Today We Start The Tivoli Stories – the reality of the Jamaican Civil War

First let us give you a little history lesson from Jamaica.  this is the story that breaks the seal on the book. you see Tivoli is the heart of Jamaica for many reasons.  most of them stem from the money links developed through the kingston stronghold and their community leaders – like the man Jim Brown.

Listen to Tivoli Stories Part One

[Play]

Duration: 35:35

Copyright 12/24/2009

Produced and Mixed By RE Ausetkmt / Mama ASID at Realities Studios – Detroit, MI

• Kingston 14 – Dub Syndicate feat. Gregory Isaacs
• Trenchtown Rock – Bob Marley and the Wailers
• We Tired a Di Gunplay – Anthony Red Rose
• Peace – Chevelle Franklin
• Kingston State of Mind / Mama ASID Remix – Cherrine Anderson (unreleased)

• Ghetto Life – Jah Cure
• Youth Are So Cold – Richie Spice
• More Justice – Junior Gong Marley

What They Say about Jim Brown Now

it was a rough time in Jamaica – the first Jamaica civil war was raging within the island. most of the action seemed to center around the garrison communities of western Kingston.

Tivoli Gardens was the first large scale government housing scheme built in Western Kingston.  it was built in of all places Back o’Wall – a notorious dump and slum.

This is Tivoli Gardens 2009

The political triad of Edward Seaga, Portia Simpson and Omar Davies produced their own fortress with the building of Tivoli Gardens between 1962 – 1972. this move ensured that their political clout would be longstanding.

Tivoli Gardens Shootings 2008

“Notice they are screaming Where is Bruce, We Want Justice”

somehow I don’t think this is the Bruce they want, but this is what they got anyway.. yes that’s Bruce Golding Jamaicas’ Prime Minister giving this woman a lap dance. notice those kids in Orange – that’s PNP Colors. Bruce is in Green which is JLP Colors. everybody except the adults are Flashing Gang Affiliations.

Life and Debt in Jamaica; We present The Entire Nine Part Documentary in sequence. Watch it All Here On One Player.

with this new fortress came responsibility and the need for internal security – this brought about the beginnings of the Don structure.  Community leaders who were the powerful voices of the politics of western Kingston; were called “Dons” – after the Italian godfathers.  these are figures gleaned from the Italian mafia tales that all Jamaicans seem to love and respect, even today.

Take an Inside Look at Gangs and Warfare in Jamaica

it’s a funny thing that Jamaicans have such powerful respect for anyone who claims a title, regardless of if they are good or bad – it’s just title worship. this idol worship as we call it, has caused most of the hardship in Jamaica.

these days this Don worship extends to the second generation of Tivoli strongmen and women.  you see in Jamaica, the gun knows no sex and women are as strong as some men in certain garrison communities. hence the respect for women in Jamaican politics like Portia “Lady. P” Simpson and Olivia “Babsy” Grange – two of Jamaica’s Iron Ladies.  FYI – both are still in politics today.

When the first Jamaican civil war heated up in the 80’s; after the Election of Edward Seaga as JLP Prime Minister. we began to see the influx of guns, and the violence become linked more closely to political figures. This was by way of this Community Garrison Leadership scheme introduced by the triad.

A few of the most powerful of the community leaders were Jim Brown, Claudie Mossop and Bucky Marshall. these men commanded as much respect as the politicians. without them the politicians had no power, and no control over their constituent areas or garrisons.  this was the key – the politicians supplied guns and money to the Dons; who supplied the politicians with community control, gunslingers and votes.

this is from the Jamaica Gleaner’s History Section :

“A lot of this took place in the 1960s in West Kingston (when the Jamaica Labour Party formed the Government) but when the PNP (People’s National Party) came to power (in 1972) they reinforced it by building their own garrisons.”

EARLY DON’S GAME

The early don’s game was largely community-based. He peddled small quantities of ganja and his weapon of choice was usually the ratchet knife; some had guns. They were the heavies Alton Ellis sang about in Dancecrasher and the community enforcers Desmond Dekker appealed to in 007 (Shantytown).

In the 1970s, as political tribalism grew, so did the role of the area leader. Men like Claudius ‘Claudie’ Massop (JLP) and Aston ‘Bucky’ Marshall (PNP) came to national prominence and played a major part in peace initiatives such as the One Love Peace Concert in April 1978. It was during this period of national unrest, says Dr. Hutton, that the modern don began taking shape.

