Lloyd B. Smith renews call for J'can Creole to have language designation
DEPUTY SPEAKER of the House of Representatives Lloyd B. Smith wants the Jamaican Creole to be formally designated as an official language.
Smith, a former English teacher, made the call recently while delivering the main address to launch the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission's Hanover Jamaica 50 celebration, at the Global Villa, Lucea.
"We need to declare once and for all that the Patois is one of our languages. Now, don't get me wrong, I am in total support of what the minister of education said, every Jamaican ought to be able to speak the English language. My problem is that there is still ingrained in many of our people the fact that when you speak Patois , it makes you an inferior human being."
Smith said, while Jamaica celebrates 50 years of Independence, the people should not forget who they are, and celebratory activities should seek to reflect our rich African heritage.
Honouring our heritage
"We need to officially put on the map that we have our own language - just like how we have the reggae and the mento, and wi 'dip and fall back', we have our own language, and we need to 'officialise it', while at the same time we extol the virtues of the English language."
Smith highlighted reggae icon Bob Marley whom he said spoke Patois even while doing his international interviews.
"He spoke the common language of the Jamaican people. We need to regularise and formalise it so that, as of this year, no Jamaican will feel inferior if he or she on the occasion that is necessary speaks Patois. We need to get over that once and for all, because it is part and parcel of an inferiority complex that is so pervasive in this society where the average Jamaica still feels that he or she is not, as Rex Nettleford would say, 'sumady'."
Friday, 27 July 2012
Thursday, 26 July 2012
Jamaicans give Jamaican Athletes a Warm Welcome in Birmingham
Jamaicans and Jamaican flags at every turn, island music and familiar food have ensured that Jamaica's pre-Olympic training camp in Birmingham is feeling a little bit like home.
In fact, during a press conference at the University of Birmingham yesterday afternoon, Jamaica's male team captain Michael Frater described the West Midlands city as 'Little Jamaica' and thanked the locals for their reception.
However, the 2005 IAAF World Championships 100m silver medallist believes the Jamaicans are in line for even greater advantages when they move south to London tomorrow to compete in the Olympic Games, which start a day later, given the even larger Jamaican influence in the England capital.
"London 2012, this Olympic Games is special because of the support that we will be getting there," said Frater, who was speaking during a press conference staged at the team's training base at the university's Munrow Sports Centre.
"We have a large number of fans and supporters in London and a lot of Jamaicans live there. In fact, it's the closest the Olympics have come to Jamaica itself," Frater added. "It's almost like we will be on home turf, the support has been awesome here in Birmingham and we expect nothing less when we get to London."
He said: "A few of us have been out on the road, most of us have been out in Birmingham city, we have enjoyed the sites, we have been to the mall, the Bullring, and some of us have been to the movies, enjoying the sites."
The Jamaicans are certainly the most popular team at the Olympics as is evident in the massive media and public interest around the team and its stars.
Hundreds of fans from all over the country and media representatives from all corners of the globe descended on the university's campus for the team's 'Open Day' yesterday and female captain Novlene Williams-Mills was extremely pleased with the reception that the team has received in the city.
"It's been a great experience for all of us. I just arrived the other day but I can say that the facilities are excellent. For me, this is excellent," said Williams-Mills.
"We are hoping just to come out and put on a good show for everyone that when this Olympics is finished we want everyone to talk about what Team Jamaica did at these games," Williams-Mills added.
The Jamaicans will head into the Athletes' Village in London tomorrow.
In fact, during a press conference at the University of Birmingham yesterday afternoon, Jamaica's male team captain Michael Frater described the West Midlands city as 'Little Jamaica' and thanked the locals for their reception.
However, the 2005 IAAF World Championships 100m silver medallist believes the Jamaicans are in line for even greater advantages when they move south to London tomorrow to compete in the Olympic Games, which start a day later, given the even larger Jamaican influence in the England capital.
