"To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan"

Here are ten signs you may be fully awake:
1. You know there’s no meaningful difference between major political parties (Democrats and Republicans): It’s so easy to get caught up the left-right debate and believe there’s a difference between the two major political parties. However, debate is one thing, while actions are another. By their deeds you shall know them, and it is indisputable that there is no significant difference between political parties when it comes to action on the most important issues. Even hardened ideologues like John Cusack are beginning to wake up.
2. You understand that the Federal Reserve, or international central banking more broadly, is the engine of our economic problems: Debt slavery is the totalitarian force that threatens all of humanity, not some temporary political puppet or some greedy Wall Street trader. When a small group of people have the ability to create wealth out of nothing and charge interest on it, they have the ability to enslave the planet to their ownership despite what type of government a country claims to have.

3. You know that preemptive war is never necessary: When we realize that self-defense is the only acceptable form of violence, then we become awakened human beings. To suggest war because someone is different from you, or they may pose a threat in the future is simply ludicrous. And when did the idea of bombing civilians become humanitarian? No one wants war except for the immoral creeps that benefit from it.
4. You know that you’re being systematically poisoned, how, by whom, and why: Admittedly, there’s a lot to learn in terms of how we are secretly being poisoned. But the fact remains that we are being systematically poisoned, and it is likely for the deliberate purpose of dumbing us down and, ultimately, culling the population. Who could believe anyone is so evil to do that to innocent people, you may ask. Well, once you begin to seek the answer to that question, you’re one step closer to enlightenment.
5. You understand that government can never legislate morality, nor should they: When you realize the role of government is only to protect your liberty and work for the well being of the citizens, you’re awakened. There should be one simple law regulating morality: Do no harm. Thus, it’s impossible for the government to enforce morality with guns, cages, and taxes because those clearly cause severe harm to your liberty and our well-being.
6. You know that the mainstream media is wholly owned and manipulated by the ruling elite: A dwindling number of people still actually believe what they hear coming from the establishment media as if it’s gospel, even when they already accept that they are bought and paid for by the elite controllers. Yet, recognizing that they are nothing more than a propaganda machine and a form of mind control are the first steps in being able to critically think beyond the scientific messaging they broadcast.
7. You know that your neighbors are not your enemy even if you have fierce ideological disagreements: This is perhaps the most difficult thing to overcome in the awakening process. But it’s vital to understand that your neighbors have been indoctrinated and hypnotized like the rest of the us, until someone helps shine a light on inconsistencies in our thoughts and beliefs. Most of their ideas are not their own. They are suffering just like the rest of us. It’s okay to condemn their actions if they’re harmful, but those who are awake will not give up on spreading information that can enlighten those who might still be in the dark. None of us were born “awake” and all of us can learn even more.
8. You know that the endgame is one-world control of planet Earth: Once you understand that the endgame for the ruling elite is to have complete control of all vital facets of society through a global government, one-world currency, international armed forces, and so on, it is simple to see through the lies and propaganda surrounding even the most confusing world events. You will never go back to sleep when you fully accept this reality.
9. You recognize that there are esoteric powers manipulating our physical world: Whether you’re a religious or spiritual person, scientific or just plain curious, there are many theories about an invisible force at play in all of this. Obviously it’s impossible to prove exactly what it is. You may not want to believe it, but the ruling elite takes their occult rituals deadly serious. And they likely know something we don’t. Just by keeping an open mind about this possibility, you’ll forever keep an open mind about the things we can actually see, hear, taste and touch. Current science has shown that we can only “see” what the visible light spectrum reveals, which amounts to the tiniest fraction of all that can theoretically be seen within the full spectrum of energy. Part of any awakening is realizing that there is much more that is possible than impossible.
10. The power to change the world rests with you and you alone: For too long people have believed themselves to be weak, or relied on others to change the world for them. You’ll know that you’re fully awake when you realize that you have infinite power to change the world by simply living the change you want to see. First, you have to identify the principles that you believe in and then go out and live by them. If just a small minority took steps to do this, it would shake the establishment to its core.

The beauty of a woman is not only in her physical features, but rather in her character, personality, and in her piety.  A woman who is able to face the world with a smile and graciousness in the event of trials and struggles, and can stand tall knowing that she is working for a home in paradise, radiates a light and glow that cannot be hidden.  People, both men and women, will stand before God on equal basis, and on that point, hijab and dress in general helps us to remind ourselves that we are similar before Allah except in our deeds and levels of piety. 

