IT (34)

Agenda-setting is the creation of public awareness and concern of salient issues by the news media. Two basic assumptions underlie most research on agenda-setting:

the press and the media do not reflect reality; they filter and shape it;
media concentration on a few issues and subjects leads the public to perceive those issues as more important than other issues.

One of the most critical aspects in the concept of an agenda-setting role of mass communication is the time frame for this phenomenon. In addition, different media have different agenda-setting potential.

Rogers and Dearing[15] identify three types of agenda setting:

public agenda setting, in which the public's agenda is the dependent variable (the traditional hypothesis)
media agenda setting, in which the media's agenda is treated as the dependent variable (aka agenda building)
policy agenda setting, in which elite policy makers' agendas are treated as the dependent variable (aka political agenda setting)

Mass communication research, Rogers and Dearing argue, has focused a great deal on public agenda setting - e.g., McCombs and Shaw, 1972 - and media agenda setting, but has largely ignored policy agenda setting, which is studied primarily by political scientists. As such, the authors suggest mass communication scholars pay more attention to how the media and public agendas might influence elite policy maker's agendas (i.e., scholars should ask where the President or members of the U.S. Congress get their news from and how this affects their policies). Writing in 2006, Walgrave and Van Aelst took up Rogers and Dearing's suggestions, creating a preliminary theory of political agenda setting, which examines factors that might influence elite policy makers' agendas

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The Professor wants advanced his education to get higher pay must take masters in education seriously in order to realize their ambitions. In fact, various educational systems worldwide recognized higher degree, for example, teacher education s degree, bachelor s degree education and doctorate education in order to maintain the level and quality of teaching education. You can make online education expertise while continuing his teaching career or circular work.

executive+mba.png

A teacher who wants to continue their education and earn higher wages must consider M.Ed. as the only measure that can bring the ambition of reality. As a matter of fact, in many educational systems worldwide, a higher degree of education is necessary to maintain the level of online qualifications. You can make online degree programs, while teachers continue with their regular work or teaching job.

Online MBA in it degree program is necessary for teacher's busy teachers who wish to enjoy the benefits of teaching or educational institution. Go to campus based institution or university to attend classes or conferences may not be easy as it seems. However, with the availability of online education courses offered by some colleges and universities around the world, you can do the master's programs in the fields of public policy, curriculum theory, School of Management, the development of children and so on in your convenient time. You need not go to another country or city to rent a studio apartment in the master's program. You can do almost all things from the comfort of your home or work with a computer and Internet connection.

Online MBA degree provide education for positions such as administrators or teachers in the public school system and private. However, as a teacher, an administrator or teacher education degree holder, you can enjoy many opportunities in the field of public or private education. Online teachers can open the door to many opportunities that can take your career to the next level. There are many organizations around the world who are interested in their services. These educational organizations offer materials, research and training and provide other services to educators.

The requirement for the teaching profession or educational system is the degree. If you have advanced qualification for example, masters or PhD, the sky is the limit which shall have jurisdiction to hear cases in the education system.

Finally, before making online education expertise, ensure that the research so you can go to university or college accredited and approved to run the online master's degree education programs.

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bookthis:  Nigeria who will bell the cat ? .. Many Fat Cats, Enough Bells and Whistles Everyone refuses to be called That Brave Rat ! we will continue this ratatouile Tom and Jerry madness until someone Says I am That RAT that will bell the cat .

 

 

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Julius Berger,RCC take over Lagos- Ibadan Expressway as FG cancels Indigenous Bi-Courtney N10bn concession deal

The Federal Government, Monday, cancelled the concession of the Lagos- Ibadan Expressway awarded to Bi-Courtney Consortium on May 8, 2009 a…

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Kano 419 Barman Yahooze Con: Beware who is buying you drinks or anything else Crazy World

Godfrey Agbejule  wrote from Kano  I LEFT KANO EARLY TUESDAY MORNING ON A SHORT TRIP TO SOKOTO, ON MY WAY OUT OF MY HOTEL I NOTICED THAT SO…

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World Toilet Day: Nigeria Joined To Mark it

As Nigeria joined the rest of the world to mark this year’s World Toilet Day, a joint UNICEF and World Health Organisation 2012 report has…

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Abuja University Shut Down over Unrested Students

The University of Abuja has been ordered shut down by its authorities. The University was shut Monday morning following students’ unrest.…

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7 Mistakes Your Business Is Making On LinkedIn the facebook for Business ..... Read more:

LinkedIn isn't just a good resource for professionals. When used the right way, it can be a powerful tool for businesses too—and not just f…

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The 16 "Smartest" People On Earth Number One is Greek. No Woman / No African No Blackman

Photo courtesy of Tim Roberts Tim Roberts, a professor in Australia, makes the list with an IQ of 178. IQ is a problematic measure of int…

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Geniuses Are The Loneliest People On Earth

Image courtesy of Peter Donald Rodgers Peter D. Rogers has an IQ of 175. Australian Peter D. Rodgers has one of the highest IQs in the wo…

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Isreal's Iron Dome: How Israel & US/Obama $200M Developed Such A Shockingly Effective Rocket Defense System

On the receiving end of Hamas' unremitting rocket campaign, Israel has been looking for an effective defense for years. With questio…

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Isreal Conflcit is Egypts Morsi the messaiah ? As Ground War may soon commence after 6th Day of Rocket Bombings

WITH the five-day aerial battle between Israel and Hamas poised to escalate into all-out ground war, the unlikely figure of Egypt's Islam…

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Legalize It ? What Marijuana Does To Your Body And Mind

With the recreational use of marijuana about to be legal in two states, Colorado and Washington, we thought now would be an important time…

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Ibori $15m bribe: Lagos Refrigerator repairer Petitions Court to Take Custody of Ibori "Cake" in bizarre turn of events

A Lagos based refrigerator repairer, Olalekan Bayode has applied to the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja to appoint him as a manager o…

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images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQApcK4B082NRItYIJyufpUOOwi93e5wekdBVRuBDvlGZ5imzOsn7ZZCgSALT LAKE CITY – When Josh Ferrin closed on his family's first home, he never thought he'd make the discovery of a lifetime — then give it back.

