Forum: News & Topical Issues
Harry Toddler says Kampala Street Jam was 'mad!'...BADANG!!!
Early Wednesday morning, thieves ripped the devices right out of the ground.
The crime was caught on surveillance cameras. The video shows two men pulling up in a maroon pick up truck, tying the vacuum cleaner to the truck and taking off, dragging the vacuum cleaner on the ground.
The theft even surprised Detective James Edgar with the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.
Edgar said "You can see when the truck pulled it up, the vacuum was still energized. So you can see the sparks, and I'm like-- holy cow!"
Three minutes after the first vacuum heist, the video shows the thieves coming back for the second vacuum cleaner. Again, they chained it to the maroon truck, ripped it up out of the ground, and dragged it behind the truck.
On a dirt road, less than a mile away, investigators found the dumped vacuum cleaner. They were in pieces and the $400 in coins were all gone... almost. First Coast News found one coin in the dirt next to one of the machines, so it wasn't really a clean sweep.
The owner of the store said the thieves left him with about $13,000 in damages.
Student battles for life - 10-y-o hit by bullet in Seaview Gardens
On Saturday, about 6:30 p.m., the young girl went to a shop in Seaview Gardens to purchase some goods. On leaving the building, she was hit by a bullet, which entered her neck, went through her back and exited through her shoulder. Since then, she has been fighting for her life and her bright future, which has been jeopardised by warring thugs.
At school yesterday, one of her friends wished the injured student was with her.
"In grade two, when I first started the school and I didn't know anybody, she was the first person to sit beside me and she talked to me and she welcomed me to our school," she said. "She is a kind friend, she is intelligent, she has a lot of potential and she is willing to do anything for you. I would like to tell the gunmen to stop the violence and to please stop killing the innocent people."
She did well in all areas
Teacher Keisha Heslop said the injured student was a good all-rounder: "She was good academically and athletically. She participated in almost everything at school. She did well in all areas. It was up to Friday I was telling her, 'Please, when you are picking for your schools, make sure you pick for Ardenne or Wolmer's'."
The student is to sit the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) next year.
The community in Seaview Gardens where the student was shot is one of many areas in the St Andrew South police division where criminal warfare threatens to claim lives.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in charge of crime in the division, Michael Phipps, told The Gleaner yesterday that criminal warfare in the community was stretching thin the resources available to him.
"Over the past month and a half, there have been renewed gang activities and inter-gang activities which have resulted in a number of killings. We would like to saturate the areas on a 24-hour basis, but we are operating with limited resources," he said.
"We have to be juggling resources as when we pour resources into one area and it gets calm, and when we pull those men, the area flares up, but we are trying our best."
DSP Phipps is calling for other agencies to play their role in filling social gaps in communities.
The mother of the injured student is hoping that all parties play their part to bring peace to her community.
"I just want my child to be better and I want the Government to make crime a priority. They need to get these criminals off the road because they cannot be hurting our future generation."
Suspect Uses B**** Threat to Steal Painkillers from Pharmacy
Investigators say the robbery happened yesterday morning at the Walgreens on Beach Boulevard near St. Johns Bluff. They say a man showed the pharmacist a note that said "This is a robbery. Give me Oxycotin 20, 40 and 80 mg. I have chemical vials and a b****." The pharmacist gave the suspect two kinds of painkillers, Oxycontin and Oxycodone.
Police have not caught suspect, who is described as a white man around 30 years old with short brown hair and wearing a baseball cap, gray t-shirt, pants and mirror-like sunglasses.
If you have information on this suspect, call First Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS. You don't have to leave your name and you could be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000 if your information leads to an arrest.
'Bwoy like oonu fi get gunshot' - Etana's entourage member...BADANG!!!
According to police reports, a computer was stolen from the ADT Home Security branch on Sunbeam Center Drive sometime between April 12th and April 13th.
ADT provides home security features that alert homeowners to a number of hazards, including burglary.
View rest of story
-- Edited by Crazypickney at 10:41, 2008-04-29
Thieves Steal $100,000 Worth of Equipment from Clay Schools
The most recent incident happened at Ridgeview Elementary School.
Authorities say Brandon Dailey and two teenage juvenile accomplices broke into the school and stole tens of thousands of dollars worth of computer equipment.
The accomplices have been identified as a 16-year-old girl from Orange Park High School and a 17-year-old boy from Fleming Island High School. More suspects may be involved.
Sheriff Rick Beseler said there have been at least 30 incidents reported at the schools in the last year. $80,000 worth of school equipment was stolen and $25,000 worth of damages were reported.
Laptop computers, CD players and digital cameras are among the stolen items.
About $80,000 worth of equipment has been recovered and returned to the schools.
Authorities were tipped off to the break-ins after they say Dailey sold computers to someone.
Bruce Harvin, the head of security for the Clay County School Board says that the rash of burglaries has had a significant impact on student learning.
Detectives are also looking into school burglaries in Putnam and St. Johns counties to see if Dailey is connected to them.
He was arrested several times in the past for burglarizing schools.
The schools involved include Ridgeview Elementary, Ridgeview High, Fleming Island High, Orange Park High, Middleburg High, Keystone High, Lakeside Junior High, and Clay High Schools.
Watch it here
http://www.clipser.com/watch_video/199390
The victim was approached by a suspect from the rear who put a black handgun to his head and demanded his wallet. He responded "what" and was hit in the back of the head with the handgun several times and told to get on the floor.
The 38-year-old victim told the suspect his wallet was in his backpack and he handed it over to him. The suspect ran to a black 90's model SUV and then fled through the parking lot.
A witness later saw a black male sitting inside a dark model SUV. He heard a second suspect yell at the man in the SUV, who backed out of a parking space, turned off his lights, picked up the suspect and speed away.
Police have released photos from a Vystar on Dunn Avenue in Jacksonville. It shows the potential suspect(s) using the victim's cards.
He's the same man who discovered the bodies of three men killed in a Palatka home over a card game in February.
Investigators say 45-year-old Freeman Turner was playing cards with other people Thursday at 101 Carole Road when an armed man kicked open the front door and rushed into the house.
The suspect shot twice, according to witnesses, and Turner was hit in the hip by one of the bullets.
He was flown to Shands Gainesville.
The gunman has not been found.
Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter
Williams
The absence of two vital Crown witnesses yesterday forced the director of public prosecutions (DPP) to drop the $451 million fraud case against east Kingston businessman, Danhai Williams, his company and five co-accused.
However, the accused were told that if the witnesses were found, the case would proceed.
They were charged in October 2003 with defrauding the National Housing Development Corporation (NHDC).
Resident Magistrate Georgiana Fraser directed that all travel documents be returned to the accused who were all on bail.
Last week, the prosecution was given until yesterday to find the witnesses because the case was dragging on for too long.
When the accused appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday, Senior Deputy DPP Lisa Palmer told the court that DPP Paula Llewellyn, QC, had directed that a conditional nolle prosequi (no prosecution) be entered in the case.
Lawyers not happy
Palmer pointed out that the nolle prosequi was merely a statement to discontinue the case. She said if the witnesses - engineer, Lloyd McLean and quantity surveyor, Gerald Tobias, who were said to be abroad - were found, the case would proceed.
Defence lawyers Jacqueline Samuels-Brown and Valerie Neita-Robertson were not happy with the outcome of the case because they said the charges remained on the accused.
Neita-Robertson described the nolle prosequi as dishonest and unfair to the accused.
