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Stung by the spiralling murder tally, Minister of National Security Colonel Trevor MacMillan yesterday vowed to use the full force of the law to stop the *lo**shed he described as one of the worst in Jamaica's history.
"Let me be very clear, that this Government will not hesitate to respond with the full force of the law to bring this situation under control and ensure that stability is restored to the entire country," MacMillan said in his first statement after being sworn in by the president of the Senate yesterday.
MacMillan said that he would be announcing a multi-dimensional response to the country's crime problems within a few days, acknowledging that criminals had been operating "with impunity" for far too long and that the State would not allow itself to be overrun by them.
"Regardless of where you live, and to whom you are affiliated, we will be leaving no stone unturned to bring the perpetrators of violence to justice," he declared to the Senate.
He admitted that the country had been experiencing "one of the *lo**iest periods of its history", noting that since the start of May, 181 persons have been murdered, an average of six per day.
"We are all shocked by the wanton disregard for human life and the brazen attacks upon even the most vulnerable in our society - our women and children," he said, pointing to recent killings in Allman Town in Central Kingston, as well as St James and Clarendon.
The minister's note of urgency appeared aimed at appeasing a chorus of calls on the Government to get more proactive in the fight against crime, as the murder rate climbed towards yet another record - nearing 700 deaths since the start of the year.
MacMillan's recent appointment to replace Derrick Smith came as part of the Government's response to the worsening crime situation and amidst a quarrel with the Opposition People's National Party (PNP) over how the developments were being handled.
In his statement yesterday, the security minister also admitted that the ambush and killing of two members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) last weekend and that of a member of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), while on operation, had demonstrated that criminals were showing no regard for neither human life nor the rule of law.
He suggested that most of the killings stemmed from conflicts between some of over 125 criminal gangs which the police had suggested were still operating throughout the country, as well as from inter-gang reprisals.
MacMillan offered his personal condolences to the relatives and friends of all who had lost their lives in the murder toll. He stated that the Government was fully aware of the need to address "deep social maladies" underlying the current crime problem as well, and was moving quickly to implement a comprehensive social intervention programme in "vulnerable and volatile" communities. The Peace Management Initiative (PMI) had already been mobilised in several communities.
MacMillan noted that there was an accelerated deployment of security forces to such areas but pointed out that the security forces had been over-taxed for sometime now, and that the current upsurge in crime was stretching the limits of their ability to respond to the crisis.
"I want to personally thank each member (of the security forces) for continuing to go the extra mile, even as we call upon them to redouble their efforts at this time...Let me appeal to all Jamaicans to set aside their differences and come together to save the lives of our citizens who are being killed daily. The security forces are depending on all of us to play our part," he appealed.
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Real-time detection of fake insurance - Police, insurers to share database
The Insurance Association of Jamaica (IAJ) and the Jamaica Constabulary Force have formalised a partnership to bring to book the perpetrators of insurance fraud and auto theft with the signing of a memorandum of understanding.
The agreement, inked by IAJ president Andrew Levy and Commissioner of Police Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin in mid-May, sets out the areas of cooperation and pledges the parties to collaborate on the containment of what has become a multibillion-dollar problem.
padded claims
A study by the IAJ shows that padded claims accounted for 35 per cent of total motor-insurance claims in 2007, representing a loss of $3 billion to fraud for general insurers.
It was also estimated that some 1,500 vehicles were stolen last year, at a cost of $1.3 billion in claims to the industry.
The IAJ is the umbrella body for the island's 17 insurance companies, 12 of which provide general coverage.
The programme, which will cost approximately $15 million to implement, involves the sharing of information with the police via a database to be developed by the IAJ, to include policy records from all the general-insurance companies.
special contributions
The project cost is to be borne by participating companies.
"Each member of the IAJ has agreed to make a special contribution towards the project," said Levy.
The majority of the funds is to be spent on the development of software for the database, which will be hosted at the IAJ office at Richmond Avenue, St Andrew. The police will be given 24-hour access.
This means that the police will have access to real-time information to verify immediately - even in routine traffic stops, day or night - whether insurance papers are real or fake. The system, though electronic, is low tech.
no hand-helds
The police officer will not have hand-helds to make the connection. Instead, he or she will have to call or radio through to the police control centre, which will access the IAJ database from desktop computers, and pass the information along to the beat cop.
It basically mimics the system that the police have to check on stolen motor vehicles, with the exception that such information tends to be mounted on a board in individual police stations.
"The system will be kept to its simplest form based on the equipment that the police currently have," Levy told Sunday Business.
"The officers will be able to radio in to their central point, which will then be able to securely log into a database and query whether a particular vehicle is legally insured."
legitimate insurance coverage
All vehicles are required by law to carry motor insurance. Essentially, drivers with fake papers deny business to insurance companies.
This tracking system is expected to force those with illegal papers to take out legitimate insurance coverage.
But while the industry stands to benefit from an expanded market, Levy says that it will be win-win for all.
"The police will benefit with less fraudsters on the road, and with less fraudulent claims, then the lower premiums can be to the benefit of the public," he said.
Drivers with illegal papers, he added, "are costing the industry - causing claims, but not contributing to premiums".
General insurers will also now have access to information on traffic tickets issued by the police.
"Currently, there is little sharing of traffic- ticket information, which is an important part of our risk analysis," said Levy.
"We are hoping to get access to this database, as persons who drive faster should pay more, and right now, we can't make that assessment."
The IAJ is also hoping to get access to the central motor-vehicle registry, where they will be able to check on the ownership of vehicles when persons apply for insurance.
But for now, the main focus is to get the database up and running.
Confronting crime: Gov't under fire for failure to enact crime plan, dismantle garrisons
Confronting crime: Gov't under fire for failure to enact crime plan, dismantle garrisons
published: Sunday | June 1, 2008
Gareth Manning and Rasbert Turner, Sunday Gleaner Reporters
THE PARLIAMENTARY Opposition, human-rights lobbyists and political commentators are thrashing Prime Minister Bruce Golding for his failure to act on promises to transform political garrisons, which are criminal hotbeds. In recent weeks, the murder rate in Jamaica has soared, prompting calls for urgent action by the Government.
