JAMAICA ELECTION 2016 (“disgraceful and direspectful”) : PNP ducks debate Insists it will not participate until Holness apologises for Portia comments. Disrespecting the Voters of JA. Is the PM concern that she may be exposed in a debate?

BY ALPHEA SAUNDERS Senior staff reporter saundersa@jamaicaobserver.com  Friday, February 12, 2016    

THERE is now great uncertainty over the much-anticpated political debates after the ruling People’s National Party (PNP) yesterday indicated that it will not participate in any planned discourse until Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) leader Andrew Holness addresses what the party terms as “disgraceful and direspectful” references about Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller.

Portia Simpson Miller and Andrew Holness

The move was widely seen by members of the public, particularly on social media, as an attempt by the ruling party to weasel out of the debates. At the same time, the National Integrity Action (NIA) described the PNP’s action as “backward”.

Yesterday, PNP General Secretary Paul Burke told the Jamaica Debates Commission (JDC) in a letter that the party feels that Holness’s conduct was relevant and critical to its participation in the debates, describing as “irresponsible” his statements regarding the shooting in Sam Sharpe

Square on Sunday night at a JLP rally, which left three people dead. Burke stated further that the party was outraged and disappointed at the Opposition leader’s statements about Simpson Miller. The PNP also wants the 90-minute leadership debate, which the JDC has proposed for February 20, to be done in the town-hall format used for the Democratic Party presidential candidates in the United States. The JLP, on the other hand, has confirmed that it will accept the JDC’s proposal for the three debates, using the format that was used in 2011.

The proposed date for the other two debates are February 16 and 18, when both sides would field questions about social issues and the economy.

But the JDC says it is not possible to meet the PNP’s demands as it could not get involved in the row between the two political parties, nor does it have enough time and resources to put the systems in to facilitate a town-hall debate.

Speaking at a press conference at the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce Secretariat in downtown Kingston yesterday, deputy chairman of the JDC, Brian Schmidt, made it clear that the JDC “cannot adopt the US Democratic Party’s format for a town-hall debate this time. The US format includes a number of things that are uncommon in this market”. more

America's Domestic Violence Epidemic Claimed 112 Lives In January

America's Domestic Violence Epidemic Claimed 112 Lives In January

CHINESE BUYOUT in JAMAICA: Agreement made with a Chinese firm for the purchase of Alumina Partners of Jamaica (ALPART), a bauxite mining and alumina processing plant located at Nain, St Elizabeth,

BY AVIA COLLINDER Business reporter collindera@jamaicaobserver.com  Friday, February 12, 2016    

Owners of UC Rusal have signed an agreement with a Chinese firm for the purchase of Alumina Partners of Jamaica (ALPART), a bauxite mining and alumina processing plant located at Nain, St Elizabeth, in the south of Jamaica.

Alpart in Nain, St Elizabeth

Reliable sources said yesterday that – in a process likely to be concluded by the third quarter of 2016 – the price had been agreed on and that the Chinese company will now enter into its due diligence phase before the financial year closes later this year.

The source said that full-scale reopening of the plant would mean employment and inflows from the bauxite levy. No development plans were mentioned at this stage.

Other sources have named the Chinese company as Jiuquan Iron & Steel (Group) Co Ltd (JISCO) – a producer of carbon steel, stainless & special steel and steelmaking raw materials — as the buyer. Alpart’s current production capacity is approximately 1.7 million tonnes of alumina annually. It is capable of expansion to more than two million tonnes per annum.

Alpart in Nain, St. Elizabeth

The company was first established in the early 1960s, starting with a union of three companies (Anaconda, Kaiser Aluminium and Reynolds Metals). Since then it has undergone several partnership and ownership changes, the last of which took place in 2011, resulting in the company being 100 per cent owned by UC Rusal Ltd.

