The Amazing Yam!

9.69...19.30...37.10



After the recent Olympic performance it would not take a genius to figure out what those series of numbers represent. They send a very loud message that once again Jamaica is ‘large and in charge’. The saying ‘we run tings… tings nuh run we’ takes on added meaning after the glorious exploits of both our female and male athletes. We will need time to come down from the high of watching the three women blazing the track to come first second and second. I wondered what kind of new math that is. I always thought it was first, second and third. Or how does one comprehend Usain Bolt’s breaking of Michael Johnson’s 200m record (even Michael Johnson was astonished). Also, there was no more beautiful a sight than ‘Afaster’ Powell on the anchor leg of the 4x100.


All these exploits have opened up much debate about national pride and patriotism and the lessons to be learned from the awesome performances. In the midst of this what started out as a joke, may become a source of serious debate. Did the “lowly and sometimes maligned” Yam, contribute to our athletes’ success?


The infamous email joke stated that the message on the package said ‘Gi dis to Asafa, Usain and Veronica so dem can win ah di Olympics’. As soon as the Chinese officials saw it, they confiscated the package. On opening it what do you think they found? Yes, you guessed it...Yam!


YA’ M.AN
There are approximately 200 different varieties of yams with flesh colors varying from white to ivory to yellow to purple while their thick skin comes in white, pink or brownish-black. Although it is uncertain from which country yams originated, yams are one of the oldest food plants known. They have been cultivated for thousands of years in Africa and Asia. Well known for its high fibre content, which acts as a natural laxative, yams are now being increasingly recognized for their other health benefits.


YAMS AND ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE
Carbohydrate food is the most efficient fuel for energy production and can also be stored as glycogen in muscle and liver, functioning as a readily available energy source for prolonged, strenuous exercise. For these reasons, carbohydrates may be the most important nutrient for sports performance. Depending on training intensity and duration, athletes require up to 4.5 grams of carbohydrates per day per pound of body weight or 60 to 70 percent of total dietary calories from carbohydrates, whichever is greater. Yams’ complex carbohydrates and fiber deliver the goods gradually, slowing the rate at which their sugars are released and absorbed into the bloodstream. Because they’re rich in fiber, yams fill you up without filling out your hips and waistline. Yams are also a good source of manganese, a trace mineral that helps with carbohydrate metabolism and is a cofactor in a number of enzymes important in energy production and antioxidant defenses. A good supply of antioxidants from food or drinks is very important for any exercise regime, the more intense the workout, the more antioxidants will be consumed. Yams are supercharged with Vitamins A, C and E, zinc, and selenium which are potent antioxidants.


CARDIO-HEALTH
Yams are a good source of both potassium and vitamin B6, two nutrients that your body need every day. Vitamin B6 helps your body break down a substance called homocysteine, which can cause damage to blood vessel walls. High intakes of vitamin B6 have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease.


Potassium is a mineral that is important in the control of blood pressure. In the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) study, one study group ate servings of fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy food in place of snacks and sweets. This approach offered more potassium, magnesium and calcium. After eight weeks, this group lowered their blood pressure by an average of 5.5 points (systolic) over 3.0 points (diastolic). Yams also contain a storage protein called Dioscorin. Preliminary research suggests that Dioscorin can help your body to achieve increased kidney blood flow thereby reducing blood pressure.


WOMEN’S HEALTH
Most dietary studies have found that women receiving high amounts of nutrients from fruits and vegetables have less risk of cervical dysplasia, which can lead to cervical cancer. Protective effects may be especially strong from diets high in dark yellow and orange vegetables including yams. There are also some products in the marketplace that promote wild yam or wild yam extracts as substances that can help provide a natural alternative to hormonal replacement in women who have reached the age of menopause. Some of these products are provided in the form of creams that can be topically applied. It is thought that this effect may be due to a substance called Diosgenin, which has progesterone like activity and may help to alleviate menopausal symptoms and lower the risk of osteoporosis. Vitamin B6 also found in yams has also been used to treat menopausal symptoms and is also quite popular in supplements used in the treatment of PMS.


So, whether you boil it, roast it, bake it, slice it, mash it, or drink it…the debate around yams may result in us all improving on our nutrition. Nuh linga!


Dr. C. Watson, MRCOG FACOG MBA DFFP, is Medical Director and Director of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at MoBay Hope Medical Centre, which is located at the Half Moon Shopping Village, Rose Hall, Montego Bay. Dr. Watson also consults at the Montego Bay Hospital, Mt. Salem.

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Kartel and Movado at war...again!

The long-festering conflict between top dancehall personalities DJ Vybz Kartel and DJ Mavado is threatening to explode into what could be a dangerous street war in light of the rumours and accusations flying around.
The last such rumour is that Kartel’s car was firebombed outside the gates of his upscale residential home on Monday morning.

