tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57920553438133867432024-02-22T22:50:47.575+01:00www.mondaymidnite.com/google.com, pub-4708165731070097, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0Incisive, fair-minded, unbiased and thought-provoking take on African and global affairs by, perhaps, the most fearless and ideologically uncompromising anti-corruption Rapper of this generation, and a strong advocate for freedom, human right, justice, equity, racial equality, and harmony across the globe.Monday Midnitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01730918920975811167noreply@blogger.comBlogger587125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5792055343813386743.post-77832381840088281602020-09-03T09:25:00.001+02:002020-09-03T09:25:59.837+02:00DEAR AFRICAN LEADERS<a href="https://www.agpnmusic.com/?wix-music-track-id=5232785741578240&wix-music-comp-id=comp-keltsx8h">DEAR AFRICAN LEADERS</a><br /><br />
<br /><br />
From my 1897 album, this is a poignant musical letter to African Leaders to remind them of their forgotten responsibilities to the masses.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
The entire album is loaded with tracks of consciousness. Buy and download this special edition of 1897 at www.agpnmusic.com to support the struggle to hold our leaders to accountability.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Bless up.<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Monday Midnite.Monday Midnitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01730918920975811167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5792055343813386743.post-78220596414188578242019-11-03T05:26:00.001+01:002019-11-03T05:38:48.350+01:00DOCTRINE OF DISCOVERY<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
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<div style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, monospace; line-height: 19px; margin: 15px 15px 2px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">The doctrine of Discovery is an international legal principle constructed by </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">European Christian nations in the fifteenth century to justify their dominance of</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">indigenous peoples and their lands, territories, and resources in the non-</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Christian countries around the world. Its application continues today and sets </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">the foundation of the laws in colonial states – the united states, Australia, New </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Zealand and Canada.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, monospace; line-height: 19px; margin: 15px 15px 2px;">
<em><strong><span style="background-color: white;">Examples of its contemporary application:</span></strong></em></div>
<ul>
<li style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, monospace; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-top: 7px;"><span style="background-color: white;">The exploitations and human rights violations of indigenous peoples and their lands by Canadian mining, oil and gas corporations including Barrick Gold Corporation, Goldcorp Inc. Enbridge Inc. and TransCanada Corporation.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, monospace; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-top: 7px;"><span style="background-color: white;">The proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline, Keystone XL pipeline, Pacific Trails Pipeline and Kinder Morgan pipeline project</span></li>
<li style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, monospace; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-top: 7px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Plan Nord of the Quebec government</span></li>
<li style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, monospace; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-top: 7px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Ring of Fire in northern Ontario.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, monospace; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-top: 7px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Cultural appropriations such as Olympic mascots and Hudson Bay Co. sweaters.</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, monospace; line-height: 19px; margin: 15px 15px 2px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">The doctrine of Discovery is also the theme of this year’s UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples concluded on Friday, May 18. In the permanent forum, the representatives of indigenous nations not only spoke about the ongoing impacts of this doctrine on their people but also recommendations on how to redress these impacts.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">We felt that this important topic is worth our attention and understanding as it is a rationalization which underpins the colonization of Turtle Island (aka North America) and other parts of the world. It legitimizes the morally condemnable, socially unjust and racist policies against Indigenous peoples worldwide.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, monospace; line-height: 19px; margin: 15px 15px 2px;">
<em><strong><span style="background-color: white;">3 great resources on this Discovery Doctrine:</span></strong></em></div>
<ul>
<li style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, monospace; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-top: 7px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">The framework<a href="http://unpfip.blogspot.ca/p/framework-of-dominance-preliminary_03.html"> of Dominance: UN Preliminary Study on the Doctrine of Discovery</a></span></li>
<li style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, monospace; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-top: 7px;"><a href="http://www.miningwatch.ca/article/doctrine-discovery-its-enduring-impact-indigenous-peoples-and-right-redress-past-conquests"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">The Doctrine of Discovery: its enduring impact on indigenous peoples and the right to redress for past conquests</span></a></li>
<li style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, monospace; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-top: 7px;"><a href="http://intercontinentalcry.org/steve-newcomb-at-indigenous-peoples-forum-on-the-doctrine-of-discovery-arizona/"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">Steve Newcomb At Indigenous Peoples Forum On The Doctrine Of Discovery, Arizona</span></a></li>
</ul>
<span class="embed-youtube" style="display: block; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://ipsmo.wordpress.com/2012/05/23/doctrine-of-discovery/" style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "trebuchet ms", verdana, monospace;">http://ipsmo.wordpress.com/2012/05/23/doctrine-of-discovery/</a><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><iframe class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="390" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QZBKbNhfh-c?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent" style="max-width: 100%;" type="text/html" width="640"></iframe></span></span></span><br />
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<ul class="wpl-avatars sd-like-gravatars" style="background-image: none; border: none; list-style: none; margin: 0px -2px 0px 0px !important; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0px 0px !important; zoom: 1;">
<li style="background-image: none; border: none; display: block; float: left; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, monospace; height: 32px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 32px;"><a class="wpl-liker" href="http://gravatar.com/lesalal" rel="nofollow" style="border-bottom-style: none !important; display: block; margin: 0px 2px 0px 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;"></span></span></a><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://ipsmo.wordpress.com/2012/05/23/doctrine-of-discovery/">DOCTRINE OF DISCOVERY « Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movement Ottawa – www.ipsmo.org</a><a href="http://ipsmo.wordpress.com/2012/05/23/doctrine-of-discovery/">http://ipsmo.wordpress.com/2012/05/23/doctrine-of-discovery/</a>
</span><a class="wpl-liker" href="http://gravatar.com/lesalal" rel="nofollow" style="border-bottom-style: none !important; display: block; margin: 0px 2px 0px 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><br /></span></a><a class="wpl-liker" href="http://gravatar.com/lesalal" rel="nofollow" style="border-bottom-style: none !important; display: block; margin: 0px 2px 0px 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><img alt="lesalal" class="avatar avatar-30 grav-hashed" height="30" id="grav-6a2cfeb539beb4e1d9ca4a23051d11b6-0" src="https://0.gravatar.com/avatar/6a2cfeb539beb4e1d9ca4a23051d11b6?s=30&d=identicon&r=G" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: none; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; position: static;" width="30" /></span></a></li>
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Monday Midnitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01730918920975811167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5792055343813386743.post-83322460056364359662018-09-05T21:16:00.002+02:002018-09-05T21:16:33.193+02:00<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
Back in the day, the infrastructures of this high school in Edo State were as good as those of any high school anywhere in the world.</div>
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But due to utter neglect and deficiency in maintenance mentality that's all too common across the board in Africa, the school is now not even remotely a shadow of its glory days.</div>
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As a matter of fact, some dubious private citizens with connections has audaciously appropriated most of the school's land mass for their own money-making schemes. </div>
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I'm hereby using this medium to call on the current Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, to quickly investigate the atrocities being perpetrated against the school and act expeditiously in getting the school fixed.</div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lDNyLsUVLbs/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lDNyLsUVLbs?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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<a href="https://youtu.be/lDNyLsUVLbs">https://youtu.be/lDNyLsUVLbs</a></div>
</div>
Monday Midnitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01730918920975811167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5792055343813386743.post-28301348676879199172015-03-26T23:04:00.001+01:002019-11-03T02:41:51.377+01:00MONDAY MIDNITE--AZZHOLES ROCK<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 14.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 4.5pt;">
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</span></span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-sXP1bgYQAc/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-sXP1bgYQAc?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">F</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">olks, hopefully, and prayerfully, after
the 29th of May this </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">year, I won't have any reason to produce another
anti-9ja-</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">bad </span></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">government track or clip again for the rest of my life.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">But for now, here's my
latest explosive YouTube lyrical/</span>musical </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">clip. It's a no-holds-barred blast against
ALL the 9ja "leaders" </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">whoever governed from the highest seat of
power in Abuja.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 14.5pt; margin: 4.5pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">For the benefit of my
FB pals across the globe who may </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">not know, ASO ROCK is located in Abuja,
Nigeria, and it is </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">the country’s version of the WHITE HOUSE in Washington </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">DC;
NUMBER 10 DOWNING STREET in London; and the </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">KREMLIN in Moscow.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 14.5pt; margin: 4.5pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">Since its inception in
1991, all the so-called leaders who </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">have occupied this Africa’s most populous
nation’s Villa of </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Power till date, have been excessively corrupt, incompetent, </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">negligent, and utterly worthless. In short, they’ve all been </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A$$HOLE$.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">So, given the above
indisputable fact, it is my honest and </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">unapologetic opinion that until a
worthy leader occupies </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">the official seat of authority, ASO ROCK should be
called </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">AZZHOLES ROCK.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">But I do sincerely believe
that Nigeria's first worthy leader </span></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">is </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">just a few months away from the throne.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">Enjoy the clip.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Monday Midnitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01730918920975811167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5792055343813386743.post-19955763308875913492015-01-10T22:30:00.000+01:002019-11-03T04:18:40.753+01:00Boko Haram: 7,300 Nigerian refugees flee to Chad in less than 2 weeks – UN<img alt="displaced persons" src="https://media.premiumtimesng.com/wp-content/files/2014/12/800x522xdisplaced-persons.jpg.pagespeed.ic.9Uo7JgYqtq.webp" height="260" width="400"><br />
<br />
January 10, 2015.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">Some 7,300 Nigerian refugees had fled from Nigeria to Chad in the past 10 days, Farthan Haq, a United Nation spokesperson said on Saturday.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">Mr. Haq said this when he spoke to newsmen in Abuja.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">He said that the newly arrived refugees in Chad are staying </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">“The UN refugee agency teams in Chad are at the border and seeking more information on the new arrivals and their needs,” Haq said.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">He said the number of refugees from Nigeria in Chad had reached more than 10,000.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">Mr. Haq said the Chadian government had requested the assistance of aid agencies to help the refugees.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">Citing the United Nation Refugee Agency, he said that the </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">conflict in northeastern Nigeria has led to the exodus of some </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">135,000 people, with at least 850, 000 people displaced </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">within Nigeria.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/174601-boko-haram-7300-nigerian-refugees-flee-chad-less-2-weeks-un.html</span></span></div>
Monday Midnitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01730918920975811167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5792055343813386743.post-90369244087596576222015-01-10T22:10:00.002+01:002019-11-03T04:22:49.467+01:00JONATHAN, BERLUSCONI And The Politics Of Sweet Talk--Rufus Kayode Oteniya.<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "geogia" , "arial" , "helvetica"; font-size: 13px;">Published on Monday, 27 June 2011 12:21</span><br />
