The Prime Minister has acted in response to recent concerns raised regarding the delay in the appointment of senior lawyers as Queen's Counsel.

A month after RJR News reported that there was a major issue brewing between the government and the legal fraternity over the appointment of new Queen's Counsels it has been announced that three lawyers have been elevated to the rank. The Governor-General acting on the recommendation of the Prime Minister announced the appointments Monday. The new QC's are Jacqueline Samuels-Brown, Patrick Atkinson and Allan Wood. Their appointments took effect on March 31. There was growing impatience over the Prime Minister's delay in approving the appointments. A committee, chaired by Chief Justice, Zaila McCalla, recommended in late 2008 that the three senior attorneys be made Queen's Counsels. It was expected that the appointments would have followed as a mere formality shortly thereafter; but more than a year later, however, the appointments were not approved by the Prime Minister. Senior members of the legal fraternity had questioned whether this was an unwelcome sign of political interference in the process of appointing Queen's Counsels.

Father defends 3 accused of raping his 7-year-old stepdaughter at Rowan Towers in Trenton

Baugh cites bad behaviour as main factor

COUNTRIES in Latin America have joined the list of states that have imposed visa restrictions on Jamaicans because of the bad behaviour of some of the country's nationals.

In the past decade countries such as the Cayman Islands, Britain, and Costa Rica have imposed visa restrictions for Jamaicans, citing the number of crimes committed by Jamaican nationals and drug trafficking as the underlying factors.

Appearing yesterday before the Standing Finance Committee of Parliament, which is examining the 2010/2011 Estimates of Expenditure, Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Kenneth Baugh said Latin American countries have been following suit.

"Jamaica in particular is having a difficult time even in Latin American countries because visa provisions are being applied to us where it never existed before because of the way we behave in those countries," the foreign affairs minister said.

Dr Baugh was responding to questions posed by Opposition spokesperson on foreign affairs, Anthony Hylton, about the imposition which he described as "unfair immigration rules" in the context of the country's trading arrangements with Europe and within the Caribbean Community.

Hylton lamented that cultural groups, musicians and others were finding free movement difficult despite the presence of mutual agreements.

"It's a very difficult issue even though we signed the EPA (Economic Partnership Agreement) and other free-trade arrangements," Baugh admitted.

"The question of the movement of people and having access to territories in Europe, there is no question they will apply their own rules. We certainly will negotiate and deal with each issue as it arises because these are individual countries we are dealing with," he added.

Jamaicans, though, will have to behave better, Baugh noted.

"We have to appeal to our Jamaicans who go abroad to do business, our artistes who perform in these countries and our young people who end up living and working in many of these countries.

"Sometimes we defeat ourselves. We create our own stumbling blocks because of our behaviour.

"We have to make a special appeal to Jamaicans that the way we conduct ourselves when we go to other countries when we get opportunities is creating difficulties for others," he continued.

In response to queries from Opposition Member of Parliament for Western Hanover Ian Hayles as to whether there was a similar problem with the United States Government in terms of visa renewals and new visa applications, Baugh said the situation was normal.

Williams syndrome makes kids 'hypersocial,' researchers say

Never has a human population been found that has no racial stereotypes. Not in other cultures or far-flung countries. Nor among tiny tots or people with various psychological conditions.

Until now.

Children with Williams syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that makes them lack normal social anxiety, have no racial biases. They do, however, hold the same gender stereotypes other children do, said study researcher Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg of the University of Heidelberg in Germany.

Normally, children show clear preferences for their own ethnic group by the age of 3, if not sooner, other research has shown.And, indeed, the children in this study without Williams syndrome reliably assigned good traits, such as friendliness, to pictures of people the same race as themselves. When asked something negative, such as "which is the naughty boy," they overwhelmingly pointed to the other race.

Children with Williams syndrome, however, were equally likely to point to the white or black child as naughty or friendly.

While this study was done with white children, other research has shown that blacks and people of other races also think more highly of their own, Meyer-Lindenberg told LiveScience.

Williams syndrome is caused by a gene deletion known to affect the brain as well as other organs. As a result, people with Williams syndrome are "hypersocial," Meyer-Lindenberg said. They do not experience the jitters and inhibitions the rest of us feel."The whole concept [of social anxiety] would be foreign to them," he said.

They will put themselves at great peril to help someone and despite their skills at empathy, are unable to process social danger signals. As a result, they are at increased risk for rape and physical attack.

Nature or nurture?
While the first human population to demonstrate race-neutrality is missing critical genes, "we are not saying that this is all biologically-based and you can't do anything about it," Meyer-Lindenberg said.

"Just because there is a genetic way to knock the system out, does not mean the system itself is 100 percent genetic," he said.

The study does show, however, that racism requires social fear. "If social fear was culturally reduced, racial stereotypes could also be reduced," Meyer-Lindenberg said.

Despite their lack of racial bias, children with Williams syndrome hold gender stereotypes just as strongly as normal children, the study found. That is, 99 percent of the 40 children studied pointed to pictures of girls when asked who played with dolls and chose boys when asked, say, who likes toy cars.

The fact that Williams syndrome kids think of men and women differently, but not blacks and whites, shows that sex stereotypes are not caused by social anxiety, Meyer-Lindenberg said.

This may be because we learn about gender within "safe" home environments, while a different race is usually a sign of someone outside our immediate kin. (Studies to test this explanation, such as with racially-mixed families, have not yet been done.)

Racial biases are likely rooted in a general fear of others, while gender stereotypes may arise from sweeping generalizations, Meyer-Lindenberg said. "You watch mother make the meals, so you generalize this to everyone female."

In their heads
Due to the present study, we now know that "gender and race are processed by different brain mechanisms," Meyer-Lindenberg said, although those involved in gender are less understood.

It was a humid day. Fat white clouds scuttled across the morning sky as the sun, a bright shining coin, was still ascending steadily. Brown, a material witness in a shooting case, was heading to work in a taxi. The taxi had pulled to a crawl in the peak hour traffic. Brown, seated in the rear of the vehicle, glanced out the window at a woman wearing a tight mini-skirt. He did not hear the roar of the bike behind him. Nor did he see the pillion rider on the bike take careful aim. Nor did he feel much pain when his brains exited his forehead to smear the windshield and the passenger riding in front of him in a jellylike cloud of *lo**.

Another witness killed. Another case of justice denied. And yet another criminal allowed to waltz away from prison, free to murder again.

Brown was just one of many Jamaicans who has refused to enter the Witness Protection Programme (WPP) because he did not trust in its effectiveness. The WPP is a life-changing experience for many Jamaicans who inadvertently pulled into its womb. They often emerge from this experience vastly different individuals as it means they are uprooted, taken from their jobs, isolated from communities and friends. Sometimes, witnesses are moved to another part of the country, or in some cases they may have to be relocated abroad.

If you are in Kingston, they relocate you to somewhere in rural Jamaica and you cannot go certain places, you cannot contact your family and friends. You tell them how much you used to earn and you are given that money every month, you are secure, but it is difficult, one witness who got involved in the programme said.

You give up all your freedoms, and everything you called home.

She eventually left the programme after the person she was supposed to testify against died at the hands of the police.

It was a bit difficult to restart my life but I was relieved to be free to live my life again, she said.

Last year, the National Security Ministry boasted of its track record in protecting state witnesses since it assumed responsibility for the Justice Protection Unit (JPU).

The programme began officially in 1995 and is now administered by the Ministry of National Security. The National Security Ministry took over the programme three years after it was managed by the Police, and implemented a system whereby social workers from the Ministry work with those in the programme. The unit was previously managed by the Jamaica Constabulary Force. since the programme's implementation, nearly 1,500 persons have benefited from the services of the JPU, including both primary witnesses and their dependents.

