"SHITHOLE" PRESIDENT: Few Republicans Acknowledged Trump’s ‘Shithole’ Slur... The president had reportedly been complaining about immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and other countries.

Ryan Trump McConnell

 By Carla Herreria Huffingtonpost 1/12/18

Democrats were quick to denounce President Donald Trump after reports that he referred to Haiti and some African nations as “shithole countries” while discussing immigration reform with lawmakers at the White House.

Most Republicans, on the other hand, were notably silent on the president’s shockingly vulgar remark, including House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

At least one GOP congressman used the moment to attack Democrats. “The rhetoric coming from leaders in both parties does nothing to advance the kind of reforms that are best for America,” Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.)  tweeted on Thursday, without specifying what was said by Democrats that was as offensive as Trump’s remarks. HuffPost’s requests for comment from Davis’ office were not returned. more

IN JAMAICA : Afros In School Up For Debate - Who would bar Davina Bennett from attending school for wearing her Afro? Question Raised by Education Minister Ruel Reid

Davina Bennett, Miss Jamaica Universe 2017

Published:Thursday | January 11, 2018 | 12:00 AMJodi-Ann Gilpin/Gleaner Writer

Who would bar Davina Bennett from attending school for wearing her afro? That was the question raised by Education Minister Ruel Reid, who spoke to The Gleaner about some of the challenges in constructing the proposed grooming and nutrition policy that is expected to be implemented this term.

Bennett wooed the globe with her performance in the recent Miss Universe competition held in Las Vegas, her afro hairstyle being a hot topic. Reid admitted that arriving at a standardised policy comes with challenges but indicated that the ministry would be engaging with citizens as it seeks to make the policy public by the end of March.

Davina Bennett, Miss Universe Jamaica 2017.

"Looking at Davina Bennett recently, the issue of afro came up. I think we might even have to have a debate. Would she have been barred from attending school if that were her hairstyle? These are some of the realities, and these are some of the issues we have had to resolve in the past," Reid told The Gleaner.

"I will allow the public to debate once we get the policy in place. But the afro is a staple in our culture and has been around from the '70s. In my consultations, a lot of persons have been weighing in on the issue (afro) - whether or not it is something that should be allowed in the Jamaican context," Reid said. more

TROUBLING TRUMP: A Year Later, President Trump Is Less Popular Across Voting Blocs. See by How Much.

By KAREN YOURISH and BLACKI MIGLIOZZI JAN. 11, 2018

President Trump’s approval rating fell across a wide swath of demographic groups over his first year in office, including among those seen as important to his base, like white voters, evangelical Christians and those who live in rural areas. The data is from Morning Consult, a polling company that conducted daily tracking of Mr. Trump’s approval among all adults.

Trump

Despite losing some support across many groups, Mr. Trump remains popular with many of the constituencies that helped usher him into the White House. His largest declines were among groups that never supported him much to begin with.

While most presidents see their popularity fade after an initial honeymoon period, Mr. Trump came into office with record-low approval among independents and members of the opposite party (in this case, Democrats), and the decline started more or less immediately, said Charles Franklin, a professor and pollster at Marquette University Law School in Milwaukee. more

WARNING: ODPEM warns JAMAICANS to be prepared for natural disasters of all kinds such as tsunamis

 Friday, January 12, 2018 Jamaica Observer

The assurance by the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) that it has been “doing quite a lot” in the area of informing and educating Jamaicans how to respond to forces of nature, such as tsunamis, is encouraging.

One of several Bottom Town houses affected by rising
waters last week. (Photos: Mark Cummings) 

According to ODPEM Director General Major Clive Davis, the agency conducted tsunami simulation programmes in Port Antonio and Annotto Bay, as well as drills in more than 25 schools last year.

“There are a number of buoys that are sitting in the ocean that provide valuable information whenever or if there is a threat of a tsunami,” Major Davis told this newspaper on Wednesday, adding that the ODPEM continues to work closely with the University of the West Indies, Mona campus Earthquake Unit which, he said, now has advanced equipment for recording earthquake events.

Major Davis was responding to concerns raised about Jamaica's state of preparedness in the wake of a massive magnitude 7.6 earthquake that struck in the Caribbean Sea between the coast of Honduras and the Cayman Islands late Tuesday night. more

IN JAMAICA: CORNWALL COLLEGE in mourning as 16-year-old student, Mark Williams killed in brazen gun attack

Mark Williams, 16 y-o Cornwall College Student Murdered

BY HORACE HINES Observer West reporter  Thursday, January 11, 2018

MONTEGO BAY, St James - UP to late yesterday evening, members of the Crime Investigation Branch were interviewing a man taken into custody in connection with Tuesday night's grisly murder of promising Cornwall College student Mark Williams.

