Martelly heads to the US
Haiti –President–elect Michel Martelly is scheduled to leave here todya for a visit to the United States.
A statement from his office said that Martelly, who will assume office on May 14, will meet with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the heads of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The statement said the talks will focus on "job creation, education, security, reconstruction and health”.
Martelly said the visit will also allow him to "reiterate his message that the government will focus its efforts and energy on reconstruction, boosting the economy and insuring that Haitian children have access to basic education”,
Martelly, 50, won the presidential election race on March 20 defeating former first lady Mirlande Manigat.
But he now faces a daunting task of rebuilding a country devastated by an earthquake in January last year that killed an estimated 300,000 people and left more than a million others homeless.
In addition, the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country is also dealing with a Cholera outbreak last October that has killed more than 4,000 people. (CMC)
Cuba Lifts Ban on Private Property Transactions
The ruling Communist Party of Cuba Monday lifted a decades-old ban on private property transactions such as buying and selling of houses and cars at its ongoing Sixth Congress.
The move met one of the main demands made by the public during the national debate on Cuba’s economic reform plan from December to February, in which 8.9 million Cubans, or nearly 80 percent of the country’s total population participated.
In Saturday’s opening address to the congress, Cuban Leader Raul Castro said the Caribbean island nation is upgrading legal regulations related to private property transactions.
At present, about 90 percent of Cubans own houses but are not authorized to sell them, while the country currently is short of over one million houses due to the damages caused by three hurricanes in 2008.
The sale of cars is currently controlled by the state, and only artists, athletes and doctors working in missions abroad are allowed to purchase cars.
The party congress opened Saturday with attendance of some 1,000 delegates to ratify Cuba’s economic reform plan proposed by Raul in a bid to overcome the country’s economic crisis.
The congress started Monday to elect members to the party’s 100-strong central committee. Delegates will also renew 19 members of the party’s Political Bureau and 10 members of its Secretariat before they wrap up the congress Tuesday.
In another related development, the Cuban authorities have turned over 63 percent of idle land to new owners in order to boost agricultural and food production.
Petro Oliveira, director of Cuba’s National Earth Control Center, said that the Cuban government is studying further amendments to increase the delivery of land and food production.
Cuba now imports about 80 percent of its food consumption at an annual cost of about 1.5 billion U.S. dollars.
AG on UFF probe: $5m paid to ‘PNM family
Close to $5 million of taxpayers’ money was paid by the Government in legal fees to people representing the State in the UFF Commission of Enquiry who were “no strangers to the PNM” and who were “part of the family, Attorney General Anand Ramlogan said in Parliament yesterday. He said of this $1,170,432 was paid to the law firm, Fitzwilliam Stone, Furness-Smith & Morgan and Stone, which the sister-in-law and brother of a former PNM government minister were partners. Ramlogan made the disclosure while answering a question on the Order Paper from Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley. The UFF Commission of Enquiry into the construction sector was appointed by President George Maxwell Richards on September 9, 2008 and was headed by Professor John UFF. A report, containing 191 recommendations, was presented in March 2010.
Among the recommendations was a further probing of a number of government projects, including the unfinished Brian Lara Stadium at Tarouba, done by the Urban Development Corporation of T&T (Udecott), a state body. Udecott was headed by Canadian Calder Hart, hired by the former Patrick Manning administration. Rowley, in his question, asked the AG to state the total cost of expenditure, paid or outstanding incurred by the Ministry of the Attorney General or any agency under its purview to facilitate the enquiry. He further asked Ramlogan to identify the recipients and state the sums paid or due for payment to each individual or entity. Ramlogan, replying, said a total of $4,799,510.31 to lawyers who included:
• Douglas Mendes— $$573,000;
• Michael Quamina— $626,750;
• Garvin Nicholas—$300,000; and,
• Kerwin Garcia— $530,000
“The names are no strangers to the other side. They are part of the family,” Ramlogan said. He said the sum of 123,144.66 pounds remains outstanding to Tom Richards and Michael Bell, as well as legal fees to other attorneys. Ramlogan said funds at the Ministry of the Attorney General for the fiscal year have been almost depleted through the payment of legal fees incurred in the UFF inquiry.