Out of modesty and virtue a women will cover her hair with a scarf and wear modest clothing which is loose and does not describe the shape of her body, exposing only her hands and face.  Different countries have different styles of hijab.  And women feel beautiful wearing it knowing that she is pleasing Allah and maintaining her dignity.  Additionally, she is treated in a manner where people look at her for who she is, not for what she is wearing, or how she looks.  As we like to say…………….

I chose to cover my head,

not my mind!

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1. If you are already collecting your retirement benefit and are at or over full retirement age, you can tell Social Security you want to suspend further benefits and then ask them to restart your benefits at a later date, say age 70. Social Security will then apply its Delayed Retirement Credit to your existing benefit once you start collecting again. Hence, this is a means by which current Social Security recipients who aren't yet 70 can collect higher benefits, albeit at the cost of giving up their check for a while. But this trade off will, on net, often be very advantageous. For example, if you started collecting at 62 and are now at your full retirement age, i.e., 66, you can suspend benefits until 70 and then start collecting 32 percent higher benefits for the rest of your life. This benefit collection strategy can be called Start Stop Start. We are in the process of rolling out a new update of www.maximizemysocialsecurity.com, which incorporates Start Stop Start.
2. If you aren't now collecting and wait until 70 to collect your retirement benefit, your retirement benefit starting at 70 can be as much as 76 percent higher than your age-62 retirement benefit, adjusted for inflation. The reason is that your benefit is not reduced due to Social Security's Early Retirement Reduction; moreover, it's increased due to Social Security's Delayed Retirement Credit. For many people, the increase in the retirement benefit can be even higher if they continue to earn money after age 62 thanks to Social Security's Re-computation of Benefits.
3. But if you are married or divorced, waiting to collect your retirement benefit may be the wrong move. If you are the low-earning spouse, it may be better to take your retirement benefit starting at age 62 and then switch to the spousal benefit you can collect on your current or ex-spouse's account starting at your full retirement age. But beware of the Gottcha in item 5.
4. If you're married, you or your spouse, but not both, can receive spousal benefits after reaching full retirement age while deferring taking your retirement benefits and, thereby, letting them grow. This may require having one spouse file for retirement benefits, but suspend their collection. This is called the File and Suspend strategy.
5. Be careful! If you take your own retirement benefit early and are below full retirement age, you will be forced to take your spousal benefit early and at a permanently reduced level if your spouse collects his/her his/her retirement benefit before or in the month in which you apply to collect your retirement benefit. If your spouse is not collecting a retirement benefit when you apply for an early retirement benefit, you will not be deemed to be applying for your spousal benefit. Hence, you can start collecting your spousal benefit later. (See item 33)
6. Start Stop Start may also make sense for married workers who aren't already collecting and whose age differences are such they they can't take advantage of File and Suspend. Take, for example, a 62 year-old high earner, named Sally, with a 66-year old low earner spouse, named Joe. By starting retirement benefits early, Sally permits Joe to start collecting a spousal benefit immediately. The reason is that spouses aren't eligible to collect spousal benefits unless the worker is either collecting a retirement benefit or has filed for a retirement benefit, but suspended its collection. If Sally starts her retirement benefit at 62, Joe can apply just for his spousal benefit at 66 and then wait until 70 to collect his own retirement benefit, which will be at its highest possible value thanks to Social Security's Delayed Retirement Credit. As for Sally, she can suspend her retirement benefit at 66, when she reaches full retirement, and then restart it at 70, at which point her benefits will be 32 percent higher than what she was collecting. Even singles workers may opt for Start Stop Start to help with their cash flow problems.
7. If your primary insurance amount (your retirement benefit available if you wait until full retirement) is less than half that of your spouse and you take your own retirement benefit early, but are able to wait until full retirement age to collect your spousal benefit, your total check, for the rest of your life, will be less than one half of your spouse's primary insurance amount. Nonetheless, this may still be the best strategy. This reflects another Gotcha explained in 8.
8. On its website, Social Security states, "your spouse can receive a benefit equal to one-half of your full retirement benefit amount if they start receiving benefits at their full retirement age." This is true only if your spouse isn't collecting his/her own retirement benefit. If your spouse is collecting her own retirement benefit, his/her spousal benefit is calculated differently. Rather than equaling one half of your full retirement benefit, it's calculated as half of your full retirement benefit less your spouse's full retirement benefit. This difference is called the excess spousal benefit. The total benefit your spouse will receive is her retirement benefit, inclusive of any reduction, due to taking benefits early, or increment, due to taking benefits late, plus the excess spousal benefit. The excess spousal benefit can't be negative; i.e., its smallest value is zero.