In the wake of biting criticisms, the prime minister, while addressing members of the Victoria Cross on Friday at the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) headquarters, Up Park Camp, said that a new crime strategy would be put into action in a few days to deal with the upsurge of criminal activities.
depending on loyalty
He told the army veterans that he had instructed the JDF's chief of staff and the commissioner of police, to effect certain changes, and that he would be depending on their "great record of loyalty to the nation to help in the fight against crime".
Police data show that three quarters of the murders committed in the Corporate Area since the start of the year took place in political garrisons. Such enclaves in Kingston and St Andrew record 202 of the 564 murders between January 1 and May 11.
Political garrisons are characterised by dominant electoral support for a political party, often ensured by force.
no attempt at debate
Leading up to the 2007 general election, Golding, then Leader of the Opposition, pledged that if his party were elected to govern the country, he would enact into law the relevant sections of the Political Code of Conduct, as well as amend Section 40 (2) (g) of the Jamaica Constitution to include a provision that allowed any person convicted under the enactment to be automatically disqualified for a period, determined by the court, from contesting any election or holding any elected office. The proposal was also included in the Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) manifesto.
But close to nine months into office, the Golding administration has said very little about the issue of dismantling garrisons and so far, no attempt has been made to raise the issue for debate in Gordon House.
failed promises
Chairman of the parliamentary Opposition, People's National Party (PNP) Robert Pickersgill, says Golding's failure to discuss the issue is, at best, another example of the promises he has failed to keep so far.
"They said crime would be their top priority and things should be hunky-dory for them now that the person who wrote the crime plan, (Trevor MacMillan, who led the 2006 Road Map to a Safe and Secure Jamaica report, is the minister of national security. So I really don't know," Pickersgill tells The Sunday Gleaner.
"Anything that they come up with that is really credible and is workable, we will certainly [consider]," Pickersgill says.
Police officers and onlookers work the murder scene where two policemen were killed in Trench Town on Friday, May 23. Trench Town is one of the many inner-city garrisons where violence flares from time to time. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer
When Britain granted its former colonies in the Caribbean and Africa independence from its grip of colonial rule, they left behind a legacy of penal codes that many free independent countries preserved and embraced as their own code of conduct. Today, they are considered outdated and being blamed for justifying discrimination against homosexuals. However, some countries are referring to the anti-sodomy laws, based on Christian beliefs, to take aim at requests for gay-marriages by gay activist groups.
In Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Zimbabwe, Gambia, Nigeria, India, Singapore and Sri Lanka, with the exception of South Africa, colonial-era sodomy laws are still in place and forbids "the abominable crime of buggery, committed either with mankind or an animal." If convicted, perpetrators "shall be liable to be imprisoned and kept to hard labour for a term not exceeding 10 years", as outlined in The Offense Against the Person Act, or The English Act of 1861. Coincidentally, Britain has since amended the Act and repealed Section 61 and 62, which criminalize homosexuality.
Jamaica Refuses To "Bow To Gays"
In a recent interview with Stephan Sackur on BBC's Hardtalk, Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding made headlines and created sensation with his statement that there is no room in his cabinet for gays.
"Do you not have a duty to consider people on their merits for cabinet positions, indeed in any part of government?," asked Sackur.
"A prime minister must decide what he feels would represent to the Jamaican people a cabinet of ministers who will be able to discharge their function without fear, without favour, without intimidation... Jamaica is not going to allow values to be imposed on it from outside," said Golding.
He also voiced his opposition to same sex marriages in a press briefing and declared, "As far as this prime minister is concerned, marriage means a union sanctified and endorsed by law between a man and a woman. And I don't want to speak with any ambiguity about where this yah prime minister rest."
Golding will not "bow to gays" and refuses to repeal the country's buggery laws, despite pressure from international human rights groups and gay rights lobbyists. "There is a road down which I'm not going to allow this country to go under my leadership," said Prime Minister Golding. "Once we embark on that expressway I am not certain at what point we are going to get off."
But, Jamaica is not the only former British colony refusing to repeal, and defends its anti-gay laws handed down by Britain in the 19th century.
Anti-Sodomy Laws In Former British Colonies
In India, a movement led by Naz Foundation Indian Trust, an activist group, is challenging the constitutionality of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code in the Delhi High Court. The piece of legislation was drafted in 1860 by Lord Macualay and introduced during British rule in India. The Section 377 is also commonly referred to as the 'Anti-sodomy Law'. So far, the response of the Indian government has been that homosexuality cannot be legalized as the society disapproves of such behavior and "whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment."
In Africa, the number of articles varies, like in Zambia, Nigeria, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Tanzania, but the wording is identical: "any person who has carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature is guilty of an offense as is liable to life imprisonment."
The Gambian President Jammeh: "Homosexuality Will Not Be Tolerated In This Country"
Speaking at a political rally on May 15, during his "Dialogue With The People Tour," Gambian President Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh gave homosexuals and criminals 24 hours to leave the country or face death in an effort to rid The Gambia of "disgraceful" behavior. Promising "stricter laws than Iran," which follows the Sharia, a body of Islamic religious law based on the Qur'an, the president warned anyone harbouring these "bad elements" to kick them out before dispatching security forces to conduct a mass patrol in an effort to weed out gays and lesbians.
"Any hotel, lodge or motel that lodges these kinds of individuals will be closed down, because this act is unlawful. We are in a Muslim dominated country and I will not and shall never accept such individuals in this country!"
On the other hand, President Jammeh welcomes foreigners in The Gambia, but declared gays will not be accommodated or tolerated because of their "sinful and immoral acts."
"Despite all democracies, [homosexuality] is a democracy that we will not be accept in this country. A man marries a woman. That is what we know and that is what is in the Qur'an. If you don't believe in that and you are in this country, you are in the wrong place," he posited. "Homosexuality will not be tolerated in this country."