Ferrin picked up the keys earlier this week and decided to check out the house in the Salt Lake City suburb of Bountiful. He was excited to finally have a place his family could call their own.

As he walked into the garage, a piece of cloth that clung to an attic door caught his eye. He opened the hatch and climbed up the ladder, then pulled out a metal box that looked like a World War II ammunition case.

"I freaked out, locked it my car, and called my wife to tell her she wouldn't believe what I had found," said Ferrin, who works as an artist for the Deseret News in Salt Lake City.

Then he found seven more boxes, all stuffed full with tightly wound rolls of cash bundled together with twine — more than $40,000.

Ferrin quickly took the boxes to his parent's house to count. Along with his wife and children, they spread out thousands of bills on a table, separating the bundles one by one.

They stopped counting at $40,000, but estimated there was at least $5,000 more on the table.

Ferrin thought about how such a large sum of money could go a long way, pay bills, buy things he never thought he could afford.

"I'm not perfect, and I wish I could say there was never any doubt in my mind. We knew we had to give it back, but it doesn't mean I didn't think about our car in need of repairs, how we would love to adopt a child and aren't able to do that right now, or fix up our outdated house that we just bought," Ferrin said. "But the money wasn't ours to keep and I don't believe you get a chance very often to do something radically honest, to do something ridiculously awesome for someone else and that is a lesson I hope to teach to my children."

He thought about the home's previous owner, Arnold Bangerter, who died in November and left the house to his children.

"I could imagine him in his workshop. From time to time, he would carefully bundle up $100 with twine, climb up into his attic and put it into a box to save. And he didn't do that for me," Ferrin said of the man who had worked as a biologist for the Utah Department of Fish and Game.

Bangerter purchased the home in 1966 and lived there with his wife, who died in 2005.

After most of the money was counted, Ferrin called one of Bangerter's sons with the news.

Kay Bangerter said he knew his father hid away money because he once found a bundle of cash taped beneath a drawer in their home, but he never considered his dad had stuffed away so much over the years.

"He grew up in hard times and people that survived that era didn't have anything when they came out of it unless they saved it themselves," Kay Bangerter, the oldest of the six children, told the Deseret News. "He was a saver, not a spender."

Bangerter called the money's return "a story that will outlast our generation and probably yours as well."

"I'm a father, and I worry about the future for my kids," Ferrin said. "I can see him putting that money away for a rainy day and it would have been wrong of me to deny him that thing he worked on for years. I felt like I got to write a chapter in his life, a chapter he wasn't able to finish and see it through to its conclusion."

 

Extracted from news.gif

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Have you ever known someone who really trusts God? When I was an atheist, I had a good friend who prayed often. She would tell me every week about something she was trusting God to take care of. And every week I would see God do something unusual to answer her prayer. Do you know how difficult it is for an atheist to observe this week after week? After a while, "coincidence" begins to sound like a very weak argument.

So why would God answer my friend's prayers? The biggest reason is that she had a relationship with God. She wanted to follow God. And she actually listened to what he said. In her mind, God had the right to direct her in life, and she welcomed him doing just that! When she prayed for things, it was a natural part of her relationship with God. She felt very comfortable coming to God with her needs, her concerns, and whatever issues were current in her life. Furthermore, she was convinced, from what she read in the Bible, that God wanted her to rely on him like that.

She pretty much exhibited what this statement from the Bible says, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us."1 "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer..."2

So, Why Doesn't God Answer Everyone's Prayers?

It may be because they don't have a relationship with God. They may know that God exists, and they might even worship God from time to time. But those who never seem to have their prayers answered probably don't have a relationship with him. Further, they have never received from God complete forgiveness for their sin. What does that have to do with it you ask? Here is an explanation. "Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God. Your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear."3

It's pretty natural to feel that separation from God. When people begin to ask God for something, what usually takes place? They begin with, "God, I really need your help with this problem..." And then there's a pause, followed by a restart... "I realize that I'm not a perfect person, that I actually have no right to ask you for this..." There's an awareness of personal sin and failure. And the person knows that it's not just them; that God is aware of it too. There's a feeling of, "Who am I kidding?" What they may not know is how they can receive God's forgiveness for all their sin. They might not know that they can come into a relationship with God so that God will hear them. This is the foundation for God answering your prayer.

How to Pray: The Foundation

You must first begin a relationship with God. Imagine some guy named Mike decides to ask the president of Princeton University (whom Mike doesn't even know) to co-sign a car loan for him. Mike would have zero chance of that happening. (We're assuming that the president of Princeton is not an idiot.) However, if that same president's daughter asked her dad to co-sign a car loan for her, it would be no problem. Relationship matters.