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<dd class="createdby" style="font-family: geogia, arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Written by Rufus Kayode Oteniya</span></dd><dd class="createdby" style="font-family: geogia, arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></dd><dd class="createdby" style="font-family: geogia, arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></dd><dd class="createdby" style="font-family: geogia, arial, helvetica;"><div style="margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">Reading an article recently in The Economist entitled ‘Berlusconi: The man who screwed an entire country’, I couldn’t but draw a striking similarity between President Goodluck Jonathan and Italian Prime Minister, Mr. Silvio Berlusconi.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">The two leaders are very popular in their respective countries and have enjoyed immense goodwill among their countrymen now or in the immediate past. Their popularity is not borne out of their achievements but for what they say. They are both gifted at knowing what their people like to hear and exactly, that is what they tell them.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">In Berlusconi early days in government, he would always remind the people how he had been able to build a business empire from nothing; a feat that has made him one of the richest men in the world and at various times, Italy’s richest though now, the 3<sup>rd</sup> richest according to Forbe’s latest ranking. He would always also remind them of how he planned to use his Midas touch to transform Italy; a transformation that never was. And since the global crises began, Berlusconi would often remind his countrymen how they are better off than the other Europeans because they are the least hit by the global crisis.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">Berlusconi has governed Italy longer than anyone since the end of the Second World War. He has held the position of the prime minister on three separate occasions: from 1994 to 1995, from 2001 to 2006 and currently since 2008 and in all these years, Italy has witnessed a consistently declining economy. Despite his failed reforms, he has remained very popular until lately simply because he had mastered the art of knowing the sweet things to tell the people and always keeping them hoping for a brighter future while doing very little to bring it to reality.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"> Thanks to his numerous escapades with young girls - some of them minors and some financial recklessness involving him and his numerous businesses, Italians have woken up to know that at best, Berlusconi does not mean good for their country and they are now saying NO to him and his party, though a little too late. He had already screwed an entire country! The economy has been battered! It’s now dawn on the people that Berlusconi is in politics to protect himself from going to jail for his numerous financial scandals and also protect his business empire. Now, it is clear that the saying is true that a good politician under democracy is quite as unthinkable as an honest burglar.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">In the last local election, Berlusconi and his party were rejected by the people and they even lost in Milan. According to Dr. Anthony A Kila in his article entitled <a href="http://www.transparencyng.com/index.php/component/content/59-speeches/goodluck-jonathan/4569-the-italian-festa?Itemid=37" style="padding: 2px; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">The Italian Festa</a>, “Silvio Berlusconi was biologically, commercially and politically born in Milan, the city considered by all to be his stronghold…” He lost it! And he woefully lost the battle in his power base. Italians completely rejected him again in a recent referendum!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">President Goodluck Jonathan has just won the election (fair or unfair). Most of his strong supporters would likely tell you tales like he’s humble, his one of us, he’s sincere, he’s got good plans for Nigeria, he relates directly to us on Facebook, he’s a lucky man, he’s a South South man and they hardly speak of his track records despites his being in politics for over 12 years.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">On his part also, he has told us many times his story of not having shoes while growing up; he often reminds the people how he never thought he would get to where he is today; he routinely reminds his followers on Facebook his policy of saying little and doing much while always ending that he would always fight for our interests and never disappoint us. No week goes by without telling us his plan to fight corruption. Before the elections, he would often tell us how he planned to deliver free and fair election. All these sweet talks have endeared the president to the hearts of not a few Nigerians.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">Even though his slogan is saying little and doing much, President Jonathan never said little, he was always saying much and more often than not, what Nigerians love to hear.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">His electioneering campaigns were full of promises as detailed by the veteran journalist, Sonala Olumhense in his article ‘<a href="http://transparencyng.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4413:non-governing-governance-a-mountain-of-promises&catid=59:guest&Itemid=37" style="padding: 2px; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">Non-governing Governance: A Mountain Of Promises</a>.’ The campaign promises were so many such that if the president can fulfil only 20% of them, posterity will judge him as one of the best presidents of our time.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">In reality, President Jonathan has done little while saying much. He has spoken and broken too many promises. For the sake of space, I would like to look at only two of his unfulfilled promises in the power sector here:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">As the Vice President to the late President Umaru Yar’Adua who was as at that time AWOL, and while directly supervising the energy sector then, Dr. Jonathan, while Speaking on 23 November 2009 in Kaduna at the inauguration of a production line for Peugeot 306 Sedan reiterated that Federal Government was putting necessary machinery in place to meet all its targets in the power sector, beginning with the generation and distribution of 6,000MW scheduled for December 2009 and that Nigerians would no longer need to use generators for their industrial and private power from January 2010.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">About a year later, then as the substantial president following the death of Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua, his predecessor, Dr. Jonathan on 17 November 2010 while speaking in Abuja at a meeting with former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, and the chief executive officer of JP Morgan Bank of the USA, Jamie Dimon announced to the nation that if his administration’s plans for the power sector are fully implemented, Nigeria should be generating enough power for use in homes, offices, and commercial enterprises by April 2011.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">Nineteen months since he made the first promise and seven months after the second one and two months after the last set time for stable electricity, nothing is stable about our electricity other than stable black-outs.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">While the former promise was an unconditional, the president applied a caution in the latter. He gave a condition that if his administration’s plans for the power sector were fully implemented.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I am quite sure that Nigerians would like to know if his administration’s plans for the power sector were fully implemented. If yes, why do we not have steady electricity supply as he had promised? And if no, why did he not implement his plans?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">Since there was no change in the administration and the president was also directly in charge of the Ministry of Power, then, he must be totally responsible for this failure. On assuming office, first as the acting president and later as the president, Jonathan took over the Ministry of Power so that he could directly supervise his policy regarding power and as a result he had no excuse for policy implementation.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">Jonathan has a history of saying something and acting another thinking Nigerians will always be gullible and support him regardless of his inadequacies or just banking on his name, Goodluck.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Before you start asking me to give him time to settle down for his new term, kindly know that these promises were not premised on his new term. He knew elections would be held in April, 2011 before making his promise; he knew a new term would begin on 29 May 2011.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">I know you’d say Jonathan didn’t start Nigeria’s power problems. Yes! He didn’t. He campaigned and promised to solve the problems, he made ‘unforced’ promises to solve them and we elected him to solve the problems.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">Let the president capitalize on the goodwill that he is enjoying while it lasts. Let him walk his talk on electricity so that his name will be engraved in gold when the true history of Nigeria is written.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">We are not asking for too much. Just gives us light and we’ll take it up from there. Nigerians are creative, hardworking and ingenious people but without light, little can be achieved. If he fails to do this, he might be causing some who had had shoes while growing up to lose them as adults and by that time Nigerians will have no choice but to treat him the way Italians treat Mr. Silvio Berlusconi.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">God Bless Nigeria!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Rufus Kayode Oteniya Writes! – <a href="mailto:oteniyark@hotmail.com" style="font-size: 12px; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;">oteniyark@hotmail.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">+2348166870008 (SMS Only)</span></div>
</dd>Monday Midnitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01730918920975811167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5792055343813386743.post-85214488765507041852015-01-06T23:09:00.000+01:002015-01-06T23:09:00.395+01:002015: MEND Endorses Buhari.<img alt="0303F02.Muhammadu-Buhari.jpg - 0303F02.Muhammadu-Buhari.jpg" id="page_content_Content9_oModuleContent_2_img_Banner" src="http://cdn.akamai.thisdaylive.com/0bef99d6-acf5-4e2c-9779-8fa02ba3fcd4/assets/0303F02.Muhammadu-Buhari.jpg?maxwidth=400&maxheight=540" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">General Mohammadu Buhari</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">By Segun James in Yenagoa.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Dreaded militia group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has endorsed the candidature of the All Progressive Congress (APC), General Mohammadu Buhari as president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">MEND insisted that Buhari is the right man for the job to revamp the failing state of the country.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">The MEND,in a statement issued on Tuesday via e-mail and signed by its spokesman, Gbomo Jomo, said the decision to throw the full support of the group behind General Mohammadu Buhari stems from the pathetic state in which the country has been put by the government of Goodluck Jonathan.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">"President Jonathan, since assuming his office, has set up countless number of “committees”, none of which their report has ever been implemented. From the Nuhu Ribadu report to the KPMG and Fuel Subsidy reports, just to mention a few.<br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />How can Nigerians expect a highly corrupt person like Goodluck Jonathan to fight corruption when he believes that “stealing is not corruption”, as he shamelessly told the nation? He has proven beyond all reasonable doubt, his inability to tackle corruption or prosecute a single government official in his six (6) years in office.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">"MEND finds it laughable the recent statement by Goodluck Jonathan on his governments plan to fight corruption. This statement not only smacks of ignorance to the highest order, but also shows just how stupid he thinks Nigerians are. A president that had six years to tackle the problem but chose to shield corrupt government officials, joined in the looting of our resources and now has the temerity to say his government “has a plan” to fight corruption. This is a big slap in the face of every single Nigerian!"</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">www.thisdaylive.com/articles/2015-mend-endorses-buhari-/198522/</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span>Monday Midnitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01730918920975811167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5792055343813386743.post-21985767279569822072014-12-15T18:31:00.003+01:002014-12-15T18:32:38.327+01:00THE NEXT VICE PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA PROF. YEMI OSIBAJO.<h1 class="hyper hairline bordered bordered-normal" style="background-color: black; box-sizing: border-box; color: white; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', sans-serif; font-size: 96px; font-weight: 200 !important; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding-bottom: 8px; position: relative; text-align: right;">
Prof. Yemi Osibajo</h1>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Professor Yemi Osinbajo is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and Senior Partner in the Law firm of SimmonsCooper Partners. Yemi Osibanjo is a professor of law and was the head of department of Public Law at the University of Lagos (1997-1999).</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">His tertiary education was at the University of Lagos and the London School of Economics and Political Science obtaining the LLB and LLM degrees respectively.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Previously served as the Special Adviser to the Attorney General of Nigeria (1988-1992), he later became the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Lagos State in 1999 reappointed for a second term in 2003. During the period of his public service, he commenced the Lagos State justice reform project. A prominent feature of that project was the establishment of the Directorate for Citizens’ Rights (DCR) which provides free legal services and legal representation to indigent citizens of the state. This initiative gave a voice to many who would otherwise not have a way to access their rights.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Prior to that appointment, Osinbajo, a Professor of Law, was the Head of Public Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">He is also the Ethics Adviser to the Advisory Board of the African Development Bank and is a non-executive Director of Citibank. He has served in various roles within the United Nations, United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations, the United Nations African Institute for Crime Prevention, the International Criminal court for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania, the department of Peacekeeping operations and the United Nations Peace Operations in Somalia.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Prof. Osibajo is Co-founder & Board Member Convention on Business Integrity and the Justice Research Institute Ltd. In 2007, Prof. and his wife Oludolapo founded “The Orderly Society Trust”, a non-governmental organization that is dedicated to the promotion of Christian ethics and orderliness.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Professor Osibajo has authored, co-authored and edited several books and publications including “The Unification and Reform of the Nigerian Criminal Law and Procedure Codes” ; “Law Development and Administration”; “The Annotated Civil Procedure rules of The Superior Courts in Nigeria”; and “Cross Examination: A Trial Lawyer’s Most Potent Weapon”.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">He also pastors at Olive Tree House of Prayer for All Nations, Banana Island, a parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God and lives in Lagos with his wife and three children.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">He will be speaking at the Platform.</span></span></div>
