Convido a todos os amigos leitores a visitarem a Revista Bacamarte, belíssimo projeto editorial com periodicidade mensal, já na terceira edição, com poesias, contos, art

 

  

Los Angeles police under scrutiny in Jackson death
By LINDA DEUTSCH and THOMAS WATKINS, AP
L. Michael Jackson.Investigation

The rented home of Michael Jackson seen from the air, Monday, June 29, 2009,...


LOS ANGELES — The investigation of Michael Jackson's death is widening as questions intensify about the drugs he took, the doctors who provided them and the actions of police.

Why didn't police seal the mansion where he had been living? Why were moving vans seen at the home, and were any items removed before police wrapped up their search? Why didn't they get immediate search warrants? Why did they tow away a doctor's car right after the death but not declare the home a crime scene?

Los Angeles police say proper procedures were followed based on the circumstances officers encountered when they were called to the home at 12:21 p.m. on June 25. A doctor was attending to Jackson and stayed with him when he was placed in an ambulance at 1:07 p.m. There was no sign of foul play.

Others say police should have assumed it was possible a crime occurred and taken precautions to ensure the scene was not disrupted so evidence wasn't lost or tainted.

"If I was the chief detective on the case, I would have said, 'We don't know what's going on. We should seal the scene,'" said defense attorney Harland Braun, who has represented celebrities including Robert Blake, Roseanne and Gary Busey. "You always have to think of the worst-case scenario and you have to think fast. I would have sealed the scene just because it was Michael Jackson."

Whether the Jackson probe turns into a criminal investigation hinges on what evidence emerges involving the drugs. Charges could be brought if authorities determine Jackson had been overly prescribed medications, if he had been given drugs inappropriate for his medical needs, or if doctors knowingly prescribed Jackson medications under an assumed name.

It's still not known what caused Jackson's death at age 50. The pop star went into cardiac arrest in his bedroom and his personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, performed CPR while an ambulance was called, according to Murray's lawyers. Murray has spoken to police and authorities say he is not a suspect, though his actions have come under scrutiny because his own lawyers acknowledge it may have taken up to a half-hour for an ambulance to be summoned.

An autopsy was conducted but results are not expected for several weeks. The Jackson family had a second autopsy performed and those results also are pending.

On Wednesday, The Associated Press learned Los Angeles police asked the Drug Enforcement Administration to assist in the investigation.

DEA agents participated in the investigation of the 2007 overdose death of Anna Nicole Smith at a Florida hotel. California Attorney General Jerry Brown investigated her former boyfriend and two of her doctors.

Brown handed the investigation over to the Los Angeles district attorney's office, which filed charges of conspiring to provide Smith with prescription drugs.

Brown said the suspects broke the law because Smith was a "known addict." The former boyfriend and doctors denied the charges.

The DEA also probed whether painkillers found in actor Heath Ledger's system after his death last year were obtained illegally. Federal prosecutors did not charge anyone.

Jean Rosenbluth, a University of Southern California law professor, said the agency's involvement in the Jackson case suggests authorities are looking into whether drugs came from out of state. Murray lives in Las Vegas and is licensed to practice in Texas, Nevada and California.

Federal drug regulations include controls over whether and how frequently a doctor can write prescriptions over the phone, and DEA agents could be looking to see if these rules were broken, Rosenbluth said.

"You can't just get on the phone and continue to prescribe something for someone without having seen them for a long period of time," she said.

Jackson had a well-known history of using prescription medications, especially painkillers. Following his death, Cherilyn Lee, a registered nurse who had worked for Jackson, told the AP she repeatedly rejected his demands for the drug Diprivan, also known as Propofol. It's a potent anesthetic used in operating rooms and it would be highly unusual to have it in a private home.

Uri Geller, a former Jackson confidant, said he tried to keep Jackson from abusing painkillers and other prescription drugs, but others in the singer's circle kept him supplied.

"When Michael asked for something, he got it," Geller said in a telephone interview from his suburban London home.

