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You can make a purchase of any of my products this christmas. Thank you. - Dr. Adesola Lajide
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Introducing a BRAND NEW book by Dr. Adesola Lajide, renowned author and medical practitioner.
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First city monument Bank Ltd, Nigeria.Smartlaj EduPortal Updates -
Professor Bernard Freamon teaches courses on modern-day slavery and human trafficking at Seton Hall University School of Law in New Jersey and also specializes in Islamic Legal History. He is currently writing a book, “Islam, Slavery and Empire in the Indian Ocean World.” The views in this article are his alone.
ReplyDeleteBy Professor Bernard Freamon
In the past few months, the world has witnessed horrific accounts of the enslavement of thousands of innocent Yazidis and other religious minorities by ISIS partisans in Iraq and Syria.
In a recent article in its online English-language magazine, ISIS ideologues offered legal justifications for the enslavement of these non-Muslim non-combatants, stating that “enslaving the families of the kuffar [infidels] and taking their women as concubines is a firmly established aspect of the Shariah or Islamic law.”
The article argues, based on a variety of Shariah sources, that ISIS partisans have a religious duty to kill or enslave members of the Yazidi community as part of their struggle [jihad] against their enemies.
This argument is plainly wrong, hypocritical and astonishingly a historical, relying on male fantasies inspired by stories from the days of imperial Islam.
Bernard Freamon's article has an eerie similarity to Boko haram's attempt to justify its atrocities including the kidnapping and enslavement of Chibok girls. There is no basis on which Nigeria or its government can negotiate with boko haram or accede to its demands.
ReplyDeletePeace without justice is peace off the grave yard. Nigerian youths would forever embrace western education, because our minds cannot be enslaved!
The atrocities of Boko haram and ISIS IS also an affront to right-thinking Muslims everywhere and a criminal perversion of Islamic law, particularly its primary source, the Glorious Quran.
ReplyDeleteJurists around the world acknowledge that there is now a universal consensus recognizing an irrefutable human right to be free from slavery and slave-trading.
This right, like the rights to be free from genocide, torture, racial discrimination and piracy, has become a bedrock principle of human affairs. ISIS seeks to remove Islamic jurisprudence from this universal consensus by citing Quranic verses that recognize the existence of chattel slavery.
http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2014/11/05/isis-says-islam-justifies-slavery-what-does-islamic-law-say/?hpt=hp_t5
Femi Olajide Words that will haunt the open and secret supporters of hatred and religious extremism disguised as religious fervor till the ends of time..
ReplyDeleteHmm..who is this Femi Olajide?
DeleteA colleague, fellow doctor, and member, Oyo state branch of the Nigerian medical association.
Delete(CNN) -- Gunmen ambushed a bus in northeastern Kenya at dawn Saturday and sprayed bullets on those who could not recite Quran verses, killing 29 people, authorities said.
ReplyDeleteThe bus, which had 60 people aboard, was heading from Mandera, near the Somali boarder, to the capital of Nairobi.
About 20 miles into its journey, militants stopped it at a hilly area and stormed in, local police Cmdr. Noah Mwivanda told The Nation newspaper.
Once inside, the militants demanded those onboard recite Quran verses. As others watched, they opened fire on passengers who failed to do so, he said.
This is one of the busiest travel seasons in the nation. Throngs make their way to relatives' homes for the holidays, with buses and other public transportation packed this time of the year.
"Security agencies are in pursuit of the criminal gang," the Interior Ministry said in a statement. "We'll give a comprehensive update once preliminary reports are out."
Days before the bus attack, police raided multiple mosques in the port city of Mombasa after they found explosives in one. The searches this week prompted clashes with Muslim youths in the city, Kenya's second-largest.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/22/world/africa/kenya-bus-attack/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
There seems to be a proliferation of islamists in Africa and the Middle East. God help us all.
DeleteChapter 5 of my latest book, with the title, religion, the mind and creativity deals exhaustively with the history and possible reasons for rise of religious violence since the crusades of prebiblical times.
DeleteLearn more by registering, with the link at the top of the newsletter. After payment, i will send the videos, the book in pdf format and interactive multiple choice questions,on this same subject.
Are the products downloadable?
DeleteI click on the link but its taking me to your website. How d I register exactly?
DeleteOnce you get to this page; http://www.smartlaj.org/ecommerce/page.html, scroll down; then you get to register here; fill in your name and e-mail address, and click on sign up. Then click on payment details, utilize any of the payment options, i will receive a credit alert from my bank; and will subsequently send all the downloadable links to your me-mail box.
DeleteI mean the links, will be sent to your e-mail box. The links are downloadable
DeleteFor international payments in U.S. Dollars, please use this account:
DeleteAccount Name: ADESOLA LAJIDE
Bank: UBA PLC
Account Number - 3000460366
Swift code; UNAFNGLA;
Sort code 033192736 ;
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Swift code CITIUS33;
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CNN) -- Qassim Shesho stands on Mount Sinjar in northern Iraq, overlooking a vast mountain range that rises from the desert. The calm is deceptive.
ReplyDeleteHe worries about the village behind him. Sheref ad-Din holds one of the holiest shrines for the Yazidis. ISIS militants are only two miles away.
"ISIS wants to exterminate us and they want to establish an Islamic caliphate, but Islam is not like what they are doing to us," Shesho says. He says he commands about 2,000 Yazidi fighters.
Just months ago, he lived a peaceful life in Germany.
"I came back because my people are here. ISIS are terrorists. I came to defend my land, my family and my religion," he tells CNN by phone, speaking in Arabic.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/21/world/meast/isis-yazidi-germany-mount-sinjar/index.html?hpt=hp_c1
Jerusalem (CNN) -- The home of Ghassan Abu Jamal has a beautiful view of Jabel Mukaber. It looks over a small valley with olive trees and grazing sheep.
ReplyDeleteIt also stinks here, the distinctive raw sewage smell of what's known locally as "skunk water," sprayed by Israeli police as a riot-control measure. And when you walk down the road to the Abu Jamal family's East Jerusalem home, you tread on the metal remains of tear gas canisters.
On Tuesday Ghassan Abu Jamal and his cousin Uday walked into a synagogue in the West Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Nof. Armed with meat cleavers, they attacked the worshipers inside, hacking at them with the knives. They killed four rabbis and a police officer before they were shot dead at the scene.
Today Ghassan and Uday stare out at mourners from posters and flyers on the walls of the family home. Here they are considered "shaheed," or martyrs, of Israel's occupation.
His 70-year old father, Mohamed, was recovering from a heart operation when he saw the news of the synagogue attack on television. He immediately collapsed.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/22/world/meast/jerusalem-house-demolitions/index.html?hpt=hp_c1
The middle east is boling.
DeleteEditor's note: Democrat Jim McDermott is a 12th-term congressman from Washington state's 7th District. Kate Gould is the legislative associate for Middle East policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation. The views expressed are their own.
Delete(CNN) -- Washington and Tehran didn't reach the final nuclear deal they were striving for, but the short-term extension of talks announced Monday should help ensure more progress can be made, both in preventing a nuclear-armed Iran and reducing the chances of yet another war in the Middle East.
True, significant gaps remain to be bridged between the United States and Iran, and it is clearer than ever that nuclear diplomacy is not a sprint but a marathon. Yet these negotiations are worth persevering with, not just because we are on the brink of a diplomatic solution to the impasse over Iran's nuclear program, but also because of the potentially far-reaching impact on stabilizing the Middle East.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/24/opinion/mcdermott-gould-iran-extension/index.html?hpt=hp_t5
(CNN) -- Al Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen -- al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula -- strongly rebuked ISIS in a video released Friday, declaring ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's declaration of an Islamic caliphate to be illegitimate.
ReplyDeleteThe statement, delivered by one of AQAP's top clerics -- Harith bin Ghazi al-Nadhari -- is a significant setback to ISIS efforts to assume leadership of the global jihadist movement a week after groups in Egypt and Libya joined the ISIS fold.
ISIS and al Qaeda's top leadership in Pakistan had a bitter falling out earlier this year, and al Qaeda and ISIS fighters have been fighting each other in Syria, but AQAP had until now stayed above the fray, calling for both sides to reconcile and pool resources to strike the United States.
But when al-Baghdadi declared in an audiotape released last week his Islamic State had expanded to Yemen, as well as other Middle Eastern countries, it was too much for the AQAP leadership to stomach.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/21/world/meast/al-qaeda-yemen-isis/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
(CNN) -- A fierce battle between ISIS militants and Iraqi military and tribal forces is raging close to the main government complex of Anbar province in the center of Ramadi, the capital city.
ReplyDeleteThe battle is happening about 1,000 feet from the complex that houses the regional government and security headquarters.
The fighting started Friday after ISIS militants launched a coordinated assault from different directions around the city. At least 37 people have died in the fighting, authorities said.
ISIS already controls most of Anbar, so Ramadi is highly strategic. If it falls, ISIS will tighten its grip on a large swath from the western outskirts of Baghdad north through Syria and to the Turkish border.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/23/world/meast/iraq-violence/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
ISIS is an evil that must be defeated at all costs.
ReplyDeleteFormer United States Secretary of State Warren Christopher has said that terrorist acts in the name of religion and ethnic identity have become "one of the most important security challenges we face in the wake of the Cold War."