Dover:Thrilling encounter
published: Sunday | June 1, 2008
Mario James, Gleaner Writer
Summerbell and Doug Gore up front going through the pace lap. - Roger Robinson/Freelance Photographer
We heard that this meet would be a killer. Stories were flying about the place about two-door evo's, tube chassis mini trucks and Guru rotary engines; who was running what and the class they were running in. And then there were the unknowns; the foreign contingent coming to baptise Dover with the waters of defeat. It was revolution against reciprocation; Honda versus Toyota, evolution versus rotary. Lines were drawn, *lo** was about to be let!
The Barbados contingent, represented by the Maloney clan, came in a father and son configuration to do just that. With two fabulously prepared cars that were the belles of the ball, so to speak, and they came loaded for bear. Make no mistake, the Caribbean contingent 'BRUNG IT'. The 1.8 litre turbo Audi A4 Quattro touring car, driven by Doug Maloney, and its stablemate, the knee-quivering, three-rotor Red Bull-sponsored Rx-3-bodied race car driven by his son, Mark, both with sequential boxes came to Dover to blow off doors and take no names.
experience
Guyanese Andrew King's Singer 13B powered Rx-7 rounded out the 'Caribbean Invasion'. Doug and Matthew Gore brought experience etched on their faces from the last race meet and two 500+ hp evo sixes; Tedroy Burton came with last meet's all-conquering Honda; Bull Thompson brought his immaculately prepared 3rd gen RX- 7 along with Dean Shaw and Dieter Wilson come with his fascinating space frame, 1400cc mini trucks.
There was even 'Team Brown's Town', a race-ready Mazda 323 with a Toyota-powered, Weber carburetted 4AGZE engine in it, prepped by the locals and brought for kicks. But in David Summerbell's pit, a gunmetal grey, Flow-insignia'd, Motor Sales- stickered time attack esvolution 8 crouched, brooding. It looked like a gunfighter, dressed to the nines, standing alone at the local saloon ...
And then, there was testing. The Maloneys' car came in a lot of big and little pieces; last to arrive was the famed three rotor which, it is rumoured, arrived to Jamaica from New Zealand. The car was put together and driven here for the very first time! During the test and tune week preceding the meet, pandemonium reigned as some of the stalwarts and newbies were claimed by the track.
The 1400cc Kawasaki engine in Shaw's space frame truck let go, leaving only Dieter Wilson's ride flying the flag from that particular camp. Peter Thompson's 13B also succumbed to the mysterious aura that surrounds Dover. Of the rotary drivers, he is the most experienced on the track, and arguably one of the best. The exit of one of the greats threw a pallor over the rest of the proceedings.
pomp and pageantry
The day dawned bright and clear and the meet started with enough pomp and pageantry to please all but the most jaded enthusiast, and was done with enough panache to fill Automotives with a certain amount of civic pride. The entrance bridge that transport minister, Mike Henry, promised the JDRC was in place and functioning, and Toyota has refurbished the old bridge that adorns the northern section of the track. This speaks well of the current state of motorsport in Jamaica. The sport seems to be moving from strength to strength.
The 'convoy' classes - Improved Production (IP) 27,33 and 37 - so called because the individual classes are melded together to make one big grid - is hard to follow.
lady racers
The lady racers did not do well this time around as the guys seemed to have upped the ante. Bowman Lee in her Tyre Warehouse-sponsored Integra, could only manage seventh in class in her first outing and fifth the second time around, having creditably finished both races.
Rhonda Nicholas in the Mitsubishi Mirage Auto Source/Advanced Performance-sponsored car DNF'd on both her showings, suffering gearbox problems after great starts in both events. Natasha Chang ran well out of the points in both races. Guy Fraser (evo 6) won the IP Convoy followed by Gary Williams (also an evo 6) with Tedroy Burton (Honda Civic) in third. Race two had Stephen Bansie (Subaru WRX Sti) stamping his class on the field with Gary Williams finishing in second and Desmond Bowla (BMW M3) finishing in third. Another notable finish was Team Bowla, claiming all three podium spots in the Modified Production 1 & 2 classes, with Chris, Desmond and Glenford Bowla, all in BMW's hunting amongst themselves for the top spots. This team is obviously operating at a different level!
super bikes
Bikers also made a return to the Brown's Town venue, as the big bore super bikes thundered across the hallowed grounds once more. In a classic duel of skill versus horsepower, Halquin Rodney mount overpowered the surgical finesse of Adrian Blake with Dennis Chin Quee bringing up the rear. Race two was little different, the front runners recapturing their spots while Chin Quee succumbed to the pressure of Andre Norman, who placed third in race two (Chin Quee actually placed fifth) and Bruce Evans coming home fourth.
But the story at Dover will always be told in the big bore classes, of which the Caribbean Circuit Championship car is one. The staccato idle of the 20B rotary mesmerised the crowd as it made its way to the starting grid of the first CCC race, its 'braap braap' bursts dissolving into a seamless siren-like wail as Mark Mahoney added some of the 2000 cc on the back straight.
The quality of the sound raised goose bumps all around Brown's Town. In contrast, the whistling whine coming from the mounts of both Summerbell and the Gore Bros were tame. Excitement reached fever pitch as the Bobby Marshal-driven pace car dove into the pits, the starter had a look-see as the field filed into the start - finish straight; one wave of the green valve, harnessed power was unleashed and there was a drag race to the first corner! Pole sitter Summerbell showed them the proper line through Goodyear corner, the car drifting slightly on exit as 525 well nourished horses fed the Time Attack evo 8 into Tyre Warehouse, the suspension coping well with the positive camber conditions as the car settled down nicely into the one possible line available to negotiate Pinky's bluff.
