2016-17 PALAS Top Performers (1 of 5) : Shanae T. Christian, Gold Star Awardee tops all applicants....PALAS Goal is to award 100 new scholarships. Funds shortfall will support 90. An additional 56 who met criteria will not be afforded a scholarship. Seventy (70) learning institutions in Jamaica participated from all parishes.... PLEASE DONATE TODAY

Shanae Christian, 2016-17 PALAS Gold Star Recipient

PALAS News, July 1, 2016

The Peace and Love Academic Scholarship, Inc. (PALAS, Inc.) Board of Directors selected the recipients of the next set of new scholarships which will be presented in Kingston, Jamaica at the Pegasus Hotel in August 2016. The Prime Minister of Jamaica, the Most Honourable Andrew Holness and Attorney Patrick Campbell of Washington D.C will give the keynote speaking addresses.

This year PALAS received a record number of applications from seventy (70) learning institutions in Jamaica/Caribbean. All the parishes were represented. At the end of this years' presentation PALAS, Inc. the Atlanta, Georgia based organization will have awarded 385 scholarships totaling over JA$21.15 Million (approx. US$175,000.00). PALAS goal is to award 100 scholarships.

It has been quite challenging to raise the funds to support these scholarships each year. In 2011-12, PALAS awarded thirteen (13) scholarships and in 2015, ninety-five (95) were awarded. For the 2016 campaign, over 200 applications were received and 146 students met the basic requirement as stipulated by PALAS.

After analyzing the number of funds collected, 56 students who met the criteria will not be credited with a scholarship due to the lack of funds. We would like to raise additional funds in the next two weeks to bring the 2016-17 scholarship count to 100.

Each year PALAS selects two Gold Star recipients based on their overall performance during the evaluation process. This year the awardees are Shanae T. Christian of Wolmer's Trust High School in Kingston, Jamaica. Shanae received the most points of 29/30 to finish first. The second Gold Star winner is aspiring Lawyer, Ashleigh-Ann Dussard of the University of the West Indies who finished second in the overall ranking.

95 PALAS Awardees in 2015

We desperately need funds to cover expenses for an additional ten (10) scholarships and to support our awards presentation on August 13th. PALAS, "preserving Young Minds for Posterity". All applicants will be contacted of the results by email on July 14, 2016.

Please make a donation online at www.PALAS1.org or send a check Payable to PALAS, P.O. Box 5461 Alhahretta, GA 30023. USA. Thank you very much in advance for the kind donation to the Peace and Love Academic Scholarship (PALAS) Program. 

PALAS is a registered non-profit, 501 (c) (3) Tax exempt organization in the State of Georgia. Any contributions made to PALAS, Inc. is tax deductible.

DENNIS EMMANUEL BROWN, Died July 1st, 1999 (aged 42) Kingston, Jamaica. RulaBrownNetwork (RBN) Radio Show is Dedicated To The Crowned Prince July 1, 2016.

DENNIS EMMANUEL BROWN, Died July 1st, 1999 (aged 42)
Kingston, Jamaica. RulaBrownNetwork (RBN) Radio Show is Dedicated To The Crowned Prince July 1, 2016. Listen for a huge number D. Brown chunes today right her on Facebook. ‪#‎RulaBrownNetwork‬

KINGSTON, JAMAICA: Shot 13 y-o schoolgirl’s parents pray she’ll survive.... Shooting of schoolgirl sparks fiery protest downtown.

BY TANESHA MUNDLE Observer staff reporter mundlet@jamaicaobserver.com  Friday, July 01, 2016    

The mother of the 13-year-old schoolgirl who was shot in the head when men, believed to be police, opened fire on an illegal taxi in downtown Kingston yesterday morning, said she was leaving everything in God’s hands after she and her co-workers prayed and sang outside Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) where her only child was said to be recovering after emergency surgery.

Ruby McKoy, a teacher at Duhaney Park Primary School, was surprisingly calm when she spoke with the Jamaica Observer.

However, she admitted that earlier yesterday she was not unruffled.

Group Prayer for the victim

“I wasn’t like this this morning. When I heard that she was in an accident, my knees gave way, everything went, and I found a colleague and cried and cried,” McKoy said. “[But] when I remembered that I had prayed this morning, and I had asked for coverage from accident, both seen and unseen, I said to myself, ‘Why should I take this on when I am leaving it in His hands?’ “So what you see right now is not my own strength.”

Her husband, Harry McKoy, however, was very emotional.