DeleteRead more about this scourge in my latest book by registering with links at the top of the newsletter. When i have your e-mail address, i will send all the necessary links to your e-mail box
Terrorism marks the unending fight against evil. Using Islam as an avenue to inflict gruesome violence is even prohibited in the Holy Quran.
DeleteIslam is Religion of Peace. It is rather unfortunate that some bad elements are using it to forment violence.
DeleteIt is possible that religions can lose their spirituality when they become institutions of oppression instead of agents of goodwill, peace and harmony
Delete.They can become divisive instead of unifying. History will tell us that this had happened from time to time. It has been said that more blood has been shed in the cause of religion than any other cause;
The medieval holy wars of Europe; the religion-based terrorism and conflicts of modern times are examples.
We must remember that the institutions of religion are supposed to help us to practice spirituality in our lives.
They need periodical revivals to put spirituality in place.
Read more more from my latest book, when you register at this link;
http://www.smartlaj.org/ecommerce/page.html,
Ok Doctor.
DeleteReligion, ind and Creativity? What an interesting topic.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting; Register with the link at the top of the newsletter, pay, and i will send all downloadable links to your e-mail box. The book, videos and mcqs will energize and captivate your mind.
DeleteOk I will register. I'm just curious to know what you have packaged in the videos and ebook.
DeleteHello sir, I just registered on your website. Do I need to p ay online or I go to your bank?
DeleteThe off-line option is safe and reliable; that is going to the bank. However a few individuals have made use of their phones to pay safely on-line.
DeleteThank you for registering for our products. Please kindly resend your email to: admin@smartlaj.org.
DeleteKano, Nigeria (CNN) -- At least 120 people were killed and 270 others wounded on Friday when two suicide bombers blew themselves up and gunmen opened fire on a Muslim congregation at Friday prayers in the central mosque in northern Nigeria's largest city of Kano, a rescue official said.
ReplyDeleteThe official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the toll could rise, as some of the wounded were in critical condition and may not survive.
A third bomb exploded outside the mosque among a crowd of worshipers.
The attacks come two weeks after the emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, one of Nigeria's most influential monarchs, called for self-defense, urging people to procure arms and fight Islamist militant group Boko Haram, which has a significant presence in the area.
The emir made the call at the same mosque where Friday's attack occurred.
Although there was no immediate claim of responsibility, Boko Haram is the main suspect. Many believe the attacks were reprisals for the emir's call to arms against the terror group.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/28/world/africa/nigeria-violence/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
This is Boko Haram's reply to the Emir of Kano's remarks that citizens should arm themselves against the terrorist group in the face of Government's inability to defeat the group.
DeleteSuch despicable acts are unforgivable
It has been said that more blood has been shed in the cause of religion than any other cause. The medieval holy wars of Europe; the religion-based terrorism and conflicts of modern times are examples.
DeleteWe must remember that the institutions of religion are supposed to help us to practice spirituality in our lives. They need periodical revivals to put spirituality in place.
Just registered for Religion Mind and Creativity. Will pay as soon as possible. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteO.K
DeleteFaith, thank you for registering for our products. Please kindly resend your email to: admin@smartlaj.org.
DeleteI will send the downloadable links to your e-mail box as soon as i receive evidence of payment.
Deleteok sir.
DeleteEditor's note: Andrew Keen is a British-American entrepreneur, professional skeptic and the author of "The Cult of the Amateur", "Digital Vertigo" and the upcoming "The Internet Is Not The Answer." The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely his.
ReplyDelete(CNN) -- Did the Internet kill Lee Rigby?
No.
Could the Internet have saved Lee Rigby's life?
Perhaps.
Those, at least, were the conclusions of the 192-page report, the most detailed that a cross parliamentary committee has ever authored, on the gruesome murder of the British soldier Lee Rigby by Muslim converts Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale in London in May 2013.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/28/opinion/keen-internet-safe-haven-for-terrorists/index.html?hpt=hp_t5
Religion has a definitive effect on the mind of people as well as their actions. Therefore the teachings of the major religions has directly impacted on the way their worshippers act and react.
ReplyDeleteSpirituality is an important aspect of mental health. St.Augustine prayed “O God, thou created us in thy image and our hearts will be restless until they find their rest in Thee.” Though Sigmund Freud
Deletelooked upon religion as an illusion and neurosis, Carl Jung considered the psyche as a carrier of truth, powerfully rooted in the unconscious mind.
Religion is institutionalized spirituality .Thus, there are several religions
ReplyDeletehaving different sets of beliefs, traditions, and doctrines. They have
different types of community-based worship programs. Spirituality is the
common factor in all these religions. It is possible that religions can lose
their spirituality when they become institutions of oppression instead of agents of goodwill, peace and harmony.
.They can become divisive instead of unifying. History will tell us that this had happened from time to time.
Spirituality is a globally acknowledged concept. It involves belief and obedience to an all powerful force usually called God, who controls the universe and the destiny of man. It involves the ways in which people fulfill what they hold to be the purpose of their lives, a search for the meaning of life and a sense of connectedness to the universe. The universality of spirituality extends across creed and culture. At the same time, spirituality is very much personal and unique to each person. It is a sacred realm of human experience. Spirituality produces in man qualities such as love, honesty patience, tolerance, compassion, a sense of detachment, faith, and hope.
ReplyDeleteOf late, there are some reports which suggest that some areas of the brain,
mainly the non -dominant one, are involved in the appreciation and fulfillment
of spiritual values and experiences.
(CNN) -- The attack is harrowing: Al-Shabaab militants raid a quarry in Kenya, separating non-Muslim workers from their Muslim counterparts and executing them.
ReplyDeleteThe brutal act comes just days after the Islamists ambushed a bus and sprayed bullets on those who failed to recite Quran verses.
The attacks reminded the world once again how brazen the group can be.
What does Al-Shabaab want? Here's an explainer.
What is Al-Shabaab, and what does it want?
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/12/02/world/africa/al-shabaab-explainer/index.html?hpt=hp_c1
(CNN) -- The Lebanese military has detained a wife of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a regional source with knowledge of the case told CNN.
ReplyDeleteNews agencies Reuters and Agence France-Presse reported, citing unidentified Lebanese security officials, said one of al-Baghdadi's sons was also detained. The detentions took place near Lebanon's border with Syria when they tried to enter the country, according to those reports.
No details were available on the names or nationalities of the woman or the son. Lebanese authorities didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from CNN.
It was unclear when the two were picked up by Lebanese forces -- Reuters said it happened "in recent days," AFP reported it was 10 days ago.
"It's certainly a new dynamic because we've never seen anybody connected so close to al-Baghdadi being detained," terrorism expert Sajjan M. Gohel told CNN.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/12/02/world/meast/lebanon-isis-leader-family/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
(CNN) -- If you're white, you may be able to shoplift, drive drunk, even shove a police officer — and not suffer any consequences, according to trending stories being shared on social media.
ReplyDelete#CrimingWhileWhite became Twitter's highest trending topic in the United States and a trending topic worldwide as protests continued Thursday morning over a New York grand jury's decision not to indict a white police officer in the chokehold death of Eric Garner, a black man suspected of selling cigarettes on the sidewalk.
READ: 'I can't breathe!' Protesters chant Garner's chokehold plea
On social media, white internet users confessed to crimes they've committed without getting punished, demonstrating a racial double standard by American law enforcement.
"I shoplifted when I was 14 and they let me go because my parents came down and we 'looked like a nice family,'" wrote Joel Watson, a cartoonist.
Chapters 3 $ 4 of my book entitled, religion, the mind, and creativity dwells extensively with discrimination targeted at minorities.
Racism and ethnic discrimination in the United States has been a major issue since the colonial era and the slave era. Legally sanctioned racism sanctioned privileges and rights for White Americans not granted to Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latin Americans. European Americans (particularly Anglo Americans) were privileged by law in matters of education, immigration, voting rights, citizenship, land acquisition, and criminal procedure over periods of time extending from the 17th century to the 1960s. At the time, many non-Protestant groups immigrating from Europe - particularly Jews, Irish people, Poles and Italians - suffered xenophobic exclusion and other forms of ethnicity-based discrimination in the American society.
ReplyDeleteMajor racially and ethnically structured institutions included slavery, Indian Wars, Native American reservations, segregation, residential schools for Native Americans, and internment camps. Formal racial discrimination was largely banned in the mid-20th century, and came to be perceived as socially unacceptable and/or morally repugnant as well.
Racial politics remains a major phenomenon. Racism continues to be reflected in socioeconomic inequality, and has taken on more modern, indirect forms of expression, most prevalently symbolic racism. Racial stratification continues to occur in employment, housing, education, lending, and government.
In the view of the U.S. Human Rights Network, a network of scores of US civil rights and human rights organizations, "Discrimination permeates all aspects of life in the United States, and extends to all communities of color".
One of the contradictions of American society is that although race is central to the nation's history—a fact few deny—Americans often seem to struggle to see the ways that historical legacy continues to influence life today. (My colleague Ta-Nehisi Coates noted this tendency this week in a piece on comments Charles Barkley made about black criminality.)