The Ministry claimed that 182 of the persons who accessed the Programme were successfully released.

Despite the successes of the Ministry of National Security's Witness Protection Scheme, much more had to be done to provide investigating officers with support to manage victims and witnesses.

"We need information; we need our witnesses to come forward. I know it is difficult, but we need witnesses to come forward and give evidence. The JCF makes a solemn promise to do everything within its power to protect these witnesses and to make life as easy as possible for them," one officer was quoted as saying.
In spite of the governments sterling track record, few persons trust their safety to it, preferring not to testify at all.

One officer told one876News that if witnesses opt not to go into the witness protection programme, the result could be death. One case in point is that of businessman Andy Richards who was murdered by gunmen last year. Richards had escaped death only last year after men fired shots at him in close proximity to his house in Kelly Pen.

"If only he had listenedhe refused to go into the witness protection programme, and if he had, maybe he would be alive today. In May 2006, they killed his nephew in Dumbeholden. Andy was a witness in that case, and he was killed the day before it was to be mentioned in court, one relative of Richards told a reporter.

Witness intimidation is also a popular route chosen by criminals. In January 2005, captured gang leader Joel Andem was freed of a murder charge in the Home Circuit Court after the prosecution's only witness firmly told the court that he would not testify for fear of his life. That case was in regard to the June 26, 2000 shooting death of 20 year-old Lennox Ffrench on Old Hope Road, St Andrew.

In 2005, the prosecution was forced to drop a double murder case against convicted killer Marvin Reid after witnesses refused to give evidence in court, saying they did not want to share the fate of Richard Spence. At the time, the prosecution had three witnesses to the double murder, two of whom did not testify at a preliminary inquiry. However, Spence, who had testified, was shot dead weeks after appearing in court. The other two witnesses, who are relatives of Spence, declined to enter the witness protection programme, police said.

COURT DELAYS THWART JUSTICE

The Witness Protection Programme was implemented to deal with the danger witnesses face from criminals who threaten and intimidate them to discourage them from appearing in court.
Various human rights group such as Jamaicans for Justice have received a number of complaints about the programme.

It takes about a year to prepare a legally viable case against persons charged for murder and other offences under the law. After this considerable period has elapsed and the case eventually comes to trial, convictions cannot be secured. The reason is that the witnesses collapse. I remember a few years ago, two very high-profile cases collapsed completely because of lack of witnesses. While all these delays and aborted trials take place, the murderers continue to murder with impunity, one human rights activist said.

Yvonne Sobers of Families Against State Terrorism also believes that the lack of witness protection also works in favour of policemen who murder civilians.

No policeman has been convicted for in any of 650 instances since 1999 where policemen killed civilians. A policeman charged with 11 killings (seven at Braeton and four at Crawle) had his arrest and bail so timed that he was never taken into custody. He was charged after a 30 month-process of investigation followed by ruling followed by inquest followed by further ruling, a statement said.

The Otis Simms, Basil Brown, and Andrae Morris cases show why policemen can expect to kill with impunity. Juries have so far found no one criminally liable for the deaths of Simms and Brown, killed by police in 2003. The inquest into Morris death began in January 2005, 41 months after police killed Morris. The odds continue to go against police being held accountable, as coroners courts have found police criminally liable in only 3 of the past 350 inquests, the statement continued.

Delays increase the chances of injustice. Systems appear designed to frustrate relatives of deceased persons. Witnesses forget, lose interest, migrate or die; exhibits can be lost or mislaid or eaten by rats or burnt in fires. Andrae Morris case, for example, has taken well over three years to reach the coroners courts, Ms. Sobers said.

Ms. Sobers pointed to a case where a man Eric Wedderburn was killed only a few years after his son, Amanie, was killed by a policemans bullet in Negril.

This is a culture in which witnesses are killed in order to frustrate the justice system. Eric was a witness in this case, even if not a material witness. More importantly, he was an agitator of eyewitnesses to his son's killing; he was a driving force behind the struggle to hold state agents accountable for taking life.

Eric Wedderburn's memory needs to be honoured by the quality of investigation that ensures his killers - whoever they may be - are brought to justice, Ms. Sobers said in an email at the time.

The programme is also hindered by a lack of funding with most witnesses earning a paltry $20,000 a month to cover their expenses.

Factors hindering witness protection include limited financial resources, police mistrust, and geographical restrictions The lack of an effective witness protection program led to the dismissal of a number of cases involving killings, the human rights activist said.

There is a general unwillingness on the part of witnesses to come forward and give information as one of the biggest obstacles facing the police. The police alone cannot do it, everybody needs to play their part, another human rights activist said.

Jamaicas dancehall culture reinforces the "informer-fi-dead" mantra and the ever lowering threshold of the brutality of murderers, many criminals, even when caught, can't be kept in jail for many who love their lives and those of their relatives will not want to come forward. Witnesses are routinely killed or their relatives houses torched. The backlog of cases in the Home Circuit Court is also a problem. Absent witnesses was one of the major problems and court officials believe that greater effort must be made to secure witnesses to attend court.

In April 2007, one Supreme Court judge complained that she hoped that the Circuit court did not become a mention court.

During the term, only 48 of the 272 cases scheduled for trial during the Hilary term were disposed. The other 224 cases were transferred to the next session of the Home Circuit Court, which commenced on April 11.

WITNESSES KILLED WHO SPURNED PROTECTION

In November 2001, Everett Edwards, the brother-in-law of slain gas station owner Sylvia Edwards, was slain in broad daylight in the middle of peak hour traffic. He was shot dead a day before he was scheduled to give evidence in the trial of three men for his sister-in-law's kidnapping and murder in 2000. In April of this year, Director of Public Prosecutions Paula Llewellyn, QC, decided not to prosecute the case against Andem because of insufficient evidence. A nolle prosequi was entered when Andem appeared before Justice Kay Beckford in the Home Circuit Court in April.
At the time, Acting Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Dirk Harrison told the court that the two Crown witnesses, Shem Rowe and Alfred George Scott, who had referred to someone called 'Joel' in their statements, had been shot and killed

Family members of witnesses are also fair targets for ruthless gunmen. In March this year, 24-year-old Hopeton Benjamin was shot and killed in Orchid Close, Bushy Park, Clarendon. He was the brother of a man who is believed to be a witness in the 2007 murder of Sergeant Cleveland Wilson. Wilson was shot by gunmen as he sat in a barber's chair having his beard trimmed, in Bushy Park Clarendon. The gunman, the cops said, walked into the yard at approximately 10:50 pm and immediately began firing at Benjamin, hitting him several times all over his body, before fleeing the scene. Benjamin died on the spot.

According to a police source, Benjamin was targeted in order to intimidate his brother, who is said to be the owner of the barber shop in which Sergeant Wilson was killed, and who also allegedly witnessed Sergeant Wilson's death.

The rich and famous now have something in common with hundreds of thousands of middle and lower-class Americans: The bank is about to take their homes.

Houses with loans of $5 million or more will likely see a sharp rise in foreclosures this year, according to a RealtyTrac study for The Wall Street Journal.

Just this week, a Tudor mansion in Bel-Air belonging to film star Nicolas Cage was in foreclosure auction and reverted to the lender. On Wednesday, Richard Fuscone, a former top Wall Street executive, declared personal bankruptcy, forestalling a foreclosure auction that had been scheduled this week on his 14-acre Westchester mansion. Last month a Manhattan condominium owned by Italian film producer Vittorio Cecchi Gori was sold in a foreclosure auction for $33.2 million.

In February alone, 352 homes nationwide in this category were scheduled for foreclosure auction, the final step before a bank acquisition. That is the largest monthly number of these so-called notices of sale since the financial crisis began. By comparison, in all of 2009, there were 1,312 such notices.

