Forum: News & Topical Issues
Borrowed baby used for cash
Two women who allegedly conspired to use a child belonging to one of them as a tool to secure money from the boyfriend of the other caused quite a stir when they appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court on Tuesday.
Jacqueline Thompson and Nadine Appleby are both charged with conspiracy, while Thompson is charged with child stealing.
The court was told that Appleby and Thompson hatched a plan involving the use of Appleby's one-year-old son. Thompson had reportedly lost her child and the two agreed that she would pretend that Appleby's son was hers, so she could get money from her child's father.
It is alleged that Thompson took the child from Appleby some days ago and failed to return him. Appleby reportedly called the police and reported the child missing. The plot was discovered when the police began their investigations.
When Thompson was asked by RM Glen Brown where the child was, she told the court that the baby was in Old Harbour. She, however, said she did not know the address. After being further questioned, she revealed that the child was with her 'babyfather'.
The investigating officer told the court that Thompson had refused to comply and had not provided her with much information about the child's whereabouts. Thompson, however, provided the information after being ordered to do so by RM Brown.
Appleby was granted bail in the sum of $10,000 in her own surety, and was ordered by RM Gayle to accompany the officer in her search for the child.
The matter is to be mentioned again today and Appleby was told to take the child with her.yow you hear sey marathrone a kill everything a world clash tonight
At the recently concluded British Link-Up held at La Roose in Portmore, Kartel and his former nemesis, Jigsy were all smiles for the camera. Jigsy a popular selector from Bembe fame has for the past couple of months led a one man crusade against the deejay and members of his camp vowing never to play another song from the group for the duration of his life as a selector.
This stance came after an incident at the popular Thursday night spot, Bembe, where Jigsy was allegedly gun butted and thoroughly trashed by Kartel and members of his entourage after he made a comment on stage which he claims offend the deejay. These allegations were quickly dismissed by Kartel who explained he was not in the venue at the time of the alleged incident but did apology for his over-zealous fans that may have committed the act.
Kartel who was in attendance a the Portmore event gave a stellar performance alongside his protege Black Ryno, before posing for a few cameo with members of the media. The question now begs with the two now making ammends does this mean we will hear Jigsy playing Kartel's songs again.
On a sadder note, there was a shootout at the event between rival faction in the wee hours of the morning that left, one man dead, several other nursing injuries and hundreds of patrons scampering to escape the melee.
The Police are presently investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting incident.
St Jago High secure spot in finals
St Jago High secured their place in the finals of TVJ Schools' Challenge Quiz when they defeated Ardenne High in an intense match yesterday.
The match, which had both teams basically separated by a few points throughout, ended with a 30-33 scoreline.
From section one of the match, St Jago were leading, scoring seven points to Ardenne's five. In the minutes section of the match, both teams sought to secure as many points as possible. Ardenne gained 16 points to end with 24 points. St Jago gained 12 to end the round with a close 23 points.
This set the stage for an interesting and intense buzzer round, and that it was. The buzzers rang throughout the section as St Jago tried to regain the lead over Ardenne. When the final bell rang, cheers went out for the St Jago team who had 33 points to Ardenne's 32 points.
However after queries by both teams, the Ardenne's scoreline was later changed to 30 points after they lost two points for an English question that was judged incorrect.
Greig Drummond, captain of the St Jago team, said that there victory was as a result of their fighting spirit. "We got some instructions to fight to the end and that's what we did. We keep the focus and I want to thank the guys because they really gave it their all," he said.
He also had commendations for the Ardenne team. "Ardenne was great and we have to thank them for giving us a good match and we have to thank God too," he said.
Frank Weise, coach of the St Jago team said that he expected a difficult match as both teams were strong. "We expected a nail-biting finish. We knew that both teams were tactically and meticulously matched and we were expecting that we were going to get a big fight," he said.
He noted, however, that as they prepare for the finals, they will be focusing more on the psychological preparations and fixing up their game plan.
Travis Townsend, a member of the Ardenne team, said the match was like the finals and was a good one. "This could be like the finals two tough teams played and Jago edged us but we worked hard," he said.
He said they were still grateful to God even though they lost and intend to work harder and come back strong next year.
Next match: Glenmuir High versus Kingston College
Pitt n obama related, while jolie n clinton related!!! wonder how do they vote???
BOSTON - This could make for one odd family reunion: Barack Obama is a distant cousin of actor Brad Pitt, and Hillary Rodham Clinton is related to Pitt's girlfriend, Angelina Jolie.
Researchers at the New England Historic Genealogical Society found some remarkable family connections for the three presidential candidates Democratic rivals Obama and Clinton, and Republican John McCain.
Clinton, who is of French-Canadian descent on her mother's side, is also a distant cousin of singers Madonna, Celine Dion and Alanis Morissette. Obama, the son of a white woman from Kansas and a black man from Kenya, can call six U.S. presidents, including George W. Bush, his cousins. McCain is a sixth cousin of first lady Laura Bush.
"You'd think with all that singing talent in the family she'd be able to carry a tune," Clinton's senior adviser Philippe Reines said. "But now it makes much more sense how she snagged a Grammy."
Clinton won for best spoken word Grammy in 1997 for "It Takes a Village." Obama also won a Grammy in that category this year for the audio version of his book, "The Audacity Of Hope: Thoughts On Reclaiming The American Dream."
Genealogist Christopher Child said that while the candidates often focus on pointing out differences between them, their ancestry shows they are more alike than they think.
"It shows that lots of different people can be related, people you wouldn't necessarily expect," Child said.
Obama has a prolific presidential lineage that features Democrats and Republicans. His distant cousins include President George W. Bush and his father, George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Lyndon Johnson, Harry S. Truman and James Madison. Other Obama cousins include Vice President Dick Cheney, British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill and Civil War General Robert E. Lee.
Obama often jokes about his cousin Cheney at campaign appearances.
"His kinships are across the political spectrum," Child said.
Child has spent the last three years tracing the candidates' genealogy, along with senior research scholar Gary Boyd Roberts, author of the 1989 book, "Ancestors of American Presidents."
Clinton's distant cousins include beatnik author Jack Kerouac and Camilla Parker-Bowles, wife of Prince Charles of England.
McCain's ancestry was more difficult to trace because records on his relatives were not as complete as records for the families of Obama and Clinton, Child said.
Obama and President Bush are 10th cousins, once removed, linked by Samuel Hinkley of Cape Cod, who died in 1662.
Pitt and Obama are ninth cousins, linked by Edwin Hickman, who died in Virginia in 1769. Ben LaBolt, a spokesman for the Obama campaign, declined to comment on the senator's ancestry.
Clinton and Jolie are ninth cousins, twice removed, both related to Jean Cusson who died in St. Sulpice, Quebec, in 1718.