Perhaps the problem is the lack of a comparative experience: If all you know is American society, you can't pick out the anomalies. That's why it's helpful to hear the voices of people like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The novelist is the author of Americanah, and she may be best known to a broad audience through a sample of her TED Talk on the importance of feminism included on Beyoncé's "Flawless." Adichie was born in Nigeria but splits her time between there and the United States—"Home is where my best shoes are," she has said.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/10/american-blindness-to-the-racism-all-around-us/382152/
On Aug. 28 the United Nations Committee on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) slammed the United States for persistent racial and ethnic discrimination. The watchdog said Washington has failed to meet its treaty obligations under the convention, one of only three core human rights accords that the U.S. has ratified. The 18-person panel of experts based its findings on review of official submissions from the U.S., reports from numerous civil society organizations and testimonies by U.S. officials and advocacy groups over several days of hearings earlier in August.
The revelation comes as the country continues to reel from racial turmoil after the tragic death of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown from six gunshots fired by white police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri.
ReplyDeleteThe U.S. government concedes there is still much work left to achieve racial equality. In its official submission to the CERD, however, the State Department painted a sanguine picture of progress. Yet the committee found that minority communities in the U.S. are disproportionately disadvantaged in all areas of life, including education, criminal justice, voting, housing and access to health care.
Meanwhile, many Americans think we have made substantial progress in overcoming our shameful legacy of racial discrimination. Last year the Pew Research Center found that nearly half of Americans surveyed said they believed the U.S. had made “a lot” of progress toward achieving racial equality, although only about 32 percent of African-American respondents believed that to be the case.
http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/9/united-nations-racismracialandethnicdiscriminationintheus.html
Editor's note: Ron Powers is at work on a book about mental illness and the state of America's mental-health care. He is the author of, among other books, "Mark Twain: A Life" (Free Press) and "Tom and Huck Don't Live Here Anymore: Childhood and Murder in the Heart of America" (St.Martin's Press).
ReplyDelete(CNN) -- On Wednesday night, barring an intervention of common decency, common sense and common compassion, the state of Texas will execute a man who scarcely comprehends who he is, let alone the reason why he will be put to death.
The man is Scott Panetti, a hopelessly unhinged paranoid schizophrenic. No one disputes that in 1992, Panetti gunned down the mother and father of his estranged wife in cold blood. No one disputes that this was a horrendous wastage of innocent human life.
Editor's note: Imran Awan is deputy director of the Centre for Applied Criminology at Birmingham City University. He is co-editor of "Policing cyber hate, cyber threats and cyber terrorism," and "Extremism, Counter-terrorism and Policing." The views expressed in this commentary are solely his.
ReplyDeleteBirmingham, England (CNN) -- Whether it's Mohammed becoming the most popular baby name, or one in 10 babies in England being Muslim or the fact that halal meat is being served in Pizza Hut, a Muslim story always tends to generate more heat than light.
Indeed, Islamophobia is often perpetuated by fear and a sense that Muslims are taking over our jobs, our homes and our lives, thus leading to a polarizing society and the so-called clash of civilizations.
And it's common to see issues such as the name of Mohammed being used by the far-right into vitriolic hate against Muslims. Take for example the Daily Mail headline in January 2014: "One in 10 babies in England is a Muslim: Those practising the religion 'could soon outnumber actively worshipping Christians.'" The article, which was accompanied by an image of two Muslim women wearing the face veil, showed this pervading sense of online anti-Muslim hate emerge with comments such as: "Surprise, surprise, ban the burka now before its too late!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and "This has to stop this is a Christian country the next thing sharia law."
Improving media practices and media responsibility on portraying and reporting fairly on Islam and British Muslims, without bias or discrimination or intent to incite anti-Muslim prejudice, is important. The media must provide a more responsible, objective and proportionate way of reporting on stories.
Unfortunately, though, the stories above are not isolated. In The Sun last year an article entitled, "Ramadan a ding-dong," again provided a sensationalized and biased viewpoint that seeks to undermine all Muslims and portray Islam in a negative light. As a result, we are seeing British Muslims as a group suffer as a result of bad journalism that fuels extremist and far-right fringe groups such as Anjem Choudary and Muslims for Crusades.
Sadly, stories such as these help to create an atmosphere that has demonized Muslims and fueled an anti-Muslim narrative. Indeed, such reporting and representation of British Muslims also helps create the framework for the "othering" of communities and in particular may influence people's perceptions of Muslims, especially when combined with lazy journalism that fails to correctly represent the true facts of each case.
ReplyDeleteLet's not forget, for example, the story from 2010, when windows were being covered up at a central English leisure center. The Daily Mail headlined its story: "Swimmers plunged into dark after council covers swimming pool windows 'to protect Muslim women's modesty." The council revealed later though that the requests to black out the windows had not come solely from the Muslim community.
And we also know from previous studies looking at media coverage about Muslims, in particular post 9/11, that the weight of news stories -- even if individually factually accurate -- often stereotypes Muslims in an overwhelmingly negative light.
For example, a study conducted by academics at Cardiff University found that the majority of news coverage post-9/11 about Muslims was negative. Their research into media coverage of British Muslims found that at least two-thirds of newspaper articles were focused around stories on terrorism.
These stories often used the words such as "militancy" and "radicalism" to depict Muslims in an overtly negative fashion and were a product of a wider anti-Muslim prejudice which they found across British newspapers. Interestingly, they also found that common adjectives used to describe Muslims included the words "'radical," "fanatical" and "fundamentalist."
So whether it's getting stories factually incorrect or describing Muslims as a security threat, there is clearly a backlash against Muslims online and offline with threatening comments that are both extremely inflammatory and promote Islamophobia.
This negativity is framed within the construct that Muslims are dangerous people, and creates a "them vs. us" mentality that can be highly damaging for community relations. Now is the time for action to reverse this trend, and as Mehdi Hasan suggests, "sanctions for dishonest and demonizing press coverage of Muslims" might be one way to ensure that we start to see a balanced coverage that does not demonize or stereotype Muslims.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/12/03/opinion/islamophobia-opinion/index.html?hpt=hp_t5
Thank you sir for adding the mobile payment option. The only problem is dat sometimes the network affects transactions on these mobile apps. Also, there may be confusion over the payment. Also, it may be restricted to only those who use Android or iPhones etc.
ReplyDeleteBut it as a welcome development.
Thank you for your remarks. Most Nigerian banks are currently trying to perfect their mobile on-line payment option in accordance, with the cash-less policy of the CBN. We hope for the best.
Delete(CNN) -- The people on the front lines of fighting the Ebola epidemic are Time Magazine's "Person of the Year."
ReplyDeleteThey're "the ones who answered the call," the magazine said on its website Wednesday morning.
The finalists for Time Person of the Year 2014 The finalists for Time Person of the Year 2014
Among the others considered: Ferguson protesters, Vladimir Putin, and Roger Goodell.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/12/10/world/time-person-of-the-year/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
(CNN) -- Embarrassment for allies, ammunition for enemies -- but no recommendations laid down for the future treatment of alleged terrorists taken prisoner. It would seem that publication by the Senate Intelligence Committee (or at least its Democrats) of its report into the torture of detainees just brought a heap of trouble.
ReplyDeleteThe Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Mike Rogers, told CNN that publication was "a terrible idea" and said "foreign leaders have approached the government and said, 'You do this, this will cause violence and deaths.'" He was not alone on fearing a visceral global reaction.
But reaction from overseas has been -- for the most part -- muted, both among the United States' allies and its enemies. None of the major al Qaeda affiliates (as of early Wednesday) had sought to exploit the often graphic details of the report. The pan-Arab TV networks focused on a meeting of the Gulf Co-operation Council, rather than acres of live coverage out of Washington.
For sure, social media lit up -- and there were plenty of comments from the Muslim world. One of hundreds of similar tweets read, "This is only what the kuffar are acknowledging to the public, after hiding for many years. Can you even imagine what they are still hiding?"
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/12/10/world/senate-report-lister/index.html?hpt=hp_t5
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
ReplyDeleteThere's a jingle on Wall Street today. No, not Jingle Bells. It's the sound of money and optimism returning.
The Dow ended 63 points higher, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also finished solidly higher (around 0.5%).
Thursday was a big psychological test for the market as oil fell below $60 a barrel for the first time since July 2009. It rattled traders. The Dow had been up above 200 points, but it quickly fell back.
There's two ways to read this news, and investors are clearly conflicted.
On the one hand, cheap gas is acting like a tax cut for consumers. On average, households have about $500 more to spend thanks to lower prices at the pump. While some will save that extra cash, others are likely to spend, which will boost the retail sector and overall economy.
Related: 6 stocks that look sexy for 2015
But the downside to under $59 oil is the cutbacks in the energy sector, especially natural gas, which has been a growth engine for the U.S. in recent years. Major producers like BP and ConocoPhillip (COP)have announced cutbacks to exploration and jobs.
"Clearly, the velocity of the decline at minimum is very unsettling to investors, and raises uncertainty on many economic and market valuation assumptions," says Tim Anderson, Managing Director of MND Partners.
http://money.cnn.com/2014/12/11/investing/stocks-market-dow-surge/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
LONDON (CNNMoney)
ReplyDeleteA global glut of oil will persist next year, putting further pressure on prices and raising the risk of unrest in some producing countries.
That's the stark warning from the Paris-based International Energy Agency, which on Friday cut its forecast for global demand growth in 2015. It now sees demand growing by less than 1% next year.
Oil prices have already fallen by more than 40% in six months, but there's little sign of that stimulating demand yet, or constraining production enough to remove excess supply.
