GREETINGS & NEWS

“A family that prays together stays together.”

 

Greetings and Welcome to PANTHER NEWSLETTER

VOLUME TWO: ISSUE 16

  

Greetings and Welcome to PANTHER NEWSLETTER: ISSUE 16.  Before we kick-off, there will be no PANTHER NEWSLETTER for April, we will return May 31st 2011.  The PANTHER NEWSLETTER crew are taking time out to pursue personal projects and it will give you a chance to catch up on all the information we provide each month.

Yet again we are pleased to say the hits continue to rise, last month was another record.  We give thanks for your support.  Welcome to our new readers around the world; our usual message to you is:

“Rock and come in.”

In this month’s issue we have the usual suspects.  An inspiring interview with our SPECIAL GUEST who hails from Dallas Texas, the FEATURED  STORY, THE MUSICAL COA-COA BASKET, the FEATURED ARTICLE, and every body’s favourite THE CULTURE CORNER.  Enjoy ISSUE 16 and see y’all May 31st. 

 

NEWS (UK)

 

REGGAE STAR SMILEY CULTURE DIES IN POLICE RAID

British reggae star Smiley Culture has died during a police raid in Surrey.  The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has said it will investigate the death of the musician, whose real name is David Emmanuel; read more here…

 

OFFICERS IN SMILEY CULTURE’S BUNGLED ARREST UNDER INVESTIGATION

A police watchdog has said it will be “looking into” the actions of all the officers following the death of Eighties reggae star Smiley Culture; continued…

 

THE SMILEY CULTURE PRESS CONFERENCE (THE PEOPLE SPEAK)

Watch it here…

 

RASTAMOUSE CREATORS SPEAK OUT

Michael De Souza and Genevieve Webster, the creators of the hugely popular children’s show talk to Davina Hamilton about the buzz and controversy that their creation has sparked amongst viewers; more…

 

FAKE BOMB ON PLANE FROM BRITAIN EXPOSES SECURITY FLAWS

A fake bomb on board a cargo plane from Britain, exposing security lapses five months after two real bombs which were found on cargo planes in Leicestershire and Dubai last year; continued…

 

ELSEWHERE

 

GADDAFI OUTFOXES THE WEST – FOR NOW 

Gaddafi still controls the west of Libya despite 11 days of allied air strikes. Will it need boots on the ground to finally topple the desert fox? – More…

 

FIGHTING NEAR IVORIAN CAPITAL, OUATTARA FORCES ADVANCE

An offensive by forces loyal to Ivory Coast’s presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara reached two towns near the country’s official capital on Wednesday, witnesses said, a day after they seized swathes of territory; here…

 

JAPANESE OPERATOR SAYS IT WILL SCRAP FOUR REACTORS AT PLANT

 Tokyo Electric Power Company will completely write off four of the six reactors at the crippled nuclear plant; here…

 

FUGEES FRONT MAN WYCLEF JEAN SHOT IN HAITI HOURS BEFORE VOTING

 Hip-hop star Wyclef Jean has been shot in his native Haiti on the eve of presidential elections on the Caribbean island; more…

 

LANCE REDDICK: LIFE BEYOND THE WIRE

Actor Lance Reddick, or Lt Cedric Daniels as he is more widely known, talks about the incredible success of The Wire – and how the black community is so badly served by the entertainment industry; read on…

 

THE ‘LOST’ FOOTAGE OF BOB MARLEY’S EARLY CAREER

A film charting the rise of Bob Marley and The Wailers to international stardom made from footage shot in the early 1970s and lost for 30 years is set to get its first public viewing; here…

 

AFRICA’S BILLIONAIRES ON THE 2011 FORBES RICH LIST

Africa’s total billionaires numbered 11 in 2010.  This year there are 14 on the 2011 Forbes Rich list made up of two Nigerians, 4 South Africans and 8 Egyptians; check ’em out here… 

 

THE HEART OF OUR COMMUNITY

 

NEW EGYPTIAN BELLY DANCE CLASSES WITH Chloe Redmond

Prepare your body for summer; lose that winter weight now and Bellydance your way to fitness!