The defence lawyers asked RM Fraser to use her power to have the matter taken out of the hands of the DPP by throwing out the case.
Fraser declined the request, adding that she could not question the DPP's motive.
In October last year, Senior Resident Magistrate Glen Brown sent a strong message that every effort be made to have the fraud case brought to completion.
barbara.gayle@gleanerjm.com
NHDC FRAUD ACCUSED Danhai Williams and his company Danwill Construction - 87 counts. Karl Kirkland, former financial controller of Danwill Construction. Warren Sibbles, former NHDC director of technical services. Donovan Hill, former project manager of NHDC. Eugenny Porter, president, Melbrook Heights Provident Society. Wayne Nash, president, St Benedicts Heights Provident Society. Dwight Dawkins, president, Morant Lands Provident Society.i have to ask the same question everyone's asking
IS RICHARD BLACKBURN DEAD OR ALIVE
wats ur theory on it?
TALLAHASSEE, FL -- Even though the state budget is at the printers at this very moment, Gov. Charlie Crist and a House and a Senate member think there could still be time to get a gas tax holiday through the House and Senate.
Crist said this morning he's still working members on the idea, and asked Rep. Nick Thompsn, R-Fort Myers, and Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey for their help persuading others.
Fasano said later he will offer a Senate amendment on a related bill, to provide a two-week holiday with a 10-cent cut in gas taxes, between July 1-14 to include the travel-heavy Independence Day holiday.
He has not talked to other Senate leadership about it, however.
But the revenue impact would be acceptable, he said, because the $50 million in taxes the state would forego would come from a reserve fund that has that much unspent money. "So there's no impact on, no money coming from, the budget they're printing today," he said.
Thompson said he supports the idea, and he's talking with other House members and leadership about it. But the timing is a problem in that chamber, he said, and having the budget already finished doesn't make it any easier.
But, he said, he and the governor's staff are still checking the logistics. "I think it's a great idea," Fasano said. "My constituents are always asking what we can do about gas prices, and there's really not much the state can do. But we could at least do this much."
The police sergeant, who was not named, had "engaged in sexual activity with a sex worker" while on duty in east London in December 2005, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said. He was supposed to be finding out if the premises were being used for prostitution.
"The sergeant's behaviour was disgraceful. He has brought shame on himself and his former colleagues," said IPCC Commissioner Deborah Glass.
The sergeant, who had faced four disciplinary charges, was forced to quit after a misconduct hearing.
I am 23 and my boyfriend is 46. We met through a co-worker of his. We have been together for almost nine months. The problem is that after a month of in our relationship, his co-worker started to tell both of us lies. I did not know what she was saying about me and likewise he did not know what she was saying about him.
During last year's Thanksgiving season, I started to become worried that I was doing something wrong and would end up hurting myself.
To my surpriseSo one night I asked him about all the things she told me about him, and to my surprise he told me all the things she said about me, which were all lies. I know he is telling the truth because she even mentioned one day when we went to get the title for my car that we went to meet some man who I was seeing. In fact, she knew we went to a car dealership and the sale representative was waiting on me since we got lost going there.
Afterwards, she started to tell people about our relationship at her workplace and because we work in proximity to each other, people at my work place started to talk about our relationship and adding their two cents in everything, even our age difference.
Initiated a planWe got tired of this so we came up with a plan. After I told her to stop telling and spreading our relationship about, I told her we broke up. I told her this like 7 a.m. and by 7:15 a.m. that same morning people started to talk about it at her workplace. She took no part in blaming herself for anything. Shortly after, her husband broke up with her and then she became even more vicious and evil.
I have not confronted her about the lies she told my boyfriend. I am shocked that she is a Jamaican. She was the first person I met when I came to the States about 10 months ago. I have no family in this part of the States and that is why I was so drawn to her. My boyfriend and I are planning to get married and then I want to shock her with the news and let her know we never broke up in the first place, but then thinking about it, I think she will even be worst.
Pastor, please, help me and tell me what to do to get rid of her.
May the Lord keep blessing you.
M.A., USA
Dear M.A.,
Why can't you tell this woman that you are not interested in her friendship and that she should not try to call you.
Excuse me, but this woman seems to be obsessed with you. So, please let her know that you and your boyfriend are not interested in her, so all communication between both of you should cease.
Pastor"This individual clearly has sticky fingers," said Melissa Bujeda with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
Bujeda says the business safe had $83,400 in it Friday morning, but $20,000 was missing just a couple of hours later.
A camera is installed directly above the safe inside the business at 5410 Blanding Boulevard, something workers say the longtime employee knew when she walked in the room and stuffed the $20,000 in her shirt.
Police say she had stolen the key off the manager's keychain and took the cash during the day, just steps from other employees and customers.
The suspect is 25-year-old Jacquilla Bullard, and police say that's not all she did.
"She must've been needing money for something, we don't know what for, but she printed and took over 15 money orders," said Bujeda.
"She has no local arrest history, so they hired her thinking she was a good employee and she was stealing from them."
As employees were calling police, another employee went to Bullard's home and recovered $14,000, but Bullard hasn't been tracked down since.
If you have any information about Bullard's whereabouts, you can call our partner First Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.
The Portmore police are advising residents to be on the lookout for robbers at bus stops, especially at nights.
"We are warning commuters that need to use the bus stop, do so with caution. You must stop use your cellphone on the street especially the expensive ones like the flip phone as these attract thieves," a Portmore policeman warned.
In one of the latest incidents, a woman lost her week's wages at a bus stop in Braeton when a man grabbed her handbag and ran.
When contacted, the Portmore police said that they were not aware of the incident as maybe it has not been reported, but they told THE PORTMORE STAR that they have heard of several other incidents and robberies.
In the incident mentioned above, a witness said two women were at a bus stop in Braeton when a short man clad in black grabbed the woman's handbag, containing $10,000 and dashed into bushes, before making good on his escape.
There are reports of other robberies of cellphones and jewellery at this and many other bus stops.
"Mi nah really go deh so as a bear thief come deh so when night come," one woman told THE PORTMORE STAR. The bus stop is not lit and it makes for a good cover for criminals.
The police said that they are aware of these robberies but they are hampered by the non-compliance of victims. "The victims are not coming forward because they are being threatened by these criminals." Furthermore, they have difficulty identifying these criminals because the robberies are done mainly at nights.
United States delays deportation order for pregnant woman
In a rare decision, United States (US) immigration authorities have temporarily spared the deportation of a pregnant Haitian woman in Miami, on humanitarian grounds.
Fabienne Josil, 26, five months pregnant, was awaiting deportation when immigration officials unexpectedly told her on Friday evening that she could leave detention to seek the medical care she needs in the US.
"I'm going home to get some rest and be happy with my family," an ecstatic Josil told reporters shortly after her release. "That's all I'm going to do," she added. "I'm going to have something to eat, maybe some good Haitian food," she continued.
Orders received
Barbara Gonzalez, a spokes-woman for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Miami, said Josil is not completely out of the woods; she has received an order of supervision with reporting requirements.
"That doesn't negate the fact that she has a final order of removal," Gonzalez said. "At this point, her safety and security are the priority," she added. Josil, who legally entered the US in 2002, was under a deportation order because she had ''aged out'' of her residency status, her attorney Jeanne Hines said.$80-million ride - Jamaica's most expensive cars [KRAZILY INSANE]
John Myers Jr., Business Reporter
What would you do with $80 million? Most persons would likely invest it, either in real estate or perhaps a business.