"Oil price drops are sometimes described as a 'tax cut' and a boon for the economy, but this time round their stimulus effect may be modest," said the agency, which monitors energy market trends for 29 of the world's wealthiest nations.
U.S. crude prices fell again on Friday to around $59 a barrel.
http://money.cnn.com/2014/12/12/investing/oil-prices-iea-unrest/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
Oil prices are really dropping but big oil producers like Saudi Arabia are not willing to cut output.
Delete(CNN) -- Nations working on a global treaty to combat climate change and handle its ill effects have come to a basic draft agreement at conference in Lima, Peru.
ReplyDeleteThe elements hammered out in two weeks by about 190 countries at the 20th Conference of Parties (COP20) will serve as the basis for an international climate treaty to be signed in Paris next year, the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change said Sunday.
That treaty, which is supposed to detail nations' responsibilities in the fight against climate change, will come into effect in 2020.
The Lima draft announced Sunday determines that developed countries and developing nations will take on differing responsibilities in the fight against global warming "in light of different national circumstances."
The details of those responsibilities are to be determined later.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/12/14/world/americas/peru-climate-change-draft-agreement/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
Hello, I read a piece online that the Pope has resigned, making him the seventh to do so in the Catholic Church history. Pls is that true?
ReplyDeleteI do not think Pope Francis has resigned! The latest news, i have about the Pope is;
DeleteEditor's note: Heidi Schlumpf is a columnist for the National Catholic Reporter and teaches communication at Aurora University. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
(CNN) -- A story about Pope Francis allegedly saying animals can go to heaven went viral late last week. The problem is that it wasn't true. Many erroneous news reports on this incident relied on an article that appeared in The New York Times.
That article alleged that the Pope, at a general audience at the Vatican, comforted a boy whose dog had died by saying: "One day, we will see our animals again in the eternity of Christ. Paradise is open to all of God's creatures."
This was not what happened, and in a (frankly, embarrassing) correction now appended to that flawed article, the Times points out: "The article also misstated what Francis is known to have said. According to Vatican Radio, Francis said: 'The Holy Scripture teaches us that the fulfillment of this wonderful design also affects everything around us,' which was interpreted to mean he believes animals go to heaven."'
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/12/14/opinion/schlumpf-pope-dogs-go-to-heaven-controversy/index.html?hpt=hp_t5
Research has shown that music has a profound effect on your body and psyche. In fact, there’s a growing field of health care known as music therapy, which uses music to heal. Those who practice music therapy are finding a benefit in using music to help cancer patients, children with ADD, and others, and even hospitals are beginning to use music and music therapy to help with pain management, to help ward off depression, to promote movement, to calm patients, to ease muscle tension, and for many other benefits that music and music therapy can bring. This is not surprising, as music affects the body and mind in many powerful ways. The following are some of effects of music, which help to explain the effectiveness of music therapy:
ReplyDeletehttp://stress.about.com/od/tensiontamers/a/music_therapy.htm
Music is the food of the soul. Lets play on, my brother. I believe that when music is rightly applied, it can soothe all our troubles and make us more productive.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you! View this videos, and keep on relaxing!https://www.youtube.com/show/relaxingmusictherapy?gl=NG&hl=en-GB
DeleteInteresting. Quite refreshing video. Tx.
DeletePolice believe that an injured woman at a house in the Australian city of Cairns where eight children were found dead Friday is the mother of seven of them, Detective Inspector Bruno Asnicar said.
ReplyDeleteHe said police so far have no suspects in the case, but are talking to different people and looking at a range of options.
[Original story posted at 12:33 a.m. ET]
Eight children, the youngest of them only 18 months old, have been found dead at a suburban home in the northeastern Australian city of Cairns, police said Friday.
Police said they were called to the property in the Manoora area Friday morning after reports of a woman with serious injuries.
"During an examination of the residence, police located the bodies of the children, all aged between 18 months and 15 years," the Queensland Police Service said in a statement.
Detective Inspector Bruno Asnicar sought to allay fears among local residents about the deaths.
"There's no need for the public to be concerned about this other than it's a tragic, tragic event," he told reporters near the crime scene, adding that the area is under control.
"These events are extremely distressing for everyone," Asnicar said. "Police officers aren't immune from that. We're human beings as well."
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/12/18/world/asia/australia-cairns-police-investigation/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
Kano, Nigeria (CNN) -- Boko Haram insurgents kidnapped at least 185 women and children, and killed 32 people in a raid in northeastern Nigeria this week, local officials and residents said.
ReplyDeleteGunmen in pickup trucks attacked the village of Gumsuri, just north of Chibok, on Sunday, shooting down men before herding women and children together.
"They gathered the women and children and took them away in trucks after burning most of the village with petrol bombs," a local government official said on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.
News of the attack took four days to emerge because of a lack of communication. Telecommunications towers in the region had been disabled in previous attacks.
Local officials learned of the attack from residents who fled to Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, where the officials had moved a year ago to escape Boko Haram attacks.
The militants stormed the village from two directions, overwhelming local vigilantes who had repelled Boko Haram attacks over the course of the year, said Gumsuri resident Umar Ari, who trekked for four days to Maiduguri.
"They destroyed almost half the village and took away 185 women, girls and boys," Ari said.
Resident Modu Kalli said the militants fired heavy machine guns on the village and poured canisters of gasoline on houses before setting them on fire.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/12/18/world/africa/nigeria-boko-haram-kidnapping/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
Saudi Arabia has a tough message for oil producers hurting from the price crash: We'll never cut our output.
ReplyDeleteIn an exclusive interview with CNN, Saudi oil minister Ali al-Naimi also said he wasn't conspiring to take out rival producers by driving down the price.
"These rumors or whoever generated them, is completely mistaken," he said.
U.S. crude prices have slumped by nearly 50% in six months, the sharpest fall for many years.
That has unsettled stock markets, accelerated a financial crisis in Russia, raised the risk that Venezuela will default and forced some U.S. producers to shed jobs and scale back investment.
Depending on which conspiracy theory you subscribe to, Saudi Arabia is waging an oil price war against fellow OPEC member Iran, Syria, Russia or even the U.S., its long-standing ally.
"We are going to continue to produce what we are producing, we are going to continue to welcome additional production if customers come and ask for it," al-Naimi said.
http://money.cnn.com/2014/12/22/news/economy/saudi-arabia-oil-production/index.html?hpt=hp_bn1
Abuja, Nigeria (CNN) -- Samuel Yaga, a mechanic, was making a routine repair on a client's car when his phone rang. It was a phone call that would change his life forever.
ReplyDelete"I was called in the morning by my elder brother notifying me of an attack on the school where my daughter was schooling," he said.
Samuel's blood went cold as his brother continued, telling him that some of the girls had been abducted by Boko Haram.
Samuel knew only too well the vicious and brutal nature of the terrorist group: just a few months before this, Boko Haram had attacked his village in northeastern Nigeria.
Armed men forced him out of his house and one of them pointed a gun to his head. By a sheer miracle, unexplainable even to Samuel, one of the militants intervened, and his life was spared.
Their entire village was razed to the ground and so Samuel moved his family to Chibok and enrolled his eldest daughter Sarah into the Government Secondary School so that she could sit for her final high school exam.
He chose Chibok because not only was it his ancestral home and he had relatives there but also because it had no history of Boko Haram attacks. He felt it was safe -- until now.
Later in the day Samuel's brother phoned him again. "Then before sunset he called me again, and informed me that my daughter was part of those that were taken by Boko Haram."
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/12/23/world/africa/nigeria-boko-haram-leposo/index.html?hpt=hp_t4
Boko Haram, Al-Queada, Taliban, ISIL ... the list is endless. It really baffles me why these militant groups do what do they do. What actually motivates them?
DeleteIt's actually difficult celebrating christmas because of these mindless killings.
DeleteEditor's note: Michael Soussan, a former U.N.humanitarian worker in Iraq and adjunct assistant professor at New York University's Center for Global Affairs, is a founding member of NYU's Women's Initiative and a partner at www.GoodLoopMedia.com. Elizabeth Weingarten is associate editor at the D.C.-based think tank New America and associate director of its Global Gender Parity Initiative. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the authors.
Delete(CNN) -- Even terrorists have fears. And the prospect of gender equality appears to rank high on their list of worst nightmares.
The logic, for them, is simple. Empowered women would never accept the brutal ideology espoused by terrorist leaders as the rule of their land.
Educated women and girls would fundamentally challenge the power structure of organizations like ISIS. Therefore, if you carry out the argument, they must be suppressed and enslaved.
"There is no doubt that targeting of women is the core element -- not a byproduct -- of the ideologies espoused by these groups," Sanam Naraghi-Anderlini, co-founder of the International Civil Society Action Network, told us.
So, any successful strategy against these groups must put women's rights at the front and center of policy planning. This will require more than words or a few million dollars allocated to girls' schools.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-really-scares-terrorists-adesola-lajide?trk=prof-post
Needless blood, had been shed over religion, since the time of the crusades, holy wars in Europe, and modern day terrorism. Read more about this topic in my book entitled, religion, creativity and the mind; by using the link at the top of the newsletter
ReplyDeleteTrue, Dr. needless bloodshed. When will it stop?
DeleteLearn more about all the reasons and factors that led to the rise of modern day terrorism in my most recent book; with links at the top of the newsletter.
DeleteLondon (CNN)The condition of a health worker battling Ebola in London has stabilized, but she remains in critical condition, Britain's health secretary told lawmakers Monday.