However, Kartel has shot down rumours that his Honda Accord motorcar was firebombed by thugs on a motorcyle.
“Ridiculous! Nutten no go so,” a calm-sounding Vybz Kartel told XtraNews. “The Honda had an electrical problem and the firemen from Half-Way-Tree came and extinguished the blaze. That’s all, my car was not firebombed.”

Checks with the HWT Fire Station revealed that a formal report had already been submitted to the York Park HQ regarding the incident.
“At the end of the day, Jamaicans should know it’s just music, no physical altercation. Mi no have nothing against David. If he does (have anything) against me, I don’t see it. My focus now is on positive songs like ‘Money Fi Spend’, ‘Million By A Morning’, and ‘Life Sweet’, uplifting songs for Jamaica. So don’t expect me to perform those clash songs onstage, just regular thug anthems and daggering songs. Money over war,” he said.

Vybz Kartel has been involved in a lyrical clash with David ‘Mavado’ Brooks, a member of the Alliance in recent weeks, with the two exchanging hardcore disses on the Martial Arts rhythm resurrected by Cordel ‘Skatta’ Burrell.
According to industry insiders, Kartel had voiced a song called ‘Send a Hell’ before Mavado kicked off the lyrical war when he voiced ‘Dem A Fag’ on ‘Skatta’s microwaved rhythm, the Martial Arts.

Mavado, in his dis song, makes references to Kartel’s tattoos and takes umbrage with a well-known Kartel line about ‘not wanting to know God’. In the song, Mavado spits in his distinctive voice: “De bwoy dem a fag, dem a fag, ah b—-an alone nuh waan know God, well bleach out and full a tattoo like Rod”.
However, Kartel’s response, ‘Weh Dat Fah’ is caustic, delivered with chest-thumping swagger and fury, and the listener is immediately keyed into the head-knocking intensity of the track. He drops a kicker of a chorus where he suggests that he is having relations with Mavado’s mother while repeatedly asking ‘wah dat fah?’

And for the umpteenth time, Kartel makes several references to Mavado’s effeminate brother, and he also questions Mavado’s street credentials, dubbing him a ‘community barber’. He also draws attention to Mavado’s potentially blasphemous title, Gully Gadd, and declares “tell Gadd say Selassie is my Emperor”.
Kartel also addressed rumours in the street that his right-hand soldier, Jeffrey Hype, had been punched in the face by Mavado, while both were at the Constant Spring Police Station.

“That is preposterous. How could (something like) that have happened before cops without anyone being arrested? That is not true,” he reasoned.
When contacted, Portmore Empire street manager, Jeffrey Hype said that, “Ah music me ah deal wid, nothin’ else. Mi nah stop play ‘Wah Dat Fah’ inna mi vehicle, that is my answer, mi no have nothing else fi say.”

Sources close to Mavado’s camp said this was all about a lyrical war and they had no interest in it getting physical. According to the source, however, Mavado plans to tek it to Kartel on stage Irie Jamboree in New York on Sunday.

“Kartel caan test Mavado, whether in lyrics or anyting, suh Kartel fi jus easy himself, cause Mavado a bigga artiste fi him. Mavado international, Kartel local. Him just a look a hype cause nothing nah gwaan fi him. Kartel fi guh siddung wid him bleachout face,” said a Mava

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Powell vows to break record

published: Thursday | September 4, 2008

Asafa Powell on his way to victory in the 100m at the Athletissima meet in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Tuesday. - AP

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (CMC):

FORMER 100-METRE world record holder Asafa Powell, inspired by fellow countryman Usain Bolt, has vowed to reclaim his world mark, but knows it is going to take a time faster than 9.60 seconds to do so.

Since the sudden emergence of Bolt, who remarkably broke Powell's world record in May and then lowered his own mark to win the 100m at the Beijing Olympics, Powell has since become the forgotten Jamaican sprinter.

Powell has failed to shine at the major World Championship and Olympic meets, but the Common-wealth Games champion still believes he has what it takes to run very fast, and admits that Bolt's 9.69 world mark in Beijing has inspired him to go below 9.60 seconds.

"Two years ago I said to myself I could go 9.65 or faster, but based on how Usain is running it's my aim now to go below 9.6," Powell told a news conference in Lausanne on Tuesday after a brilliant win in 9.72 seconds.

Astonishing

"Usain can obviously run very fast but I'm not going to put him out of my reach," added Powell, who finished an astonishing fifth in Beijing after being one of the gold medal favourites.

Bolt's majestic run in the Bird's Nest stadium in China's capital stunned everyone, including Powell, who is no stranger to running fast times.

Powell was surprised at the manner at which the feat was accomplished, the 6-foot-5-inch Bolt smashing his own world mark with arms open celebrating victory about 15 metres before the finish.