But what about spending it all on a car - yes, one car - that offers unsurpassed luxury, elegance, speed and more importantly, high-level security.
The Issa Transport Group (ITG), the local representatives for German automaker Audi, has available the Audi A8 Security for a cool $80 million.
At that price, you could also buy five to eight middle-income homes. But Deborah Stewart, Audi brand and sales manager at ITG, says given its features, the A8 Security was 'reasonably priced'.
The car comes equipped with the most advanced security features and luxury amenities.
None of the A8 Security vehicles has been sold here, but the B6 European ballistic certified vehicle is available on special order. Stewart will willingly take orders.
But what exactly does an $80-million car offer?
'Standard' features
The Audi A8 Security sedan has 'standard' features such as full-cage outer-body armouring certified by the German Federal Police, run-flat tyres, gas tank and battery armouring, double-mirror interior, emergency door exit, silky-soft power-adjustable leather seats, refrigerator, retractable rear-seat tables, heated wind screen, multi-zone climate controls, and a slate of other comfort features.
The car is more than three times as expensive as the nearest luxury rival.
The Mercedes Benz S500 - minus the security armour - was the next priciest luxury ride at $24 million.
Brian Stevenson, managing director of the ITG said the swanky-executive ride is bought by successful businessmen who pay up front with company cheques.
Olive McNaughton, marketing manager at Euro Star, adds that there are some who opt, out of convenience rather than need, to finance their purchases through the banks and use the cash for other purposes.
McNaughton said the vehicle is available by special order.
Various choices
The S500 comes fully equipped with features such as keyless ignition start, premium-leather ventilated massage front seats (rear seats optional), eight-way power-adjustable front seats (rear seats optional), parktronic with rear-view camera, night-view assistant, multizone climate-control system, blind-spot assistance, and 20-inch AMG sport wheels, along with a range of optional features that can be selected by the buyer.
Another German-made driving machine, the BMW 7 series, and new kid on the block, the Audi SUV, come in third on the price list at a million dollars below the S500.
Sales and marketing manager for BMW vehicles at Stewart Motors, the local distributor, said the 2008 BMW 760i would set you back $23 million.
If it is a vehicle with style, power and off-road capability that you require, ITG's Deborah Stewart told Sunday Business that the Audi Q7 4.2 V8 SUV, which has been added to the Audi range this year, can also be had for $23 million, while the A8 sedan and Q7 3.0 V6 SUV sell for a more manageable $14 million and $11 million, respectively, when compared to their high-priced cousins.
Stewart said the customers of Audi were mainly young professionals, company executives and business owners.
"A number of the present customers that we have, have already driven the brand overseas before so it is nothing new to them. It is just a continuation of an experience," said the Audi brand manager.
The sportier BMW M3 can be had for $16 million.
Comfort, off-road traction
However, those with a desire for sophistication and comfort, while not giving up on off-road traction, can go for the British marquee, Land Rover's Range Rover HSE V8, which sells for $15 million-$17 million from local dealer, Kingston Industrial Garage (KIG).
Dawn Green, Land Rover sales and marketing manager, said the Range Rover Sport V6 is a little cheaper at $9 million-$11 million.
American luxury makes such as the Cadillac Escalade and Hummer H2 are sold by GM Challenger for about $14 million.
The hybrid Chevy Tahoe and flex-fuel Avalanche are also available at a more affordable price of $5.7 million and $4.4 million, respectively.
Think of all the luxury vehicles on the world market and you will find that virtually every model is available in Jamaica, an indication of the vibrancy of the luxury-car market.
Healthy market
McNaughton said the market was healthy, with sales rising 30 per cent last year.
Stewart concurred, noting that many of the buyers of luxury vehicles have either driven or have been exposed to the brands in North America and Europe.
"The Jamaican population is actually more educated; they are a lot more exposed," said Stewart.
"We have so many young professionals who have experience in Europe, North America and they have been exposed to these brands."
McNaughton said, however, that the folding of the various alternative investment schemes could put a damper on luxury-car sales this year.
Yeah a mi again, di same one whi got it nuff and plenty! Now since as mi a read Joan Wilson story and a check out whey she sey, mi haffi meck a comment. Yeah man mi find out sey a lot a hypocrisy a gwaan inna dis business.
Whey unno nuh admit sey why dis ting suh hard fi fight is because a whole heap a shotta and bad gal a play di same game tuh. Dem lean like wid dem homo and lesbian self. But unno caan duh nutten bout it caa dem wi do pure tings.
Yeah mi a guh talk up di tings dem as whey Spice woulda sey. A good friend a mine did married to this notorious badman...yup, him dead now, but him was one a di biggest fish outa di sea.
But di one tink mi blame har fah she kip up wid him almshouse dem, she haffi f*ck him wid di dildo inna him batty. Now can yuh imagine! And fi meck matter wuss, di ongle way him coulda pleasure har is if him do har inna har behind. Now tell mi, how sick dan dat can yuh get?
And she siddung pon di knowledge sey him a corrupt di likkle youth dem inna di community and meck dem come and gi him blow job...and yuh know what di sickest ting was...yeah when him deh a dance and di DJ dem a lick out gainst di fish dem, a fi him lighter fuss inna di air!
But a nuh just di man dem alone mi a lick out pan, mi a touch di rude gal dem whey gwan like dem criss and inna go-go club a French kiss. Mi hear sey one a dem inna har community she nuh ramp...nuh likkle school gal nuh safe...cause she par wid har bad man friend and lure di school gal dem inna har house...nuff people know and caan sey nutten cause yuh done know.
But a nuh everyting good fi eat good fi talk mi ongle a guh borrow di Killa words dem and sey, bad man nuh fren fish.
Mavado starts with the basics
Left: A very young Mavado. Right: Mavado today - file
Mel Cooke: You used to go to Lalyce Gray Basic School?
Mavado: No. Me used to go Salvation Army Basic School an' Miss Watson basic school.
Mel: Salvation Army Mannings Hill Road?
Mavado: Gallings Hill Road (laughter all around).
Mel: Which part Miss Watson deh?
Mavado: Glen Drive.
Mel: But ah see yu give suppen to Lalyce Gray (a computer).
Mavado: Yeah, me gi suppen to Lalyce Gray. Inna my time Lalyce Gray neva deh roun' y'know. Lalyce Gray come 'bout after me reach certain age. Or, probably it deh roun', but we neva so know it true, we a pickney dem time. But the reason why me really give suppen to Lalyce Gray now, a because me know is jus' a school whe inna de community. Me see dem waan fix up de school an' dem need de help, so from we can gi dem de help we gi dem de help. An now me yute dem whe did a go a Lalyce Gray, me son an' me daughter, so a dat mek we really come do whe we do fe Lalyce Gray, yu understan?
Mavado (right) hands over a $10,000 cash donation (not shown) to committee member Paula-Ann Porter-Jones. - Contributed
Mel: Yu gi suppen to de women's mediathon whe day. Yu was the firs' male artis' give ova suppen.
Mavado: Yeah, because how me really come about doing dat, me go roun' a Solid Agency fe deal wid some ting an' me see Miss Burke an she a reason wid me an show me sey dem have a ting fe de lady dem an, y'nuh an' me a contribute suppen. She a sey yeah, yu can contribute anyting. At de time me jus' contribute whe me really have inna me pocket (it was $10,000).
Mel: So if yu did have more yu woulda drop een more?