In September 2011, UC Rusal inked a deal to acquire the remaining 35 per cent stake in Alumina Partners of Jamaica (Alpart), giving it full ownership of the St Elizabeth-based refinery.

However, hampered by the global economic recession and soaring energy costs, the Alpart plant was shut down in early 2009.

Nevertheless, in September 2015, UC Rusal announced a full resumption of operations.

As it turns out, Rusal, which produces aluminium, continues to be affected by sliding metal prices. more

Jamaica Saves J$52 Billion (US$438 million) On Oil Bill Over Six Months

Jamaica reduced its oil import bill by more than US$438 million ($52 billion) for the first six months of the fiscal year based on the slide of commodity prices, according to newly released data from the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ).

A section of the Petrojam oil refinery in Kingston.

The savings resulted in slashing the island's current account deficit to US$195.1 million between April and September 2015 from the deficit of US$632.3 million a year earlier.

It's rare for Jamaica - a net importer of finished products - to reduce its current account balance but the collapse of world oil prices has changed that trajectory. Jamaica achieved its first current account surplus in a decade in the January-March 2015 period. The current account documents the economic activities between the residents of a given country with the rest of the world over a given period.

"This improvement was driven by a fall in imports which was partially offset by a decline in exports," said the central bank's balance of payments report for September 2015. Global oil prices dropped from a recent high of US$115 in June 2014 to some US$31 a barrel.

Despite the fall in oil imports, Jamaica still imported more goods and services at US$3.23 billion compared to exports of US$2 billion over the half-year. But the reduction in oil imports narrowed the gap.

The capital account balance recorded a surplus of US$1.5 billion for the review period, primarily reflecting the discounted PetroCaribe debt repurchase, the BOJ said.

"This out-turn together with the balance on the current account yielded a combined net lending balance of US$1.3 billion, compared to a net borrowing balance of US$629.3 million in the previous corresponding period," the report stated. more

WHITNEY HOUSTON - Died 4 years ago today (R.I.P).... (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012)

Whitney Houston

Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, producer, and model. In 2009, Guinness World Records cited her as the most awarded female act of all time.^[1] Houston is one of pop music's best-selling music artists of all-time, with an estimated 170–200 million records sold worldwide.^[2][3] She released seven studio albums and three movie soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum or gold certification. Houston's crossover appeal on the popular music charts, as well as her prominence on MTV, starting with her video for "How Will I Know",^[4] influenced severalAfrican American women artists who follow in her footsteps.^[5][6]

Houston is the only artist to chart seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits. She is the second artist behind Elton John and the only woman to have two number-one Billboard 200 Album awards (formerly "Top Pop Albums") on the Billboard magazine year-endcharts.^[7] Houston's 1985 debut album Whitney Houston became the best-selling debut album by a woman in history.^[8] Rolling Stone named it the best album of 1986, and ranked it at number 254 on the magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.^[8] Her second studio album Whitney (1987) became the first album by a woman to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart.^[8]

Houston's first acting role was as the star of the feature film The Bodyguard (1992). The film's original soundtrack won the 1994Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Its lead single, "I Will Always Love You", became the best-selling single by a woman in music history. With the album, Houston became the first act (solo or group, male or female) to sell more than a million copies of an album within a single week period under Nielsen SoundScan system.^[8] The album makes her the top female act in the top 10 list of the best-selling albums of all time, at number four. Houston continued to star in movies and contribute to their soundtracks, including the films Waiting to Exhale (1995) and The Preacher's Wife (1996). The Preacher's Wife soundtrack became the best-selling gospel album in history.^[9]

On February 11, 2012, Houston was found dead in her guest room at the Beverly Hilton, in Beverly Hills, California. The official coroner's report showed that she had accidentally drowned in the bathtub, with heart disease and cocaine use listed as contributing factors.^[10] News of her death coincided with the 2012 Grammy Awards and featured prominently in American and international media.^[11]

ST. JAMES, JAMAICA (ELECTION 2016): Political campaigning banned in volatile Flanker.... Election Centre asks police to put brake on political rallies in tense Flanker

BY ALPHEA SAUNDERS Senior staff reporter saundersa@jamaicaobserver.com  Thursday, February 11, 2016    

THE Election Centre, which is co-chaired by the political ombudsman and the director of elections, has asked the police to immediately ban political campaigning in the volatile St James community of Flanker in the wake of the shooting death of four people between Sunday evening and Tuesday.