ReplyDeleteOn December 29, Pauline Cafferkey, 39, of Glasgow, Scotland, became the first person to be diagnosed with the virus on UK soil, after returning from Sierra Leone the day before. On Saturday, the London hospital where she is being treated said that her condition had deteriorated over two days to critical.
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/05/world/uk-ebola-nurse/index.html
Thanks to China, Christine Lagarde of the International Monetary Fund, Jim Yong Kim of the World Bank and Takehiko Nakao of the Asian Development Bank may no longer have much meaningful work to do.
ReplyDeleteBeijing's move to bail out Russia, on top of its recent aid for Venezuela and Argentina, signals the death of the post-war Bretton Woods world. It’s also marks the beginning of the end for America's linchpin role in the global economy and Japan's influence in Asia.
What is China's new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank if not an ADB killer? If Japan, ADB's main benefactor, won't share the presidency with Asian peers, Beijing will just use its deep pockets to overpower it. Lagarde's and Kim’s shops also are looking at a future in which crisis-wracked governments call Beijing before Washington.
China stepping up its role as lender of last resort upends an economic development game that's been decades in the making. The IMF, World Bank and ADB are bloated, change-adverse institutions. When Ukraine received a $17 billion IMF-led bailout this year it was about shoring up a geopolitically important economy, not geopolitical blackmail.
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-12-25/china-steps-in-as-worlds-new-bank
LONDON (CNNMoney)
ReplyDeleteScientists at Oxford University have launched the first clinical trial of a new Ebola vaccine.
The first of 72 healthy volunteers have already received the initial dose of a drug researchers hope could put an end to the worst Ebola outbreak in the history.
Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies, owned by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), is developing the vaccine together with Bavarian Nordic.
The company said it could begin large scale trials by May, and make 2 million vaccinations available later this year. The drug does not contain the virus so there's no risk of catching Ebola as a result of immunization.
http://money.cnn.com/2015/01/06/news/ebola-vaccine-trial/index.html
This is a very encouraging story. Putting an end to this ebola outbreak is is essential priority. Thanks Doc for sharing. I'm a medical doctor living in Kingston and I believe this Africa must be saved.
DeleteAbsolutely! I agree with you.
DeleteThe last two months have not been kind to clean energy stocks. Most commentators attribute the weakness to declining oil prices and the Republicans' strong showing in the midterm elections.
ReplyDeleteWhatever the cause, my 10 Clean Energy Stocks for 2014 model portfolio was dragged into a loss for the year where it had previously looked to return a small gain. A large part of the decline was in the dollar's strength. Measured in local currency, the average stock was flat, but the 8 percent decline in the Canadian dollar, 12 percent decline in the Euro, and 11 percent decline in the South African rand combined to pull the portfolio down 4.5 percent in dollar terms.
My benchmark Powershares Wilderhill Clean Energy Index (PBW) also suffered, ending the year down 14.5 percent, even though the the broader market of small cap stocks gained 5.4 percent for the year (as measured by the Russell 2000 index ETF, IWM.)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2015/01/ten-clean-energy-stocks-past-performance-and-predictions-for-2015?cmpid=WNL-Wednesday-January7-2015
Paris (CNN)As a nationwide hunt continues for two men who attacked the office of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, the nation got rattled once again Thursday -- with another deadly shooting, this time of a police officer, in the southern suburbs of Paris.
ReplyDeleteThat's where, in the Montrouge suburb, a gunman dressed in black -- like the Charlie Hebdo attackers -- and apparently wearing a bulletproof vest, got out of a car as police officers were dealing with a traffic accident.
He opened fire, shooting and killing a female officer.
Then, like those behind the Charlie Hebdo massacre, he got away.
About 20 heavily armed police then surrounded a nearby apartment building, pushing back crowds and closing off the street. But, around noontime, sirens blared as police began heading away from the area -- though it wasn't clear what that meant, or if this suspect was thought to be still in the vicinity.
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/08/europe/charlie-hebdo-paris-shooting/index.html
(CNN)When it's completed, it will be so large as to be visible from space.
ReplyDeleteIf it succeeds, it will create a top ecological attraction, reduce economic hardships and help modernize a community.
It's the Giant Flag of South Africa, and it's an ambitious project by almost any measure. Located in the Camdeboo Municipality of Karoo, an arid region between Cape Town and Johannesburg, it will transform a patch of desert into a living national flag spanning about 163 acres, the size of 66 soccer fields.
Some 2.5 million red, yellow, blue and green desert plants, including cacti and spekboom, will be arranged in a pattern like that of South Africa's flag. The flag's black triangular area will contain a 4-megawatt solar-panel field, generating much-needed electricity for the region.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/12/31/tech/cnn-10-ideas-flag-south-africa/index.html
How pubic opinion polls could be skewed, misleading and inaccurate.
ReplyDeleteThen, in 1936, its 2.3 million "voters" constituted a huge sample; however, they were generally more affluent Americans who tended to have Republican sympathies. The Literary Digest was ignorant of this new bias. The week before election day, it reported that Alf Landon was far more popular than Roosevelt. At the same time, George Gallup conducted a far smaller, but more scientifically based survey, in which he polled a demographically representative sample. Gallup correctly predicted Roosevelt's landslide victory. The Literary Digest soon went out of business, while polling started to take off.
Polls based on samples of populations are subject to sampling error which reflects the effects of chance and uncertainty in the sampling process. The uncertainty is often expressed as a margin of error. The margin of error is usually defined as the radius of a confidence interval for a particular statistic from a survey. One example is the percent of people who prefer product A versus product B. When a single, global margin of error is reported for a survey, it refers to the maximum margin of error for all reported percentages using the full sample from the survey. If the statistic is a percentage, this maximum margin of error can be calculated as the radius of the confidence interval for a reported percentage of 50%. Others suggest that a poll with a random sample of 1,000 people has margin of sampling error of 3% for the estimated percentage of the whole population.
ReplyDeleteA 3% margin of error means that if the same procedure is used a large number of times, 95% of the time the true population average will be within the 95% confidence interval of the sample estimate plus or minus 3%. The margin of error can be reduced by using a larger sample, however if a pollster wishes to reduce the margin of error to 1% they would need a sample of around 10,000 people.In practice, pollsters need to balance the cost of a large sample against the reduction in sampling error and a sample size of around 500–1,000 is a typical compromise for political polls. (Note that to get complete responses it may be necessary to include thousands of additional participators.)
Another way to reduce the margin of error is to rely on poll averages. This makes the assumption that the procedure is similar enough between many different polls and uses the sample size of each poll to create a polling average] An example of a polling average can be found here: 2008 Presidential Election polling average. Another source of error stems from faulty demographic models by pollsters who weigh their samples by particular variables such as party identification in an election. For example, if you assume that the breakdown of the US population by party identification has not changed since the previous presidential election, you may underestimate a victory or a defeat of a particular party candidate that saw a surge or decline in its party registration relative to the previous presidential election cycle.
ReplyDeleteOver time, a number of theories and mechanisms have been offered to explain erroneous polling results. Some of these reflect errors on the part of the pollsters; many of them are statistical in nature. Others blame the respondents for not giving candid answers (e.g., the Bradley effect, the Shy Tory Factor); these can be more controversial.
Since some people do not answer calls from strangers, or refuse to answer the poll, poll samples may not be representative samples from a population due to a non-response bias. Because of this selection bias, the characteristics of those who agree to be interviewed may be markedly different from those who decline. That is, the actual sample is a biased version of the universe the pollster wants to analyze. In these cases, bias introduces new errors, one way or the other, that are in addition to errors caused by sample size. Error due to bias does not become smaller with larger sample sizes, because taking a larger sample size simply repeats the same mistake on a larger scale. If the people who refuse to answer, or are never reached, have the same characteristics as the people who do answer, then the final results should be unbiased. If the people who do not answer have different opinions then there is bias in the results. In terms of election polls, studies suggest that bias effects are small, but each polling firm has its own techniques for adjusting weights to minimize selection bias.
ReplyDeleteSan Diego, Calif. — In Japan, solar photovoltaic (PV) technology has been a center of attention ever since the nation’s government launched a very rich feed-in tariff (FIT) program. Although they are not getting the spotlight, there are also several unique biomass projects in Japan, which fully utilize locally-available resources such as noodles and oranges, without directly competing with consumable food production.
ReplyDeleteUdon Noodles to Create Udon Noodles
Kagawa prefecture is well known as a home of “sanuki” udon — square shaped noodles made by kneading together wheat flour, salt, and water. Sanuki udon noodles have a strong “koshi” (an al dente or firm-bite consistency). While many people enjoy and consume udon noodles daily, the prefecture faced a problem with a massive amount of udon noodle scraps from noodle manufacturers and unsellable noodles at local noodle shops.
Chiyoda Seisakujo, an industry equipment manufacturer located in Takamatsu city, the capital of Kagawa prefecture, has been developing biogas plants since 2004. Two prefecture-owned technology research and development centers approached the company, asking to utilize udon noodle waste as an ethanol feedstock.