Chloe has been studying Egyptian Bellydance for 9 years.  From the age of 4 she began Ballet dancing, despite being the plumpest of this group of  “little princesses”, she continued this dance form for 8 years.  Chloe went on to develop techniques in a variety of dance styles from Salsa and Street dance to Brazilian and West African before graduating with a BA in Visual Communication & Film, at Birmingham City University’s Institute of Art & Design Campus.  Chloe lived in Cairo for 3 months training privately with some of Egypt’s most eminent Belly dance instructors.  For more information about her classes, contact Chloe here… 

 

MR SOON COME BY JASMINE JOHNSON FINALLY MAKES THE STAGE AT

The Drum, 144 Potters Lane, Aston, Birmingham, B6 4UU
Administration: 0121 333 2400 Box Office: 0121 333 2444 Email: info@the-drum.org.uk

Birmingham novelist Jasmine Johnson has successfully adapted her successful first novel Mr Soon Come for the stage which has its performances at The Drum, Birmingham Thursday, Friday and Saturday May 19, 20 and 21st respectively.  For more details check out all the information here…

 

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Check out and support this brilliant online newsletter called In The Spotlight, which gives you first-hand up-to-date news, entertainment news from Jamaica, Jamaican culture and film; here…  

 

KING OF KINGS: NGUSA NAGAST by CLAUDETTE. E. JOHNSON

King of Kings is an important revelation, presenting breakthrough facts on biblical history and the Rastafarian Movement.  King of Kings offers insight into uncovering the truth regarding boodlines of King Solomon and The Queen of Sheba, King David, Jesus Christ as well as The Ark of the Covenant, proven through geneology and made popular by movies “RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK” and “THE DA VINCI CODE”.  If you’re searching for a good historical read, why not check out this superb and inspiring book; here…

  

SANKOFA ASSOCIATES in collaboration with PANTHER NEWSLETTER

PRESENTS

 

A free E-Book publication

 

Real Talk

Shadow People speak out …

by Martin Glynn

 

Real Talk…

Shadow People speak out: is a collection of monologues which has been a long time in the making.  For many years Martin Glynn has worked in prisons, engaged with the disaffected sections of the community, and has been through his own rite of passage. Throughout his journey as a writer and criminologist he has encountered many amazing people whose stories have gone with them to their grave, have not been told, been ignored, or have been too uncomfortable for many to hear.

Download your free e-book of Real Talk: Shadow People Speak Out here…

Also check out Sankofa Associates Goods & Services here…

 

OBITUARY

 

DEAN RICHARDS DIES AT THE AGE OF JUST 36

Former clubs remember Dean Richards at Molineux; his widow and sons to attend Premier League game.  Former team-mates talk of the ‘shock and sadness’ over his death; here…

 

REGGAE STAR SMILEY CULTURE DIES

 Smiley Culture,  an influential voice in British rap and reggae, who had a smash hit with Police Officer dies during a police raid on his home; here…

 

LEGENDARY BLUESMAN PINETOP PERKINS DIES AT 97

Blues pianist Joe Willie “Pinetop” Perkins was one of the last old-school bluesmen and oldest Grammy winner; here… 

 

LOLEATTA HOLLAWAY THE GODDESS OF THE DISCO PASSES

Loleatta Hollaway, the disco star best known for her 1980 song, Love Sensation, has died from heart failure at the age of 64; more…

 

HIP-HOP STAR NATE DOGG DIES AT 41

US hip-hop star Nate Dogg, who worked with Snoop Dogg, Warren G and Eminem, has died at the age of 41; more…

SPECIAL GUEST

Her father was a World War II veteran stationed in Europe and North Africa.  He and his company requested an audience with His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie to fight for Ethiopia.  She was born in Dallas Texas and is a Freelance Publisher, has written numerous columns for publication and has produced five successful live radio programs.  She has appeared on, TV, NBC, the Majestic Theatre in Dallas Texas, and in photographs with various celebrities; as well as being the author of her new book “Kings of Kings” and is excited about it: “…because many people who revere history have told me they wish there was a book like this available…” 

PANTHER NEWSLETTER proudly presents this month’s SPECIAL GUEST, Claudette E. Johnson.  I hooked up with Claudette to reason with her, about her and her works.  Read her sublime interview with me here…

FEATURED STORY

 

Micah’s Letter

© 2011 Norman Samuda-Smith

The Football Match is featured in Britannia’s Children – A Collection of Short Stories by Norman Samuda Smith

Buy your copy @

https://www.feedaread.com/books/Britannias-Children-9781782991656.aspx

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Number: WG8668 – Name: Micah Green

H.M.Prison

Winson Green Road

Birmingham.

Wha gwaan Dad.

I got yah script and thanks for saying that yah don’t judge me but yah will always love me unconditionally.  Believe me dad, that means a lot.

Well dad its official, I’ll be on lock down for a year.  They say I’ll be out in six months as long as I don’t get inna no fuss nor fight.  So I’m gonna keep my head down, be humble, control my temper and I’ll be out soon.