Fastest man

Powell concedes that his compatriot is definitely the fastest man on the planet at the moment, but remains confident of running back into the limelight.

"I'd say in the Olympic 100m it looked like Usain could have run 9.63, 9.65 maybe," said Powell.

He added "I was shocked to see what he did in the race, it was ridiculous. I can't imagine the times he's capable of running at the moment. He's the man to beat right now but before it was me and if I can break another world record then I'll be the one back in the spotlight."

Powell ran his 43rd sub-10 second timing for the 100m on Tuesday when he equalled the second fastest time ever to win the event in Lausanne in a remarkable 9.72 seconds.

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American Airlines paid to stay

published: Thursday | September 4, 2008

Arthur Hall, Senior Staff Reporter

The Government could pay out as much as US$4.5 million (J$324 million) over the next 12 months to American Airlines to ensure that it does not cut flights to Jamaica.

Expensive jet fuel and a soft United States economy have caused American Airlines to announce cuts in daily flights out of its Caribbean hub in Puerto Rico, from 93 to 51 this month.

Already gone are flights to Antigua, St Maarten, Aruba, Santo Domingo and Samana in the Dominican Republic.

Willing to pay

But with a projected sharp increase in visitor arrivals, Jamaican authorities are trying to ensure that the airline continues its flights into the island and are willing to pay the airline to keep landing in Kingston and Montego Bay.

The cash guarantee is being financed by the Tourism Enhancement Fund and its chairman, Godfrey Dyer, is defending the deal, which was negotiated by Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett.

"It is a very good investment. This is something that we support, and when it came before my board, we examined it and we believed it would be money well spent," Dyer said.

According to Dyer, a similar programme existed years ago, financed by Jamaica Vacations Limited, but it was discontinued because of a lack of funds.

He said the money would only be paid to the airline if it failed to get an established minimum number of passengers on its flights into the island.

Dyer did not state the minimum passenger level agreed on, arguing that this was sensitive information.

However, he told The Gleaner that American Airlines was selected because it had more capacity than any other airline coming into the island.

"A number of our Caribbean neighbours, which had flights coming in seven days a week, are now having flights one day a week, so Jamaica, today, is the only Caribbean island that has adequate seats coming into the island."

Dyer dismissed claims that the decision to offer American Airlines a guarantee would put Air Jamaica at a disadvantage.

"Air Jamaica is being subsidised by the Government anyhow, so this is no unfair advantage to American Airlines," Dyer added.

Price pinch

Regional tourism interests have repeatedly warned that the flow of visitors to the island could be slashed as airline ticket prices soar and flights are sharply reduced.

The flight rollbacks are coming despite increases in tourism last year to most of the islands, including double-digit growth in United States visitors to Antigua, St Lucia and Jamaica.

The Caribbean is not the only region being affected by flight cuts as, in May, American Airlines announced steep cuts in flights around the world.

The reduction, almost double what American forecast in April, resulted in the elimination of at least 300 flights a day from the 4,300 that it and its regional affiliates offered. It also led to the elimination of more than 6,000 jobs.

Efforts to get a comment from American Airlines yesterday were unsuccessful.

arthur.hall@gleanerjm.com

Fact about the TEF

The Tourism Enhancement Fund was established under the PNP administration in 2005 to provide a pool of dedicated funds for the express purpose of impro-ving the tourism product.

The broad areas of interest include resort development, product development and beautification.

Specific projects targeted for funding are required to satisfy such criteria as the capacity to be self-sustaining; boosting economic prosperity; increasing the competitiveness of the tourism product; promoting resort development; and, focusing on heritage and culture.

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Criminal courtrooms to get computers

Thursday, September 04, 2008

JUDGES presiding over criminal cases in the Supreme Court will, as of September 16, no longer have to go through the laborious task of taking trial notes by hand.

Justice Minister Dorothy Lightbourne said yesterday that computers are to be installed in all the criminal courtrooms, allowing judges to view and save to their computers the notes being taken by stenographers.

"I had asked for three courtrooms [to be equipped with computers] but our technical people say that they may be able to put it in all the courtrooms," said Lightbourne.
She was addressing yesterday's opening of a three-day regional conference on 'The Media and the Caribbean Justice System', at the Hilton Kingston Hotel.

A number of Jamaican judges have over the years complained about still having to take notes by hand, a function that has been phased out in most jurisdictions across the globe.

Yesterday, Lightbourne said that the implementation of the computerised system, which was recommended by the Justice Reform Task Force, will also result in speedy trials and appeals, where necessary, and help to clear the backlog of criminal cases.

Said Lightbourne: "You know that at the moment, judges take notes by hand and it slows up trials. So [with the new system] the trial will proceed speedily. Not only that, but at the end of the day, the transcript of evidence will be available to defence counsel and will also speed up the disposal of appeal cases because appeals cannot be heard until the transcripts are prepared."