Economists say the super-wealthy are among the last to lose their homes in a mortgage crisis because they usually have high savings, better access to credit and other means for staving off foreclosure. But many of them work in financial services and other industries hit especially hard by the crisis, and have seen their wealth shrink in the market crash.

Big borrowers are more likely to default than ordinary people, according to data from First American CoreLogic. Its loan database, reflecting more than 80% of the overall home-loan market, includes 1,700 loans with balances of $4 million or more. About 14.8% of those loans were 90 days or more overdue at the end of January, compared with 8.7% for all home loans tracked by First American. Sam Khater, a senior economist at First American, said the bigger borrowers may be more prone to stop making payments when they have lost all their home equity.While the numbers are modest compared with foreclosures at other income levels, they suggest the possibility of a sudden spike in bank takeovers of the wealthiest Americans' property. Typically half the notices of sale result in homes being turned over to creditors, though the figure could be slightly lower for the richest Americans who have more financial options, according to Daren Blomquist at RealtyTrac.

Mr. Fuscone, Merrill Lynch's one-time head of Latin America, put his mansion up for sale in November, asking $13.9 million. But he couldn't find a buyer.

Reached by phone, Mr. Fuscone declined to comment. Brokers and real estate tracking companies say that his home is one of the most expensive properties to face foreclosure proceedings yet.The court had scheduled a foreclosure auction for Thursday for the 18,471-square-foot mansionwith two swimming pools, two elevators, six fireplaces, 11 bathrooms and a seven-car garage. The personal bankruptcy filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court Wednesday temporarily freezes the foreclosure process.

The phenomenon is not limited to the New York area. Banks have taken over homes with loans of $5 million or more in Georgia, North Carolina and Colorado, RealtyTrac says.

Mr. Cage had tried to sell his 11,817-square-foot Bel-Air property for $35 million but failed to get any offers, said James Chalke, a real-estate agent who had the listing. At a foreclosure sale Wednesday, the property attracted no bids from investors and so was acquired by the foreclosing lender. Annett Wolf, a spokeswoman for Mr. Cage, said he had no comment.

A representative of Mr. Cecchi Gori, producer of more than 200 films including "Il Postino" and "Life is Beautiful," said his financial situation is improving.

In Florida's Miami-Dade County, the three largest foreclosure filings initiated against homes in the past six months involved a 4,655-square-foot home in Sunset Islands; a 8,443-square-foot house in Coral Gables; and a condo in Miami Beach, according to Peter Zalewski, a principal of Condo Vultures. All three had mortgages of $3.5 million to $4 million.

Mortgage defaults began to surge in late 2006, mostly among borrowers with subprime mortgages, those for people with weak credit records or high ratios of debt to income.

Over the next few years defaults spread rapidly to better-heeled borrowers, especially those who got loans without documenting their income. At the end of 2009, nearly eight million households, or 15% of those with mortgages, were behind on mortgage payments or in the foreclosure process.

Wealthy people have the means to stretch out the distress process, sometimes for years.

"It's very, very difficult for these people to believe they've had such a severe reversal of fortune," says Maggie Navarro, a real-estate agent in Pasadena, Calif.

Marc Carpenter, a San Diego-based foreclosure specialist, adds that while it's much harder for potential buyers to get loans, there are also fewer buyers who can pay for top-dollar properties. "The upper end is definitely a lagging indicator," he says.

In his bankruptcy filing, Mr. Fuscone provided a list of his debts, including ones to the Greenwich Country Day School, American Express, Mercedes-Benz, a local hardware store, a pet store, and Richards of Greenwich, a fine-clothing store.

"My background is in the financial-services industry and I have been personally devastated by the financial crisis which came to a head in March 2008," Mr. Fuscone said in his bankruptcy declaration. "I have been sued by Patriot National Bank" as part of a foreclosure action. "I currently have no income for the 30-day period" following his bankruptcy petition.

C.W. Kelsey, owner of Greenwich Hardware, was among the local merchants owed money by Mr. Fuscone, though he wouldn't say how much.

"Traditionally, the majority of our credit problems were contractors," he said. "Now there are people you'd never expect two or three years ago to have problems, who live in multimillion dollar homes."

A month after the jobs of 762 employees from Windalco's Kirkvine and Ewarton facilities were made redundant, Minister of Energy and Mining James Robertson is confirming plans are under way to reopen at least one of the plants.

Robertson said he could not provide The Gleaner with an exact date, but that he was confident Windalco would reopen its doors this year.

A release from UC RUSAL, the world's largest aluminium producer, said the Russian company plans on reopening the Ewarton Works in June, subject to approval from international lenders.

"We have a lot of good news about other developments in the bauxite industry but they have not reached a point where they are out of the pipeline," Robertson said, noting he was unable to provide any more information at this time.

A good sign

The St Catherine facility closed in 2009 as part of UC RUSAL's cost-reduction measures. However, according to the release, the overseas company estimates that the Ewarton plant will produce approximately 321,000 tonnes of alumina this year. Its total capacity is 650,000 tonnes.

Economist Dennis Morrison said this latest development is a sign that the global economy is getting better.

"Things are improving in the aluminium industry. The demand for aluminium is driven by the way the overall economy is per-forming," he said.

Morrison also outlined other developments that mark an improvement in Jamaica's economy.

"Production will resume, bauxite mining and aluminium production will increase this year. Some workers will be re-engaged and it will generate activity," he said.

"Recovery is under way and I think the opening of the Ewarton facility shows this."

UC RUSAL's CEO Oleg Deripaska said the company kept track of opportunities in order to improve the Ewarton plant's efficiency.

Deripaska also said improving market conditions, along with the "favourable business environ-ment", in Jamaica are instrumental in Ewarton Works' development.

LONDON, England (AP) -- Britain's postal service says it has suspended deliveries to a woman following repeated attacks by her 19-year-old cat.

Royal Mail said Friday that it had halted deliveries because postal workers had already sustained "nasty injuries" at the address in the town of Farsley, near Leeds in northern England.

The woman was identified as a 43-year-old pharmacy worker. Media reports say she found it hard to believe that her cat, named "Tiger", could be behind the attacks.

She told two newspapers the animal spent most of its day sleeping and didn't have the energy to chase postal worker

SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) -- A stunned Brazil was learning Monday the details of a series of rape-murders of six teenage boys near the capital Brasilia, allegedly perpetrated by a 40-year-old labourer who confessed after his arrest.

The grisly finds of six bodies in scrubland 40 miles south of Brasilia over the weekend concluded the search by families for their boys aged 13 to 19 who had gone missing in December and January.

The labourer, Admar de Jesus Santos, directed police to the remains after allegedly confessing.

DNA tests were being carried out to identify the bodies.

According to Brazilian media, De Jesus Santos lived in the same town as the victims and lured them into isolated woodland with him under pretext of either offering them odd jobs or paying 100 dollars for sex.

The newspaper O Globo said De Jesus Santos had been sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2005 for pedophilia, but only served four years.

He was released on parole in late December. The first of the six boys disappeared a week later.

De Jesus Santos was arrested last Saturday after police traced a mobile phone owned by one of the victims to his sister.

VATICAN CITY, Italy (AFP) -- The Vatican yesterday stepped up efforts to show its resolve in fighting priestly paedophilia as victims in Malta demanded a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI during a weekend visit.

The 11 Maltese citizens who claim to have been sexually abused as children by Catholic priests demanded that the pope apologise to them personally when he visits the island on Saturday and Sunday.

If the pope agrees, it will be his first meeting with victims of predator priests since 2008, when he met such groups in the United States and Australia.