The New England Historic Genealogical Society, founded in 1845, is the oldest and largest nonprofit genealogical organization in the country.
-- Edited by pengo at 19:23, 2008-03-25
Millionaire lottery winner goes back to job at McDonald's... because he misses his workmates
Luke, 25, and his girlfriend Emma Cox, 29, worked together at the branch of McDonald's when they hit the jackpot.
The couple hung up their uniforms and settled down to domestic bliss with three-year-old daughter Chloe in a £230,000 home, splashing out on an expensive wedding and a holiday to the Canaries.
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Despite winning more than £1m on the lottery Luke Pittard decided to go back to work at McDonalds
But 18 months after his bonanza win the novelty of life without work has worn off and Luke has got his old job back as a staff trainer.
The lure of the kitchen proved too great for Luke who is up at the crack of dawn five days a week to clock on for his shift.
Luke said today: "They all think I'm a bit mad but I tell them there's more to life than money.
"I loved working at McDonalds before I became a millionaire and I'm really enjoying being back there again." Customers at the McDonald's in Pontprennau, Cardiff, have no idea they are being served by a millionaire.
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Luke with his girlfriend Emma and their cheque for over £1.3 million
Luke said: "There are so many familiar faces that it was like coming back to a group of old friends.
"Lots of my old McDonald's workmates came to our wedding and I had kept in touch with them all the time, so I just thought: 'Why not go back?'
"To be honest, there's only so much relaxing you can do. I'm only young and a bit of hard work never did anyone any harm."
The couple, of Pengam Green, Cardiff, earn more each week in interest on their £1,369,847 Lotto win than Luke brings home from McDonald's.
But Emma has backed her husband's decision to return to work cooking burgers.
She said: "I can totally understand it. We both really enjoyed working at McDonald's and still have good friends there.
"So it was really familiar for him and something for him to look forward to."
Luke's boss, manager Katherine Jones said: "Luke was always a great member of our team and when he won the lottery we were all so pleased for him.
"I'm glad he has had the time to enjoy his winnings but love having him here - it's as if he never went away."
"He was a good friend to everyone as well as a colleague and he's fitted back into the job so well."
The couple have delayed their honeymoon until Luke's soccer team finishes its fixtures at the end of the season.
Luke plays in goal for his local team and would rather dive headfirst into a muddy goalmouth than laze around on a sun-kissed Caribbean beach.
He added: "I must be the luckiest man alive - not only did I win a fortune but my wife understands the importance of football and now I've got my old job back."
Highly skilled workforce needed for economic growth, says JTI head
| Highly skilled workforce needed for economic growth, says JTI head |
Tuesday, March 25, 2008 |
PRESIDENT of Jamaica Trade & Invest, Robert Gregory, says an important step in achieving economic growth for Jamaica, is to reposition the country as one with a high-skill/high-wage workforce. This, he said, will not only attract better paying development projects but will serve as a catalyst for increased training among the population.
"This position of a low-skill/low-wage workforce is not doing us any good. When we have a profile of a low-wage/low-skill, untrained workforce we attract development that bring jobs that don't require education or training and which are low paying.
"When we project a different profile, a profile that we create education and training, then we attract investment that brings jobs that require educated persons, trained, certified persons, and those jobs pay good money," he said.
Gregory, who was one of three presenters at a forum on gender imbalance and its implications for national development at the Pegasus hotel last Wednesday evening, said that over the past 15 years, statistics indicating that 75 per cent of the Jamaican workforce is untrained and uncertified for the work they do, has been bandied about. He said, however, that the figures no longer represented the real situation and that the country needed to stop advertising them.
"This business about 70 per cent of our workforce is untrained is a fallacy. It's not true. It misrepresents [our situation] and puts us in a bad light," he said.
Gregory, who is the former executive director of the HEART/Trust NTA, said since the training agency began operations in 1982, 326,000 individuals have completed its training programmes. The number of people certified between 2000 and 2007, total 168,017.
Citing figures from the Planning Institute of Jamaica's 2006 economic and social survey, he pointed out that males represent 57.6 per cent of the nearly 1.2 million-strong Jamaican workforce. Males dominate the areas of skilled agriculture and fisheries (81.9 per cent), craft & related trade (88.6 per cent) and plant and machine operation (92 per cent).
According to the same source, females dominate clerical positions (74.9 per cent) while service workers in shopping/ marketing/sales account for 63.7 per cent. The remaining groups, labelled professionals, senior officials technicians as well as elementary occupations are almost evenly distributed between the genders.
"This snapshot questions whether our workforce has been adequately prepared to take on the process and challenges of national development.The quality and the investment attractiveness of the workforce must be of paramount consideration in how we prepare our 1.2 million workforce. The average years of formal schooling, the percentage of tertiary graduates and the training of certified graduates are critical in how we position and promote the country," said Gregory.
Arguing that much of the philosophy that informs our education policies today is rooted in slavery and colonisation when manual labour was despised, Gregory said the division between the academic and the vocational ought not to exist and should not be the benchmark in how we prepare males and females to add value to the Jamaican economy. "It's nonsense," he said.
"In my capacity as president of Jamaica Trade and Invest, I would like to clearly state that this matter of the preparedness of the workforce as the centre of the whole to achieve economic well-being and prosperity for all Jamaicans - it is my position that [we] must focus our resources on how to involve our people and workers to learn how to learn, to learn how to do, to learn how to live and work with others and to learn how to be. Self-respect, self-knowledge, self-esteem, self-confidence," he said.
| St Elizabeth traffic cop on corruption rap |
| Corey Robinson Tuesday, March 25, 2008 |
A police corporal assigned to the traffic division at the Santa Cruz Police Station in St Elizabeth is behind bars today after he was arrested on suspicion of breaching the Anti Corruption Act during a sting operation at his business place in Goshen Sunday night.
According to police sources, the corporal, who owns a cook shop, was nabbed by his colleagues at his businessplace shortly after 8:00 pm, after a motorist, who he had pulled over near Santa Cruz earlier that day and from whom he had arranged to collect an undetermined sum of money, called in the Anti Corruption Unit.
According Mavados manager, Julian Jones-Griffith, Huddersfield's Club Society was packed to the rafters, with people eager to witness a piece of history as the Father and Son of the Alliance rocked the North of England.Despite a snow blizzard, people turned out in their droves to show their love to the Alliance. Flex, Einstein and Future Fambo warmed the crowd for the main acts who absolutely blitzed the club with hits.
With the London show already sold out days before the event, the promoters were desperately trying to stage a second night of the show in the city to meet the demand for tickets. However, the Metropolitan Police were unable to guarantee the full quota of officers needed to police the event so a chance for the Alliance to write another chapter in history was lost.
