Forum: News & Topical Issues
What Jamaica wants' - Church, gays divided on PM's BBC interview
Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown (right) greets Jamaica's Prime Minister Bruce Golding at his residence, 10 Downing Street, in London, yesterday. During the meeting, Golding told Brown that institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank needed to reform their approach to middle-income countries like Jamaica when dealing with debt relief and debt-servicing discussions. As a result of the talks, a decision was taken for Great Britain to provide Jamaica with technical assistance in dealing with international financial organisations on issues of financing and debt relief. - AP
Prime Minister Bruce Golding's firm stance against homosexuality in Jamaica on an international talk show has drawn both support and sharp criticism from within the nation and the diaspora.
Yesterday, president of the Jamaican Diaspora Foundation in Canada, Phillip Mascoll, argued that while same-sex marriages were allowed in Canada, buggery remained a crime in Jamaica and the law should be obeyed.
"The prime minister, being a politician, has to do what the people want him to do," Mascoll said.
Golding, who was responding to questions posed by Stephen Sackur on the BBC talk show Hardtalk, said he would not be pressured by outsiders to recognise homosexual rights.
"We're going to have to determine that for ourselves and we're going to have to determine to what extent those values will adapt over time to change; change in perception, change in understanding, as to how people live," he said.
Golding also declared he would not allow homosexuals to form part of his Cabinet.
Jason McFarlane, spokesman for local gay lobby group, the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians All Sexuals and Gays (JFLAG), told The Gleaner yesterday that Golding's utterances on a British talk show Monday night would have serious implications for Jamaica's international image.
However, McFarlane did not expand on his concerns.
Jamaica has been facing increasing pressure from international lobby groups to repeal its buggery laws and give more support for rights of homosexuals.
Local clergyman Errol Rattray, of the Errol Rattray Evangelistic Association, was also supportive of Golding's stance.
"I commend the prime minister for being bold enough to express such a position on the international stage," Rattray said. "There is a line that should be drawn when it comes to diplomacy and the truth, and while you can be diplomatic, you must always be truthful and everybody has a conscience that guides them."
However, former New York City councilwoman Una Clarke, said she believed a potential Cabinet minister should not be rejected based on his or her sexual orientation.
She insisted that individuals must be selected based on their level of competence and their behaviour in public.
"If you have your lifestyle, you live your lifestyle, and it's not anybody's business but your own," said Clarke. "Nobody needs to put a sanction on it - right or wrong."
R. Kelly jurors told they'll have to watch sex tape
A prosecutor in the child pornography trial of R. Kelly warned jurors Tuesday they would have to watch a videotape depicting an "underage child performing sex acts that you have never seen before."
Grammy-winning R&B singer R. Kelly arrives at a Chicago courthouse for the first day of his child porn trial.
"A child doesn't choose to be violated and placed on a videotape, a videotape that will live on forever -- long after this child becomes an adult," Cook County prosecutor Shauna Boliker told jurors as opening statements got under way in the R&B singer's long-delayed trial.
Kelly, 41, is accused of videotaping himself having sex with an underage girl who prosecutors maintain was as young as 13 when the tape was made between January 1, 1998, and November 1, 2000.
Kelly, however, denies he's the man on the tape. The 23-year-old woman prosecutors say was a minor at the time of the taping denies she's the girl on the video. Defense attorneys may also contend the girl, whomever she was, wasn't a minor at all.
-- Edited by biggaman121 at 14:32, 2008-05-20
Reggae Sumfest releases exciting line-up
20 May 2008 | by Contributed Article
Billed as "The Best Show on Earth," Reggae Sumfest returns this year on July 13 - 19, in Montego Bay, Jamaica. The line-up announcements are always long-awaited and this year's is bound to please the masses who journey to Jamaica each year for the shows.
The biggest night or "Dancehall Night" on Thursday, July 17 includes undoubtedly the biggest names in dancehall today - Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Elephant Man, Mavado, Busy Signal and Vybz Kartel, alongside newcomers Erupt, Demarco and Serani, just to name a few. Friday night or "Reggae Night" lives up to its promise as the best in roots reggae, with Queen I-Frica, Richie Spice, Jah Cure, while Tarrus Riley, songbird Etana and sexy duo Brick & Lace round out the "International Night" on Saturday, July 19.
Sumfest officials are still in negotiations with some other big names to add to the roster, include Beres Hammond and Buju Banton, both of whom were on last year's bill.
Log on to reggaesumfest.com for updated artist line-up and for details on other exciting Sumfest activities planned throughout the entire week.
Jamaicans living overseas have expressed mixed views about Prime Minister Bruce Golding's controversial pronouncements during the BBC programme Hardtalk, on Thursday night.
During the programme, Golding sought to give the assurance that adequate measures were now in place to tackle the problem of crime, but he said it would take some time before the situation was brought under control.
Robust discussions
The president of the Jamaican Diaspora Foundation in Canada, Phillip Mascoll, said there had been robust discussions following the prime minister's appearance on the BBC programme.
He also said he supported several of the points raised by Golding.
Mascoll agreed, for example, that crime was no longer being fuelled by political tribalism, but by the drug trade and extortion.
"Far more profitable things have now taken charge," he said.
Former New York City Council woman Una Clarke also addressed the prime minister's statements.
She said she did not believe there were enough systems to arrest the problem of crime. As a result, Clarke said, there was need for more assistance from countries like the United States. "We need a lot of help and support," she said.
G-unit and Games Albums Both Pushed Back To July
A Soundscan showdown between 50 Cent and his G-Unit collective and Compton rapper The Game will not take place, AllHipHop.com has learned.
Both G-Unit and The Game were scheduled to release their third albums respectively, on June 24, pitting the two rivals against each other for sales.
50 Cent claimed he was going to push The Games album L.A.X back, so that G-Unit could release their highly anticipated release Terminate on Sight on June 24.
Representatives for The Game released a statement denying 50 Cents claim.
Now both rappers release dates have been changed by Interscope.
G-Units Terminate on Sight will land in stores on July 1, while The Games L.A.X. will follow the next week, hitting the shelves July 8.
Source: Allhiphop
IN a BBC Hardtalk interview broadcast yesterday on BBC World News and the BBC News Channel, Stephen Sackur spoke with Prime Minister Bruce Golding. Jamaica was recently described as the world's most murderous country. The following are excerpts from the transcript provided to The Gleaner by BBC Hardtalk.
GOLDING ON policing
Do you trust the Jamaican police force?
There are members in the Jamaican police force that can't be trusted. This is part of our problem.
How many of them can't be trusted?
It's difficult to put a number on it. Since the start of this year, some 30 have been arrested for corruption. So that we are working to rid the force of those elements within it which are compromising its effectiveness and in fact putting its own security at risk.
It's more than just 30, isn't it? If one reads the Amnesty International report that came out in April, one gets the picture of a police force that is fundamentally rotten.
Amnesty International can of course afford to speak in hyperbolic terms. We can't. We have to go on the facts. We have to put in place a programme that seeks to identify those who ought not to be there, those who ought to be apprehended and punished.
It is not hyperbole to point out that the Jamaican police force has killed over 1,400 Jamaican citizens between 2000 and 2007
Yes - and what is the Government doing about it? We have brought to Parliament - or presented to Parliament just two weeks ago - legislation to create an independent investigative authority that will have the power to investigate instances of excess use of power, abuses by members of the security forces - that's an election commitment we've given and that's a commitment we're in the process of keeping.
How many senior police officers have you fired since you came to power?
I can't fire them. Under our laws I don't have that power.
How many senior police officers have you suggested to the authorities that can fire them, should be fired?
I dare not do that either. If I did that, that's political interference. Under the Constitution there is a police service commission that has that power. A number of them have been retired within the last 12 months. But much of the decisions that are going to be taken affecting the structure of the organisation rest with the strategic review that has just been completed.
Golding's views on homosexuality in Jamaica - would he consider having gays in the Cabinet?
Jamaica's attitude to homosexuality. That is a problem: If you listen to Human Right's Watch, Rebecca Schlieffer - she says homophobia in Jamaica is the worst that she has ever seen. The New York Times just ran a big story a couple of months ago. There was a case in Mandeville - a crowd storming a house. Four men having dinner were trapped and brutally assaulted because they were believed to be gay - and that was not unusual. What are you doing about it?
Well, we have given instructions that crimes against persons because of their sexual orientation must be pursued with the same vigour of any other crime.
But they are not, are they?
Generally speaking they are - they are now. We do have a long-standing culture that is very opposed to homosexuality. I think that is changing. I believe there is greater acceptance now that people have different lifestyles, that their privacy must be respected.
Are you more accepting now ... because in 2006 you were quoted in the Sunday Herald newspaper: "Homosexuals will find no solace in any cabinet formed by me."
In appointing a cabinet, a PM exercises judgement. That is his exclusive responsibility. There is no right to be in a cabinet.
But you have just told me that Jamaica is on track to give equality before the law to homosexuals - but you yourself have said that "homosexuals will find no solace in a cabinet formed by me?"
That has nothing to do with equality before the law?
Do you not have a duty to consider people on their merits - for cabinet positions indeed in any part of government?
No. I consider people in terms of their ability and the extent to which they are going to be able to exercise their function, their independence.
You also clearly and patently consider them in terms of their sexuality.
No. That's a decision that I make. That's a decision that every prime minister makes. 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. I make that choice.
What kind of signal does that send about Jamaica to the outside world? Indeed, to potential investors, to countries that look at Jamaica.
One signal that it sends is that Jamaica is not going to allow values to be imposed on it from outside. We are going to have to determine that ourselves and we are going to have to determine to what extent those values will adopt over time - to change in perception and to change in understanding as to how people live. But it can't be on the basis that lobby groups far and away from Jamaica will define for Jamaica how it must establish its own standards and its own morals.