With God, when the person is actually a child of God, when the person belongs to God, he knows them and hears their prayers. Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me...my sheep listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand."4

When it comes to God then, do you really know him and does he know you? Do you have a relationship with him that warrants God answering your prayers? Or is God pretty distant, pretty much just a concept in your life? If God is distant, or you're not sure that you know God, here is how you can begin a relationship with him right now: Getting Connected.

Will God Definitely Answer Your Prayer?

For those who do know him and rely on him, Jesus seems to be wildly generous in his offer: "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you."5 To "remain" in him and have his words remain in them means they conduct their lives aware of him, relying on him, listening to what he says. Then they're able to ask him whatever they want. Here is another qualifier: "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us -- whatever we ask -- we know that we have what we asked of him."6 God answers our prayers according to his will (and according to his wisdom, his love for us, his holiness, etc.).

Where we trip up is assuming we know God's will, because a certain thing makes sense to us! We assume that there is only one right "answer" to a specific prayer, assuming certainly THAT would be God's will. And this is where it gets tough. We live within the limits of time and limits of knowledge. We have only limited information about a situation and the implications of future action on that situation. God's understanding is unlimited. How an event plays out in the course of life or history is only something he knows. And he may have purposes far beyond what we could even imagine. So, God is not going to do something simply because we determine that it must be his will.

What Does It Take? What is God Inclined to Do?

Pages and pages could be filled about God's intentions toward us. The entire Bible is a description of the kind of relationship God wants us to experience with him and the kind of life he wants to give us. Here are just a few examples:

"...the Lord longs to be gracious to you. He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for [trust] him!"7 Did you catch that? Like someone rising out of his chair to come to your help, "He rises to show you compassion." "As for God, his way is perfect...He is a shield for all who take refuge in him."8 "The Lord delights in those who fear [reverence] him, who put their hope in his unfailing love."9

However, God's greatest display of his love and commitment to you is this: Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends,"10which is what Jesus did for us. And so, "If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since God did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else?"11

What about "Unanswered" Prayer?

Certainly people get sick, even die; financial problems are real, and all sorts of very difficult situations can come up. What then?

God tells us to give our concerns to him. Even as the situation remains dismal, "Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you."12 The circumstances may look out of control, but they aren't. When the whole world seems to be falling apart, God can keep us together. This is when a person can be very grateful that they know God. "The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."13 God may provide solutions, resolutions to the problem WAY beyond what you imagined possible. Probably any Christian could list examples like this in their own lives. But if the circumstances do not improve, God can still give us his peace in the midst of it. Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful."14

It is at this point (when circumstances are still tough) that God asks us to continue to trust him -- to "walk by faith, not by sight" the Bible says. But it's not blind faith. It is based on the very character of God. A car traveling on the Golden Gate Bridge is fully supported by the integrity of the bridge. It doesn't matter what the driver may be feeling, or thinking about, or discussing with someone in the passenger seat. What gets the car safely to the other side is the integrity of the bridge, which the driver was willing to trust.

In the same way, God asks us to trust his integrity, his character...his compassion, love, wisdom, righteousness on our behalf. He says, "I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you."15 "Trust in him at all times, O people. Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us."16

In Summary...How to Pray

God has offered to answer the prayers of his children (those who have received him into their lives and seek to follow him). He asks us to take any concerns to him in prayer and he will act upon it according to his will. As we deal with difficulties we are to cast our cares on him and receive from him a peace that defies the circumstances. The basis for our hope and faith is the character of God himself. The better we know him, the more apt we are to trust him...

For more on the character of God, please see "Who is God?" or other articles on this site. The reason for our prayers is God's character. The first prayer God answers is your prayer to begin a relationship with God.

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I was thinking about 2 naija supermodels Oluchi & Agbani who has more class ?

Early life
Onweagba grew up in the suburbs of Lagos, Nigeria with her two brothers and sisters. She is the daughter of a civil servant father and mother who was a nurse.[2] When Onweagba was 16 years old, she won the "Face Of Africa" contest.[2]12166302453?profile=original

She was urged by a family friend to enter into the M-Net "Face of Africa" preliminary screening at the M-Net office in Victoria Island, Lagos.[3] The agency groomed her to be one of Nigeria's entrants for the 1998 competition (now called the Nokia Face of Africa). This despite the fact that, growing up, she had maintained a relative ignorance towards fashion and modeling.[citation needed] With the support of her family and friends, she decided to compete in the inaugural edition of the Face of Africa in 1998. This was the first-ever continent-wide model competition, organized by the South African channel M-Net in collaboration with Elite Model Management.[citation needed] She won the competition.[4] She was just seventeen years old. Elite Model Management awarded Onweagba a three-year modeling contract.

12166302266?profile=original

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12166298090?profile=originalwhat if my girl was called aharit instead of arit



My girl has always been my closest friend but not one day has she ever told me her

real name . She said her name is arit and many times i go Aight ? and she says Right

. Not one day has she dared to put it all together and say AHARIT !

I wondered why she would never tell me her real name . I wondered not for long as I

asked her to marry me . to which she immediately agreed . She had been waiting for

this for ages .


Now we are about to get married it is just a few days or even weeks away .



And I asked her for the last time What is your name Arit

And she said AHARIT and I looked at her and understood . AHA RIGHT !


He sold his birthright for a meal of porridge He ignored the 'Aharit' . That which

comes After . Show me Temptations and I will ask for the AHARIT .