The promoters have vowed to re-stage the tour, with plans already being put in place for two night-after-night shows in London, something never before seen in the UK,
| Four Paths 4 on ganja rap |
Tuesday, March 25, 2008 |
Four people, who on Friday were arrested and charged with possession of 50 pounds of marijuana in Four Paths, Clarendon, are scheduled to answer to the charges in the May Pen Resident Magistrate's Court on Thursday.
The accused - Alton 'Water Rice' Jackson, 36, of a St Catherine address; brothers, Nickoy 'Dane' Lewis, 25 and Milton 'Asker' Lewis, 31, of Cherry Tree Lane; and Milton's girlfriend, Simone Tobias, 23 - were arrested during a pre-dawn raid by police on Good Friday.
Tobias, police say, was subsequently released on $30,000 bail.
According to Superintendent Radcliffe Lewis, the four were apprehended as they slept in a house in the Cherry Tree Lane community shortly after 6:00 am.
He said that 30 pounds of the weed was compressed.
"They never expected the raid, man. Them think police stop work because of the holiday," a proud Lewis said. "We started raiding that and adjoining communities from about 3:00 am."
Though Four Paths is not considered a divisional hot-spot, Lewis said that the Lime Tree Lane community is one of the areas on the police's watch list.
"The Lime Tree Lane community in particular is one that we will be putting some level of concentration on where these things (drugs) are concerned," said Lewis
| Injured Cuban envoy and kids in Havana |
| HORACE HINES, Observer staff reporter hinesh@jamaicaobserver.com Tuesday, March 25, 2008 |
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MONTEGO BAY, ST James - Cuban Ambassador Gisela Garcia and her two children, who were all hurt during a motor vehicle collision along the Long Bay main road in St James Sunday morning, are now in Havana, Cuba receiving medical treatment.
The ambassador reportedly received multiple injuries, including two fractured ankles; her son received serious injuries to one leg, while her daughter received injuries to her arm. Another female passenger also suffered serious injuries.
The Cubans were flown out of the island that night.
The driver of the other vehicle involved in the crash was also injured.
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| The mangled remains of the Toyota Prado (top) transporting Cuban Ambassador Gisela Garcia and her children, and the Allion motor vehicle which were involved in a collision along the Northern Costal Highway Sunday morning. The vehicles were photographed at the Barrett Town Police Station yesterday. (Photos: Alan Lewin) |
Both vehicles were extensively damaged.
According to the police, about 10:30 am on Sunday, a Toyota Prado driven by the diplomat's husband was travelling along the Northern Coastal Highway to Montego Bay when an Allion motor car heading in the opposite direction swerved into the path of the Prado.
The four injured passengers in the Prado were whisked away to the MoBay Hope Medical Centre in a motor vehicle owned and driven by an immigration officer who was passing by.
The injured Cubans were subsequently airlifted to a medical facility in their homeland.
According to a police source, the driver of the Toyota Corolla, who has since been discharged from hospital, is likely to be charged with dangerous driving.
A spokesman at the Cuban Embassy told the Observer Sunday night that he was aware of the accident but was unaware of the diplomat's present condition.
| Shot and detained Cops hold injured man after British Link-Up dance gunfight |
Tuesday, March 25, 2008 |
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| Patrons scamper for cover during a gunfight at the British Link-Up Unity Dance at La Roose Dance Lawn on Port Henderson Road Sunday morning. (Photo: Marlon Reid) |
POLICE investigating a gunfight between patrons at a dance in Port Henderson, St Catherine on Sunday morning have shackled to a hospital bed one of eight persons injured during the melee.
The police have not named the person they have under heavy guard, but yesterday said the person can assist them in their investigations.
The incident claimed the life of 41-year-old Clifton Reid, who police say is a member of the Lincoln Road-based Black Roses Crew. Six others, including a woman, are now suffering from gunshot wounds, while two other persons were injured during an ensuing stampede.
According to a patron at the British Link-Up Unity Dance, held at La Roose Dance Lawn on Port Henderson Road, Reid was shot twice in the face after he attempted to restrain one of several men who were involved in a fracas over a woman.
"The girl was hot, and this man went over to where some of the British Link-Up crew were standing and started to hara** the girl," the patron told the Observer. "She insulted him and him get agitated, but some of his friends removed him from the area and cried for peace, but in a while he was back troubling the woman."
All hell reportedly broke loose after the man, who was said to be sporting a dreadlocks hairstyle, was doused with liquor by one of the men who was in the woman's company, the patron claimed.
"Him pop off a gun and pure shot start fire. People turn idiot and start run up and down all 'bout," said the patron, who limped badly on an injured ankle.
The police are also seeking to bring the promoters of the Unity Dance to book after repeated attempts by the cops to end the session at 2:00 am in keeping with the Night Noise Abatement Act were ignored.
"The police went to the venue at least twice and turned off the sound systems each time, but as soon as they were out of earshot, the music was turned on again. This is a blatant disregard for the law and we will be coming down hard," a highly placed police source said yesterday.
Yesterday's Observer report incorrectly named Stone Love Movement as one of the two sound systems for which the dance was held in an effort to heal differences between the owners. However, the owner of Stone Love, Winston 'Wee Pow' Powell, yesterday told the Observer that his sound system was not at the dance.
The sound systems that played at the event were Fire Sound and Metromedia, the Observer was informed.
The shooting incident occurred at minutes to 8:00 on Sunday morning.
-- Edited by miggskills at 16:17, 2008-03-25
-- Edited by pengo at 15:52, 2008-03-25
I [was] the first nig*a to put out two albums in one year, now Im gonna hit em again drop two albums on the same fu*kin day, yo, X said from his home in Arizona on Friday. A double album will make muthafu*kas mad, because they gotta spend more money plus its already a long album. Im talking about a hip-hop album and a gospel album.
Combined, the project will be called 'Walk With Me Now' and 'Youll Fly With Me Later'.
Cocaine is one hulluva drug...
REPORT: ALL OF THE JACKSONS ARE BROKE EXCEPT FOR JANET, LATOYA AND REBBIE
Joseph Jackson, 79 and Katherine Jackson, 77
Dad hustles various girl groups in Las Vegas. Mom is still a stay-at-home housewife and the only family member in contact with Michael. Both have previously filed for bankruptcy
Janet Jackson, 41
The current family breadwinner. She bought her mom a Vegas home in anticipation of losing the family's mansion, Hayvenhurst, to foreclosure. Like their Neverland colleagues, workers at Hayvenhurst have not been paid for months.
La Toya Jackson, 52
Family turncoat who declared Michael guilty during the 1993 molestation case, she earns a living mostly in Europe and in the UAE judging beauty and singing contests. She lives with a wealthy boyfriend in Beverly Hills and has little contact with her siblings.