Do you want to live in a Jamaica in the future where homosexuals can be a part of your cabinet or any cabinet?
I want to live in a Jamaica where persons are free to (pauses) conduct their private relations. But I am not talking about leading Jamaica in a direction where its own values are going to be assaulted by others.
With respect, that was not an answer to my question. Let me put it to you one more time: Do you in the future want to live in a Jamaica where a gay man or a gay woman could be in the cabinet?
Sure they can be in the cabinet - but not mine.
Well they can't be in yours ...
Not mine!
No, but do you want ...
Not mine!
Do you want to live in a Jamaica where they can be and they should be and it would be entirely natural for them to do so?
I do not know that that is the direction in which we will go.
High court trial for cops implicated in Grants Pen shooting
THE four officers who were implicated in the shooting death of 18-year old Andre Thomas in the Grants Pen community last September, last Wednesday had their matter transferred to the Supreme Court for trial.
A nolle prosequi order was entered in the matter during a hearing at the Gun Court section of the Half-Way-Tree Resident Magistrate's Court last Wednesday, after which the four accused men - Noel Bryan, Phillip Dunstan, Clayton Fearon and Omar Miller - were taken to the Supreme Court where the matter was again mentioned before high court justice Donald McIntosh.
The cops were granted bail in the sum of $1 million each and ordered to report to the commissioner's office once per week. However, due to the unavailability of their attorneys, the matter was rescheduled to be heard again.
Thomas' death on September 28 sparked much public outcry, especially among local human rights watchdog Jamaicans for Justice, who had claimed that the death was cold-*lo**ed murder.
The police have, however, denied this account of Thomas' death, saying that he was fatally shot during a shoot-out with the police.
The four accused men were initially also charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice after being accused of tampering with the police service vehicle in which Thomas' body was transported to the hospital after he was shot. However, these charges were adjourned sine die during a prior hearing of the matter in the Half-Way-Tree court.
"Life was one big bowl of jello and condensed mile...my conscience was clear, I harboured no bad feelings towards anyone, I was being in tune with the universe. I left Jamaica to reside in New York away from family and most close friends, so my 'friends' were now my new associates or people I had not seen in a long time...and I casually got drawn into a lifestyle that was foreign to me. Night clubs had been a part of my life in Jamaica, what with me having sung with a dozen bands for most of my life, but New York after hour joints were different. These places opened after most legitimate niteries closed, and stayed open into the next day...mostly run without licenses, they catered to a different crowd...into which I assimilated myself. Liquor flowed, drugs prevailed and ladies were easy. It was nothing to find yourself sneaking out of the joint to find the sun high in the sky," were the earnest words of singer Dobby Dobson to US as he spoke about his rise from hitting rock bottom by the saving power of Jesus Christ.
Today, Dobby his using his experience to witness to thousands and seeing them experience the kind of change he has too. But that change didn't just happen overnight, the catalyst started in 2000 when his mother died. According to Dobby a wave of depression came over him. When he returned to New York the sadness was still with him and no amount of girls or drugs could make him feel any better.
Jerk vendors on the Red Hills Road's hip strip have been warned to vacate the area by 10 each night as tensions have risen between men from 100 Lane and Park Lane, which are reportedly on the brink of war.
The vendors were warned following last Saturday's fatal shooting of Donovan 'Shabba' Bryan, 29, an influential Park Lane resident. He was shot along with his brother, Fitzroy on Constant Spring Road, St. Andrew.
At least one chicken vendor operating along the road has expressed concern over the 10 p.m. cut-off time. The vendor, who said he has been selling on the strip for years, says his customers do not come out until 11 p.m. at the earliest and the 'deadline', if enforced, will possibly affect his profits. "Well chicken man nuh trouble nobody still, so mi nah really fret," he said. "But the thing is the customers them nuh come out til' all midnight sometime, a dem time deh dem leave party, that is when we do business. So wid de 10 o'clock ting, mi nuh know."
Deputy Superintendent of Police, Carol McKenzie, Operations Officer at the St Andrew North Division, said that the Constant Spring police are well aware of the situation and are on the ball. "The area is very tense as a result of Saturday's incident and we are maintaining a presence and vigilance in the communities," he said. He continued to say the police have been having dialogue with both communities to see how best the situation can be controlled and normality restored.
According to police reports, tension has risen between both communities as one has accused the other of the shooting. Both men had reportedly gone to a bar along Constant Spring Road when the shooting took place. Reports are that they were dismounting the motorcycle they travelled on when a white Toyota Corolla motor car drove by and several shots were fired, hitting them.
Since then, tension has mounted between the adjacent Red Hills Road communities, resulting in a directive being sent out that all chicken vendors should clear the street by 10 each night.
When The Star visited both communities, residents pointed fingers at each other when asked who issued the 'deadline' to the chicken vendors along the strip. Residents from one community said the other was planning 'to take things to another level' which is why they ordered that the streets be cleared.
Well a di start a di year and mi jus want uno fi know sey a love wi a deal wit. In di music, di home, di corner. Missa big man a beg uno leggo di machine and hole on to a queen and ladies nuh badda nuh di two man ting. A dat Sharlene Jackson sey. SUSS Time!!!
ONLY A VERBAL CLASH?
Mi no know people, but the music nah run right, it come in like dancehall nuh nice again, mi caan believe that even the rastas are arguing amongst themselves, if anno Lutan and Capleton, is Jah Cure and Sizzla. Jah Cure and Sizzla ah the best of friends, when Cure come outta prison, him and Sizzla hug up ah the press conference so wha dat gwaan between the man dem ah Coco T show. Jah know, people, it hurt mi heart fi see how the love gone outta the music business. Still, mi hope dem can patch it up and mek peace fi the 2000 and love. We no waan no more guerilla war.
GO GO LIVES WITH HOMO
Wah dis mi a hear? A certain man who live a certain gated community inna town is a known fish, even though him have four pickney and him ah try pull off a sham ting by being with a go go cause him no waan nobody know bout him dutty lifestyle. People, the man de wid a big-time fish fi over a year and even ah drive up the man car and the man ah support him like a sugar mommy, and after him nyam out the man, him go tek up with the go go. Why some man nuh just stop trick up the woman dem and keep dem dutty living away from the woman dem?
JAGGA B DANCE TONIGHT
Portmore, mi dun buy my cat outfit fi Jagga B dance over La Roose later. No gal nah go harder than me, wah happen to some gal who have dem name and caan dress? Crazy giveaways ah go gwaan over de. Mad tings ah gwaan. Crazy money spenders and ting. Mi ah go de de fi see who look good and who nah happen. Some gal who claim say dem hot need fi call me fi Audrey Goodas number, so she can sort dem out.
BLACK AND WHITE WAS OFF THE CHAIN
Yo, how Lena British Black and White sell off so! The ting mad. All ah the top man dem roll out, Oney British, Dozer, Lucky. Big up Lena British who did look good and her party did sell off Thursday too. Lucky did ah go hard, Joe did a happen inna one black Versace suit. Dozer outfit well bazzle. Nicky did ah go hard inna one Audrey Goodas creation. Sasha from Portmore, yu did outstanding. Party Claude, yu well sort out. Gary British, yu woman look good. Anybody who fa name no call is not a star, so yu can stop look fi yu name now.
HEART OF LOVE DOING WELL
Bwoy, Bibi Gardner label ah go hard. Buju Banton song, Tell Dem Doan Follow and Munga's When My Gun Rise de #11 on the Jamaica Music Countdown charts. Him drop Erup but the production dem ah shot, even the one-drop weh name Four Bottle wid Mad Cobra, Junior Kelly, Natural Black and Nature ah go hard. We love how Dennis Howard ah govern the ting.
TOP TEN MOMENTS FOR 2007
Sara Lawrence paternity issues surfaced and she had the baby on the night that Ms. World was crowned. Beenie Man's tax woes resurfaced in October with news he owed $30 million. Munga and Deva Brat fighting onstage at Stone Love anniversary in December. Sizzla's entourage beating up Norris Man onstage during Capleton's show. Jah Cure was released from prison in July. Beenie Man storming the Mafia House office to repossess his furniture from D'Angel in August. The performance at the AMA's with Alicia Keyes, Beenie Man, Chaka Demus and Pliers and Junior Reid. Mavado and Vybz Kartel press conference to cement the peace. Publicist Ray Alexander's house was shot up. Mavado was arrested and charged after a brawl in Barbados.
LUTAN FYAH BLAZES
How Lutan Fyah ah represent Spanish Town so hard? The man mash up over Sting inna the early morning with a wicked fire that gwaan good even, and him did mash up over Dancehall Jam Jam with St. Jago De La Vega and Save the Juveniles before King Shango come up on the stage and Lutan decide fi cut because him and Capleton have a vibe. We love the career look, it come in like Europe ah the place this summer.
REMEMBERING THOSE WHO DIED last YEAR
The music industry lost Tyrone Taylor, mento great Stanley Beckford, Big Ship artiste Craig Dennis, and Danish singer Natasja. We just want to big up all the fallen soldiers for the 2007.
QUESTION TIME
How the country gal dem love Kartel so downa Trelawny? Dem drag him offa stage and ah grab grab him up when him a perform.
How X-ale a guh suh hard? A hear a new tune bout dem a di baddest group. Mek wi si how it a guh nuh.
How Beenie Man can dress so? The man outdress everybody downa Trelawny Family Fun Day with a white suit, green vest and red tie.
How Wayne Marshall and Tami Chin cuddle up so tight at French Connection?
How the Spice girls dem love bruk war wid dem enemy so?