Ramlogan said it was part of the debt the People’s Partnership inherited from the last PNM administration. He told the House that by Cabinet minute of March 26, 2009, the former PNM administration approved the payment of $1,565,260 in legal fees to a range of senior and junior counsel who were to represent the state in the UFF enquiry. He said one year after the appointment of the UFF enquiry, it was discovered that the non-gazetting of the enquiry would have rendered it null and void while in full flight and another $241,887.50 were paid to the same legal team to provide advice on how to move out of that situation.
50 Cent The Victim Of Multi-State Credit Card Scams
Rapper 50 Cent has been the victim of thieves who continuously target the wealthy rapper's credit cards for scams around the country.
The New York Daily News reports that 50 Cent's American Express card has been used multiple times to make unauthorized purchases in five cities, including Farmington, Connecticut, where the rapper resides in a huge, luxurious 52 room mansion.
One man called and attempted to purchase Sony flat-screen televisions, but the store manager became suspicious due to the delivery address for the order.
Amex reps eventually contacted the electronics store and revealed that while 50's actual card had not been stolen, the numbers used to attempt to purchase the TV's belonged to 50's account.
When two men came to pick up the TV's, police promptly arrested them, although they are not the main suspects in the overall scheme to rob 50 Cent of his money.
Lawyers for the men charged in the case could not comment on the case, but police sources told the Daily News that the culprit was most likely someone who has access to 50 Cent's personal information.
In December of 2010, two men were arrested for breaking into 50 Cent's mansion. One was found in a closet drinking wine, while the other was caught rooming another area of the house.
The two men claimed they didn't want anything when they broke into the house. Both were charged with breaking and entering, although one of the men was detained on an outstanding warrant for attempted murder, over a double shooting that injured two men in New Britain.
LisaRaye Said Wha-a-t-t?!
There is a lot of blogging about some comments actress LisaRaye made on her “The Real McCoy” reality show that just premiered in its second season.
In describing to a dating service what she wanted in a man she said she’s looking for a man that’s powerful because if he’s powerful that means he’s got money.
Commenting on a man’s penis size she also said, “…if you’re too big that hurts … he’s thrusting in you, and you backin’ up! Just find my ‘G’ spot; let’s hit it; let’s make love.”
LisaRaye has to be concerned that some bloggers associate another comment she made – “I think it’s easier for a man to eat sushi because y’all so used to eating p***y” – with her having problems (alluding to a ‘fishy’ smell) with her own personal hygiene.
Wow! Now I don’t think anyone would argue that Lisa Raye is about as fine as they come – she’s drop-dead gorgeous! So inasmuch as she is supposedly on her so-called road to redemption, the only reason I can figure that she would make such comments is for ratings. She and the network surely had time to re-think how audiences would react to such remarks, and do some editing.
While I applaud LisaRaye for not apologizing for her beauty (“it’s a good thing I’m a pretty girl”), at times she comes across as a beautiful house but ain’t nobody home! Television’s unrelenting ratings war seems to be causing women to say and do things to perpetuate acceptance of ideals of beauty and behavior trumpeted by society that encourage women who don’t have half the looks of a Lisa Raye, to contort their body language and conversation, and make them even less attractive than they really are. Could it be that LisaRaye intends to use her beauty to take women viewers down their own path to a wholesome self-discovery? We’ll stay tuned for that from the “runaway diva.”
Meanwhile, a friend and colleague, Valencia Burch, authored a book titled “Stop Ho-N: The Redemption of a Woman’s Worth,” which is a literary journey of redemption from one who is also “drop-dead gorgeous.” Burch sets out to re-define a woman’s worth as more than a man’s view of her, and what’s between her legs. In her book she writes:
“Many women have minimized sex to a weapon or a tool, which she could use to control, confuse, or get a man. Why is your body one of the first things offered or requested?”
She also states: “The messages carried in television, print ads, radio, and movies carry strong definitions of what our image, and lifestyle should resemble to be acceptable, successful, or attractive.”
Maybe someone could slip a copy of Burch’s book to LisaRaye (from one “diva” to another if you will) and her producers, to help bring some real meaningful dialog to the fore of the highly-rated reality show.