Now we shall soon be together for ever even after the AHARIT !

 

Happy Valentine

 

Ephesians 4:2


Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
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12166298253?profile=originalOperatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) 12166215471?profile=originalyesterday arrested the former minister of works and housing, Hassan Lawal, in his home in Asokoro, Abuja, in connection with fraudulent activities currently pegged at over N50 billion.

An operative of the anti-graft agency told NEXT that the commission is currently carrying out the second phase of investigation into the fraudulent activities of the former minister who served in two different offices between 2004 and 2010...

photos: Lawal and Fixit Anenih Two former Works Ministers with questionable wealth

“There are currently two different phases of investigations against this man. One has been on-going for some time now, the second one has just begun. Most of the investigations border on fraudulent award of contracts to unregistered companies. Most of the contracts had to do with road contracts and the sale of federal government houses,” a source in the EFCC, who pleaded anonymity said in Abuja.

The spokesman of the anti-graft agency , Femi Babafemi, says that Mr.Lawal is currently in the custody of the commission, however he declined to speak on what possible date the accused will be arraigned. Our source however revealed that the commission is currently working to uncover and arrest other persons who might have collaborated with the former minister. The charges against the former minister are high degree of massive fraud, abuse of office, abuse of government laid down policy on due process and award of contracts to unregistered companies’.Mr. Lawal served as the Minister of Labour and Productivity from 2004 to 2007. He then served as the Minister for Works and Housing from 2008 to 2010.

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WISHING YOU THE BEST 2011

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I did a doubletake when I saw a friend's Facebook status update today : "I like it on the kitchen table." Probably just a private message mistakenly posted as a status update.

Then my sister posted, "I like it on the hall floor," and after a moment of feeling vaguely icky, I knew something was up. So I Googled and, of course, found that it's the latest viral breast cancer awareness campaign taking Facebook by storm. (The "it" is actually where a woman likes to leave her purse/handbag.)



My friend Genevieve likes it on the barstool. My friend Jalade likes it in the car.

Bobos please Get your minds out of the gutter.

They're talking about their purses.

Titillating the Facebook newsfeeds today, women are posting where they like to keep their purses when they come home, but they conveniently leave out the word "purse."

Men are not supposed to know what it means. So stop reading now, men.

The trend follows the January Internet meme in which women posted the color of their bra as their Facebook status.

Both are to raise awareness of breast cancer. October is Breast Cancer Month. (It's also Cybersecurity Awareness Month, but that's another story entirely.)

The question remains whether the viral campaign actually does raise awareness or just raises eyebrows.

One response to a Facebook status: "Woah is right. Overshare."

Update, 10:45 a.m.

Men: Hmph. Some of the not-so-fair sex have complained that this post is sexist as they are forbidden to read past the jump. Others have complained about the actual Internet meme: "Yeah, that's a great way to get men on board with breast cancer awareness month...alienate them."

We suggest going with the flow, men. Men can put purses places these days too.

Oh, and ladies, go take a breast exam..
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Next NewsPapers Say it is now 350,000Naira Daily Sun says It is now 40million all Accounts are from the ever efficient and buck passing Nigerian Police .who now say the Kidnappers are Actually Robbers ! nice to know our Criminals now have choice of vocation

Kidnappers of the 15 pupils of Abayi International School, Aba, had reduced their ransom to N350,000, an indication that they are willing to release the toddlers from a tortuous ordeal which has drawn worldwide condemnation.

It was further gathered that the failure to release the kids on Wednesday was as a result of multiple negotiations which the criminals were taking advantage of, possibly to make more money.
Photo:Policemen looking for the kidnappers what about the Corpers kidnapped last week ?
According to our source, a hamonised negotiation has been adopted, which may lead to the early release of the school children.

The Abia State commissioner of police, Jonathan Johnson, also said yesterday in Umuahia that final negotiations were going on with the abductors of the children to effect their release and save them from further mental and emotional torture that they have been subjected to since Monday, when they were snatched on their way to school.

He confirmed that the children would have been released yesterday, but for some minor hitches in the negotiations with the kidnappers, even as he appealed to Abia residents to remain calm as the children would be released soon..

The police boss said the kidnapping of the kids was his greatest challenge and one which has given him sleepless nights.

Police sources said their non confrontational negotiation with the kidnappers was the best option, so as to save the children from possible harm hurt during a shoot out, adding that if the victims were grown ups, the police would have adopted a confrontational stand.

Robbers turned kidnappers

The commissioner, who said it was difficult for him to understand why anybody could abduct kids of between three and 10 years, added that the police and the government were working together to ensure the early release of the children.

Throwing more light on how the children were kidnapped, another source said the kidnappers were not initially out to abduct them, but had used them to escape from the police who had attacked them as they were trying to rob a jeep.

According to the source, when the police swooped on them, they ran into the bush and when they saw the school bus conveying the children to school, they hijacked it to make good their escape, but might have changed their mind later after escaping with the kids.

The Abia State government has condemned the abduction and called on the kidnappers to release the kids forthwith.

The commissioner for information and strategy, ACB Agbazuere, said in Umuahia that the action was condemnable, and appealed to the hoodlums to embrace the amnesty programme and quit criminality.