"London 2012, this Olympic Games is special because of the support that we will be getting there," said Frater, who was speaking during a press conference staged at the team's training base at the university's Munrow Sports Centre.
"We have a large number of fans and supporters in London and a lot of Jamaicans live there. In fact, it's the closest the Olympics have come to Jamaica itself," Frater added. "It's almost like we will be on home turf, the support has been awesome here in Birmingham and we expect nothing less when we get to London."
He said: "A few of us have been out on the road, most of us have been out in Birmingham city, we have enjoyed the sites, we have been to the mall, the Bullring, and some of us have been to the movies, enjoying the sites."
The Jamaicans are certainly the most popular team at the Olympics as is evident in the massive media and public interest around the team and its stars.
Hundreds of fans from all over the country and media representatives from all corners of the globe descended on the university's campus for the team's 'Open Day' yesterday and female captain Novlene Williams-Mills was extremely pleased with the reception that the team has received in the city.
"It's been a great experience for all of us. I just arrived the other day but I can say that the facilities are excellent. For me, this is excellent," said Williams-Mills.
"We are hoping just to come out and put on a good show for everyone that when this Olympics is finished we want everyone to talk about what Team Jamaica did at these games," Williams-Mills added.
The Jamaicans will head into the Athletes' Village in London tomorrow.
Wednesday, 25 July 2012
Beenie Man Badmind Shabba "Ninja Man"
Dancehall icon Ninja Man is speaking out against what he believes to be 'bad-mind' on the part of a dancehall superstar.
According to Ninja Man, Beenie Man is jealous of Shabba Ranks' success.
Ninja Man's comments comes after a television interview where Beenie Man was asked if anybody else could get the massive turnout that greeted Shabba at the airport.
Beenie Man replied "of course, anybody can get that, you haffi just pay for it."
Ninja Man believes that this comment shows that Beenie Man is jealous of Shabba.
"A me buss Shabba, so from you dis Shabba, you dis me. Shabba do work whe nuff artiste never do yet. Him leave Jamaica and give di artiste dem space fi make money. Beenie Man a talk bout how a buy di man buy him motorcade when him come a Jamaica, Beenie Man you badmind Shabba. You too bad-mind," Ninja Man told THE STAR.
Ninja Man went on to say that only certain individuals in Jamaica could have a motorcade similar to the one Shabba received.
The individuals he named include himself, Usain Bolt, Haile Selassie and a few others.
"Shabba motorcade full airport. Shabba a me artiste, any man whe violate Shabba, violate me. Beenie Man tek way the 'King of the Dancehall' title from Yellow Man and sound like him waan tek wey the 'Dancehall Emperor' title from Shabba Ranks,' Ninja Man said.
When contacted, Beenie Man stated that his words were taken out of context.
According to him, he was not implying that Shabba had paid for the motorcade.
"I was saying that to do a motorcade costs money because you have to pay for transportation to take persons to the location and back home. It takes money to organise that. I was not saying that people were paid to go see Shabba," Beenie Man said.
Beenie went on to say that there was no reason for him to bad-mind Shabba.
"Me? Bad-mind Shabba? Bad-mind Shabba fi wha? Ninja Man has his own opinions. People with good mind and good thoughts would never think of me like that," Beenie Man told THE STAR.
Ninja Man, however, seems to have already geared up for lyrical battle with 'the Doctor' as he warned, "Beenie Man don't play wid Shabba. Him nuh drop him ting, anyting him get him deserve. Give the man him glory. If you waan start the lyrical war, then start it. Me bad like 10 duppy, a long time mi nuh kill no artiste lyrically."
Meanwhile, Ninja Man is slated to perform at The Gleaner's Icons Concert that will be held at South Parade in downtown Kingston on Saturday. And, he will be one of the headline acts on Rum Bar Rum Heatwave that will be held at Jungle in Negril on August 6, as part of the Rum Bar Tropical Island weekend.