Jubilant Jamaicans out in support of their respective political
parties on Tuesday, Nomination Day.

In a release issued yesterday, Political Ombudsman Donna Parchment Brown said both political parties have agreed to immediately cease marches, motorcades, spot meetings, political gatherings, as well as the use of town criers and loudspeakers in Flanker.

A release outlining details of the recommended ban came shortly after the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ) issued its own statement yesterday calling on both political parties to rein in their supporters and threatening to ask the relevant authorities to put a stop to motorcades.

The ECJ’s call, however, was not specific to Flanker. “The Electoral Commission challenges the political parties and their supporters to bring greater discipline to the campaign process, failing which we will recommend to the political ombudsman and the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) that the use of motorcades, political rallies and tours be curtailed,” the commission stated. On Tuesday, Nomination Day for candidates contesting the February 25 General Election, an eight-vehicle Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) motorcade was shot up, leaving one person dead and three injured. That incident came just two days after another shooting incident in the midst of the JLP’s rally in Sam Sharpe Square, involving five people and resulting in two deaths.

Citing the incident as a major concern, the ECJ said it featred that “these occurrences could undermine the advances made in the electoral system over the past 35 years and which could threaten the democratic process in Jamaica”.

General secretary for the People’s National Party (PNP), Paul Burke, insisted yesterday that the PNP had “voluntarily” decided to stop campaigning in Flanker in light of the tensions. “We weren’t requested (to do it)… we voluntarily agreed, we took that position,” he told the Jamaica Observer in an interview.

At the same time, he said that, while he fully agrees that there have been breaches of traffic laws by supporters on both sides of the political fence and that greater discipline must be enforced, there was no need to shut down motorcades as a whole because of one incident.

“Every case has its own merit. Since the campaigning began, the PNP has held about 50 motorcades, and the JLP about the same… now you have one incident which is regrettable, but you don’t go into panic mode,” he said in reference to the ECJ’s statement. more

IN JAMAICA (VICIOUS ATTACK) : Murdered Manchester elderly couple were returning residents from the USA...Lansil Gregory, 71, and his 74-year-old wife, Corita were chopped to death

Thursday, February 11, 2016 

FAMILY members of an elderly Manchester couple found dead on Monday were yesterday still trying to come to grips with the vicious attack.

Lansil Gregory, 71, and his 74-year-old wife, Corita — who returned to Jamaica from the United States — were chopped to death at their home in the rural community of Edinburgh.

A relative of the family, Alwyn Gregory, told the Jamaica Observer yesterday that he believes that robbery was not the only motive when the couple’s lives were snuffed out.

He explained that suspicions were raised when calls to the home late Sunday went unanswered. Following reports to the police, Gregory said he visited the couple’s home where he saw droplets of blood on the verandah.

With support from the police and neighbours, they gained entry to the house by cutting a grille and both bodies were found — each lying in a pool of blood — the relative said.

The couple’s burgundy Toyota Camry motor car, items of clothing and other valuables were also missing, but Gregory Stiel surmised that robbery was not the only motive for the attack.

“They (the attackers) definitely came to kill them (the victims),” he said.

He explained that the two operated a few businesses and were charitable people.

— Keleshia Powell

IN JAMAICA (POWERFUL STORY) : A stout-hearted 5-year-old.... No tears from Rusheka Goodhall despite losing a leg to rare cancer at 3 y-o. Please SHARE

BY JEDIAEL CARTER Sunday Observer staff reporter carterj@jamaicaobserver.com  Sunday, February 07, 2016 

You would think that having lost a leg to cancer when she was just three years old, Rusheka Goodhall would be disconsolate.