The rest of the field was now distanced as Summerbell's experience began to take its toll on the field, with only Gore being able to stay in touch. The screaming fire throwing RX-3 driven by Mark Maloney could barely stay on the lead lap as he was relegated to the also-ran position for the rest of the race. His father fared better than he, with Andrew King from Guyana placing third behind David and Gore. The hearts of Rotary fans everywhere broke wholesale as they realised that the maestro was back.
pure drama
The second running of this class was pure drama. On the start, Automotives will go out on a limb to say that Doug Gore picked the start, taking advantage of the 'loose laws' governing Dover's race starts and catapulted into the lead, entering the Goodyear curve first with Summerbell hounding him every step of the way.
Maloney seemed to have stepped up his game as well, but might have turned up his wick too much as the car caught fire on the straight after Pinky's Bluff. Only his quick thinking and a well- placed extinguisher averted disaster and the race was red flagged, to be restarted with six laps to go. The restart was a mirror image of the first, with Gore showing the way into the first turn and Summerbell, this time, slightly behind. It became a parade after that, with the wily Gore stretching his lead with each passing lap.
But his good fortune did not hold out as the car ran low on fuel, the corners messing with the Evo's power delivery as the low level could not keep the monster 4G63 fed. He was passed jubilantly by an obviously overjoyed Summerbell, who then floated to an easy victory. Guyanese Andrew King's Singer- sponsored entry finished third.
the finale
And then came the finale; the Maloney pit had put their shoulders to the wheel and fixed the problematic RX-3. So much testosterone was flowing on that grid that the race had to be restarted three times! During one of the restarts, it seems as if Maloney Senior tagged Mark in the RX-3, causing an entanglement with an unlucky Hollywood, putting both cars out of contention.
The RX3 suffered a broken front suspension, but, in a gallant spectacle of showmanship, was able to make it back to the track, complete with duct tape modifications to the front body work. Doug's mount, however, was done for the day. In a patriotic gesture Gary Williams lent his car to Hollywood for the restart.
But the final epic duel between rotary and evo fizzled as both leading evo's were sidelined with gearbox problems from the get-go, allowing the foreign contingent to snare the top two podium finishes for the first time that day.
The RX-3 ran fairly well, posting a best time of 1:22.597, its best time for the meet. Andrew King with a 13B harried him every step of the way and posted a better lap time of 1:22.446. In contrast, Summerbell, having made the repair himself, set off on a storming lap and clocked 1:21.235!
All in all, a thrilling encounter. The rivalries have been rekindled, and this only bodes well for the next event. On to Barbados!
Usain bolts 100m in stunning 9.72
BY PAUL REID Sunday Observer writer reidp@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, June 01, 2008
RANDALL'S ISLAND, New York - Twenty-one-year-old Usain Bolt is the new world record-holder in the Men's 100 metres after smashing Asafa Powell's 10-month-old mark with a brilliant, scintillating 9.72 seconds at the Reebok Grand Prix at the Icahan Stadium here last night.
Just after 11:00 pm New York time on a cool evening, after a false start and a recall, Bolt - who was running his fifth 100m as a senior - continued his assault on track & field's most prestigious event after running 9.76 and 9.92 seconds earlier this month.
RANDALL'S ISLAND, New York, USA - Usain Bolt celebrates as he crosses the finish line in the men's 100m ahead of the field at last night's Reebok Grand Prix in a new world record time of 9.72 seconds. (Photo: Paul Reid)
The win was a legal 1.7 metres per second (m/s), under the 2.0 m/s limit.
Bolt beat world champion Tyson Gay, who ran 9.85 seconds, while Darvis Patton was third in 10.07 seconds.
Bolt's coach, Glen Mills, was ecstatic after the race, telling the Sunday Observer his charge was "so committed and fired up to run the 100m, I knew he had it in him".
RANDALL'S ISLAND, New York - Usain Bolt poses beside the timing clock showing his new world 100m record time of 9.72 seconds at the Reebok Grand Prix last night. (Photo: AP)
The smallish stadium just on the tip of Manhattan was transformed into a sea of yellow and green as hundreds of Jamaicans descended on the venue that was sold out to its capacity of 6,490 by 6:00 pm when the meet got off to a delayed start.
The event was affected by bad weather as a quick-moving storm accompanied by lightning forced a stoppage just after 7:00 pm, an hour after the start of the meet that was already delayed by an hour.
Weather forecasters had predicted thunderstorms from mid-afternoon lasting through the evening. The light rains which fell early, however, held up and the meet started under clear skies with intermittent sunshine until the rains came.
Bolt was not the only Jamaican winner as World and Olympic champion Veronica Campbell-Brown won the Women's 100m.
Campbell-Brown shook off a false start to blaze to a world-leading 10.91 seconds into a negligible win 0.9 seconds per hour to win in a new meet record, beating her own 10.93secs set at last year's meet.
Campbell-Brown, who said she was a bit anxious when she false-started, edged Americans Marshevet Hooker, 10.94, and Muna Lee, 10.97.
Lauren Williams, who was expected to give Campbell-Brown her toughest competition, finished fourth in 11.13 seconds.
Pan-American Games 4x100m gold medallist, Peta-Gaye Dowdie, was fourth in the B race in 11.29 seconds behind winner Lisa Barber, who ran 11.13 seconds.
National 400m champion, Novlene Williams, was second in the 400m in 50.70 seconds, trailing Jamaican-born American Sanya Richards, who won in a new meet record 50.04 - the third fastest in the world this year and beating Allison Felix's 50.53 set last year.
Shereefa Lloyd was fourth in 51.49 seconds and Sonita Sutherland seventh in 52.89.
Danny McFarlane and Shevon Stoddart were both second in the Men's and Women's 400m hurdles races.
McFarlane, who told the Sunday Observer afterwards he was recovering from allergies earlier in the week, was "satisfied" with this 48.95 seconds clocking, but said he was looking to run a bit faster, "around 48.70".
McFarlane, who said he was "trying out" a new pair of spikes from his equipment sponsor, Reebok, said he felt a bit "sluggish" in the race.
The Trinidad-born USA representative, Kerron Clement, won in 48.40 seconds, while another American, Michael Tinsley, was third in 49.25 seconds.