At a cost of $1,000 before midnight and $1,500 after, patrons will also be treated to performances from Konshens and Khago, as well as music from Tony Matterhorn, Rebel T and Code Red.
According to Ninja Man, Beenie Man is jealous of Shabba Ranks' success.
Ninja Man's comments comes after a television interview where Beenie Man was asked if anybody else could get the massive turnout that greeted Shabba at the airport.
Beenie Man replied "of course, anybody can get that, you haffi just pay for it."
Ninja Man believes that this comment shows that Beenie Man is jealous of Shabba.
"A me buss Shabba, so from you dis Shabba, you dis me. Shabba do work whe nuff artiste never do yet. Him leave Jamaica and give di artiste dem space fi make money. Beenie Man a talk bout how a buy di man buy him motorcade when him come a Jamaica, Beenie Man you badmind Shabba. You too bad-mind," Ninja Man told THE STAR.
Ninja Man went on to say that only certain individuals in Jamaica could have a motorcade similar to the one Shabba received.
The individuals he named include himself, Usain Bolt, Haile Selassie and a few others.
"Shabba motorcade full airport. Shabba a me artiste, any man whe violate Shabba, violate me. Beenie Man tek way the 'King of the Dancehall' title from Yellow Man and sound like him waan tek wey the 'Dancehall Emperor' title from Shabba Ranks,' Ninja Man said.
When contacted, Beenie Man stated that his words were taken out of context.
According to him, he was not implying that Shabba had paid for the motorcade.
"I was saying that to do a motorcade costs money because you have to pay for transportation to take persons to the location and back home. It takes money to organise that. I was not saying that people were paid to go see Shabba," Beenie Man said.
Beenie went on to say that there was no reason for him to bad-mind Shabba.
"Me? Bad-mind Shabba? Bad-mind Shabba fi wha? Ninja Man has his own opinions. People with good mind and good thoughts would never think of me like that," Beenie Man told THE STAR.
Ninja Man, however, seems to have already geared up for lyrical battle with 'the Doctor' as he warned, "Beenie Man don't play wid Shabba. Him nuh drop him ting, anyting him get him deserve. Give the man him glory. If you waan start the lyrical war, then start it. Me bad like 10 duppy, a long time mi nuh kill no artiste lyrically."
Meanwhile, Ninja Man is slated to perform at The Gleaner's Icons Concert that will be held at South Parade in downtown Kingston on Saturday. And, he will be one of the headline acts on Rum Bar Rum Heatwave that will be held at Jungle in Negril on August 6, as part of the Rum Bar Tropical Island weekend.
At a cost of $1,000 before midnight and $1,500 after, patrons will also be treated to performances from Konshens and Khago, as well as music from Tony Matterhorn, Rebel T and Code Red.
Tuesday, 24 July 2012
2012 (Official Details) Usain Bolt: I’m Not a Track Legend Unless I Rule At London Olympics
But Bolt — under pressure from fellow Jamaican Yohan Blake in an injury-plagued 2012 build-up — insisted:
"Winning an Olympics once is not the mark of a great athlete."
“Anyone can win one. You have to do it again if you are to stand out from the crowd.”
Bolt followed his Beijing triumph by breaking the 100m and 200m records again at the World Championships in Berlin in 2009.
But Blake won the 100m at the last Worlds in Korea — after Bolt was disqualified — and then beat the great man over 100m and 200m at the Jamaican trials.
There have been worries about Bolt’s fitness in the wake of those defeats with his back and hamstring troubles flaring up again.
But his agent Ricky Simms insists that is all sorted and his man is “good to go”.
Bolt, though, may never run an Olympic 100m or 200m again after London.
While he is committed to taking part in the 2016 Olympics in Brazil he is thinking of other disciplines.
His coach Glen Mills has tried to persuade his student to switch to 400m.
Bolt has also dabbled with the long jump with leaps into the pit at his Racers Track Club in Kingston.
He admitted: “I might do the 400m and the long jump in Brazil which finishes on my 30th birthday.