   
   Take Sue and Sam. Suppose they are both 62 and a) Sue opts to take her retirement benefit early and b) Sam opts to file and suspend at full retirement and take his retirement benefit at 70. Between ages 62 and 66 (their full retirement age), Sue collects a reduced retirement benefit, but is not forced to take her spousal benefit (which would be reduced) because Sam isn't collecting a retirement benefit during the years that Sue is 62 to 66. Now when Sue reaches age 66, she starts to collect an unreduced spousal benefit because Sam has qualified her to do so by filing and suspending for his retirement benefit. OK, but her unreduced spousal benefit is calculated as 1/2 x Sam's full retirement benefit less Sue's full retirement benefit. Sue ends up getting a total benefit equal to her own reduced retirement benefit plus her unreduced excess spousal benefit. This total is less than half of Sam's full retirement benefit. To see this note that the total equals half of Sam's full retirement benefit plus Sue's reduced retirement benefit minus Sue's full retirement benefit. The last two terms add to something negative.
9. Are there are two different formulas for spousal benefits depending on whether the spouse is collecting his/her own retirement benefit? It sure seems that way because when the spouse is collecting a retirement benefit, the excess spousal benefit (potentially reduced for taking spousal benefits early) comes into play. And when the spouse isn't collecting a retirement benefit, the spousal benefit equals half of the worker's full retirement benefit. (Note, the spouse has to collect a retirement benefit before full retirement age if she applies for her spousal benefit.) The answer, in fact, is no. There is only one formula. The formula for the spousal benefit is always the excess benefit formula. But here's what happens to the application of that formula if the spouse is not collecting a retirement benefit. In that case, the spouse's full retirement benefit (also called the Primary Insurance Amount) is set to zero in calculating the excess spousal benefit. The reason, according to Social Security, is that a worker's Primary Insurance does not exist (i.e., equals zero) if the worker has not applied for a retirement benefit (and either suspended its collection or started to receive it). In other words, your Primary Insurance Amount is viewed as non-existant until you apply for a retirement benefit. This construct - the primary insurance amount doesn't exist until it's triggered by a retirement benefit application -- lets Social Security claim to have one formula for spousal benefits. But there are, in effect, two spousal benefit formulas and which one you -- the person who will collect a spousal benefit -- faces will depend on whether or not you take your retirement benefit early.
10. If you are divorced, both you and your ex can collect spousal benefits (on each others work histories) after full retirement age while still postponing taking your own retirement benefits until, say, age 70, when they are as high as can be. This is an advantage for divorcees. But there's also a disadvantage. A divorcee who applies for spousal benefits before full retirement age will automatically be forced to apply for retirement benefits even if her/his ex isn't collecting retirement benefits.
11. There is no advantage to waiting to start collecting spousal benefits after you reach your full retirement age.
12. There is no advantage to waiting to start collecting survivor benefits after you reach your full retirement age.
13. If you started collecting Social Security retirement benefits within the last year and decide it wasn't the right move, you can repay all the benefits received, including spousal and child benefits, and reapply for potentially higher benefits at a future date.
14. If you wait to collect your retirement benefit after you reach your full retirement age, but before you hit age 70, you have to wait until the next January to see your full delayed retirement credit show up in your monthly check.
15. Millions of Baby Boomers can significantly raise their retirement benefits by continuing to work in their sixties. This may also significantly raise the spousal, child, and mother and father benefits their relatives collect.
16. If you take retirement, spousal, or widow/widower benefits early and lose some or all of them because of Social Security's earnings test, Social Security will actuarially increase your benefits (under the Adjustment of Reduction Factor) starting at your full retirement age based on the number of months of benefits you forfeited. This is true whether the loss in benefits due to the earnings test reflects benefits based on your own work record or based on your spouse's work record. Consequently, you should not be too concerned about working too much and losing your benefits if you elected to take them early.
17. When it comes to possibly paying federal income taxes on your Social Security benefits, withdrawals from Roth IRAs aren't counted, but withdrawals from 401(k), 403(b), regular IRAs, and other tax-deferred accounts are. So there may be a significant advantage in a) withdrawing from your tax-deferred accounts after you retire, but before you start collecting Social Security, b) using up your tax-deferred accounts before you withdraw from your Roth accounts, and c) converting your tax-deferred accounts to Roth IRA holdings after or even before you retire, but before you start collecting Social Security.
18. Social Security's online benefit calculators either don't handle or don't adequately handle spousal, divorcee, child, mother, father, widow or widower benefits, or file and suspend options.