Rebbie Jackson, 57
The oldest, she's married to successful businessman Nathaniel Brown.
Tito Jackson, 55
Formed a blues band several years ago and plays at small venues for $500 to $1,500 a gig.
Michael Jackson, 49
On the verge of losing Neverland ranch as well as the family's Encino, Calif., home. He's hiding out in Las Vegas and repeatedly makes promises to his brothers while sabotaging any attempts by them to ply their musical trade.
Randy Jackson, 46
Does odd jobs like changing tires to support himself. He was Michael's business manager during the 2005 molestation trial but ran into serious problems with friends after he persuaded three people to take out lines of credits against their homes to help Michael pay his attorney fees and Michael stiffed them.
Marlon Jackson, 51
Lives in San Diego, where he works stocking groceries at a Vons supermarket. He fell on hard times three years ago when he was forced to leave his foreclosed home and move into an Extended Stay America hotel with his wife, Carol.
Jackie Jackson, 56
The oldest son started an Internet clothing business and is trying to produce records by his sons. Nothing has panned out.
Jermaine Jackson, 54
Splits time between the parents' Hayvenhurst mansion and his girlfriend's home in the San Fernando Valley. With more than $5 million in federal, state and other liens against him and a 1995 bankruptcy filing, he doesn't work or have a regular income.
To be fair, the Prius' strengths don't lie in highway mileage but it is still somewhat of a victory for people who want to cl**tch to their conventional fuel-burning powermachines.
Anyhow this week we have a much more pressing issue to address and this has to do with some "SO CALLED" men in our society. Yes a lot of you are guilty and know yourselves. What are we talking about is nothing more than the wearing of these 'Tight Pants 'and 'Pencil Foot' jeans that were meant for WOMEN (note the capitalization). Gentlemen, (then again some of you are the farthest thing from a man) you all need to stop.
Firstly it's not a safe practice, the wearing of tight clothing in general is not healthy according to medical research done worldwide it hinders the skin from breathing properly, the fact that the clothing is so snug it puts the penis and testicles in an uncomfortable zone, which has been known to lower a man's sperm count (last I checked this can hampers one's ability to impregnate his spouse (female)).
Furthermore no one wants to see some grown ass (excuse my french) hairy man with a husky voice in no tight pants. There is nothing sexy about it contrary to what some gender benders may think. Now what is even more disturbing over the last two years the trend seems to have caught on in Jamaica especially in the entertainment fraternity (yes the dancer bwoy and di fish dem weh a run the girls dem outta the video light wid oonu bleach out face and shave up eyebrow...oonu nuh mek mi start enuh). Originally the tight fitting clothes and pencil foot jeans were meant for women to show off their physical attributes, but with the advent of time it seems that a lot of men are becoming more metro-sexual (a fancy word for the borderline homosexuals dem) and in touch with their feminine side.
This trends has sparked a new pattern in the way some men have started dressing, now we see them shaving their eyebrows, wearing two earrings, acting effeminate, bleaching their faces and the infamous wearing to the pencil foot jeans, for those that can't acquire a pair they have gone to lengths to stitch the normal leg inwards for a closer fit and so there is now a shortage of women clothing in our local stores (think a lie ask Ce'Cile she did sing bout it).
A recent visit to a party where the fast rising sound system Darkcide International was playing I heard their microphone man (the yute weh do all the talking and hype up the crowd) Stone said something that had me in tears with laughter and I quote, "Level, yuh see oonu bwoy weh a come a party inna oonu tight pants, oonu notice di gyal dem a walk pass oonu, Mi seh dem nuh see oonu."
Now gentlemen there is a reason why women are considered the fairer sex because it is their job to be dainty, look good, act feminine and bring off the man, so stop trying to fill that role and play your part and be a REAL MAN. Not because you have a pair of nuts that does not make you a man. This is the very reason why some of the prettiest women talk to some of the coarsest and scruffiest guys you've ever seen, it's because they are more of a real man than most of you and hence a lot of women are still looking for that attribute in the opposite sex.
Most of us of Jamaican parentage were brought up with good values and attitudes as children and if our folks saw us wearing those tight pants I'm sure they would be so ashamed. So do what is right and stop trying to compete with the women , and for the love of the Saviour leave the tight pants alone it's not meant for you. Continue if you so choose because who can't hear must feel in the words of Bembe selector Jigsy "Di people dem guh kill oonu". Now go and buy yourself a pair of loose fitting jeans and breathe easy.
Initially bleaching was something done only by women (till the fish dem and the man dem weh claim seh dem a bad man and garrison yute oh! and some a the uptown one dem as well, start feel like seh dem pretty too, and hence di competition start, dem all a push di woman dem out adi video light) but the men have found some comfort in the trends and arguable are now outdoing the women, one in every five males you pass on the streets seems to have some evidence of skin lightening going on. Is it that our men are now trying to get too much in touch with their feminine side to the point of competing with the fairer sex, hence the shaving of eyebrows, the wearing of tight fitted clothes and bleaching their bodies. (di people dem wah kill oonu)
To start, variety is the spice of life, such as variety in food, clothes, hairstyles, etc. Variety also abounds in nature. That is why all people on Earth belong to different types of skin colours, from white to yellow to black. Our living environment accounts for the different skin colours we have. For example, in cold climatic regions such as Europe, inhabitants tend to have a lighter complex due to the cold weather, whereas in Africa, darker skin is better suited in the hot and humid climate.
However, many people nowadays are bleaching their skin. Why are they doing that? Is fairer skin really more appealing than darker skin? (No is just that some a dem feel like dem need fi look like a walking Duppy..Freddy Kruger nuh have nutten pon dem)
Actually many beauticians and doctors advise us that by eating healthily, exercising and using body cream rich in Vitamin E, Aloe Vera and Collagen Elastin will produce more fascinating effects than applying mere bleaching creams. (thank you that is all dem need fi duh, cause if yuh ugly an a bleach di only ting ago happen is yuh ago tun inna a lighter looking Duppy..wha sense that mek)
All skin bleaching products contain one of the two active ingredients; Hydroquinone and Mercury.
- Hydroquinone lightens the colour of the skin areas to which it is applied by killing off the melanin-making cells - the melanolyte. It is also the active ingredient in fade-off creams for freckles, age spots, etc.
Historical background - Hydroquinone was first use in the thirties. Some of the African-American employees found that spots of discolouration appeared on their skin. The chemical substance responsible for it is Monobenzyl Ether of Hydroquinone (Monobonzone for short). Monobonzone thus became a newly discovered bleaching agent. However the daughter molecule of Hydroquinone later replaced it as it caused spots of depigmentation all over even in unapplied places.