Appearing to be in daze and on the brink of tears he said: “This is something you wouldn’t mind if you wake up and it is a dream.”

He said he was at home when he received the unfortunate news, but said he was hoping for the best as he was told that, although there was swelling to his daughter’s brain, no tissue was damaged.

When asked to describe his daughter, a grade eight Convent of Mercy Academy (Alpha) student, he simply said, “Zoey is the world,” while noting that she is the president of block two at her school and will celebrate her 14th birthday today (July 1).

The tragic incident occurred at the corner of Mark Lane and North Street.

Firemen from York Park Fire Station putting out one of
 the fires behind Central Police Station on East Street 
in downtown Kingston yesterday. (Photo: Karl McLarty) 

According to the driver of the taxi, sometime after 7:00 am he was transporting four students, three from Alpha and one from St George’s College, when men whom he said were dressed in blue denim and vests marked police, subjected him to what he termed “bad driving”.

The driver said he responded by hurling expletives at the men, which angered them.

As a result, the driver said after he drove off he heard gunshots and heard the schoolgirl screaming out that she had been shot.

The girl, who was the only passenger injured, was rushed to the hospital by the driver.

In the aftermath of the shooting, several taxi drivers parked their cars in protest and demonstrated by blocking roads and setting fire to tyres in the streets.

Fires were lit behind Central Police Station on East Street, as well as on Church, Duke and North streets.

more

IN JAMAICA (MONEY WORRIES): OPPOSITION Leader Portia Simpson Miller seeks release of reports to Integrity Commission

OPPOSITION Leader Portia Simpson Miller has written to chairman of the Integrity Commission of Parliament Justice Paul Harrison asking him to release to her certified and signed copies of integrity reports which she submitted to the commission for the years 2006 to 2015.

Portia Simpson

“Mrs Simpson Miller has further requested that the commission indicates to her in writing the dates the reports were received and whether or not she has ever been reported for any breaches,” said a release issued yesterday by former information minister Sandrea Falconer.

“Once the reports are received the Opposition leader will release the documents to the media appropriately redacted to remove sensitive details,” the short statement said.

Since Prime Minister Andrew Holness released details of his personal assets to the public earlier this week there have been calls for Simpson Miller to do the same, with critics insisting that the former prime minister should show her hands as well as it was her party during the fiery lead-up to the 2016 general election which called for Holness to release his information.The prime minister has since said that he plans to table legislation in Parliament to ensure that those who head the four major political offices in the island declare and make public their personal assets ever year. These are the prime minister, the minister of finance, leader of the Opposition, and the Opposition’s spokesperson on finance.

Speaking to the press at Jamaica House on June 17, after releasing information on his assets, Holness said the standards must be raised on the importance of reassuring the public about the integrity of political leaders. He said it was also important for public officials to declare their assets to the commission in a timely manner.

Julian Robinson, another politician who some have mooted as a possible candidate for leadership of the People’s National Party, also released details of his financials that have been filed with the Integrity Commission.

Robinson, member of Parliament for St Andrew South East, released the filings after questions were raised about his plans to buy a multi-million dollar property.

The Integrity Commission has oversight responsibility in ensuring that public officials file annual reports disclosing their income, assets, and liabilities. Officials are required to file documentation verifying their income, assets and liabilities. This is to be done at the start of each parliamentary term. The commission is authorised to made independent enquiries and investigate matters related to a statutory declaration.

HANOVER, JAMAICA (4 SHOT): Teen girl among four shot, injured by gunmen

Thursday, June 30, 2016 — Anthony Lewis

COVE, Hanover — A 15-year-old female student was among four family members who were shot and injured when gunmen invaded their home in this community Tuesday night.

The four were admitted to hospital in critical condition. Their names were not released by the police.

The others injured include who were the child’s 56- year-old mother, her 32-year-old sister, and a 27- year-old man who is said to be a security guard.

The police said that about 10:30 pm three armed men kicked in a door to the family house and took the occupants in a room where they were all shot. The police on arrival found all four in a room suffering from gunshot wounds and took them to hospital.

OLYMPICS TIME : Jamaica’s athletes chase Olympic Games qualification Ja’s athletes vie for places to Olympic Games as SVL National Championships begin

Thursday, June 30, 2016    

The journey to Olympic glory continues in earnest today as athletes hunt spots to the Rio Olympics during the four-day Supreme Ventures Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association National Senior Championship at the National Stadium.