Jackson had multiple doctors and many others like Geller who came in and out of his life. Which people are being interviewed by police is unclear because the LAPD has said virtually nothing about the probe.

"I am not going to make any comments on the investigation," Commander Patrick Gannon, the designated police spokesman on the Jackson case, said by e-mail Thursday.

Any evidence would be turned over to the district attorney's office, which has final say on criminal charges.

One of the key questions is why it took four days for police to issue a search warrant and remove medications from Jackson's home.

Although the home wasn't declared a crime scene, police did tow Murray's car the evening of the death to look for potential evidence.

Vernon J. Geberth, former commanding officer of the Bronx Homicide Task force in New York, said police should have known they were dealing with an extraordinary situation.

"If it's a high-profile person, you have to do more than you would do ordinarily," he said.

Still, Geberth, who now acts as a private forensic consultant, said he believes the LAPD acted appropriately.

"Having a doctor present altered the equation. It was not a homicide scene. It was an emergency medical scene," he said.

Police spokesman Lt. John Romero declined to comment when asked if the LAPD was reviewing its handling of the investigation.

Rosenbluth said if the case ends up as a criminal prosecution, any defense attorney would seize on the LAPD's failure to immediately seal Jackson's home.

"If you can get even one juror think, I don't know, maybe somebody fiddled with the medicine before the police came in and collected it, that's reasonable doubt," she said. "All that the defense attorney needs is one juror."