“They were still under the patronage of the politicians, but they began to travel more to the United States and started to access their own source of arms,” said Dr. Hutton. “The drug trade started to open up and some of these guys became extremely wealthy and independent of the parties.”

GOVERNMENT TIES

By the 1980s and 1990s, the don’s network transcended drugs. Many got involved in the music business as producers or show promoters; others got security and construction contracts, allegedly through Government ties. They also benefit from the extortion racket, raking in millions of dollars for the ‘protection’ of businessmen in some of Jamaica’s thriving commercial districts.

This Don structure is still thriving and carrying forth in 2009 – the same as it was in the early 70’s when it first came about.  Little did anyone believe in the 70’s that this would form the basis of Jamaicas’ economy and economic woes in 2009.  Edward Seaga put the programs in place that helped enforce this culture of guns and violence as politics.  his very election in the 70’s and again in the 80’s helped push this Don culture into legitimate businesses in Jamaica.

in the 80’s and the 90’s The Music business in Jamaica became inundated with the drug dons cash infused projects. their money was controlling tours, record releases and even what IS played on the radio today in Jamaica.  just recently we saw one of Jamaicas’ most well known dread-locked singers Buju Banton taken down as a part of a drug sting in the USA.  why ?  well lets look back – Edward Seaga owned one of the first Don Financed Record Companies – West Indies Records; which was later purchased by Bunny Lee of the Dragoneers fame.

there is a culture in Jamaica that is steeped in power and an undercurrent that traces deeply into it’s roots and blood; the desire to be In Control. yes control is a powerful thing and in Jamaica the power of control shifts on a moment to moment basis. it could be due to a fluctuation in the black market; the cost of cocaine; or even the cost of bail for a don in jail. all these are crucial factors in determining who is actually in a power position.

When Bob Marley brought the leaders of the two political parties in Jamaica onstage to shake hands in a show of unity to the people of the island – it was more a way to bring their dons on stage without causing a mass casualty. this show of hands on stage, shaking and standing behind their respective politicians made Jamaicans feel safe; if only for the moment that it happened. it was after this that Bob Marley made his way off the island for a period of time, knowing that this act would possibly sign his death warrant.

No Man, Not Even Bob dared to put these men together in one place – but he did it. afterward, the effects on the community were breathtaking.  Jamaicans began to relocate out of the garrison, off the island and even to go as far as making their new homes in faraway places like England and America – because this was obviously the start of something big. yes a massive expansion of the Tivoli Policy – the creation of the Spanglers and the Shower Posse’. the internationalization of the Jamaican Garrison Armies.

In a Few weeks we’ll bring you the next episode and we hope that you’ll join us when we explore the path from Garrison to Stage in Tivoli Stories.

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Many times we think that people in your neighborhood have problems, but Looka Here, Nothing is worth setting your child on fire. the whole Daggering and Peter King thing is set off by Wha ? it’s just that elementary,

Ya Ova ?

After losing shoes… 8-Y-O SET ON FIRE

Dwayne Mcleod, JA Star Staff Reporter
In what can be considered a case of extreme punishment, an eight-year-old boy was doused with gasolene and set afire because he lost a foot of his school shoes.

The Kingston West police say the child is now in hospital and nursing third-degree burns to over 40 per cent of his body.

“Yu nuh hear ’bout it? My gosh if yu eva si di likkle bway yu cry,”

a policewoman remarked to her colleague when THE WEEKEND STAR called the Trench Town Police Station and inquired about the incident yesterday.

The child’s father was on Wednesday slapped with a charge of assault occasioning grievous bodily harm and will appear in court on Monday.

Police say the child wore his regular pair of shoes to school on Tuesday. He, however, carried another pair with him, which he is said to have put on when he arrived at school.

When he returned home about 4 p.m., he realised that one foot from the pair of school shoes was missing.

Fiery reprimand

The police say that the boy’s father tried to reprimand his son by lighting a circle of fire, which he made by pouring gasolene around his son before igniting the substance.

It is further reported that the child ran but was ordered by his father to return to the fiery circle. The child complied but then tried to run again.

The father, it is alleged, then threw the gasolene at the running child.

This caused a huge burst of flames, which lit up the infant. He was taken to hospital where he is being treated.

Word of the incident has left residents commenting about the incident.