The great Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce will lead an array of stars and potential stars who will be hoping to punch their tickets to Brazil for the 31st Olympiad between August 5 and 21.

The Jamaican Senior Championships will be used to select the national team, and unlike the IAAF World Championships, no wild cards are available. Thus, every single athlete will have to be at their optimum to secure one of three spots to the greatest show on Earth.

The rivalry will be intense and exciting and The men’s 100m qualifying event will kick off the proceedings at 10:00 am with six heats of which the seven fastest runners will advance to the quarter-final in which the big guns Bolt, Asafa Powell, Yohan Blake, Kemar Bailey-Cole, Michael Frater, Warren Weir, and Nickel Ashmeade are expected to be in action at 7:00 pm.

Bolt, the greatest sprinter in the history of the sport, will be hunting an unprecedented tree gold medals in three consecutive Olympics, but first, he must safely navigate his way through the Jamaican Championships.

Double Olympic 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce will also be hunting a three consecutive 100m titles and her quest begins in the women’s 100m heats slated to start at 6:40 pm.

Fraser-Pryce has been drawn in heat three alongside 2015 World Championship finalist Natasha Morrison of Fast Twitch Track Club and overseas-based Remona Burchell, two athletes that could be in the final eight on Friday.

World Championship 200m silver medallist Elaine Thompson, of MVP, is considered the main treat to Fraser-Pryce, and she will be in heat five alongside Jura Levy of Sprintec.

Double 200m Olympic champion Veronica Campbell-Brown (VCB) is drawn in heat four and has most to fear from Sprintec’s Gayon Evans, the powerfully built Carrie Russell of MVP, and Sashalee Forbes of GC Foster College. the eyes of the world will be anxiously waiting to see what transpires in the sprint capital of the world. more

IN JAMAICA : Teens feed the homeless... Street People Liberation

uesday, June 28, 2016    

Daily, regular men, women and young people walk by the homeless on Jamaican streets. They perhaps feel a faint pang of empathy, but they walk on with their lives.

Ashli-Ann Broughton (19) and her team of over 50 volunteers at Street People Liberation don't. They acted on the pangs of empathy, deciding to do something for some of society's most vulnerable.

Street People Liberation  

Street People Liberation is a non-profit organisation which was founded by Ashli-Ann in March 2014. It is operated by youths who plan projects geared towards improving the lives of the homeless, supplying them with clothing and toiletries throughout the year, and cooked meals on public holidays.  

These TEENs cook and distribute hot meals to the homeless, primarily on public holidays, because the St James Parish Council Care Centre, which provides food and clothing for the homeless persons around Montego Bay throughout the week, is closed on public holidays. In June 2015, Street People Liberation was awarded a St. James Junior Council award for valuable contribution to the parish. Ashli-Ann [pictured above with fellow volunteer Sabrina Ferguson (left)], however, feeds the homeless in MoBay on the weekend, at least twice a month. Why does she do it? Ashli-Ann says that after seeing their plight, "I thought to myself that the Government can’t assist the homeless alone, and instead of discriminating and complaining, I came up with the idea to start my own initiative to care for the homeless."

Street People Liberation  

Since starting out with 10 volunteers, from the schools of Cornwall College, Montego Bay High School for Girls, Mt Alvernia High School, Anchovy High School, Irwin High School and the Montego Bay Community College, Street People Liberation has grown, and estimate that they have helped close to 1500 homeless persons. "Our projects are funded by friends and families of members. A majority of persons who donate to us live overseas, they ship parcels of clothing and tin items to us. However, all our donations are given to these persons throughout the year, and over our past two years of existence and donations, the homeless in Montego Bay have received shoes, toiletries, shirts, shoes etc." the president and founder told teenAGE. more

HATE CRIMES SKYROCKET IN UK : ‘YES! WE WON! NOW SEND THEM BACK’... ‘No More Polish Vermin’... ‘Go Back To Africa’... WATCH: Brexit Leader Goes Full-On Trump, Denies Vote Unleashed Surge Of Racism... MARKET MADNESS: Global Markets Lose $3 Trillion... Britons Flood Ireland With EU Passport Queries...

June 28, 2016...Excerpt from Huffington Post

The fallout following the British vote to leave the European Union has triggered an uptick in racist incidents.

An aversion to immigration has been at the forefront for the “leave” camp, emboldening xenophobes to reportedly come out of the shadows and publicly attack immigrant communities.