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 

Europa en los años 20 moviò a los jòvenes de la generaciòn perdida  , a viajar desde Nueva York , por la opciòn  de que en Parìs se vivia bien con poco dinero  . En la novela " Parìs es una fiesta " refleja el entorno de la generaciòn perdida  . El escritor Robert E . Spiller , en su historia de la literatura norteamericana  : " Nacidos en su mayorìa en la dècada final del siglo anterior  , y criados en los años en que la naciòn alcanzaba su madurez como potencia mundial ,  estuvieron muy dispuestos  a considerarse perdidos cuando en el momento de llegar a hombres se veìan hundidos en lo que parecìa el colapso de la civilizaciòn occidental " . Estos jòvenes perdidos han visto nacer el nazismo , el socialismo , el facismo . Han reido con Buster Keaton , Harold LLoyd  . Bailan charleston . Los escritores màs relevantes son Theodore Dreiser , Sherwood  Anderson , Sinclair Lewis y Gertubre Stein  , Dashiell Hammet  . Los màs conocidos escritores de la generaciòn perdida , son Ernest Hemingway  y Francis Scott Fitzgerald , y con su obra  El derrumbe " , señala lo complicado que es ser escritor despuès de la Primera guerra mundial . Gertrude Stein , en su salòn de la rue de fleurus se convirtiò en una mama grande de escritores como  Hemingway . Miss Stein habìa llegado a Parìs antes de la Primera guerra mundial , concentrando en torno a su librerìa  una nutrida cantidad de artistas y intelectuales , fascinado ante la tolerancia que emanaba la americana. Nacida en 1870 . en una familia pudiente . Estudiò medicina , al poco tiempo abandono la Universidad  . Su hermano Leo influyò en su decisiòn de ir a Parìs . Leo descubriò el mìtico departamento en el 27 de la fure de fleurus que su hermana hizo tan famoso .La metiò en el conocimiento de la pintura moderna a travès de Cezzane , Gaugin , Renoir y Toulouse - Lautrec . Picasso y Matisse fueron asiduos visitantes a las tertulias que se realizaban los sàbados por la tarde , como tambièn lo fueron  los poetas Guillaume Apollinaire y Max Jacob . Gertubre Stein escribiò su primer libro " three lives " en 1908 . En 1933 publica  " Autobiografìa de Alice B Toklas " .  En 1930 publica " Dix Portraits " , ilustrado por Picasso . El poeta  y crìtico Ezra Pound , fue uno de los primeros en llegar a Parìs , desde Inglaterra , donde habìa pasado los años de guerra . Habìa llegado a la conclusiòn de que " Londres estaba muerto " , escribiò a William Carlos William en 1920 . Tambièn llegò el escritor Sherwood Anderson en 1921 , habìa publicado  " Winesburg Ohio " , que da iniciò a su fama literaria . En 1921 llega Hemingway  y Francis Scott Fitezgerald , "el  golden boy "de la generaciòn perdida  . Scott provenìa de una familia arribista y de poco dinero , pero logro ser educado en exclusivos colegios en Newman Academy de Boston y en la Universidad de Princeton . En 1920 publica  " A este lado del paraiso " con 24 años . El escritor chileno Luis Dominguez en un ensayo sobre la obra del escritor : " Su ser irreflexivo , romàntico , actor de sì mismo , que  parece zambullirse a ojos cerrados en al sociedad , para salir a flote con una leyenda , casi  y ese otro , su ser lùcido ,  casi cruel consigo mismo , que no espera piedad para sì por muy mal que ande sino que la se clama o continùa reclamàndola para los otros " . El escritor junto con su esposa Zelda  Sayre derrocharon el dinero , hasta comprarse un Roll Royce  . Otros escritores vivian sumidos en la miseria y que fueron protegidos por Sylvia Beach , llamada por Hemingway Madame Shakespeare , por ser la dueña de la elegante librerìa  " Shakespeare Company " . La librerìa se abriò en 1919 en la rue dupuytren . El escritor Hemingway entrò a la librerìa , sin dinero . Sylvia fue amable con el escritor y le presto algunos libros . En 1920 conociò al escritor irlandès James Joyce , que fue un asiduo visitante en su librerìa . En 1914 , Joyce escribìa su obra cumbre " Ulises " que terminarìa en 1921 . En 1918 aparecen fragmentos de Ulises en Lihe Review   de Nueva Yrok , que fue acusada de obscena . Sylvia financio la publicaciòn de Ulises y James  Joyce acepto encantado . En 1922 el libro estuvo listoa cuando el escritor cumplio sus 40 años . Natalie Clifford Barney , dueña de un salòn cultural de la generaciòn perdida , por su caracter irreverente y  inquieto  . En 1909 , la Clifford Barney  , habìa adquirido un apartamenteo en la rue jacob , donde estuvo el salòn , todos los viernes . Asistìan escritores  de la talla de Paul Valery , Colette , Rilke  . El poeta Ezra Pound fue su gran amigo . La colonia literaria llamado el barrio , en el centro de Montparnasse , existia cuatro cafès : " La Coupole " " Le select" " La rotonda"  " Le dome"  . En 1925 , los criticos literarios comentadon de la escuela de la rotonde , para referirse  a la nueva corriente de la literatura americana . Entre idas y venidas , de Nueva York a Parìs , Scott terminò su segunda novela " Los bellos y malditos " , en 1922 . en 1925 , publica  " El gran Gatsby     2 , y T.S . Eliote cree que es " El primer paso de la novela norteamericana desde Henry James " . En la primavera , en 1925 , Scott conoce a Hemingway en Parìs  . Es el encuentro entre la fragilidad y la rudeza . Hemingway , con novelas como Fiesta ( 1926 ) , Adiòs a las armas (1929)  , Por quièn doblan las campanas (1940) ,  El viejo y el mar (1952)  .  Aquellos escritores de la generaciòn perdida , compartieron los sueños y un dìa lo perdieron aquella etapa que fue tan breve como el ladrido de un perro de una comarca vecina . Solo quedo el pasado de que la vida literaria fue un hermoso sueño narrativo , en el atardecer , en las calles de Parìs .

 

 

MARIETTA MORALES RODRÌGUEZ

 

 

Voy a detener el tiempo…

Con el roce de tu boca…

Y con tus ojos en mi espejo

Detendré tu reflejo

Para envolverlo en un susurro…

Ya siento el murmullo,

Ágil en tu reacción...