I’m sharing a cell with an older black geezer; he’s four years older than you.  He’s been locked down for just over a year now and has got another two years to go maybe less he says, he’s ok and is a very intelligent man.  A couple of days ago we was reasoning during lights out, about an argument he had with his woman.  He said he knew what was gonna happen and he should have got out of the relationship earlier, nuff of his family and friends warn him same way, but because he loves his children, he didn’t wanna become a weekend daddy.  His woman was always nagging about everyting; she was never satisfied with what they got, yah know de ting dad, money, material things, the whole nine yards.   One day he snapped when she try to block him from leaving the house during one big argument.  So he saw red and box her down and couldn’t stop.  It was only cos his children was screaming, the mist cleared and he realised what he was doing.  He called the police and they lock him up.  He said sitting in a two by four makes you reflect, and all that thinking made him realise when people say love is blind, they assume seh dat blindness is always between a man and a woman; but yah can be blinded by yah love for yah children.  That’s where he was, he stayed because of them.  Now he recognises if he had left his woman when he start seeing the signs years ago, it would’ve been better for him, her and the children.  Bwoy, ah so it go sometimes, nuh true dad?

I told him about yah and the advice yah tried to give me everytime.  He said I should’ve listened to yah, that I don’t realise how lucky I am to have a father like you who’s there, who cares and is willing to listen and talk.  I’ve been sitting and reflecting on what yah tried to say to me and yah was always right dad.  Whatever yah talked to me about, woman, friends, family, everything about life, yah was always right; but the majority of the time, I was hard of hearing.  As Granny always say to me nuff time: “Bwoy yuh too hard ears!”  I thought I knew it all, silly me.  I just gotta be calmer in the future, think a problem or situation through and act on it constructively and positively.  Yah see dad, whenever yah say or write me a script, yah sound like a messenger from God.  I wouldn’t change yah for the world, I’m sorry about all the bad things I said to yah; and like yah said in yah last script, yah hope I learn from my mistakes.  I think I have.

I hope yah ok though dad.  Don’t worry too much about me, I’m ok, I’m not in a crazy wing full up with murderers and ting, most of the mans dem in the wing are cool.

Well me ah go sign off now, I’ll sort out a day for yah to come and visit, so I’ll see yah soon.  I know mom is still vex and disapointed with me, cos she hasn’t answered any of my scripts.  Say hello to her for me and that I love her.

Til we see each other, take care of yahself dad and mom too –  Love always

Yah son – Micah

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*All rights reserved.  No part of this story may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior written permission of the writer Norman Samuda-Smith.*

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THE MUSICAL COA-COA BASKET

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 “One good thing about music, when it hits, you feel no pain.”

Bob Marley (1945 – 1981)

Music has always played an important role in all our lives, especially Reggae, the music genre first developed in Jamaica, strongly influenced by traditional African, American jazz and old-time rhythm and blues. Reggae owes its direct origins to the progressive development of Ska and Rocksteady in 1960s Jamaica. Each month, THE MUSICAL COA-COA BASKET will salute the legendary artists and recording studios from out of Jamaica that have placed reggae on the musical global map.

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NINEY (THE OBSERVER)

 

Winston “NINEY” Holness’s Observer label during the 1970s and up into the early 80s released many top hits by artists like the late greats Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs and Delroy Wilson; as well as current recording artists Michael Rose and Ken Boothe.  In fact, Dennis Brown’s hits for the Observer label are many of his most memorable. NINEY was one of Reggae’s greatest “Rebel” producers and took Reggae by storm throughout the 70s. It was NINEY who really launched Dennis Brown’s career and their collaboration resulted in some of the most enduring songs that Dennis ever recorded. NINEY also launched the career of Michael Rose who later went on to fame with the legendary Black Uhuru, as well as producing ever-lasting tracks for Gregory Isaacs, Delroy Wilson, Freddie McGregor, I Roy, Junior Byles and The Heptones, among others.

NINEY was always interested in music while growing up in Montego Bay, on Jamaica’s northwest coast. He started his involvement as a teenager when he moved to Hanover to live with his Grandmother.  While living there, he met up with some guys who went to Montana High School as well, they had a band, he worked and sang with them. However, the music business drew all aspiring young talent to Kingston. If you wanted to sing professionally at that time, you had two choices, try and join a hotel band on the north coast or go to Kingston and try your luck with one of the labels.  So after arriving in Kingston, NINEY quickly hooked up with a band of young producers like Lee Perry and Bunny Lee, who were to be the producers who challenged the supremacy of labels like Studio One and Treasure Isle.