Mavado: Definitely! A whey u a sey man! Den if a suppen fi contribute to de woman dem, cause de woman dem mek de nation y'nuh. An yu done know mos' a de woman dem go tru whole heap a tings an it good fe know afta dem go tru all a dem ting deh somebody out deh fi really care fe dem, fe help dem back towards certain ting, yu understand.
Mel: Me hear bout in de early days, de MAFIDI crew. Dat was de start. Early, early?
Mavado: No, dat wasn't de start y'nuh. Because it start from before we sey MAFIDI y'nuh. Mos' people might no know, but mek me show yu dis. Yu see David Brooks, me deh roun' Killer from '95, '96. Me a deejay wid some yute name Algebra an' Ragga B an Scratchy B. A nex' yute whe name Gary Ghos. Ninja Ford dem. Long, long, long, long time. See it. Me a tell yu bout from inna de early '90s. Dem time deh me a likkle pickney, but me jus' love music. Tief out me house an all dem ting deh fe go stage show. Even Buju Banton used to deh pon de gully wid we. Me an Buju Banton used to deejay pon a likkle soun' whe name City One, pon de gully side. An a nex' likkle soun' whe name Super King. Yu see it? So is a far distance. Until after dat now inna de '04-'05 now, we come sey MAFIDI. Dat a wid me an Flexx an me fren Rakilla an me nex fren' name Terry Killer.
Bounty Killer and Mavado - File
Mel: So how MAFIDI come inna it? Jus' mek a ting?
Mavado: Yeah! Cause Flexx an Rakilla an' Terry Killer come from Grants Pen an' me come from Cassava Piece.
Mel: It was a peace ting or war did a gwaan?
Mavado: No, nuh war neva did a gwaan! Nuh war neva did a gwaan. A jus' some yutes from dese communities, y'nuh. Flexx from Grants Pen, me from Cassava Piece, a good ting dat. A so we came up wid de name MAFIDI. An we an Killer a link now. Dem long, long time now. Killer always used to come tell we sey we fe check him. We voice song all inna Dave Kelly studio.
Mel: Inna de Box?
Mavado: Yeah. Killer sey a my likkle artis' dem. An we in deh a chat bare tings, see whe me a sey. Den de Killer come out wid de Priceless (label). So mos' people no really know how far de ting a come from. A no jus' five year ago an' dem ting deh. An tree year an' four year an' dem ting deh. Yu understan'?
Mel: So why yu feel sey Killer did tek such a interes' inna MAFIDI?
Mavado: 'Cause Killer know talent y'nuh. Killer know talent. See it. Jus' like how Killer come an sey Scare Dem. An come an sey Predator same way. An whole heap more yute, whe him still gi a strength. So Killer is a man whe know talent an' is a man whe love help yute, yu understand.
Mel: What a de firs' song yu voice on yu own?
Mavado: De firs' song me voice pon me own a years ago y'nuh, when me a likkle yute. Me have a cousin whe name Digi, call him Digimax. But we used to keep stage show pon we corner. Like roun' a Glen Drive we ave 'Lorna Bash', an pon Cassava Piece gully we have 'Gully Bash' an' dem ting deh. We as likkle yute a mash up de place dem time deh, yu see it. My cousin go so now 'bam' an fly een from foreign an sey him ago start voice some likkle artis'. De firs' song me voice aroun' '93.
Mel: Yeah? Wha (laughter)?
Mavado: Yeah!
Mel: '93 (more laughter). Same style like now?
Mavado: No. Arright, me ago show yu. Yu see de song whe me a sey (he breaks into song) "so me waan know a who, tell me a which gal, a coulda which gal get .... inna cyar back las' night, a which gal get .... fe a col' Red Stripe - ". Yu see da song deh, a from '95 me a sing it.
Mel: Eh heh. So yu write it down or yu jus' remember it?
Mavado: Flexx write it. Flexx write song deh gi me. An me write de secon' verse. Yeah man, den nuh wha night we a reason 'bout it man. Roun' a de studio, me an some yute whe know de ting from long time man.
Mavado (left) flexes with Flexx. - File
Mel: A 13 year dat.
Mavado: Yeah man (laughs). Yeah man (laughs). De firs' time me voice 15 years ago fe real. Dem time deh me a likkle yute. Me dads, yu see when me a go church (voice goes low). Yow, if me ever tell yu all some tings yu woulda feel like a joke. Eh B****er (friend standing close)? Anyhow me tell yu some tings me dads, yu haffi wonder.
Mel: Jus' tell me an done.
Mavado: Yu see when me a go church, an yu have poem an dem ting deh an y'nuh, yu have a ting whe dem call registration or whatever whe dem call yu up pon stage. Cause a whole heap a years dat. Dem time me roun' five, four, five, dem age deh me dads. Yu know whe dem call me? Master David Brooks.
Mel: Eh-heh? Yu inna yu tie an all dem ting deh?
Mavado: Yeah man, me likkle necktie an ting. An me granmodda bring me fe go sing. Yu woulda haffi interview me whole day fe me really tell yu dem ting deh me dads. Yeah man. Master David Brooks.
Mel: Which church?
Mavado: De church right roun' by Grants Pen y'nuh.
Tomorrow Mavado, who will be one of the featured acts on the upcoming show, Rendezvous, on May 10, speaks about the gangster years.
macka_moneygoddess.jpgLast night Macka Diamond made her debut on Royal Palm Estate and we must say she did a great job too. Hmm wonder if we will be seeing more of the DJ in this type of scenario. But that's not the only thing that is occupying her time right now. She was summoned the US Embassy as a special guest performer at their benefit concert in aid of Children First Center in Spanish Town, which is a youth-centered non-governmental organization which operates in the heart of Spanish Town, and helps educate at risk youth children between the ages of 10 and 18.
It all started last December with the Salvation Army School for the Blind, where Macka Diamond and her company, DiamondDistrict Ja. alongside Island Grill, joined forces to give an unforgettable Christmas treat to over 130 students, which comprised of a live performance from the Money Goddess herself, who then played Mrs. Claus and presented them all with gifts. It didn't stop there, because Macka was just at the Mico Teachers' College lending a helping hand to the Student Council Body and their fundraising efforts, by delivering yet another one of her memorable performances.
Then it was Kim Cole from Shortwood Teachers' College who reached out to the Money Goddess and her Company for some much needed assistance in their fundraising efforts to renovate their school's netball and tennis courts. But with all that said, being summoned by The US Embassy may very well be the biggest request to lend a helping hand yet for the Money Goddess. "I wouldn't say that," starts Macka, who goes on to explain that helping is helping, and it is always important to assist, regardless who is making the request. The event took place on Saturday at US Embassy Atrium.
Investigators say Levert J. Stewart shot his wife in front of their three children at the beach Sunday night.
The family had gone to the beach when Stewart and his wife started fighting in her car.
He got out and walked to the driver's side door and fired several times into the car.
Police say she got shot at least twice.
No word on her condition.
The kids, and Stewart's brother, were not injured. Stewart ran off.
Police say he is considered armed and dangerous and should be avoided.
He's about 5'11" to 6' tall, weighing 200 pounds. He has numerous tattoos on his body. His hair is in a loose fitting braid style.
If you have any information on where Stewart is, call our partner First Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.
You'll remain anonymous and could receive a cash reward of up to $1,000 if your information leads to an arrest.
IT'S A WRAP!! PRODUCER SWIZZ BEATS AND MOSHONDA SEPARATE .... AND WE KNOW WHY!!