No te veo pero mi corazón

Predice tu reacción

A mis palabras locas.

 

 

     

 

 

                      Autor/a: reisel (Jennifer concha)

 

It brings Joy to my heart to hear that Michael Jackson wills complete and sole custody of his children to his mother!!!.
I am grateful to him for the beautiful music and for leaving a third of his great fortune to charity. I pray that it goes straight to the needy children he wants it given to.
RIP dear Michael
I know you are with angels!
Clarita

 

ESTE LUNES  6  DE  JULIO  , SE VIENE LA SEGUNDA LECTURA DESCENTRALIZACIÒN POÈTICA EN ANTOFAGASTA . EN EL CAFÈ DEL SOL ( ESMERALDA 2013) , A PARTIR DE LAS 10:00 DE LA  NOCHE  . ESTAN INVITADOS TODOS LOS POETAS DE ANTOFAGASTA , A LEER SUS POEMAS Y PRESENTAR SUS PERFOMACE O MONÒLOGOS  .

 

LES SALUDA FRATERNALMENTE

MARIETTA MORALES RODRÌGUEZ

COORDINADORA DESCENTRALIZACIÒN POÈTICA ANTOFAGASTA .

 

 

The Pan African Parliamentarians’ Network on Climate Change has urged the continent’s leaders to adopt a common position during the Copenhagen conference.

African Parliamentarians want the continent’s leaders to increase the number of negotiators, adopt a common position and speak with once voice in order to obtain a fair deal during the UN conference on climate change scheduled for December 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The President of the Permanent Executive Committee of the Pan African Parliamentarians’ Network on Climate Change (PAPNCC), Cameroonian –born, Hon. Awudu Mbaya Cyprian made the declaration yesterday, June 29 after presenting the 13-member executive committee of the network to the Speaker of Cameroon’s National Assembly, Hon. Cavaye Yeguie Djibril. The executive committee was put in place during the PAPNCC conference that took place in Yaounde from June 25-27, 2009.

After the audience with the House Speaker, Hon. Awudu Mbaya also presented the executive committee of PAPNCC and the Yaounde declaration made after their conference to Prime Minister, Head of Government, Ephraim Inoni. He also used the audience to inform the Head of Government of the choice of Cameroon to host the headquarters of the Pan African Parliamentarians’ Network on Climate Change.

Hon. Awudu Mbaya had almost an identical message to the press after the audiences with the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Prime Minister. He said that for Africa to be given a just, equitable and favourable deal during the Copenhagen conference organised to review the Kyto Protocol, part of the UN Convention on climate change, “Africa must have a common stand and speak with one voice”. African Parliamentarians, he said, resolved during the Yaounde conference to go back, sensitise and keep their respective governments and parliaments informed of the need to increase the number of negotiators and to speak with one voice at Copenhagen. They would also sensitise other parliaments and countries to effectively join the fight against climate change. This is because Africa that contributes less than four percent to the increasing concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that cause climate change, suffers most from its negative effects.

The Pan African Parliamentarians’ Network on Climate Change has requested Cameroon’s House Speaker, Hon. Cavaye Yeguie Djibril to transmit the Yaounde declaration of the network’s conference to the assembly of African Heads of State who will meet for the African Union summit in Sirte, Libya from July 1-3, 2009.

www.cameroon-tribune.cm

C’est avec l’adoption des deux projets de loi déposés par le gouvernement concernant l’assainissement du secteur immobilier que la deuxième session législative de l’année a été clôturée hier, en soirée. En effet, les textes sur la vente d’immeubles à construire et la location-accession à la propriété immobilière ont été adoptés au cours d’une plénière houleuse, en présence du ministre du Développement urbain et de l’Habitat, Clobert Tchatat. Dans son discours de clôture, le président de l’Assemblée nationale, Cavaye Yeguié Djibril, a fait le bilan d’une session « pleine et riche ». Il a surtout exhorté les parlementaires à unir leurs efforts, quels que soient les bords politiques, afin de sortir de la « zone de turbulence » dans laquelle se trouvent actuellement le Cameroun et le monde entier. Nous reviendrons avec plus de détails sur les leçons de cette session dans nos prochaines éditions