How Angela Strikers boatride sell off so? The boat not even lef the harbour.
How Barbee and Renee turn up at Sherlock All White inna the same kinda clothes from one designer? Dem ave someting in common, but why dem haffi share designer too?
How Harry Toddla a guh suh hard? Him will be runnin in on him video nex week. And a pure par mi si him a par wid Ele.
Why Angel bother turn up at Delly ball the other night? She never look ready, she shoulda just stay home.
How Spice ah gwaan so wicked, she ah mash up all ah the stage show dem? The people dem love her. She mash up Original Dancehall Jam Jam, Monday gone
Big up Kartel party fi January 12. Di ole a Empire will be celebrating wit di teacha with a Vybz Rum Party on the 12th, ah pure sitten sitten ah go gwaan over de. Mad ting.
9 YEAR OLD DISCOVERS THAT SHE HAS A TWIN SISTER ... AND SHE'S BEEN INSIDE HER STOMACH SINCE BIRTH
Doctors at Larissa General Hospital examined the girl and surgically removed a growth they later discovered was an embryo about six centimeters (more than two inches) long.
"They could see on the right side that her belly was swollen, but they couldn't suspect that this tumor would hide an embryo," hospital director Iakovos Brouskelis said.
The girl has made a full recovery, he said.
Andreas Markou, head of the hospital's pediatric department, said the embryo was a formed fetus with a head, hair and eyes, but no brain or umbilical cord.
Markou said cases where one of a set of twins absorbs the other in the w**** occurs in one of 500,000 live births.
The girl's family did not want to be identified, hospital officials said.
LONDON, England - One of Francis Williams' favorite stories to tell is about the time he was pulled over for speeding.
As countries and companies plan to go to the moon, a debate heats up on lunar property rights.
Williams, who had been in London on business, was driving home through the English countryside when a police officer stopped him and wanted to know two things: Was Williams aware of how fast he was driving? And, what was his profession?
It turned out the response to the second question would help Williams resolve the first: "I said, 'I sell land on the moon,'" said Williams. "And [the police officer] said, 'Do you know, my wife has bought some of that.'"
The answer to the first question was subsequently forgotten.
Williams, who describes himself as the "Lunar Ambassador to the United Kingdom," is the owner of MoonEstates. He claims to have sold around 300,000 acres of moon land since he and his wife, Sue, founded the Cornwall-based company eight years ago. One-acre plots of lunar turf go for about $40.
-- Edited by biggaman121 at 13:37, 2008-05-19
-- Edited by biggaman121 at 13:39, 2008-05-19
Beyoncé is pregnant
published: Thursday | May 15, 2008
Beyoncé Knowles is pregnant, friends have confirmed.
The Crazy In Love singer, who married rapper Jay-Z in a secret ceremony last month, has reportedly been indulging in all her favourite calorific goodies since discovering she is expecting her first child.
A pal told the New York Post newspaper: "She has gained a lot of pregnancy weight. When she gains weight, she normally does the Def Jam detox, but not now."
Beyoncé further fuelled speculation she is pregnant after she was spotted in New York this week sporting what appeared to be a baby bump.
A source close to the couple said: "I've heard from at least two people that Beyoncé is pregnant."
Following the couple's April wedding ceremony, actress Vivica A. Fox revealed it wouldn't be long before they started a family, saying: "I wish them many, many years of happiness and some babies. I think she will be really pretty pregnant, just like Jennifer Lopez and Halle Berry."
Clive Lloyd cheated throughout our entire 37-year marriage *******THE WHOLE STORY
Wronged wife: Waveney is finally divorcing Clive Lloyd and is currently fighting for a 'fair' financial settlement
The middle-aged woman sitting beside West Indies and Lancashire cricket legend Clive Lloyd in the Royal box at Wimbledon was elegantly dressed and her immaculately made-up face beamed with proprietorial satisfaction.
She and Clive, who sported a new grey suit he had bought especially for the occasion, looked for all the world like a couple very much at ease in each other's company.
Both wore gleaming wedding bands and occasionally exchanged the kind of knowing glances usually shared by those on very intimate terms.
Little wonder then that when the images were beamed around the world on television, many people assumed the woman was Clive's loyal wife of 37 years, Waveney.
But they were wrong. It was, in fact, parliamentary hopeful Bertha Joseph, 53, whose main claim to fame, to date, has been that she was the London borough of Brent's first Afro-Caribbean mayor.
As a councillor, she also gained some notoriety recently when she defected from Labour to the Tory Party, for which she has ambitions to stand as an MP.
At her home in Cheshire, Waveney Lloyd viewed the Wimbledon scene on television with jaw-dropping incredulity. A rush of heat infused her body as the full force of her husband's apparent betrayal hit hard. Within minutes her mobile started to beep excitedly, as messages landed from friends as far afield as Canada.
The texts divided, broadly, into two categories, asking either "How are you enjoying the game?" or "Who is that woman with Clive?"
Waveney, 59, had long suspected that her husband, one of cricket's most respected figures, was involved with Ms Joseph, a divorced mother of two sons, and had been, perhaps, for more than 15 years.
But every time she asked if there was someone else, he denied it outright. Here, at last, it seemed was evidence that not even the wily former captain of the West Indies team could wriggle out of.
So, after three decades faithfully protecting Lloyd's considerable reputation and near saintly image as a family man, Waveney decided that she could no longer remain in a marriage that had become little more than a sham. She started divorce proceedings.
Of course, it was not the first time she had caught him out. There were many other occasions, including one when she found him with a naked woman in his hotel room ? but this was, she concedes wearily, humiliation on a global scale.
Sham: Clive Lloyd poses for a photo with his wife as they head to a party in the Nineties
This time his philandering had not been confined to a dreary hotel room, anonymous telephone calls about his infidelity or the occasional stranger claiming they had met her before, when, in fact, it had probably been Bertha. This time it was on screen for all to see.
"They call him the gentleman of cricket and he makes out that he's such a principled man but he has been a womaniser throughout our entire married life," she says.
"I feel ashamed now knowing that I helped to maintain this charade. That I never had the courage to walk away, while I was still young enough to start over again."
News of her husband's dalliances reached Waveney's ears very early in the marriage but she remained a loyal wife, running a business and raising their children ? Melissa, 34, Samantha, 32, and Jason, 26 ? virtually single-handed, while he travelled the globe.
She supported Lloyd through his illustrious career ? in the Seventies he was an outstanding batsman, electrifying fielder and formidable captain of the West Indies, and he also won over a legion of English fans during his time playing for Lancashire between 1968 and 1986.
In his recent autobiography, Supercat, Lloyd, 64, strives hard to come across as a strong and wise character, exuding dignity, integrity and common sense. The book, hollowly it now appears, portrays him as an exemplary family man of strong moral principles. It states: "Discipline and decency informed his captaincy."
But, as The Mail on Sunday can exclusively reveal, the truth is that behind the facade of a happy and stable marriage, he was living a double life.
Waveney says: "I've always known that he was sleeping around. It almost goes with his job touring the world. Most of the guys were up to no good. But Clive seemed to have a woman for every continent.
"Over the years, he would come home and I would find items of women's clothing, make-up etc in his luggage or washbag. Once I even found some condoms. He said the company had given the guys samples and he had been left with a supply, in case they were needed.
"It seems foolish now but I let it go. Of course, it was a ridiculous excuse but I really didn't want to believe the worst. Then after a while, I just stopped asking. I was scared of losing him. I loved him very much. I still do.
"I thought marriage was for ever and hoped his philandering would end as we grew old together. But I think I was just giving him licence to do as he wanted. Eventually, he thought I would accept anything he did."
This proud and intensely private woman has finally broken her own code of silence because she wants the world to know the truth.
"I don't really want to air our business in public, to expose myself to public ridicule. But I feel I have no choice. I will no longer suffer in silence. This is my attempt to put the record straight and regain my self-esteem.
"He cheated on me almost constantly. I mostly put up with it but this thing with Bertha was too much. It very nearly destroyed me. My health deteriorated and I suffered a mini nervous breakdown at one stage, when I cried solidly for about ten days.
"People see him as this gentle jovial giant but he is moody and emotionally distant. For much of the marriage I felt as if I had to walk on eggshells around him. I lived in fear of his dark moods. He would give me the silent treatment if I did or said anything he didn't like."
Some people may wonder why she stuck it out so long. "I was very unhappy but too frightened to challenge him," she explains. "I didn't want to be alone and I had three young children.
"He could be ruthless, too. Once when I was in hospital having an operation on my back, he closed our joint accounts and went away for ten days."
That was her punishment for asking about one woman. Waveney adds: "People in Lancashire think he walks on water and that ours was a long and happy union but, while I admit there were some good times, it was always on his terms.
"He grew increasingly indifferent as time went on and was more often away than at home."
How different from those early days in 1968 when they were two young Guyanese expats adrift in London, who met at a friend's house and immediately fell in love.
Waveney was working as a nurse at Bexley psychiatric hospital in Kent at the time.
She recalls: "As soon as he walked into the room and our eyes met, we both felt the chemistry. He was tall, about 6ft 4in, handsome and very funny.
"I didn't know very much about cricket, so when he said he was a cricketer, I asked what he did for a proper job."
Lloyd was already a rising star, playing in the Lancashire League and going away on tour with the West Indies.
Despite her lack of knowledge about the game that was his life's *lo**, Lloyd proposed a year later and they were married in 1971.
Waveney moved to Cheshire and, with her gregarious personality, she quickly became a fixture on the social circuit.
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Other woman: Bertha Joseph with Prince Charles during her time as mayor of Brent in 1999
But in 1974, when she was pregnant with their first child and Lloyd was playing in Guyana, she got her first taste of what lay ahead.