Swizz was creepin' with some artist he was working with or something and 'Shonda finally flipped. It's been a long time coming but it's been said that the long hours of work with Swizz in the studio- not eating, not taking care of himself etc... Shonda was like a single mother.
And Swizzy's new Muslim beliefs have a lot to do with it too...
Well, best of luck to them...
The killing of Lucille Wilson, 84, has plunged sections of Ensom City, St Catherine, into sadness.
Wilson, from Eider Road, was last seen alive about 10 p.m. last Saturday. However, about 2 a.m. yesterday, residents heard strange sounds coming from her home. They later found her with several stab wounds. She lived alone.
When The STAR visited the area, a small crowd converged outside her home. Residents said in recent times Wilson had become senile and was raped in January.
"Some time ago, har son tek har abroad, but me hear sey she became ill, returned home and been living by herself since," Jenny Myrie, a resident, said.
Others fear the area might be taken over by killers. "A 30-odd years mi live around 'ere, an nothing like dis neva happen. Bwoy, it look serious," said a bystander as others agreed.
Police said Wilson was stabbed three times in the chest and may have known her attacker. The lawmen believe she might have been sexually molested during the attack.
The St Catherine North police say 57 murders have been committed in the division since January 12 are females."Bounty caan survive unless him and ah next artiste ah trace" Ninjaman
Remember say Bounty Killer go Sting and say fk the gigolo and kill the ho, and a gigolo is a man, so how him fi do tune and say me a marry go-go? From she inna existence, my wife nuh inna dem tings deh, she work at Beaches Boscobel, she is a respectable woman, a lady, because it tek a lady fi mek me have respect and manners, he said.Look at the type of woman that Bounty get involved with, the sort of woman and when him and dem lef, dem walk and chat what and what dem do wid him inna the bedroom and him waan come talk bout my wife? an irate-sounding Ninjaman sed.
Ninjaman dismissed the Killers arguments as bad-minded and suggested they were indicative of just how desperate Bounty Killer was to get a hype.
A snippet of the lyrics to Bounty Killers diss song go:
Ninja man that's you
Nuh mek up nothing bout me that you don't know
Which big artiste sex donkey and ho
Sniff a bag a coke and don't turn up for stage show
Naah have nuh real gal and affi married gogo?
Yuh nuh deh pon my level Ninja man yuh too low
Ninja Man you done,
From the first day yuh give Adams yuh gun,
Nuh worry bout me and Angel and bun,
Watch it mek mi rub out di coke head fi fun
Bounty caan survive unless him and ah next artiste ah trace, and right now, him and Beenie water down, him and Kartel try do a ting, and now, ah me him a pick pon, and ah talk bout who tek taxi and who tek coke. Bounty can feed me? Him no expensive like mewhen me a buy, mi no ask price, mi just order and pay, he said.
Me and him no inna the same class, if him want a war, him need fi take it to the stage, me ah lyrics box on stage, me caan bother with this long drawn out tracing fi one year, me ah try teach the people dem a different thing, ah me and Shaggy a work, and now we ah try get Super Cat and Shabba fi come inna the ting, mi no have no time fi Bounty Killer, he said.
Ninjaman also took a potshot at the Killers oral activities.
Even when me a smoke coke, mi neva outta road careless yet. Mi a 41 years old and yuh neva hear no girl a call me bowcat, him ah lickle pickney to me and fi him call up inna bowing argument and the girl dem a call up dem name afta dem lef. I am not going to lower my prestige and mix up wid dem little non-progressive element. Bounty Killer need fi find love and happiness, he said.
Ninjaman has also crafted a reply to Bounty Killers hard-hitting tirade. Check out the response of the Ninja where he calls out Bounty Killer as the cowardest ting.
See di killer de, weh Ninja Man nuh bother waan kill
D'Angel left you because you can pay di r**s bill
The world know say you mentally ill
Gas a kill yuh and yuh owe pon di apartment still
All now yuh house caan done pon di hill
Mavado nah go dead so yuh naah guh get nuh will
During last weekends The Occasion III stage show, Ninja Man deejayed the song in response to the Bounty Killer song. He asked the selectors to play the Killers song and then replied to it, deejaying "see de Killa deh whe me no badda waan kill/Angel lef yu tru yu cyaan pay de p...y bill."
Efforts to get a comment from Bounty Killer proved futile.
Earlier in his career, Bounty Killer had acknowledged Ninjaman as his father because of the deejays track record for killing deejays in verbal combat during the annual Sting concerts. However, in the runup to Sting 2002, the two became enemies and Vybz Kartel, Killas protégé at the time, rose to challenge Ninjaman. The result was the debacle of Sting 2002 where Vybz Kartel physically assaulted Ninjaman and the shockwaves threatened to halt the year-end concert forever.
In the aftermath of Sting 2002, Ninjaman and Bounty Killer failed to reach a consensus and during a famous interview Killer stated that the friendship (with Ninjaman) had an end-ship.
shows a little of the movie but still mad
-- Edited by kadeem172008 at 14:26, 2008-04-25
-- Edited by kadeem172008 at 22:21, 2008-04-28
Now, if I am suspicious about something and I ask him about it, he either starts an argument saying that I am guilty of something or he walks away saying he isn't going to answer because whatever I am assuming is stupid and he loves only me. He travelled overseas once more, but on the morning that he was expected to leave I noticed that his cellphone rang consistently.
While he was in the bathroom, I searched for it and found it hidden in the bottom of his suitcase.
When I looked at the number it was an overseas call from a woman who also called several times oN the weekend. I don't normally go through his phone, but I felt the urge to do it and I did. I called the woman and asked her if she was involved with him. and she told me to ask him and I hung up. When he left for the airport he called and asked what had happened and said I didn't have to do that as neither her nor anyone else for that matter could come between us. It is now one month since he has left and I have not heard from him. I think it is because of what I did.
H, Jamaica
Dear H.,
The truth is that this man and you do not trust each other. He always accuses you of having other men, which you have denied. You accuse him of having another woman and he has denied it as well. It is because you don't trust him why you searched his phone. You can never be sure what this man will do.
The program's mission is to receive information anonymously and pay rewards to viewers of up to $1000 for tips that lead to arrests. Crime Stoppers began in Albuquerque, NM in 1976 and boasts an average conviction rate of 95% on cases solved by Crime Stoppers tips.
Watch First Coast News each week for a new unsolved crime and for updates on past stories. Then use the tip line 1-866-845-8477 to help solve crime and keep First Coast neighborhoods safe.
Navy Man Accused Of 1st-Degree Murder In Daughter's Death
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David Vesey, 38, was arrested in February 2007 after his daughter, Alexis Kayla King, died at Wolfson's Children's Hospital.
Doctors, who said they suspected the baby's injuries were consistent with shaken baby syndrome, called police. Detectives questioned both parents and searched the family's apartment on Plantation Bay Drive, just off Collins Road on the Westside.
Police said Vesey initially denied any wrongdoing, but then admitted he shook the baby because she was crying.
Vesey was released on bond set by Judge John Merritt, but was arrested Thursday afternoon at his home after the new indictment. At Monday morning's arraignment, Merritt criticized the state attorney's office for having Vesey arrested without informing Vesey's attorney or giving the defendant the chance to turn himself in.
Vesey was ordered held without bond on the new murder charge. Vesey's lawyers requested a new bond be set, a request that was taken under advisement by Merritt.
Vesey has invoked his right to a speedy trial as his wife -- who is also in the Navy -- is going on deployment soon and will be a witness for the defense. Jury selection in the case is set for May 5.