- Mercury-based bleaching creams contain ammoniated mercury or mercrous chloride as a bleaching agent.
Some of these creams may contain up to more than 2 - 5% mercury that will be harmful to health. Thus resulting in mercury poisoning, especially chronic mercury poisoning, may result.
Skin bleaching destroys the black pigment found in the epidermis (top layer of the skin). Exposure of the dermis layer, underneath the epidermis layer, to the harsh weather will increase the incidence of skin cancer. The dermis cannot compensate for the absence of the epidermis and coupled with the hot sun one will get a higher risk of cancer.
Thus we can see that despite having fairer skin as desired, skin bleaching is also damaging to our skin. Then again the whole bleaching trends stems from the fact that in Jamaica having a lighter skin tone is perceived as being beautiful and also regarded as a higher class in our class prejudice society. But most evident is that the men in our society are still brainwashed with the mentality that having a brown girl (a browning) is the way to go ( dat is why a lot of dem pick up garbage, because all dem see is di pretty looks and not di dutty attitude an odda flaws dat come along with some of these so-called brownings, who dem a walk round wid fi impress dem friend and family)
By this time, hopefully, ladies and gentlemen you would have had more insights about the causes and effects of bleaching of the various parts of our body. To bleach or not to bleach? Is it worthwhile to risk the high chances of causing damage to our precious teeth, skin or hair, in exchange for our perceived view of beauty? Some said that Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and Being natural is beauty in itself. What do you think?
Same Ting Again is a production of Coby from the Daseca camp and sees Assassin flexing his muscles on a Reggae/Hip Hop fusion. He explores the routines of daily life ghetto people struggles are never-ending and even though theres no money, theyre still experiencing problems. Surveillance is another song that is done under Daseca Productions and speaks to those men who are ever keen to their womens every move.Badness Nah Wear shows off Assassins dexterity where he tackles a serious issue, courtesy of Ward 21. Assassin acknowledges that Reggae and Dancehall music glorifies guns and violence and it is not the absolute reason for what we see happening in society. However, he does admit that there is the legitimacy of the gangsta factor, where music touts it as fashionable and so with Badness Nah Wear, he completely dispels this idea.
His latest tune with Don Corleon Records, The 1 Way is one that Assassin failed to expound upon. Instead, he cheekily invites his fans to make their own interpretations of the song as he left it open to their imaginations.
His other recordings, Money Machine (featuring Sadiki) and Dem Nah Look Nuh Gal, have been gaining momentum in the streets and have become the theme song of many.
Assassin tries to do songs that are relatable. He uniquely and adequately transforms issues discussed around domino tables and adds his own artistic twist to it. The end-product is an undeniably catchy song that just makes you want to simply, bump-your-head-to-this-track.
Macka Diamond and Angel in 'Best Dressed' war? TRACK ADDED
Most if not all of these clashes have been lyrical, or have at least started there, but word on the street is that a war of a new dimension is brewing between female dancehall recording artiste, DAngel and Macka Diamond, aka The Money Goddess. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TRACKSources close to the situation revealed that hot words have been flying behind the scenes for a while now, and it got even worse after Macka Diamond won best dressed female artiste at the Teenage Choice Awards. The word is that DAngel was furious, and was determined to get her day in the spotlight as best dressed female artiste. This she achieved at the recently held Irie FM awards, where she took home the coveted, or is it the vain award of the night?
Be that what it may, it doesnt stop there, because word is that like DAngel, Macka was furious at the announcement of DAngel being the winner, and has since lashed out with a stinging single, entitled, Best Dressed, which states that she has her best dressed house, best dressed car and her best dressed man wha a come in from far, wid har best dressed fren dem, a she an dem a par, a who dat ovah deyso want a best dressed war?
With words like that, it is clear that the Money Goddess has a few things to get off her chest. Neither Macka or DAngel could not be reached for comment, but an associate of DAngel has revealed that like Macka, she also has something for her fans to hear. Only time will tell, but the difference of this clash alone makes it interesting, and with words like, How DAngel fi hot like Macka, bout she a hot artiste an dey yah every weekend, she know how much Passport mi fren dun aready, a wha do Angel, bout best dressed? coming from Macka Diamonds supporters, while DAngel supporters are stuck on, Hotness, is a gift, yuh affi born wid it, it seems that this one may be brewing to become the catfight of the year, while at the same time, the first new slang for the year seems to be best dressed .Best Dressed house, best dressed car, best dressed man, woman and child.
BitTorrent Sites Growing, Stealing for person in the US
We don't recommend using any of these sites because stealing is wrong and they are public trackers, which means the MPAA or RIAA could be watching your downloads.
TorrentFreak.com took a look at the Alexa rankings of torrent sites and noticed that all but a few have shown growth. Looks like it's time for the MPAA and RIAA to start suing people again. Don't say I didn't warn you.
more on the shooting of tupac & jam master jay
Nearly 15 years after Tupac Shakur was pistol-whipped, shot five times and left for dead outside a New York recording studio, new evidence has surfaced implicating two associates of entertainment mogul Sean "Diddy" C****s for orchestrating the rap icon's ambush, AllHipHop.com has learned.
In an upcoming article written by Chuck Phillips on the latest developments, the Los Angeles Times claims that C****s was notified in advance that the trap for Shakur had been laid, according to sources familiar with the incident.
"Tupac was mostly right about what he wrote about [in his songs]," author Chuck Phillips told AllHipHop.com, although he admitted Shakur "had a couple of things wrong" in regard to Bad Boys possible role in the shooting.
The article claims that C****s was present in the Quad Recording Studio with at least two dozen Bad Boy Records associates when the assault took place 10 floors below, in the lobby.
"Tupacs shooting at the Quad was really catalyst for everything that happened afterwards including his own death and including the death of Biggie," Phillips said. "It started the whole thing off and if you lay it out in a timeline which I do, you can just see; its obvious and kind of sad for two guys to be this talented. I ended up with a much larger story than I imagined."
Sources familiar with the incident state that James "Jimmy" Sabatino and Czar Entertainment CEO Jimmy "Henchmen" Rosemond were among those that C****s met on the night in question.
Sabatino, the son of a reputed captain in the Col****o crime family, reportedly told C****s personally that Shakur would be attacked at Quad Recording Studio.
Rosemond, who people speculate paid Shakur back for being slighted over prior agreements, is also said to have formed a close relationship with C****s following the attack.
"One of the people involved in what happened to Tupac has family associated with the mob. It wasnt by them; it didnt have anything to do with the mob," Phillips continued. "This person was at Quad studios that night, and this person knew Puffy and Biggie and Jimmy Henchmen and Haitian Jack. A white Italian guy; hes now in jail. Hes involved in this and frankly I never knew anything about this situation."