The minister was, however, unable to say when the system would be rolled out in the civil courts at the Supreme Court or Resident Magistrate's Courts across the island.

The deadline for the implementation of the reform task force recommendations is 2017.

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Burke slams PNP

Cites massive corruption in delegate selection

ERICA VIRTUE, Observer writer virtuee@jamaicaobserver.com Friday, September 05, 2008

JUST over two weeks before the People's National Party (PNP) votes in internal elections for a new leader, influential and long-serving member Paul Burke has stung the Opposition party with a damning criticism of its delegate selection process which he labelled as fraught with corruption and which, he said, the party hierarchy has chosen to ignore.

Burke, who has had a long history of advocating strict adherence to the party's constitution, principles and objectives, stunned his audience on Tuesday evening at a lecture during which he presented letters he had written to PNP leaders between July 22 and August 11 this year complaining of massive fraud in the party's group system.

The lecture, titled 'Protecting and Advancing Norman Manley's Legacy in the PNP's 70th year' was held on the 39th anniversary of the death of Manley, a founder of the party and one of Jamaica's national heroes.

"There is no doubt that there are powerful forces who have long wanted to control democracy within the People's National Party." said Burke.

He described the growth, escalation and continued expansion of corruption in the party as a failure of leadership and said many of the party's leaders behave like ostriches when they see danger.

"The facts are, however, that they have put their heads in the sand to ingest gravel for their digestion, but many a time, while ingesting sand and blind to the danger lurking, they are preyed upon and lose their very limbs that they are trying to sustain."

Titling his collection of eight letters 'Seasonal and Paper Groups and Their Bogus Delegates, the Cancer Within the PNP and the Threat to Democracy', Burke outlined the corruption in the party which has dogged it, especially between 1989 and 2006 when it formed the Government.

Arguing that the seasonal groups often have tacit support from the secretariat at the local and national levels, Burke said that the people who register hundreds of non-existent groups fabricate membership and have them registered "without even going to duly constituted constituency committee meetings, but just get the constituency secretary to sign the forms, in clear breach of Rule 37, and are never criticised" or sanctioned "but are rewarded with a power base of paper delegates and often end up wielding real power in the party".

"We have been covering up the real truth about the magnitude of paper and non-functioning groups for too long because we have long boasted that we are the most democratic party in Jamaica and the Caribbean. Nothing could be further from the truth," said Burke.

He said that during a meeting with PNP members in a rural constituency on August 9, comrades openly admitted that the groups did not exist, that Jamaica Labour Party supporters were on lists and persons were finding out for the first time that they were chairmen and secretaries of groups.

"This is not confined to any one constituency," he said.
He highlighted Kingston Central, represented by Deacon Ronald Thwaites, as a constituency that, over the years, has made every effort at maintaining functional party groups and which, from all indications, "makes no attempt to form paper groups".

"They have set a sterling example for real democracy within their own constituency," said Burke.
In contrast, he pointed to St Andrew East Central, represented by presidential challenger Dr Peter Phillips.

"With 290 registered party groups in the constituency, there would be a minimum membership of 2,900 delegates if each group has been registered with the bare minimum of 10 members," said Burke. "If 97 per cent of the members live, and/or vote in the constituency, this would mean 2,813 persons actually belong to the constituency, and would further mean that one of every 2.2 voters in the constituency would be a member of the PNP. This is a fantastic and extraordinary feat in a constituency ranked 39th in real PNP support and fourth from the bottom in terms of voter turnout of the electorate."

He said that in 2007, with the exception of two groups, all other groups in the constituency went into abeyance.
"If we are to believe what we see on paper, in terms of groups, this is clearly and indisputably and by far, the strongest and best organised constituency in Jamaica, not only today, but ever in the 70-year history of the PNP," said Burke.

He said his example was not influenced by Phillips' challenge, but merely because it was the constituency recorded with the most PNP groups in Jamaica. "If this was the constituency being represented by [PNP president] Comrade Portia Simpson Miller, I would be taking the very same position," said Burke.

In an apparent effort to prove that point, Burke referred to a 2003 report from the PNP's powerful Region 3, which he once headed, and which was published in the party's 65th annual conference report. That Region 3 report slammed Simpson Miller's St Andrew South West constituency for perpetuating the same fraud.

"I am dealing with an issue and not any personality," said Burke, who campaigned for Simpson Miller in the 2006 PNP presidential election which she won.

When the matter of the large numbers of groups was raised publicly in early August, it was not denied by neither Phillips' Arise and Renew team nor the party secretariat, which said 290 groups were registered and fully functional.

On September 20, the party will elect either Simpson Miller or Dr Phillips as president. Phillips' challenge has re-opened divisions created by the 2006 contest which, political analysts said, contributed to the PNP's general election loss to the JLP last September.

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