Reports are that about 9:20 pm, gunmen ambushed the student's stepfather, a police corporal, at the intersection of Tucker and Meadows of Irwin roads, and sprayed bullets on the motor vehicle, he drove to pick up the 16-year-old student.

Acting principal at Cornwall College
Lecia Allen (right) consoles a student
 at the school yesterday.
(Photos: Philp Lemonte) 

The student, who was returning from a bible class in John's Hall, St James, had just got off a taxi and was heading towards the vehicle when the shooting started. He started to retreat, but a bullet reportedly caught him in the chest.

The teenager was taken to the Cornwall Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The gunmen reportedly fled after the cop returned the gunfire.

According to a highly placed investigator, the cop, who is a witness in a murder case, had been receiving death threats in recent times.

An impeccable Jamaica Observer West source disclosed that they are probing to determine whether the ambush was a result of the matter in which their colleague is a witness. more

TWINNING : Kingston to be twinned with city of Windhoek in Namibia....To cement and develop the historic and cultural ties between the Jamaican and the Namibian capital cities.

Views of the city of Windhoek in
Namibia. (Photos: Pavel Spindler
& Norbert Utz) 

Thursday, January 11, 2018 Jamaica Observer

THE Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) on Tuesday voted to support a resolution for the twinning of Kingston and Windhoek, the capital city of Namibia.

The twinning is expected to cement and develop the historic and cultural ties between the Jamaican and the Namibian capital cities.

According to the resolution, the city of Windhoek used diplomatic channels to develop the initiative for the twinning of the cities.

Views of the city of Windhoek in Namibia.
(Photos: Pavel Spindler & Norbert Utz) 

“Both cities, which share deep cultural, creative and historic ties, “have agreed to pursue and solidify the relationship through various initiatives such as, but not limited to: trade in goods and services, youth participation in governance, community empowerment and local economic development,” the resolution stated,

Councillor Vernon McLeod, who moved the resolution, said Namibia, which was a former protectorate of Germany, is 75 times the size of Jamaica. “Several languages are spoken in Namibia but English is the official language,” he said.

Namibia, according to the World Population Review publication of December 2017, has an approximate population of 2.5 million people. more

JAMAICA MAJOR SHOCKING CRIME NEWS! Cops played crucial roles in deadly gang operations, court hears

BY RACQUEL PORTER Observer staff reporter porterr@jamaicaobserver.com  Thursday, January 11, 2018

THE court yesterday heard shocking allegations that one of the policemen who is supposedly a member of the Uchence Wilson-led gang gave information to the leader that led to the murder of a police informant.

It is alleged that the informant made a report to Detective Corporal Lloyd Knight, who later contacted gang leader Wilson and told him that the now-deceased man was coming to the station and making complaints.

“This was done because Knight told Wilson that the deceased was an informer, as he was always coming to the police station and making reports against Wilson,” prosecutor Jeremy Taylor told the Home Circuit Court yesterday.

Taylor made the revelation as he outlined the role of each accused in the 40-member gang that had been wreaking havoc in seven parishes over the last two years.

Taylor told the court that Knight also provided information to the criminal outfit about targeted businesses and received proceeds from criminal activities.

The prosecutor also advised the court that the policeman was a conspirator in the “Fruits Man” robbery in St Mary.

“Mr Knight received a television out of that robbery and Mr Knight transported the guns used to the place of robbery and took them back after the robbery was committed,” Taylor told the court. more

GOOD NEWS FOR JAMAICA: Record 4.3 million tourist arrivals in 2017 providing a revenue flow of approximately US$3 billion....Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett

Wednesday, January 10, 2018 Jamaica Observer

ST JAMES, Jamaica (JIS) — Provisional data from the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) show that a record 4.3 million tourists visited Jamaica in 2017.

Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett,
emphasises a point while addressing the
official opening of the Knutsford Express
 depot at Sangster International Airport
 in Montego Bay on Tuesday (January 9). 

This, according to Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett, represents a 21.1 per cent increase over arrivals in 2016.

“We broke the four million mark in December and by the end of (the month) we had gone to 4.3 million arrivals. This figure comprised 2,353,461 stopover arrivals and 1,946,780 cruise passengers, providing a revenue flow of approximately US$3 billion,” he said.

The minister was speaking at the official opening of the Knutsford Express bus service depot at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay yesterday.

Bartlett said the historic tourism out-turns for 2017 were milestone achievements for Jamaica, noting that “it is the first time that…we brought more than 500,000 additional visitors in a single calendar year”.

Noting that Jamaica earned US$2.56 billion in 2016, he said last year's revenue inflow indicates that “we have (generated) nearly US$500 million of additional earnings in one single year”. more

709 Pounds Valued US$22.0 Million : US customs agents seize largest cocaine load from the Caribbean in 10 years

Tuesday, January 09, 2018 
PHILADELPHIA, United States (CMC) — The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency says officers from the Area Port of Philadelphia have seized the largest local cocaine load in 10 years when they discovered 709 pounds concealed inside cabinets that was shipped from Puerto Rico.