"I had an anonymous telephone call from a woman asking why I was not with my husband. She told me he was at a hotel with his woman," she says.
"When he came home I confronted him and he said, 'Don't listen to gossip. People are always trying to make trouble. It's a lot of nonsense.' I believed him."
It became harder, however, to deny the evidence, especially when she saw it with her own eyes ? such as the time in 1979 when she walked into a hotel room and caught him with a naked woman.
Waveney recalls: "I arrived very early in the morning from Manchester to surprise him. I knocked on the hotel door and he took ages to open up, even though I kept saying, 'It's me, Waveney.'
"But there was just silence. When finally he did open the door, he didn't let me in. I stood in the corridor and looked into the room. The bed was all in disarray and I saw a figure rush into the bathroom."
Forcing her way in, she pushed open the bathroom door.
"I saw a girl crouched in a corner, beside the toilet, with a towel around her. Underneath she was buck naked. She was the girlfriend of another cricketer.
"I felt as if my head was going to burst. My knees went weak and I was shaking uncontrollably.
"Afterwards he told me it had meant nothing ? it was the first time and would never happen again. I wanted so badly to believe him. I never told anyone. It was too embarra**ing. I went back to Manchester and he continued with the tour."
Deep down Waveney knew she was fooling herself. But she followed the advice of her late mother, who told her in 1983: "You know what kind of man he is. Either leave him now or find a way of living with it. He will never change."
One of the few times Waveney fought with him over his womanising was in 1986, when she found "blonde hair" in his bathroom bin while he was staying in London.
"He spent a lot of time in London and started working with a housing charity in Brent, where he met Bertha some time in the early Nineties," says Waveney. "She even threw him a 50th birthday party, to which neither I nor our children were invited."
In truth, the couple were an open secret in certain circles. Waveney discovered many of their friends, mostly men, even attended social events with them.
"Deep down, even I knew it," she admits. "Once mail came to our house addressed in both their names. I even saw one credit-card statement showing how often he sent her flowers."
But despite all of this, Waveney might well have continued in the marriage, had the Wimbledon incident last year not occurred. "It was so open and blatant that I knew the end had come."
Feeling bitterly humiliated, she filed for a divorce two days later.
Her decree nisi has only recently been granted and she now faces a battle to get her share of the wealth built up over the years.
"I have no idea how much there is because he never wanted to discuss finances. We sold a nursing home business in 2005 and so our mortgage is paid off. But he has three other properties overseas and numerous accounts scattered around the world."
In a recent interview Lloyd said he wanted to be remembered as a man who was fair, honest and played with a straight bat. But Waveney claims that he is refusing to give her a fair divorce settlement.
"I thought he would look after me but he wants to leave me with nothing. I will have to fight to leave this marriage with anything. I have been trying to settle the divorce amicably. All I want is a home and a little money to see me into my old age.
"I'm not looking to take him to the cleaners and I don't want to destroy him. But I am very angry and, I suppose, to be honest, I want to hit back.
"What kind of message can he be giving to younger players, to his own son and sons-in-law? That it's all right to treat women badly?"
Since his retirement as a player Lloyd has remained in the game, both as manager of the West Indies and as a Test referee. He is currently in India working for the new and lucrative Indian Cricket League.
Bertha flew out to join him there over the weekend using his Air Miles and the couple were said to have booked into the same hotel in Delhi.
When telephoned about his marriage break-up, Lloyd refused to comment. Instead his solicitor, Catherine Jones, said in a statement: "The divorce is uncontested and Mr Lloyd is being fully co-operative.
"He is disappointed that the matter has been made public but hopes that this will not prevent things moving forward. The couple are currently in mediation and Mr Lloyd is optimistic of reaching an amicable settlement."
That's what Waveney wants but she fears it will not be the case.
"I know he's determined to make me fight for everything. He is not treating me with the respect I deserve for my years of loyalty and support."
A WOMAN who started a house fire which claimed the lives of her former lover and a baby girl
A WOMAN who started a house fire which claimed the lives of her former lover and a baby girl was given an indeterminate sentence today.
Fuelled by drink Marie Sharp ignited a rag and stuffed it through the letterbox of a house in Seacroft, Leeds, last December.
The blaze killed 15-month-old Kyra Moran and Sharps former lover Gavin Battensby, 27, Leeds Crown Court was told.
Relatives of the victims shouted abuse at 23-year-old Sharp as she was led to the cells.
She had earlier been told she must serve a minimum of five-and-a-half years in jail before she can be considered for parole.
Tragic ... Kyra Moran
Ross Parry
The court was told Sharp had a seven year on-off relationship with Mr Battensby but she became jealous when he began a relationship with Kyras mother Sherree Palmer, 19.
She was "infatuated and obsessed" by Mr Battensby but had been left emotionally damaged by their relationship, the court was told.
On December 12 last year Sharp spent the night drinking wine and vodka with friends.
The court was told she became aggressive as the night progressed and witnesses overheard her making violent threats about her former lover and his new partner claiming they had it coming.
She returned to Mr Battensbys home in the early hours of December 13 and on "the spur of the moment" lit a discarded rag with her cigarette lighter and stuffed it through the letterbox.
Miss Palmer escaped the blaze after she fell from a window but her baby daughter and boyfriend were killed after they were engulfed by smoke and flames.
It emerged Mr Battensby tried to save the toddler and managed to reach her cot and place her on a bed before he was overcome by the smoke and flames.
Mr Justice Simon said he was imposing an indeterminate sentence for the publics protection as Sharp posed a "significant risk" of causing death or serious injury to other people.
He said: "The consequences of your malice has been the deaths of two people, one of them a baby, and shattering the lives of those families."
In mitigation her barrister, Simon Bickler said his client was full of genuine "remorse, sorrow and condolence" for both families and would have to live with the consequences of her actions for the rest of her life.
He said the consequences of her actions were not intended and she had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.
He also stressed that an accelerant had not been used to start the fire.
Sharp, of Tarnside Drive, Leeds, had earlier admitted two counts of manslaughter.
Outside court, Mr Battensbys mother Dorothy Battensby said: "She will still have a life and family to go to. Gavin has no life or family to go to. Im pleased she is where she is
50cent fires warning shot at rick ross
50 Cent Fires Warning Shots At Rick Ross
Last year, 50 Cent didn't have the year he thought he should have had. He wasn't alone in thinking that. Many fans also believed 2007 wasn't quite the best year for Fif. Some even went so far as to say he may have been falling off. Now, 50 admits there were errors made, but he mainly puts the blame on the label. According to new reports, 50 is stating that the label heads, including Eminem, asked Fif not to release too many mixtapes citing that the tapes would take away from his official album record sales.
"They think I'm crazy," 50 told MTV about Eminem and label heads. "Sometimes [Em] misses why I put it out. He goes, 'Why did you put it out?' But I can't be as hot as I'm gonna be if I don't play around. I gotta spar before I go fight the champ. That's my concept of it. If I don't go out and make material and lock in, I'm not gonna make the best possible material for the next [official] project."
Aside from mixtapes and albums, 50 has also been working on beef. Recently, he and Fat Joe were in the midst of a war of words and photos. Now, he is going against rumors that claim he created a photoshopped picture of Joe's wife.
"The Hip-Hop Weekly [a fake cover] came out, and it was a thing with [Benzino] supposed to be [sleeping] with Fat Joe's wife. I didn't make that. I didn't have anyone [Photoshop] that. Why would you do that? I work for Hip-Hop Weekly? They'll know that there are issues between me and Joe, so when he approaches them, they'll say, 'Nah, it must be 50. You know how 50 is.' But I didn't care, 'cause I don't like Joe neither. It doesn't matter to me that they did it, but it didn't come from me."
Now, 50 is throwing warning shots at another MC, Rick Ross.
"Rick Ross is doing good. I also complimented him that he had the #1 album. I said, 'Just don't stand too close to this fat piece of ...' I'm saying that because of what [Joe's] trying to do. He runs to Miami and hangs out with them like he's running Miami? Does Fat Joe run Miami? I don't think Fat Joe runs Miami. I think people from Miami would be upset you're even questioning that. The fact he can influence DJ Khaled on the radio, does that mean Fat Joe runs Miami? ... I don't care if [Khaled] ever plays my records. He's not important enough to what I'm doing for it to matter. Not to say Miami doesn't count. He doesn't count for it to matter to me."
G-Unit's next LP, Lock and Load is scheduled to drop in the Summer. Before I Self Destruct, 50's new album is set to hit shelves late in 08.
STAY OUT
UMMM
DELL SERVERS
MY BOSS
NO KEYBOARD
SO BIG
MORE ROOM
BLADES
TV ALL DAY YAH MAN
CHECK WHERE PEOPLE... LET ME KNOW IF U NEED SERVER HELP or space..
-- Edited by selectorbyron at 20:26, 2008-05-20
PLEASE SAY A PRAYER FOR THE VICTIMS: China says over 70,000 dead or missing from Earthquake...
"CHENGDU, China (Reuters) - China raised the number of dead or missing from a devastating earthquake to more than 70,000 on Tuesday, as rescuers found another survivor eight days after the huge tremor hit.
Vice governor Li Chengyu of the southwestern province of Sichuan said the known death toll there alone had now topped 39,500. At least another 500 have been reported killed in neighboring provinces.
State news agency Xinhua reported that a further 32,000 were still missing.
Authorities had previously said they expected the final death toll to exceed 50,000. The number of injured stands at about 245,000.
Ma Yuanjiang was rescued in Wenchuan county, epicenter of the May 12 quake in mountainous Sichuan, after 179 hours buried in the rubble, state media said.
