Gucci Mane Committed To Mental Institution
According to reports, Atlanta rapper Gucci Mane has been committed to a mental institution in Atlanta, following a judge's recommendation for him to serve jail time for violating the terms of his probation.
According to documents obtained by TMZ.com, the rapper filed for a "Special Plea of Mental Incompetency" during his appearance yesterday (January 3rd), in front of a Fulton, County judge.
The rapper claimed he was in no state to "intelligently participate in the probation revocation hearing" and was committed to an undisclosed mental health facility, so his condition could be evaluated.
In December, another rapper, DMX was also ordered into a mental health facility, because of an "undiagnosed" mental condition. Both artists have well documented battles with drug use, which frequently has landed them behind bars.
DMX has been arrested every year since 1999, while Gucci Mane has racked up numerous offenses over the years, the most serious for Gucci being a May 2005 murder charge, which was later dismissed, stemming from a botched robbery involving men affiliated with Young Jeezy's CTE Entertainment.
Rick Ross Is Sean John Newest Face
Rick Ross has signed on to promote Sean John, rap mogul Diddy famous clothing line.
“You know Puff is a good friend first, a mentor, and business partner. The partnership was something that came natural,” said Ross in an interview with examiner.
Rick Ross recently promoted the line at Macy’s, the exclusive department store retailer for the Sean John men’s sportswear collection, and believes he’s the perfect man for the job.
“Being a big guy that’s fashion conscious Sean John is definitely a brand I rock wit. I have plans to dabble in the fashion industry. I get to rock fly clothes and that always good” said Ross. “It’s a great opportunity for me. I mean Sean John represents hip hop. He is a Hip Hop mogul.”
Ross and Diddy has collaborated on a number of other projects recently, as Diddy signed on to manage Ross, and has recorded numerous tracks with the rapper for his critically acclaimed album Teflon Don.
“I think his influence of course he’s a producer nut it his connections that has helped do his the way it should be done. I mean things like F. Gary Gray, director of films Be Cool and The Negotiator, directing my video and those kinds of plays that were made like Stacy Dash in ‘Super High.’“
Rihanna Celebrates New Year In Las Vegas
Barbadian pop princess Rihanna took Sin City by storm, where she rang in 2011 in true RiRi style.
Rihanna spends the holidays in Barbados, but then took off to Las Vegas to celebrate New Year’s Eve at the Las Vegas hotspot.
Prior to her arrival to PURE Nightclub, hundreds of fans lined up along the casino floor next to the nightclub and waited patiently for the celebrity’s arrival.
Just after 11 pm, the packed resort was filled with screaming and cheering guests as Rihanna made her way to the red carpet. Donning an attention-grabbing and revealing red and see-through dress, the edgy fashion forward stunner turned heads as she posed for pictures.
Just before midnight, Rihanna took center stage as she amped up the crowd by getting on the mic and prepping them for the anticipated countdown to 2011.
RiRi counted down the last 10 seconds of the year; toasted revelers and wished them Happy New Year as the clock struck midnight.
There was no special kiss for her at midnight, but did hug the close friends that surrounded her.
Jamaican Diaspora wants economic growth, crime reduction in 2011
The Jamaica Diaspora in the United States wants a significant reduction in the murder rate, and an end to corruption and unemployment so that the economic situation can improve.
The head of the Jamaica Board for the Southern United States, Marion Hill said the new year should be used to "re-engage and rediscover and to forge a renewed bipartisan passion and leadership between the government and opposition."
Hill, an attorney, argued that there is need for a strengthening of the platform of governance, a more deliberate engagement of the Diaspora and plans for financial sustainability.
She was supported by her North East USA counterpart, Patrick Beckford, who said that he is hoping for measures that will foster a better business environment, which will lead to sustain economic growth and an expansion of business.
Denise Dixon, who heads a nonprofit group Hands Across Trelawny Inc., is deeply concerned about crime and corruption and said more should be made of international assistance such as that provided under the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative "to address the country's crime problems."
Possible jail and fines for Trinidad public service protestors
On the eve of plans by trade unions to demonstrate under the theme "No Work Day" on Tuesday for an increase salaries and better working conditions, top government officials warned that the protestors could be jailed and fined.