“Di likkle yute scarred fi life star, a eediat ting dat all because di yute lose him school shoes. Everybody ’bout ya vex, wi nah lie,” said 25-year-old Kevin Hendricks.

“School shoes can always buy back eno. Wi only hope seh him nuh scar up too much still, ’cause dat can have a negative impact pon him future still,” another resident added.

JAMAICANS LIVING IN HELL ABROAD –

23 workers crammed in shabby house in Trinidad

What was supposed to be a rewarding job experience for at least three Jamaicans turned out to be a nightmare for them in Laventille, Trinidad, last month.

The three men who contacted The Star recently relayed the story of how they got a ‘link’ with someone who said she could get them to legally work and provide proper housing in the republic for them.

However, this was never the case. “The living condition was hell, not even yuh pig dem yuh woulda mek go through dat,” Khris Breezy* said in his short description of the house. “Before I run come home last month is bout 23 Jamaicans did live inna de shabby house wha de lady put wi inna.

All eight men affi sleep inna one room. Yuh waan see de bed dem, my yute, like a dem nail up some bunk bed like de one wha u see a de prison dem. Man all sleep pon floor more while. De 23 a wi affi use one bathroom, so yuh know how dat go. And de bathroom not even did ave no door, so more while people jus walk in pon yuh.”

Another man, Drank Rowe, shared a similar experience. “That must be the worst part of Trinidad the lady took us to live. It was in East Dry River, Port-of-Spain,” he recalled. “All in broad daylight yuh see man a walk wid kerchief over face, brandishing guns.”

Rude awakening

Breezy told The Star that it cost him well over $90,000 to make the trip. He said he was given the job without even doing an interview and was taken to a man who told him to report the next day for the night shift. He was in for a rude awakening. He heard about “1,000 gunshots” while on duty and did not even have a knife to protect himself or the property.

The job was also paying far less than what he was promised, so he and others packed up and came back to Jamaica, counting it as a loss.

When The Star contacted the ‘agent’ in Jamaica who reportedly collected the money from the men and sent it to the ’superior’ in Trinidad, she said that she was only helping out. She said she was collecting the money and sending it to the ’superior’ because a friend in Trinidad asked the favour of her. “I didn’t know what was going on. Is the man dem come back and a tell mi what happened,” she said.

Attempts to get in contact with the lady in Trinidad who allegedly runs the programme were unsuccessful as the calls went to voicemail. A voice message was left but no response has been received.

The Jamaican High Commission in Trinidad and Tobago said while they have received a similar complaint from some Jamaicans who were in the island on a work programme, they needed to investigate further to determine if it was the same group. The commission said the East Dry River, Port-of-Spain, address of the house, as was mentioned to The Star, was not in keeping with the reports they had previously received.

The commission said it would look into the matter and provide a later update.

*Names changed upon request

A tissue of truths

BARBARA GAYLE, JA Star Staff Reporter

There was much laughter in court yesterday when 25-year-old Sheldon Pusey responded to suggestions put to him that he was not speaking the truth in relation to how 64-year-old Ambassador Peter King was fatally stabbed and chopped.

“I am suggesting to you that you are telling this court a tissue of lies,” prosecutor Caroline Hay said to Pusey during cross-examination. “I am telling this court a tissue of truths,” Pusey responded.

Pusey said it was the investigating officer Superintendent McArthur Sutherland who told him how King had been attacked.

When he was asked if he wanted the jury to believe that Sutherland told him how the attack went, Pusey replied, “my answer is Sutherland told me what I did that night.”

Pusey said he did not use a sheet to cover King after he had stabbed him. He said it was Sutherland who told him that he (Pusey) had covered King with a sheet and that was the reason he said so in the interview on March 6, 2007.

Pusey has been on trial in the Home Circuit Court since January 19 for King’s murder. King was stabbed and chopped at his home at 11A Waterloo Road between March 19 and 20, 2006.

Pusey said in his defence last week Friday that King was forcing him to be intimate with him and he took a knife, which was in a cup on a bedside table, and stabbed him.

In responding to suggestions put to him, Pusey said he had not known that King was gay. He denied the suggestion that he went to the house to have sex with King and to kill him. He also denied taking a weapon with him to King’s house on the evening of March 19, 2006.

Denied bisexuality

Pusey said he was not a homosexual and denied the suggestion that he was bisexual.