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</section>Monday Midnitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01730918920975811167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5792055343813386743.post-86225270297559030702014-12-14T07:00:00.001+01:002014-12-14T07:00:49.791+01:00Monday Midnite--MY NAME IS GEJ<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Folks, here's a telling YouTube clip of the first single (MY NAME IS GEJ) from my current anti-corruption, anti-bad government album "AZZHOLES ROCK."</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">After watching this clip, I'm sure GEJ's attack dog (OKUPE) will be gearing up to "forcefully train" me. LOL!!!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Anyhow, for the benefit of those who don't know, GEJ stands for Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, and he's the current President of Nigeria.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;">In his 2011 presidential bid, he bamboozled the masses with </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;">his claim that he had no shoes, no school bag, and that he </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;">carried his books in his hands during his school days, </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;">thereby winning the sympathy of most people as one who </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;">understands their predicaments...having been through hard </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;">times himself.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;">However, after four years at the helm, he's proven to be </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;">anything but. As a matter fact, his administration will go </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;">down </span><span style="background-color: black; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;">in history as the most inept, incompetent, rudderless, </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;">corrupt </span><span style="background-color: black; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;">and clueless democratically elected government in </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;">Nigeria t</span><span style="background-color: black; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;">ill </span><span style="background-color: black; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;">date.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><br />His most famous quote is "I don't give a damn," and it </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;">features prominently in the song and clip ... coz GEJ truly </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;">doesn't give a damn about the well-being of Nigerians who </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;">are not members of his family or his corrupt and looting </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;">clique.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;">His candid mindset is uninhibitedly unveiled in this rap song. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;">I </span><span style="background-color: black; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;">wrote it as if he's rapping the story himself.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;">Folks, the 2015 presidential election is upon us, and GEJ is </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;">hoping to capitalize on the gullibility of most Nigerians and </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;">con his way back to the presidency. Please, don't let him </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;">bamboozle you again. The time has come to shut him out of </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;">Nigeria's highest office and any other governmental position </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;">forever.</span></div>
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Monday Midnitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01730918920975811167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5792055343813386743.post-24382858204011008312014-09-10T17:07:00.001+02:002020-02-18T17:33:18.355+01:00Jonathan Orders Removal Of Offensive Bring Back Jonathan Posters<h1 property="dc:title" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-transform: uppercase;">|</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-transform: uppercase;"> </span><time content="2014-09-10T12:22:48+01:00" datatype="xsd:dateTime" datetime="2014-09-10" property="dc:issued" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-transform: uppercase;">SEPTEMBER 10, 2014 - 12:22PM</time><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-transform: uppercase;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-transform: uppercase;">| BY</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-transform: uppercase;"> </span><a content="Elizabeth Embu" href="http://www.dailytimes.com.ng/author/elizabeth-embu" property="dc:creator" rel="foaf:publications" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-decoration: none; text-transform: uppercase;" typeof="foaf:person">ELIZABETH EMBU</a></span></h1>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><img alt="" class="imagecache imagecache-400xY" src="https://www.dailytimes.com.ng/sites/default/files/imagecache/400xY/President%20Goodluck%20%20Jonathan.jpg" height="251" style="border: none; outline: none;" title="" width="400"></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">President Goodluck Jonathan has directed that the #Bring Back Jonathan 2015 signs and banners around Abuja which he and many</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKCHBQcZO4XFiaZDyFQq0AQUGwz1jliH-mHHNIqV5NWsMLJCdA-RaRLPsjsIWKXf90YR7oXf3TaA47fCDhQmOqNYKXvFNf61CuMaK58k2uML_JEpr5qYOneKS5EVoF9IJCmi9Rpr6qy-KU/s1600/GEJ+hastag+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKCHBQcZO4XFiaZDyFQq0AQUGwz1jliH-mHHNIqV5NWsMLJCdA-RaRLPsjsIWKXf90YR7oXf3TaA47fCDhQmOqNYKXvFNf61CuMaK58k2uML_JEpr5qYOneKS5EVoF9IJCmi9Rpr6qy-KU/s1600/GEJ+hastag+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"> Nigerians find offensive and repugnant be brought down immediately.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">According to a statement by the Presidential Media Aide, Reuben Abati, the </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">President "wholly shares the widely expressed view that the signs which were put up without his knowledge or approval are a highly insensitive parody of the #Bring Back Our Girls hashtag".</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">The statement added that "While President Jonathan appreciates the enthusiastic show of support for his administration by a broad range of stakeholders, he condemns the #Bring Back Jonathan 2015 signs which appear to make light of the very serious national and global concern for the abducted Chibok girls.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 27.2px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">http://www.dailytimes.com.ng/article/jonathan-orders-removal-offensive-bring-back-jonathan-posters</span></span></div>
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Monday Midnitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01730918920975811167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5792055343813386743.post-28000675076096424722014-09-09T21:21:00.001+02:002020-02-18T17:30:15.487+01:00GEJ HAS SHAMELESSLY HIJACKED THE #BringBackTheGirls CAMPAIGN.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4WrFqmjphKUPmkmr0HizWEE4Xg-l-x-XuxVA8YM4vn1glIIYIej3fB9oGnpES_1I5IuogzFwUhwWebU1RplOWcISFDbr5MNMFk1LbRDqct3IYqeJZxedIMF1uuM6Zy9Q_pr8SV39V18Pr/s1600/GEJ+hastag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4WrFqmjphKUPmkmr0HizWEE4Xg-l-x-XuxVA8YM4vn1glIIYIej3fB9oGnpES_1I5IuogzFwUhwWebU1RplOWcISFDbr5MNMFk1LbRDqct3IYqeJZxedIMF1uuM6Zy9Q_pr8SV39V18Pr/s1600/GEJ+hastag.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">It was the social media campaign of the year. <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/05/06/is-bringbackourgirls-helping/" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(212, 212, 212); text-decoration: none; zoom: 1;" target="_blank">#BringBackOurGirls</a> awoke the world to the ravages of Boko Haram, an al-Qaeda-linked terror group in Nigeria, and the plight of the millions of people who live in the midst of their insurgency. At the heart of the message were <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/05/06/8-questions-you-want-answered-about-nigerias-missing-schoolgirls/" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(212, 212, 212); text-decoration: none; zoom: 1;" target="_blank">hundreds of missing schoolgirls</a>, abducted in April from the remote village of Chibok by Boko Haram fighters, who vowed to make them into slaves. The #BringBackOurGirls hashtag channeled both sympathy from abroad and local outrage and concern in Nigeria, with many <a href="http://africasacountry.com/when-goodluck-jonathan-got-the-hashtag-treatment/" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(212, 212, 212); text-decoration: none; zoom: 1;" target="_blank">angry</a> at the government of President Goodluck Jonathan for being unable to free the captured women.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">But four months later, the girls have yet to be brought back despite the efforts of the Nigerian military as well as U.S. counter-terrorism forces deployed in neighboring Chad. More than 200 girls remain missing in suspected Boko Haram captivity. Others have perished from snakebite, illness and deprivation in the wild.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">Boko Haram itself has continued <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/09/05/will-boko-haram-beat-the-islamic-state-to-establishing-a-caliphate/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(212, 212, 212); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; text-decoration: none; zoom: 1;" target="_blank">its slaughter</a> this summer, and seized more territory in the country's restive northeast. Over the weekend, it<a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2014/09/boko-haram-storm-town-near-cameroon-border-201496192036810814.html" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(212, 212, 212); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; text-decoration: none; zoom: 1;" target="_blank">stormed towns</a> along Nigeria's border with Cameroon, killing dozens of innocents.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">Nigerian forces are now fighting Boko Haram in pitched battles around Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, the main hotbed of Boko Haram's operations. The U.N. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/07/boko-haram-attack_n_5779890.html" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(212, 212, 212); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; text-decoration: none; zoom: 1;" target="_blank">reports</a> that at least 1.5 million people have been displaced by the conflict since Jonathan's government declared a state of emergency in May.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">But the gravity of the moment hasn't stopped some in Nigeria from appropriating the tragic hashtag for rather cynical purposes. Banners emerged in the capital Abuja over the weekend showing Jonathan alongside a new slogan: #BringBackGoodluck2015. The campaign <a href="http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/group-launches-bringbackgoodluck2015-campaign-in-abuja/187935/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(212, 212, 212); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; text-decoration: none; zoom: 1;" target="_blank">appears to be the work</a> of supporters of the president, keen for his reelection in presidential polls next February. It's not clear whether Jonathan has officially endorsed the new hashtag, but its seeming ubiquity suggests that he is not opposed to it.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">The backlash in Nigeria, at least on Twitter, has been swift.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">While #BringBackOurGirls was just a brief cause celebre in the West — a passing moment to get morally exercised and then move on — it had a deeper meaning in Nigeria. It echoed the larger frustrations of a society that has little faith in its political leadership, is fed up with endemic corruption and wants genuine reform and better governance. Jonathan<a href="http://www.ryot.org/parents-kidnapped-nigerian-girls-finally-meet-president-goodluck-jonathan/761865" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(212, 212, 212); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; text-decoration: none; zoom: 1;" target="_blank">blamed</a> activists espousing the hashtag for "politicizing" the crisis.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">Boko Haram is a fanatical, murderous outfit, but its insurgency gained sway in a region that has been historically marginalized and neglected by Nigeria's central government. Jonathan's seeming indifference toward the missing girls hardly helped. In the early stages of the protests, his wife even reportedly had a number of #BringBackOurGirls activists <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/05/nigeria-first-lady-orders-arrest-of-protest-leaders_n_5265872.html" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(212, 212, 212); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; text-decoration: none; zoom: 1;" target="_blank">detained</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">In this context, the new campaign slogan is particularly galling. Jonathan has not brought back the girls, yet his campaign expects Nigeria to bring him back to power. One wonders if it will spawn more rich satire among Nigerians on social media. After all, there's <a href="http://africasacountry.com/when-goodluck-jonathan-got-the-hashtag-treatment/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(212, 212, 212); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; text-decoration: none; zoom: 1;" target="_blank">plenty of precedent</a>.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/people/ishaan-tharoor" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: large;"><img class="post-body-headshot-left" src="https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=http://wp-eng-static.washingtonpost.com/author_images/tharooris.jpeg?ts%3D1402006601019&h=90&w=90" style="border: 1px solid rgb(213, 213, 213); float: left; margin: 24px 24px 24px 0px; max-width: 90px;" /></span></a><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">Ishaan Tharoor writes about foreign affairs for The Washington Post. He previously was a senior editor at TIME, based first in Hong Kong and later in New York.</span></div>
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Monday Midnitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01730918920975811167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5792055343813386743.post-11492092106340176662014-08-12T01:45:00.001+02:002019-11-03T04:25:24.348+01:00Why Mandela Was Angry With Nigeria By Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed<div class="page-header-lead lead flush-bottom" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: effra, "helvetica neue", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 26.4px; margin-bottom: 16.5px; margin-top: 12px; text-shadow: none;">
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">"It is better to help a friend pay his fine,than tell a lie to help him cover a crime." - Nigerian proverb.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">It was literally a life-long ambition, and I used every opportunity to meet the old man in person. I was finally in a position to press buttons and call old friends to render favours, and in early 2007 I succeeded. I was told I could see Mandela for only 30 minutes at his home, but I needed to get there one hour earlier. Colleagues I had leaned on were skeptical that I would see him despite the appointment, particularly since I will not say it was official. An old South African friend and course mate from South Africa who helped, suggested I asked questions or matters I wanted to discuss with him and send them in advance. I did not think that was the type of meeting I wanted, so I did not.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">Mandela was surprised when he was told I worked at the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but had spent 6 months trying to see him to pay my personal respects. Why did you not go through your colleagues here? I told him the visit was not official. I just wanted to meet him. He relaxed and apologized that it had taken that long for me to see him. Others left us, except a lady who sat discreetly away from us. I thought she was a medical person.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">How are my Nigerian brothers and sisters? He asked me. He will not let me take the initiative. 'You know I am not very happy with Nigeria. I have made that very clear on many occasions'. Now I was curious. I knew of course that he led our suspension from the Commonwealth after the hanging of the late Ken Saro-Wiwa and his Ogoni compatriots. It was also no secret that South African governments including one he headed had considerably cooled off towards Nigeria, and by the time I was meeting him, Nigeria was a dirty word in most cities in South Africa. I mentioned that Nigerian people had very strong and positive dispositions towards South Africa and the Southern African region, and many were puzzled that people who marched all the way with South Africans can be despised by the governments and people of South Africa. Yes, he responded. Nigeria stood by us more than any nation, but you let yourselves down and Africa and the black race very badly.