Both NINEY and Lee Perry worked for Joe Gibbs, producing tracks for his Amalgamated label with NINEY taking over the top spot when Perry moved on to try a solo career.  After Gibbs retired the Amalgamated label, NINEY introduced Nicky Thomas to Gibbs who scored a huge hit with Thomas in the UK, “Love of the Common People”.  Dennis Brown was also introduced to Joe Gibbs by NINEY who felt that the Gibbs-penned “Money in My Pocket” would be a perfect vehicle for Dennis. Groups like The Heptones also benefited by NINEY’S growing producing skill while recording at Gibbs’  Duhaney Park studio.  It was during this period that NINEY started working on “Westbound Train” that Joe Gibbs felt should be released as an instrumental.

When NINEY decided to create his own Observer label, the groundwork was set, he had worked with some of the era’s top producers and scored hits for them.  His Observer label also set the stage for the close collaboration he was to enjoy with Dennis Brown over the ensuing years, starting with the hits “Westbound Train” and “Cassandra”.  NINEY was a force to be reckoned with.  He was young, savvy and most importantly, he had hits. Now he was producing one of Reggae’s young stars, one who exhibited large promise but who had not yet achieved the hits people were waiting for. NINEY, the “Rebel” producer had the perfect “Rebel” voice in Dennis Brown. With the growing success that NINEY was achieving, he turned to other singers and began creating hits for them; for example, Michael Rose’s “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”, changed his career. The song, a reference to the movie of the same name, substituted a parent’s worst nightmare, a ganja smoking Natty Dread for the benign Sidney Poitier, and it became a classic when released. This song helped propel Michael Rose, Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare to international superstardom.

NINEY (The Observer) was a hitmaker, creating a vast output of hits by a variety of artists that all enjoyed the tough ghetto production that he used to launch many careers. So kick back, click on the tracks below and enjoy some of the greatest hits of NINEY (The Observer).

Tribulation – Dennis Brown, We Got Love – Freddie McGregor, Left with a Broken Heart – Ken Boothe, Halfway Up the Stairs – Delroy Wilson, Blood and Fire – Niney the Observer, Rock on – Gregory Isaacs, Saturday Night – Christine,  Temptation, Botheration & Botheration – The Heptones, Teach Them Love – Observer All Stars, Live After You – Dennis Brown & The Heptones,  Slave Master – Gregory Isaacs & Dillinger, Jah is my Light – Leroy Smart & I-Roy

 

” ‘Til May – Everyting Bless “

FEATURED ARTICLE

 

 

 

THE AMAZING BENEFITS OF DRINKING LEMON WATER

  

Lemon is used medically for its antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties; these help reduce putrefaction and prevent disease by cleansing the system of impurities.  This is achieved by the high content of vitamin C and antioxidants; these facilitate the removal of dangerous free radicals from the body which in turn boosts immunity.  These make the lemon a fantastic liver cleanser, blood purifier and it also cuts through all the mucus membranes too, helping to reduce phlegm and mucus.

DIGESTIVE BENEFITS

Due to the digestive qualities of lemon juice, digestion problems such as heartburn, nausea, bloating, parasites and belching are relieved.  Drinking lemon juice daily also assists the bowels in eliminating waste more efficiently particularly useful for constipation.  Lemon juice acts as a liver tonic and helps digestion of food by assisting the liver to produce more bile.  It is deemed that next to drinking plain purified water, drinking lemon water daily is the most important thing you can do for your health.

  

WHY LEMON WORKS SO WELL

“Man does not live off the food he eats but off the energy that is produced from the food he eats.”

Lemon is one of the only foods on the planet that has more negatively charged ions of energy than positively charged ions in its atomic structure.  Saliva, hydrochloric acid, bile digestive juices are also negatively charged which is why they work so well together. 

It should be noted that pasteurized and packaged lemon juice are positively charged and, therefore ineffective as a health remedy.

 

ALTERNATIVE BENEFITS 

Lemon water is also useful in treating asthma, biliousness, colds, coughs, sore throats, diphtheria, flu, influenza, liver complaints, skin conditions, fevers and rheumatism.  When drunk daily, lemon water will also leave a refreshing affect on your face.  It revitalises the skin and results in a clear, healthy and glowing complexion.  During excessive menstruation the juice of three to four lemons a day may also help reduce symptoms, drink the juice of one lemon at a time in a glass of cold water.  The high potassium content is also fantastic at nourishing the brain and the nerve cells.

 

DIRECTIONS

Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into a large glass of boiled water; this should be drunk first thing in the morning before breakfast and any other fluids.  The liver cleanses the body when we are asleep, just think how dark your urine is first thing in the morning!  The lemon water acts as a flush through the body and also hydrates.

 

Stay healthy and of positive spirit.