Stoddart was beaten into second place by a new meet record 55.17 seconds run by the USA's Lashinda Demus, finishing in 55.54 seconds.
The previous record 55.46 seconds was set by Sheena Johnson in 2005.
Despite finishing at the back of the field in the Men's discus throw with a season best 60.14m, Jason Morgan was happy with his form.
Morgan, who will compete at the Island Games next weekend here in New York before coming home for the National Trials, achieved his best throw on his final attempt after just two legal throws of 56.48m and 56.04m.
Edino Steele was a close second in the Men's B 400m race, running 46.49 seconds out of lane 8, beaten to the line by the American Ericson Hurtault who won in 46.32 seconds.
Jermaine Gonzales, who was drawn in lane 2, was a disappointing eighth in 47.46 seconds.
The Trinidadian, Aaron Armstrong, won the B 100m race in 10.10 seconds, out-leaning the USA's Rodney Martin, 10.12, seconds and Ashhad Agyapong, 10.13. seconds.
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Gov't under fire for failure to enact crime plan, dismantle garrisons
THE PARLIAMENTARY Opposition, human-rights lobbyists and political commentators are thrashing Prime Minister Bruce Golding for his failure to act on promises to transform political garrisons, which are criminal hotbeds. In recent weeks, the murder rate in Jamaica has soared, prompting calls for urgent action by the Government.
In the wake of biting criticisms, the prime minister, while addressing members of the Victoria Cross on Friday at the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) headquarters, Up Park Camp, said that a new crime strategy would be put into action in a few days to deal with the upsurge of criminal activities.
depending on loyalty
He told the army veterans that he had instructed the JDF's chief of staff and the commissioner of police, to effect certain changes, and that he would be depending on their "great record of loyalty to the nation to help in the fight against crime".
Police data show that three quarters of the murders committed in the Corporate Area since the start of the year took place in political garrisons. Such enclaves in Kingston and St Andrew record 202 of the 564 murders between January 1 and May 11.
Political garrisons are characterised by dominant electoral support for a political party, often ensured by force.
no attempt at debate
Leading up to the 2007 general election, Golding, then Leader of the Opposition, pledged that if his party were elected to govern the country, he would enact into law the relevant sections of the Political Code of Conduct, as well as amend Section 40 (2) (g) of the Jamaica Constitution to include a provision that allowed any person convicted under the enactment to be automatically disqualified for a period, determined by the court, from contesting any election or holding any elected office. The proposal was also included in the Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) manifesto.
But close to nine months into office, the Golding administration has said very little about the issue of dismantling garrisons and so far, no attempt has been made to raise the issue for debate in Gordon House.
failed promises
Chairman of the parliamentary Opposition, People's National Party (PNP) Robert Pickersgill, says Golding's failure to discuss the issue is, at best, another example of the promises he has failed to keep so far.
"They said crime would be their top priority and things should be hunky-dory for them now that the person who wrote the crime plan, (Trevor MacMillan, who led the 2006 Road Map to a Safe and Secure Jamaica report, is the minister of national security. So I really don't know," Pickersgill tells The Sunday Gleaner.
"Anything that they come up with that is really credible and is workable, we will certainly [consider]," Pickersgill says.
Police officers and onlookers work the murder scene where two policemen were killed in Trench Town on Friday, May 23. Trench Town is one of the many inner-city garrisons where violence flares from time to time. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer.
As far as me concerned crime plans are f**kery....They will only work if they dont leak that shit to the media. If you are gonna let the media know what is in it then you have a problem because, criminal watch news too.
Aidonia,busy,kartel,movodo and Elephant Man who id d maddest wifer in d sounds
who you think is d maddest on d girls?
Chelsea FC have dismissed manager Avram Grant just three days after they were defeated by Manchester United FC on penalties in the final of the UEFA Champions League.
Cup setbacks
The Israeli manager led his side to the final of UEFA's premier club competition for the first time in their history and the final of the English League Cup after taking over from José Mourinho in September. But defeat in those two finals by United and Tottenham Hotspur FC respectively, coupled with their failure to wrestle the Premier League title back from Sir Alex Ferguson's side prompted the club to seek a change.
Contract terminated
A statement from the club read: "Chelsea Football Club can confirm that Avram Grant has had his contract as manager terminated today. This follows meetings over the last two days. Everybody at Chelsea FC would like to thank Avram for his contribution since taking over as manager last September. We will now be concentrating all our efforts on identifying a new manager for Chelsea and there will be no further comment until that appointment is made."
Four-year deal
Grant, who initially joined the club as technical director in July 2007, had made an impressive start to his managerial reign alongside new assistant coach Henk ten Cate at Stamford Bridge and the club rewarded him with a four-year contract in December. But the pressure started to mount on the 53-year-old when they lost 2-1 to Tottenham in the Wembley showpiece and unceremoniously exited the FA Cup at the hands of lowly second-tier side Barnsley FC.
Liverpool scalp
Nevertheless, the former Israel national team coach hauled his side back into the English title race and Chelsea went into the final match of the season behind United on goal difference only for the champions to hold their nerve to retain their crown with a victory at Wigan Athletic FC. However, unlike all his predecessors, he led the London side to the UEFA Champions League final in Moscow with a last-four success against a Liverpool FC side who had disposed of them in both 2005 and 2007 at the semi-final stage. Chelsea will play in that competition again next season after finishing second in the Premier League but Grant will not now be there to lead them.
What are the biggest dancehall riddims or singles playing in parties today?
Buju pleads for other artistes to ... CLEAN UP YOUR MUSIC
Popular deejay Buju Banton has issued an emotional appeal to his fellow entertainers to clean up their lyrics in order to help Jamaica to recover from its present social decay.
The deejay, who posted a message in his newsletter, The Gargamel Gleaner, said that the country is presently having a problem with; crime, politics, the dons, the deejays and lesbian and gays.
"We are suffering a social decay yet no one, not a single one of our entertainers, have seen the need for a change in the lyrical content they are selling," the deejay said.