Daily Sun


Kidnapped school kids: Ransom now N40m ...Parents besiege school
From OKEY SAMPSON, Aba, Taiwo Amodu, Abuja


Outrage trailed the abduction of 15 pupils of Abayi International School in Aba, Abia State yesterday, but the kidnappers upped the ante by increasing the ransom demanded on the school children to N40 million from N20 million. Contrary to the speculation on Monday evening that the school kids were abandoned in a bush path near a village in Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Area few hours after their kidnap on the way to school on Monday, investigations showed that they were still held captive.



When Daily Sun visited the school at about 2.45 p.m yesterday, none of the principal officers was around. They were said to have gone out with some policemen in search of the pupils, aged between three and 10.

A staff member who preferred anonymity confided in Daily Sun that the kids had not been freed and that frantic efforts were being made towards their release.

Some parents of the kidnapped school children were seen trooping into the compound perhaps to discuss with the school officials on the way forward.

When contacted, the spokesman, Abia State Police, ASP Geoffrey Ogbonna, said the command had been unable to establish contact with the school authorities. However, a senior police officer in Aba, on condition of anonymity, claimed they visited the school yesterday morning but could not get any concrete information.

According to him, “we went to the school this morning (Tuesday) to get information about the children from the authorities, but all they told us was that God was in control. Please, my brother, if you have information concerning the whereabouts of the children, give us so that we can work on it,” he said.

There were, however, moves yesterday indicating the children would be freed as the authorities of the school, with the parents, intensified moves towards this direction but how soon that could be remained unknown.

In a related development, the National Chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, yesterday, reacted angrily to the kidnap of the 15 pupils by unknown gunmen in Osisioma near Aba in Abia State describing it as callous and unacceptable.

Nwodo, in a statement by his media aide, Ike Abonyi, described the action of the hijackers of the children, most of them in nursery and primary level, as wicked and challenged relevant security agencies to fish them out and save the children, their families and the nation the trauma.

The PDP national chairman said such wicked action by anybody at a time the nation was in the celebration mood and many foreign dignitaries already in the country for the nation’s golden jubilee was not only callous but distracting.

He said the issue of kidnapping in the South-east, especially Abia, had become a huge embarrassment to the nation and should be condemned by all reasonable persons.

The last high profile kidnap in the same area involved three Lagos-based journalists returning to Lagos after attending a conference of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital.

In addition, the UN Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF) has joined the array of those crying out against the kidnap of the 15 school children in Abia on Monday describing it as craven.

“Under no circumstances should children be the target of violence,’’ said the Representative of UNICEF in Nigeria, Dr. Suomi Sakai, in a statement yesterday in Abuja.

“Kidnapping children for financial gain is simply heinous,’’ the statement noted.

The children’s fund, which advocates everywhere for the inviolability of schools, hoped the law enforcement agencies would be able to find and bring the children to safety quickly.

“In all its work, UNICEF stresses the need for families, communities and civil society to work in partnership to protect the rights and well-being of children,” the statement added.

“Communities in which children are safe and well, are communities in which everyone is safe and well,” the statement added.
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A Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has called for a debate, on the economy, among all the presidential aspirants on the economy.Photo Atiku ? this man looks like a Hitman sha



Abubakar, a former vice-President, made the call after submitting his nomination form at the PDP national secretariat on Tuesday in Abuja.



The Adamawa State- born politician said the economy should be the main issue in the 2011 election campaigns.



“The issue of economic recovery for Nigeria cannot be a matter of wishful thinking nor of rhetoric. It is a subject for rigorous analyses and provision of well-thought, viable, practicable and sustainable strategy,” he said.



Abubakar said that all aspirants must be able to tell Nigerians how they intended to confront the challenges of the economy and reposition it for the benefit of all at the shortest possible time.



He said, “Of all the aspirants that have declared interest in the presidential election, I consider myself the most qualified to address the daunting economic challenges facing the country.



“I am the only one who has successfully managed a business and you need extensive knowledge of the private sector to combine its potential with the authority of the public sector to address this challenge.”



The former vice-president said his approach to resolving the economic crisis in the country was contained in a 47-page Policy Document he presented on August 15, 2010 while announcing his intention to contest the 2011 presidential poll.



He said, “We are faced with a job crisis of monumental proportions. Unless we evolve strategies to dealing with the teeming population of young people churned out almost on a daily basis, we may risk the destruction of the next generation.



“If we fail to channel the energies of this huge population, they could be a potent force for instability and social unrest.”



Abubakar, however, stunned journalists when he said that he was not aware that the President had declared his intention to vie for the PDP ticket.



“I didn’t see it (declaration). Honestly, I didn’t watch it,” he said.



Twenty seven out of the 28 PDP governors were among thousands of people that attended Jonathan’s presidential declaration at the Eagle Square on Saturday in Abuja. The event was shown live by some public and private television stations nationwide.



On the reported move by some politicians to produce a consensus presidential candidate among the Northern aspirants, Abubakar said, “There is a process for the emergence of a consensus candidate in the North. It shows that North is even more united if “they” agree to bring out a consensus candidate.”



He also said he was not aware of the support that Jonathan was getting from the northern states.



Reacting to the challenge, the Presidential Adviser to Jonathan on National Assembly Matters, Senator Mohammed Abba-Aji, said the President was ready for such a debate.



“We are ready for it (debate) anytime. The President has talked about all the aspects of the economy when he declared. If they want more, we are ready for them,” he said.



Another aspirant, who is also the Kwara State Governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki, also expressed readiness for the debate.