His rescue came as authorities tried to restore calm in the provincial capital, Chengdu, after tens of thousands rushed into the streets overnight alarmed by a television prediction of another powerful earthquake.
But as darkness fell over Chengdu on Tuesday thousands of residents prepared makeshift shelters to sleep outside, too afraid to stay overnight in their homes.
That, along with fresh aftershocks and forecast heavy rain, compounded the difficulties for military, government and private workers trying to ensure millions of homeless are fed and housed.
Anger was building among bereaved parents in Sichuan over the way many school buildings had collapsed, burying whole classrooms full of children. In one town, in a rare public protest, hundreds demanded punishment for anyone guilty of shoddy construction.
Chengdu residents rushed from their homes before midnight on Monday, alarmed by the prediction of another earthquake after the 7.9 magnitude tremor on May 12.
Hundreds of aftershocks have been felt over the past week, bringing down more buildings and causing landslides. A few hours after the television report, a 5-magnitude tremor was felt.
But on Tuesday, provincial television screened interviews with a series of seismological bureau officials to explain the prediction and calm a jangled populace.
"Just because you can feel aftershocks, it doesn't mean they will hurt you. Of course, that doesn't mean you should stand in harm's way," said Han Weiding, researcher with the local seismological bureau.
The quake warning also prompted panic in neighboring Chongqing municipality and Guizhou province.
ANGER OVER SCHOOLS
The pandemonium showed how the main quake and its aftershocks have stretched nerves to breaking point.
"I think the television coverage is overdoing it. They're scaring people," said a hotel worker surnamed Li, who spent the night in a public park.
The most lamented victims of the quake have been the thousands of children who died when school buildings collapsed.
In Juyuan town, hundreds of grieving parents demanded an annual memorial day for their children, punishment of officials or builders responsible for shoddy schools, and compensation.
"How come all the houses didn't fall down, but the school did? And how come that happened in so many places?" demanded Zhao, whose two daughters were crushed to death.
"We want a memorial day for the children, but we also want criminal prosecution of those responsible, no matter who they are."
As China's ruling Communist Party seeks to maintain a staunch front of unity and stability after the quake, the incipient protests by parents could be troublesome, for many of them blame official graft and laxity, more than nature, for the deaths." Reuters.com
If you have read this then thank God for your life and your family right now. As you can see it could be a whole lot worse...please say a prayer for the victims and the dead......
Phony Cop Fakes His Own Death to avoid further legal trouble.
ATLANTA -- An Atlanta man with a long criminal history is accused of faking his own death to avoid further legal trouble.
Georgia homeland security investigators opened a case on Climmie Sealey, 31, last year. Investigators said Sealey stole a Paulding County woman's credit card number to buy police gear.
Somebody trying to get police uniforms and badges, that kind of thing is a big concern for us. Public trust is a big issue, said Georgia Bureau of Investigation special agent-in-charge Scott Dutton.
While investigating the alleged credit card fraud, Georgia state trooper David James discovered that Sealey worked at Grissom-East Lake Funeral Home in DeKalb County.
Months later, investigators said, DeKalb County police encountered Sealey working security at a strip mall. Sealey claimed he was an off-duty officer and investigators said he even called DeKalb police for backup one night on an arrest. As police wondered whether Sealey was a real officer, another report against him surfaced. A victim claimed Sealey was pretending to be his probation officer. He claimed Sealey established a curfew, searched his home and even threatened to arrest him.
He doesn't give up on what he's trying to accomplish, said James.
Now investigators said Sealey faked his own death to get out of further trouble with the law.
I think his initial reaction was to use the death certificate to have all prior cases against him dismissed based on the fact that he's dead, James said.
But Sealey is alive and residing in the DeKalb County jail.
Investigators said Sealey has a long arrest record. More than 10 years ago, Sealey was convicted in Florida of impersonating an officer.
May 20, 2008 -- A 16-year-old boy visiting from North Carolina was executed on a Queens street yesterday in broad daylight - and cops think the slaying may be the latest in a Far Rockaway drug-turf war that has sparked three days of violence.
Investigators believe the shooting was linked to the hostilities that claimed the life of 15-year-old Bethea Brandon - who was hit by a stray bullet on Saturday - and that left five men wounded early Sunday.
The latest victim, Tyreece "Pop" Johnson, was shot once in the back of the head from close range as he walked near Beach 22nd Street and Mott Avenue at 2:15 p.m., cops said.
Tyreece, a North Carolina high-school student visiting for the week, was no gang member and must have been targeted by mistake, said his dad, Stanley Johnson, 47.
"Women cited for letting 2-year-old smoke"
Two women were arrested at a Greenfield Ponderosa restaurant after being accused of allowing a 2-year-old to smoke.
According to police:
The boy's 26-year-old mother and 39-year-old aunt were eating at the restaurant last week when they held a cigarette up to the boy's mouth and attempted to light it.
The aunt told police that the boy often says, "smoke, smoke," and sometimes takes cigarettes out of a pack and puts them in his mouth.
The child had been saying "smoke, smoke" while the aunt was smoking in the restaurant, and she held her cigarette up to the child's face. When she took it away, he continued to ask for a cigarette and grabbed one from a pack on the table.
When the child put the cigarette in his mouth, the aunt held up her lighter to light it, but the boy did not inhale the cigarette so it failed to light. During this time, the boy's mother was paying for the food and when she returned to the table, he still had a cigarette in his mouth, and the two women began laughing.
An employee then came over to the table and told them to take the cigarette out of the boy's mouth.
The boy's mother said the child did this all the time, adding: "He can even light his own cigarettes." The mother then asked the boy for a cigarette, which he pulled out of a pack and handed to his mother.
When the mother said "light, light" the child grabbed a lighter and handed it to his mother.
The aunt said she was concerned about the boy's welfare because the child can say and do other inappropriate things, and believes he may have picked up on the drug activity his mother displays.
The aunt said the mother keeps a rolled up dollar bill in the bedroom, which the child plays with.
Any time the boy has the dollar bill he hold it up to his nose and says, "fix, fix" over and over again.
The Milwaukee County district attorney's office did not charge the women with child abuse because there was no proof that the child was harmed or injured as a result of the incident.
The women were instead issued a citation for providing tobacco to an underage person.
THE violence affecting schools across the island will be among the issues Minister of Education, Andrew Holness addresses when he speaks in the sectoral debate today at Gordon House.
"The ministry has a comprehensive plan to address the problem, and I will be dealing with it in Parliament tomorrow," Holness told the Observer yesterday.
Since 2006 the Jamaica Teachers Association (JTA) and other stakeholders have been urging the ministry to lay down policy on offences for which students can be expelled from school. This had become necessary in light of the growing anti-social atmosphere affecting public schools.
Teachers have complained that that the ministry's code of conduct speaks only to procedures by which students can be expelled, but not the offences which should attract expulsion. In the absence of ministry policy, the JTA recommended that the schools develop their rules and regulations to be presented to students entering the schools. However, this has not proven effective.
Holness said that another important issue which he will address is the current transformation in education programme, on which he will give an update as well as spell out where he intends to take the process which started under the previous government.
The debate, which resumes at 2:00 pm should also include contributions from Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister, Shahine Robinson. She is expected to focus on the new Constituency Development Programme (CDP), which has allocated some $40 million to each of the 60 MPs in Parliament for local development works, for which she is responsible.
Opposition spokesman on tourism, Dr Wykeham McNeill is also expected to speak.
The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is warning the public to beware of criminals posing as police personnel.
"Criminals will find creative ways of doing whatever it is they want to do, whether it be posing as a police officer, soldier or even a doctor," said Detective Inspector Altemont 'Parro' Campbell, of the Flying Squad.
Although admitting that this was nothing new to the police, Detective Inspector Campbell told THE STAR that there have been several arrests of men posing as members of the (JCF) and carrying out illegal acts.
The police have issued this advice in the wake of two recent incidents in which criminals attempted to mislead citizens into thinking they were lawmen.
Last Thursday, one man was shot dead and his accomplice held during a shooting incident with members of the Flying Squad in Vineyard Town, east Kingston.
Police reports are that about 9 p.m., Flying Squad detectives were patrolling the community and signalled the driver of a black Nissan motorcar to stop.
Two men reportedly ran from the car and allegedly opened fire at the police. The fire was returned and one of the men was hit.
The driver sped away while another man was later found suffering from gunshot wounds and cl**tching an illegal weapon. The third man was reportedly found on the roof of a house in the community.
Investigators say the men were planning to impersonate police detectives and rob a businessman in the area.
The driver of the vehicle involved in the incident is still being sought.
Detective Inspector Campbell also pointed to a recent incident in which heavily armed men invaded Marverley, St. Andrew, and were on a course to wreaking havoc.
The men, who were wearing blue denim, were thwarted when residents, who noticed they were wearing sneakers, escaped before the men opened fire.
As such, citizens are being urged to demand proper identification when approached by individuals who claim to be members of the JCF.
"All policemen are given identification cards, so we are begging residents to be extremely cautious and request that officers identify themselves properly," warns Detective Inspector Campbell.
Should any suspicions arise, persons are being asked to contact the Flying Squad at 922-2373 or 922-7322.Judge Reinstates Notorious B.I.G Wrongful-Death Lawsuit
 | LOS ANGELES (AP) A judge has reinstated a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by the family of slain rapper Notorious B.I.G., reversing an earlier decision to dismiss the case. U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper threw out the lawsuit March 21 after determining the family missed a state deadline for bringing a claim against the city and two former police |
officers. The lawsuit was originally filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, then moved to federal court. The family appealed, and the judge reversed her decision after finding federal claims in the case can proceed, according to court papers obtained Thursday. Cooper gave the family 20 days to file a new lawsuit and drop the state claims.