Channel 4's Laura Mazzeo is learning more about Monday's developments in the case. She'll have complete reports on the local station beginning at 5 p.m.
When my husband asks for sex, I have all kinds of excuses to give to him. We have tried all sort of stuff to help me, but have no luck (foreplay did not work), so my husband left me.
I have been seeing someone and I still do not like to give him any and when I do, I think of all sorts of thing in my mind so I would not think about what is happening at the time. He thinks we should have sex all weekend and one time during the week since we are both working people, but I tell him that he is crazy.
When I tell older people how sex makes me feel and how nasty I think it is, they think something is wrong with me.
I even went as far as saying that when I get to 35 years old I will never have sex again and Pastor, I am serious. I have never been rape or molested.
Pastor, please tell me what you think. Do you think that I am crazy?
T.C. Florida, USA
Dear T. C.,
It is so unfortunate that you think that sex is nasty. God created sex. It is not the sex that is nasty, it is the way one goes about it. It may be nasty to you because you are just having raw sex. You have never made love.
That is what is missing in your life. You never loved your husband. If you had loved him there would have been no cause for him to ask you for sex. Lots of men and women have sex, but there is no love in it. But when people love each other and make love, they experience ecstasy.
A MARRIED mum who sexually assaulted a 14-year-old boy in a cinema avoided jail
A MARRIED mum who sexually assaulted a 14-year-old boy in a cinema avoided jail yesterday.
Jane Attwood, 36, fondled the lad, performed a sex act on him and made him perform one on her as they watched the comedy Jackass 2.
Judge Andrew Trollope told the mum of one her behaviour had been deplorable and unjustifiable.
Attwood took the teenager to the Vue Cinema in Londons Leicester Square.
She b****arded him with texts and calls the next day to discuss their antics.
The calls made the lads mum suspicious and he told her what had happened. Attwood, of Dagenham, Essex, admitted three counts of sexual activity with a child under 16.
Southwark Crown Court was told she had mental health problems.
Anthony Dunkles, defending, said Attwood was bullied due to her size, stature and mild manner.
She was given a three-year supervision order and ordered to attend a sex offenders programme.
Her husband Trevor and her mother sat in the public gallery to support her.
People have been saying to me for a long time that she had slept with a lot of men, but I put it down to people being 'bad mind'. I don't want to say anything to her as I feel it will upset her.
What should I do? I don't feel I can stay with her if I'm not getting good enough sex.
K. W., St. Andrew, Jamaica
Dear K.W.,
I must ask, why do you feel that this woman's vagina is 'slack' because she has had many sexual partners? She may say that it is because your penis is like a pencil.
There are some men, like you, who don't respect women and always find fault with the women's private parts.
There are some men who are always going for young girls looking for something that is 'tight'. If a woman genuinely has a problem, there are many things that she can do to tighten up.
But no man should try to embarra** a woman by complaining that she is too 'slack'.
COPS free woman who was kept inprisoned in cellar for 24 years by her dad
The woman, named as Elisabeth Fritzl, 42, is believed to have been sexually abused and beaten by her father, 73, who has not been named for legal reasons, since 1984, as he kept her hostage in an improvised dungeon in a cellar beneath his house in a village near the town of Amstetten in Lower Austria.
Police suspect that the man fathered his daughters four children, the oldest of which is 19. All of the children lived with the man and went to school while their mother was imprisoned in the cellar.
DNA tests are being conducted in order to determine whether the man is indeed the father of his own grandchildren.
According to initial reports Mrs Fritzl, who is said to be exhausted but in a stable condition and has been put under medical and psychiatric care, was kept locked up for the whole time of her ordeal.
Her father reportedly told school authorities, as well as friends and family, that his daughter had gone into hiding and left him with her children, only communicating with occasional letters.
Police freed Mrs Fritzl after an investigation prompted by one of her children, 19-year-old Kerstin, who was admitted to a local hospital with a mysterious illness.
Doctors could not determine what was causing her condition, which left her in coma for several days, and alarmed police to find her relatives. Police visited the and later searched house where Mrs Fritzl was last registered as living the home of her father where she was kept imprisoned.
Young Kerstin is now in coma and fighting for her life as doctors are still unable to discover what is causing her condition.
Mrs Fritzls three other children are in their early teens and are visiting a school in Amstetten. A school spokesman said: The children are well behaved and have always had good notes in school.
The case is reminiscent of the one Natascha Kampusch, 20, who was snatched from her way to school at the age of ten in 1998 by Wolfgang Priklopil and spent eight years in a subterranean bunker beneath his house near Vienna until she managed to free herself in August 2006.
Priklopil, a 44-year-old technician, committed suicide by jumping in front of a running train after
SIX youths have appeared in court in connection with the stabbing of a 16-year-old pupil outside his school.
The boy was stabbed repeatedly outside Salesian College in Battersea, central London, on Thursday afternoon.
One youth, 16, of south London, appeared at West London Magistrates Court charged with grievous bodily harm with intent and violent disorder.
Five other youths from south London - one aged 14, two aged 15 and two aged 17 - were charged with violent disorder and appeared at the same court.
Ian Fraser, prosecuting, said the incident took place at about 3.15pm as pupils were leaving school for the day.
District Judge Andrew Sweet denied the 16-year-old bail and remanded him in police custody. He also remanded both the 17-year-olds in police custody.
He granted the 14-year-old and both 15-year-olds conditional bail.
The three youths will be electronically tagged, must reside at their home addresses under a curfew, and are banned from contact with their co-defendants, witnesses or the victim.
The victim, who was taken to hospital by air ambulance, is in a stable condition.
All six youths will appear at Balham Youth Court on Tuesday.
Salesian College is a Roman Catholic school for boys aged 11 to 16. It has 640 pupils
The goat's owner, Mr Alifi, said he surprised the man with his goat and took him to a council of elders.
They ordered the man, Mr T****e, to pay a dowry of 15,000 Sudanese dinars ($50) to Mr Alifi.
"We have given him the goat, and as far as we know they are still together," Mr Alifi said.
Mr Alifi, of Hai Malakal in Upper Nile State, told the Juba Post newspaper that he heard a loud noise around midnight on 13 February and immediately rushed outside to find Mr T****e with his goat.
"When I asked him: 'What are you doing there?', he fell off the back of the goat, so I captured and tied him up."
Mr Alifi then called elders to decide how to deal with the case.
"They said I should not take him to the police, but rather let him pay a dowry for my goat because he used it as his wife," Mr Alifi told the newspaper.
Rising artiste Xinyu has hit CVM video chart with the video for her lyrically resonant single Man. The video for the single is riding high at the number 5 spot on CVM Hitlist. The video is also getting good rotation on RE TV, HYPE TV, and JUICE TV among other local and international TV networks.
The single has been getting good response from sound systems and radio stations locally and overseas. Ive been b****arded with emails from sound systems and radio DJs from Spain, England, Belgium, Germany, France and in the U.S. I did over one hundred dubplates and jingles, trust me the response from my music has been so tremendous. I also have a number of tentative overseas engagements, and most importantly Im busy in studio completing my album to be released early next year. Look out for my next single which is a dancehall single Get Over Him Xinyu said about recent success.With good performances recently at Mountain Dew Stunt Festival and Asylum Night Club, Xinyu is definitely poised for a bright future in the music industry. You can catch Xinyu next in action at Western Consciousness 20th Anniversary on April 26th in Westmoreland.