"We are asking to meet the pope so he can apologise to us in person," Lawrence Grech told a news conference on behalf of the 11. "We want to meet the pope for a few minutes to help us heal and to overcome this trauma."

The demand came as the Vatican posted guidelines on handling paedophilia cases for the first time on its website and the head of the Holy See's mouthpiece, L'Osservatore Romano, praised the Church for handling the scourge in an "exemplary" manner.

The Church "is the only institution to address this problem that concerns all of society in an exemplary manner," editor-in-chief Giovanni Maria Vian told the foreign press in Rome.

Meanwhile in the Chilean capital Santiago, visiting Vatican number two Tarcisio Bertone said the pope was likely to take additional "surprising" initiatives against priestly paedophilia.

The Vatican secretary of state also noted that other faiths suffered from the scourge of paedophilia.

"We have statistics from the United Nations and UNICEF (the UN Children's Fund) referring to thousands of cases... and that do not speak only of the Catholic Church because it is a small percentage," he said.

Bertone noted at a news conference that Benedict had met with "many victims... and is prepared to meet others."

Large-scale paedophilia scandals have rocked the Catholic Church in Ireland, Austria, the United States and the pope's native Germany in recent months.

Benedict has himself faced allegations that he failed to take action against predator priests, both as head of the Vatican's top doctrinal and morals enforcer and earlier as the Munich archbishop.

On Friday he faced fresh charges that he dragged his feet over defrocking a predator priest in California.

The Vatican has been faulted for a perceived strategy of blaming the media for playing up the paedophile revelations, accusing them of trying to smear the pope.

Top prelates closed ranks around Benedict ahead of Easter mass on April 4, with the dean of the Vatican's College of Cardinals, Angelo Sodano, saying that "the people of God are with you" and would ignore "idle chatter".

Experts have said that the Vatican's approach was a sign of weakness, and that the Church should take full responsibility for the scandals.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AFP) - Employees at a Carlsberg warehouse on the outskirts of Copenhagen returned to work yesterday, ending a five-day strike over a decision to cut their daily ration of free beer, their union said.

Some 200 warehouse workers in Hoeje Taastrup had walked off the job last Wednesday after their daily beer ration was cut from three bottles to one.

Around 50 drivers for the brewery had joined the work action in solidarity with their thirsty colleagues.

"We have agreed with management that we will meet very soon to find a temporary solution while waiting for a legal settlement of the matter," 3F union delegate Michael Christensen said in a statement on the union's website.

The strike had "disrupted beer deliveries to the Zealand island," Carlsburg's communications director Jens Bekke told AFP.

Carlsberg, the world's fourth largest brewer, on April 1 introduced "a new policy on alcohol consumption in the workplace and now only authorises drinking beer in the canteen during the lunch hour," he said.

Now, "only drivers are exceptionally allowed three beers a day and the warehouse workers wanted the same privilege, but were not given it," Bekke explained.

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Besides approving rules against using plastic grocery bags, mixing recycling with compost, and smoking in sidewalk cafes, San Francisco supervisors have passed a resolution asking residents to observe meatless Mondays.

San Francisco supervisors passed the resolution last Tuesday for no-meat Mondays in their latest legislative endorsement of healthy, eco-conscious living.

It cannot stop the city's residents from eating meat. Instead, it is meant to call attention to the relationship between diet and climate change.

To some, the resolution is a welcome reminder of the small part that residents play in solving a larger problem. Others, however, were left asking for Board of Supervisor-Free Fridays.

Most shrugged it off as another one of those "only in San Francisco" initiatives that many forget about soon after passage.

GLENDALE, California (AP) -- Glendale police who used a bunny costume to decoy bad drivers at crosswalks have abandoned the outfit after it made a city councilman hopping mad.

An officer wore the Easter outfit on Wednesday in crosswalks. Drivers who didn't yield to the furry pedestrian were ticketed.

But City Councilman John Drayman harshly criticised the head-turning costume, calling it "breathtakingly dangerous" and a poor use of city resources.

Glendale police continued the crosswalk sting on Thursday but the officer wore shorts and a T-shirt. A city spokesman says the city is re-evaluating the use of costumes for enforcement campaigns.

TARPON SPRINGS, Florida (AP) -- Nineopus. Novopus. Freak of nature.

Whatever you want to call it, the nine-legged octopus probably had a leg up on all the other creatures in the Gulf of Mexico -- until it was caught and found its way to Hellas Bakery and Restaurant in Florida.

Head Chef Emmanuel Psomas says he was steaming the octopus Thursday when he discovered that it seemed, well, leggier than normal. Psomas says he's cooked octopus for 40 years -- it's a Greek delicacy -- and has never seen one with an extra leg.

He says he counted the legs three times in disbelief.

"I'm like, this can't be," Psomas said. "I've seen a lot of octopus."

He's keeping the octopus in his refrigerator for now, but he plans to enjoy it soon with a bit of vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil and herbs.

While unusual, marine experts say the extra leg on the octopus is likely due to genetic mutation.

REAL estate developers in the Corporate Area will no longer receive approval for the use of soak-away pits in construction projects despite the fact that sewerage-line coverage in the capital city is a mere 30 per cent.

"Don't come to us with soak-away systems, we're not approving any," Water Resources Authority (WRA) managing director Basil Fernandez said yesterday.

"Nobody's getting soak-away pits if they apply for them," he emphasised, charging that wells in Kingston have been rendered unusable for the most part because of the high level of nitrates and bacteria that are present in the water.

According to Fernandez, more than 6.5 million cubic metres of water is being lost in the Corporate Area every year because of domestic soak-away pit contamination.

Speaking to reporters and editors at the Observer's weekly Monday Exchange meeting, Fernandez argued that it could take between five and 10 years for the ground water to replenish itself if 70 per cent of the existing pits were put out of service.

"It happens over time, but we have to remove the source of contamination," he said.

Connection to National Water Commission (NWC) sewer lines, however, is not possible in all the city's residential communities as the service now covers only 30 per cent of the Corporate Area.

Fernandez nonetheless contended that there are alternative systems, such as the Bio-digester developed by the Scientific Research Council (SRC), that is being recommended to developers.

"It depends on the location and the geology to decide what is best," he said.

In the meantime, Fernandez is advocating a variable billing system where NWC customers are charged depending on the cost to supply water to their community.

He argued that is was unfair for people living in high-elevation communities to be paying the same amount for water delivery as those living on the flat.

"Why should you pump water to somebody who lives on top of a hill at the same rate as those on the flat?" Fernandez asked rhetorically.

Speaking against the background of the last increase approved by the Office Utilities Regulation, Fernandez contended that the cost to deliver water will have to be "looked at realistically".

Using Mandeville as an example, Fernandez said that water pumped into the Manchester town was being highly subsidised because of the energy cost charged by the Jamaica Public Service.

POLICE presence in some divisions across the country was weakened yesterday as disgruntled policemen and women reported sick to protest against Government's failure to pay them increased wages.

Members of the constabulary's rank-and-file (constable to inspector), represented by the Jamaica Police Federation, went ahead with the sick-out despite a call from Acting Commissioner Owen Ellington for them to continue performing their duties in the delivery of service and protection to citizens.

The Police High Command, said the acting police chief, was hopeful that a negotiated solution could be reached as it offered the best opportunity for an amicable resolution of the issues."The high command is also convinced that the process of negotiation has not been completely exhausted," said Ellington, while urging his junior members to keep discussions open while a resolution is pursued.

Ellington, at the same time, promised to activate contingencies to deliver critical services "if and when the need arises".

Government last year imposed a freeze on public sector wages and said the bulk of retroactive money owed to several groups would have to be paid over a medium term of four years.