B.I.G., whose real name was Christopher Wallace, was gunned down March 9, 1997, while leaving a party at a Los Angeles museum. The 24-year-old performer's killing remains unsolved. Two wrongful death lawsuits were filed against the city on behalf of the rapper's widow, mother and two children. The first lawsuit, filed in 2002, alleges wrongful death and civil rights violations. It ended in a mistrial in 2005. The case remains active, with the judge allowing the family to amend the lawsuit because of newly discovered evidence. Cooper's recent ruling involved the secondary lawsuit, which contends that rogue police officers conspired to kill Wallace and that the Police Department covered up their involvementThe police seized 13 illegal guns and hundreds of ammunition in the Heroes Circle area of central Kingston after a shoot-out this morning.
A M-14 rifle, eight 9mm semi-automatic pistols, four revolvers and just about 400 assorted rounds of ammunition were reportedly seized found during the operation headed by Operation Kingfish.
Reports from the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN) are that in addition to the seizure, one man was shot dead while two men and a woman are now in custody. The cops believe the accused individuals were involved in the dangerous guns for drugs trade between Jamaica and Haiti.
The dead man has not yet been identified.
Reports are that shortly after 1:00 a.m., the lawmen who were also from the Elite Task Force, Special Anti-Crime Unit and the central Kingston police, were carrying out an operation and signalled the drivers of two cars to stop. The occupants of the vehicles however are said to have alighted with guns blazing.
The police say they returned the fire and one of the men was shot. He was later pronounced dead at the Kingston Public Hospital.
When THE STAR arrived at the scene, the bullet markers, including several close to the two vehicles in which the guns were found, were indicators of what took place in the early morning operation.
We were nevertheless unable to receive any information as several lawmen were seen c****ing sections of the area. It was later revealed that they had been searching for two other occupants of the vehicle who managed to escape.News Email E-mail this story
'Beefy pants'
An air conditioner/refrigerator technician must have thought his pants were big and cold enough to hide and store eight parcels of beef he stole from a supermarket. But, he must have been equally surprised when he was held after trying to leave the supermarket with the meat.
Simple larceny
Michael Anderson was fined $5000 or 30 days for simple larceny when he appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday. He pleaded guilty to stealing the meat from a supermarket in east Kingston but said he was drunk, which was why he committed the act.
Allegations are that Anderson went to the Shopper's Fair Supermarket in Harbour View and stuffed eight parcels of beef in his pants and tried to leave without paying for the items at the check-out counter. He was then apprehended and the police called in.
Drunken state
Yesterday, Anderson told the court that he was not aware of his actions on the day in question as he was in a drunken state due to heavy alcohol consumption at the time. However, the investigating officer in the matter told Resident Magistrate Glen Brown that there were no signs of intoxication when the accused was picked up.
Teenage pregnancy is a major problem in Jamaica and there seems to be no letting up in the numbers
Beryl Weir, executive director of the Women's Centre of Jamaica Foundation, says 1,544 girls were enrolled at that institution in the period 2006-2007. The foundation caters to girls under the age of 17 who become pregnant while attending school. Weir says the number of girls who enter the women's centre represents only a fraction of those who actually drop out of school because of pregnancy.
Need for change
"You see, there are some girls who recognise their mistakes and want a second chance on education and life. Those are the girls we get most times. You have others who are not interested in our programme at all," she explains.
One of the students at the centre is 15-year-old Tamia, who will celebrate her daughter's first birthday in June. She got pregnant at 14. Tamia says that when her parents found out she was pregnant, they were shocked.
"They were angry because they didn't expect it. They didn't even know I had a boyfriend until I was seven months pregnant and then I tell them. At that time, I started showing," she reveals.
Just to fit in
Tamia said it was also during those seventh months that she dropped out of school and subsequently enrolled at the women's centre. A resident of Arnett Gardens in south St Andrew, the teen mom says that while she was not pressured into having a baby, there are others who do it to fit in with the crowd.
"You see, more time you have the younger girls dem like all 10-year-old keeping company with the bigger girls and woman dem. Most times, they have baby and the younger one dem think that it look good, and so, they get involved with a man and get pregnant like is the in thing," she says.
Tamia claims that she has recognised her mistake and is now focused on going back to school to make her dreams of becoming a meteorologist a reality. She will be sitting the Grade Nine Achievement Test at the centre in order to qualify for a place in high school.
Sixteen-year-old Aliciais now six months pregnant and is quite unhappy about her situation. She was in grade 11 and was preparing for CXCs when she discovered she was pregnant. She is planning to enrol at the HEART Academy after she gives birth.
Tamia and Alicia share similar circumstances: Both were impregnated by schoolboys, thus leaving the pressure for support on their parents.
Weir says the bulk of the students who register at the institution are from low-income communities with a few from lower-middle-income homes.
"In those households, the girls may desire to continue with their education or deal with the challenges, but the resources aren't there as it would be in the more advantaged households," she explains.
Driving through downtown Kingston on weekdays, you can spot them by the dozens. Young, innocent faces of girls barely in their teens whose bellies are plump with pregnancy. Toddlers litter the sidewalks.
Irisresides in Allman Town, central Kingston. She says it's common for teenagers and pre-teens in that community.
"Parents have a hard time here with the girls. Girls getting pregnant and all drop out of high and even primary school to show you how bad it is," she said.
Iris speaks of her own observations and even personal experience.
"I grow my child the right way and she was doing fine in school, because she all pass her Common Entrance. Next thing me know is that she get pregnant and drop out of high school. I tell you, people can't swear for them nowadays children here," she adds.
Miss Ida, an older woman standing nearby, interjects. She said that that while parents think they have angels around, it's when their backs are turned that the children stray.
"You see a night time when they have like the dance going on and you say you gone to your bed, is that time the pickney dem get wild and sneak out of the house. So you lock up in your house sleeping, thinking that everything is fine, and then two twos you see them with belly. The pickney dem now bad like yaws," Miss Ida says.
Of course, it takes two to tango and the girls aren't the only ones to blame. Iris says the fathers are often much older than the girls. However, there are cases when the boys are in the same age group and are attending school. In these cases, Iris says the parents of the couple are sometimes forced to support the girl up to delivery and beyond.
However, Miss Ida said she would not uphold any "slackness" in her house.
"Me not keeping no pregnant, underage pickney in my home. If she get pregnant, I send her to the gentleman or gentleboy who get her pregnant," she says.
Miss Ida is against parents who are too lenient. "Sometimes the parents just as bad. Them all have children with different different father. I know a lady with 10 children with 10 babyfather and she still don't settle yet.
"Some woman just don't know how fi grow girls and so sometimes the girl think is a free for all and think they can do anything and all get man from very early. And I want tell you some of them proud of it. They just walk around with the big belly or baby like is a prize they win," she adds.
Asked if school was an option for the girls after having the baby, Miss Ida said "rarely".
She continued: "Some go into relationship out of wants and profiling because parents can't afford much and more time it end up in pregnancy. You have the ones who go back to school, but very few. The others is like them body in heat why they can't control themselves and focus on school.
"School not on some of them mind after they have baby, because they think they turn big woman because they have baby. When horse come out of pen, is the hardest thing for them to go back in."
According to Weir, for the period 2006-2007, only 502 fathers were located by the Women's Centre.
"We try to find the fathers and find as many as possible. However, it's very difficult. The 502 who came in represent just one-third of the number of pregnant girls," Weir notes. The fathers, she says, receive counselling at the centre.
Currently, the average age of girls at the centre is 15 years. The executive director says there has been an increase in the number of girls aged 15 and under registering.
No cash to pay - Cash Plus must recover funds on failed transactions - receivers' report
No cash to pay - Cash Plus must recover funds on failed transactions - receivers' report
published: Tuesday | May 20, 2008
Cash Plus boss Carlos Hill will return to court on July 17.
CASH PLUS lenders have received more bad news as the report of the receiver/manager for the failed entity found that the company will not be able to repay its depositors until it acquires a substantial portion of the real estate and recovers deposits it made on failed transactions.
According to the findings of a report, which was submitted to the Supreme Court last Tuesday, the alternative investment scheme currently has no available cash to repay its investors.
No documentation
The receivership team has found that Cash Plus was not operating as a growing, financially viable and diversified conglomerate.
The report states that the receivers were unable to find any documentation to support the scheme's management philosophy, methodology or financial plans.
Overall, the team found that there were poorly maintained accounting records, inadequate internal controls, inadequate financial planning and an unsustainable business model, including minimal revenue-generating activities.
Lack of due diligence
The report points out that, in several instances, Cash Plus entered into transactions to acquire companies, real estate and other tangible assets.
However, the majority of these transactions were never completed and often stalled after preliminary discussions and tendering of initial deposits.
In addition, a number of companies, land and other assets were bought above the reasonable market price, presumably because of a lack of due diligence and independent valuation.
Cash Plus Limited was incorporated on May 5, 2003 and, during the period 2004 to 2007, received lenders' funds totalling $22 billion.
The number of lenders affiliated with the company has been estimated at between 35,000 and 45,000. Further, the report states that, up to March 31, the company's cash and liquid assets amounted to less than $3 million.
The receivers say the money used for repayment appears mainly to have come directly from the funds received from lenders.
According to the report, Cash Plus did not appear to have had sufficient income-generating activities to support the interest payments and to pay staff. Cash Plus boss Carlos Hill, his brother, Bertram, and chief financial officer Peter Wilson, who are currently on bail following fraud-related charges, are to return to court on July 17.
THE mum and half-sister of a 16-year-old girl who died of a heroin overdose were jailed yesterday for not calling her
THE mum and half-sister of a 16-year-old girl who died of a heroin overdose were jailed yesterday for not calling her an ambulance.