He said he heard the government analyst saying in court that semen was on King’s pubic and anal hairs and semen was on the floor near to where King’s body was found in the room. When it was suggested to Pusey that he was engaged in some sexual activity with King that night, Pusey said “no ma’am.”

Pusey said he was also called Blondy Pryce. When asked if the boys in St Mary called him Blondy Pryce, he said it was only the boys in St Andrew who called him that name. He said he did not know that there was a female singer called Blondie. He said he went to St Mary after the incident to visit his baby’s mother.

It was suggested to Pusey that he killed King in cold blood but Pusey denied the suggestion. In response to the question “and up to until today you have no remorse for your action?” Pusey responded: “the only remorse I have is to go there on March 19, 2006.”

Peter King trial Fatal job interview

BARBARA GAYLE, JA Star Staff Reporter

The man who is charged with the murder of 64-year-old Ambassador Peter King took the decision yesterday to give his defence on oath from the witness stand, where he will face thorough cross-examination.

Sheldon Pusey, 25, has been on trial in the Home Circuit Court since January 19 for the murder.

King was fatally stabbed and chopped at his house between March 19 and 20, 2006.

Pusey said in his defence yesterday that sometime after 6 p.m. on March 19, 2006, he went to King’s house about a job. He said it was a man called ‘Rupie’ who sent him for the job.

carpenter-turned-waiter

Pusey said he was a carpenter, but because he suffered from sickle-cell disease, he had given up the trade, because it was too strenuous, and worked as a waiter at Strawberry Hill Hotel, St Andrew.

He was at King’s house for about four hours when he told King it was getting late and he had to leave.

King insisted that he stay the night and gave him a meal and an alcoholic drink. After he had the drink, Pusey said he felt dizzy, as if he was going to faint.

He told King he had to go home. King began dragging him to a room and kept telling him that he should lie down.

Pusey said King began stroking him – his face, chest and shoulders. The accused said he pushed King away as King began to take off his (Pusey’s ) clothes. He said at that time, King was naked. Pusey said he tried to fight King, but he could not manage King because of King’s size. He said while they were wrestling, he managed to get something from a cup holder and stabbed King.

burnt clothing

Pusey said he was also injured during the incident. King eased off and he said he jumped over the balcony, jumped over the fence and left the premises. He said he went to his mother’s house where he burned the clothes he had been wearing. He then left for Mango Valley, St Mary, where he remained until he was arrested in March 2007.

When cross-examined by Caroline Hay, deputy director of public prosecutions, Pusey said he also answered to the names ‘Brown Man’, Anthony Blake, AB and Blond Pryce. He said women had given him the names. Asked if he had many girls, he replied “not right now”.

He said he did not know if Rupie was gay and that he understood the word gay to mean men having sex with men. He said it was Rupie who had sent him to King about the job and the last time he saw Rupie was on March 19, 2006, when Rupie showed him where King lived.

Mixed reactions after daggerin’ meeting

By – Sadeke Brooks, JA Star Staff Reporter

Prime Minister Bruce Golding.

Renegade of dancehall duo RDX said he is dissatisfied following Friday’s meeting with Prime Minister Bruce Golding on the recent ban placed on songs and music videos alluding to daggerin’.

However, Spice, whose controversial song with Vybz Kartel, Rampin’ Shop, is at the centre of the ban, said it was a move in the right direction.

What is Daggering and What is 100 Stab

The Broadcasting Commission two Friday’s ago placed a ban on the word daggerin’, images of the daggerin’ dance and songs that have to be edited for radio and television. The commission also said the ban applies to all genres of music.

On Friday, the prime minister invited music insiders to Jamaica House to look at what could be done to clean up the content of dancehall music while maintaining the artistes’ freedom of expression.

RDX – Daggering

However, Renegade was not pleased after leaving the meeting.

“Dem done mek up dem mind already. Dancehall was not represented properly, it was just RDX and Spice. Come een like wi did just a talk up against a wall,” Renegade told THE STAR.

Speech and expression

Renegade

“Mi nuh have nothing else fi seh. Wi (RDX) just ago move forward and continue creating music. Wi nah go mek dem stop wi freedom of speech and expression.”

Spice said she was glad for the opportunity to voice her concerns and that the meeting was held.

Kartel and Spice – Rampin Shop

“I saw the ministers writing and taking notes. I don’t know if our words will go in vain. The fact that they set up the meeting to hear our views, I have to applaud them for that. I want them to take into consideration everything that we have said,” she stated.

