP) - RESOCIALIZATION CAMPAIGN DISCIPLINE BEGINS AT HOME...Indisciplined homes brings undisciplined communities which guarantees the destruction of a Nation.
Published June 8, 2015
Indisciplined homes brings undisciplined communities which
guarantees the destruction of a Nation.
Are we as a people serious about regaining
a hold on our country, and do we realize that the first place to start is with
the area of discipline as a part of a larger re-socialization program and
strategic campaign?
The degradation of our moral and economic
fibre is largely responsible for the challenges we face today in almost every
sphere of our existence as a people and a country. This degradation is directly
related to the indiscipline which has been entrenched as a part of our culture.
Discipline starts in our homes and the
socialization of our children dictate the quality of the individual that will
be release in society as a participant in daily life activities. We repose that
every man is the sum total of his life experience up to the point of his
action. The first teachers are the parents who have the responsibility of
moulding and shaping the learning experience and values system to be inculcated
into the child. This process commence from the child is being developed in the
womb of the mother. What happens in the life of this child between birth and
three to five years old will set the foundation and tone for the type of life
he or she will live and also the emotional and physical pains that the parent
will suffer for a non-conforming child.
Jamaica of 2015 has seen the devaluation of
our social order and the institutionalizing of ill mannered and shameful
assaults on the society in general. This experience suggests a failure within
the structure of the “family” and the facilitating society. Much of the
maladies and ills can be attributed to a breakdown in the home, outside
influences, peer pressure, the music and entertainment fraternity, loose media
communication and a general sense of the lack of civic pride. Until we return
as a people to the days of high moral and ethical standards, an unequalled
value system, respect for self others and the environment and the recognition
of the importance of good hygiene, deportment and humility, we will not as a
people be able to progress beyond our limiting capacity.
If indeed we accept that discipline has to
be the first order of business to restore our country then we can appreciate
what can be achieved with a disciplined and responsive education system and by
extension a productive and economically viable system for National Development
and advancement. With such a sustainable system, it will be reasonable to
suggest that there will be less crime and violence and a strong and viable
economic system will evolve. more
SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth (A BEACON OF EXCELLENCE) : Hampton High's 18 y-o Alexia Davidson first JAMAICAN student accepted to prestigious Yale-NUS....With 18 CSEC/CAPE subjects earned her a scholarship to the 300-year-old US-based Yale University
BY GARFIELD MYERS Editior-at-large South/Central Bureau myersg@jamaicaobserver.com Sunday, June 07, 2015
SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth — Pride, joy and open admiration are overflowing when Alexia Davidson's parents speak about her.
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| Alexia Davidson with one of her many trophies |
"My daughter is probably one of the most dedicated students anyone will ever find," said O'neil Davidson, when the Jamaica Observer sat with parents and daughter at their home in Southfield, St Elizabeth last week.
"She has been an 'A' student from kindergarten all the way through high school," said Davidson of his 18-year-old daughter who graduates from the prestigious all-girls Hampton School in a week's time.
Alexia's mother, Kay Davidson, who pointed the Sunday Observer to a cabinet full of trophies testifying to her daughter's academic achievements, also hailed the teen's success as a student.
"I couldn't ask for more as a mother, I couldn't ask for more from a child," said Kay Davidson, who is a teacher at Hampton which, for more than 150 years, has produced many of Jamaica's leading women.
Without doubt, Alexia's determined and focused approach -- which has reaped her 10 distinctions and two credits in CSEC exams and six distinctions at CAPE, among other academic successes -- was pivotal in winning a scholarship to one of the most sought after universities, Yale-NUS in Singapore.
A partnership of the 300-year-old US-based Yale University and the National University of Singapore, Yale-NUS accepted its first class in 2013. It is tailored to deliver a four-year liberal arts programme to the brightest and best.
Those in the know say that the meeting of East and West, explicit in the formation of the Singapore-based university, underlines the growing influence and power of Asia, not only economically, but socially and culturally.
"The Yale-NUS Common Curriculum, taken by all students, spans the central knowledge of the Eastern and Western traditions," reads a promotional insert on the college's website.
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| Alexia Davidson with her parents O’neil and Kay Davidson. (PHOTOS: GREGORY BENNETT) |
"It is no longer sufficient to read only the great works of the West -- a global 21st century career and life requires intercultural communication. Reading Confucius and the Bhagavad Gita alongside Aristotle and Shakespeare, as well as engaging in broad yet rigorous science and social science coursework and research, will train you to think within and between cultures and disciplines to solve complex problems, which is an essential, if not the essential, 21st century professional skill," the website said.
Leading Jamaican academician Dr Dennis Minott, whose A-QuEST programme prepares top Jamaican students for colleges abroad, told the Sunday Observer that only the top three per cent of applicants make it through the doors of Yale-NUS.
In the case of Alexia Davidson, she is the very first Jamaican. It's an accomplishment Minott believes is worthy of the greatest respect. more
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