Soon after Shakurs 1994 assault, sources claim that Sabatino allegedly introduced C****s to mobsters and escorted the music executive to mobbed-up nightclubs in New York and Miami after he was welcomed into C****s' inner circle.
C****s reportedly invited Sabatino on his 1997 No Way Out tour, where the alleged mob associate used fake credit cards to charge up hundreds of thousands of dollars in bills for posh hotel suites, limousines and parties allegedly on behalf of the Bad Boy entourage.
Sabatinos relationship with C****s allegedly continued as he worked with the moguls Bad Boy Records until his 1998 arrest in London.
Sabatino was later extradited to the United States, where he was convicted and jailed.
He is currently serving 12 years in a federal penitentiary in Pennsylvania for racketeering and wire fraud.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Sabatino maintained a presence at Bad Boy by financing a recording made by Shakurs musical rival, Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace, that was released after the East Coast rappers murder in 1997.
The implications are the latest in a series of events surrounding the murder Shakur, who was shot to death in 1996 in Las Vegas, and Wallace, who was slain the following year after leaving a party in Los Angeles.
Phillips admits he came across the new details surrounding the Quad Recording Studios shooting while investigating the still-unsolved murder of Wallace in New York.
Upon following up on leads, the writer claims he uncovered FBI records to support what he found, as well as interviewing key people with ties to the incident.
Conspiracy theories surrounding the Quad Recording Studio shooting have run rampant.
While some believe Wallace and C****s set up Shakur at the venue, others maintain the pair had nothing to do with the shooting, but had prior knowledge that Shakur was going to be robbed.
"I dont believe that Biggie and Puffy set Tupac up [to be shot]," Phillips said. "According to these people I have interviewed and according to these documents, they knew about it," he said. "But they didnt know they were going to get shot. They knew he was going to get beat up. Then it kind of went haywire when it all happened."
In addition to the new information, Phillips' story uncovers an ongoing New York federal grand jury that is currently investigating a series of unsolved Hip-Hop and rap-related crimes, including the 1994 Quad assault.
As recently as a month ago, interviews have been conducted surrounding a number of open cases.
Those interested in obtaining new information on the Quad Recording Studio shooting will be able to examine photo galleries, copies of confidential documents related to the shootings.
An interactive timeline as well as audio of lyrics and videos from Shakur and Wallace will also be featured when Phillips story on the incident becomes available Monday (March 17) on the L.A. Times website or by visiting http://www.latimes.com/tupac
Interestingly, the case has ties to the murder of Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizell as well.
One of the men present when Shakur was shot, Randy "Stretch" Walker, was later gunned down in Queens, New York on November 30, 1995, exactly one day to date of the Quad shooting.
Sources have long stated that Walker's alleged murderer, Ronald "Tinard" Washington, was also one of the men suspected of acting as a lookout when Jam Master Jay was gunned down on October 30, 2002.
SHOCKER: R&B SINGER CORRINE BAILEY RAE'S HUSBAND FOUND DEAD IN HIS APARTMENT
West Yorkshire police said they had been called to an apartment in the Hyde Park area of Leeds in northern England on Saturday, where they found the body of a 31-year-old man. They later identified him as Jason Rae.
A 32-year-old man was arrested under suspicion of supplying drugs and freed on bail.
A post-mortem examination was carried out on the body but the results were inconclusive, police said, adding that they were awaiting toxicology reports.
The husband of singer Corinne Bailey Rae has died of a suspected drugs overdose.
Jason Rae, a saxophonist with the Haggis Horns, was found dead at a flat in Leeds.
West Yorkshire police said: At 3.15pm yesterday [Saturday] the body of a 31-year-old man was found at a flat in the Hyde Park area.
Digicel dash sparks network collapse - Promotion rush for bonus credit overloads system
An overload triggered by eager customers trying to capitalise on a discount programme which offered bonus call credit on the weekend caused Digicel Jamaica's computerised credit network to collapse.
The crash resulted in many customers being unable to add credit to their phones on the Easter weekend.
David Hall, Digicel's chief executive officer, told The Gleaner yesterday that the company was working to correct the problem that began late last week by upgrading the capacity of the system.
Hall said the problem would have been corrected yesterday evening. He, however, pointed out that customers could still add credit using the electronic top-up methods, such as Web Flex and Direct Flex.
Callers to The Gleaner's newsroom yesterday complained of not being able to add credit to their phones during the Easter holiday.
One woman was also livid that the malfunction occurred at the time when the cellular service provider was offering the $50 bonus-credit promotion.
"From Friday night me a try to add credit to me phone and it not going on," she complained. "Now me can't call nobody."
To compensate customers for the inconvenience, Hall said Digicel would announce another bonus-credit promotion this week.
"We will make an announcement of an additional little bonus to make up to our customers," said the Digicel CEO.
March 24, 2008. From a few weeks ago that rapper Da Brat and R&B's Mariah Carey has had a blossoming friendship. Well now Mediazoneja.com is hearing that the two women are likely to be more than friends.
An employee who works at L.A.'s Villa Lounge spotted the couple over the weekend. Here's what she saw with her own two eyes:
I just wanted to tell you guys that Mariah Carey and Da Brat are definitely dating [each other]. They were at [Villa] last night and for almost the whole night Mariah was sitting on Da Brat's lap. And they were both sharing the same drink - FROM THE SAME GLASS!!!
The way those two were carrying on, I thought they would start kissing right there in front of everyone. BTW Da Brat was looking kinda hot ... No Homo.
-- Edited by XavHew at 16:05, 2008-03-24
The latest to die were four soldiers whose patrol vehicle was blown up by a b**** in southern Baghdad on Sunday.
In response to the news, US Vice-President Dick Cheney said he regretted every US casualty in Iraq.
Insurgent attacks and military operations left at least 47 people dead across Iraq on Sunday.
According to an Associated Press breakdown of the figure, 97% of deaths occurred after US President George W Bush declared on 1 May 2003 that major c****at was over.
Roadside b****s accounted for 44% of deaths last year and 55% to date in 2008, the agency adds.
In Sunday's other violence:
- Mortar and rocket fire killed at least 15 people in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone
- A suicide b****er ploughed an explosives-laden tanker into an army base in Mosul, killing 13 Iraqi soldiers and injuring 40 people
- US troops killed 12 men in a raid east of Baquba, saying that six of them were found to have shaved their bodies, suggesting they had been preparing for suicide operations
- Gunmen travelling in three cars shot dead at least seven shoppers in a Baghdad market.
'Less visible'
Sunday's *lo**shed comes despite an overall reduction in violence since last June.