19. The default assumptions used in Social Security's online retirement benefit calculators is that the economy will experience no economy-wide real wage growth and no inflation going forward. This produces benefit estimates that can, for younger people, be significantly less than what they are most likely to receive.
20. Some widows/widowers may do better taking their survivor benefits starting at 60 and their retirement benefits at or after full retirement. Others may do better taking their retirement benefits starting at 62 and taking their widow/widowers benefits starting at full retirement age.
21. If you're below full retirement age and are collecting a spousal benefit and your spouse is below full retirement age and is collecting a retirement benefit, your spousal benefit can be reduced if your spouse earns beyond the Earnings Test's exempt amount. And it can also be reduced if you earn beyond the Earnings Test's exempt amount.
22. The Windfall Elimination Provision affects how the amount of your retirement or disability benefit is calculated if you receive a pension from work where Social Security taxes were not taken out of your pay, such as a government agency or an employer in another country, and you also worked in other jobs long enough to qualify for a Social Security retirement or disability benefit. A modified formula is used to calculate your benefit amount, resulting in a lower Social Security benefit than you otherwise would receive.
23. Based on the Government Pension Offset provision, if you receive a pension from a federal, state or local government based on work where you did not pay Social Security taxes, your Social Security spouse's or widow's or widower's benefits may be reduced.
24. If you have children, because you started having children late or adopted young children later in life, they can collect child benefits through and including age 17 (or age 19 if they are still in secondary school) if you or your spouse or you ex spouse are collecting retirement benefits.
25. If you have children who are eligible to collect benefits because your spouse or ex spouse is collecting retirement benefits, you can collect mother or father benefits until your child reaches age 16.
26. Your children can receive survivor benefits if your spouse or ex-spouse died and they are under age 18 (or age 19 if they are still in secondary school).
27. You can collect mother or father benefits if you spouse or ex-spouse died and you have children of your spouse or your ex-spouse who are under age 16.
28. There is a maximum family benefit that applies to the total benefits to you, your spouse, and your children that can be received on your earnings record.
29. If you choose to file and suspend in order to enable your spouse to collect a spousal benefit on your earnings record while you delay taking your benefit in order to collect a higher one later, make sure you pay your Medicare Part B premiums out of your own pocket (i.e., you need to send Social Security a check each month). If you don't, Social Security will pay it for you and treat you as waving (i.e., not suspending) your benefit apart from the premium and, get this, you won't get the Delayed Retirement Credit applied to your benefit. In other words, if you don't pay the Part B premiums directly, your benefit when you ask for it in the future will be NO LARGER than when you suspended its receipt. This is a really nasty Gotcha, which I just learned, by accident, from one of Social Security's top actuaries.
30. If you are collecting a disability benefit and your spouse tries to collect just his/her Social Security benefit early, she will be deemed to be filing for her spousal benefits as well. I.e., if your spouse takes his/her retirement benefit early, he/she won't be able to delay taking a spousal benefit early, which means both her retirement and spousal benefits will be permanently reduced thanks to the early retirement benefit and early spousal benefit reduction factors.
31. When inflation is low, like it is now, there is a disadvantage to delaying until, say 70, collecting one's retirement benefit. The disadvantage arises with respect to Medicare Part B premiums. If you collecting benefits (actually were collecting them last year), the increase in the Medicare premium this year will be limited to the increase in your Social Security check. This is referred to as being "held harmless." Hence, when inflation is low, the increase in your check due to the cost of living adjustment will be small, meaning the increase in your Medicare Part B premium will be limited. But, if you aren't collecting a benefit because you are waiting to collect a higher benefit later, tough noogies. You're Medicare Part B premium increase won't be limited. And that increase will be locked into every future year's Medicare Part B premium that you have to pay. You can wait to join Medicare until, say, age 70, but if you aren't working for a large employer, the premiums you'll pay starting at 70 will be higher and stay higher forever. So much for helping the government limit its Medicare spending!
32. Hold harmless -- the provision that your increase in Medicare Part B premium cannot exceed the increase in your Social Security check due to Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment -- does not apply if you have high income and are paying income-related Medicare Part B premiums.
33. The thresholds beyond which first 50 percent and then 85 percent of your Social Security benefits are subject to federal income taxation are explicitly NOT indexed for inflation. Hence, eventually all Social Security recipients will be tax on 85 percent of their Social Security benefits.