ARTISTE : Lil Lion
DIRECTOR: Dean Thompson and Dennis Thompson Jr.
RATING : TWO STARS
The best line in Lil Lion's latest joint is: reggae to rap/I cross over like Iverson. While the song has not crossed over yet, it is making an impact in the ethnic communities of New York because of Lil Lion's swagger and excellent mic skills as an MC. His video is pretty decent as well and does the job of showing that Lil Lion has a growing legion of young fans who believe in him.
Lil Lion's video looks and sounds a lot like your typical rap video: shots of opulence, hot cars, tough city streets, rope chains and black people dancing and acting the fool. There is also footage of Lil Lion pop-locking and crunking at what looks like a club. A lot of shots show Lil Lion rapping while his fans and friends stand behind him giving him encouragement. We were first introduced to Lil Lion when he did that sweet-sounding single, and this single shows that he is a bonafide artiste with a bright future ahead of him. Even though he is rapping, he stays true to his Jamaican roots, with a nod to the Yardie lingua with lines like: what I do don't business you. You can check out his music at myspace.com/lillionempire.
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-- Edited by Keneilb at 14:39, 2008-04-27
THE hunt is on for a killer shark which attacked a swimmer off the coast of San Diego, California.
A Great White attacked and killed a pensioner training for a triathlon.
Retired vet Dave Martin, 66, was swimming with a group of athletes, about 150 yards from Solana Beach, north of San Diego, when the shark attacked.
In a bid to refine her image and reinvent herself in the local marketplace, Portmore based female DJ Lisa Danger has changed her stage name to Lisamaria.
"I found the danger too dangerous, so I just leave it there where it belongs, on the gully banks, my new name is Lisamaria," she said.And this neat bit of identity tweaking appears to be paying instant dividends.
She has been getting excellent rotation on IRIE FM with her new single "Can't Hold Us"on TETV Production label.
"It's working, right now, I am pleased with the response and it looks good for the summer," she said.
Lisa, back in the days when she was known by her last name 'Danger' scored a monster hit called "Ready Anytime" done in c****ination with French superstar Pier Poljak which appeared on an album which reportedly sold 3 million copies.
"It was done for Universal Records and it put me on the map in a way I have been able to tour Europe, the Caribbean and all over the world.
She has also done popular singles such as "Lolo Rastaquouere" done with Serge Gainsbourg & The I-Threes, as well as the counteraction to Junior Kelly's breakthrough hit which was dubbed "If You Really Care". She also scored a top ten hit called 'Answer the Call' in Trinidad.
Lisa has turned her attention to new projects such as her own stage show called 'Victory' which will be held in Manchester on May 17th and will feature heavyweight acts such as Bounty Killer, Sister Nancy and Lady G.
"This will be the first year of the show but hopefully it will be the first of many," she said.
Hezron has been having an impressive 2008 thus far. His latest single, So In Love, produced by reggae legend Bobby Digital, has been blowing up all over all major and community radio stations. It has even become a favourite of Irie FMs Ron Muchette, Big A and Mighty Mike, who said, Hezron is one of the best Ive heard, hes what Jamaica needs!
This single proves that Hezrons versatile singing style can be accommodated straight up to a new age reggae sound, while allowing him to maintain his R&B flare. The video for So In Love was released in February and has been getting steady rotation on local television and cable stations, include TVJ, CVM TV, Hype TV, Re TV, Negril TV to name a few. It premiered at number 5 on RE TVs MVP charts and is currently at number 3.In early January his Detroit based Indie-artist label Wall Street Productions signed a management deal with Jamaican based DaCosta Records. DaCosta Records was happy to welcome Hezron to its Family of musical maestros which includes Carol Gonzalez and Las Vegass most sought after reggae band, Bonafide Reggae Band. Working in conjunction with DaCosta Records is publicist Ra-Umi Alkebu-Lan who presently works with reggae veteran Half Pint (Universal/EMG).
Hezron, a native-born Jamaican, released the single Missin U last year to an eager underground audience that awaited his return home.
Hezrons appearances include stops on the Klas FM/Inseason School Tour at Pembroke Hall High, St. Hughs High, Vauxhall High and Garvey Maceo. On this tour he cant complete So In Love and his opening track Apologize (cover of One Republics single) as the students were left literally crying for more. Hezron was special guest at Couples Negril Valentines event; he also appeared at Reggae months Lover Rock night at the Jonkunoo Lounge, Hilton in February.
On March 10th he performed for Spring Breakers at Jamfest 2008 alongside Beenie Man and Tamika Marshall, as usual he was brilliant in his delivery and was a favourite for the ladies especially. Hezron is now working overtime to finish final track for his debut album being produced by Chris Garvey producer of This Is Why Im Hot-Remix, and Bobby Digital for release on his Wall Street Label.
While production of his album is being finalized, his label is busy shopping for the perfect distribution deal with major distributors in the US and other Territories worldwide. The album promises to deliver strong vocals and great collaborations with artiste such as Beenie Man and debut artiste Big Nod.
Prime Minister Bruce Golding has announced that the island's buggery laws will not be repealed, despite enormous international pressure.
Egale Canada, a human rights group based in Toronto, Canada, recently announced its intention to call for a tourism boycott of the island, as well as a ban on the country's goods and services. The group issued a May 12 ultimatum on the Jamaican Government and threatened to make a public announcement five days later, encouraging the ban if its demands were not met.
The group appealed for the production of public service announcements denouncing homophobia/transphobia, called for a national homophobia/transphobia education campaign and lobbied for the abolition of the buggery law and any other law that stigmatises or criminalises consensual same-sex acts.
The Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) had expressed concern about the threats, and added that the Canadian market was a particularly viable one. Wayne Cummings, head of the JHTA, told THE STAR in an earlier interview, "They are a very forward-thinking, liberal country, and I'm sure there may be some credibility to the argument that they could affect us."
Ignoring the issueHowever, Prime Minister Golding, speaking at his post-budget press briefing at Jamaica House yesterday, said he has seen nothing yet to cause him to consider a review of the buggery laws. The prime minister, who has been accused of ignoring the issue by the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (JFLAG), said: "There is a road down which I'm not going to allow this country to go under my leadership."
He also voiced his opposition to same-sex marriages. "There are people who use the same philosophical kind of basis to seek, for example, legislative changes to redefine marriage so that marriage in law must mean something different from what marriage is now. Once we embark on that express way I am not certain at what point we are going to get off."
He continued, "As far as this prime minister is concerned, marriage means a union sanctified and endorsed by law between a man and a woman. And I don't want to speak with any ambiguity about where this yah prime minister rest."Laura Michaels, 23, from Bristol in the U.K., got to work getting it on with strangers by setting up a Facebook group called "I Need Sex." She invited men to contact her with a picture, and said she would meet up with those she liked. The group reportedly had 35 members in its first ten minutes, and soon blossomed to 100. Michaels then reportedly slept with 50 of these men.
"I know that it was risky behavior, but that was part if the thrill," she says, somewhat unabashedly, in an interview. "I was satisfying my own desires by setting up the group."
The group and her profile have since been removed from Facebook, she says.
We would have found this story much more newsworthy if the group was still around.
NEW YORK - Three detectives were acquitted of all charges Friday in the 50-shot killing of an unarmed groom-to-be on his wedding day, a case that put the NYPD at the center of another dispute involving allegations of excessive firepower.
Justice Arthur Cooperman delivered the verdict in a Queens courtroom packed with spectators, including victim Sean Bell's fiancee and parents, and at least 200 people gathered outside the building.