“Then I will have one more season and that will be it.
“I won’t be running by the time I’m 32 — you could offer me 50 million dollars and I wouldn’t do it.”
Bolt has ambitions beyond athletics. He claims he wants to play professional football and that his favourite team, Manchester United, should sign him up.
He said with a glint in his eye: “Alex Ferguson hasn’t seen me play, so you never know. There will be no one faster than me at the club — that’s for sure.”
Away from sport he wants a family and eventually to settle down but children will come before marriage.
He said: “I want to get married some day but that will be after I retire from track and field, not before.
“I do want children though, sometime after the next Olympics.”
But he is worried a son will be thrust into the limelight.
He said: “From the moment he can stand he will be expected to run to the shop quicker than anyone else in the village.
“I’d prefer him to do another sport — maybe he will be the footballer.”
Usain Bolt BBC Documentary
French producer/director Gael Leiblang secured exclusive access to Usain Bolt, and has been filming up close and personal with him over the last 12 months as he prepares for the biggest race of his life. Made with his complete co-operation, it features Bolt in his home environment away from the cameras. It also features all the people who have helped get Bolt to the top of his profession - his relatives, his best friends and the Jamaican national coach.
http://youtu.be/h5ZyJxwv2bQ
Wednesday, 18 July 2012
Potential Kidd Accused of Scamming American Promoter
Fast-rising Dancehall star, Potential Kidd could soon be facing his own share of legal woes as the deejay stand accused by an American promoter of stealing money.
Dwayne ‘Garry Dreamaz’ Grant, a New Jersey based promoter insists that Potential Kidd, his booking agent and manager scammed multiple event planners in the United States for large sums of money. Reportedly, promoters have substantial evidence of these alleged scams; showing signed contracts and receipts that were sent to members of Potential Kidd’s team despite the fact that the A Yah So Nice deejay could not travel to the United States, while also revealing that the artiste never informed them of his inability to fly to the North American country.
Grant intimated that he had dialogue with Potential Kidd and his team since April when he secured the deejay’s services for shows on July 13 and 14 in New York and New Jersey respectively where they agreed on a sum of US$6,300 for both shows.
In a press release, Grant stated that “Back in April, I was introduced to Theresa Small of Terri Booking Agency by a friend. As to what I was told, she is the booking agency for Dwayne Taylor aka Potential Kid. I spoke to Theresa back in April and she told me nothing is guarantee until a deposit was made.”
“After I sent the money, Theresa introduced me to Angeletta who is Dwayne Taylor’s manager. I spoke to her and she asked me about the deposit, so I told her I sent the money to Theresa… Two months later Jason and I sent another US$600 to put towards airfare. My date [for the show] was July 14, 2012 but five days before I was told he did not have a visa for the USA, I was told he will be going to immigration but to my understanding, he did not go. Even up to the day before the events on Friday and Saturday, Potential Kid had not yet made an appearance at immigration to obtain a visa and work permit.”
According to reports, two other promoters fell victim to this alleged scam; one of them being Ageable Jason of Boomerang Promotions, who intimated that he went through a similar process with Potential Kidd.
“Basically, we send the money for Potential Kid for a date on July 13 to perform at a venue in the Bronx named Best Party Place aka Social Gathering Palace. After we sent all the money I was supposed to then wait for a while for a commercial when the artist supposed to be in New York July 6, because he supposed to perform on the 7th in Mount Vernon. So after I found out he wasn't coming for the 6th, I was informed that he didn't get his work permit as yet but I was guaranteed by his manager that he will get it for the show on the 13th in New York and the 14th in New Jersey. So as days go by, we keep getting put off. ‘Tomorrow, tomorrow’ we will get the latest news. So finally Wednesday into Thursday, after we spend up all our money to go on the road, to promote on radio stations, paying people to promote, rent club, etc. we found out that he wasn't coming because he don't have a visa and etc.” he said.