34. If you take your retirement benefit early and your spouse takes his/her retirement benefit any time that is a month or more after you take your retirement benefit, you will NOT be deemed, at that point (when your spouse starts collecting his/her retirement benefit) to be applying for a spousal benefit. In other words, you can, in this situation, wait until your full retirement age to start collecting your unreduced excess spousal benefit. The retirement benefit collection status of your spouse in the month you file for early retirement benefits determines whether you are deemed to be also be applying for spousal benefits. This means that you should think twice about applying for retirement benefits in the same month as your spouse if one or both of you are applying early.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2012/07/social-security-secrets-you-need-to-know-now.html

s z o m o r ú v a s á r n a p r e z s ő s e r e s s l y r i c s Ősz van és peregnek a sárgult levelek Meghalt a földön az emberi szeretet Bánatos könnyekkel zokog az öszi szél Szívem már új tavaszt nem vár és nem remél Hiába sírok és hiába szenvedek Szívtelen rosszak és kapzsik az emberek... Meghalt a szeretet! Vége a világnak, vége a reménynek Városok pusztulnak, srapnelek zenélnek Emberek vérétől piros a tarka rét Halottak fekszenek az úton szerteszét Még egyszer elmondom csendben az imámat: Uram, az emberek gyarlók és hibáznak... Vége a világnak! LITERAL ENGLISH TRANSLATION: It is autumn and the leaves are falling All love has died on earth The wind is weeping with sorrowful tears My heart will never hope for a new spring again My tears and my sorrows are all in vain People are heartless, greedy and wicked... Love has died! The world has come to its end, hope has ceased to have a meaning Cities are being wiped out, shrapnel is making music Meadows are coloured red with human blood There are dead people on the streets everywhere I will say another quiet prayer: People are sinners, Lord, they make mistakes... The world has ended!

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Secrets of Dole Chadee Filed under: News|Trinidad and Tobago Suspected, but never proven, to be one of this country's biggest narco-traffickers, the two- decade reign of Dole Chadee (Nankissoon Boodram) in his self-made "kingdom" in Piparo, ended with his arrest in 1994 for the murders of four members of a Williamsville family and his hanging in 1999, along with his gang of eight. Ten years later, the rumours about him have become enduring myths. Andrew Vasquez was a keeper of some of Chadee's secrets. Vasquez was one of five men within Chadee's inner circle, a confidant, and his driver for almost 20 years. He has decided to tell his story. It is somewhat of an irony that Andrew Vasquez should end up back at work on Dole Chadee's 110-acre estate, on which the latter built his fortressed houses and ran his "agricultural" business. The State-owned land was overrun by the police and army in 1995, and transformed into the Piparo Empowerment Centre. Vasquez is a foreman working with a contractor employed to build an extension to the drug rehabilitation centre. He is 60 years old, but looks 40, and is short, stout, and strong. When Chadee constructed his mansions on the site in 1982-83, Vasquez was also the foreman in charge of that project, in which "money was no object and the best of every single thing was used in the construction". Vasquez recalled in an interview how he ended up being an employee of Chadee. "We first met in 1976 in the village. I was employed with Readymix Ltd (a cement company) in Arima, and was in an accident in 1979. Due to that accident, I was unable to go back to work. I had 55 per cent disability, so I approached him for a work as a driver. I went to him at his house. I asked about my salary, and what he offered me was satisfactory as a family man. And that was it. I stayed with him until the end of his time", he said with a chuckle. At that time, Vasquez said, Chadee owned two Mercedes Benz luxury cars, but did not have his licence. "He got that years after." Vasquez said his association with Chadee began after Chadee was already wealthy. "But he came from poverty. His family was from Curepe but he had family in Piparo. He would spend plenty time down here. He went to the (San Fernando) Technical school and came out as a mason. "But he didn't use them skills when the mansions were being built. "He oversee everything. Houses, temple, all the roads, cattle pens, and goat, sheep and duck pens." Vasques said Chadee had five children, two boys with his "married wife" Ann Marie Boodram, two sons with his common-law wife, Chandra Chadee, and a son with a woman in the village. He said "Chadee's family would seldom visit the estate. They stayed at the other house (a mansion on Pascall Road, Piparo). The estate was his work area, but there was never a typical day for that man. Every day was different". Vasquez recalled the many times police officers came hunting for drugs. "They would always pick up with me. I had to go with them to search buildings. They never found a thing. The police would say, 'you with this man whole day, and you don't know what he doing'. I would tell them that I working on instructions, and I never asked questions. I would say 'you see this car? I just take 'The Boss' around in that'." Vasquez confirmed what most people in Piparo have said over the years about Chadee. He was like a Dole-facts or fiction? Yes, Chadee did own a stable of horses, his most prized being the horse "Mentone", once owned