Spice, however, believes a meeting with the music industry stakeholders prior to the ban would have been more effective.

“It was a hasty decision and if they had this meeting before they would be better able to understand where everybody is coming from,” Spice said.

Likewise, Big Yard’s CEO and Shaggy’s manager, Robert Livingston, thinks the meeting served a real purpose.

“It was very effective because everyone voiced how we could reach a solution.

The prime minister understood the whole thing. Everyone seems to have a clear picture of what needs to be done,” said Livingston.

Mr Golding said while he was interested in hearing the artistes’ concerns, he was backing the Broadcasting Commission and that the commission has the law on its side.

Issue of enforcement

“Part of our problem is the issue of enforcement. I am prepared to go all the way in enforcing these laws. If it’s the mini-bus operator or the radio stations who must lose their licenses, I am prepared to go all the way to enforce the laws,” Mr Golding said.

Also at the meeting were Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange, minister of information, culture, youth and sports, Education Minister Andrew Holness, members of the Broadcasting Commission, Mutabaruka, Queen Ifrica and Ardenne High School’s principal, Esther Tyson, whose article in The Gleaner about Rampin’ Shop’s lyrics sparked the public debate.
Deejay Spice File Photos

JA Radio stations coping with “Daggering” ban

Sadeke Brooks, JA Star Staff Reporter
Deidra and Francois chilling in their matching tops at one of FAME FM’s road parties. – Contributed photos

Little over a week has passed since the ban of all songs with the word ‘daggerin’ and those which require bleeps and already, stations have been affected.

However, the effects of the ban, which was announced by the Broadcasting Commission on February 6, are varied.

The musical catalogue of Irie FM disc jock Errol ‘Smurf’ Stewart has felt the impact.

“It affects around 60 to 70 per cent of the dancehall music and half of that is not violence or daggerin’ songs. It don’t affect the lovers rock and reggae part,” said DJ Smurf who has a programme on Irie Fm called Night Beat/ Outaroad Mondays.

Popular songs

Since songs which require editing cannot be played, he is unable to play popular songs like Jr Gong’s Welcome To Jamrock and Buju Banton’s Driver.

Smurf said many songs are edited because they have a word which the producer believes is not appropriate for the air, but the song is not necessarily violent or sexually explicit. Others, he says, may contain a word like ‘jook’, ‘damn’ or ’slam’ and as a result, require editing.

“You have some positive songs that require bleeping and editing for various reasons. A man might seh ‘put down the AK 47′ and the producer edit out AK 47 just to be on the safe side, but the song is still positive,” DJ Smurf told THE STAR.

However, he believes the Broadcasting Commission could have used a bit more discretion by saying, “if the song has a positive message and no excessive editing is required, it should be allowed to play.”

Luckily, Smurf says his listenership has not decreased since the measures were put in place. He says some of his listeners have no problem with the ‘daggerin’ songs being banned, as they believe some of them should not have been on air in the first place.

Jazzy T (left) and D’Adra Williams

Although the measures were laid down abruptly, D’Adra Williams,Zip FM’s station manager, said the station had not been seriously affected.

“When it just came out, we had a problem going through the library and going through all the songs, but we are getting accustomed to it now,” said Williams.

“We have had to pull 40 per cent of songs from our playlist. We pulled right across the board: hip hop, dancehall, R&B, rock, alternative and soca.”

Playing it safe

Williams said many songs were pulled in order to be on the safe side.

Likewise, Francois St Juste, general manager for radio at the RJR Communications Group (comprising FAME FM, Hitz 92 FM and RJR), said he did not believe the radio stations would be heavily affected.

“I doubt that the ban of daggering songs will affect radio in any way as there are a number of other songs that can be played. If songs are too sexual they should not be played on radio in the first place,” St Juste told THE STAR.

Similarly, he does not think there will be any problems with the station’s listenership or advertising revenue as a result.

“I don’t think it will affect advertising. It may affect listenership, because people who want to hear certain types of songs will go elsewhere and get it,” said St Juste.

But he said some clarity was still needed about the use of bleeps.

“What do they mean by bleeps and beeps? There are many ways to edit songs. We can put in effects or use silencers. There are many things that can be used to edit but we are not clear about the guidelines,” he told THE STAR.