In 2012, the company developed a prototype bioethanol plant on its property. The company collected udon noodle scraps from a large local noodle manufacturer. “With 1,500 kilograms (3,307 pounds) of udon scraps, we can produce about 200 litters (53 gallons) of bioethanol,” said Testuo Ozaki, a representative at Chiyoda Seisakujo.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2015/01/what-do-noodles-and-oranges-have-in-common-japanese-bioenergy?cmpid=WNL-Wednesday-January14-2015
ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ) is the world’s largest, richest terrorist organizations, ever. It’s a self-sustaining enterprise that runs mainly on extortion and crime networks, hostages, oil, donations… According to Martin Chulov; ISIS has grown from a ragtag band of extremists to perhaps the most cash-rich and capable terror group in the world with a $2 billion jihadist network. The scale of ISIS resources is unprecedented: A terrorist organization while ruthless, but still able to occupy large areas of territory, quickly… for example; it controls several major cities in Iraq, which it occupied in just three days, it holds parts of several other cities and continues to menace still other cities throughout Iraq and Syria: It’s quite an accomplishment… According to Michael Knights; some estimates of ISIS’s wealth are overstated, for example; the $2 billion estimate that’s been floating around is too high, but that’s not to say ISIS isn’t raking in a fair amount of cash– between $2 million and $4 million per day… ISIS is a wealthy terrorist movement or better yet an effective financial enterprise, which it run very much like a large-scale Mafia type protection rackets business across much of Iraq.
ReplyDeletehttp://bizshifts-trends.com/2014/09/28/isis-largest-riches-terror-organization-ever-high-growth-enterprise-2-billion-terror-based-economy/
Nigeria H5N1 bird flu now in 7 states, suspected in 140,000 birds-minister;
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nigeriaheadlines.com/news/nigeria-h5n1-bird-flu-now-in-7-states-suspected-in-140000-birdsminister
Seven of Nigeria's 36 states have reported cases, and the Nigerian agricultural ministry has confirmed that the outbreak can be attributed to the H5N1 strain.
ReplyDeleteMore than 140,000 birds have reportedly been exposed, with more than 22,000 having already died as a result.
"Nigeria will successfully control the bird flu outbreak. We have successfully controlled it in the past," Agriculture Minister Akinwumi Adesina said in a statement Thursday (22.01.2015).
Nigeria was the first African country to experience a known outbreak of bird flu, back in 2006. That outbreak was not fully contained until 2008.
http://www.dw.de/nigeria-confirms-h5n1-bird-flu-outbreak/a-18209755?replacedtext=ga&cd=CAIyGjJiNzgxOTNhZDBlMDBhMGE6Y29tOmVuOlVT&usg=AFQjCNG6g_AcvCsl_7M9uoGTG7-Gaa4Qkg
Nigeria has been rated one of the worst governed countries in Africa based on the 2014 Ibrahim Index of African Governance [IIAG], which was released on Monday.
ReplyDeleteIn the report, obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, Nigeria is rated 45.8 per cent lower than the African average (51.5 per cent) and ranked 37th out of 52 in the overall governance scale.
The country scored lower than the regional average for West Africa which stands at 52.2 percent and ranked 12th out of 15 in the region.
Other countries that made it to the top of the list included Botswana which is rated the third best governed country in the continent with 76.2 percent and South Africa which comes fourth with 73.3 percent.
Ghana is rated 7th; Rwanda 11th; Benin Republic 18th; Egypt 26th; Mali 28th; Niger, 29th; Liberia; 31st; Cameroun 34th and Togo 36th; all ahead of far more endowed Nigeria.
With a population of 173.6 million and population growth rate pegged at 2.8 percent, Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP, is put at $3013.3 USD, while inflation and unemployment rates stand at 8.5 percent and 13.7 percent, respectively.
Nigeria also received appalling ratings in such categories such as safety and the rule of law where it is rated 44th with 38.1 per cent, 32nd in the rule of law with 41.0 percent and 30th in accountability with 36.6 percent.
The country got its lowest rating in personal safety where it is ranked 49th with 16.5 per cent and second lowest in national security where it is ranked 48th with 58.2 per cent.
Under participation and human rights, the country is rated 26th with 46.9 per cent, 31th on sustainable economic opportunity with 43.3 per cent and 34th in human development with 53.0 per cent.
http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/168873-nigeria-one-of-africas-worst-governed-countries-mo-ibrahim-governance-index.html
CNN)California health officials said Wednesday there are 79 confirmed measles cases in the state.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the California Department of Public Health website, 52 of those cases are linked to an outbreak at Disneyland.
There are four confirmed cases in Riverside County, where the Desert Sands Unified School District told 66 students -- who have either not been vaccinated for measles or can't show proof -- that they need to stay home.
CNN affiliate KESQ reported that one student at Palm Desert High School is suspected of having had measles. The student has been cleared to return to class but health officials are still trying to determine if the student actually had measles.
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/28/health/california-measles-outbreak/index.html
High time' for medical marijuana in Germany
ReplyDeleteThe federal government wants to make cannabis more accessible to sick Germans as a means for pain relief, according to the country's drug representative. 'High time,' say supporters of legalization.
http://www.dw.de/high-time-for-medical-marijuana-in-germany/a-18231922
The most frequently report-ed adverse effects are mental slowness, impaired reaction times, and sometimes accentuation of anxiety. Serious psychological disorders have been reported with high levels of intoxication. The relationship between poor school performance and early, regular, and frequent cannabis use seems to be a vicious circle, in which each sustains the other. Many studies have focused on the long-term effects of cannabis on memory, but their results have been inconclusive. There do not * About fifteen longitudinal cohort studies that examined the influence of cannabis on depressive thoughts or suicidal ideation have yielded conflicting results and are inconclusive. Several longitudinal cohort studies have shown a statistical association between psychotic illness and self-reported cannabis use. However, the results are difficult to interpret due to methodological problems, particularly the unknown reliability of self-reported data. It has not been possible to establish a causal relationship in either direction, because of these methodological limitations. In Australia, the marked increase in cannabis use has not been accompanied by an increased incidence of schizophrenia. On the basis of the available data, we cannot reach firm conclusions on whether or not cannabis use causes psychosis. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21462790
ReplyDeleteBut the use of cannabis i considered legal in some countries. Does it mean that some of these side effects have been resolved? I need where I can find conclusive data on this topic please.
DeleteThank you.
Cannabis is a drug that is used for recreational purposes world wide with potential medical side effects. However cannabis, has also been found useful in certain medical conditions such as glaucoma. Listed below are some useful references;
Deletehttp://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana
http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinformation/mentalhealthproblems/alcoholanddrugs/cannabisandmentalhealth.aspx
http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/facts/cannabis/en/
CNN)Whenever ISIS carries out a new atrocity, whether it's beheading a group of Egyptian Christians or enslaving Yazidi women in Iraq or burning its victims alive, the big question most people have is: Why on Earth is ISIS doing this? What could possibly be the point?
ReplyDeleteAdding to your list of enemies is never a sound strategy, yet ISIS' ferocious campaign against the Shia, Kurds, Yazidis, Christians, and Muslims who don't precisely share its views has united every ethnic and religious group in Syria and Iraq against them.
http://edition.cnn.com/…/opi…/bergen-isis-enemies/index.html
Superficially, Nigerian security forces have come up with the reason that the current security situation in Northeastern Nigeria, could not allow them to guarantee adequate security for the conduct of the 14-02-2015 polls. Another minor reason has been that the electoral body, [INEC], could not distribute enough permanent voters cards to meet the election deadline.
ReplyDeleteHowever close watchers and monitors of the electoral process in Nigeria are conversant with the occult reason;
Presidency sources said that the real reason the authorities are pressing for the postponement of the polls has little to do with insecurity but largely because of unfavourable results of their privately commissioned polls which showed the President Goodluck Jonathan and his party (PDP) trailing badly.
“They couldn’t come out openly to admit that. They then asked Dasuki to go and make the case for a shift based on security reasons. Unfortunately the NSA handled it badly,” one source said.
“When it became obvious to the Presidency that INEC would not play along, they decided to take the case to the National Council of State which rejected any shift in the election dates of February 14 and 28.
“The Villa is very angry with Dasuki over the fiasco. They can’t understand how the NSA couldn’t get Jega to back off on security grounds.
“The hope is that a shift will give Jonathan more time to mobilize, and attack Buhari more. They also hope postponement would drain APC resources.”
In addition several on-line polls and comments, by Nigerians on social media, have confirmed the open secret; The Jonathan presidency, is very unpopular.
https://www.linkedin.com/…/hidden-reason-why-nigerian-elect…
Hmmm... Obasanjo has left PDP. Is this the end of Jonathan?
DeleteThe Jonathan's administration's record of epileptic power supply, poor governance, worsening state of economic and political insecurity, add up to make General Buhari, several feet tall and very popular
DeletePermit me to start by thanking Chatham House for the invitation to talk about this important topic at this crucial time. When speaking about Nigeria overseas, I normally prefer to be my country’s public relations and marketing officer, extolling her virtues and hoping to attract investments and tourists. But as we all know, Nigeria is now battling with many challenges, and if I refer to them, I do so only to impress on our friends in the United Kingdom that we are quite aware of our shortcomings and are doing our best to address them.
ReplyDeleteThe 2015 general election in Nigeria is generating a lot of interests within and outside the country. This is understandable. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and largest economy, is at a defining moment, a moment that has great implications beyond the democratic project and beyond the borders of my dear country.
