Jamaica's DPP slaps successive gov'ts for justice system neglect
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Paula Llewellyn yesterday chastised successive governments for not paying enough attention to the justice system over several decades, resulting in broken down infrastructure and a crippling backlog of cases.
In a report to the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC) of Parliament on its backlog reduction strategy, the Ministry of Justice reports that there are over 2,000 cases in circuit courts across the island, with 861 serious offences in the home circuit alone. Additionally there are over 35,000 cases in parish courts awaiting trial, some of them partially heard.
“It is just unfortunate that over the last 30 years there was not a unified, holistic vision by both political dispensations in respect of the justice system… at least 40 years ago, there should have been a 20-year plan (or) a 30-year plan to take account of the increase in the population in the town centres… looking at our statistics you will see the doubling (and) tripling in crime in many of the parishes,” Llewellyn stated during a sitting of the PAAC where officials of the Ministry of Justice answered questions about the state of the justice system.
The DPP argued that case backlog is not unique to Jamaica, but that there must be a method of minimising the excess. “Part of Jamaica's problem is the fact that the justice system has never been as sexy for you legislators as building a highway, therefore the resources have not been put in place to enhance the capacity of the courts,” she stated.
Llewellyn said her office is doing what it can to reduce the backlog, pointing to a pilot which is to be launched in the St Catherine circuit court which now has over 400 cases. “In conjunction with the Chief Justice we have decided to find the resources to have two different circuit courts sitting at the same time from the beginning of November through to December,” she explained. “In order for us to mount those two sittings at the same time we have had to collapse the continuing sitting of the Clarendon circuit court, so it means that matters that would have been ready for November and December, we have had to adjourn those until next year so that we can have a judge and a prosecutor available to try to break the back of that over-400 case load.”
Further emphasising the challenge of inappropriate facilities and shortage of courtrooms, Senior Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Jeremy Taylor painted a startling picture of daily occurrences in the circuit court. “In St Elizabeth the custody persons and the jurors share the same room, because there is no holding area,” he said. “When the jurors need to retire to consider a verdict you have to empty the room of the custody persons and put them to sit in the court while the jurors go in to deliberate. In St Ann, when the circuit sits, again a parish court has been displaced and you have not lived until you enter the St Ann court to see police fingerprinting persons right in front of a courtroom door, and a holding area which is under the staircase and where I share a bathroom with the custody persons,” he said.
Llewellyn said part of the problem is that legislatures have been “in a bubble” where the administration of justice is concerned. “We are in the trenches… part of the problem is a lot of you really don't understand what it takes to run the justice system, so a lot has been taken for granted,” she stated.
Permanent Secretary Carol Palmer, while outlining some of the steps being taken to improve infrastructure, expressed her own frustration. “The Chief Justice will tell you she would love to have the circuits sitting all year round so that we can put a dent in the number of cases, but it's not practical because 99 per cent of the cases that are at the parish courts will therefore not happen,” she told the committee.
Palmer pointed out that the majority of out-stations are “as derelict as they come”, and despite repairs, are just too old to manage what is expected, noting too that there is also an issue of resistance to using some of them.
According to a September 2017 report submitted to the committee, the ministry expects to double the number of courts in the Supreme Court for criminal cases from six to 12, but unless there is personnel to manage and staff these courts, they cannot operate.
It was also noted that Cabinet signed off on an additional 17 posts, including 10 Crown counsel, for the Office of the DPP. Approval has also been granted for 19 administrative positions to be upgraded, the DPP informed the committee.
Source-Jamaica Observer
Mexico auto group rejects U.S. proposal on NAFTA rules
The Mexican Auto Industry Association on Thursday rejected U.S. proposals to increase North American content for autos produced in the region and require, under a new NAFTA deal, that half of all content come from the United States.
AMIA President Eduardo Solis said the rules of origin enshrined in the current North American Free Trade Agreement have been key in creating value and integrating the auto industries of Canada, the United States and Mexico.
"Our position is to not touch the methodology or the rules of origin that have allowed this sector to be successful in the three countries," Solis said at an event in Mexico City.
Under NAFTA, at least 62.5 percent of the material in a car or light truck made in the region must be from North America to be able to enter the marketplace tariff-free.
U.S. President Donald Trump has proposed raising the amount of NAFTA content in autos to 85 percent and securing 50 percent of the total for the United States.
Those demands to reserve the lion's share of automotive manufacturing for the United States helped cast a pall over a fourth round of talks to revamp the 23-year-old accord underpinning $1.2 trillion in annual trilateral trade.
Solis called the U.S. proposal for country-specific content rules unacceptable, saying it violated World Trade Organization rules.
Global automakers including General Motors, Ford Motor Co., Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Volkswagen AG all have plants in low-cost Mexico.
Source-AutoNews/Reuters
Google's parent company to build futuristic neighborhood
Google, a company that's built everything from a search engine to a self-driving car, will now try its hand at a city neighborhood.
Sidewalk Labs, an urban innovation company owned by Google's parent company Alphabet, is teaming with Toronto to begin planning a neighborhood designed as a model for urban life in the 21st century.