 

‘Til May – Everyting Bless

THE CULTURE CORNER

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CULTURE CORNER ANTHEM THIS ISSUE

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“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture, is like a tree without roots.”

Marcus Mosiah Garvey (1887 – 1940)

Every year in October we celebrate BLACK HISTORY MONTH. Black history is with us every second, minute, hour, week, month and year. PANTHER NEWSLETTER’S CULTURE CORNER will attempt to enlighten you with what they never told you in your history class. Our story will be told right here – So enjoy the journey of clarification.

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Blacks in Britain (Part Four) 

Not widely known – But true…

 

In 1713 the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht turned the tide for Britain. It was a formal asiento or the right to provide Spain and its colonies with slaves. In the port of Bristol, the South Sea Company was awarded the right to supply Spanish colonies with 4,800 African slaves yearly. After the Treaty of Utrecht, the British quickly became the world’s pre-eminent slavers, increasing its market share in the lucrative slave trade from one-quarter in 1791 to more than one-half by 1806.

In 1729, the concepts of “slave” and “slavery” were shrouded in legal ambiguities. Britons traditionally maintained that Africans were enslaved because they were heathens. Questions arose surrounding the status of baptised slaves: “…were they automatically free, or could Africans become enslaved Christians?”  The Crown’s Law Officers ruled that: “a slave did not become free either by coming to Britain or Ireland or being baptised.” Nevertheless, the belief that Christian baptism freed the enslaved remained popular and caused many contradictory court rulings. Most slaves responded to the legal confusion by simply freeing themselves – the numbers of runaway slaves increased throughout the eighteenth century.

In 1731 Job ben Solomon, an non-European educated African whose father had descended from Muslim royalty, was captured in Gambia and sold to a Maryland slave owner. In a letter written to his father in Arabic, ben Solomon pleaded for his release. A British general took the letter to Oxford for translation and was so impressed by the writer’s level of education, he ordered that ben Solomon should be taken to England. There, ben Solomon became the darling of Britain’s intellectual set, was ” ‘lionized and feted by polite society,’ “and the elite fought over which lucky ones would have ” ‘the unusual spectacle of [having] a scholarly African in their midst.’ ” 

Between 1738 and 1739 Liverpool’s slave-trading peaked when its vessels travelled 52 times to Africa. While Bristol transported 16,640 slaves in 47 sailings, by the 1750’s, Liverpool had overtaken it as the chief British slave-trading port. This switch eclipsed Bristol’s historical record as England’s slave-trading capital: from the eleventh century it had claimed that right, and as late as 1685, Bristol’s traders had traffiked in white slavery.

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TRIBUTE TO OUR S/HEROES

 

Rosa Parks is the woman who sparked off the movement to rid America of the racial segregation laws. Her refusal to give up her seat for a white person on a bus in the American south led to her arrest in 1955 and earned her the title “Mother of the Movement”; The Black Civil Rights Movement led by Martin Luther King.

Aretha Franklin A.K.A The Queen of Soul, began her career as a gospel singer and then moved into the world of Soul Music. At the age of twelve, she made her first record and her greatest success came with the song ‘Respect’, which struck the right chord with The Black Civil Rights Movement in America during the 1960s.

Sade Adu, simply known as Sade, was born in Nigeria; Africa and raised on the east coast of England.  Her debut album in 1984, ‘Diamond Life’ sold over ten million copies in eighteen months and became the biggest selling debut album by any British female artist ever.

Brigadier General Benjamin O. Davis Snr (July 1 1877 – November 26 1970), was America’s first black army General.  He began his military career with The Eighth U.S Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the Spanish-American War. After rising through the ranks President D. Roosevelt promoted him to a One-Star Rank in 1940. He died at the age of 93.

Duke Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974), the African-American pianist, who was the greatest jazz composer and bandleader. One of the originators of big-band jazz, Ellington led his band for more than half a century, composed thousands of scores, and created one of the most distinctive ensemble sounds in all of Western music.

Samuel Kanyon Doe (1952 – 1990), was Liberia’s President from 1980 to 1990.  A dictator for ten years, he came to power at the age of 28 by killing the former leader William Tolbert. Liberia’s human rights record was poor during Doe’s reign. He was killed in 1990 during a civil war that broke out in the country.

Here ends your history lesson for this month.

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Log on for more CULTURE CORNER – MAY 31 2011 and remember…

“Me only have one ambition, y’know.  I only have one thing I really like to see happen.  I like to see mankind live together – black, white, Chinese, everyone – that’s all.”

Bob Marley (1945 – 1981)

 

” ‘Til May – Everyting Bless “