Odom named Sixth Man of Year
Lakers forward Lamar Odom won the NBA's Sixth Man award on Tuesday as the league's top reserve.
Odom averaged 14.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3 assists per game this season while playing in every game for the Lakers. Odom was a starter for long stretches of the season while center Andrew Bynum was sidelined with injuries, but also came off the bench 47 times.
"I'm very happy for him," Kobe Bryant said after the Lakers' workout Tuesday. "It's extremely well-deserved."
Odom is the first Lakers player to win the award, which began in 1983. Atlanta's Jamal Crawford won it last season.
Odom received 96 of 117 first-place votes from the media panel, easily outdistancing Dallas guard Jason Terry, who finished a distant second with 244 total points to Odom's 513. Philadelphia's Thaddeus Young was third with 76 points, and Boston's Glen Davis finished fourth with 75.
Crawford received five first-place votes while finishing fifth, and Philadelphia's Lou Williams received a single first-place vote.
Odom was a starter during his first nine NBA seasons with the Clippers, Heat and Lakers, but moved primarily to a reserve role during the 2008-09 season. The Lakers won the NBA championship that year and the next, with Odom coming off the bench for all but five of Los Angeles' 46 playoff games.
Odom also played for the U.S. national team at last summer's world championships.
"It's good recognition of a player that has really filled a role for us the last couple of years," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who advocated Odom for his first All-Star berth after his outstanding start to the current season. "To be named to the USA team was really big for him, and to start on that team was important."
Although Odom comes off the bench, he's a vital member of Los Angeles' rotation. He struggled in the Lakers' playoff-opening loss to New Orleans on Sunday, managing just 10 points and one rebound in nearly 31 minutes of play.
Odom's wife, reality-TV star Khloe Kardashian, and his mother-in-law attended the award news conference in a hotel ballroom near the Lakers' Westside training complex. Odom and Kardashian starred in a reality series about their married life that was filmed down the stretch of the regular season and is currently airing on the E! network.
Source: sportsillustrated
Jerry Jones joins mediation talks
The NFL and its players resumed court-ordered mediation Tuesday with a federal judge's decision expected soon on a request to immediately halt a lockout now in its second month.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones joined the NFL's contingent in Minneapolis as talks resumed following a three-day break. Jones walked in with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and others, including Denver owner Pat Bowlen and Green Bay Packers CEO Mark Murphy. All declined comment.
DeMaurice Smith, the head of the players' trade association, did not attend due to a family emergency. Linebacker Mike Vrabel and Hall of Fame defensive end Carl Eller were among the players on hand.
The talks are the latest step in the contentious fight over a new collective bargaining agreement. Sixteen days of mediated talks in Washington fell short, resulting in a class-action antitrust lawsuit filed by the players against the NFL and the league's first work stoppage since 1987.
Michael Hausfeld, an attorney representing retired players, said both sides are serious about reaching a resolution.
"This is no charade. This is no illusion. This is going to come to a resolution either by the parties compromising or agreeing or by a judgment," Hausfeld said Tuesday before talks resumed. "And even with a judgment, many times there is then a discussion as to how to compromise the judgment so there is not a winner-take-all situation.
"This takes time. The court is doing everything within its power to get the parties to realize that."
When discussions concluded on Friday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan, who is overseeing the sessions, assigned some weekend homework. Hausfeld walked into the federal courthouse with a document that he estimated at about 100 pages responding to the questions Boylan asked them to answer.
"What this mediation is about, what the dispute is about, is the structure of the game and the relationship between the rookies, the active players, the retirees, with each other and the league," Hausfeld said. "Those are fundamental."
U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson ordered the talks, which lasted 13 hours over two days last week. Her ruling on the players' request to lift the lockout is expected any day.
Players including MVP quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning filed the request along with the antitrust claim. The lawsuit has been combined with two other similar claims from retirees, former players and rookies-to-be, with Eller the lead plaintiff in that group.
The prospects of Nelson's ruling giving one side leverage could influence the mediation, Hausfeld said.