www.cameroon-tribune.cm

Le Cameroun sera-t-il le prochain pays africain secoué par l'affaire des "biens mal acquis"? A ce jour, la procédure judiciaire qui vise à déterminer le patrimoine "français" de certains chefs d'Etat se limite au Gabon, au Congo-Brazzaville et à la Guinée équatoriale. Mais le Comité catholique contre la faim et pour le développement (CCFD), une ONG qui a joué un rôle déclencheur dans la première enquête, s'intéresse désormais au Cameroun de Paul Biya, au pouvoir depuis 1982.
Dans son rapport rendu public ce mercredi 24 juin, le comité évoque notamment la "magnifique Villa Isis", à Roquebrune-Cap-Martin (Alpes-Maritimes), appartenant semble-t-il à Franck Biya, le fils du président. Interrogé par L'Express, l'entourage de ce dernier répond qu'il n'y a là "rien d'anormal pour un homme qui dirige une importante société forestière". Plus surprenant: le CCFD s'interroge aussi sur l'aide du Cameroun à l'Osti, une organisation ésotérique dont le nom était apparu, en 1999, dans les investigations sur la secte de l'Ordre du temple solaire.
L'Osti (Ordre souverain du temple initiatique) a été fondé en 1988 par Raymond Bernard. Cet homme décédé en 2006 était connu pour ses ­activités rosicruciennes, templières et maçonniques, mais aussi pour ses liens financiers avec l'Afrique noire francophone. Se présentant comme un "conseiller" de Paul Biya, il affirmait, en 1998, que celui-ci était président d'honneur du Circes (l'une des branches de l'Osti) dans son pays et se ­montrait donc très "généreux" à son égard.
En 1990, il aurait même aidé l'organisation à acquérir son siège parisien, rue Beaunier (XIVe). Le montant du prêt? 40 millions de francs, remboursables en 99 ans et sans intérêts! Une partie de cette somme avait alors été versée par la Société nationale des hydrocarbures, un établissement public camerounais, sur le compte de Raymond Bernard au Crédit lyonnais.
Interrogée sur ce point, la présidence nie toute relation avec les templiers et assure n'avoir "jamais consenti un tel prêt". Seul problème: l'Osti lui-même, sollicité par L'Express, ne conteste pas avoir reçu 40 millions de francs de Paul Biya. L'actuel responsable de l'association, Yves Jayet, nous indique même, par courriel, que ce prêt "fait l'objet de remboursements importants comptabilisés chaque année depuis 1999"!?Le grand maître ne précise pas qui est le destinataire des remboursements.
www.lexpressplus.com

WELCOME to the UN Youth Flash, a service of the United Nations Programme on
Youth to keep you informed about the work of the UN on youth issues. You are
encouraged to use and forward the information below to other networks. This
update is prepared with input from UN offices, agencies, funds and
programmes. UN Youth Flash can also be read on-line at: http://
www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/flash.htm.

                    ***********

Olivos de mi tierra

Olivos de Castilla, la humilde, la callada;
notarios inmutables del paso de los días;
discretos, resignados, que nunca pedís nada
ni en calurosas siestas ni en madrugadas frías.

Verdiazul puntillismo del lienzo castellano,
mezclado con los ocres y azules de cobalto
de la reseca tierra y el monte toledano,
remendando llanuras vistas desde lo alto.

Guerreros alineados, ejércitos estáticos;
vestidos con el caqui perenne de sus copas,
indómitos y rudos, impasibles y apáticos,
conquistando colinas sus alineadas tropas.

Olivos de mi tierra, foresta de La Mancha,
templados por cien años, curtidos por mil vientos;
en la llanura inmensa que se pierde y ensancha,
moteando el paisaje de verdes cenicientos.