“We are ready for the debate. That is what we have been calling for. Without such an issue-based debate, we will not be able to get the best candidate. Saraki is ready for it,” one of the governor’s aides, Mr. Billy Adedamola, said.
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Those in various leadership positions in the country are the most corrupt in the world, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, has said. Delivering a paper on credible leadership at a public lecture organised by the ECKANKAR yesterday, Jega said: “There is perhaps no other country in the world where power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely as in Nigeria. Our consistent or persistent ranking on the global corruption index testifies to this.”
He also said: “If the truth is to be told, with very few exceptions, our crop of leaders have essentially been self-serving rulers, some even despots and not leaders in the true sense of the word.
“They have generally lacked vision, focus and selflessness and even enlightened self-interest. Many in leadership positions are unimaginably corrupt, they are greedy, they are vindictive, they are reckless and in many fundamental respects, senseless. Virtually whoever has access to power attempts to abuse it, ”

Jega said there is absence of transparency in the manner which leaders govern the country..

“Many Nigerian public officials, whether elected or appointed, have tended to exude not only power, but also corruption, with impunity. This is manifest in the way they walk, talk, dress and generally conduct themselves.”

He tasked Nigerians on the need to ease corrupt leaders out of the system to evolve credible leadership for development of the country.

He said: “All of our country’s ills, trials and tribulations, both politically and socio-economically, can be squarely attributed to lack of transparency and accountability and the corruption that these have engendered.”

But reacting to Jega’s presentation, Minister of Women Affairs, Iyom Josephine Anenih, said the poor leadership in the country is a reflection of bad citizenry.

According to her, “there is no leader in Nigeria today that is not under pressure to steal to satisfy greedy relatives and friends. How can we have credible leaders without credible citizenry? The only way we can have credible leaders is to have credible followers who will not collect money to vote for bad leaders.”

Jega disagreed with. the minister’s position saying, “to me the challenge of leadership is to do the right thing even if it is unpopular. I cannot see the basis for a leader to steal money to satisfy the followers. It is not right to succumb to such pressure. You may become unpopular, you may not be elected again, but you must ensure that the right things are done.”

He said there is need for faith- based organisations to remain neutral on political issues and to sustain inter-faith dialogue in the society.
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Rosh Hashanah DAY !

Rosh Hashanah (Hebrew: ראש השנה‎, literally "head of the year," Israeli: Hebrew pronunciation: [ˈʁoʃ haʃaˈna], Ashkenazic: ˈɾoʃ haʃːɔˈnɔh, Yiddish:[ˈrɔʃəˈʃɔnə]) is a Jewish holiday commonly referred to as the "Jewish New Year." It is observed on the first day of Tishrei, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar.[1] It is ordained in the Torah as "Zicaron Terua" ("a memorial with the blowing of horns"), in Leviticus 23:24. Rosh Hashanah is the first of the High Holidays or Yamim Noraim ("Days of Awe"), or Asseret Yemei Teshuva (Ten Days of Repentance) which are days specifically set aside to focus on repentance that conclude with the holiday of Yom Kippur.

Rosh Hashanah is the start of the civil year in the Hebrew calendar (one of four "new year" observances that define various legal "years" for different purposes as explained in the Mishnah and Talmud). It is the new year for people, animals, and legal contracts. The Mishnah also sets this day aside as the new year for calculating calendar years and sabbatical (shmita) and jubilee (yovel) years. Jews believe Rosh Hashanah represents either analogically or literally the creation of the World, or Universe. However, according to one view in the Talmud, that of R. Eleazar, Rosh Hashanah commemorates the creation of man, which entails that five days earlier, the 25 of Elul, was the first day of creation of the Universe.[2]

The Mishnah, the core text of Judaism's oral Torah, contains the first known reference to Rosh Hashanah as the "day of judgment." In the Talmud tractate on Rosh Hashanah it states that three books of account are opened on Rosh Hashanah, wherein the fate of the wicked, the righteous, and those of an intermediate class are recorded. The names of the righteous are immediately inscribed in the book of life, and they are sealed "to live." The middle class are allowed a respite of ten days, until Yom Kippur, to repent and become righteous; the wicked are "blotted out of the book of the living."[3]



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosh_Hashanah



For secular Jews


It would happen each fall around the Jewish new year. At the very time when renewal was in the autumn air, Arnold Barnett, an engineer from Moorestown, would go into a mild funk. His wife eventually figured it out: He was less than enamored with high holiday synagogue services.


"He simply wasn't engaged by what went on inside our Reform synagogue, or with the traditional approach to Judaism," said Ellen, 70. "I knew he was struggling. So sometimes, I would just go to services alone."


Then last year, the Barnetts saw a small notice in a local Jewish newspaper about a recently formed group in South Jersey. "We went to a meeting that was focused on Jewish history," Arnold, 71, recalls, "and that was something I could relate to. It was much more appealing."


And so the Barnetts will celebrate Rosh Hashanah, which begins Wednesday at sundown, by meeting Sunday with like-minded members of South Jersey Secular Jews - a group of people who may or may not believe in God, but do believe in caring about the world and one another, respecting and understanding Jewish history, and celebrating a culture that has meaning and emotional pull.


"The most important aspect of secularism is the survival and continuity of the Jewish people," said Paul Shane, a native New Yorker now living in Philadelphia and married to the daughter of Holocaust survivors.


Shane, 75, a member of the more established Philadelphia Secular Jewish Organization, believes humans are responsible for what happens on Earth. The here and now is central, and actions speak louder than words.