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">I knew I was going to get a lecture, so I sat back. He spoke with passion and anger at a nation which has one-quarter of the black race, and had everything needed to be great, but is known principally for its dictators and its criminals. Your country, he said, used to be respected. After your suspension from the Commonwealth, many western countries approached me to help in isolating Nigeria so that it will be easier to bring down your military dictators. I consulted many African leaders, and all were unanimous in their advice. They told me to stay clear of Nigeria. That you will fix your problems. You have done it before. ‘But’, he shook his head, 'you have not.Not this time'. The world will not respect Africa until Nigeria earns that respect. The black people of the world need Nigeria to be great as a source of pride and confidence. Nigerians love freedom and hate oppression.Why do you do it to yourselves? He remembered Tafawa Balewa, the first leader who gave his party, ANC, financial contribution.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">I saw an opening here. I suggested that all Africans are bitter at their leaders. With due respect, I said, his presidency had not changed lives of black South Africans much, and his successors are not likely to do so. Yes, he agreed,' but we raised hopes that others can do so. ‘He was back to Nigeria. 'Your leaders have no respect for their people. They believe that their personal interests are the interests of the people. They take people's resources and turn it into personal wealth. There is a level of poverty in Nigeria that should be unacceptable. I cannot understand why Nigerians are not more angry than they are', he continued.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">Since it was obvious that he was intent on pouring his heart out, I decided to let him speak. 'What do young Nigerians think about your leaders and their country and Africa? Do you teach them history? Do you have lessons on how your past leaders stood by us and gave us large amounts of money? You know I hear from Angolans and Mozambicans and Zimbabweans how your people opened their hearts and their homes to them. I was in prison then, but we know how your leaders punished western companies who supported Apartheid’. I reminded him that we had elected governments since 1999, and he knew some of our leaders in person. Yes, he did. 'But what about the corruption and the crimes?' he asked? 'Your elections are like wars'. Now we hear that you cannot be president in Nigeria unless you are Muslim or Christian. Some people tell me your country may break up. Please don’t let it happen'.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">He sat back. I obviously got a lot more than I bargained for. Then he mellowed down, and apologized. He had not even asked me what I wanted to see him for, and he was tearing at my country. It was fine, I assured him. I merely wanted to meet him and pay my respects. He then asked me a lot of personal questions, and in particular what I was doing personally to improve the capacity of the Nigerian people to build the nation to be a source of pride and comfort for Nigerians, Africa and the black race. But he was in a lecturing mood.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">'Let me tell you what I think you need to do' he said. 'You should encourage leaders to emerge who will not confuse public office with sources of making personal wealth. Corrupt people do not make good leaders. Then you have to spend a lot of your resources for education. Educate children of the poor, so that they can get out of poverty. Poverty does not breed confidence. Only confident people can bring changes. Poor, uneducated people can also bring change, but it will be hijacked by the educated and the wealthy'.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">'Like South Africa today, sir', I quipped. He paused. 'It will be difficult for the world to understand that it will take generations to eliminate the structural roots and effects of Apartheid.' 'But', I drove the point home, 'You created the impression that the political compromises and concessions you made would lead to a dramatic change in the fortunes of black people'. 'Drammatic?' he asked. 'In many ways we achieved dramatic results'.' Like in sports', I pressed further. 'Sports is important to South Africans. It gave them confidence to believe things are possible. And it united them”. 'But sir, it created a false sense of progress, and people here think it is all a gimmick by white people to create a diversion'.' It is not a diversion, he countered. It is real. South Africans will have to come to terms with the reality that their country is a multi-racial, multi-cultural nation with rich and poor. Any efforts to reduce the gulf between the races and classes is useful, he insisted.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">Then he was back to Nigeria. People had said to him that South Africa could become an alternative beacon of hope and inspiration for the black race and Africa. He told them it was always going to be Nigeria. Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa can provide a tripod for real change but young Africans need to capture that vision. 'So', he said to me, 'If this audience has been useful, I am glad. But it will be more useful to me if you go back to Nigeria and work to give young Nigerians good education. Teach them the value of hard work and sacrifice, and discourage them from crimes which are destroying your image as a good people.'</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">I have re-lived that rare opportunity many times since that visit. The 30-minute audience lasted for one hour, and I was escorted out by a man I saw close up as human as anyone. I had rarely come across such candour about my country, but it was clearly the product of genuine concern that one of Africa’s greatest assets was being frittered away.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">As he shook my hand to say goodbye, he apologized again over his comments, but assured me that he would love to see Nigeria grow and develop into a world economic power under a democratic system. If there is any comfort to draw from Mandela’s disappointment, it will be that he may not have observed our free-fall as a nation in the last five years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calluna" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large; line-height: 28px;">http://saharareporters.com/2013/12/09/mandela-was-angry-nigeria-dr-hakeem-baba-ahmed</span></span></div>
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Monday Midnitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01730918920975811167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5792055343813386743.post-55547020251764492182014-07-14T20:06:00.001+02:002014-07-14T20:06:19.687+02:00Nadine Gordimer, South African author, dies at 90<img alt="Nadine Gordimer and Nelson Mandela" height="400" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/76255000/jpg/_76255251_76254694.jpg" width="624" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"> Nadine Gordimer and Nelson Mandela were close friends</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">South African Nobel Prize-winning author Nadine Gordimer has died in Johannesburg aged 90.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The writer, who was one of the literary world's most powerful voices against apartheid - died at her home after a short illness, her family said.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">She wrote more than 30 books, including the novels My Son's Story, Burger's Daughter and July's People.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">She jointly won 1974's Booker Prize for The Conservationist and was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1991.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The Nobel committee said at the time it was honouring Gordimer for her "magnificent epic writing" which had been "of very great benefit to humanity".</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The daughter of a Lithuanian Jewish watchmaker, she began writing from an early age. Gordimer published her first story - Come Again Tomorrow - in a Johannesburg magazine at just 15.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Her works comprised both novels and short stories where the consequences of apartheid, exile and alienation were the major themes.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Gordimer's family said she "cared most deeply about South Africa, its culture, its people, and its ongoing struggle to realise its new democracy".</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Committed to fighting apartheid, the author was a leading member of the African National Congress (ANC) and fought for the release of Nelson Mandela.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/faqs/online/mp_accessibility_help" id="emp-28297316-65171beforeFlashLink" style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Media</a><span style="line-height: 18px;">They went on to become firm friends and she edited Mandela's famous I Am Prepared To Die speech, which he gave as a defendant during his 1962 trial.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The Nelson Mandela Foundation paid tribute to Gordimer, saying it was "deeply saddened at the loss of South Africa's grande dame of literature".</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">"We have lost a great writer, a patriot and strong voice for equality and democracy in the world," it added.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">A number of Gordimer's books were banned by the South African government under the apartheid regime including 1966's The Late Bourgeois World and 1979's Burger's Daughter.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Her last novel, No Time Like the Present, published in 2012, follows veterans of the battle against apartheid as they deal with the issues facing modern South Africa.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Despite her hatred of apartheid, the author was proud of her heritage and said she only considered emigrating once - to nearby Zambia.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">"Then I discovered the truth, which was that in Zambia I was regarded by black friends as a European, a stranger," she said.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">"It is only here that I can be what I am: a white African."</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><img alt="Nadine Gordimer" height="400" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/76254000/jpg/_76254691_76254690.jpg" style="-webkit-user-select: none; border: 0px; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0px; position: relative;" width="624" /></span></span><span style="display: block; width: 624px;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The author featured on the 1981 BBC series Writers And Places, narrated by authors about places which are important in their work and lives. Gordimer's film focussed on Johannesburg</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">In her later years, Gordimer became a vocal campaigner in the HIV/Aids movement, lobbying and fund-raising on behalf of the Treatment Action Campaign, a group pushing for the South African Government to provide free, life-saving drugs to sufferers.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">She was also critical of South African President Jacob Zuma, expressing her opposition to a proposed law which would limit the publication of information deemed sensitive by the government.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">"The reintroduction of censorship is unthinkable when you think how people suffered to get rid of censorship in all its forms," she said in an interview last month.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The ANC said it sent its "heartfelt condolences" to Gordimer's family.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">"Our country has lost an unmatched literary giant whose life's work was our mirror and an unending quest for humanity," it said.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://twitter.com/MargaretAtwood/status/488682980810846208" style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;">Paying tribute on Twitter</a>, Canadian author and fellow Booker Prize winner Margaret Atwood said: "Very sorry to hear that Nadine Gordimer has died. One of the greats, and a fearless spokesperson for human rights."</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Gordimer's family said a private memorial service would be announced at a later date.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">She is survived by two children.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-28295542</span></span></div>
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Monday Midnitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01730918920975811167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5792055343813386743.post-70368677864525192002014-07-07T10:36:00.001+02:002014-07-07T10:42:32.677+02:00The true size of Africa<div class="blog-title dailychart" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(136, 133, 112); border-bottom-style: solid; border-width: 0px 0px 7px; color: #888570; font-family: Arial, verdana; font-size: 14px; height: 95px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #888570; font-size: 32px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Graphic detail</a></span><br />
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Charts, maps and infographics</h2>
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Cartography</h1>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The true size of Africa</span></span></h3>
</hgroup><aside class="floatleft light-grey" style="float: left; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px !important;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><time class="date-created" style="line-height: 1.6rem;">Nov 10th 2010, 17:52</time> <span class="location" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; line-height: 1.6rem; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">by G.D.</span></span></span></aside><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://static02.mediaite.com/geekosystem/uploads/2010/10/true-size-of-africa.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img align="right" alt="" class="imagecache-290-width" src="http://media.economist.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/290-width/true-size-of-africa.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; display: block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /></a>LAST month Kai Krause, a computer-graphics guru, caused a stir with a map entitled <a href="http://static02.mediaite.com/geekosystem/uploads/2010/10/true-size-of-africa.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"The True Size of Africa"</a>, which showed the outlines of other countries crammed into the outline of the African continent. His aim was to make "a small contribution in the fight against rampant Immappancy"—in particular, the fact that most people do not realise how much the ubiquitous Mercator projection distorts the relative sizes of countries.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">A sphere cannot be represented on a flat plane without distortion, which means all map projections distort in one way or another. Some projections show areas accurately but distort distances or scales, for example; others preserve the shapes of countries but misrepresent their areas. You can <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">read all the gory details on Wikipedia</a>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Gerardus Mercator's projection, published in 1569, was immediately useful because it depicts a line of constant bearing as a straight line, which is handy for marine navigation. The drawback is that it distorts the shapes and areas of large land masses, and the distortion gets progressively worse as you get closer to the poles. (Africa looks about the same size as Greenland under the Mercator projection, for example, even though it is in fact 14 times bigger.) This was not a big problem for 16th-century sailors, of course, and the Mercator projection remains popular to this day.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">In Mr Krause's map (above) he seems to have used the shapes of the countries from a Mercator projection, but has scaled up the outline of Africa, without changing its shape, to show the appropriate area. An alternative and arguably more rigorous approach would be to repeat the exercise using an "equal area" projection that shows the countries' areas correctly while minimising shape distortion. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">These two properties are the hardest to balance when showing the whole world on one map. I decided to rework Mr Krause's map using<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gall-Peters_projection" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Gall's Stereographic Cylindrical Projection</a> (1855) with two standard parallels at 45°N and 45°S. Distortions are still evident at the poles, but for most countries shape is maintained, and their areas are shown correctly. As you can see (below), the results are distinct from Mr Krause's map. But however you look at it, his point is a good one: Africa is much bigger than it looks on most maps.</span></span></div>