That was when the US deployed an extra 30,000 troops in violence-hit areas - the so-called "troop surge".
Stephen Biddle, a senior fellow for defence policy at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, said he doubted the 4,000 milestone would "have the impact that the 3,000 did" in December 2006.
"The conventional wisdom then was that things were going badly," he was quoted by Reuters as saying.
"Today, by contrast, the public's general perception of Iraq is less negative, and coverage for the last six months has tended to focus on the reduction in violence and US casualties.
"The war has also been much less visible."
US soldiers interviewed by AFP news agency in Iraq said they were saddened by the figure of 4,000 but argued the conflict was justified.
"Every one of those people signed up voluntarily and it's a shame that that happens, but tragedies do happen in war," said senior Airman Preston Reeves, 26.
Staff Sergeant Jonathan Criss, 37, said the US could not "just walk away and leave the Iraqi people".
"If you interviewed the 30,000 [wounded], they would have no ill will," he added.This probably Discuss already. But what are your top 5 Riddims off the gtop of your head.
Mine, In no particular order
1) Showtime
2) Anger Management
3) Chrome
4)Tremor
5) Stalag... Or maybe Bellyas
Owner of entertainment website outaroad.com, Car-lington Wilmot, claims that he was threatened yesterday by a popular dancehall deejay and his entourage as a result of a photo on the site.
Christopher Campbell, a former writer for the website was also allegedly assaulted at the offices of booking agent Solid Agency to which he is currently employed. It is believed that Campbell was assaulted as a result of his affiliation to the site and its owner.
Wilmot claims that he received a call from one deejay, whose number is stored in his mobile phone. He says during the conversation, the deejay passed the phone to the other deejay who was disgruntled.
"(The deejay) seh 'di singer waan talk to yuh' and (the deejay) come pon di phone an seh 'a long time mi a tell yuh fi come off a mi name. Anytime mi ole yuh bwoy Carlington not even Kartel can help yuh," Wilmot said.
Hunted
After receiving the call, Wimot says he received a call from someone at Natural Bridge studios, a place he visits regularly, informing him that the deejay's entourage was 'looking for him'.
The incident, he believes, was prompted by a story on the outaroad website. The website displayed a picture of the deejay in a bedroom with a girl. According to the report on the website, the two girls, one living in Canada and the other in New York, are verbally warring on the popular myspace site. Both are claiming to have an intimate relationship with the artiste.
According to Wilmot, the picture was sent to the website from an unknown email address. "Wi don't tek di picture. Mi don't write the story, it's a blog. The blog is open to anybody. The pic was already on myspace which is way bigger than outaroad.com. Other message boards put them up," he said.
Shortly after receiving the phone threat, Wilmot got yet another call from someone informing him that Christopher Campbell had been assaulted by the deejay's entourage at the offices of Solid Agency on Merrivale Close.
Bringing in the cops
An upset Wilmot sent a text to a member of the deejay's entourage informing him that he was going to report the incident to the police.
He told the STAR "the artiste dem caan go out dere and get demself mix up inna passa passa and expect seh di public nah go find out 'bout it. Whole of people get di picture from di same girl. Mi nuh write, mi only tek pictures and mi neva tek dat one deh".
Wilmot says he reported the incident to the New Kingston Police Post yesterday evening. However, up to press time, The STAR did not get confirmation of the report from the police.
Though The STAR made repeated attempts to contact the deejay and his management team, the calls went unanswered.
-- Edited by Sean Mobay at 23:01, 2008-03-21
Suicide pact girlfriend tells how she changed her mind... and cheated death by inches as train mowed down her boyfriend
After a spate of bad luck, 19-year-old Darren Baker convinced his girlfriend Kirsty Mortimer, 22, that they should die together.
The desperate pair held hands as they stepped into the path of the oncoming train but Kirsty lost her nerve at the last minute and tried to pull away, only to be hauled on to the track by her boyfriend.
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In love: Kirsty Mortimer survived a suicide train pact which killed her boyfriend Darren Baker
The engine smashed into them at 55mph leaving Darren with fatal injuries and Kirsty, who was 21 at the time, fighting for her life.
But the train hit them a glancing blow, rather than run over them which would probably have killed her as well as her boyfriend.
Kirsty woke up in intensive care with a stomach wound which needed 78 staples to close, a broken knee and a smashed ankle.
Still recovering from her brush with death, Kirsty, from Halifax, West Yorkshire, described how she had agreed to the suicide pact to prove her love to Darren after a series of bitter rows.
"Darren could be very jealous and possessive over me but I still loved him with all of my heart," she said.
"On that day we had just been refused financial help from the council which hit Darren really hard."
"We were walking and he stopped and said 'Why are you always fighting with me? You say you'd do anything for me.'
"I told him how much I loved him and that I would do anything for him so he asked me to follow him to the train track.
"We knew what we were doing. We had no money, no job, no real home, so we both wanted to end it all and go to a better place.
"When we were walking along the track I felt happy that Darren would finally realise how much he meant to me - if he was going to die, I wanted to die too."
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Troubled: Darren Baker had grown increasingly depressed in the weeks before his suicide
Darren led Kirsty, who was 21 at the time, towards the tunnel so they wouldn't be disturbed.
But before they reached it the train hurtled towards them at 55mph.
As it bore down on them, Kirsty suddenly had the sickening realisation that she wasn't ready to die.
She said: "I know Darren wanted to kill himself and I wanted to die with him. When I saw the train coming I lost my nerve and pulled away.
"But he pulled us back towards the train. I don't remember the moment the train hit us both."
The 4.45pm Northern Rail service from Leeds to Brighouse dealt the duo a "glancing blow" as it emerged from Wyke tunnel in Bradford on April 5, 2007.
Darren had a weak pulse and shallow breathing at the scene and died in the ambulance on the way to Bradford Royal Infirmary.
Kirsty said she was devastated by her boyfriend's death and is struggling to come to terms with the tragedy.
"I woke up in intensive care with a smashed ankle, a broken knee, a pot from my ankle to my hip and a brace on my other knee," she said.
"The flesh in the middle of my stomach had been ripped off so doctors had to staple the skin from the bottom half and the top half together with 78 staples. I was in agony."
She went on: "When I came round all I wanted was to be with Darren. I just wanted to see him again, talk to him again and hug him one last time.
"At that point I wished I'd died with him.
"I've tried to make sense of things. I keep asking myself over and over if I could have done things differently.
"Despite our problems, I will never ever forget what a kind and loving boyfriend he was.
She added: "For a long time I wished I'd died with Darren, but now I'm thankful I'm still here.
"My mum has been fantastic and really helped me start rebuilding my life again."
The dad who slept on while his girlfriend gave birth in the bathroom
Antony Probets carried on sleeping as his girlfriend Gemma McSheffrey went on to have the couple's baby girl all on her own.