"I hope everyone in the room, owners, active players, rookie representatives and retiree representatives understand that this is a situation that not only involves their interests but the interests of many fans and other people who depend upon the game being played," Hausfeld said. "And if everyone seriously approaches the issues with the manner in which the court has, then hopefully progress can be made."
Any decision Nelson makes, Hausfeld said, would certainly be appealed to the federal appellate court in St. Louis.
That means more time for legal maneuvering, further jeopardizing the 2011 NFL season.
"There's no question that any ruling Judge Nelson makes will be a first step," he said. "It will be taken on appeal."
Source: sportsillustrated
Muslim Group Applies to Protest Royal Wedding
London police say a Muslim anti-war group has been denied permission to protest outside Westminster Abbey when Prince William marries Catherine Middleton there on April 29.
The group Muslims Against Crusades (MAC) had their application denied Tuesday, but are in talks with authorities to hold their protest in another location. The group calls Prince William one of the biggest advocates of British imperialism, and accuses him of "direct involvement with the murderous British military."
Prince William is an officer in Britain's Royal Air Force.
If MAC is not allowed to protest, it has threatened to turn the day into what it called a "nightmare." Meanwhile, the English Defense League, a group that campaigns against radical Islamists, has requested a permit to hold a counter-demonstration if the MAC protest gets approval.
The possible competing protests are just a single component of the security issues in the run-up to the royal wedding. Some 5,000 officers will be on duty the day of the marriage.
Kate Middleton: Path to Princess
Prince William's soon-to-be wife, Kate Middleton, will be the first commoner to marry a British prince close to the throne since Anne Hyde wed the future King James II more than 350 years ago.
Catherine Elizabeth Middleton was born in the town of Reading on January 9,1982. The 29-year-old is the eldest of three children of Michael and Carole Middleton, a middle-class couple who gained wealth through the launch of a successful party supplies business, Party Pieces.
Middleton attended Marlborough College in Wiltshire, where she studied chemistry, biology and art, and played a number of sports, including tennis, hockey and netball, which is similar to basketball.
After spending a year abroad in which she studied in Italy and took part in a charity program in Chile, Middleton enrolled in 2001 at the University of St. Andrews, where she met Prince William.
In 2002, Middleton modeled in underwear and a sheer lace dress at a charity fashion show at the university — an event that Prince William reportedly paid more than $300 to attend.
The two lived together as roommates before they began dating. They broke up once in 2007, but only for a few months.
After graduating, Middleton worked for her family's business and also served as a part-time buyer for the clothing company, Jigsaw Junior. In 2008, she launched First Birthdays, a junior brand to Party Pieces.
In the media, she was dubbed “Waity Katie,” with critics saying she appeared to be biding her time waiting for Prince William to propose.
William asked her to marry him last year while they were on vacation in Kenya.
For the most part, Middleton tried to maintain her privacy throughout her courtship with William, largely avoiding media attention and even filing a harassment complaint against a British newspaper in 2007.
Earlier that same year, after speculation about a possible engagement subjected Middleton to a sea of photographers outside her home, Prince William issued a statement saying he was “very unhappy at the paparazzi harassment of his girlfriend” and wanted “more than anything” for it to stop.
Like William's mother, the late Princess Diana, Middleton has received widespread praise for her sense of style. Her fashion choices have been closely watched by those both inside and outside of Britain, with her most notable wardrobe pieces spawning numerous imitations.
Michelle Obama’s Plane Aborts Landing Near Washington
U.S. aviation officials say a plane carrying first lady Michelle Obama had to abort a landing Monday after getting too close to a military cargo jet.
The Federal Aviation Administration announced Tuesday that a Boeing 737 carrying Mrs. Obama was within five kilometers of a massive C-17 cargo plane as it was preparing to land at Andrews Air Force base near Washington. Mrs. Obama's pilot was told by air traffic controllers to delay its landing.
FAA standards require a minimum of eight kilometers between planes to avoid dangerous turbulence generated by a plane's wake.
The aviation agency is investigating the incident has a possible error by traffic controllers at a regional radar facility near Washington.
The first lady was returning from New York, where she appeared on the daytime talk showThe View and at other events. Her plane landed safely.