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Monday Midnitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01730918920975811167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5792055343813386743.post-2284984084407308492014-06-28T10:09:00.000+02:002014-06-28T10:10:16.647+02:00Nigeria hires PR for Boko Haram fallout<img alt="" src="http://thehill.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_full/public/article_images/nigeria_bokoharam_kidnapping_050514getty.jpg?itok=M7krykex" height="363" typeof="foaf:Image" width="645" /><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The Nigerian government has signed a contract worth more than $1.2 million with a Washington public relations firm to deal with the fallout from the Boko Haram kidnappings, documents obtained by The Hill show.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, who is up for reelection in February, is seeking to counter the perception that he has not done enough to combat the Islamic extremists in his country who abducted more than 270 schoolgirls in April.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">To that end, his government has hired Levick, a prominent PR and lobbying firm in Washington, to engage in an effort to change the “the international and local media narrative” surrounding Nigeria’s “efforts to find and safely return the girls abducted by the terrorist organization Boko Haram,” according to a contract document signed June 13.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The firm will also be “assisting the government’s efforts to mobilize international support in fighting Boko Haram as part of the greater war on terror.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Levick is partnering on the contract with Jared Genser, a human rights attorney who primarily represents political prisoners.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The firm said the work for Nigeria will be more than just PR and will be part of an effort to create “real change” in the country.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">“A more comprehensive approach, using vehicles, such as public diplomacy and engaging outside experts to enact real changes, is how the advocacy industry is evolving,” Phil Elwood, a vice president at Levick, told The Hill. “A communications strategy alone is not enough to solve the complex and multifaceted problems facing some of the more controversial nations.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">In April, Boko Haram, a terrorist group whose name loosely translates to “Western education is sin,” snatched more than 250 schoolgirls from a state-owned school in northern Nigeria. Government officials say 219 girls are still missing, while about 57 have escaped their captors.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Local media reports out of Nigeria suggest Boko Haram kidnapped more girls last week. More than 60 women and girls, and 31 schoolboys are missing after a three-day siege in the northern part of the country.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">President Obama has sent a team of U.S. military, law enforcement and hostage-negotiation advisers to Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, to help with the search for the missing youths. He has also committed 80 American troops to the neighboring country of Chad.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Lanny Davis, an executive vice president at Levick who is also a columnist for The Hill, said Jonathan is committed to the rescue effort.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">“For me, after talking to him, the priority for President Jonathan beyond any is finding and bringing home the girls,” Davis said. “There’s got to be a way to amplify what he’s saying and doing to find these girls because over here in America, we’re not hearing much about his effort.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Levick will be also working to publicize “President Goodluck Jonathan Administration’s past, present and future priority to foster transparency, democracy and the rule of law throughout Nigeria,” according to contract documents.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">That’s where Genser, armed with impressive human rights bona fides, comes in.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">His client list includes the Burmese pro-democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi, retired South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. Genser also began representing human rights activist Liu Xiaobo, currently imprisoned in China, months before he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">“Arbitrary detention is, for better or worse, my specialty,” Genser said, mentioning that it has been about five years since he has worked for a foreign government.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">In addition to his own firm, Perseus Strategies, Genser founded Freedom Now, an independent nonprofit that works to “free prisoners of conscious worldwide.” The firm has more than 15 campaigns that urge the release of political prisoners in countries including Ethiopia, Vietnam and Uzbekistan.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">“It’s of course easier to wear the white hat,” he said, referring to the bulk of his work, “because who’s going to object?”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Genser said his decision to work for Nigeria was based on Jonathan’s commitment to taking on Boko Haram.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">“In terms of advancing human rights, however, the real work has to be done working with governments that are well meaning but lack the capacity — or as much capacity as they might like — and want to do the right thing,” he said.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">“At the end of the day, the [Nigerian] president has said clearly to us that he wants results,” he said.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Levick will be paid $75,000 per month for its work, in addition to the extra costs of advertisements, video production and website development, and is working for the government through a state-owned media agency.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">If members of the firm travel to Nigeria, there will be an additional estimated cost of $22,500 per person. A subcontract with Perseus Strategies is valued at $25,000 per month, bringing the monthly retainer to a total of $100,000.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">By K Street standards, the $1.2 million Nigeria contract is a fairly sizable one, though other firms have earned more from Middle Eastern countries. For example, The Glover Park Group has a contract with Egypt valued at $250,000 per month.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Genser said he hopes to bolster the efforts already underway to rescue the schoolgirls.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">“I would not sit here and pretend that we are singlehandedly going to rescue the girls, that’s not our role,” Genser said. “What we can do is, we can provide advice and support about how to do so in accordance with international human rights norms and standards.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="background-color: #444444;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: 12px;">Read more: </span><a href="http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/210635-nigeria-hires-pr-for-boko-haram-fallout#ixzz35v3aRUPy" style="color: #003399; font-size: 12px; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/210635-nigeria-hires-pr-for-boko-haram-fallout#ixzz35v3aRUPy</a><span style="font-size: 12px;"> </span><br /><span style="font-size: 12px;">Follow us: </span><a href="http://ec.tynt.com/b/rw?id=bNYbpAvBir4Pxiacwqm_6l&u=thehill" style="color: #000066; font-size: 12px; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@thehill on Twitter</a><span style="font-size: 12px;"> | </span><a href="http://ec.tynt.com/b/rf?id=bNYbpAvBir4Pxiacwqm_6l&u=TheHill" style="color: #000066; font-size: 12px; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">TheHill on Facebook</a></span>Monday Midnitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01730918920975811167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5792055343813386743.post-68313253457270075012014-06-22T11:14:00.000+02:002014-06-22T11:54:08.776+02:00SUPER EAGLES VICTORY: A LESSON FOR OUR POLITICIANS and PUBLIC OFFICE HOLDERS <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiBnJt-XUfE1vBWy0ZpwDRSFAOQPn6qcCmTwvBBSWANeZhLNwBD4y17Dv1C_rA1AUtVQ4QeR2I84lfzDhWqLvk1AxP6eWrHyvzsjOnTkie9S_AXVI9wHSa0G7VbkiV7oGX1UM1B9qv4MCz/s1600/SUPER+EAGLES.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiBnJt-XUfE1vBWy0ZpwDRSFAOQPn6qcCmTwvBBSWANeZhLNwBD4y17Dv1C_rA1AUtVQ4QeR2I84lfzDhWqLvk1AxP6eWrHyvzsjOnTkie9S_AXVI9wHSa0G7VbkiV7oGX1UM1B9qv4MCz/s1600/SUPER+EAGLES.jpg" /></a><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">How many people saw the illuminating light that radiated much more brighter than the glory of lifting the World Cup itself in the Super Eagles' performance last night in Brazil? Well, if you missed it, don't beat up on yourself.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Lost in the ecstatic and euphoric celebration of our narrow victory against Bosnia-Herzegovina, I missed it too...until one of my frequent daily moments of reflection took over the reigns of my thoughts. I wasn't even a quarter-inch deep into the solitary zone of my mind before the light flashed through like thunderbolt.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Our so-called leaders, politicians, Pastors, Imams, and everyone in the country who often react outrageously to criticism, must allow this light to shine in them each and everyday of their lives if they truly love Nigeria, or remain forever condemned in their horrid hypocrisy. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">I know by now you must be wondering what the said light is. Well, let's dig right in.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">It is undeniable that every Nigerian, in and outside of the country, from President Jonathan and his goons to 9JA Diasporas in the remotest part of China, vented a soured word or two of vilification against the Super Eagles for their lackluster and unproductive performance in their first outing against Iran.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">You vented, I vented, we all vented, and rightfully so. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">But after nearly drowning in the pool of our vituperation for almost a week, the Super Eagles responded last night in the RIGHT WAY, THE BEST WAY, THE ONLY WAY....by performing much better, and I for one couldn't be more proud of them. Not just for the victory, but for the potential learning curve their victory unleashed if we are all willing to view it from the perspective of this blog.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">So let it be trumpeted on the hilltop, down in the valley, and in every nook and cranny of the country. Let it be drummed in the ears and engraved in the hearts of every politician, pastor, imam, and all public office holders in Nigeria.....that they must learn to respond to the brutal criticisms that we the people regularly heaps on them when they under-perform in the exact same vein the Super Eagles responded last night in Brazil. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Mr and Madam Politrickians, no more buying the press to Picasso-out your failures. No more hiring thugs to squash your critics. No more going to Babalawo for rituals or praying to God to sustain your position of power when your performance is nothing to write home about. Your only redemption is to go out there and perform much better.....like the Super Eagles did last night.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">That is the lesson, that is the light. Learn it, and let it shine in you.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">And anytime you feel bad about being lambasted for your below-par performance in office, remember that you yourself also disparaged the Super Eagles for the self-same reason somewhere between their 0-0 draw against Iran and their 1-0 victory against Bosnia-Herzegovina. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"> Monday Midnite. </span></span></div>
Monday Midnitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01730918920975811167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5792055343813386743.post-67790639703837028692014-06-21T16:22:00.001+02:002014-06-21T16:22:27.521+02:00I Get Prophetic Messages To Impregnate My Church Members----ENUGU PASTOR<img alt="enugu pastor" class="attachment- wp-post-image" height="194" src="http://newsrescue.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/enugu-pastor.jpg" width="300" /><em style="background-color: white; color: #474747; font-family: Georgia, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </em><br />
<em style="background-color: black; font-family: Georgia, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: blue;">Timothy Ngwu, second from right and two of the concubines</span></em><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The Police in Enugu State have arrested one Timothy Ngwu, the General Overseer of Vineyard Ministry of the Holy Trinity, located at Ihe/Owerre, Nsukka in Enugu State.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Before his arrest on Friday, the self acclaimed Pastor, who said he was obeying God’s command, has put no less than 20 members of his church in a family way.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">DailyPost gathered that Ngwu does not spare married women in his evil act.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The spokesman of the Enugu State Police Command, Ebere Amaraizu, DSP, disclosed that “the pastor claims to be obeying prophetic/spiritual injunction to do the will of God, which is to impregnate any one chosen and revealed by the Holy Spirit, irrespective of whether the woman is married or not.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">“When the woman is delivered of the baby, the child remains in the ministry with the mother for life”.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Amaraizu added that “Vineyard Ministry of the Holy Trinity, located at Umudikwere, Ihe/Owere Nsukka in Enugu was not known until DSP Gloria Udoka and her operatives from the Anti Child Trafficking unit of the state criminal and investigation department, stormed the place based on the complaint they received from wife of the Pastor, Veronica Ngwu, bordering on sexual abuse of people in the ministry, which has brought about indiscriminate pregnancy among married and single women in the ministry.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">“According to Veronica, her husband used to be a well known catechist in Nsukka Catholic”.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">It was further disclosed that while acting under the same alleged will of God, the Pastor got his wife’s niece pregnant.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">“Some of the members’ wives are now living with him after he impregnated all of them”, the statement added.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Reacting to the allegations against him, the General Overseer stated that he has about five wives with thirteen children, apart from other concubines, who came as a result of the prophetic will of God.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">He claimed that he does not do anything with any married woman until full consent and agreement is reached between him and the husband in line with the directives of the holy Spirit.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Two of the women, who had left their husband and are now living with the General Overseer, Calista Omeje, and Assumpta Odo confirmed that they left their husband and went to the General Overseer based on the prophetic injunction to do the will of God.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Calista revealed that she is married to her husband with ten children, and that she was impregnated by Timothy, though the baby later died.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">She further disclosed that she also gave her daughter out to the General Overseer to be impregnated in fulfillment of will of God.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Assumpta Odo also confirmed the development, pointing out that she is also married with eight children and that the pastor impregnated her as well as her daughter.</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://dailypost.ng/2014/06/20/get-prophetic-messages-impregnate-church-members-enugu-pastor/" style="color: #045f9f; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://dailypost.ng/2014/06/20/get-prophetic-messages-impregnate-church-members-enugu-pastor/</a></div>