The rastafarian deejay further stated that in the past, entertainers were such a vocal set that even church leaders would quote them during service.
"What happened? Have we all become followers now, instead of leaders for our people? No wonder these political snipers are getting away with blue murder. Everybody is afraid of what speaking out might bring," he stated in the newsletter.
Buju became known for the conscious message in his songs, after he took on the rastafarian faith in the late 90s. He released songs such as Murderer and Til I'm Laid To Rest. The deejay since then has released notable albums such as Inna Heights and the most recent Too Bad.
But while the deejay has never been afraid of expressing his thoughts in his music he only recently began expressing himself through the Gargamel newsletter.
The deejay in his emotional statement further said; "I have no friend in high society. My friends are those I can identify with, those who have a heart, conscience, those who see our country overrun by crooks and cut throats, and are calling deep inside for their champions to restore their pride and dignity so we Jamaicans can once more hold our heads high and serve this great nation with our all. We have a responsibility. Let's pull together."
A few weeks ago one of dancehall music's largest sponsors, Red Stripe beer, also made a similar appeal. The beer company took the stance to pull its endorsement of dancehall music that promoted violence.
This decision was largely criticised by some entertainers who promised to boycott the product.
Who is de maddest artist on de danceing tunes right now!!!!
I want to no so askin any and everone to comment on dis one
A person was recharging his cell phone at home.
Just at that time a call Came in and he answered it with the
Instrument still connected to the outlet. After a few seconds electricity flowed into the cell phone unrestrained and the young man was thrown to the ground with a heavy thud.
His parents rushed to the room only to find him unconscious, with a weak heartbeat and burnt fingers.
He was rushed to the nearby hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival.
Cell phones are a very useful modern invention.
However, we must be aware that it can also be an instrument of death.
Never use the cell phone while it is hooked to the electrical outlet!
-- Edited by Gangsta Natz at 04:37, 2008-05-15
Firefox
Internet Explorer
Which artist aint in the spotlight now u would like to see come back?
Does It Pay To Be A Gyallis(Guys An Girls Can Share Their Veiws)
-- Edited by dimmit at 20:54, 2008-05-31
Damn!!!Girl #2
or Mrs Klaus lolDon't U Gt Tired Off Ppl Sumtimes Post The Same Song Over An Over Again??
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Unfortunately Deva Brat, Mavado and Lutan Fyah are not the only entertainers facing legals woes at this time as the Doctor Beenie Man who recently reverted his decision to settle his tax case involving the Jamaican Government will be heading to court again.
876radio.com understands that the entertainer who appeared before the courts yesterday, case was not heard because the Registrar Magistrate was not in attendance and so a new date has been set for the entertainer to plea his case.
Beenie Man feels he has been wrongfully targeted for matters that should have been handled by his previous management company. (Shocking Vibes).
According to the Jamaican Government the Doctor owes back taxes in the amount of J$29,290,116, with penalties on the back taxes amounting to J$18,641,254. The c****ined total hits the height of J$47,931,371.
He is set to return to court on June 30th, 2008.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A 19-year-old accused of firing several shots a people gathered for a Memorial Day cookout is charged with aggravated assault, and so is his mother, who police say told her son to fire the shots.
According to the police report, Kabibi Ng****e, 38, got in an argument with people in the 2000 block of Lambert Street on Monday evening, then told them she was going to get her son, who would get his gun and come up on you all.
Ng****e returned a few minutes later, with her son, Patient Lukohde. Witnesses told police that Lukohde walked toward them and fired several shots at the group of people.
An officer who was close enough to the incident to hear gunfire and responded, arresting Lukohde and Ng****e.
No one was hit by the gunfire Police found seven 9 mm shell casings at the scene.
Both mother and son were booked into the Duval County jail. Ng****e remains in jail on $100,358 bond, while Lukohde is being held on $50,003 bond.
Randall King was pouring concrete at the Berkman Plaza II last December when the parking garage collapsed, leaving one man dead.
King plummeted six stories, but he was able to walk away without any broken bones.
I believe in God. I believe he was with us this morning and it just wasn't my time to go, King told Channel 4 shortly after the collapse.
However, six months later and dozens of miles away from the site of the parking garage collapse, King lost control on a motorcycle and crashed into a tree near Savannah, Ga., troopers said.
King leaves behind five children and a circle of friends on Jacksonvilles Southside.
God has come and collected him and taken him to the promise land, said Kings neighbor, Jon Sanders.
We miss our neighbor and part of our family, said Kings neighbor, Nucha Odzakovic.
His friends said the words King shared with Channel 4 after the tragic garage collapse were very telling.
You can see in his face patience, not angry, not upset. He was a really patient person, Odzakovic said.
He said the King who he knew was all about being a family man and a good neighbor.
He was exactly that person. He followed the footsteps of Jesus Christ's religion, Odzakovic said.
On Friday evening as King's family prepared for his funeral in Georgia, neighbors in Jacksonville said they want the family to know that they are not alone.
THE mum of murdered toddler James Bulger has demanded video website YouTube remove a sick clip mocking her sons killing
THE mum of murdered toddler James Bulger has demanded video website YouTube remove a sick clip mocking her sons killing.
Hundreds of other users are backing Denise Fergus, 37 who also wants the warped person responsible banned from posting future footage.
Disgusted ... Denise Fergus
But YouTube has failed to remove the clip. Denise said: This video makes me sick to my stomach to see the murder of my beautiful son being made the subject of a sick joke.
James was murdered in 1993 by youths Robert Thompson and Jon Venables.
The 1min 28sec video, entitled Hey Robert, is by poowizard1 and has him singing from the perspective of Venables, accompanied by images of the three children.
Lyrics include: Hey Robert, theres a game that we can play. Lets get a toddler and steal it from its mum.
Denise, of Kirkby, Merseyside, added: Its disgusting.
"It should be taken down immediately.
Around 230 YouTube users have also commented.