So let me say upfront that the global interest in Nigeria’s landmark election is not misplaced at all and indeed should be commended; for this is an election that has serious import for the world. I urge the international community to continue to focus on Nigeria at this very critical moment. Given increasing global linkages, it is in our collective interests that the postponed elections should hold on the rescheduled dates; that they should be free and fair; that their outcomes should be respected by all parties; and that any form of extension, under whichever guise, is unconstitutional and will not be tolerated.
http://saharareporters.com/…/buhari%E2%80%99s-speech-chatha…
Baltimore Riot Live
ReplyDeleteWhat will a new day bring? Parts of Baltimore looked like a war zone Tuesday after a night of rioting and looting. It was a troubling development after what had been mostly peaceful protests over the death of Freddie Gray, a black man who suffered fatal injuries while in police custody. His funeral was Monday.
http://cnnuslive.cnn.com/Event/Baltimore_Riot
Washington (CNN)Newly sworn-in Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Monday night the Justice Department will continue its investigation into the death of Freddie Gray and send two top officials to Baltimore in an effort to quell the riots unfolding there.
ReplyDeleteLynch met Monday evening with President Barack Obama to discuss the riots in Baltimore. The meeting was not called specifically as a result of the situation in Baltimore, the White House said, but Lynch told Obama she'd be monitoring the situation there.
"As our investigative process continues, I strongly urge every member of the Baltimore community to adhere to the principles of nonviolence," Lynch said in a statement. "In the days ahead, I intend to work with leaders throughout Baltimore to ensure that we can protect the security and civil rights of all residents. And I will bring the full resources of the Department of Justice to bear in protecting those under threat, investigating wrongdoing, and securing an end to violence."
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/27/politics/baltimore-freddie-gray-obama-loretta-lynch/index.html
How much is missing from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s (NNPC’s) books – $20billion? $1.48billion? $4.29billion?
ReplyDeleteThe question remained unresolved yesterday – despite the release of the auditors’ report. But one fact is clear: the system is rotten.
Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi threw down the gauntlet in 2013 when he alleged that $20billion oil money was unremitted to the treasury.
A committee set up by Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said about $10billion was the figure.
When auditing giant PriceWaterHouseCooper was brought in, it said, according to the government, that only $1.48 billion should have been remitted to the treasury.
The report, which the Presidency released yesterday – apparently to clear itself of shielding corrupt officials – said the oil giant should have refunded $4.29billion.
Besides, the report opened a can of worms, returning a damning verdict on NNPC’s operations.
The Nigeria Petroleum Development Corporation (NPDC), according to the auditors, was hostile. It made its job difficult.
Petroleum Minister Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke said last week that $1.48billion was unremitted, adding that the NPDC was already returning cash.
http://thenationonlineng.net/new/the-multi-billion-dollar-nnpc-fraud-by-auditors/
China isn't the bogeyman hiding in America's closet. Congress might be, though.
ReplyDeleteAt least that's what three former U.S. Treasury secretaries believe.
Yes, the U.S. is facing a serious economic challenge from China and other faster-growing economies. And yes, China and the U.S. will continue to butt heads on the global stage.
But the real threat to American dominance might be found much closer to home.
"I think it's important most Americans understand we are still the master of our fate. The biggest risk to our economic interests in the U.S. are our politics in Washington," Timothy Geithner said Monday at the Milken Global Conference in Los Angeles.
Related: Bubble trouble: China's stock market looks too on fire
Complex problems: Geithner, along with Henry Paulson and Robert Rubin, said they fear America has been hurt by Congress's inability to tackle critical issues like immigration reform, the tax code and income inequality.
"The world is changing quicker than our policies," said Paulson, who served during the 2008 financial crisis. "We need fundamentally different policies."
The comments come at a time of deep geopolitical uncertainty. Tensions between Russia and the West are elevated, much of the Middle East is in chaos and the eurozone is grappling with existential questions.
"I think the world needs America to be America again. Because without the United States, there really is nobody to play the role the United States has played for many decades now," said Rubin, who led the Treasury under former President Bill Clinton.
Not too late: The good news is that despite Washington's fumbles, it's not too late for America to get back in the game.
"I don't see anyone out there that is going to overtake us as the predominant force in the world if we fix our problems and we lead by example," said Paulson.
Even Geithner, who was knocked by moderator and Facebook (FB, Tech30) exec Sheryl Sandberg for being too pessimistic, found a silver lining.
http://money.cnn.com/2015/04/28/investing/geithner-paulson-china-america/index.html?iid=HP_LN
I believe my dear America is on the verge of losing its dominance in the global stage. It is critical to note that events in and around Washington within the past few months point to the fact that Congress and The White House need to come to terms with the prevailing facts on the ground. China is a big threat and if America's politics is not right, they are bound to get kicked out of the game. This is my humble opinion.
DeleteJakes, I think you are a pessimist.
ReplyDelete(CNN)When riots broke out in Baltimore last week following the funeral ceremony for Freddie Gray, most Americans were dismayed as they watched the images broadcast on their television screens and through the Internet. Seeing young African-Americans square off against the police, and against one another, brought back horrible memories from the riots of the mid-1960s in Watts, Newark, and Detroit, when the progress of the civil rights movement came to a halt.
ReplyDeleteThe events in Baltimore likewise rekindled the feelings of frustration when riots shook Los Angeles in the wake of not-guilty verdicts for the police who had assaulted Rodney King.
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/03/opinions/zelizer-crisis-of-urban-america/index.html
CNN)A national election is always pending in some significant democracy: the United Kingdom this May, Turkey in June, Spain later this year, the U.S. in 2016, France and Germany in 2017, Italy sometime during the year after that, if not before. And so it goes on. All democratically elected leaders run scared of their electorates. As they conduct international negotiations, they are constantly looking over their shoulders.
ReplyDeleteOnce upon a time, national elections were -- or seemed to be -- overwhelmingly domestic affairs, affecting only the peoples of the countries taking part in them. If that was ever true, it is so no longer. Angela Merkel negotiates with Greece's government with Germany's voters looming in the background. David Cameron currently fights an election campaign in the UK holding fast to the belief that a false move on his part regarding Britain's relationship with the EU could cost his Conservative Party seats, votes and possibly the entire election.
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/01/opinions/uk-election-governs-king/index.html
(CNN)World War II's end happened over time.
ReplyDeleteGermany unconditionally surrendered to the Allies on May 7, 1945 (it was announced the next day, May 8, on what would be known as Victory in Europe Day -- or V-E Day), but Italy had been liberated from fascism almost two weeks earlier, on April 25. And the last Axis combatant, Japan, did not surrender until September 2.
http://edition.cnn.com/…/ben-ghiat-end-of-world-…/index.html
(CNN)This week marks the one-year anniversary since sales of marijuana for recreational use began in Washington state.
ReplyDeleteIn the first year, $70 million in tax revenue has been generated statewide from marijuana sales. The Washington State Liquor Control Board, which oversees the state's cannabis industry, reports that dispensaries sold more than $257 million worth of marijuana.
Chip Boyden, who owns a medical marijuana dispensary in Tucson, Arizona, jumped at the thought of expanding his marijuana business with family in Washington after the first dispensaries started to open in July 2014. Washington voters passed a law in 2012 to legalize marijuana for adults over 21.
When Boyden first opened his shop in Tucson, he said the attitude from the surrounding community was less than supportive, although the state permits medical marijuana usage. "We had people come up and say they aren't against it, but they were unsure who was going to be the demographic for our business," he said.
http://edition.cnn.com/…/washington-marijuana-70…/index.html
I thought marijuana was hard drug? So people can buy it OTC in America?
DeleteYes Phil. Will taking marijuana OTC not lead to drug abuse or misuse?
DeleteCertainly , iwould agree with Charles , particularly, when we do not restrict drug use for medical purposes .
Delete
ReplyDeleteBill Cosby said he had sexual relationships with at least five women and tried to hide the affairs from his wife, the New York Times reported Saturday.
The paper told CNN it obtained a copy of the deposition where Cosby said he obtained seven prescriptions for the sedative Quaaludes from a Los Angeles doctor, ostensibly for a bad back, but really to give to young women he partied with. He said the sex and drug-taking were consensual, the Times reported.
The deposition was taken 10 years ago and stems from a civil lawsuit filed by Andrea Constand -- one of the dozens of women who have publicly accused the comedian of sexual assault.
Cosby, 78, has never been criminally charged and has vehemently denied wrongdoing.
CNN has not yet obtained the full deposition and cannot independently confirm the veracity of the Times story.
When reached for comment Saturday night, Cosby publicist Andrew Wyatt said, "We're not making any comments right now. Thank you." Constand attorney Dolores Troiani had no comment when reached by CNN.
Earlier this month, documents relating to the Constand lawsuit were released in which Cosby has admitted to getting prescription Quaaludes to young women he wanted to have sex with.
In those earlier documents, Cosby says he gave Constand one and a half tablets of Benadryl to relieve stress.
Bill Cosby admitted to getting Quaaludes to give to women
In the deposition, Cosby mostly discusses his years-long relationship with Constand but described sexual relationships with at least five women in different cities across the nation, in hotels and in one of his homes, the Times reported.
Constand was a staffer for the women's basketball team at Cosby's alma mater, Temple University, when she visited Cosby's Pennsylvania home in 2004. According to Constand, Cosby gave her medication that made her dizzy. She said she later woke up to find her bra undone and her clothes in disarray.