Sidewalk Labs will invest $50 million in an initial phase of planning and pilot testing. Alphabet has also pledged to relocate Google's headquarters in Canada to the new neighborhood, called Quayside, which is on the Toronto waterfront. Google has roughly 1,000 employees in Canada.
Sidewalk Labs plans to do everything from reduce pollution, commute times and landfill waste to improve the weather. It envisions reducing the impact of wind, increasing shade on sunny days and blocking rain due to smart building design and tree planting.
In an ambitious proposal, Sidewalk Labs promised to make the weather more comfortable to enjoy the waterfront. It also believes it can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 73%, potable water consumption by 65% and landfill waste generation by 90%.
Source-CNN
UK banks 'exposed to money laundering in South Africa'
UK financial regulators and the Serious Fraud Office are to review if banks HSBC and Standard Chartered are linked to a South Africa corruption scandal.
It comes after Lord Peter Hain said the banks may "inadvertently have been conduits" for laundered money.
The Labour peer told the House of Lords that up to £400m of illicit funds may have been moved by the banks.
His concerns relate to links between South Africa's President Jacob Zuma and a wealthy business family, the Guptas.
The peer has written to the Chancellor Philip Hammond, telling him a whistle-blower had indicated the banks "maybe inadvertently have been conduits for the corrupt proceeds of money".
Lord Hain told the BBC he named 27 people in the letter, in addition to companies, adding that any person or firm linked to alleged corruption in South Africa is "going to be badly contaminated".
The Treasury has referred Lord Hain's letter to regulators, including the Financial Conduct Authority, and the SFO.
A Treasury spokesman said: "We take allegations of financial misconduct very seriously, and have passed Lord Hain's letter on to the Financial Conduct Authority and relevant UK law enforcement agencies, including the National Crime Agency and Serious Fraud Office, to agree the right action."
The BBC's correspondent in Johannesburg, Andrew Harding, said Lord Hain's letter was "a new twist in a giant corruption scandal that is shaking the South Africa state, and damaging the reputations of a number of global companies".
Mr Zuma and the Guptas strongly deny wrongdoing, and say they are victims of a "politically motivated witch-hunt".
But leaked emails and official investigations have fuelled claims that the Guptas have bought influence in government in order to loot state enterprises.
In South Africa, the scandal has already ruined British public relations company Bell Pottinger and damaged auditors KPMG, which removed its top executive team in the country.
Source-BBC
Trump didn't know fallen soldier's name, kept calling him "your guy," congresswoman says
Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., adamantly stood by her characterization of President Donald Trump's phone call with the widow of a fallen soldier in an interview with ABC News Wednesday, calling his words "terrible" and adding that the president didn't even know the man's name.
Wilson said she was with Myeshia Johnson, the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, who was killed in Niger two weeks ago, and heard the president on speakerphone when he called to console her.
"I heard him say, 'Well I guess you know he knew what he was signing up for, but it still hurts,'" Wilson told ABC News.
Earlier in the day Trump called that description a "total fabrication" and suggested Wilson would issue a correction to her statement. Instead, Wilson doubled down on her criticism of the president.
"It was the wrong thing to say, but that’s not the worst part," Wilson said. "He did not even know La David Johnson’s name. He kept referring to him as your guy. He never called his name. So that was even more painful."
Wilson said other family members who overheard the conversation also seemed upset by it.
"He didn’t call her by name, he didn’t call anyone by name. He was just talking. That was so insensitive and so terrible and I felt insulted, and I’m sure the widow felt insulted and everyone else in the car was just shaking their heads," she said.
The president also said in a tweet today he had "proof" Wilson wasn't telling the truth. White House spokesman Sarah Sanders later said the president was referring to officials who were in the room with Trump during the call and could corroborate his version of the conversation. Sanders said there is no recording of the call.
Sanders called Wilson's actions "disgusting" and accused her of politicizing the death of a soldier. "I think it's appalling what the congresswoman has done and the way she's politicized this issue and the way that she's trying to make this about something that it isn't," she said.
Wilson, for her part, does not deny politicizing the call. When asked about it by ABC News, she said she's a politician and acts as a voice for the people. "When I pick up a puppy, I'm politicizing it," Wilson said.
She also said the deadly ambush in Niger that killed Sgt. Johnson and three other special operations soldiers leaves so many unanswered questions that "this is going to be Mr. Trump's Benghazi," a reference to the 2012 attack that killed four Americans.
Source-ABC
Brooklyn Nets' Jeremy Lin out for season with ruptured patellar tendon
Brooklyn Nets point guard Jeremy Lin suffered a serious knee injury in his team's season opener on Wednesday and is expected to miss the remainder of the year.
Lin left the 140-131 loss to the Indiana Pacers after driving to the basket in the fourth quarter. Lin immediately grabbed his knee, and seemed to mouth the words "I'm done," before pounding the floor. Lin also appeared to cry in pain before Nets trainers got to him.
The team announced on Thursday that Lin had been diagnosed with a ruptured patellar tendon.