The Trinidad Express newspaper reported that Finance Minister Winston Dookeran, flanked by Public Administration Minister Rudrawatee Nan Ramgoolam and Housing Minister Roodal Moonilall, warned public servants that they were prohibited under the Industrial Relations Act 89 (1) from taking industrial action.
He pointed out that the Act imposed penalties on public servants and trade unionists who contravened its provisions. The penalty could be imprisonment for 18 months and a $10,000 fine.
Dookeran made it quite clear that he was not threatening public servants, "but was simply outlining the state of affairs" in the light of the PSA advertisements appearing in the press that called for no work on Tuesday, which was tantamount to strike action.
Belize gets $6 million grant from Japan to improve health services
The Belize Ministry of Health has been awarded $6 million in grants from the Japanese Social Development Fund (JSDF) through the World Bank.
In making the announcement on Tuesday, Health Minister Pablo Marin said the money will be used to support the provision of greater access to quality health services for Belize's children and to encourage healthy lifestyle practices and behaviours.
The project will address malnutrition in children five and under; it will encourage healthy lifestyle practices in children five and above and it will strengthen community-based health services through mobile clinics and community health workers. It will also improve on basic structural upgrading to health posts and improvements to other related facilities.
Research, monitoring and evaluation will provide a continuing evidence basis for the implementation of the project.
The money will be spent in the Toledo district in the southern end of Belize by empowering the local communities and schools; by helping to improve the overall quality of health services and by promoting healthy lifestyle choices.
Clinton Foundation completes work in Bahamas
The last Clinton Foundation worker hops on a plane on Wednesday, which will herald the end of the organization’s HIV/AIDS work on the ground in The Bahamas.
“They have effectively pulled out,” said National AIDS Programme Director Dr Perry Gomez. “Their last employee leaves Wednesday.”
According to Gomez, a senior foundation member revealed to government late last year that the Foundation, headed by former US President Bill Clinton, has completed its work in The Bahamas.
He added that the foundation staff’s primary work was to source medication and medical equipment for the government’s free HIV/AIDS clinic. He intimated that The Bahamas is now in a position to carry on those contracts for antiretroviral drugs and equipment that had been negotiated through the foundation during its tenure.
“A few months ago one of the senior people of the foundation met with the minister to say their work in The Bahamas is finished,” said Gomez.
“In terms of what they wanted to do for The Bahamas, their role in The Bahamas was mostly in negotiating for us -- they negotiated the best prices for us for drugs and equipment for the lab, so that government money would go further.
“They will still, if we need assistance, help from a distance; they don’t have to be here for that, because basically our contracts are set,” he said.
Since the The Bahamas secured markedly reduced prices for drugs, treatment became universal for those who needed it.
Since the very first cases, the death rate from HIV has been reduced by 70 percent, Gomez said recently.
The Bahamas went from 300 deaths from AIDS every year to around 70 for the last two years.
Minister of Health Dr Hubert Minnis told The Nassau Guardian on Monday that he expected to meet with Gomez on Tuesday over the future of The Bahamas’ HIV/AIDS program following the departure of the Clinton Foundation’s workers.
Some of the foundation’s most recent work was with the Haitian community, Gomez also revealed.
“For the last nine months they were working with the Haitian community and did a wonderful job,” he said. “Their work was targeted. They were helping us with forecasting of drugs, making sure orders are here and others were monitoring the pharmacy.”
According to Gomez, much of the foundation’s former Bahamas-based staff will now focus their attention on Africa.
The Clinton Foundation, according to its website, was established in 2002 and developed the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), under which The Bahamas was a beneficiary, to “turn the tide” of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in developing countries.
The Caribbean still has the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS outside Sub-Saharan Africa.
Republished with permission of the Nassau Guardian http://www.thenassauguardian.com/
Seattle residents hurt in Puerto Rico torch attack
A Seattle man and his fiancee were in critical condition in a Puerto Rican hospital Monday after the man's uncle threw gasoline or kerosene on a family gathering and lit the party afire on New Year's Day.
Just weeks after they became engaged, Kate Donahue, 25, had traveled to Puerto Rico with Jesus Sanchez Vazquez, who is in his late 20s, to get to know his family in Florida, Puerto Rico.