by Conrad Awai and trained by Eric "Colt" Durant. The foreign-bred horse has been described as the "best to ever race on a local track". Vasquez, who accompanied Chadee to racing pools and race tracks but who never gambled, said "Mentone was at that time a ranking racehorse, and Chadee decided he wanted it. He bought the horse when it was still racing proficient, but used it for (stud service) at $15,000 a serve". Yes, Chadee did pay his agricultural workers with one dollar bills from crocus bags. Vasquez said he never asked the origin of the money. "That is a fact. I would go to the hardware sometimes with $10,000, $20,000 in dollar bills and the hardware people would see me coming and say 'oh God, no', because they have to count it all." No, Chadee's estate did not have secret tunnels or underground bunkers to store an arsenal of weapons or give Chadee an avenue of escape. Yes, the army did find several blue, plastic barrels buried in the ground and stuffed with millions of dollars. No, Chadee did not spend his millions jetting around the world. In fact, Vasquez said Chadee did not even have a passport until the late 80s. Yes, Chadee did have plastic surgery, but not to disguise himself. Vasquez said "in the late 80s. Chadee take up a load of grapefruit and was going to the CGA (Citrus Growers Association) in his van when he crash just after the Chaguanas Flyover. The van capsized and gone skating down the highway and part of his face cut away". No, Chadee did not kill drug dealers and bury them in and around the village. Vasquez described that as "a fabrication. So long as you have the stigma of being a person who killing people, wherever someone get kill, is your name they going to call. "Mind you, I don't know what they could have done in my absence, but I never heard him give anyone any instruction, whether verbally or on the phone, to kill anybody". And yes, Chadee did have substantial property assets outside of Piparo. Vasquez said: "I was the one who look after his land taxes, water rate, telephone bill, vehicle insurance and licence. At one time, he had two properties in San Fernando, one on St James Street and one on the Coffee (Street), and a gas station in Carenage. The properties in San Fernando were eventually sold when he was in prison. To who, I can't say." But Vasquez does not know whether, as reported, that some high-profile kidnappings last year had anything to do with Chadee associates trying to collect on money loaned to businessmen. "I personally don't know of those transactions, but the only time I would know for example [is] while passing through Princes Town or San Fernando, Chadee would see a building and say 'that's mine'." Chadee was a godfather, a benefactor capable of doing good for his village, but dealing swiftly with anyone who crossed him. Vasquez said "if there was a prayer meeting, or a death in a family or a wedding, he would ask me if the people had electricity, chairs, tent, food. I would go and investigate and bring back the information. He would say if that is what they need, get it! Sometimes $6,000, $7,000 in groceries going to a house one time. He was always charitable, never turned anybody away. He did this hundreds of times, even wanted to buy land for the cricket club in the area". Vasquez said at no time during his employment did he harbour any fear. "This was my job. I was never in fear at any time because I never questioned his instructions. That is what built his confidence in me. I was honest to him. I was the only person who could wake him out of bed anytime, night or day. Not even his wife. She would be too scared because he had a temper." Vasquez remembers the day that Chadee came a doorstep away from execution, an incident that ended in Chadee being put on his first charge of murder in 1993. "That day, around 6.30 a.m., I saw a Cortina parked up in front Chadee house. The two fellas tell me good morning, they looking for 'The Boss'. One said his name was Cuthbert Charles. I said right now I have to locate him and, in the meantime, they should go back to the junction and wait. "Instead, they drove down to the cattle pens. Two hours after, Chadee met me and said he heard something happen in Williamsville, so see what happen. I went and see this same Cortina wrap around a lamp pole and one of the men dead. "When I told Dole the name, he said 'them fellas come to kill me boy'!" Vasquez said he never asked why. Chadee and two cousins, Indar and Wally Chadee, were charged with the murder of St Clair McMillan, and the State's star witness was Cuthbert "Scotty" Charles. Charles was kidnapped and murdered, and the Chadee trio freed. By Vasquez's estimation, Chadee was at one time worth no less than $50 million. It was what gave him the power to buy anything, anytime he wanted-which was how Chadee ended up in 1993 owning the Totoya Royal Saloon that had once belonged to Prime Minister Patrick Manning. Vasquez said "the story of Chadee buying a car from Manning is a fabrication. It was Sankey (Subance, a San Fernando businessman) who bought the car and, the next day, he called Chadee and said 'look, I bought a car, you want to look at it'? As soon as Chadee see the car, he said 'call a price' and same day we bring it home. The transfer had not been made from the Prime Minister to Sankey, so this is why the certified copy has the car being bought from Manning to Chadee". Vasquez believes he knew Chadee well enough to say that "Dole was not capable of killing. He couldn't even kill a fowl. I believe, to this day, his case was based on fabricated