As a result of the seizure, CBP on Monday said that the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Newark's Office, in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, initiated an investigation that is still active.

The cocaine weighed 321.64 kilograms – just over 709 pounds, and had a street value of about US$22 million.

While examining shipping containers at a seaport in Pennsauken, New Jersey on November 2, CBP said officers “detected an anomaly in one and transported that container to CBP's Centralized Examination Station in Philadelphia. more

Trump Named The World’s No. 1 Oppressor Of Press Freedom A journalism group named the president among repressive leaders who “have gone out of their way to attack the press” and undermine free speech. By Willa Frej

Jan 9, 2018 by Willia Frej Huffington Post

President Donald Trump, who recently said he would announce the “MOST DISHONEST & CORRUPT MEDIA AWARDS OF THE YEAR,” has been awarded the title of the world’s most oppressive leader toward press freedom by the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Donald Trump

Trump claimed the journalism organization’s top prize for “overall achievement in undermining global press freedom,” and joins four other leaders, including strongmen like Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who “have gone above and beyond to silence critical voices and weaken democracy,” the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday.

The group said its awards were for “recognizing world leaders who have gone out of their way to attack the press and undermine the norms that support freedom of the media.” Though CPJ determined that countries like Russia and China hold the tightest grip on their national media, it declared Trump the winner for “overall achievement.” more

HOW TO SOLVE CRIME IN JAMAICA....What Do You Think?

IN JAMAICA: Government allocates $10.0 million in emergency funding after heavy flooding

Flooding in Norwich Heights, Portland
(Photos: Everard Owen) 

Tuesday, January 09, 2018

The Government yesterday said it has approved $10 million in emergency funding to help clear public thoroughfare in the aftermath of heavy rain that triggered flooding and landslides in Portland, St Ann, St Mary, and Trelawny over the weekend.

A National Works Agency crew
clearing the Seaman’s Valley main road. 

“I have directed that funds are to be immediately released to clear roads blocked by land slippages and any other debris that have made them impassable, and to implement any emergency roadworks as are necessary,” Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie said in a statement.

“Accordingly, $3 million will be allocated to each municipal corporation of the two worst-affected parishes, while the local authorities of the other two less-affected parishes will receive $2 million each. We want to minimise the trauma and disruption to our citizens and ensure that they can get back to work and to school as quickly as possible,” McKenzie added.

He said he has also given approval for municipal corporations to use their special grant for repairs to take care of emergencies in their jurisdictions as necessary. more

BREAKING POINT: Jamaica Bordering On Chaos, Warns Fitz Jackson

Published:Tuesday | January 9, 2018 | 12:00 AM Gleaner

Thirty-eight people have been murdered in Jamaica since the start of the year, according to the official police count. It has prompted a renewed call for action from stakeholders, including the parliamentary Opposition, People's National Party (PNP), while piling fresh pressure on the Minister of National Security Robert Montague, as well as Police Commissioner George Quallo.

"You see the numbers; it's a very bad start to the year and I say this against the background that the country has heard nothing from the prime minister or Mr Montague," said Fitz Jackson, opposition spokesman on national security. Jackson told The Gleaner that the Government remained nonchalant about tackling crime through tangible planning, even as the situation worsens.

Breaking Point

He said that the recent crime figures clearly point to a breaking point, adding that "Jamaica is bordering on chaos" and that as the population grieves, the Government plays mute.

"It is clear that the prime minister and the security minister are both complicit in remaining mute on the issue in recent times, while the country grieves," stated Jackson. more

RANNY WILLIAMS : When Bob Marley met 'Maas Ran'

By Howard Campbell Observer senior writer  Tuesday, January 09, 2018

Bob Marley would have turned 73 in February. The Jamaica Observer 's Entertainment Desk will present a series of off-beat stories on his legacy. Today, we present a teaser.

FOR two generations of Jamaicans, Ranny Williams was a comedic genius — the Oliver Samuels or Christopher “Johnny” Daley of pre- and post-colonial Jamaica. Bob Marley's anti-establishment Rasta message represented the country's changing of the guard during the 1970s.

In late 1979 as Williams recovered from surgery for amputation of his left leg, Marley visited the Pantomime legend at the University of the West Indies Hospital in St Andrew. Tommy Cowan, a colleague of the reggae superstar, suggested he look for the ailing Williams.

Cowan told the Jamaica Observer that Marley was happy to make the visit. But he did not want to go empty-handed.

“He sent someone up to Barbican Road to buy a basket of fruits. When I saw what he did it really moved me 'cause I never knew he was going to do something like that,” Cowan recalled. more