Sergeant Raymond Wilson, chairman of the Jamaica Police Federation, could not be reached yesterday despite attempts by our reporter.

Reports of policemen and women reporting sick were received from the St Elizabeth, Kingston West, St Andrew South and the St Andrew Central Police divisions.

Officers at the Kingston Eastern and St Andrew Central divisions were, however, tight-lipped about possible problems.

"Approximately 24 officers failed to report for duties [today]," Inspector Louis Brown of the St Elizabeth Police Division said yesterday.

According to the inspector, officers who called in sick said they were stressed and fatigued because of working long hours.

But Superintendent Maurice Robinson, the officer in charge of the St Elizabeth Police Division, said contingency measures -- including "special rotations" and the drafting of auxiliary personnel, special and district constables --had helped considerably.

Meanwhile, a policeman from the Kingston West Division said: "Right now the reports have been coming in about low police turn-out in a number of police divisions, including ours, and we are bracing for a possible increase in the numbers [come today]."

And a policeman who called himself a spokesman for a group at the St Andrew South Division, said there were few reports of absenteeism in that division, with indication that others could report 'ill'.

In Manchester, Superintendent Lascelles Taylor said the impact had so far been slight.

"We don't know what later or tomorrow will bring but so far we have had no problems to speak of," said Taylor.

Feminists around the world have reacted with horror to a new line of lingerie that comes equipped with a GPS tracking system.

The find me if you can range of underwear has been described as a modern-day, high-tech chastity belt.

It is outrageous to think that men can buy this, programme it and give it to their partners and then monitor them, said Claudia Burghart, leader of a Berlin feminist group.

It is nothing more than a chastity belt for insecure men.

Lingerie maker Lucia Lorio of Brazil says her design targets the modern, techno-savvy woman.

The lingerie combination set consists of lace bodice, bikini bottom and faux pearl collar, with the GPS device nestled in the see-through part of the bodice next to the waist.

This collection is a wink to women and a challenge to men because, even if she gives him the password to her GPS, she can always turn it off, Lorio said.

Its not a modern chastity belt. Some men think they can keep tabs on their girlfriends with it, but theyre wrong, she added.

Unconcerned with the controversy her collection has raised, Lorio is also dismissive of the global financial crisis and its adverse impact on luxury items sales.

The GPS lingerie sells from a cool £500, complete with a standard Global Positioning System, to £700 with a more advanced model.

Some women are now interested in buying it for protection, she said, programming it for partners themselves so they are safe on a night out alone.

In London, New York, Rio de Janiero wherever there is danger, the underwear may prove to be a lifesaver, she added.

But feminists in her homeland have called her a modern-day slaver and urged women to boycott the GPS underwear.

-- Edited by KrYsIs on Sunday 11th of April 2010 08:38:11 AM

Alric and Boyd - File photos

'Turntable twins' Alric and Boyd are looking to reap success through a deal which recently made them official disc jockeys and producers for Grammy award-winning artiste Ne-Yo's Compound Entertainment.

THE STAR was told that the R&B sensation, during a visit to Jamaica in 2006, heard a remix of his Sexy Love track done by the dynamic duo and through subsequent contacts a deal was inked.

"Ne-Yo was here in 2006 and he came to the Quad and heard the remix ... . We paired it with Marvin Gaye's Sexual Healing and he loved it," half of the duo, Boyd James told THE STAR.

According to Boyd, contacts were made through the management of Level One Productions and an official deal was inked last December.

Just four months into the deal, the duo is already putting in the work and so far have done three remixes which they believe have the potential to do very well. The remixes include Rihanna's Hard and Rude Boy and rapper Ludacris' How Low.

As part of the deal, Compound Entertainment will also be doing bookings for Alric and Boyd and the duo will continuously be doing remixes for at least four new acts signed to the company.

Ne-Yo

"The first phase of this deal is to put us on the map as both producers and DJs ... they will also handle our bookings from there," Boyd explained.

The other half of the duo, Alric Anglin, added, "Over the years, we have been trying to create a situation where international labels would recognise talent both here and in the wider Caribbean, so this is a huge step forward."

Both admitted that such a deal could mean great things for them.

"I feel great because of the international exposure we can get or have been getting for that matter. There is also the possibility of working with some great people and we are looking forward to that," Boyd said.

"Fans can look out for great music," Alric added. "We will be doing more production, more remixes and we will even be working with Ne-Yo."

Alric and Boyd have been working together for the past 18 years and came to prominence as DJs on FAME FM, particularly through their programme 'The Edge', which was renowned for its mixes.

They are resident disc jockeys and musical directors at the Quad nightclub.

Cinnabun's Star Turn in Jesse James Porn

 

The Jesse James/Sandra Bullock cheating saga has now reached a new level -- the parody porn level ... and even Cinnabun has a role. 



TMZ has obtained the script for "Hustlers Untrue Hollywood Stories: Jesse James" -- which begins production on Monday. Jesse, Sandra and Michelle are all featured -- and Jesse's trusty sidekick Cinnabun has a part, played by a dog named Crisco. Don't worry -- it's a non-sex scene.

**SPOILER ALERT** In the film, Jesse cheats on Sandra with Michelle McGee, Sandra sends him to sex rehab (they get it on), then she cheats on him right back ... with Brigitte Daguerre.

Finally -- a Sandra Bullock movie guys would actually want to see.

YOU HAVE GOTTTTTS TO BE KIDDING ME!!! RAPPER T-PAIN GOES ON THE CAMPAIGN STUMP FOR REPUBLICANS . . . WITH CONTROVERSIAL TV PERSONALITY SEAN HANNITY!!

You know people have always been calling T-Pain out for his COONISH behavior. And up until now, we here at MediaTakeOut.com were defending him. But no more.

Check out the below video of T-Pain attending a conference with FOX News' Sean Hannity. Hannity is best known for espousing radical right-wing beliefs that border on racism. He even went so far saying President Obama, whose mother is White, is "racist" against White people.

FASHION FAIL!!! RIHANNA PHOTO'D OUT . . . WEARING A ONESIE!!!

19 YEAR OLD RAPPER SOULJA BOY PHOTO'D SMOKING WEED AND SIPPING CHAMPAGNE AT MIAMI NIGHTCLUB . . . OH . . . AND DUDE GOT A NEW TAT ON HIS FACE!!!

Bishop: Africa Also Suffers Sex Abuse by Priests

08 April 2010

Archbishop of Johannesburg Buti Tlhagale said the church in Africa is inflicted with the same scourge as the churches in Ireland, Germany and America. He said the misbehavior of priests in Africa simply has not been exposed to the same glare of the media. 

Tlhagale, the president of the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference, made his comments in his Easter holiday message published this week.

Africa is one of the fastest growing regions for the Catholic church, which is losing members in the Western world. Many congregants are leaving in protest over growing sex abuse scandals by the Catholic clergy.

Some media reports have accused Pope Benedict of failing to stop priests accused of pedophilia while he was the archbishop in his native Germany and a cardinal in the Vatican. 

Tlhagale said the image of the Catholic church is virtually in ruins because of the bad behavior of its priests, whom he called "wolves wearing sheepskin."

Detectives from the Half-Way Tree CIB are probing the death of an unidentified man at Mandela Park, St Andrew, yesterday.

The dead man who appears to be between the ages of 20 and 24 years is of dark complexion, slim build and about 162 centimetres (5ft 4in) tall. The body was clad in a blue, long-sleeved shirt, khaki shorts, white undershirt, grey underpants and a pair of blue socks.

Reports reaching THE STAR are that about 4:30 a.m., passersby saw the body and called the police. On arrival of the lawmen, the body was lying on its back in a pool of *lo** with a wound to the head.