evidence". He also does not believe the State's case that Chadee instructed his gang to "kill everybody" on January 10, ten years ago. "I was not there at that time. Only when I read it in the papers. I did not know (the Baboolals) got killed in Williamsville." Vasquez also said he never witnessed any drug dealings. "I never saw any drugs or ammunition, and I was never involved. I personally never saw a shipment (of drugs). As far as I was concerned, Dole was as clean as clean could be." But Vasquez confirmed that Chadee knew Halminton Baboolal, one of the four victims in Williamsville. "We knew Halminton as 'Mice'. He had once stolen a police uniform and did a hold-up. He was owing Dole approximately $40,000. But instead of paying, he was in the company of some other people when he said he wanted to kidnap one of Dole boys. That information reach back to Dole and he told me "this man owing money and threatening to take my boy. Next thing I hear, Mice dead, father, sister and mother dead." Vasquez returned to the construction business after the arrest of his boss, but he remained loyal to the end. "I am in contact with his boys. They never knew him too well and I still have a picture of them and their father sitting, listening to prayers." When Chadee was in prison, Vasquez would carry food for him every day until he was convicted. "A few weeks before they hang him, I got to see him. He stopped eating, he was very depressed. He gave up already. He knew time was coming to a close and it was the end." On the day in 1999 when Chadee was hanged, Vasquez was at home. "How I felt did not matter. There was nothing I could do. What I do know is he should still be alive. A lot of people will tell you up to this day if he was alive, life for many would have been much better." Vasquez has kept the newspaper clippings on everything Chadee-related, and intends to some day publish his story. "I keeping the other secrets for that," he remarked.

"Restricting talented people is the biggest problem in the entertainment business in Japan," says 24-year-old Erika Sawajiri. "This is the 21st century and it has to change." The sheer frankness of the enigmatic model, actress and singer is certainly an unusual, and I must say refreshing, occurrence in conservative Japan. She has gained a reputation as a difficult, thorny character. But now, in her first ever English-language interview, Sawajiri simply comes across as honest, direct and passionate about changing how Japanese entertainers are treated by their agencies. She has been a revelation to the orderly, deferential world of Japanese entertainers, causing controversy after controversy ever since her infamous "betsu ni" ("not really") responses at a press conference in September 2007. Speaking near-fluent English, and without hesitation -- a real rarity in Japan -- confidence and self-assurance clearly runs through her veins. An exceptional background Perhaps Erika Sawajiri was born to be an exception. Born to a Berber (indigenous north-African) mother and a wealthy Japanese father, her upbringing was anything but standard. "My mum was born in Algeria but moved here from Paris when she was 24 or 25, met my father and stayed. My grandparents died already and I never met them, so I have no contact with my mom's side, but she has six brothers and sisters that I met when I was a child," she explains. "I never learned Berber or French, though I will someday, but my mother always listened to Arabic music and Gypsy Kings when I grew up and that makes a big impression." Growing up mixed-race in Japan is still a rarity, and many feel excluded from Japanese society, as they are considered neither foreign, nor fully Japanese. In recent years attitudes in Tokyo at least have begun to change, thanks to a growing number of celebrities, especially singers, with mixed background. Artists like Crystal Kay (Korean and African-American), Thelma Aoyama (Trinidadian and Japanese) and Kaela Kimura (British and Japanese) have started to change public opinion on what it means to be Japanese. Though some like Angela Aki (Italian-American and Japanese) have spoken of challenges growing up in such an ethnically homogenous nation. "I never went to an international school, so I think I'm totally Japanese," says Sawajiri. "But I had a long-held ambition to go to another country, especially in Europe and at 21 I decided to go to London." Fame and unhappiness By the time she went there to study English for a year at Bell International Institute, she had already gained more life experience than most and was glad to lead a more normal life for at least a while. "My family was quite rich when I was young," she says. "My father had a stable of horses amongst lots of businesses, but suddenly he disappeared when I was about nine years old. We had a big house in Tokyo until then, but we had to move to an apartment as my mother had a hard time to make a living. She had to sell a lot of things, the house, jewelry and so on. It was a tough time. Then one day, suddenly my father came back when I was 15. He told us he had cancer and was going to die. We lived together for one month with my two brothers." Her elder brother then died in a car accident while Sawajiri was in her first year of high school. Sawajiri began modeling as a student but made her breakthrough in the 2005 TV series "1 Litre of Tears," in which she played Aya Ikeuchi, a girl suffering from spinocerebellar degeneration (SCD). Signed to Japanese management company Stardust aged just 13, she would go on to star in further TV dramas like "Song