As a result, Grant insists that he intends to sue Potential Kidd and his team for their alleged actions. Furthermore, he revealed that Potential Kidd’s manager, Angeletta called him on July 17, claiming that she will refund the money but that it will take some time due to the fact that the deejay is broke.
Grant later spoke to Potential Kidd, who vehemently denied the allegations, insisting that his manager lied and that she stole the promoter’s money.
Nevertheless, Grant insists that he’s pursuing legal action against Potential Kidd and his team not just because of money, but due to principle as he feels that it’s unfair for this happen to so many promoters. According to Grant, with the help of Jamaican PR agent, Lesley Hayles who helped parlay his story as well as a prominent entertainment lawyer that’s he’s hired, he will retrieve all that has been stolen from him.
Grant intimated that he had dialogue with Potential Kidd and his team since April when he secured the deejay’s services for shows on July 13 and 14 in New York and New Jersey respectively where they agreed on a sum of US$6,300 for both shows.
In a press release, Grant stated that “Back in April, I was introduced to Theresa Small of Terri Booking Agency by a friend. As to what I was told, she is the booking agency for Dwayne Taylor aka Potential Kid. I spoke to Theresa back in April and she told me nothing is guarantee until a deposit was made.”
“After I sent the money, Theresa introduced me to Angeletta who is Dwayne Taylor’s manager. I spoke to her and she asked me about the deposit, so I told her I sent the money to Theresa… Two months later Jason and I sent another US$600 to put towards airfare. My date [for the show] was July 14, 2012 but five days before I was told he did not have a visa for the USA, I was told he will be going to immigration but to my understanding, he did not go. Even up to the day before the events on Friday and Saturday, Potential Kid had not yet made an appearance at immigration to obtain a visa and work permit.”
According to reports, two other promoters fell victim to this alleged scam; one of them being Ageable Jason of Boomerang Promotions, who intimated that he went through a similar process with Potential Kidd.
“Basically, we send the money for Potential Kid for a date on July 13 to perform at a venue in the Bronx named Best Party Place aka Social Gathering Palace. After we sent all the money I was supposed to then wait for a while for a commercial when the artist supposed to be in New York July 6, because he supposed to perform on the 7th in Mount Vernon. So after I found out he wasn't coming for the 6th, I was informed that he didn't get his work permit as yet but I was guaranteed by his manager that he will get it for the show on the 13th in New York and the 14th in New Jersey. So as days go by, we keep getting put off. ‘Tomorrow, tomorrow’ we will get the latest news. So finally Wednesday into Thursday, after we spend up all our money to go on the road, to promote on radio stations, paying people to promote, rent club, etc. we found out that he wasn't coming because he don't have a visa and etc.” he said.
As a result, Grant insists that he intends to sue Potential Kidd and his team for their alleged actions. Furthermore, he revealed that Potential Kidd’s manager, Angeletta called him on July 17, claiming that she will refund the money but that it will take some time due to the fact that the deejay is broke.
Grant later spoke to Potential Kidd, who vehemently denied the allegations, insisting that his manager lied and that she stole the promoter’s money.
Nevertheless, Grant insists that he’s pursuing legal action against Potential Kidd and his team not just because of money, but due to principle as he feels that it’s unfair for this happen to so many promoters. According to Grant, with the help of Jamaican PR agent, Lesley Hayles who helped parlay his story as well as a prominent entertainment lawyer that’s he’s hired, he will retrieve all that has been stolen from him.
Lotto scam task force raid MoBay Deputy Mayor's home
THE lotto scam task force is now conducting operations at the premises of two PNP councillors in St James, including the deputy mayor of Montego Bay Michael Troupe.
During an operation in Granville in the parish, at the home of Troupe who is also the councillor for the Granville division, the security forces have reportedly seized about US$10,000 and close to $400,000 and as well as an illegal firearm at one premises.
A simultaneous raid is also being conducted at the premises of Councillor for the Salt Spring division, Silvan Reid in Cornwall Courts.
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