"Jeremy worked tremendously hard during the offseason and in training camp and was excited for the prospects of the team this season," Nets general manager Sean Marks said in a statement Thursday. "We feel awful that the injury will cost him the season, however our entire organization will be there to support Jeremy in every way possible throughout his recovery. Jeremy remains an important part of this team and will continue to contribute in a leadership role."
Lin scored 18 points before the injury.
In Lin's absence, the team is expected to turn to newly acquired D'Angelo Russell at the point guard position. Russell scored 30 points on Wednesday night.
Source-ABC
Oprah Winfrey talks new book
With every interview, Oprah Winfrey strives to produce one reaction: “I’ve never thought of it that way.” In her new book, The Wisdom of Sundays: Life-changing Insights from Super Soul Conversations, Winfrey shares selections from those conversations that have inspired her the most, in hopes of encouraging others to think differently and live a fuller life.
“My intention with the book is to offer on every page an opportunity to find a way to be closer to yourself, closer to the heart that you believe, closer to the name you refer to God as being, closer to bigger, closer to a better life," Winfrey told ABC News.
Winfrey also opened up about her own experiences with sexual harassment, in light of the allegations against Harvey Weinstein by dozens of women, including Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Mira Sorvino.
“I hid a lot of things ... just like all the women who are speaking up now," she recalled. "I was constantly sexually harassed but I knew to speak up in that moment, I would have never worked...another day in television, I knew that. "
Despite what she was going through, she said she told herself “trouble don’t last always,” "I won't be here forever" and “I’m going to work my way through it.”
"Now nobody has to do that," says Oprah. She points out that the Weinstein revelations are just the most recent in a series of incidents that have brought the problem of sexual harassment to the forefront.
"It was first [Roger] Ailes, then Bill O’Reilly then everything that happened there and that sort of opened it up, it cracked and now what has happened with Harvey Weinstein has really been a watershed moment," she said, adding, "I think this is a big momentous, powerful time for women.”
Source-ABC
Snoop Dogg debuts title song of new EP Make America Crip Again
Snoop Dogg rolled with the Crips growing up in Long Beach, California, and he’s paying homage to the gang with the title song of his new album, Make America Crip Again.
"The president says he wants to make America great again," Snoop rhymes. "***k that **hit, we going to make America Crip again." Snoop disses the establishment and calls for youth to take over in the hook, “The world is yours.”
Snoop tells Rolling Stone the title refers to how the Crips worked to uplift their neighborhoods.
“A lot of people glorify the gang-banging and violence but forget that in the beginning, the Crips' main and sole purpose was to be the reflection of the Black Panthers," he says. “They looked after kids, provided after-school activities, fed them and stepped in as role models and father figures."
The Doggfather says his new music is his attempt to bring people together.
"I’m taking it back to the era of being for ourselves and for everyone else. I’m for the evolution of people coming together and being one as opposed to being separate," he says. "Music is the best way to heal."
“Make America Crip Again” is among eight songs on the new EP which will be released October 27. The second track, “3’s Company," features Chris Brown.
Make American Crip Again track list:
1. "M.A.C.A."
2. "3's Company" featuring Chris Brown & OT Genesis
3. "Good Foot"
4. "Dis Finna Be a Breeze" featuring Hahadavis
5. "None of Mine"
6. "My Last Name" featuring October London
7. "Sports Center" featuring Designer Flow
8. "Fly Away" featuring Shon Lawon
Eminem serves as hype man for Detroit Pistons NBA season opener
When the Detroit Pistons opened the 2017-2018 NBA season last night in their new home arena, they found the ultimate hype man to introduce the team: Eminem.
The Pistons returned to Detroit for the first time in four decades -- they've been playing in the Detroit suburbs, at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Slim Shady loved pumping up the crowd for their home debut.
“Welcoming back for the first time in almost 40 years, to our city, to my city, to your city, make some noise for the Detroit Pistons,” he said. “Let’s go.”
Eminem posted a photo on Instagram with Big Sean, commenting, “Great to see @bigsean at the @detroitpistons game tonight - so much Detroit love in the house.”
The team was playing in the new Little Caesars Arena, and Eminem inspired the Pistons to a 102-90 win over the Charlotte Hornets.
Source-ABC
Poachers caught and charged by Police
Nine poachers await sentencing for violating the Turks and Caicos Islands Fisheries Protection Ordinance.
Police report that around 6.10 p.m. last Friday 6th October, the RT&CIPF Marine Division vessel - Sea Pursuit, was at sea, south of White Cay – an area within the Fisheries Limits of the Turks and Caicos Islands. The crew found a number of vessels, one of which was stopped and boarded by the crew of the Sea Pursuit. This vessel, approximately 45 feet in length was named 'MV Yaniret'.
Having boarded the vessel and carried out initial enquiries, the boat and the fish on board were seized and the nine crew members detained for fishing illegally within the Fisheries Limits of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The vessel and crew were escorted to Providenciales and following an investigation as to the circumstances of the MV Yaniret's presence within the Fisheries Limits of the TCI by the RT&CIPF, all of the persons arrested have pleaded guilty to the following charges of Using an unlicensed vessel for commercial fishing and Taking marine products without a license and are expected to be sentenced on Tuesday 17th October 2017.