Eyewitnesses have taken to social media to describe incidents they have encountered, and an account called Post Ref Racism was started on both Twitter and Facebook to offer people a “space to document the increase in racism,” according to the page’s description. Britain’s Polish community has been specifically targeted by xenophobic sentiments. Police are investigating various “racially motivated hate crimes“ targeting Poles in England.

Authorities first found leaflets saying “no more Polish vermin” in central England.Graffiti demanding that Poles leave the U.K. was later discovered at a Polish cultural center in London.

The spokesman for Poland’s President Andrzej Duda demanded that Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage, the two primary leaders of the “leave” movement, condemn the “outrageous barbarity“ of these actions.

Prime Minister David Cameron responded to the incidents on Monday. His government “will not tolerate intolerance” and condemns “some of the incidents we have seen across the country over the weekend of intimidating migrants and telling them that they need to go home,” he said.

And a Labour member of parliament, Jess Phillips, tweeted that she would submit a question to Parliament to find out how many racial incidents had occurred over the weekend compared with prior to the referendum.

OLYMPICS: Rio de Janeiro's acting governor: Olympics could be a 'big failure' Official warns: Money is needed quickly to avoid 'difficulties' Man throws water at Olympic torchRio gets huge bailoutIOC backs Russia doping ban

By Tiffany Ap, CNN Updated 4:04 AM ET, Tue June 28, 2016

(CNN)The headache for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games organizers shows no signs of subsiding.

Six weeks before the Games are set to begin, Francisco Dornelles, the acting governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro, told the Brazilian newspaper O Globo that the state has not yet received recently-approved federal funds to beef up security and transportation for the quadrennial competition.

"I am optimistic about the games, but I have to show the reality. We can make a great Olympics, but if some steps are not taken, it can be a big failure," Dornelles told O Globo.

Olympic Games: Is Rio ready? The budget shortfall adds to the "perfect storm" Brazil is facing leading up to the Games, due to kick off on August 5. Organizers are dealing with concerns regarding the Zika virus, a doping scandal in which Brazil's only testing lab was suspended, high crime and political upheaval involving the country's highest figures.

In the interview, Dornelles said that without the bailout money, the state could only afford to cover the expenses of the police force for a few more days.

"The police fleet runs the risk of stopping. We managed to stretch the finances and we'll only last until the end of the week," Dornelles said.

The state's police officers have not been paid for overtime work for more than six months.

Brazil's federal government approved the bailout, worth about $850 million (2.9 billion reals), last week. more

OFFICIAL BENGAZI REPORT OUT TODAY: House Republicans are planning to release a long-awaited report Tuesday on the Benghazi terror attacks that killed four Americans ...Clinton should have realized risks. The portion of the report obtained by CNN doesn't offer a scathing indictment of Clinton.

By Stephen Collinson, CNN Updated 5:02 AM ET, Tue June 28, 2016

Washington (CNN)House Republicans are planning to release a long-awaited report Tuesday on the Benghazi terror attacks that killed four Americans on Hillary Clinton's watch as secretary of state, reviving the politically charged issue less than five months before the election.

Grim scene: Bloodstains at the main gate believed
 to be from one of the American staff members of the U.S.
Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Associated Press Photo.

 

The report, parts of which have already been reviewed by CNN, paints a picture of a perfect storm of bureaucratic inertia, rapidly worsening security in Libya and inadequate resources in the months that led up to the killings of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three colleagues on September 11, 2012.

Clinton told the House Benghazi Committee last year that she was aware of the dangers in Libya but "there was no actionable intelligence" indicating a planned attack.

The portion of the report obtained by CNN doesn't offer a scathing indictment of Clinton. But it does argue that intelligence was available suggesting an attack was possible and Clinton and a top aide, Patrick Kennedy, should have realized the risks posed to the Benghazi mission by extremist groups.

"It is not clear what additional intelligence would have satisfied either Kennedy or the Secretary in understanding the Benghazi mission compound was at risk -- short of an attack," the report says.

Conservative members of the panel are expected to release a more political analysis of the attack Tuesday that's far more critical of Clinton. more

Forex: J$126.37 to one US dollar

Forex: J$126.37 to one US dollar

Monday, June 27, 2016 | 6:47 PM    

KINGSTON, Jamaica – The US dollar on Monday, June 27, ended trading at J$126.37, up by two cents, according to the Bank of Jamaica’s daily foreign exchange trading summary.

Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar ended trading at J$96.78, down from J$99.19.