They have burns on 80 percent of their bodies, Dr. Ernesto Torres told the Puerto Rican publication El Nuevo Dia.
Sanchez Vazquez's uncle, Justino Sanchez Diaz, 45, threw an accelerant onto members of his family, then used a tank containing 20 pounds of propane gas as a torch to set them afire, El Nuevo Dia said. Two people died and several others were injured.
In the hospital, Donahue, a licensed practical nurse for Group Health, and Sanchez Vazquez, a Boeing engineer, kept asking about each other, according to Donahue's aunt, Dianna Lee.
"I think it's the love that they have for each other that's going to get them through this," Lee said.
The two people fatally injured were Sanchez Vazquez's sister, Pamela Sanchez Diaz, 17, and Samuel Molina Sanchez, a cousin of the attacker. Justino's mother, Josefina Diaz, 86, is in critical condition, according to El Nuevo Dia.
The family had gathered to celebrate Molina Sanchez's 32nd birthday, according to Primerahora.com, another Puerto Rican news source.
"I see my husband crawling, all burned, and I think to scream, 'Oh my God, what a nightmare is this, run, run, run,' " Molina Sanchez's wife, Glorimar de Jesus, told Primerahora.com.
Justino Sanchez Diaz was arrested Sunday and held on $1.5 million bail in the death of Molina Sanchez. A second murder charge was filed Monday, Primerahora.com reported. There are also rumors that the suspect has a history of mental illness.
"There is no reason. He got there and did what he did. Among the family, this is what we think," de Jesus told Primerahora.com.
Donahue's maternal grandmother, Patricia Hall, said she was "absolutely horrified" when she heard about the attack.
What had happened wasn't immediately clear. All Donahue's family knew was that there had been an accident and she was burned. Initially they thought there might have been a car accident.
"It was just many hours of blur and phone calls and computers and everyone trying to piece this information with this information and trying to get my daughter 1/8Michelle Donahue3/8 to Puerto Rico," Hall said.
Lee was able to contact one of Jesus Sanchez Vazquez's aunts via Facebook; the aunt related what happened as best she could in a five-minute phone call with broken English.
"Jesus has a lovely community in Puerto Rico that's being very supportive of 1/8my family3/8 ... and keeping people up to date as much as possible," Lee said.
Donahue is not in stable enough condition to be moved from Puerto Rico, according to Patrice Moore, another of Donahue's aunts. Her mother, father, brother and friends have flown there to be at her side, Hall said.
"My daughter has called me a couple of times," Hall said of Donahue's mother. "Of course she was very emotional, but she can let go with me while she's trying to be strong there. She's very, very upset and crying. I think she gets to go in to see her twice a day for 10 minutes. It's just so surreal."
Moore said Donahue and her fiance knew from the moment they met that they were soul mates.
Jesus had wanted to propose at Christmas, Moore said, but couldn't stand to wait. He planned a surprise party for Donahue at their favorite restaurant, and there told her he had one more surprise. He got down on one knee and said he couldn't imagine spending his life with anyone else.
"They're such a lovely couple," Lee said. "And they have so much ahead of them, you just can't fathom what the next steps are going to be."
Source:Seattle Times
Wade gets 34, Heat pull away to beat Bucks 101-89
Throughout their sizzling turnaround of the past few weeks, the Miami Heat have made the game look absolutely easy at times.
This one was different.
And that thrilled Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.
Dwyane Wade scored 34 points, LeBron James added 25 points and nine assists, and the Heat pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 101-89 on Tuesday night for their 19th win in 20 games. An 18-6 run over an 8-minute span got the late-game push going, and a 13-0 late burst sealed it for Miami.
"The players probably enjoyed some other games more," Spoelstra said. "But I think this was an important game. That's a very physical team. They're a very good defensive team. A lot of times when you play against them, it's a grind-out game, and we had to play a different kind of game tonight, have some mental toughness and resiliency when things weren't necessarily going our way."
Chris Bosh finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Heat, who trailed most of the third quarter before getting rolling. It was Miami's final home game for two weeks; the Heat will put their 11-game road winning streak on the line when they visit Milwaukee on Friday.
John Salmons scored 18 points for Milwaukee, which got 16 from Andrew Bogut and 14 from former Heat guard Keyon Dooling. The Bucks were outrebounded 47-34.