Andrea Townsend, 46, and Gemma Evans, 25, put Carly Townsend to bed to "sleep it off" but later found her dead.
Only days earlier the schoolgirl swore she was going to beat her smack habit.
But Evans helped supply her with the Class A drug, the court heard.
Judge Mr Justice Lloyd Jones said users Townsend and Evans would have known Carly had overdosed as they had both been through it themselves.
They were also aware she had at least two bags of heroin despite having no tolerance left for the drug and that one could kill her.
The women, of Pwll, South Wales, were convicted of manslaughter by gross negligence.
Evans was jailed for four years and Townsend for two.
Prosecutors earlier told Cardiff Crown Court Townsend was caught shoplifting and with a Class A drug four months AFTER her daughters death.
Her lawyers said she would be haunted forever by the tragedy.
But the judge told her: "You failed to care for your own child.
"You knew of her vulnerability."
So who entering?
During his reign with the Shocking Vibes crew, Kirk would thrill his many fans with love songs but in the quiet hours he would be tortured with the thoughts that his soul was not alright with the Lord. "Sometime I would toss and turns, cause I know that if I should die my soul would not be ready,"
Then three years ago, the demand to make things right in his life became overwhelming as Kirk said he was lying in his bed one night in New York and reflecting and the thought came to him that he need to let go of all other vibes and put God first, there is no repentance in the grave. Still he resisted the urge and continued to do his secular songs, it was a constant battle, but somehow he managed to put the conviction aside as he did shows in Japan, the Caribbean, Europe and other places.
-- Edited by biggaman121 at 09:42, 2008-05-20
A Dutch National who was arrested Sunday night along Fort George Street in Port Antonio for possession of crack cocaine, is to appear in the Buff Bay Resident Magistrate's Court on Wednesday to answer to the charge.
He is 49-year-old Authur Vanoortmerssen, an architect of Holland, who also lives on Love Lane in Portland.
Allegations are that the police were carrying out an operation on Fort George Street about 7:45 p.m. on Sunday when Vanoortmerssen was seen walking in the area. He was stopped and searched and pieces of substance resembling crack cocaine were found in the right front pocket of his pants.
Vanoortmerssen was arrested and charged with possession of crack cocaine. The Port Antonio police have indicated that he could face additional charges as it would appear that the man has overstayed his time in the island.
Immigration personnel are now investigating when the man may have arrived in the island and whether or not the time he was allowed to stay has expired.Two men believed to be brothers were charged last Saturday night with illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition after they were each held with a home-made handgun in Port Antonio, Portland.
The names of the men have not been released by the police as they are to face an identification parade for robberies and other crimes in Port Antonio.
The men were picked up last weekend during a special operation by the police, who were out in groups after an increase in robberies.
According to the police, the two were confronted by a police search team close to Harris Crescent, in Port Antonio, about 11 p.m. on Saturday, while they were on bicycles. Both men were searched and two home-made hand-guns, each loaded with one 9mm round, were found in their possession.
The police said the men might have been actively involved in a series of armed robberies in the Carder Park area, sections of Boundbrook Avenue, and Janga Gully Road. Two mobile phones, which are believed to be stolen, were also recovered.
Last week, a total of four gun-related robberies took place in Port Antonio and its environs between the hours of 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. The police added that descriptions given by residents fit one of the suspects, who also lives in the Red Hills area of St Andrew.
Both men may face additional charges if they are pointed out in the ID parade.
More men are turning up at the offices of Family Planning Association of Jamaica (FAMPLAN) to get tested for HIV, signalling that more men are now ready to know their status.
This is according to Theresa Gaynor, assistant to the chief executive officer at FAMPLAN Jamaica.
"We find that there is a mixture of young and older persons coming forward to get tested. But since we started doing a radio commercial, we find that more men are coming in now than previously," Gaynor told The Gleaner yesterday, following the Kiwanis Club of downtown Kingston's weekly luncheon.
FAMPLAN is a non-profit organisation and operates two clinics in Kingston and St Ann, reaching an estimated 15,000 people. Services include contraceptive counselling, male and female sterilisation, pap smears, and pregnancy tests.
Results ready in minutes
The Beth Jacobs clinic in St Ann offers voluntary counselling and testing (VCT). The results are usually ready in minutes.
Rocquel Walker-Brown, project assistant at the St Ann clinic, said of the 82 people who were tested for HIV last month, 22 were men and 19 of the 64 persons who were tested in March were men.
"These figures are surprising because men usually rely on their partners to get tested and use the partner's results as a guide," said Walker-Brown.
The project assistant said men generally shy away from testing because they are afraid of visiting the doctor.
Meanwhile, Gaynor said some young people are making a conscious effort to protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy. She also noted that youths who have healthy relationships with their parents are less likely to take risks.
"We also see some young people whose behavioural practice is totally different. So, it is an uphill battle against culture and cultural norms and the invincibility of persons," said Gaynor.
TIPS for good HEALTHAnyone can become infected with HIV, which can lead to AIDS. There is no cure for AIDS, and it is a deadly disease.
Avoid HIV infection by:
Not having, vaginal, oral or anal sex.
Showing feelings without having sex by holding hands, kissing and touching.
Not injecting drugs or sharing needles or syringes.
Practise safer sex by:
Using a latex condom every time you have sex.
Getting tested for HIV and insisting that your partner do the same.
Sticking to one partner.
Source: JA-STYLE/The Facts. Advocates for Youth. Draft, October 2006. Benefits of VCTIt helps persons to determine their HIV status.
HIV positive persons can find ways to get early treatment to live a longer, healthier life.
Persons can be motivated to remain negative.
VCT helps to promote safer sex behaviour.
VCT involves:
Pre-test counselling
Testing
Post-test counselling
Follow-up counselling.Well-known attorney-at-law and former talk show host, Antonnette Haughton-Cardenas, has been summoned before the Yallahs Resident Magistrate's Court to answer to three counts of fraudulent conversion.
This was confirmed yesterday by a spokesperson at the Constabulary Communication Network, who disclosed that she will appear in court on Friday, May 30.
"She was served with the three summonses last Friday at the Supreme Court in down-town Kingston where I saw her," said Detective Sergeant Bertland Reynolds when contacted yesterday afternoon.
Since last week, The Gleaner has left several messages at the attorney-at-law's Kingston office. An employee at the office said the messages were delivered to the Haughton-Cardenas but, up to yesterday, The Gleaner was yet to get a response.
Allegations are that Haugh-ton-Cardenas fraudulently converted $50,000, entrusted to her by an individual, to her own use and benefit.
According to the police, pending the investigations, Haughton-Cardenas could be slapped with additional charges.Lil' Cease ordered to pay half-million-dollars by federal judge
 | A judge rewarded Lil Kim (real name: Kimberly Jones) a half-million-dollars in a lawsuit against former fellow Junior M.A.F.I.A. member Lil' Cease (real name: James Lloyd ) and his |
Company, Ground Zero Entertainment. Lil Kim accused Cease and the company of misusing her name and image for an unauthorized DVD. Lil Kim contended the DVD, The Chronicles of Junior M.A.F.I.A. made false advertisements and endorsements by using her name. She was also able to halt production on the sequel, The Chronicles of Junior M.A.F.I.A: Reloaded. Manhattan federal Judge Jed Rakoff found that Lil Cease and his company wrongly capitalized on the Queen Bees fame.
Originally the lawsuit was filed for $6 million. Lil Cease had testified against Lil Kim in a perjury trial that landed her in prison for one month and a day back in 2005. Since her release, the rappers finances have been in disarray. In April, Lil Kims Bentley, valued at over $250,000, was repossessed because she reportedly fell four to five months behind in payments.
June deadline for case file in British nurse's murder
published: Tuesday | May 20, 2008
Omar Reid and Barbara Jones-Scott in happier times. Reid is the prime suspect in Scott's murder. - Contributed
WESTERN BUREAU:
The prosecution has been given until June 16 to complete the case file in the matter against the St James man implicated in the murder of a 61-year-old retired British nurse in March.
The accused, 30-year-old Omar Reid of Somerton, St James, will remain in custody.
Resident Magistrate Winsome Henry refused a request for bail made by attorney Winston Douglas in the Montego Bay RM Court yesterday.
She told Douglas that the file only lacked one witness' statement and the forensic report. Henry pointed out that certain information Reid allegedly gave the police when he was apprehended on April 2 indicated he was a flight risk.
Barbara Jones-Scott's decom-posing body was found inside a pit at her house in Bullocks Heights, Somerton, on March 21, almost a week after she was reported missing.
The retired nurse travelled between England and Jamaica, and had returned to the island in January. Reid was said to be the caretaker of the premises and had access to the premises when she was away.
Retired tutor found with throat slashed in New Kingston
THE body of retired secretarial tutor, Calvin Fitz-Henley, who is parliamentarian, Sharon Hay-Webster's uncle, was found with its throat slashed along the busy Holburn Road in New Kingston, St Andrew yesterday.
Fitz-Henley, an Alzheimer's victim, had wandered away from home over the weekend and was being searched for by his relatives.
Yesterday Hay-Webster, who was rocked by the news of her uncle's murder, questioned the killer's motive.
"I am concerned that somebody who clearly was not in his right mind could be murdered in such a fashion. There was nothing to steal from him and nothing was stolen. It is troubling that an older person in trouble could just be cut down like this," Hay-Webster told the Observer.
Crime scene detectives who c****ed the area for clues said they were unsure if Fitz-Henley had been beaten by his attackers.