Benéficos quijotes manchegos del secano;
guardianes de doncellas; héroes de cien campañas; 
triunfadores del duro terruño castellano
en los llanos más llanos de todas las Españas.

Amigos de rebaños de cabras y merinas,
de tordos y palomas, de grajos y abubillas.
Biombo improvisado de aldonzas campesinas.
Vuestra leña es sustento de las lumbres sencillas.

Sois la auténtica estampa del oasis manchego,
que arrancáis de la tierra lo mejor de su entraña
para dar, generosos, al sufrido labriego
el bálsamo que cura las heridas de España.

Cómplices de perdices, de liebres y conejos
que en cada otoño huyen de la cruel escopeta.
Refugio de topillos en los tocones viejos,
en oquedades menguas y en las hondas grietas.

Estáis en lo más hondo del alma campesina
y sois la herencia viva de la España judía;
llegados desde costas de tierra palestina
a Castilla, al Levante y a toda Andalucía.

¿Quién os trajo a Castilla? ¿Quién os hizo españoles?
¿Por qué aguantáis estoicos el cierzo y el solano?
¿No os congelan los hielos? ¿No os abrasan los soles,
ni os ahogan las negras tormentas de verano?

Nunca seréis un árbol de adorno en los jardines;
nunca fuisteis cantados por insignes poetas;
por vuestros viejos troncos no treparán jazmines,
ni seréis el sustento de místicos ascetas.

Con vuestra flor humilde nadie formará un ramo;
ni estarán vuestros frutos de adorno en los fruteros;
no seréis para el arte objeto de reclamo,
ni serán vuestros troncos trajín de carpinteros.

En vuestros viejos troncos, ni anidan ruiseñores,
ni los enamorados dibujan corazones.
Ninguna primavera os viste de colores,
ni en vuestra rala fronda se ocultarán pasiones.

¡Árboles bisabuelos...! que intentan jubilaos
por dar mano de obra al pobre jornalero;
las máquinas agrícolas intentan desplazaos
fríamente guiadas por  rico caballero.

Plantas oleaginosas que mueren en verano;
una extraña política absurda y despiadada;
un plan de regadíos o el crecimiento urbano,
segará vuestra vida fecunda y dilatada.

Herencia de olivares sagrados de la historia:
de la rama de olivo y una blanca paloma
y el beso traicionero de mítica memoria.
Uno estaba en el huerto, el otro en alta loma.

Pero, para el consuelo de la cristiana gente
que religiosamente confía en...  un mañana,
cada Semana Santa, invariablemente,
no faltará un ramito de olivo en su ventana.

Cameroon expects to become a significant diamond exporter from next year when it starts mining deposits discovered in the southeast, a senior official said on Thursday. The discovery of gem quality and industrial diamonds was made by a joint Cameroon-Korean company, C&K Mining Inc., at Mobilong, close to the border with Congo Republic and the Central African Republic. ‘The probable reserves are estimated at 736 million carats and will make Cameroon a leading diamond exporter when exploitation begins before the end of 2010 as we expect,’ Oscar Matip, director of mines and geology, told reporters. Output would be about 1 million carats in the first year but is expected to rise to 6 million carats at its peak. Botswana’s Debswana, the world’s biggest diamond miner by value, has the capacity to produce about 33 million carats of the precious stones a year.

C&K Mining was created in 2005 as a joint venture between South Korea’s C&C Mining and the government of Cameroon. The Korean firm owns 80 percent of shares and Cameroon 20 percent.

Matip said the company would present its feasibility study on Mobilong later this year, following which an exploitation licence could be granted so mining could begin.

Diamond demand has been hit by the global financial crisis, but the world’s largest diamond group, De Beers, 45 percent owned by Anglo American PLC has increased output in the second quarter after earlier cuts. De Beers owns half of Debswana.

Cameroon has been trying to diversify its economy away from crude oil, which accounts for around half of export earnings. It is also a producer of agricultural commodities including cocoa and coffee.