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Monday Midnitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01730918920975811167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5792055343813386743.post-45064834876717426542014-06-21T11:42:00.002+02:002014-06-21T11:42:30.611+02:00Briton returns looted Benin artefacts after 177 years<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', sans-serif; line-height: 19.5px; padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">A Briton, Dr. Mark Walker, has returned to the Oba of Benin, two bronze works carted away by his great grandfather 117 years ago during the invasion of Benin by British soldiers.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The two bronze artefacts, a long-beaked bird and a bell, which were removed by his great grandfather, Captain Philip Walker, in 1897, were received by the Oba at a reception organised in honour of the Briton in Benin.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The monarch, Oba Erediauwa, who would mark his birthday in few days, described the return of the antiquities as the best birthday gifts he had ever received.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The Oba, however, urged the other descendants of soldiers who fought in Benin and still kept the objects in their homes to emulate Walker’s friendly gesture and return the objects in their possession.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Walker, who expressed delight that the cultural antiquities were returned to their place of origin, noted that he was thankful to the traditional ruler and people of Benin for not rebuking him on account of his grandfather’s misdeed.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">He said that he had persuaded his grandmother to take custody of the artefacts so that he could trace their root and return them to the rightful owners.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">“I was very pleased to have them in my possession because they reminded me of my parents.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">“But when I realised that my children were not interested in the bronze works, I knew I had to protect their future,” Walker noted.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">He said that it was through information about Benin bronze on the Internet that he discovered the website of the Richard Lander Society, operated by Steve Sunstone, which connected him with the original owner of the antiquities.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">“On that website is a brief history of Benin and a passionate plea for the return of the bronzes. So, I contacted Mr. Sunstone and he very kindly put into effect a lot of work by himself and his colleagues who arranged for visits to the Nigerian High Commission in London and made contact with the royal household here,” he said.</span></span></div>
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Monday Midnitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01730918920975811167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5792055343813386743.post-63208502721252122302014-05-28T17:40:00.000+02:002014-05-28T17:41:31.932+02:00Maya Angelou: US author, poet and activist dies aged 86<div class="introduction" id="story_continues_1" style="clear: left; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Poet, author and activist Maya Angelou has died at the age of 86.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">One of America's leading literary voices, she made her name with the 1969 memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">It was the first of seven volumes of autobiography that traced her life from a childhood of abuse and oppression in the Deep South in the 1930s.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Her family said: "She lived a life as a teacher, activist, artist and human being. She was a warrior for equality, tolerance and peace."</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">In <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MayaAngelou" style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;">a statement on Facebook</a>, they said she passed away quietly at home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, at 08:00 EST (12:00 GMT).</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">"Her family is extremely grateful that her ascension was not belaboured by a loss of acuity or comprehension," they said.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><img alt="Maya Angelou" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/75155000/jpg/_75155929_angelou_book_ap.jpg" height="405" style="-webkit-user-select: none; border: 0px; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0px; position: relative;" width="304" /></span></span><span style="display: block; width: 304px;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue;">I Know Why the</span><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"> </span><span style="color: blue;">Caged Bird Sings dealt with the racism and family trauma of Angelou's upbringing</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">"The family is extremely appreciative of the time we had with her and we know that she is looking down upon us with love."</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://news.wfu.edu/2014/05/28/mourning-the-loss-of-maya-angelou/" style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;">A statement from Wake Forest University</a>, where Angelou had been professor of American studies since 1982, said: "Dr Angelou was a national treasure whose life and teachings inspired millions around the world."</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Harry Potter author JK Rowling <a href="https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/471650440334282752" style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;">tweeted one of Angelou's quotes</a> in tribute: "'If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.' Maya Angelou - who was utterly amazing."</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Civil rights campaigner Reverend Jesse Jackson<a href="https://twitter.com/RevJJackson/status/471655590637232128" style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;">wrote</a>: "The renaissance woman has made a peaceful transition. She acted, sang, danced & taught She used poetry as a road for peace."</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Raised by her grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas, Angelou wrote about being raped by her mother's boyfriend at the age of eight. After she told her family what had happened, the boyfriend was killed.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">"I thought my voice had killed him, so it was better not to speak - so I simply stopped speaking," she said. She remained mute for five years, but read voraciously.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Angelou later became a singer, a dancer, cocktail waitress, prostitute and an actress before beginning her writing career.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which dealt with the racism and family trauma of her upbringing, spent two years on the US best-seller list.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Her career had many outlets, straddling television, theatre, film, children's books and music.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Through her writing and interviews, her strength and eloquence as a role model for those seeking to overcome inequality and injustice won her many admirers.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Angelou was also a prominent civil rights activist and a friend of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><img alt="President Obama and Maya Angelou" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/75155000/jpg/_75155930_angelou_reu_medaloffreedom2.jpg" height="261" style="-webkit-user-select: none; border: 0px; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0px; position: relative;" width="464" /></span></span><span style="display: block; width: 464px;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Barack Obama gave her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Her poetry collections included Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie (1971), And Still I Rise (1978), Now Sheba Sings the Song (1987) and I Shall Not Be Moved (1990).</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Her poem On the Pulse of the Morning, written for US President Bill Clinton's first inauguration, struck a nerve with the nation and sold more than a million copies in the US.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">She was also commissioned to write poems to mark the 50th anniversary of the United Nations in 1995 and remembered Nelson Mandela in a poem for the US State Department last year.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The National Medal of Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country's highest civilian award, were among her honours.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Continuing to act as well as write, she appeared in the groundbreaking 1977 TV drama Roots and earned a Tony Award nomination in 1973 for her performance in the play Look Away.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">She wrote the 1968 TV series Black, Blues, Black and became the first African-American woman to have a feature film adapted from one of her stories when her screenplay Georgia, Georgia was made in 1972.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Angelou directed the film Down in the Delta, won three Grammys for her spoken-word albums and received an honorary National Book Award in 2013.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">In <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MayaAngelou/posts/10152555658329796" style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;">her final Facebook post</a> on Monday, she said an "unexpected medial emergency" had forced her to cancel an engagement.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><strong style="line-height: 16px;">Did you know or work with Maya Angelou? Did her work have a significant impact on you? Send us your memories by emailing</strong><a href="mailto:Haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk" style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;">Haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk</a><strong style="line-height: 16px;"> using the subject Maya Angelou.</strong></span></span></div>
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Monday Midnitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01730918920975811167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5792055343813386743.post-88084918303128854782014-05-10T19:32:00.001+02:002014-05-10T19:32:55.511+02:00Dr. Dre is set to become Hip-Hop's first BILLIONAIRE.<div style="font-family: Helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 13.199999809265137px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The era of digital downloads is coming to an end and Apple is still without its own streaming music product. That's why it looks poised to buy Beats for $3.2 billion, which would be its biggest acquisition ever<span style="font-family: georgia, serif; line-height: 25.200000762939453px;">Why would Apple want to</span><span style="font-family: georgia, serif; line-height: 25.200000762939453px;"> </span><a href="http://time.com/93260/apple-in-talks-to-buy-beats/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(24, 12, 12, 0.247059); box-sizing: border-box; font-family: georgia, serif; line-height: 25.200000762939453px; text-decoration: none;">buy</a><span style="font-family: georgia, serif; line-height: 25.200000762939453px;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia, serif; line-height: 25.200000762939453px;">Beats Electronics?</span></span></span></h2>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">It’s a question many tech observers have been asking since the<em style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box;">Financial Times</em> <a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/e330e830-d6f3-11e3-b95e-00144feabdc0.html?siteedition=intl#slide0" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(24, 12, 12, 0.247059); box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">reported</a> Thursday that the Silicon Valley behemoth is “closing in” on a $3.2 billion acquisition of the “high quality” headphones maker founded by music producer Jimmy Iovine and hip-hop artist Dr. Dre.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The <em style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box;">FT</em> suggested that Apple might be interested in Beats in order to recharge its “cool” factor at a time when streaming music services like Spotify, Pandora and Rdio have become increasingly popular with young people.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Apple’s iTunes service long dominated digital music sales, but the company never quite figured out how to present a streaming music product. Apple’s flagship music brand iTunes has been <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/mattbuchanan/3-ways-the-new-itunes-sucks-less" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(24, 12, 12, 0.247059); box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">criticized</a> over its user interface — so it makes sense that the company would be eager for outside help.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">At $3.2 billion, the Beats deal would be more than three times larger than any acquisition in Apple’s history.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Apple can definitely afford the transaction — it’s sitting on more than $150 billion in cash and investments — but the company has traditionally preferred to build from within. Apple’s late co-founder Steve Jobs was fiercely proud of that fact. Unlike other tech giants, Apple has never made an acquisition larger than $1 billion.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Until now, perhaps.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Bolt-on acquisitions are in vogue in the tech world these days: Recent examples include Facebook’s acquisition of <a href="http://time.com/70772/whatsapp-500-million-users/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(24, 12, 12, 0.247059); box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">WhatsApp</a>and <a href="http://time.com/37842/facebook-oculus-rift/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(24, 12, 12, 0.247059); box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Oculus</a> (not to mention <a href="http://techland.time.com/2012/04/10/dear-facebook-heres-how-to-not-screw-up-instagram/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(24, 12, 12, 0.247059); box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Instagram</a>), as well as Google’s purchase of <a href="http://techland.time.com/2014/01/13/googles-nest-acquisition-is-a-3-2-billion-bet-on-the-internet-of-things/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(24, 12, 12, 0.247059); box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Nest</a> and <a href="http://business.time.com/2013/06/25/traffic-ahead-why-googles-1-billion-waze-deal-faces-u-s-antitrust-scrutiny/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(24, 12, 12, 0.247059); box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Waze</a>, and Yahoo’s <a href="http://business.time.com/2013/05/17/purple-power-yahoo-reportedly-in-talks-to-buy-tumblr-for-up-to-1-billion/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(24, 12, 12, 0.247059); box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Tumblr</a> buyout.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Dr. Dre, a musician and producer who co-founded the seminal Compton, Calif.-based hip-hop group NWA, has said that he was inspired to create Beats by the poor sound quality in many headphones. He teamed up with legendary producer Jimmy Iovine, a veteran music industry executive, to launch a brand that has proved remarkably popular.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">“I knew people were going to dig it, but I didn’t know it was going to be this big,” Dre told TIME in a recent <a href="http://entertainment.time.com/2014/01/17/exclusive-dr-dre-and-jimmy-iovine-talk-beats-music/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(24, 12, 12, 0.247059); box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">interview</a>. “I didn’t know it was going to be at this magnitude. I know that people really care about the way their music sounds. So did I know it was going to work? Yeah, but I had no idea it was going to be this massive.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">For Apple, the streaming music service that Beats recently launched may be the most attractive part of the deal. Apple revolutionized digital music with the iPod and iTunes, but the company has yet to find a new formula to challenge Spotify, the streaming music darling of the moment.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">“This is a reactive move — at best,” <a href="http://om.co/2014/05/08/on-streaming-apple-beats-spotify/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(24, 12, 12, 0.247059); box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">writes</a> veteran tech journalist Om Malik. “Steve Jobs’ Apple would have pushed to make something better, but even he struggled to come to terms with the Internet and Internet thinking. That hasn’t changed.” (TIME’s Harry McCracken also poses some good <a href="http://time.com/93309/apple-buying-beats/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(24, 12, 12, 0.247059); box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">questions</a>about the deal.