One, Toribum24, said: The only reason you have put so much effort into this video is to hurt the family of a dead child.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A man who prosecutors said pulled a gun and shot at narcotics officers outside a suspected drug house learned his punishment on Friday afternoon.
A judge sentenced Jacquan Shootes to 40 years in prison.
In February of 2006, Shootes was shot multiple times after he opened fired on Jacksonville police officers. During his trial, Shootes said he did not know the men were police officers and said that he fired in self defense.
A jury acquitted him on the attempted murder charge in March of this year. However, Shootes was found guilty of two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm and illegal possession of a concealed firearm.
No officers were hurt during the shooting.
Dj Headz (5) 13%
Dj Spyda (9) 23%
JamaicaBwoy (3) 8%
DjRomeo (1) 3%
Dj Pengo (2) 5%
Dj Miggs (1) 3%
Stainless (5) 13%
Dj Camman (0) 0%
RiddimQueen (3) 8%
RiddimDaddy (3) 8%
Dj Delvito (6) 15%
Dj OP (2) 5%
these are the results on the website, so let me see whats it gonna be here
September 15, 2007, was a bad night for local dancehall. After weeks of solid concert promotion and buildup for one of the liveliest dancehall shows of the year, a great concert was brought to a screeching halt because of bullets and ignorance.
Reggae rebels Mavado and newcomer Munga Honorable were performing at the Gold Coast Roller Rink in Fort Lauderdale an odd venue for a dancehall concert but one that somehow worked out surprisingly well. Police were all over the place, the rudeboys seemed not to care, and good music, good vibes, and a cloud of ganja smoke kept the skating rink animated well into the wee hours. Despite all the craziness that perforated the show, Munga's set was as solid as ever. With thick locks, shiny gold teeth, hip-hop attire, and a brazen attitude reminiscent of Tupac or Tony Montana, Munga's stage presence that night demonstrated why he's undeniably the biggest dancehall star on the rise. He and Mavado performed together for ten or 15 minutes, ripping through up-tempo riddims that sent the crowd into a frenzy. Twenty seconds into each tune, the DJ would pull up the track and spin it again, all of which kept driving the energy of the crowd forward.
Just as the night's unannounced special guest, Bounty Killer, jumped on stage and the three artists started sending the crowd toward a musical orgasm, everything went to shit. Sounds of gunshots erupted, police stormed the stage with weapons drawn, and a concert that managed to surpass its own considerable hype was cut short just as it was going from great to incredible.
Munga was especially pissed-off after the shooting (in which a few rounds were fired into the air and nobody was injured), but he's able to laugh about it all now.
"That was a gun salute, ya know," Munga says via phone from Jamaica. "That was just a dancehall audience t'ing. It wasn't no disagreement or a fight. That was just a gun salute. The police rushed the stage and shut down the show, but de people dem were just welcoming us, ya know."
Well, I've been to a lot of concerts, and anytime an artist needs to be welcomed with a gun salute, it's going to be one hell of a show, but something is out of whack.
This weekend, Munga marks his return to Fort Lauderdale, headlining a show at Revolution. Things aren't expected to get out of hand at all. But Munga pulled a knife on dancehall troublemaker Deva Brat when the two got into an onstage fistfight. Popular singjay Sizzla was on hand that night to restore order to the concert, which is a sign that dancehall artists can themselves create peace. But two weeks ago, there was another altercation this time Sizzla getting into it with Jah Cure!
With this string of recent incidents, it seemed like a good time to speak with Munga about violence in dancehall, since he's quickly and perhaps unfairly becoming the poster boy for all of the genre's problems.
"As a society, we always need somebody to blame," Munga offers. "I think the media needs someone to point the finger at. Right now, they want to point the finger at me. It's just my time to go through this. Artists have been blamed for violence in music before me, and they will be blamed after me."
His answer has merit. It is unfair to put all of this on the shoulders of a few rebellious rockers like Munga and Mavado, when the genre has had a bad reputation for years. But I press him on why there's so much violence in dancehall specifically as the softer and more melodic genre of reggae tends to avoid such problems.
"Why is it that there's so much violence in society?" he answers back. "Art imitates life, not the other way around. Let's be clear about that. Dancehall is just music. Real violence is going on worldwide, in Pakistan, India, Israel, and especially America. Why are people afraid to talk about that?"
It's a good question. I'd throw out a response, but Munga is on a roll.
"Me say, even I, as a younger youth growing up in Jamaica, from the country to the ghettos of Kingston, I was majorly influenced by what I saw on TV as far as being rebellious," Munga continues. "Me see Al Capone on the TV and Gumshoe and Scarface. That influenced me way more than dancehall. We as artists are creating the music that the people dem want to hear, and we rhyme about what we see."
He's unapologetic about dancehall's rougher edges and takes the stance that, if people want to see less violence in the music, better living conditions for Jamaicans need to come first.
I wouldn't call him the Robin Hood of reggae, but he speaks up for poor people in Jamaica and sometimes aggression comes with that perspective. And as for his fracas with Deva Brat, he's quick to add: "Me and him never had no beef. Him overstep him boundary, and me take care of that. Yeah, I pulled my knife on him, but what did I do? I put it back. That was a natural reaction, but cooler heads prevailed.
"This music goes through phases," he continues. "It was in the one-drop era for awhile, with Fantan Mojah and I-Wayne, and now it's going through a more rebellious, gangster stage. But it always changes. This is a new year. Before we start judging, let's see what happens."
The film is an adaptation of the same titled 1969 novel by Robert Iceberg Slim Beck, portraying a black familys migration from the southern Mississippi fields of the segregated south, to the ghetto of Chicago in the mid 1930s.
The story follows Otis Tilson and his struggle to keep his family bonded, as they weave this new world filled with alcoholism, pimping, sexual deviation, and racial conflict. Told in the gut level language of the original novel, the familys journey is a harsh testament of lives lived on the margin.