Williams said she, too, would have preferred if the guidelines were less vague and radio stations given more time to get accustomed to the new policy.

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Nude Camel Toe Condi Rice Says Race is Still An Issue

Now without a doubt some of you are saying to yourselves right now, What the  (. fill in the blank.) ? Yeeeeeeaaahhhhh  (like Lil Jon) we got it cookin up in heah on a tuesday.  we have to wrap the year up with some trash, so why not start out with some nice photoshopping.  we are big fans of the Sec of State. So Today We’re presenting her view in a Compromising Position. only twist is of course, We’re Adding Our Own Pix.

but to us the best comes last – Babsy Grange  – Jamaicas’ Information Chief was Spoofed by some MSN Crooks. She Was Stupid enough to SEND THEM HER ACCOUNT INFO. DUHHHHHHHHH..

Enjoy a Lil Hot Rice on a Tuesday,,

By POD313

URL: Rice Says Race is Still An Issue

Barack Obama’s election was a key moment in history, but we’re kidding ourselves if we think America is now blind to race, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a CBS “Sunday Morning” interview.

AIDS TEST FOR BACK ROAD HOOKERS

JA Star

Prostitutes along Port-more’s unofficial red-light district, the popular Port Henderson Road also known as Back road, will be tested for HIV/Aids and other sexually transmitted infections, THE PORTMORE STAR has learnt.

Portmore mayor Keith Hinds said he will be teaming up with the police and representatives from the Ministry of Health to visit the ‘district’ and conduct the tests sometime in the future.

Mayor Hinds said that he is concerned about the prevalence of female prostitutes in the area. “While I want Port Henderson Road to become a hip strip, I don’t like certain activities currently happening around there,” he said.

He said residents from both Portmore and the Corporate Area are at risk for HIV/AIDS because many of these ‘ladies of the night’s’ clients are from these areas.

COPS LIE IN WAIT

Meanwhile, the Portmore police said they are ready and waiting for the mayor to call them for any operation along the Back Road. “We have done a number of operations on Port Henderson Road and persons have been arrested for various offences, including operating a club contrary to their licences, and several guns have been seized and motorists charged for traffic offences,” an officer said.

CHURCH IN DEN OF SIN

(JA Star)

The Delano Avenue branch of the Church of Christ is located in what some would describe as a den of sin. The church is flanked by a motel and a strip club off Hagley Park road, St Andrew.

Although this could be a source of contention, the parties have so far managed to co-exist in somewhat of a harmonious fashion.

The church was established more than 20 years ago, but recently, these establishments have set up shop along the avenue, bringing to the area persons seeking something other than salvation.

Major problem

Peter Brown, assistant pastor of the church, told THE STAR that the church once had a major problem with the strip club as its music would often disturb services and meetings. He however admitted that this has not been the case for sometime and the owner has been considerate. He however added that there was still some discomfort.

Brown said, “We do have a problem because we don’t feel comfortable knowing that these practices are going on nearby. On one and two nights, you know the go-go club is there, so some of the girls will come outside in theirpanties and that type of behaviour, and we don’t really appreciate that. And you know people will say things like since it’s a church why is there a motel and a strip club nearby.”

He said those in the church try to spread the word to the club’s patrons and visitors. “We try to talk to dem and encourage dem to be a part of the church, but it’s not so convincing,” he said. “As far as the noise though, they realise that we don’t like it and they try not to play it so loud, especially on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays when we have our services. The owner also told us that he would talk to his workers, so they wouldn’t play as loud when we have our worship.”

He said no one has been turned off from attending the church because of its location.

When THE STAR contacted the owner of the club, he said the church usually calls and complains if the music is too loud. He added however that this has not happened for a while. He said, “Mi mek sure when dem a play dem turn di music low and there are times when dem have dem service, dat mi tell dem fi turn it down or turn it off.”

He said he has even gone as far as to erect a notice in his music room, so new selectors can be made aware of the situation. As it relates to girls parading near the church, he told THE STAR that he is hardly at the establishments and has no knowledge of that. He said he offered to purchase the church and help them to relocate but the offer was not met with much agreement.

He added, “Di problem is seh di pastor live dere too. But mi all offer fi sound proof di pastor room, an mi nuh memba wha im did seh.” He told THE STAR that in the past, he has also offered to pay for the pastor and his wife to spend the night at ahotel, if they are disturbed by the music.