Quite the opposite.

She moves around the Jamaica Observer boardroom as most children would, and elicits laughter with her unsolicited interjections during a discussion at last week’s Observer Monday Exchange.

For instance, when her mother, Shecker Anderson, began explaining how Rusheka’s leg started swelling after she hit it while playing at home two years ago, the now five-year-old cancer survivor held both arms apart, obviously exaggerating the size of the swelling, and looked around the room of adults with a broad grin. “It started to swell, she started to walk with a limp, so I took her to the doctor the next day,” the mother explained. “When she went to the doctor, she did an X-ray and it showed a fracture and they put on a cast. When the cast came off, it was swollen and they ordered her to do an MRI. She did a biopsy, a lot of things,” Anderson said, then broke down in tears.

Rusheka, seeing her mother’s pain, leaned over and hugged her. A touching moment.

It was that blow to the leg that led to Rusheka being diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare cancer of the muscle, in which a tumour attaches itself to the bone, either in the head, neck, urogenital track, arms, or legs.

The tests revealed that little Rusheka had stage 3 cancer, meaning it had spread to an organ.

“At the time when her cancer was discovered she also had some evidence that it had just spread to the abdomen,” Dr Michelle Reece Mills, paediatric oncologist at the University Hospital of the West Indies, told the Monday Exchange.

Five-year-old cancer survivor Rusheka Goodhall walks
about the Jamaica Observer boardroom last Monday.

The discussion was focused on cancer in children, given that Rusheka and other children across the island afflicted with the disease, as well as the Black River Hospital Paediatric Unit and the Jamaica Cancer Society will be the beneficiaries of this year’s Sigma Run.

Sagicor, organisers of the annual 5K scheduled for February 21 in Kingston, hope to raise $50 million to contribute to the three causes. The effort was praised by Dr Reece Mills and Jamaica Cancer Society Executive Director Yulit Gordon.

Dr Reece Mills was particularly thankful, having treated other children with cancer and witnessing first-hand the toll it takes on parents.

For instance, the doctor recalled how difficult it was for Rusheka’s mother when amputation was recommended to aggressively fight the cancer and limit its spread.

“One of the important things for some cancers is what we call local control, so in order to prevent the risk of it actually coming back, her local control was amputation. In some other instances you can do radiation to the area,” Dr Reece Mills explained. more

IN JAMAICA: Party operatives said to be behind plot to kill former Spanish Town mayor Dr Raymoth Notice....information emerged that elements from the ruling People’s National Party (PNP) and the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) were involved in the attempt.

BY SUNDAY OBSERVER INVESTIGATOR  Sunday, February 07, 2016 

The plot to kill former Mayor of Spanish Town Dr Raymoth Notice took on another dimension last night when information emerged that elements from the ruling People’s National Party (PNP) and the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) were involved in the attempt.

Notice was hospitalised last December after he was shot three times by three men at his home in Bog Walk, St Catherine, in a brazen, early morning attack. He has since been released from hospital.

Members of the police high command refused to comment on allegations that a member of the JLP was behind the attack, which has so far resulted in the arrest of two men, one of whom is known by Notice. Word reaching the Jamaica Observer is that the fingerprints of one of the accused men was matched by police to those found at Notice’s house.

However, one senior police source who asked that his name is not mentioned said that a probe was already underway into determining whether or not the JLP man was the brain behind the attack. 

“The matter is a delicate one and we don’t wish to speak about it at this time,” one senior police officer assigned to the St Catherine North Division told the Sunday Observer yesterday. “In any case, I don’t know who I am talking to, because anybody can call and say he is calling from the Observer,” the senior officer said.