Also featured to appear in the flick is the multi talented Macy Gray, Kerry Washington and Anthony Anderson. Black Mama Widow is now in the final stages of production and is set for an early release in 2009.
Home at center of 50 Cent lawsuit destroyed by fire
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. - A multimillion-dollar Long Island home at the center of a dispute between Grammy-nominated rapper 50 Cent and his former girlfriend was destroyed by a suspicious fire early Friday.
The blaze occurred just days after a heated confrontation inside the woman's attorney's office over the home. 50 Cent does not live in the home and apparently wasn't there at the time.
Six people inside the Dix Hills home were taken to a hospital suffering smoke inhalation, including the former girlfriend and a boy fathered by the rapper. All six were treated and released. A firefighter also suffered a minor eye injury, officials said.
Investigators from the Suffolk County arson squad were called to the scene after Dix Hills Fire Chief Larry Feld deemed the blaze suspicious. The fire was reported about 5 a.m. and extinguished about 45 minutes later, Feld said.
A passing off-duty police officer helped rescue the six people off an elevated deck in the home's backyard, Feld said.
He referred the case to the arson squad "because of the intensity of the fire."
The rapper's ex-girlfriend, Shaniqua Tompkins, and two of her children, including 50 Cent's son, were among the injured. The other three adults in the home were not immediately identified.
Earlier this year, Tompkins filed suit against 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, claiming he had promised her the $2.4 million house more than a decade ago but that since their breakup he now wants to evict her and their 10-year-old son.
Tompkins' lawyer, Paul Catsandonis, said the dispute over the house had become "extremely, extremely contentious" in recent days. Although he declined to be specific, he said there was an "extremely dangerous incident" on Monday in his Manhattan office while taking a deposition for the lawsuit.
The dispute was "involving the parties in question," he said.
He said the case was back on the calendar in state Supreme Court in Manhattan on June 10.
Brett Kimmel, an attorney for 50 Cent, did not immediately return calls for comment Thursday.
Catsandonis said the 32-year-old rapper paid about $2.4 million for the house, one of the largest in the Long Island neighborhood. He said 50 Cent, who was shot outside his grandmother's Queens home in 2000, had told Tompkins, 32, he wanted her and their son to live in a safe and secure place.
He also contended that the rapper signed an agreement that would give Tompkins half of all the rappers' earnings as a hip-hop superstar. "Everything that's his is hers, everything that's hers is his. He memorialized in an e-mail that he intended to give her the house."
The rapper has been nominated for 13 Grammys, including nods for the song "In da Club" and the album "Get Rich or Die Tryin'." In 2005, he starred with Terrence Howard in a semi-autobiographical movie based on that album.
He also starred in the 2006 film "Home of the Brave" as a soldier returning home from the Iraq War.
AMERICAS capital lies devastated by a nuclear b**** in this picture posted on a jihadist website.
The computer-generated image shows a destroyed Capitol in Washington DC home to the House of Representatives and the Senate.
It was published on two al-Qaeda-affiliated forums after a video titled Nuclear Jihad: The Ultimate Terror was released on May 24, triggering a discussion about possible nuclear attack on the US or Great Britain.
The FBI said the image found by intelligence specialists was posted by a crank with no al-Qaeda
It sounds like something out of a science fiction movie, but a new day-care center that uses drugs, music and hypnotism to keep children in suspended animation for up to eight hours at a stretch is not only real -- your tax dollars are paying for it.
"This isn't just outrageous, it's monstrous -- straight out of the pages of 1984," says Rhonda Martinet, of the child-advocacy group Educate for Tomorrow, in Washington.
"Nobody wants to talk about it, but the program is big and getting bigger. Something's got to be done. Children of day care age should be interacting with one another and their teachers.
"They should be expressing themselves creatively and learning basic math and language skills. But this program dispenses with all that.
"This program drugs them into oblivion and then puts them in a trance on top of it.
"Parents on the far right, the fundamentalists, like it because it means they get to raise their kids without government interference since the only time the kids are active and awake is when they are at home.
"What they fail to understand is that these children will be horribly stunted. And who knows what kinds of side effects the drugs could have? I shudder to even think about it."
The mind-twisting day-care experiment has been under way since December of 2002, when the Department of Health, Education and Welfare quietly issued a $60 million grant to the ultraconservative Freedom In Education research group, which looks for "innovative ways to teach and socialize children" under the age of 5.
The group first came to notoriety in the mid-1980s when members suggested that children with attention deficit disorder "are better off in padded cells than running wild in classrooms, ruining the educational experience of normal children."
Spokesmen at the group's headquarters in Los Angeles declined repeated interview requests. But sources with close ties to the think tank say the suspended-animation experiment "is considered to be a resounding success."
"They believe they've found a way to give working parents the chance to raise their own kids in the way they see fit, which is something that
Seven shot, two fatally
Gunmen yesterday shot and killed two people in a barefaced shooting incident on Prince of Wales Street in Kingston and left five others nursing gunshot wounds at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH).
The dead persons have been identified as Margaret Campbell, 26, of a National Heroes Circle address, and Lenroy Moreland, 23, of an unknown address.
Police reports are that the group of persons were at a premises on Prince of Wales Street when men came out of a white motor car and opened fire, hitting all seven. They were rushed to the KPH where Campbell and Moreland succumbed to their injuries.
Mild traffic build-upThe fatal incident caused a mild traffic build-up in some areas as police personnel diverted motorists from the area. Several onlookers, who had gathered and sheltered from the light showers under nearby trees, stared in disbelief as investigators processed the area. Though tight-lipped about the details of the shooting, many onlookers expressed their disgust and disbelief at the act, with one bystander saying that the occurrence was "a sad state of affairs" and showed the "disregard for life" now in the island.
Sense of fearMember of Parliament for Central Kingston, Ronnie Thwaites, said the incident was a very unfortunate one and called on the police to increase their presence in the area.
Thwaites said residents of Allman Town were experiencing great fear as a result of two recent shooting incidents on John and Wild streets, prior to yesterday's fatal attack.
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