Investigations continue

According to documents filed in L.A. County Superior Court, Nas had to immediately fork over $47,249.42 in back child support and $40,454 in back spousal support. The judge also ordered Nas to pay $10,000/month in spousal support until he pays off the $299,015.50 he owes Kelis. Nas also has to pay 90% of Kelis legal fees in the amount of $155,787.28. Lastly, Nas has to pay $48,549.83 to cover Kelis accounting expenses.

No Qualified Black Men Black Men Jobs Qualified Marriage Women Interracial Unemployed

Jamaica split by dancehall feud War of words between Vybz Kartel and Mavado has drawn in Jamaica's PM and its most famous sportsman The Jamaican music industry has always been a law unto itself. It makes stars of people who wouldn't get past a record company reception desk elsewhere: the cross-eyed, toothless DJ King Stitt, the eccentric producer Glen Brown, famed for releasing singles with the wrong labels deliberately attached. So it stands to reason that it should produce a feud that dwarfs all others: one that involves both the prime minister and the country's most famous Olympian, Usain Bolt. Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur's war of words may have sold more records, but Bill Clinton didn't convene a meeting involving four government ministers and a bishop. Blur and Oasis may have made the evening news, but at least Steve Redgrave managed to stay out of it. The argument is between dancehall stars Vybz Kartel and Mavado. Kartel claims to have had sex with Mavado's mother and once carried a coffin with his rival's name on it onstage. Mavado claims Kartel is a closet homosexual, has had his skin bleached and doesn't believe in God the latter a serious slur in a country with more churches per capita than anywhere else on earth. But what sets Kartel and Mavado's feud apart is that it is linked to two different neighbourhoods the Kingston neighbourhood, known as Gully, where Mavado was born, and an area of Portmore nicknamed "Gaza" by its most famous inhabitant, Kartel. Some say the row is linked to Jamaica's warring political parties: Gaza supports the PNP, Gully the JLP. Others say the feud has been stoked by a music industry suffering a slump in sales. Whatever the reason, it is being blamed for fights in dancehalls, attacks on tourists and violence in prisons and schools. Usain Bolt is said to have decreed that no Gully music be played at his post-Olympic homecoming party. Finally, back in December, Prime Minister Bruce Golding called for a meeting with both artists to broker a truce. Now, say some reports, the feud has spread to West Indian communities in New York. Meanwhile, back in Jamaica, Kartel and Mavado appear to have moved on. "Somebody tell me why Gully and Gaza fight," pleads Mavado on a new track called Starlight, to which the obvious answer is: the fact you called Kartel a skin-bleaching atheist probably didn't help. This article was amended on 12 April 2010. The original carried a photograph of Kibaki (Halloway) which had been incorrectly captioned Mavado by the agency suppying it. This has been deleted

PAYING FOR THE p**s!!! ESCORT CLAIMS THAT LIL WAYNE 'HIRED HER' FOR HER SERVICES!!! (PICS AND DETAILS INSIDE)

Snitchin groupies is the new IN THING in 2010. MediaTakeOut.com told you the story of the jumpoff named Katt, who admitted to having RELATIONS with rappers Bow Wow, Mack Maine and Nelly.

Well now another girl, a known PROSTITUTE . . . is claiming that rapper Lil Wayne HIRED HER for her services. Heres what the girl is saying (courtesy of our FAVORITE groupie Katt):

Well the way I even got into contact with him was that he called my girlfriends Eros Advertisement (Escort Service) so she went and saw him, after that I asked her to go also. She didnt wanna go so I went instead.

The second time He was kinda in a rush because he was texted me earlier in the day to come maybe around 1 or so and I didnt get over there till about 5. Anyways the sex was really good actually, hes very affectionate.

The 3rd time I was at club Play, First we were at a table with sum NFL players, but then they announced Nicki Minaj and the whole Young Money was there. The DJ announces for Nicki Minaj to sign me and my friends boobs lol.

So after the club we all meet up at the studio. We drink smoke and then his P.A take me and my girlfriend went to his condo on the Beach. We all just go to the bedroom. we just get straight to giving him h*ad, he loves when two girls do it at the same time lol then he grabs a condom and we start first, doggy first.

He kisses my back the whole time. He's very sweet and passionate. We go for like 5 minutes or so. Then he changes the condom and it was my friends turn. He then finishes. We lay there for a minute, then he showered and got dressed. I really don't think this guy sleeps at all it was like 8 in the morning and he was still going. but yea thats about it. i guess it was fun while it lasted ya know..

What we need to do.

Flexx in the complex stepping up his sing delivery and performance and bringing to alliance DJ of the year from stone love. The Gully Squad rolled out in 09 as Mavado said and Stein, Flexx, Kibaki,Chase Cross, Savage, Kyrmist and 3Star rolled out. The latter showing some real sick lyrics in a streetrelease from dj f**** followed by the hard hitting "My Area" by Savage Krymist and 3Star on the Israel riddim, Sikk!! Surprises lyricalstacious officially announced being a member of the Gully Squad. Iyara booked for his own set on sting, after creating a buzz with the release of "hustle man a hustle" big up di Machine Fyara.

Busy Signal started of the year with Gangsta Nuh Bleach, then move don to nothing but girl chunes Nah Ansa, Decide fi Ansa,Dah Style Deh,Night Shift, Automatic Remix, at the end he brought it back to di hardcore side wid "Any How Dem Diss" and Burial Spot.
Assailant Touring the U.K with Bling Dawg and releasing a Cross Angry colab wid di Killa "Gangsta Straight" which fits perfectly with di war path Assailant has been on "Crazy"on Anarchy's Brutal Konflic Riddim. Anarchy himself released a Brutal Track on the said riddim.
The Biggest non-surprize of 2009 has to be Bounty Killers resurgence, after lowing war for nearly two years, Killa's Deliquent musical son Vybz Kartel experienced a Killer attack which left the manfamous for "doh run" running from Bounty Killer faster than Gaza nuthugger Usain Bolt broke his own records. Big up Bolt!! The 5 Star General proved himself to be the badddess dj in dancehall then and now.Alliance fi life
Big up Bugle and Marshal who also had hit chunes this year.

Stein Mix. Stein has released many hardcore and uplifting songs in 2009.Many are from the chimney records

 

A policeman was yesterday arrested and charged by members of the Anti-Corruption Branch for stealing 112 (DVDs) from an illegal vendor in downtown, Kingston.

He has been identified as Special Constable Winston Duncan.

The cop was promptly hauled before the Corporate Area Resident Magistrates Court where he was remanded in custody until Tuesday, when the case will next be mentioned. An order was made by the Magistrate for his fingerprints to be taken.

Police report that in February they were were on foot patrol in vicinity of Heywood and West Streets when they saw several persons displaying the discs for sale, which is a breach of the Copyright Act.

The owners of the DVDs were identified and were ordered to cease sale of the items and have them packed away.

While the vendors were packing up their wares, a vendor complained that some were missing.

Police report that Duncan was held after his supervisor was informed that Duncan had sent away a man with some of the DVDs. The man was then held as he attempted to put the missing DVDs in a car owned by Duncan.

The Police High Command after gathering evidence, sent a file to the Director of Public Prosecution who ruled that Special Constable Duncan be charged for Larceny.

Caveman Loney pours coal into a bag ready for resale. - Dwayne McLeod

For six years, Patrick Loney has lived in a cave.

The 49-year-old man has made a small cave in a section of Forest Hill, St Andrew, his home.

He was forced into this situation after his life stumbled upon several misfortunes. Through hurricanes, storms, cold and hot weather, Loney has remained tucked into the rock.

"Mi nuh waa live inna nuh cave but a jus' certain tings reach mi mek mi end up ya suh," Loney explained when THE WEEKEND STAR visited the place he calls home yesterday.