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Subscription services are growing faster than any other area of the music industry. Music subscription revenue increased by 50% to $1.1 billion in 2013, according to a <a href="http://www.ifpi.org/downloads/dmr2013-full-report_english.pdf" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(24, 12, 12, 0.247059); box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">report</a> by IFPI, the global music industry association, <a href="http://time.com/93260/apple-in-talks-to-buy-beats/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(24, 12, 12, 0.247059); box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">cited</a> by my colleague Eliana Dockterman. Downloads fell 2% last year, in the first annual decline since Apple launched the iTunes store in 2003.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Spotify is <a href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304791704579212152163448852" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(24, 12, 12, 0.247059); box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">valued</a> at more than $4 billion, and the Swedish company is among the most high profile candidates likely to go public over the next few years. A Spotify IPO would likely blast the company’s market value into the stratosphere, so it would make sense for Apple to make a run at the company now.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">But why has Apple been unable to develop a credible streaming music service internally? After all, the company has a multitude of talented software and hardware engineers.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Three reasons.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">First, Apple was late to the streaming music game, perhaps because its iTunes franchise was built around buying individual music tracks. Simply put, the iTunes business model is not about streaming music.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Second, Apple’s specialty is hardware and software design, not media. The company has <a href="http://business.time.com/2013/07/10/apple-found-guilty-in-e-book-price-fixing-conspiracy-trial/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(24, 12, 12, 0.247059); box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">run into trouble</a> in its negotiations with big media companies.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Third, Apple CEO Tim Cook is an operational wizard — and a genius at managing Apple’s supply chain and inventory — but he’s not a product visionary like Jobs.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Cook failed to anticipate that music streaming would become the new industry business model. As a result, Apple simply wasn’t set up to launch a successful streaming service of its own. And it’s not because Apple didn’t have the resources or Los Angeles connections to secure the necessary rights. It’s because the company failed to anticipate a major consumer entertainment trend.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">“The age of digital downloads is basically over,” Aram Sinnreich, a media professor at Rutgers University who studies the intersection of technology and music, <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-08/apple-said-to-be-near-buying-beats-electronics-for-3-2b.html" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(24, 12, 12, 0.247059); box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">told</a> Bloomberg. So now, Apple reportedly wants to buy Beats for $3.2 billion.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">This situation raises a <a href="http://business.time.com/2013/10/04/two-years-after-steve-jobs-death-is-apple-a-different-company/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(24, 12, 12, 0.247059); box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">now-familiar question</a>: What’s up with innovation inside Apple? The company makes the best consumer hardware and software in the world, but it hasn’t launched a new product category since the iPad launch in 2010. Incremental improvements to the iPhone, the iPad and the Mac computer line have been impressive, but what’s next?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">One possible explanation for Apple’s interest in Beats might be the booming “wearable computing” space. After all, Beats’ signature product is the high-bass headphone unit. If Apple can incorporate the Beats product into its wearable computing system — think Internet connected headphones — then the deal could pose a threat to Google, Facebook, and other companies that are forging ahead on smart glasses and watches.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #282828; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px;">http://time.com/93557/apple-beats/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+time%2Ftopstories+%28TIME%3A+Top+Stories%29</span></span></div>
Monday Midnitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01730918920975811167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5792055343813386743.post-18506298585634879902014-05-09T09:37:00.000+02:002020-02-18T17:31:25.822+01:00Nigeria Under Jonathan, Squandered Oil Wealth, and Breeds Corruption Says Hillary Clinton<h1 class="title" id="page-title" style="background-color: white; color: #001736; display: inherit; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.9em; font-weight: 300; margin: 0px; padding: 10px 0px 2px;">
Nigeria Under Jonathan, Squandered Oil Wealth, and Breeds Corruption Says Hillary Clinton</h1>
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<span class="submitted">Posted: May, 08 2014, 6:05PM</span></div>
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Goodluck Jonathan,</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-large;">Mrs. Hillary Clinton, the former US Secretary of State in separate events in New York City said the Nigerian government under President Goodluck Jonathan, squandered its oil resources, and indirectly helps corruption to fester in the troubled country.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-large;">Clinton spoke with ABC-TV’s Robin Roberts on American national television, and also at a public function organized by the International Crisis Group. Later, the former Senator and First Lady made other critical remarks concerning Nigeria at a philanthropy parley, as she was widely quoted by several American media outlets, including CNN.<br /><br />Clinton stated the following position in the New York events she attended, challenging the credibility and quality of the country's leadership under President Jonathan's watch.<br /><br />"The seizure of these young women by this radical, extremist group, Boko Haram, is abominable, it’s criminal, it’s an act of terrorism, and it really merits the fullest response possible, first and foremost from the government of Nigeria,” Clinton told ABC-TV. “The government of Nigeria has been, in my view, somewhat derelict in its responsibility toward protecting boys and girls, men and women in northern Nigeria over the last years,” she said.<br /><br />“The Nigerian government must accept help – particularly intelligence, surveillance and recognizance help – their troops have to be the ones that (are) necessary, but they could do a better job if they accept the offers that are being made. Nigeria has made bad choices, not hard choices," Clinton said, parroting the name of her forthcoming memoir.<br /><br />"They have squandered their oil wealth; they have allowed corruption to fester, and now they are losing control of parts of their (own) territory because they would not make hard choices,” she went on to say.<br /><br />"The Nigerian government has failed to confront the threat, or to address the underlying challenges. Most of all, the government of Nigeria needs to get serious about protecting all of its citizens and ensuring that every child has the right and opportunity to go to school,” she said in her address to the function organized by the International Crisis Group.<br /><br />"Every asset and expertise should be brought to bear. Everyone needs to see this for what it is, it is a gross human rights abuse, but it is also part of a continuing struggle within Nigeria and within North Africa,” she added forcefully.<br /><br />Clinton, often mentioned as the leading Democratic Party candidate in the upcoming 2016 U.S. Presidential election cycle, has not yet announced whether she will run for the White House. Yet, comments from the respected former U.S. Secretary of State do carry political weight beyond American borders.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/hillary-clinton-interview-2014-nigerian-kidnapping-secretary-state-23629961</span></div>
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Monday Midnitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01730918920975811167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5792055343813386743.post-54576329337595374862014-04-26T00:08:00.002+02:002014-04-26T00:08:45.044+02:00Nigerian Girl Named Most Powerful 11-Year-Old In The World<h1 class="title" style="background-color: #fefefe; border: 0px; color: #a30006; font-family: chunk-1, chunk-2, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 36px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 5px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Nigerian Girl Named Most Powerful 11-Year-Old In The World</h1>
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<img alt="" src="http://s0.wp.com/wp-content/themes/premium/headlines/images/ico-time.png?m=1391150138g" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; height: auto; margin: 0px 5px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;" />APRIL 25, 2014 <span class="author vcard" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">BY <a class="url fn n" href="http://diamondcelebrities.com/author/donsainto/" sl-processed="1" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; color: #0b6a01; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="View all posts by Don Saint">DON SAINT</a></span> <span class="comments" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" src="http://s0.wp.com/wp-content/themes/premium/headlines/images/ico-comment.png?m=1391150138g" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; height: auto; margin: 0px 5px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;" /><a href="http://diamondcelebrities.com/2014/04/25/nigerian-girl-named-most-powerful-11-year-old-in-the-world/#comments" sl-processed="1" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; color: #0b6a01; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Comment on Nigerian Girl Named Most Powerful 11-Year-Old In The World">4 COMMENTS</a></span></div>
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<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #222222; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" pxz:uid="1230fa99160-1" src="http://img.naij.com/n/05/1/zuriel-oduwole-ipy2013.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" /></strong></div>
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<strong style="background-color: black; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Zuriel Oduwole</span></strong></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">New York & Singapore based Business Insider, a leader in Technology, Money, Entertainment and </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Market News recently released its annual list of the Worlds Most Powerful 100 Individuals – one at every </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">age from 0 to 100 years old and Zuriel, founder of Dream Up, Speak Up, Stand Up, Girl-Child initiative, </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">was named the most powerful 11-year-old person in the world today based on being the youngest </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">person to be interviewed by Forbes, Magazine.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Describing her, the business insider said, “<em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Oduwole started the “Dream Up, Speak Up, Stand Up” </em></span></span></div>
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<em style="background-color: black; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">program to inspire girls in Africa to achieve their dreams of an education, has interviewed a dozen </span></em></div>
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<em style="background-color: black; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">presidents and prime ministers from all over Africa and was named in December as one of the most </span></em></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">influential Africans by New Africa magazine</em>.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Others who made the list include, 1-year-old Margaret Hager-Bush, Grand Daughter of George Bush, </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">2-year-old Blue Ivy Carter, daughter of Beyonce and Jayz, 8-year-old Infanta Leonor in line to Spanish </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Monarchy, 15-year-old Malia Obama, First Daughter of the USA, 26-year-old soccer star Lionel Messi, </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">29-year-old Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder, 31-year-old Kim Jung Un, North Korean Leader.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">The 52-year-old bracket was taken by Barrack Obama, 58-year-old bracket by Bill Gates, at 60 </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Chinese President Xi Jinping, at 66 former Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, at 77 years old Pope </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Francis, at 83 Investor Extraordinaire Warren Buffet, the Queen of England listed as the most powerful </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">88 year old in the world and at 90 years old is President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: ronnia-1, ronnia-2, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">SOURCE: </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: ronnia-1, ronnia-2, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">http://diamondcelebrities.com/2014/04/25/nigerian-girl-named-most-powerful-11-year-old-in-the-world/</span></span></div>
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Monday Midnitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01730918920975811167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5792055343813386743.post-88564195830176753222014-04-18T21:24:00.003+02:002014-04-18T21:24:55.702+02:00The Pastor Who Died After 21 Days Of Dry Fasting And Prayers: Did God Forsake Him? <img alt="The Pastor Who Died After 21 Days Of Dry Fasting And Prayers: Did God Forsake Him?" src="http://www.infoboxx.com/media/k2/items/cache/1da7a0ac7a34d319d36fde2ba2a083ea_L.jpg" /><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The Bible encourages Christians to fast and pray. Pray without ceasing. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">In fact so emphatic is this statement to the extent that in Matthew 21:22 God says anything that is requested in prayer shall be granted. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">I’m sure you are familiar with the story about the pastor who passed in Ghana, West Africa, last Wednesday after a grueling 21-day dry fasting and prayers. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">According to reports from the West African country, the Presiding Bishop of Holy Fire International Church, Rt. Rev. Dr Reginald Ofori-Twumasi , 68, died at a private hospital at Anaji near Takoradi, Ghana’s oil production hub. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The pastor is reported to have told his congregation “he will be back after his 21 day fasting.’’ </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">But reports say the Man of God died few days after he completed the fasting. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">A member of the church who told the media the pastor was suddenly taken ill after the fast and was admitted to the hospital. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">He subsequently died. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">I am certain that most Christians can identify with this sad story because as they say, true Christians fast and pray. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The police are yet to determine the cause of death, but obviously 21 days of dry fast - without food and water - is enough to cause havoc to any human body.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">But the question running through the minds of many, including me, is did God forsake the Rt. Rev. Dr Reginald Ofori-Twumasi?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Now beyond the fact that this story is of particular interest to the Christian community, I guess it perhaps opens the discussion on the need to explore further the import of that call to fast. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Christians do believe that God is an all-knowing God. If so, why can’t people appreciate that due to the obvious differences in people’s health and mental stamina, not everyone can go through the strenuous distressing experience of fasting and praying for long hours? </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">I have come across several instances where a number of days for fasting are imposed on sick people who have gone to prayer camps or centres in a desperate search for healing. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Make no mistake I believe in miracles and the fact that God works in several ways, however I also believe that God has given us wisdom and the willpower to make decisions that affect our lives. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Thankfully this case has received wide media attention. How about the thousand and one people who die at prayer camps across Africa while observing long periods of fasting?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Couldn’t we as Christians make distinction between those who can survive several days of fasting and those vulnerable ones who obviously cannot, due to the frailties of their bodies?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">I don’t believe that the directive by God is absolute as some believers are making it seem. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">God understands our individual circumstances and has demonstrated amply to always meet those who call upon Him at the point of need.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; line-height: 26px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Quan, serif; font-size: x-large;">http://www.infoboxx.com/index.php/component/k2/item/877-the-pastor-who-died-after-21-days-of-dry-fasting-and-prayers-did-god-forsake-him</span></span></div>