FAKE CASH FLOODS Kingston JA

Police in downtown, Kingston, said they are extremely concerned about the circulation of counterfeit notes in the commercial district.

Special Inspector Joseph Donaldson of the Darling Street police, said based on police intelligence it is suspected that a group of persons are responsible for an upsurge in the number of the fake notes discovered over the past three weeks.

“A man told us that another man was trying to recruit him to buy goods with some fake notes, had about 20 of them,” the Special Inspector explained to THE STAR recently.

SIMILAR CONCERN

Checks by THE STAR also found that shoppers and vendors within the area share a concern similar to that of the police.

“Yea man dem a gwaan bad inna di Christmas ya, mi haffi a keep mi eye dem open wide wide…Wa day ya dem ketch mi wid bout four different one hundred dolla,” vendor Iris Graham, 43, said.

Another vendor Lloyd Hunt said, “More time mi woulda tek all a five bills (a $500 note) and jus pocket it, mi cyaa run dem risk deh now cause a whole heap a people a get trick, when mi get dem mi look pon dem all 50 different time.”

One shopper who overheard the conversation with Hunt then added, “Afta a nuh di seller dem alone a get trick, we di buyers dem get ketch more time to..Mi know quite a few people whe get ketch..Wi haffi a get extra careful cause it look like a nuff fake money deh ya.”

As such, the police are urging persons to be on the lookout for notes bearing the serial numbers; F2752256, Fb904049 and LL049145.

The first serial number was found on fake $500 notes while the other two were seen on fake $1000 notes.

Who Is The Blackest Player In The NBA?

Defining a game style and a state of mind

by Claude Johnson, claudejohnson@blackfives.com

CONNECTICUT — This is a tough one.

And I’m not going to make it any easier by defining what “black” means.

You decide.

Is it a color?  A skill?  An attitude? A lifestyle?  A playing style?  A race?  A culture?  A music?  An ethnicity?  A dialect? A gene?  A jean?

If there is “black” then is there black, blacker, and blackest?

Is there light-black, black, and dark-black?

Is there not-so-black, black, and very black?

Does the blackest player have the blackest game?

But I want to take it further.

So, follow the logic with me for a minute.

Of course a black player can have a black game.  Allen Iverson, let’s say.  Check.

And a non-black player can have a non-black game.  Maybe Kirk Hinrich?  Check.

And a non-black player can have a black game (i.e., Jason “White Chocolate” Williams). O.K., check.

And a black player can have a non-black game (i.e., Tim “Big Fundamental” Duncan).  O.K., check.

Meanwhile a black player can be non-black (i.e., Tim Duncan).  I guess, check.

And a non-black player can be black (i.e., Jason Williams).  O.K., check.

Which logically leads me to ask, can a non-black player remain non-black but have a black game?  Can’t think of anyone today … maybe Steve Nash?  Could this have been Larry Bird?

And … can a black player remain black but have a non-black game?  Can’t think of anyone today, but could this have been someone like a Dennis Rodman?  Charles Oakley?

Which naturally leads to the question, can a non-black player be black but have a non-black game?  Can’t think of anyone today.

And … can a black player be non-black but have a black game?  Is this Barack Obama (he’s honorary N.B.A., I think, since he’s Baller In Chief)?

Are you following this?  My guess is that, yes, you are!

But that’s scary!  Because there’s a profound silliness here.

I’m inspired by Bethlehem Shoals over at the intellectually fascinating and zany basketball blog FreeDarko.com.  He spent about a week contemplating which player has the most “Jewish” game in the N.B.A.

Which, it was concluded, was different from asking, who is the most Jewish player?

The answer, of course, is Who cares?!

But they had a lot of fun with it, and Bethlehem Shoals is Jewish.  So why can’t I do the same thing and have some fun over here?

The fact is, we brought this on ourselves, by overusing and misusing the word “black.”

I do it too.  The way it’s used in the term “Black Fives” is to designate a race, or rather, the label that people often use to describe “people of color,” or, more accurately, people of African descent.

I could have named all of this “African American Fives” or “Fives Of Color” or “Fives Of African Descent” but it wouldn’t have been the same at all.

We’re programmed and conditioned a certain way.  And while we may acknowledge that we are, it still doesn’t mean we must be slaves to that conditioning and programming.

One way to do that, is to have fun with it.

So, how do you use the word “black”?

Who is the blackest player in the N.B.A. by how you see it?