An old, torn mattress, supported by four concrete blocks and placed in a corner, a metal chair, an unusually black, old, handleless kettle, a few bottles of water and one and a half bags of coal complete Loney's furnishings.

Loney, after much deliberation, shared his sad story as he sat in his 'bathroom', a spot just in front the entrance to the cave where he strategically placed three pieces of zinc to provide some privacy.

The St Elizabeth-born man says he came to Kingston in 1978 and landed a job with a St Andrew family as their gardener. He worked for them until 1997 when he decided he wanted a place of his own to call home and relocated to Central Village in St Catherine.

However, his dreams only lasted three years as differences between himself and thugs from the community saw him fleeing the area.

After doing different kinds of odd jobs for three years and having no permanent place of abode, Loney said he again took control of the lawns of another St Andrew family and did so for one year.

In that time, he managed to get a driver's licence and even began operating a taxi with a friend's motor car.

There was one problem nonetheless, the family for which he was doing gardening duties told him they could no longer accommodate him at their home.

With nowhere to go, Loney said he decided to make the cave his home.

"Mi neva have nowhere fi go and mi see dis likkle spot so me just decide fi hol it. Me a country man eno, so mi know how fi manage hard life," Loney said.

Asked why his life story included no story of a woman or children, Loney explained that a deformed hand didn't make him a hit with the ladies

"A jus' so it go, mi feel lonely yes but mi jus' accept it," he said.

Loney's desire to work and determination, however, is truly admirable.

While living in the cave he managed to work as a taxi operator and save enough money to purchase a 1988 Toyota Corolla from his friend for $130,000.

However, after a few months, and being the victim of a number of robberies and a car accident, he was forced to park the car and find another means of surviving.

Now Loney has to rely on the sale of coal for money which he uses to buy food. "A my likkle food money dat still. Mi sell at least one bag per week," he explained.

He also took THE WEEKEND STAR team to an area just beside the cave where he recently started his own small farm where he grows pumpkins and callaloo.

While admitting that he sometimes feels like giving up on life, Loney said with a little help he will be sure to get himself back on track and even get a nice, comfortable home.

"Mi almost 50 now, suh a nuh nuttin if mi stay ya so 'cause mi nuh have much strength so mi coulda soon dead," he reasoned before adding:"Mi woulda love di likkle help still whether with the farm or with the car..."

Anyone who is willing to assist Loney can contact him on 396-3623.

Officer provides long awaited account of Danziger Bridge scandal

by Mike Hoss / Eyewitness News

Posted on April 7, 2010 at 10:36 PM

Updated yesterday at 11:00 PM

NITEROI, Brazil (AFP) -- Some 200 people were feared dead after being buried in mudslides near Rio de Janeiro, officials said yesterday, bringing new tragedy to Brazil following massive floods which have already killed more than 150.

"From what the neighbours said, some 200 people may be buried, but it is not clear, there could be more," local fire chief Pedro Machado told AFP yesterday as crews battled to dig through mudslides in Niteroi, a city across the bay from the city of Rio.

Twenty-five people, including eight small children, were pulled out alive yesterday after spending hours buried under mud and debris.

The rescues fuelled new hope for anxious relatives desperate to find their loved ones, as 150 rescue workers -- soldiers, firefighters and civil defence workers armed with spades and pickaxes -- searched for more survivors.

Six bodies had been recovered following the mudslide late Wednesday in a Niteroi slum.

But firefighters said there was little chance of finding survivors after part of the hillside fell away and slid some 700 metres swallowing everything in its path, including 50 houses, a day-care centre and a pizzeria.

The death toll yesterday rose to 157 in floods and mudslides around Rio since it was hit Monday by the worst rains in half a century.

Most of the casualties were trapped in landslides in the slums around Rio, a metropolis of some 16 million people that will host the World Cup football tournament in 2014 and the 2016 Summer Olympics.

The toll was likely to rise as dozens of people were reportedly still missing after the rains, which displaced more than 1,400 people and destroyed scores of homes.

Sabrina Carvalho de Jesus, 26, a hospital worker, escaped with her life when the earth began to move, but her grandfather, mother and six-year-old son were buried.

"Honestly, I don't hold out hope any more" for her missing loved ones, she said. They were under "an awful lot of earth, and been buried for 12 hours -- that's a lot of time", she added.

The head of the Niteroi public services, Jose Mocarzel, said the Morro do Bumba shantytown had been built up over the past 25 years on an old landfill site and was particularly at risk.

A strong odour of methane lingered among the trash-strewn streets.

Flooding over the past days has been so intense that authorities urged residents to remain indoors. Rainfall lessened by Wednesday, but was predicted to continue all week.

Emergency officials said most fatalities were in slums around Rio de Janeiro and announced plans to try to evacuate tens of thousands of inhabitants fearing further loss of life.

Various officials and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva criticised decades of negligence which allowed shoddy home construction in high-risk zones.

But the authorities were blasted in the press for failing to anticipate the disaster.

"Where is the emergency plan?" said the daily O Globo.

A man in the US state of Texas has been arrested for allegedly trying to cash a cheque for $360b .

Charles Ray Fuller had said he wanted to start a record business, authorities in the state said.

The 21-year-olds attempt to cash the money in a bank in Fort Worth failed when staff spotted the zeros on the personal cheque.

Mr Fuller was arrested on a charge of forgery and was released on bail of $3,750.

$1m scams

The man from North Texas said he had been given the cheque by his girlfriends mother.

The bank said it had contacted the account owner and had been told she had not given Mr Fuller permission to either take or cash the cheque.

Fort Worth police said Mr Fuller also faced charges of unlawfully carrying a weapon and possessing cannabis.

Officers said a small amount of cannabis and a .25-calibre pistol were found in his pocket.

In October last year a man in the city of Pittsburgh was arrested after he handed over a counterfeit $1m bill to a cashier at a supermarket and asked for change

i have been quit naughty(lol). just apologizng to all who i have disrespected on the yea!!

gaza

BOY.... MI A TELL YOU....

-- Edited by *~*~Sweet Applezz*~*~ on Thursday 8th of April 2010 07:44:59 AM

we black people must read more ,i did some research ,a lot of will be disappointed of king ,king a sellout a black icon we so love ,please don't kill the messenger ,please listen to the speech ,malcolm x the real black icon! here is the link ,listen and cryhttp://www.mediafire.com/?2ikmlzwwwjh

DO U REALISE SEH NO LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES HAVE COME FORWARD TO GIVE A STATEMENT FOR THE ARTIST(SUCH AS MANAGERS OR P.R) AS IT RELATES TO THE ARTIST CAMPS, EVERYONE IS KEEPING THEIR LIPS SEAL...........WHAT YOU THINK???

WASHINGTON A beaming President Barack Obama on Tuesday signed a historic $938 billion health care overhaul that guarantees coverage for 32 million uninsured Americans and will touch nearly every citizen's life, presiding over the biggest shift in U.S. domestic policy since the 1960s and capping a divisive, yearlong debate that could define the November elections.

Celebrating "a new season in America" the signature accomplishment of his White House so far and one denied to a line of presidents before him Obama made the massive bill law with an East Room signing ceremony. He was joined by jubilant House and Senate Democrats as well as lesser-known people whose health care struggles have touched the president. Obama scheduled back-to-back events to mark the moment, with much of his White House audience, as well as hundreds of others, gathering at the Interior Department for Act II immediately after the signing.