Gemma, 20, said: "I was screaming for Antony all the time but he was fast asleep so I did it all on my own.
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Sleepy head: New dad Antony Probets snoozed as girlfriend Gemma McSheffrey gave birth to their daughter Paige
"Then I walked into the bedroom with the baby in my arms."
She added: "Antony is a very heavy sleeper. I can never wake him and he's always the last one up."
Antony, 19, a chef in Elland, West Yorkshire, where the couple live, said: "I thought I was dreaming at first so that's why I didn't wake up.
"When I realised it was real I was so shocked."
He added: "I'm sad because I wanted to be there for the birth but I am so proud of Gemma."
The couple had gone to Calderdale Royal Hospital after Gemma, started having contractions.
But staff sent them away because the first-time mum was still only in the early stages.
Gemma said: "When we got home my contractions started getting worse.
"The next thing I knew my waters had broken. I had a really big urge to push so I did and half her head was out."
Two more pushes and less than 10 minutes later little Paige Elizabeth Probets, weighing 7lb 3oz, popped out at 6.30am.
Gemma, who works on a fruit and vegetable stall, had not been to ante-natal classes.
She said: "I was absolutely terrified because I didn't have a clue what to do but I didn't want the baby to become distressed.
"Friends who have had babies said it really hurt but I didn't have time to think about the pain."
Gemma wrapped the baby in her dressing gown and headed back to the bedroom where her boyfriend was sleeping.
"I said 'Antony you need to get up now' but he didn't really function for about five minutes. It was actually Paige that woke him up crying."
The new dad got to cut the cord before they headed to hospital with the ambulance crew.
The couple who have been together for 11 months, brought baby Paige home on Friday.
NEW YORK (CMC):
New York police have arrested a Guyana-born United States federal immigration official for demanding sex from a Col****ian woman in exchange for a green card.
Prosecutors in Queens said last Friday that Isaac R. Baichu, 46, was recorded demanding sex from the unidentified young woman, and will be prosecuted on corruption charges.
Immigration officials said Baichu handled about 8,000 green card applications during his three years as an adjudicator in the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services - part of the federal Department of Homeland Security.
Prosecutors said he pleaded not guilty to felony and misdemeanour charges of coercing the young woman to perform oral sex, and of promising to help her secure immigration papers in exchange for further sexual favours. If convicted, he will face up to seven years in prison.
Case under review
An immigration spokesman said Baichu has been suspended without pay, and the inspector general of Homeland Security is reviewing his other cases.
Prosecutors, who say they recorded a meeting between Baichu and the woman on March 11, at which he made similar demands for sex, urged any other victims to come forward.
Money, not sex, is the more common currency of corruption in immigration, officials said.
The young woman in Queens, whose name is being withheld because the authorities consider her the victim of a sex crime, did not even tell her husband what had happened, officials said.
They said she came to the United States on a tourist visa in 2004 and overstayed.
Authorities said when she married an American citizen a year ago, the law allowed her to apply to 'adjust' her illegal status.The deejay who recently paused her musical career for the release of her book "Bun Him" now a best seller is once again shifting gear and heading for the big screen. In a recent television interview Macka revealed that she had always wanted to be an actress and just last week her dreams became reality when she received a phone call from Mediamix Studios execs that they had a role for her in the upcoming season of the Jamaican soap opera "Royal Palm Estate".
Macka said she was so elated by the news it almost brought her to tears, when asked about the details of her role and character she said "Mi ask dem the same question, and dem tell mi seh dem already write the script and have the role for me, so when mi guh in I guess dem will give me di details". We are going to speculate that it has something to do with "MONEY" as we can't see her doing anything without a little cash in the mix.
Since late last year Macka seems to be a frequent visitor to the entertainment spotlight some of her accolades includes winning the 'Best Dress Female Artiste' at the Teenage Choice Awards, successfully staging her Birthday party at Ranny Williams Entertainment Center, Recording a few chart topping soca song with some of the Caribbean's best. Having a best selling book "Bun Him" and recently being asked by members of the Church to offer some sex advice to women, who wanted to know how to bring back the fire in their relations.
A movie adaptation of Marley's widow Rita's book No Woman, No Cry: My Life With Bob Marley is currently being created by The Weinstein Company, but the star's family will not co-operate for the project.
Instead, the family is handing over the rights to use his hits to director Martin Scorsese, who is making a documentary about the singer together with the Marley-owned Tuff Gong Pictures, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The family members involved in the Scorsese project claim they were unaware the Weinstein biopic would be unveiled so soon and believe that its projected late-2009 release date would interfere with the documentary's February 2010 release - timed to coincide with Marley's birthday.
The documentary's executive producer and Bob's son, Ziggy Marley, says, "The Weinstein project has put the documentary into jeopardy. All our efforts and support are currently directed toward the documentary.
"We believe that this project is the best way to represent our father's life from his perspective, and any other film project pertaining to our father will be empty without his music to support it." The Marley family's lawyer Terri Dipalo denied the latest move is a negotiating tactic to compel the Weinsteins to buy Marley music rights.
Although no exact date has yet been given, Microsoft said price cuts would be introduced in 70 countries.
In the US, the cost of the most expensive version, Vista Ultimate, will be reduced to $319 (£161) from the current retail price of $399.
Analysts said Microsoft was aiming to boost the number of customers upgrading to Vista, which was introduced in 2007.
'Greater opportunities'
The price cuts apply to the packaged versions of Vista, which account for less than 10% of its sales.
By contract, 90% of Vista sales are to PC manufacturers, where the operating system is pre-installed on their computers.
"We anticipate these changes will provide greater opportunities... to sell more stand-alone copies of Windows," said Brad Brooks, a Microsoft corporate vice president.
Microsoft says it has now sold 100 million Vista licences since it was launched.
If Politicians are wrecking Jamaica should they be getting paid milliions of dollars?
LONDON (Reuters) - A cash machine became a big hit this week after it started paying out twice as much money as it should.
]
The ATM, outside a supermarket in Hull, began spewing out double the money on Tuesday afternoon and continued doing so for several hours, drawing a crowd of hundreds eager to cash in on the mistake.
Those requesting the maximum daily withdrawal of 300 pounds were being given 600 pounds and a receipt for 300.
"People were calling their mates up and telling them to get down there," the Hull Daily Mail quoted a passer-by as saying.
After several hours the machine finally ran out of money.
Payzone, a company that administers ATMs, would not comment in detail on the incident but said it appeared one of its machines had malfunctioned.
Police said those who had benefited could face charges but only if the operator complained.
(Reporting by Luke Baker; Editing by Ibon Villelabeitia)
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