Forbes

If nothing else, history will retain that André-Marie Tala sued James Brown for plagiarism - and won. It stemmed from a 1973 incident when Brown was touring in West Africa. In Cameroon, the young Tala - an emerging local singer and guitarist - handed Brown a demo copy of “Hot Koki,’’ a hard-funk number he had composed.Two years later, Brown dropped “Hustle!!!’’ - with the same melody, beat, and arrangements, only with English lyrics. An American court found in Tala’s favor, ruling that the Godfather of Soul had used his work without permission.But Tala deserves much more than just a footnote on music litigation. For his prolific output, influence, and longevity, he’s been as essential to Cameroonian music as a Salif Keita has been to Mali, or a King Sunny Adé to Nigeria.Blind since age 15, he’s been compared to Stevie Wonder; like Wonder, he’s blessed with a smooth, inviting voice and far-reaching artistic curiosity. In the 1970s he played rock and funk.
Yet Tala is little known outside Africa, and almost not at all here. A four-city tour that opens tonight at Club Lido in Revere aims to remedy that. It features Tala; Emile Kangue, a top figure of makossa, Cameroon’s biggest pop style; and Jacob Nguni, who played guitar with Prince Nico on the pan-African classic “Sweet Mother.’’

On the phone from Cameroon, Tala - who is based in Paris but travels back frequently - says the Brown incident illustrated a level of cross-fertilization between America and African music in the ’70s that listeners today might not appreciate.

“Cameroon is a very open country,’’ he says. “We always welcomed anything that came from outside. We listened religiously to the Beatles or Ray Charles. I forged myself listening to rhythm & blues, to Muddy Waters, Wilson Pickett, and Otis Redding.’’

Tala’s early sound also drew on rhythms from his own Bamiléké ethnic group, as well as French chanson. One early hit, “Je Vais à Yaoundé,’’ a tale of people leaving the village to seek fortune, is a masterpiece of the French ballad style.

“There were various factions and camps at that time,’’ Tala says. “Some people didn’t want to make French music because they didn’t find it as advanced as American soul. But I paid attention to everything without prejudice.’’

The late 1970s was a fruitful time in African music, as high commodity prices kept money flowing and governments and the emerging urban middle class helped sustain legendary bands in many countries.

Cameroon was no exception. Among its big stars were Tala, makossa icons Manu Dibango and Moni Bilé, and Les Black Styl’, the makossa ensemble that Emile Kangue led before going solo in the early 1980s.

With long, sinuous songs, call-and-response sequences, and prominent guitar and horn sections, makossa was Cameroon’s cousin to soukouss from nearby Congo.

“Makossa in Cameroon is like soccer,’’ says Jean-Bosco Tagne, the Boston-based Cameroonian scientist who organized and promoted this tour. “And Kangue is makossa, with his melodies and his big voice.’’

But times grew hard when collapsing crop prices, economic austerity, and the devaluation of the regional currency drastically reduced opportunities to perform and support large bands.

By 1997, Kangue was weary of the struggle. Toward the end of a US tour, a promoter suggested he stay and make a fresh start. He took the plunge.

“I had opportunities in South Africa and other places,’’ Kangue says. “But it was always a dream to come to the United States. The challenge was to start from nothing and to find work. In Cameroon I could go for months between shows, and I didn’t have to work for anyone.’’

Not so in Atlanta. The revered bandleader, whose videos showed him in dapper suits, emerging from fancy cars in places like Paris and London, started riding the bus in the Georgia dawn to a warehouse job where he packed reams of sales fliers. Next he became a sales associate at an OfficeMax, rising to supervisor of the electronics department. After five years, he moved on to Dollar General, where he is now an assistant regional manager.

One day, he says, he finally invited a friendly supervisor to a party, where she was stunned to see him play for an adoring crowd.

“She absolutely went crazy,’’ he says. “The next day she brought our whole team together and said, ‘Do you realize Emile is a star?’ ’’

Today, Kangue has found balance between his new and old lives. He has a green card and travels back to Cameroon, as well as to France to record.

