DEAD 13-Y-O WAS THUG’S BABYMAMA?

Crystal Harrison & Livern Barrett, Star Writers
Well-placed police sources believe that the 13-year-old girl who was killed in the recent Denham Town, west Kingston, police operation was pregnant for one of the reputed gangsters who also died during the operation.

THE STAR understands that the police are going to carry out a series of DNA tests on 13-year-old Nicketa Cameron, and 29-year-old Ramon ‘Tete Rass’ Stern in the coming weeks.

Last Monday, six persons were killed during a police operation in the community.

Police sources say Stern and another man known only as ‘Kiro’, who is also among those killed, were wanted for questioning for various crimes committed in the area and were the targets of the operation.

Interestingly, THE STAR also understands that Tete Rass may have fathered another child with a 15-year-old girl from the community.

Meanwhile, in an interview with THE STAR, the mother of the 13-year-old, Beverly Kennedy, said she does not believe that her daughter was pregnant.

Kennedy also rubbished claims that Tete Rass was intimately involved in relationships with minors.

“Dat is not true. No sah, me nuh know of dat at all. I don’t believe my daughter was pregnant because I didn’t see any sign or symptom of dat because my daughter was menstruating and a me buy her sanitary napkins,” she said.

Kennedy further said, “Him (Tete Rass) a big man, my daughter is just 13 years old, believe me to God, him nuh talk to little girls. Dis a shock me right now,” she said.

BEENIE DERE WILL COME A DAY … YUH NUH HAFFI GWAAN SUH..WHAPPEN TWITTER A EXCUSE FI SHOW YUH DIRTY SIDE NOW?

Zimbabwe Finance Minister Biti Says No Funds for 2012 Elections
Tendai Biti said the scant available resources cannot be channeled towards elections, adding the focus for this year should be the constitutional referendum and the country’s fourth census since independence, that is set for august this year
Irwin Chifera & Thomas Chiripasi | Washington

In sharp contrast to President Robert Mugabe’s call for elections this year, Zimbabwean Finance Minister Tendai Biti on Wednesday said it’s impossible for the country to conduct early polls because the government’s coffers are empty.
Biti said the scant available resources cannot be channeled towards elections, adding the focus for this year should be the constitutional referendum and the country’s fourth census since independence, that is set for august this year.

President Mugabe, however, has remained adamant in the past few weeks saying that elections should be held this year with or without a new constitution.
The two MDC formations in the unity government say fresh polls cannot be conducted in the absence of key democratic reforms, including changes in the media, electoral and security sectors.
Biti said Harare is even struggling to raise funds to finance the 2012 census expenses, which he said is top priority.

On the economy, Biti said a total of $28.9 million dollars was realized by end of February from the sale of 8.1 million kilograms of tobacco. The minister said gold output declined in the same month by 11.8 percent from January’s output of 1,053 kilograms.
Testifying earlier before a parliamentary committee on agriculture, Biti said accused the country’s political leaders of spending too much time bickering over less important issues and neglecting development issues.
He said the discord in the unity government exists because leaders have not put the country first, insisting they remain “entrapped in party political jackets”.
Biti said a Grain Marketing Board audit presented to cabinet two weeks ago revealed that the parastatal has been run down due to poor management.
He said if commercialized the GMB could be profitable as was the case with the Dairy Marketing Board and the Cotton Marketing Board.
Biti dismissed as rubbish statements by some ZANU-PF supporters that his ministry is not supporting agriculture.
He said some of the government’s past interventions in agriculture have been destructive.

by Adam Ellis

In my Christian tradition, we recently rediscovered grace (cut us a little slack…we’re a few years behind other groups on a few things).

The results have been interesting as people adjust to different views and opinions.

One segment of “us” dug in their heels because the shift was just too different from what they had always known and retained a doctrine/praxis/motivation-by-exclusion religion (that may sound overly harsh, but it’s a generalization).

The overriding thought seems to be that I have to work really hard and do everything just right. This life and this world are terrible, but one day I’ll go to Heaven and “Won’t it be wonderful there?”

Another segement did a pendulum swing to focusing on grace, almost as an end unto itself. The rightly asserted that grace covers doctrine, morality, and misunderstanding. But the major point seems to be that I can quit worrying because my personal salvation is sure and I, myself will be going to Heaven when I die. I just have to ride out this life and then “won’t it be wonderful there?”

While these positions are overgeneralizations and no one would actually describe themselves that way, they are both catagories that I can honestly say I fit into at different times in my life. But each of them miss the point entirely. The gospel of Jesus Christ is about both Grace and Redemption. The “new” understanding of grace (which is actually quite old) is more accurate, but it simply doesn’t go far enough.

Grace is not and was never intended to be an end unto itself. Grace covers and clenses us so that we might be redeemed. It takes care of our “stuff” so that we can quit focusing on ourselves and begin focusing on God and other people exclusively.

Redemption carries with it the idea of being changed or exchanged for something that is useful or of value. When you are focused on yourself, even on your own salvation, you are of no use or value to anyone else. When you can quit focusing on yourself, you then become useful, not only to God, but to the world. You can be “good news” to them in the same self-sacrificing way that Jesus was.

In a corporate sense, the church could become “of value” to the world instead of something it is coming to resent (imagine what that would do for evangelism). Grace frees us to become a part of God’s vision/mission/dream for this world…that it would be “on earth as it is in Heaven.”

In his book “The Radical Reformission: Reaching Out Without Selling Out”, Mark Driscoll says “…neither the freedom of Christ nor our freedom in Christ is intended to permit us to dance as close to sin as possible without crossing the line. But both are intended to permit us to dance as close to sinners as possible by crossing the lines that unnecessarily separate the people God has found from those he is still seeking.”

Grace alone is only “good news” for me. Grace and Redemption are the Gospel.

-Adam Ellis

The rumour mill is spinning again.

This time it is churning out gossip that involves singers Ce’Cile and Chris Martin. The rumours have it that the ‘bad gyal’ Ce’Cile is pregnant with twins, with the Cheater’s Prayer singer Chris Martin being the father.

The rumours apparently started after a post was made on a popular website. The title of the post read: “Congratulations again, Sir Martin” with its contents being: “and Ce’cile who is pregnant with twins … May they bring you joy and happiness.”

Readers of the website made several comments under the post, leaving their views of the situation.

One reader commented “…Yes snickerboo … God don’t like ugly fe true! and Congrats Ce’cile, children are a blessing.”

When The STAR contacted Ce’Cile, she did not wish to comment on the matter. “No comments. Sorry, I don’t discuss my personal business,” she said.

Efforts to contact Chris Martin were unsuccessful up to press time.

This is not the first time, Ce’Cile is rumoured to be pregnant, as in 2007 she was linked to Alliance boss Bounty Killer.

At that time, she dismissed those rumours saying that she was not pregnant and was never romantically involved with Bounty Killer.

Ce’Cile is known for songs such as I’m Waiting, Coffee and Changes. Martin is known for numbers such as Cheaters’ Prayer and Paper Loving among others.