Johnny chopped to death

In Jamaica, Justice can be served quite spontaneously, in an Adhoc Fashion; by the community. Di Man Mus Know he was on Short Time and Dangerous Ground

Rasbert Turner, JA Star Writer

spanish town jm

A man who is said to be a nuisance in St Catherine was yesterday chopped to death by residents after he was allegedly caught breaking into the house of a senior citizen.

The man, known to the Old Harbour police as ‘Johnny’, was recently released from prison. He was chopped to death about 7a.m. yesterday by disgruntled residents of Rhoden Pen near Old Harbour.

The police told The Star that they have been getting complaints that Johnny has been involving himself in several criminal acts including burglary, assault and sexual offences. Several residents attested to what was reported to The Star and declared that they will have a better Christmas because Johnny only chooses to break into the houses of elderly folks and young girls whom he often times rapes.

In the meanwhile they told The Star that their only regret is that his accomplices are still on the loose.

Detectives from the St Catherine South Homicide Unit are conducting investigations to ascertain the circumstances surrounding Johnny’s death.

Boy found with possible cross dressers for court

Rasbert Turner, Star Writer  – JA Star

Spanish Town JM

A 15-year-old boy who was held yesterday at a house with four adult men will face the Children’s Court as a juvenile in need of care and protection, thepolice said.

THE STAR learnt that sometime after 11 a.m., a police party got information of the five men behaving strangely at a house in Old Harbour, St Catherine. A raid was conducted and a number of women clothings, including bikinis, wigs,stockings and pictures of men dressed as women, were seen.

The cops say that the adults could not properly explain why the juvenile was at the dwelling and they were only able to ascertain that he is from St James and is not related to the other occupants.

Inspector Lanford Salmon of the Old Harbour police said they have released three of the adults since they were taken in for questioning.

“The juvenile is being held to appear in court and in the meanwhile we are going to try and find his parents or guardian. One of the adult also remained with us, as he is facing a charge of possession of ganja,” the inspector said.

The police claim that they have been on high alert after a 12-year-old boy was abducted by men recently. He was taken to a section of Free Town, Clarendon, where he was buggered.

‘Babsy’ Grange’s MSN account Spoofed

(Bwoy Mi Haffi Seh Dis – She a fi di information chief, she supposedly is incharge of security of the Jamaican Governments’ Online Documents and this is wha.. She Was Stupid enough to SEND THEM HER ACCOUNT INFO. DUHHHHHHHHH.. She isn’t secure in using her own account, let alone doing the business of the government. Time For Babsy to Done. Low Her Now)

Internet hacker(s) gained access to the MSN e-mail account (Hotmail) of  Jamaican information minister Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange on Sunday and attempted to scam money from more than 500 contacts in the minister’s database.

While the attempt was not successful, this was the second MSN e-mail scam attempt of this kind as Newstalk 93 FM disc jockey Tony Gallimore also had a similar experience earlier this month.

Speaking with THE STAR yesterday, Grange said the hacker(s) gained access to her e-mail after she responded to a prompting she received while using her Hotmail account. “I was going through my mail on Sunday and a message popped up saying that MSN was shutting down and I needed to send in my account details to verify my account and keep it active,” the minister said. “I was locked out of my e-mail after I sent in that information.”

Minister Grange said the mail started circulating shortly afterwards as contacts from all over the world started calling her to validate the authenticity of the message.

Soft loan

An excerpt from the mail, similar to the one that was sent out after Gallimore’s e-mail was hacked, read: “How are you doing? hope all is well with you and family, I am sorry that I didn’t inform you about my travelling to England for a programme called Empowering youth to fight racism, HIV/AIDS and lack ofeducation.

“I need a favour from you a soft loan urgently with the sum of $2,500 to sort-out my hotel bills and get myself back home, let me know if you can be of help so that I can send you the details to use when sending the money through western union.”

The information minister said that one contact came close to falling for the scam. That individual called another friend to ascertain what currency the money should be sent in, as the e-mail, while stating the ‘Babsy’ was in England, did not ask for pound sterling.

Minister Grange said the matter was not reported to the police but noted that she was in dialogue with MSN.com, which promised to investigate the hacking.

Persons are being warned to exercise caution if asked for their e-mail account details (username and password) on any website while browsing the Internet. Hackers often create these prompting to obtain account details and later control the accounts, locking out the original owner.

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