Cosby eventually settled the legal suit, which claimed that 13 "Jane Does" had similar stories of sexual abuse. The suit was settled under confidential terms.
Since then, more than 25 women have publicly accused Cosby of raping or assaulting them over the past 40 years, often alleging he gave them some sort of drug without their knowledge.
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/19/us/bill-cosby-deposition/index.html
The past has a disconcerting habit of bursting, uninvited and unwelcome, into the present. This year history gate-crashed modern America in the form of a 150-year-old document: a few sheets of paper that compelled Hollywood actor Ben Affleck to issue a public apology and forced the highly regarded US public service broadcaster PBS to launch an internal investigation.
ReplyDeleteThe document, which emerged during the production of Finding Your Roots, a celebrity genealogy show, is neither unique nor unusual. It is one of thousands that record the primal wound of the American republic – slavery. It lists the names of 24 slaves, men and women, who in 1858 were owned by Benjamin L Cole, Affleck’s great-great-great-grandfather. When this uncomfortable fact came to light, Affleck asked the show’s producers to conceal his family’s links to slavery. Internal emails discussing the programme were later published by WikiLeaks, forcing Affleck to admit in a Facebook post: “I didn’t want any television show about my family to include a guy who owned slaves. I was embarrassed.”
It was precisely because slaves were reduced to property that they appear so regularly in historic documents, both in the US and in Britain. As property, slaves were listed in plantation accounts and itemised in inventories. They were recorded for tax reasons and detailed alongside other transferable goods on the pages of thousands of wills. Few historical documents cut to the reality of slavery more than lists of names written alongside monetary values. It is now almost two decades since I had my first encounter with British plantation records, and I still feel a surge of emotion when I come across entries for slave children who, at only a few months old, have been ascribed a value in sterling; the sale of children and the separation of families was among the most bitterly resented aspects of an inhuman system.
Slavery resurfaces in America regularly. The disadvantage and discrimination that disfigures the lives and limits the life chances of so many African-Americans is the bitter legacy of the slave system and the racism that underwrote and outlasted it. Britain, by contrast, has been far more successful at covering up its slave-owning and slave-trading past. Whereas the cotton plantations of the American south were established on the soil of the continental United States, British slavery took place 3,000 miles away in the Caribbean.
That geographic distance made it possible for slavery to be largely airbrushed out of British history, following the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833. Many of us today have a more vivid image of American slavery than we have of life as it was for British-owned slaves on the plantations of the Caribbean. The word slavery is more likely to conjure up images of Alabama cotton fields and whitewashed plantation houses, of Roots, Gone With The Wind and 12 Years A Slave, than images of Jamaica or Barbados in the 18th century. This is not an accident.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/12/british-history-slavery-buried-scale-revealed?CMP=share_btn_fb
ReplyDeleteInternet addiction and the dangers that excessive computer gaming poses to children and adolescents are receiving fresh attention with the scheduled premiere of the documentary "Web Junkie" on PBS Monday.
The documentary highlights an alarming trend in China. There are similar patterns in South Korea, where the government estimates roughly one in 10 children between the ages of 10 and 19 are addicted to the Internet.
But to see the issue up close, we don't have to look any further than home soil, or sometimes home itself.
We love our tech -- our smartphones, tablets, social media and the Internet -- and increasingly more of us are confronting the hard truth: that we love it too much. A 2014 study determined that about 16% of 18- to 25-year-olds are involved in compulsive Internet use.
Some of us could feel powerless in our relationship with it. But addiction?
Although Internet addiction is not formally recognized in the United States as a mental illness, there is a growing concern among medical practitioners and health officials here who see the need to offer therapy and treatment centers for it, and treat the phenomenon as something more complicated than simply a social problem.
The DSM-5 diagnostic "bible" for researchers, clinicians, patients and insurers, updated in 2013, does include Internet Gaming Disorder in its appendix as requiring further study. This is an important step. But while experts rightly debate whether to add a category for Internet addiction to the DSM-5, the rest of us need to come to terms with this issue ourselves -- and now.
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/17/opinions/steiner-adair-internet-addiction/index.html
Interesting read.
ReplyDeleteGarissa, Kenya (CNN)Dirt tracks criss-cross the bush, leading through the dusty, rust-colored soil and scrub-dotted no-man's land of northern Kenya and across the border into Somalia.
ReplyDeleteThey're known as "Panya," or "Rat Routes," and they are the paths used by smugglers -- and, we've been told, by Al-Shabaab militants.
This is the "back door" to Kenya. Away from the official border crossings, here there are no government officials, no checkpoints, no patrols, no security searches: you can bring whoever and whatever you want in and out.
One man who spoke to CNN told us he uses the back-roads regularly, ferrying people back and forth to the Southern Somali port town of Kismayo: No passports, no questions.
That's despite the fact that some of the tracks run just 20 kilometers from a major military base and the Dadaab airstrip.
http://edition.cnn.com/…/kenya-back-door-porous-…/index.html
SaharaReporters has learned that President Muhammadu Buhari’s meeting on Monday with the United States Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, focused on a strategy to prosecute Nigeria’s immediate past Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, for her role in several billion dollar corrupt deals in the oil industry. Mr. Buhari’s meeting also touched on fighting terrorism as well as strategies for identifying and purging corrupt judges from the Nigerian judicial system.
ReplyDeletehttp://saharareporters.com/…/prosecution-former-oil-ministe…
ReplyDeleteThe FBI has seen a sharp rise in economic espionage cases aimed at U.S. companies, with a vast majority of the perpetrators originating from China with ties to the nation's government, authorities said Thursday.
At a briefing at the FBI's Washington headquarters, the head of the agency's counterintelligence division, Randall Coleman, said the bureau has seen a 53% increase in economic espionage cases, or the theft of trade secrets leading to the loss of hundreds of billions of dollars, over the past year. He cited examples of large corporations successfully targeted in the past such as DuPont, Lockheed Martin and Valspar, who have since worked with the bureau to further safeguard their intellectual property.
To highlight this growing threat to the U.S. economy, the FBI has launched a nationwide campaign intended to warn industry leaders of the danger they face from foreign actors. But the FBI not only considers this a threat to American economic prosperity, but to its physical security as well.
"Economic security is national security," said Bill Evanina, the head of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center and one of the agents leading the charge in stemming the threat to corporations. Many of the tools used are the same as the ones used to track terrorists, he said.
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/24/politics/fbi-economic-espionage/index.html
Washington (CNN)The recent news that Taliban leader Mullah Omar has been dead for two years could bring with it a challenging scenario for the United States -- a potential bounty of new recruits for ISIS.
ReplyDeleteThat, analysts said, could in turn complicate the timeline for the withdrawal from Afghanistan of remaining American troops, as they potentially come under new threats and see efforts to build a more stable political environment endangered.
The Taliban confirmed only on Thursday that Omar was dead. It is unclear who within the organization had been aware of his death, as well as which foreign governments.
While not seen as a commander of Taliban forces on the battleground, Mullah Omar was perceived as a supreme spiritual leader by various Taliban factions and set the overall direction for the group.
Could Omar's absence create a vacuum?
There have already been a small number of Taliban figures who have left the group on their own and since declared their fealty to ISIS, but the publicity of Omar's death may create the impetus for an even larger exodus without the "Commander of the Faithful," whose presence seemed to keep the groups more centralized and aligned on the larger issues confronting them.
"At the end of the day, the one person who could tie all these people was Mullah Omar," said CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen.
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/30/politics/omar-mullah-taliban-leader-death-isis/index.html
Fellow Nigerians, the controversy surrounding the health status of The Ooni of Ife would have been unnecessary if many of us had understood or respected the Ife tradition. Ile-Ife being the cradle of civilisation is steeped in endless myths and the ancient town parades countless pantheons for about 401 deities who are worshipped all year round. Ile-Ife and Benin City cherish their culture and never joke with tradition. They revere their kings and hold on fastidiously to the belief that these kings can never die, they can only retire to the ceiling, a concept that is probably alien to members of the modern generation. This is why it is possible for a powerful king to depart this terrestrial space unannounced for months by the traditional institutions. The people have accepted a system that may seem abnormal to foreigners but not to us.
ReplyDeletehttp://skytrendnews.com/…/10150-as-the-ooni-retires-to-the-…
Pope Francis has a message for all the churches in the world who shirk their responsibility to do good works for those in society who need assistance: If you’re not willing to do anything to help the needy, you should be paying taxes like any other business. In an interview with Aura Miguel of Portugal’s Radio Renascença, Pope Francis urged Christians not to fall victim to the “God of money” as so many religious organizations do, but instead to do something to actually benefit society.
ReplyDeleteMany churches in Europe have developed the practice of renting out rooms to make money while exploiting tax loopholes to avoid actually contributing to society. The hunger for money among these religious institutions is so strong, the Pope points out, that they ignore the needs of refugees in favor of the almighty [insert currency here]. If churches choose to ignore his recent call to provide assistance to refugees, Pope Francis, says, that’s fine — as long as they are prepared to pay taxes just like any other business.
“Some religious orders say ‘No, now that the convent is empty we are going to make a hotel and we can have guests, and support ourselves that way, or make money,’” Francis said on the eve of a trip to the United States, adding a strong condemnation of religious institutions that choose money over their mission:
http://www.ifyouonlynews.com/religion/pope-blasts-money-hungry-churches-help-the-needy-or-pay-taxes-like-a-business/
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ReplyDelete