"There were no bruises or marks on the body to suggest that he was beaten before he was killed, a post-mortem examination would provide us with more detailed information where that is concerned but what we know is that his throat was definitely slashed," Sergeant Keith Steele, sub officer in charge at the New Kingston Police Station, told the Observer.
Yesterday's discovery caused a gridlock in the normally busy area. Several persons on their way to work were forced to wait behind the police yellow tape as crime scene detectives photographed the body sprawled on the lawn of a business place.
Fitz-Henley was wearing a grey shirt, a blue pants and adult incontinent diapers when he was killed.
He operated the Fitz-Henley's Secretarial School in Cross Roads for over 30 years.
PUBLIC commuters in St Ann are getting more than a ride nowadays. They are also getting sex education through a public education programme piloted by the St Ann chapter of the Jamaica AIDS Support for Life (JASL). The aim is to get persons taking buses or taxis to know more about HIV and AIDS and condom use.
"There is the aspect of taxi and bus outreach where we actually go on the buses and in the taxis to the various destinations and do the HIV 101 (information sessions) and condom demonstrations and issue condoms and lubricants," Collette Gooden, outreach officer at JASL said. "We also distribute literature from JASL and we tell them about the services we offer."
This is just one of the many ways the non-governmental agency spreads the message about the importance of practising safe sex and information about HIV and AIDS in order to stem the spread of the disease in that parish. JASL has also found other innovative ways of including the community in its sensitisation efforts.
Recognising the need to educate members of rural community who are out of the reach of the mainstream sensitisation programmes, outreach officers at JASL randomly select communities in the parish where they do what they call a 'walk and talk in that community'.
Faybeyon Hulton, outreach officer at JASL, explained that the 'walk and talk' involves outreach officers going in to these communities and taking to residents about HIV and AIDS. They distribute pamphlets to the residents, conduct condom demonstrations and distribute condoms.
"They are very receptive," Hulton said of the residents. "We talk to the people in the rural areas because these people don't have access to information about HIV and AIDS."
They visit at least 15 communities in a year and will revisit the community if they feel the residents are not absorbing the information fittingly.
Additionally, Gooden pointed out that interestingly, the older residents were more knowledgeable about how to correctly use a condom than their younger counterparts.
The Observer recently got a first-hand view of how a 'walk and talk' is done during a workshop on universal access to HIV prevention, treatment care and support hosted by Panos Caribbean and the Ministry of Health's National HIV/STI Control Programme in Ocho Rios. Journalists participating in the workshop were taken to the community of Warickmount in St Ann. During the 'walk and talk' the residents who seem shy at first when the outreach officers approached, warmed up once the condom demonstration began and they gladly accept the condoms.
"I think this is a good idea because I never knew how to use the female condom," one of the residents who sat in on the demonstration told the Observer.
But JASL outreach officers not only target commuters and residents with the safe sex message, they also go into at least four nightclubs in the parish regularly where they target sex workers. The also target "beach boys" who are the men who sell sex to female tourists.
"We visit various sex clubs and we offer VCT (voluntary counselling and testing). We have specific nights when we visit these locations and get the testing done," Hulton said.
JASL is also currently working on a television programme that will be broadcast on local television stations in St Mary, St Ann, Trelawny and some sections of Portland.
An estimated 27,000 people are living with HIV and AIDS in Jamaica. There are approximately 370 HIV positive persons being treated in St Ann.
Two entertainment coordinators employed to Sandals Royal Caribbean in Montego Bay, St James, died in a motor vehicle collision along the Orange Bay main road in Hanover on Sunday afternoon.
The police say 19-year-old Akerie Christian of Neptune Avenue, Kingston 17, was driving a white Toyota Corolla motor car along the Orange Bay road towards Montego Bay about 4 p.m. when the car got out of control.
It is said that the car collided with a Hino bus, which was travelling in the opposite direction.
Died on the spot
Christian and another occupant of the vehicle, Jacqueline Jacques, 24, of Savannah district in Clarendon, sustained multiple injuries to their heads and bodies when the car reportedly slammed into the bus, which had stopped. They died on the spot.
The police theorise that Christian lost control of the vehicle when he failed to negotiate a corner properly and skidded on the wet road.
The bus driver brought his vehicle to a standstill and braced for the impact. He was not physically hurt.
Meanwhile, the Hanover police are again asking motorists to exercise caution when travelling along the Orange Bay main road, especially when there is a drizzle as the thoroughfare is most slippery at that stage.
A delegation representing British Baptists is travelling to Jamaica this Thursday to apologise to Jamaican Baptists for the transatlantic slave trade.
During their stay, the delegation will have the opportunity to meet Jamaican Baptists and worship in their churches, as well as see some of the locations which are inextricably bound up with their history.
The Rev Jonathan Edwards, Baptist Union of Great Britain (BUGB) general secretary, said, "The decision to offer an apology for the transatlantic slave trade was an historic moment for the Baptist Union Council.
Start of a journey
"In the statement that was agreed at that meeting, it was clearly stated that this was just the start of a journey. Taking the apology to Jamaica in person seemed, to many people, a vital step on the journey and it is my privilege to participate in it.
"I very much look forward to meeting our brothers and sisters in the Jamaican Baptist Union and hope that we will learn a great deal more about one another through the week that we share together."
Plans are in place for the United Kingdom team to share in two worship experiences on Sunday, at which time space will be given for the apology to be made and a plaque to be handed over.
The Rev Dr Alistair Brown, general director of the Baptist Missionary Society World Mission, is part of the delegation.
"Baptist Missionary Society worked in Jamaica among slaves and stood with them against slavery. But Baptists in Britain were slower than we should have been to take a decisive stand, and I'm very sorry about that," he said. "It matters now to stand shoulder to shoulder with Caribbean sisters and brothers, acknowledging failures and rejoicing in Christian fellowship."
The trip follows the commemoration of the bicentenary last year of the passing of the act to abolish the slave trade in the British parliament in 1807.
Some disappointment was expressed that British Baptists had not offered an apology for the slave trade during the Baptist World Alliance annual gathering in Ghana, which led to a number of letters in the Baptist Times.
THE Ministry of Health has located some of the persons who may have been exposed to measles on a flight to Jamaica from England after one of the passengers, a nine-year-old girl, was diagnosed with measles subsequent to her arrival here.
Speaking with the Observer yesterday, Dr Marrion Bullock Ducasse, director of emergency, disaster management and special services, said the ministry is working assiduously to avert any spread of the disease here. However, she did not say how many passengers were contacted or whether any of them contracted the virus.
"A number of them have returned and the parish health departments have the list of persons and they are visiting them because they were direct contact. So we do fever and rash surveillance and immunisation and where they need to be we immunise them," she said. "We are doing two things [to stem a spread of the virus]. We are looking for the contacts of that case as well as we are doing what is called a mop up campaign, meaning that we are looking in our tracking registers and those who have not been inmmunised fully we are finding them, because the more you raise the immunity of the population, if somebody comes with imported measles they [the population] won't get it."
Measles is a very contagious infection that causes a rash all over the body. It is caused by a virus and is spread when an infected person sneezes, coughs, or shares food or drinks with others. The measles virus can travel through the air, therefore, a person can catch measles by simply being near to someone who has the virus even if that person does not cough or sneeze directly on them. Jamaica eradicated measles in 1992 and Dr Bullock-Ducasse said the last imported case was in 1991.
Last Thursday, the ministry revealed that the girl arrived in Kingston from the Gatwick Airport on Virgin Atlantic flight number 69 on May 1. The ministry also declared that it was on high alert because of the highly contagious nature of the virus. At the same time, Dr Bullock-Ducasse told the Observer that the child has fully recovered and her family members have not contracted the virus.
Meanwhile, the ministry continues to urge persons who were on the flight to call the ministry's toll free number 1888-663-5683 for more information or go directly to the medical officer of health or the senior public health nurse at their nearest public health department. The ministry is also appealing to parents and guardians that have children between age one and 18 to ensure that they are fully immunised. In particular, it said children who have never been immunised or had a single dose of the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine must be immunised immediately.
An surprising statistic crossed our paths by way of The Unofficial Apple Weblog today.
During the first quarter of 2008, Macs were the highest selling brand of computer for performance, which means a computer priced above $1000 at 66%. This includes laptops over that price-point.
Now, this statistic is limited to in-store sales, which includes Apple Stores along with big-box chains like Best Buy, Fry's, and Circuit City.
As for desktops sold in-store, Apple has a 70% market share.
While in-store sales are a small fraction of total computer sales, with most being ordered online, it represents some pretty impressive growth for Apple.
This is what happens when you make fancy stores that sell computers over $1000. You end up selling the more of these than anyone else in store.
Disclosure: I <3 Macs.
Police are seeking the boyfriend of rapper Queen Pen, after the man allegedly assaulted her in front of their children and broke her Grammy Award.
The New York Post reports that Kendall Wicker, 29, attacked Queen Pen during an argument in their East Flatbush, Brooklyn apartment.
In addition to striking Queen Pen and breaking the prestigious Grammy Award, Wicker allegedly trashed the apartment, threw a brick through the windshield of her car and threatened to kill the rapper. Queen Pen filed a police report in regards to the incident and revealed that Wicker had punched her in the face so hard three months ago, that she needed oral surgery. Wickers whereabouts are currently unknown.
Queen Pen, born Lynise Walters, is best known for her 1996 hit No Diggity featuring Blackstreet and Dr. Dre, as well as the track "Party Aint A Party" (featuring Lost Boyz). Additionally Queen Pen has written Situations and Blossom, two books for Simon & Schuster.
Is secrets riddim di same as forever riddim????
Harry Toddler's baby mother and girlfriend...who is hotter?
Tina is his baby mother and Mad Michelle, his girlfriend
UMMM IDK
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