Monday Midnitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01730918920975811167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5792055343813386743.post-81795694819859535022014-04-15T00:27:00.003+02:002014-04-15T00:27:37.409+02:00Abuja Bus Station Bombing Update<h1 class="title" id="page-title" style="background-color: white; color: #001736; display: inherit; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.9em; font-weight: 300; margin: 0px; padding: 10px 0px 2px;">
Abuja Bus Station Bombing Update</h1>
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<span class="submitted">Posted: Apr, 14 2014, 7:04AM</span></div>
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By Saharareporters, New York</div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Police and emergency services officials in Nigeria’s capital city of Abuja have said that the death toll from a bombing this morning at a bus station in Nyanya stands at 76 people. In addition, the officials disclosed that at least 100 people sustained various stages of critical injuries.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Police sources and eyewitnesses said the explosion went off as the park bustled with passengers who gathered there to take commuter buses known as “El Rufai”, after a former Minister of the capital territory, Nasir El Rufai. Our sources stated that day laborers frequently use the big red buses to commute to work at various locations around the metropolis.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The explosion killed many commuters and bystanders as well as set several buses ablaze, several witnesses said.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">A police witness said body parts still littered the scene of the explosion several hours after the bombing. Most of the badly decimated remains as well as the injured have been taken to the General Hospital in the Maitama area of Abuja.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Ambulances belonging to different security agencies were seen making several trips from the scene of the attack.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The bombing is the first time the Nigerian capital has seen a major bombing this year. It comes as a group of Nigerians put together by President Goodluck Jonathan is meeting in Abuja to grapple with the country’s future. The gathering known as “National Conference” promptly adjourned their sitting till 4Pm tomorrow ostensibly over security concerns.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Mr. Jonathan reportedly cancelled a planned trip outside of the capital today. The president later visited the scene of the bombing under tight security.</span></span><br />
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Monday Midnitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01730918920975811167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5792055343813386743.post-68435398305427153592014-04-06T11:44:00.000+02:002014-04-06T11:44:00.906+02:00Oregon mother 'fatally beat her four-year-old son until his intestines tore because she thought he was gay'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">**Oregon mother 'fatally beat her four-year-old son until his intestines tore because she thought he was gay'</span></span></h1>
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<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: black; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></li>
<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: black; font-weight: bold;">**Jessica Dutro, 25, charged with murder in August 2012 death of her son Zachary Dutro-Boggess</span></span></li>
<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: black; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></li>
<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: black; font-weight: bold;">**Dutro's boyfriend, Brian Canady, 25, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and assault, and agreed to testify against the mother</span></span></li>
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<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: black; font-weight: bold;">**Miss Dutro sent Facebook message to Canady saying that Zachary 'walks and talks like it [gay]', and that the boyfriend would have to 'work on' him</span></span></li>
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<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: black; font-weight: bold;">**Dutro's 7-year-old daughter told detectives how her mother and Canady repeatedly beat Zachary until he 'got dead' </span></span></li>
<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: black; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></li>
<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: black; font-weight: bold;">**Doctor who examined 4-year-old testified that contents of his ripped bowels leaked into his body for at least two days</span></span></li>
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<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: black; font-weight: bold;">**All of Zachary's siblings also showed signs of abuse, except for Dutro and Canady's infant son</span></span></li>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">By <a class="author" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Snejana+Farberov" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-transform: uppercase;">SNEJANA FARBEROV</a> and <a class="author" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Associated++Press+Reporter" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-transform: uppercase;">ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTER</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><span class="article-timestamp article-timestamp-published"><span class="article-timestamp-label" style="font-weight: 700; text-transform: uppercase;">PUBLISHED:</span> 18:35 GMT, 27 March 2014 </span>| <span class="article-timestamp article-timestamp-updated"><span class="article-timestamp-label" style="font-weight: 700; text-transform: uppercase;">UPDATED:</span> 10:22 GMT, 28 March 2014</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">An Oregon woman accused of beating her 4-year-old son to death believed the boy was gay and that was a motive behind the murder, according to the prosecution. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Jessica Dutro's son Zachary died in August 2012, days after collapsing at the homeless shelter where his family was living southwest of Portland.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Washington County Judge Don Letourneau ruled Wednesday, after jurors were released for the day, that a Facebook message from Dutro to her boyfriend was admissible evidence.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">On trial: Jessica Dutro (left) is accused of beating her 4-year-old son to death with the help of her boyfriend, Brian Canady (right), because she thought the toddler was gay </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><img alt="Crime scene: Zachary Dutro-Boggess was found unconscious August 14, 2012, in the homeless shelter Good Neighbor Center in Tigard, Oregon" class="blkBorder img-share" height="418" id="i-acb20e86" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/03/27/article-2590985-1CA1895D00000578-790_634x418.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="634" /></span></span><div class="overlay-icon mobile-gallery" style="background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; bottom: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; display: table; font-family: arial; height: 36px; line-height: 34px; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 10px; width: 100px;">
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Crime scene: Zachary Dutro-Boggess was found unconscious August 14, 2012, in the homeless shelter Good Neighbor Center in Tigard, Oregon</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">In the message, Dutro told her boyfriend, Brian Canady, that Zachary was 'facing the wall' because he had made her angry.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Her son was going to be gay, she wrote, using a slur. 'He walks and talks like it. Ugh.'</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Canady would have to 'work on' Zachary, she wrote.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The message established Dutro's motive for inflicting a pattern of abuse, prosecutor Megan Johnson said. Dutro assaulted three of her children, but Zachary received the harshest treatment, authorities said.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The judge ruled additional web searches done by Dutro were also admissible, <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/tigard/index.ssf/2014/03/jessica_dutro_murder_trial_mot.html" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Oregonian</a> reported.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">On August 16, 2012, the day her son was taken off life support, Miss Dutro searched terms such as anger management and parenting classes, prosecutors said. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">She also searched listings for free stuff and sex with strangers, they said.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Earlier this month, Canady pleaded guilty to manslaughter and assault for his role in the homicide.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Zachary Dutro-Boggess died of blunt-force trauma to his abdomen and a delay in medical treatment, prosecutors said.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Dutro, 25, is charged with murder, murder by abuse and second-degree assault. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Admission of guilt: Brian Canady (center) pleaded guilty to manslaughter and assault earlier this month</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">On August 14, 2012, Jessica Dutro and her boyfriend called 911 to report that her son was unconscious after collapsing at Good Neighbor Center, a family homeless shelter. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Little Zachary, who just turned four the day before, was rushed to a Portland hospital where doctors diagnosed him with blunt-force trauma to the abdomen, which caused his bowels to tear.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The toddler was taken off the ventilator two days later.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">On March 4, Brian Canady, 24, pleaded guilty to manslaughter for his role in Zachary's death and agreed to testify against Dutro as a witness for the prosecution. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Under the plea agreement, the more serious charges against him, including four counts of murder by abuse and one count of second-degree assault, have been dropped. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">When questioned by detectives, the man admitted that he had kicked Zachary in the stomach because the boy wanted to take off his shoes before sitting down to watch TV, as Canady had ordered him. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">During a hearing Tuesday, the jury got to hear an audio recording of an interview that detectives had conducted with Miss Dutro's 7-year-old daughter, who described how her mother and Canady allegedly hit and punched Zachary until he 'got dead.' </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The girl also told police that the couple often hit her and her siblings for 'not being good.' </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The 7-year-old recounted how her brother was repeatedly struck by his parents for not listening until he got sick.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><img alt="Jessica Dutro pictured just days after Zachary's killing" class="blkBorder img-share" height="423" id="i-9ed10e48" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/03/27/article-2590985-1CA1894D00000578-65_306x423.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="306" /></span></span><div class="overlay-icon mobile-gallery" style="background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; bottom: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; display: table; font-family: arial; height: 36px; line-height: 34px; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 10px; width: 100px;">
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<span style="display: table-cell; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">+6</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><img alt="Plea deal: Canady has agreed to testify against his girlfriend in exchange for the more serious charges against him being dropped" class="blkBorder img-share" height="423" id="i-9e210e3e" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/03/27/article-2590985-1CA19C6100000578-16_306x423.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="306" /></span></span><div class="overlay-icon mobile-gallery" style="background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; bottom: 24px; box-sizing: border-box; display: table; font-family: arial; height: 36px; line-height: 34px; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 10px; width: 100px;">
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<span style="display: table-cell; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">+6</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Plea deal: Canady has agreed to testify against his girlfriend in exchange for the more serious charges against him being dropped </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The boy eventually stopped breathing, but his sister told police that Dutro and her boyfriend 'didn’t tell anybody.' </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">On the morning of August 14, Dutro placed Zachary in the shower because he had wet himself, but the child's body was limp and his eyes rolled. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Dr. Danny Leonhardt, who examined Zachary, testified that by the time his parents sought medical help for the toddler, he 'essentially was dead.' </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Leonhardt said that the contents of his torn intestines had leaked out into his body for at least two days, resulting in a deadly infection. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Besides the injuries to Zachary’s abdomen similar to those seen in car crash victims, the child's body was covered in bruises suggesting prolonged, repeated abuse. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Leonhardt said that in the hospital, he caught a glimpse of Zachary's 3-year-old brother and said that the child's face was covered in scrapes. An exam later showed that the toddler had five broken ribs in various stages of healing. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: blue; font-size: x-large;">The physician evaluated the victim’s siblings and concluded that all of them had been abused, save for Dutro and Canady's infant son. <br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Read more:</span></span><ul style="margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a class="js-tl" href="http://www.oregonlive.com/tigard/index.ssf/2014/03/jessica_dutro_murder_trial_mot.html" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: black; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Jessica Dutro murder trial: Motive for Tigard killing was 4-year-old's perceived homosexuality, prosecutors say</span></a></li>
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