"With all the punditry, all the lobbying, all the game-playing that passes for governing here in Washington, it's been easy at times to doubt our ability to do such a big thing, such a complicated thing, to wonder if there are limits to what we as a people can still achieve," Obama said, his remarks interrupted by applause after nearly every sentence. "We are not a nation that scales back its aspirations. We are not a nation that falls prey to doubt or mistrust. We don't fall prey to fear. We are not a nation that does what's easy. That's not who we are. That's not how we got here."

The president's victory lap proceeded even as Congress labored to complete the overhaul with a companion measure making changes to the main bill that were a condition of House Democrats' approval. Debate on that bill, also passed Sunday by the House, could begin Tuesday in the Senate.

Not everyone was cheering the new law.

Attorneys general from 13 states filed suit to stop the overhaul just minutes after the bill signing, contending the law is unconstitutional. Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum took the lead in the lawsuit, joined by colleagues from South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas, Michigan, Utah, Pennsylvania, Alabama, South Dakota, Louisiana, Idaho, Washington and Colorado. Other GOP attorneys general may join the lawsuit later or sue separately.

In Washington, Republicans remained firm in their opposition to the giant remake of the nation's health system, declaring it much too costly and unlikely to produce the results that Obama claims. The Republicans pledged to see Democrats punished in this fall's elections for approving the legislation over deep public skepticism.

"By signing this bill, President Obama is abandoning our founding principle that government governs best when it governs closest to the people," said House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio. "Never before has such a monumental change to our government been carried out without the support of both parties. This debate has fostered unprecedented division at a time when this nation needs to come together and address the serious challenges we face."

With that in mind, and with many of the law's most sweeping changes not to take effect for years, Obama emphasized the overhaul's most immediate impacts, including the ability of young adults to remain on their parents' health plans and a ban on insurers denying coverage to sick children.

"We have now just enshrined the core principle that everybody should have some basic security when it comes to their health," the president said.

The second, much larger event had an even more combative, campaign-like feel. Obama thanked the players from labor unions to g****-roots supporters who helped push the bill forward, and openly criticized Republicans for "still making a lot of noise about what this reform means."

"Look it up for yourself," he urged the public. "You don't have to take my word for it, you'll see it in your own lives."

The White House did everything possible to make sure Obama's appearances carried the day without competition. A planned announcement of the administration's new drug control policy by Vice President Joe Biden was called off, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs declined to hold his regular daily briefing for reporters, and all Obama's meetings were closed to coverage, including one with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The day was about more than celebration. It marked the launch of an aggressive sales job Obama will undertake to turn around public opinion on the legislation and help save Democrats particularly those from conservative-leaning districts who stand to suffer most in the fall elections from casting votes for the bill.

That effort continues Thursday when Obama visits Iowa City, Iowa, where as a presidential candidate he announced his health care plan in May 2007.

Obama's historic achievement was sealed late Sunday, when the House voted 219-212 without a single Republican in favor to send the 10-year bill to Obama. Passed by the Senate in December, the bill eventually will extend coverage to 32 million uninsured Americans and ban such insurance company practices as denying coverage to people with medical problems.

The House also passed the companion measure on Sunday, by a 220-211. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., says he has the votes to pass it in his chamber though only under special budget rules requiring just a simple majority vote. Republicans plan to offer scores of amendments to slow or change that bill and stymie Democratic hopes to see it approved as written and sent directly to Obama for his signature.

The first changes under the overhaul take effect by the end of September. Other changes would not kick in until 2014.

By then, most Americans will for the first time be required to carry health insurance through an employer, through a government program or by buying it for themselves. Those who refuse will face penalties from the IRS.

Tax credits to help pay for premiums also will start flowing to middle-class working families with incomes up to $88,000 a year, and Medicaid will be expanded to cover more low-income people.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the bill awaiting Obama's signature would cut federal budget deficits by an estimated $143 billion over a decade.

The second measure, which House Democrats demanded before agreeing to the first one, includes money to close a gap in Medicare prescription drug coverage over the next decade.

 Controvercy ... Eugene Terreblanche may have been killed in gay orgy SOUTH African police investigating the murder of white supremacist leader Eugene Terreblanche have heard claims that he met his death after a booze-fuelled GAY sex orgy with his two black workers, New Zimbabwe.com can reveal. Investigators have heard how Terreblanche, who was leader of the right wing Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) which campaigned for an independent white homeland, led a secret double life. The new revelations will come as a blow to Terreblanches AWB movement which survived a split in the late 1980s when he was caught having an affair with an attractive, blonde journalist, Jani Allan an affair seen as a terrible betrayal within the organisation because he was married, and she was English. As one commentator put it, the affair exposed Terreblanches extremism for what it was a giant paper tiger. South African police have charged two farm workers, aged 15 and 28, with murder, four counts of housebreaking and robbery with aggravated circumstances, attempted robbery and crimen injuria after Terreblanches NAKED body was found prone on his bed just after 5PM on April 3, 2010. Although initial reports suggested Terreblanche was killed following a pay dispute, the farmers neighbours in Ventersdorp, a town situated in South Africas North West Province, have questioned this version of events. A local liquor store owner has told detectives Terreblanche frequented his store in the company of the two men now accused of killing him. Their last visit was just HOURS before his murder and Terreblanche, who drank whiskey, had bought a six-pack of the cider, Savanna. A police source said: These workers were fairly new on Terreblanches property, and we have heard claims that he may have been killed in a turf war between his former partners and the two workers now arrested. That doesnt appear likely, but what we have not discounted is that this was a sex orgy gone wrong. Detectives have also interviewed several of Terreblanches former employees, including one youthful member of the AWB pulled out by his family over rumours of an affair, to test the various theories surrounding his death. Defence lawyers, meanwhile, are said to be preparing a case centred around the bombshell revelations. Terreblanches supporters have sought to use his death to project what they say is a bigger crisis the alleged targeting of white farmers by poor blacks either for criminal reasons, or in Terreblanches case, alleged racism which they blame on the singing of an anti-apartheid song which has the lyrics kill the Boer by the ANCs Youth League.But the AWB retracted earlier calls to avenge his murder, it is believed after learning of the true circumstances of his killing. Terreblanche, jailed for three years for assaulting a black petrol station worker and the attempted murder of a black security guard in 1996, was buried in racially-charged scenes on Friday.

• , Sunday 11 April 2010 19.00 BST

UN judge calls for prosecution of Pope Benedict

WASHINGTON, USA (AFP) -- Young adults who started using cannabis at an early age and used it for several years are at increased risk of being diagnosed with a form of psychosis, of hallucinating or having delusions, a study published Monday found.

The study conducted at the Queensland Brain Institute at the University of Queensland in Australia asked more than 3,800 young adults, aged around 20 years, about their cannabis use, and assessed them for psychoses, delusional behaviour and to see if they had hallucinations.

Just over 14 per cent reported using cannabis for six or more years. The study found that they were twice as likely as those who had never used cannabis to be diagnosed with nonaffective psychoses, such as schizophrenia.

These longtime users were also twice as likely to report having hallucinations, and four times as likely to show delusional behaviour as non-users, the study shows.

"There were significant linear trends between the exposure variable and all three psychosis-related measures: the longer the duration since first cannabis use, the higher the risk of the adverse outcomes," the study says.

But which came first -- cannabis-use or psychosis -- remains unclear, the researchers said.

Study participants who reported having hallucinations early in life were more likely to have used cannabis longer and to use it more frequently, highlighting the "complexity of the relationship," the study says.

"Those individuals who ... had isolated psychotic symptoms were more likely to commence cannabis use, which could then contribute to an increased risk of conversion to a non-affective psychotic disorder," it says.

"Apart from the implications for policy-makers and health-planners, we hope our findings will encourage further clinical and animal model-based research to unravel the mechanisms linking cannabis use and psychosis," the study says

The Queen of Talk Declined to Speak