Political Ombudsman Donna Parchment-Brown said she would not comment on whether or not a report had been sent to her about the suggestion that a senior JLP man had a hand in the attack.

Notice has also stated publicly that there was a plot to assassinate him, after he reported to the JLP that certain things were amiss within the party machinery in sections of St Catherine.

In a dramatic twist last night, it emerged also that a gun that was used in the attack on Notice has been traced to a well-known activist in the People’s National Party who is based in a rural Jamaica parish. The St Catherine police refused to confirm or deny the allegation.

Former Mayor of Spanish Town Dr Raymoth Notice

Notice, who at one time was assigned to the Department Correctional Services as a medical doctor, has served as councillor for the Bog Walk Division of the St Catherine Parish Council. He also ran, unsuccessfully, against retired Member of Parliament KD Knight in St Catherine North Central. Knight was replaced by present Cabinet minister Natalie Neita Headley.

The shooting incident involving the outspoken Notice shocked Jamaica and triggered an outpouring of sympathy from both the PNP and the JLP hierarchy, with the PNP urging the victim to tell all that he knew about the incident to the police. The suggestion was that something untoward had occurred and that Notice had knowledge of more things than met the eye at the time. more

DRAMA: Wife crashes her own funeral, horrifying her husband, who had paid to have her killed...."Surprise! I'm Still Alive!" (VIDEO)

Lifestyle

Wife crashes her own funeral, horrifying her husband, who had paid to have her killed

Washington Post Fri, Feb 5 12:31 AM PST 

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Noela Rukundo sat in a car outside her home in Melbourne, Australia, watching as the last few mourners filed out. They were leaving a funeral — her funeral. Finally, she spotted the man she’d been waiting for. She stepped out of her car, and her husband put his hands on his head in horror. “Is it my eyes?” she recalled him saying. “Is it a ghost?” “Surprise! I’m still alive!” she replied. Far from being elated, the man looked terrified. Five days earlier, he had ordered a team of hit men to kill Rukundo, his partner of 10 years. And they did — well, they told him they did. They even got him to pay an extra few thousand dollars for carrying out the crime. Now here was his wife, standing before ...

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BEYONCE - "Formation" ....Beyoncé Is Back And Unapologetically Black In New Music Video...."Formation" is basically #BlackLivesMatter and #BlackGirlMagic rolled into one powerful music video.

                                                                    Beyonce's daughter
 It's official: Beyoncé is back, she's "got hot sauce in her bag" and she's as unapologetically black as ever. 

Queen B surprised us all on Saturday by dropping "Formation," a new song and accompanying music video -- and, needless to say, both are incredible. 

Beyonce

The song, which runs nearly five minutes and was released the night before the singer's scheduled Super Bowl performance, is fierce, funky and freaking phenomenal. But what separates the video from most of her other mainstream work is its messages relating to race, identity and black culture. 

6:30 pm ET START FOR SUPER BOWL 50 on Sunday, Feb 7, 2016 : What time does Super Bowl 50 start tonight, what TV channel is it on and how can Carolina Panthers be stopped?

Super Bowl 50 will be hosted on February 7, 2016 at 3:25PM in the City of Santa Clara at the state-of-the-art Levi’s® Stadium, which is the greenest and most technologically advanced professional football stadium in the United States. 

Leading up to Super Bowl 50, there is a weeklong series of public events held throughout the region. including the NFL Experience and the Super Bowl City fan village, featuring activities for all ages that celebrate the game of football, as well as all that the San Francisco Bay Area has to offer from arts and culture to live entertainment, and food and drink.

The Super Bowl 50 Host Committee is focused on creating a Super Bowl that not only brings people together, but also gives back in a meaningful way and leaves a lasting impact in the Bay Area. The Host Committee seeks to make Super Bowl 50 the most giving ever, and is investing in Bay Area community initiatives and high-performing nonprofits through the 50 Fund, its signature philanthropic fund.