That philosophy resembles traditional Judaism. But secular Jews and traditional Jews part company when it comes to accepting religious dogma.


If you're secular, God is optional. (Traditional Judaism has "God at its heart. That's not an option," said Rabbi Ethan Franzel of Main Line Reform Temple Beth Elohim in Wynnewood.) Also, life-cycle events are handled individually - for instance, there are no set burial or wedding traditions in secular Judaism.


Of course secularism, in which one adheres to cultural norms rather than religious ones, is hardly new. During the Renaissance, from 1450 to 1600, and the Enlightenment in the 18th century, many Jews shed the God-oriented elements of their Jewishness, according to Shane, a professor of social policy at Rutgers University in Newark. That shedding also continued in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.


What's different today is that a growing number of secular Jews are finding one another, forming groups, and practicing the social responsibility Judaism requires - minus the synagogue.


Rifke Feinstein, executive director of the national Congress of Secular Jewish Organizations, says there are approximately 2,000 affiliated secular Jews in the United States. But because seculars typically are unaffiliated, and therefore uncounted, estimates for the entire American secular population range from 8,000 to 40,000.


In the Philadelphia area, there are six such organizations for secular Jews - including the five-year-old South Jersey Secular Jews - all under the local umbrella cooperative venture called Kehilla for Secular Jews.


For many people, discovering that such an organization exists has been a relief.


" 'I thought I was the only one!' is what people often express when they discover that they are not alone in their secular relationship to their Jewishness," said Larry Angert, 59, a member of 11-year-old Shir Shalom: A Havurah for Secular Jews. "The Jewish tent is big, and there's room for all of us in it."


Some local secular groups, like Philadelphia's Sholom Aleichem Club, which started in 1954, and Philadelphia Workmen's Circle, founded nationally in 1900 to aid Jewish immigrant workers and to promote Yiddish, have graying memberships. Bob Kleiner, 85, of Elkins Park, a retired sociology professor at Temple University, and his wife, Frances, a teacher of Yiddish, both long active in the secular movement, lament that younger people are not actively involved in these historic groups.


But the formation of new groups, such as South Jersey Secular Jews, is evidence the movement still has traction.


Credit Naomi Scher, 64, of Cherry Hill, whose children attended the Jewish Children's Folkshul, another Kehilla group, which is a parent-run cooperative held at Springside School in Philadelphia. About 100 children receive their Jewish education, not in a traditional Hebrew school but in classes that nourish social justice and individual responsibility. Bar and bat mitzvah aspirants undertake personally meaningful projects that they ultimately share with the entire Folkshul community.


Although Scher formed relationships with parents of her children's classmates, commuting to Philadelphia became burdensome once her children graduated, and in 2005, the retired social worker decided to start a secular group closer to home.


What began as a gathering of eight to 10 people now regularly attracts 30, meeting monthly with speakers who address social and political concerns, Scher said.


Deborah Chaiken, 74, of Palmyra is delighted to have a group close to home. "In the formal Jewish community, I felt that I didn't really have a voice. Here, I know that I do."


Dues are $25 a year, and participants are asked to bring food for potluck dinners. Meetings are held on the second Sunday of the month at Unitarian Universalist Church in Cherry Hill..


South Jersey Secular Jews members Cary and Bilha Hillebrand of Cherry Hill call the group a welcome addition to the local landscape. For Bilha, 54, the philosophy of the group is more in keeping with that of her native Israel, where the majority of the population leads a more secular lifestyle.


"We are not in any way antireligious," says Cary, 60. "We hold the belief that we are responsible for what happens to ourselves and to the world. And to us, that's the essence of what religion is, and should be."






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Research has consistently found that people who don't drink actually tend to die sooner than those who do. A newpaper suggests that abstainers' mortality rates are actually higher thanthose of heavy drinkers.

Even after controlling for many possible variables, such as socioeconomic status, level of physical activity, and number of closefriends, the researchers found that over a 20-year period, mortalityrates were highest for those who had never been drinkers.

One reason for this may be that low levels of ethanol in your bloodstream will prevent the formation of formaldehyde from dietarymethanol. In fact, ethanol is used as the preferred antidote foraccidental methanol poisoning in an emergency for this reason.

Time Magazine reports:

“The authors of the new paper are careful to note that even if drinking is associated with longer life, it can be dangerous: it canimpair your memory severely and it can lead to nonlethal falls and othermishaps”.

Sources:


Dr. Mercola's Comments:
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This is not the first time we’ve been told that drinking alcohol is actually good for you. What’s surprising however, not to mentionpotentially troublesome, are the scientific claims that moderate andeven heavy drinking is beneficial – in this case, more beneficial for your longevity than abstaining from alcohol entirely!

It’s difficult to reconcile this claim with everything we already know about the devastating health effects of excessive alcoholconsumption and the fact that ethyl alcohol is neurotoxic..

However, I will offer one potential explanation for this oxymoron a bit later in this article.

Moderate Drinkers Live Longer than Non-Drinkers, Study Finds

According to the recent study published in the journal Clinical and Experimental Research, epidemiological research suggests that moderate to high alcohol consumption is associated with areduced overall mortality risk compared to non- and light drinkers.

Their study included over 1,800 people, aged 55 to 65 when the study began. Sixty-nine percent of the participants were men. The subjectswere followed for 20 years.

Surprisingly, the group with the lowest mortality rate was moderate drinkers, who had one to three alcoholic drinks per day, followed by heavy drinkers, and then light drinkers, while non-drinkers had the highest mortality rate of them all.