His friend Tala, meanwhile, has responded to economic change in his own way: He embraced bend-skin - a bare-bones local style made, in its simplest form, with found percussions - and gave it a fuller, more polished feel and a message of empowerment.

“Africa needs to invest in its own means,’’ Tala says. “We need to develop our culture industry.’’

As for that James Brown incident? No hard feelings. In fact, Tala says, before Brown’s death in late 2006, representatives of the two men had started hatching plans for a joint appearance, singing “Hot Koki’’ and “Hustle!!!’’ together.

“Of course I forgive him!’’ Tala says. “I was lucky to have met him, and I was lucky that he plagiarized my work. Who wouldn’t want to be copied by James Brown?’’

Boston.com

Trois ans d’emprisonnement ferme et 280 millions de Fcfa de dommages et intérêts.Telle est la substance de l’arrêt rendu mercredi soir autour de 21h30 par la Cour d’appel du Littoral, dans le cadre de l’affaire qui oppose le ministère public, la Spm, le ministère des Finances à Lambo Sandjo Pierre Roger alias Lapiro de Mbanga. Pour ce qui est des intérêts civils prononcés par la Cour d’appel, ils sont répartis ainsi qu’il suit : 200 millions de F pour la Société des Plantations de Mbanga (SPM), dont l’absence à l’audience a été considérée par la Cour d’Appel comme un signe d’acquiescement de la première décision, et 80 millions de F pour le ministère des Finances qui a formulé une demande supplémentaire. Cet arrêt est la confirmation du premier jugement rendu le 24 septembre de l’année dernière, par le tribunal de grande instance de Nkongsamba.

Cet artiste-musicien avait été reconnu coupable d’attroupement sur la voie publique et de pillage en bande. Hier, la Cour d’appel du Littoral a reconduit les infractions pour lesquelles le ministère public a requis la peine liée au crime de pillage en bande, et dont la peine est comprise entre 10 et 20 ans.
Par ailleurs, le représentant du ministère des Finances, pris en la personne de son conseil Me Faustin Ntede, a formulé une demande supplémentaire sur les intérêts civils devant être alloués à son client, soit la bagatelle de 60 millions qui représentent les valeurs actives telles que de l’argent en espèces, et les valeurs inactives liées au mobilier détruit lors de la destruction du centre divisionnaire des impôts de Mbanga, ainsi que les charges locatives consécutives à la destruction du siège des impôts à Mbanga. Cette demande a été considérée comme tardive, et rejetée.

An Insurance claims handler from Leeds who swindled more than £38,000 from his employers has been jailed. Royal Bank of Scotland employee Raoul Tagne worked at the company’s Direct Line insurance office on the Headrow, Leeds Crown Court heard. Tagne, of Kendal Drive, Halton Moor, also worked as a claims handler at breakdown rescue business Green Flag in Pudsey. Prosecutor Michael Smith said Tagne was responsible for handling claims from motorists who broke down while driving abroad.Tagne had authority to instruct garages to do work on behalf of policy holders and invoice Green Flag. Father-of-three Tagne created accounts for false service providers and submitted fake invoices.The court heard 13 payments were made to false accounts between March 2005 and November 2006.The total value of cash stolen from Royal Bank of Scotland was 55,000 Euros or just over £38,000.

Tagne, who admitted conspiracy to defraud, sent most of the cash to his father in Cameroon to pay him back after he had re-mortgaged his house to pay for Tagne’s education.

Tagne fled the country and went to France and the US for seven months while the police investigation was being carried out.

Tagne returned to the UK voluntarily and was arrested in July 2007.

Richard Reed, for Tagne, said his client’s marriage broke up when he told his wife what he had done.

Mr Reed added: “He hasn’t had the heart to tell his father what he has done.”

The Recorder of Leeds, Judge Peter Collier QC, jailed Tagne for 12 months.

Yorkshire Evening Post