The verdict provoked an outpouring of emotions: Bell's fiancee immediately walked out of the room. His mother cried.
Outside the courthouse, which was surrounded by scores of police officers, many in the crowd began weeping as news of the verdict said. Others were enraged, swearing and screaming "Murderers! Murderers!" or "KKK!"
Bell, a 23-year-old black man, was killed in a hail of gunfire outside a seedy strip club in Queens on Nov. 25, 2006 his wedding day as he was leaving his bachelor party with two friends.
Officers Michael Oliver, 36, and Gescard Isnora, 29, stood trial for manslaughter while Officer Marc Cooper, 40, was charged only with reckless endangerment. Two other shooters weren't charged. Oliver squeezed off 31 shots; Isnora fired 11 rounds; and Cooper shot four times.
The officers, complaining that pretrial publicity had unfairly painted them as cold-*lo**ed killers, opted to have the judge decide the case rather than a jury.
The judge indicated that the police officers' version of events was more credible than the victims' version. "The people have not proved beyond a reasonable doubt that each defendant was not justified" in firing, he said.
A conviction on manslaughter could have brought up to 25 years in prison; the penalty for reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor, is a year behind bars.
The case brought back painful memories of other NYPD shootings, such as the 1999 shooting of Amadou Diallo an African immigrant who was gunned down in a hail of 41 bullets by police officers who mistook his wallet for a gun. The acquittal of the officers in that case created a storm of protest, with hundreds arrested after taking to the streets in demonstration.
The mood surrounding this case has been muted by comparison, although Bell's fiancee, parents and their supporters, including the Rev. Al Sharpton, have held rallies demanding that the officers two of whom are black be held accountable.
Still, a phalanx of police officers, some uniformed and some in the department's community affairs polo shirts, was stationed outside the courthouse Friday. The building was ringed by metal barricades. Some in the crowd wore buttons with Bell's picture or held signs saying "Justice for Sean Bell." After the verdict was read, some in the crowd approached officers but were held back; the jostling quickly died down.
After the verdict, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly acknowledged that some people were disappointed with the acquittals.
"We don't anticipate violence, but we are prepared for any contingency," he said.
The nearly two-month trial was marked by deeply divergent accounts of the night.
The defense painted the victims as drunken thugs who the officers believed were armed and dangerous. Prosecutors sought to convince the judge that the victims had been minding their own business, and that the officers were inept, trigger-happy aggressors.
None of the officers took the witness stand in his own defense. Instead, Cooperman heard transcripts of the officers testifying before a grand jury, saying they believed they had good reason to use deadly force. The judge also heard testimony from Bell's two injured companions, who insisted the maelstrom erupted without warning.
Both sides were consistent on one point: The utter chaos surrounding the last moments of Bell's life.
"It happened so quick," Isnora said in his grand jury testimony. "It was like the last thing I ever wanted to do."
Bell's companions Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman also offered dramatic testimony about the episode. Benefield and Guzman were both wounded; Guzman still has four bullets lodged in his body.
Referring to Isnora, Guzman said, "This dude is shooting like he's crazy, like he's out of his mind."
The victims and shooters were set on a fateful collision course by a pair of innocuous decisions: Bell's to have a last-minute bachelor party at Kalua Cabaret, and the undercover detectives' to investigate reports of prostitution at the club.
As the club closed around 4 a.m., Sanchez and Isnora claimed they overheard Bell and his friends first flirt with women, then taunt a stranger who responded by putting his right hand in his pocket as if he had a gun. Guzman, they testified, said, "Yo, go get my gun" something Bell's friends denied.
Isnora said he decided to arm himself, call for backup "It's getting hot," he told his supervisor and tail Bell, Guzman and Benefield as they went around the corner and got into Bell's car. He claimed that after warning the men to halt, Bell pulled away, bumped him and rammed an unmarked police van that converged on the scene with Oliver at the wheel.
The detective also alleged that Guzman made a sudden move as if he were reaching for a gun.
"I yelled 'Gun!' and fired," he said. "In my mind, I knew (Guzman) had a gun."
Benefield and Guzman testified that there were no orders. Instead, Guzman said, Isnora "appeared out of nowhere" with a gun drawn and shot him in the shoulder the first of 16 shots to enter his body.
"That's all there was gunfire," he said. "There wasn't nothing else."
With tires screeching, glass breaking and bullets flying, the officers claimed that they believed they were the ones under fire. Oliver responded by emptying his semiautomatic pistol, reloading, and emptying it again, as the supervisor sought cover.
The truth emerged when the smoke cleared: There was no weapon inside Bell's *lo**-splattered car.
-- Edited by fyahhh at 10:17, 2008-04-25
Beenie Man to co-write, star in movie
Dancehall artiste Moses Davis is taking his career to a new level. Having proven time and again that he is indeed the King of the Dancehall, through the many accolades he has received throughout the years, the Doctor, Beenie Man, now has his eyes set on the big screen.
I am a movie fanatic, he told Splash. I have played roles in movies before, but this time it will be different, because this time I am a part of the production, from beginning to end. We just finish writing the script and then another set of people going to write the dialogue, he explained.
The we he refers to include himself and record producer-turned-movie-producer Trenten Gumbs and his brother Richard, from 3-G Films, the engine behind the soon-to-be-released, all-Jamaican-cast movie, Cop and a Badman. The brothers were in the island recently to shoot videos for their latest movie and complete the script-writing process for the upcoming flick with Beenie Man.
In an interview with Splash last week, Trenten spoke of Beenie Mans dedication to the project and lauded his decision to come on board as an investor in the production of the movie.
Beenie, who is co-writing on this project, is like a Eddie Murphy or a Michael Jackson . he puts 100% into his art and that is really so commendable. Hes relentless and so focused when it comes to work. Weve been working really long hours to complete the script, and at the same time hes doing his studio work and making really good music. Ive heard some of his new stuff and it is really very good, said Trenten Gumbs.
And he should know something about music, having worked with record companies such as Sony, Motown, Warner Bros and artistes like Michael Jackson, Eddie Murphy and Shabba Ranks. Actually, his first visit to Jamaica was to work on that famous video shoot in the 90s which featured Shabba Ranks and Eddie Murphy in Port Antonio.
Quite excited about their upcoming project, which, in addition to Beenie, also stars Ninjaman, Oliver Samuels, Glen Campbell (and Beenie Man says we must have Lady Saw), this is actually the Gumb brothers fourth film, the others being Rude Boy, Is It Worth It/Gangsters Paradise and, the most recent, Cop and a Badman, which was shot on location in LA.
This new flick, which Beenie tells us is called Kingston, is an action movie. We will be shooting in Kingston and I am going to be one of the stars in it, an upbeat Beenie Man declared.
Its about a ghetto youth who rip off some people and then a whole heap of things happen to him . but we cant tell oonu too much right now, Beenie Man said.
But we going to work with Jamaican actors . lots of play and pantomime going on so we have enough actors and dancers for the movie right here in Jamaica, the man whos making his movie-writing debut announced.
Asked if the movie will feature any aspect of his own life, the deejay laughed, but actually Trenten had disclosed earlier that some parts of the script were so close to what actually took place in Beenies own life experience that we had to go in and charge it. And the uncanny thing, he said, is that they had started working on the script long before any of Beenies drama unfolded.
But then, didnt we always say that Beenie Mans life is the stuff of which movies are made?
Source: JamaicaObserver
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