of the Sun" and launch her singing career with two consecutive no.1 singles on Sony, the first time a debutant had achieved the feat since 1983. Her star could hardly have been rising faster. Yet it was all about to come crashing down. And looking back, Sawajiri is glad it did. "Actually I was not really happy because I wasn't satisfied with those songs. In fact I don't know how they could possibly reach no.1. I thought everyone must be crazy to buy them. I didn't like those songs, it was just pop." Fighting the Japanese management system Like the vast majority of talent in Japan, she was tied to a contract in a management firm that controlled what she could and couldn't do. Most talents simply receive monthly stipends as 'employees' of their agencies in Japan, restricting innovation amongst music artists and forcing actors into shows they would never choose themselves. They are also made to work extraordinarily long hours. Even some of Japan's top stars such as Aya Ueto have admitted being severely burdened emotionally by the system. Some have been banned from having normal private lives, leading to social isolation. Many fall off the tracks. "It was hard in Tokyo before I went, every day was working and I couldn't sleep. I would get just three hours so it was so hard every day," says Sawajiri. "I just stopped and went to London, I wanted to live a normal life as a girl. I had to learn English, that was tricky, but it was a really good experience, I just went to school and after class we went to a pub to talk or drink beer." At a press conference for the filmed "Closed Note" in September 2007, seemingly unhappy with the film she had been cast for, she gave a series of short, terse answers to the press. Roundly criticized by Japanese media for breaking Japanese etiquette and being disrespectful to her co-stars, she issued an apology two days later on TV Asahi's Super Morning. "That apology was a mistake!" says Sawajiri. "My agency told me I had to apologize, I kept refusing, I absolutely didn't want to do it. I told them 'this is my way'... but in the end I surrendered. That was my mistake." Controversy and regrets Sawajiri then got involved with Japanese media creator Tsuyoshi Takashiro, 21 years her senior, whom she married on January 20, 2009. Now pending divorce, she is full of regret for the time spent with him too. "It was a hard time in London with him, I don't have a good memories, it was a tough time, a nightmare. Fortunately I made friends amongst local people and they would take me to parties or clubs and that was fun because the nightlife is amazing." After a year in London, she packed her bags for Barcelona where she stayed for another year. Japanese media got wind of a potential separation when it emerged Takashiro was in New Zealand. Then in September 2009, almost two years since her self-imposed break, her management dropped her, meaning she would lose her highly anticipated movie comeback role in 2010 as the lead in "Space Battleship Yamato." "I always wanted to come back and start working again, that was the plan, and now I have a plan to do a film that I really want to do, one that I want to play a role for since it's so important for me to choose a film as my acting comeback." Coming back to life Working from an agency set up in Spain, she would cause outrage once more when faxes appeared on the desks of Japanese media in March 2010 announcing her comeback, with six (rather tame) rules stating what media could and couldn't do. Perfect fodder for the media to uphold her reputation as a troublemaker. "It was not me and I never knew about it!" exclaims Sawajiri. "The truth is those six conditions were my husband's idea. I believed him and trusted him, but he did wrong." "When the problem with my ex-husband -- legally we are still married -- is solved, things are going to change. But I don't know when it will be solved yet." 2010 has seen Sawajiri step out onto the big stage once more, debuting her new English songs at The Girls Awards in May ("Now I want to try dance music," she says) and gracing the cover of seemingly endless glossy magazines. Staying solo For anyone living in Tokyo, Sawajiri appears everywhere. "I am afraid of overexposure because I had that experience in 2007, but it's not that bad now. Honestly I want to do shoots and sing and do things right now, this is the moment and I want to show my creativity any way I can. Even as a hobby I love photography and do some graphic design." With rumors of her signing a deal with an industry giant soon, this time Sawajiri is adamant that they won't have a hand in her management and has strong words of criticism for the entire structure. "I think [restricting talent from having normal lives and expressing opinions] is a problem with the entertainment world in Japan, in fact it's the biggest problem. I think the whole system is so old. The managers themselves are old but we have to change this situation." Not since the days of 1980s idol Seiko Matsuda -- when the leading singer challenged traditional Japanese thinking by refusing to retire upon marriage -- has a female entertainer had the balls to stand up for what she believes in, dividing opinion in the process. For now, living permanently back in Tokyo, as she seeks to reshape how stars can balance personal and creative freedom with success, Sawajiri is working freelance and solo. "I want to cope with the entertainment business of Japan by setting up my own office," she says. "We live in the 21st century so it's time to get up to date."

what if she has forgotten me?