"When we were trying to keep contact with them in the second half it got away from us," Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. "We had a couple of missed layups, a couple of open jumpers. They took control of the game and we weren't able to get back into it."
There were some plays the Bucks will regret - fouling Wade twice on 3-point tries in the fourth, most notably - but the game seemed to change on a strange series late in the third.
Skiles got his second technical while trying to get a referee's attention to argue what he thought was a shot-clock violation on Miami and appeared to accidentally collide with Miami's Carlos Arroyo. Because it was not considered unsportsmanlike, Skiles was not ejected. But the damage was done: James Jones made a 3-pointer 10 seconds after the call, the first salvo in Miami's closing burst.
"A rule is a rule," Bogut said. "But there was a lot of 50-50 plays like that that didn't go our way. ... It was a huge call, a huge momentum swing in the game."
Skiles said he thought referees made the correct call.
Something about playing good teams on the road has brought out the best in the Bucks so far this season, a trend that continued at Miami.
Milwaukee came into the game only 5-11 away from home, the 19th-best road mark in the 30-team NBA. But some of the wins - over the Los Angeles Lakers , Dallas and Atlanta, for example - and even an overtime loss in Boston in early November have suggested the Bucks are capable of more.
It's a lesson the Heat learned in this one.
Up by 11 after Bosh made a jumper with 7:36 left in the first half and looking comfortable, the Heat quickly went cold, and Milwaukee took advantage. Miami shot 2 for 9 the rest of the quarter, with five turnovers, and the Bucks outscored Miami 23-8 - 14 of those points coming from the foul line - to close the period with a 51-47 lead.
Miami's drought without a field goal lasted nearly 6 minutes before James made layups on consecutive fast-break possessions to tie it at 54 early in the third. Just about everything the Heat tried offensively was at the rim in the third: Of their eight field goals in the quarter, seven were inside of 15 feet, five were either layups or dunks.
Then Jones hit Miami's first 3-pointer of the game following the Skiles technical, and Mario Chalmers made two key 3s in the final minutes to help the Heat seal the outcome.
"We're going to have to win games in a lot of different ways," Bosh said. "Good teams find a way to win."
WICB investing to exploit global commercial opportunities, says Hunte
President of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), Dr Julian Hunte, has said that the WICB is ensuring that it aligns the best interest of cricket with how the sport is evolving as a global product in order to exploit financial and sponsorship opportunities.
“Twenty20 cricket has presented tremendous challenges but also fantastic opportunities for governing bodies. Some will benefit more and sooner from these opportunities than others. In the Caribbean scenario, principally it is the players and the fans who are the ones benefitting most,” Hunte said last week during an interview for the forthcoming Caribbean Twenty20 Tournament Guide.
Noting the WICB’s strategic decision to invest in Caribbean Twenty20, Hunte said that the focus is on providing a stage for players to flourish, fans to enjoy cricket and building commercial value.
“The board will not position itself and employ strategies which deny the fans the enjoyment from the sport and the players the financial gains from exploiting their skills,” he asserted.
“Fans want to see this version because they enjoy it as it is packaged in a manner which is convenient to their evolving needs. The players want to play it because it tests their skills in a different dimension and of course it brings them a level of financial security which has not been historically available,” Hunte noted.
“As a governing board our product is cricket and it is driven by cricketers and the onus is on us to invest in schemes and mechanisms to ensure that not only our products are strong but players are financially secure,” he added.
Cognizant of the need to ensure that players are able to secure their livelihoods during their relatively short playing careers, Hunte said the board of directors of the WICB is committed to ensuring that every effort is made to allow them to maximise their earning capacity.
“The last thing, as a board, we want is for players to complete their playing careers and have to scrape around for resources to get by daily living. This has happened in the past and we will do what we can, as best we can to eradicate this regrettable situation,” Hunte related in the extensive interview.
“It is why the investment in the Caribbean Twenty20 is important and necessary. We envision that the tournament will be able to turn in returns in the future but at this stage, purely as an investment in a platform for our players to showcase their wares it is a critical investment for the WICB,” he explained.
The Caribbean Twenty20 kicks off on Monday January 10 in Antigua.