The study states:

“Controlling only for age and gender, compared to moderate drinkers, abstainers had a more than 2 times increased mortality risk,heavy drinkers had 70% increased risk, and light drinkers had 23%increased risk.

A model controlling for former problem drinking status, existing health problems, and key sociodemographic and social-behavioral factors,as well as for age and gender, substantially reduced the mortalityeffect for abstainers compared to moderate drinkers.

However, even after adjusting for all covariates, abstainers and heavy drinkers continued to show increased mortality risks of 51 and45%, respectively, compared to moderate drinkers.”

Time Magazine writes that “moderate alcohol use (especially when the beverage of choice isred wine) is thought to improve heart health, circulation andsociability.”

But is that enough to explain these findings?

I believe it’s unwise to ignore the big picture when it comes to health, and when it comes to alcohol, I’m just not convinced that thepotential benefits outweigh all the risks, particularly when it comes tohaving multiple drinks per day.

So I hope these latest findings will not be used as justification to further promote a dangerous and health-damaging habit that can easilylead to alcoholism.

The Health Hazards of Alcohol

Before we get into the potential benefits, it’s important to realize that alcohol is a neurotoxin that can poison your brain. It can alsodisrupt your hormonal balance, which could potentially explain why womendo not appear to reap the same health benefits from alcohol consumptionas men do.

According to the Harvard School of Public Health, “moderate” consumption for women is just one drink per day, whereas“moderate” consumption for men is two drinks. Hence, women who consumetwo to three drinks a day will actually fall into the category of“heavy” drinkers.

Another important consideration is that wine or other alcoholic beverages will increase your insulin levels, which will eventually have a negative impact on your health. As I’ve stated on many previous occasions, insulin resistance is a hallmark of nearly every chronic disease there is.

Heavy drinkers also face increased risk of cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, and cirrhosis of the liver.

According to the Harvard School of Public Health, women who drink two or more drinks a day increase their risk of breast cancer by more than 40 percent!

Other types of cancer linked to excessive alcohol consumption include cancer of the:

  • Mouth, larynx and esophagus
  • Liver
  • Colon
  • Pancreas
  • Lungs

Alcohol consumption also inhibits your body’s natural stress response by reducing a key stress hormone, known as corticotropin-releasingfactor (CRF). CRF is produced by your hypothalamus and helps triggeryour body's reaction to stress.

If your stress response is impaired, your immune system will also be inhibited, which can have any number of health implications, from reducing your ability to fight infections to increasing your cancer risk.

Alcohol also clearly needs to be avoided during pregnancy.

Beyond Resveratrol – Explaining the Health Benefits of Alcohol

One of the most widely accepted health benefits of alcohol comes from resveratrol, an antioxidant found in red wine, which acts as a:

  • Cancer-preventing agent
  • Blood thinner
  • Vaso-expanding agent
  • Blood pressure lowering compound
  • Anti-aging chemical

But resveratrol cannot explain the health benefits ascribed to the moderate consumption of other types of alcohol (ethanol).

Interestingly, research into ethanol’s impact on dietary methanol may offer clues that could potentially rival the late breaking science into fructose and its devastating impact on health.

One possible explanation for why mortality rates are higher for non-drinkers may be that low levels of ethanol (alcohol) in yourbloodstream helps prevent the formation of formaldehyde from dietarymethanol. (In fact, ethanol is used as the preferred antidote foraccidental methanol poisoning in an emergency for this reason.)

What is dietary methanol and how could this possibly have ANY significance?

New Concern in Your Food: Wood Alcohol (Methanol)

Fresh fruits and vegetables contain small amounts of naturally-occurring methanol, and the artificial sweetener aspartameconverts into methanol in your body.

Normally this is not a problem as the methanol is typically bound to pectin, and since your body has no enzyme to metabolize that bond it issimply excreted in your stool and none of the methanol is absorbed intoyour body.

However, the problem occurs when you can or bottle fruit- or vegetable juice, as the methanol tends to then dissociate from thepectin into free methanol, which you do absorb.

The methanol you absorb readily passes the blood brain barrier where it can be converted to form formaldehyde, which is a potent toxin thatactually causes most of the damage.

Why Ethanol May Protect You From Methanol

An exciting paper that delves into this topic is food scientist Woody Monte’s “Methanol: A chemical Trojan horse as the root of the inscrutable U,” published in the March, 2010 issue of Medical Hypotheses.

In it, he explains that:

Very low levels of ethanol in your bloodstream would substantively prevent all formaldehyde production from dietary methanolanywhere in the body.

Protection from formaldehyde production may account for the yet unexplained dose region of apparent improvement in the U-shapedcurve of alcohol consumption.

Epidemiologic studies show moderate consumption of alcohol is associated with a reduced risk of myocardial infarction, dementia,lupus, and other diseases of civilization.

Low doses of ethanol appear to provide a preventative measure against the causes of diseases of civilization.

Recent studies of individuals who consumed at least one alcoholic drink per day show subjects had an additional 86 percent reduction inrisk of myocardial infarction if they were genetically endowed with agenotype of ADH I that was 2.5 times slower to metabolize ethanol thanthe control.

These findings were ‘‘consistent with the hypothesis that a slower rate of clearance of alcohol enhances the beneficial effect ofmoderate alcohol consumption on the risk of cardiovascular disease.””

It is important to understand that the primary treatment for methanol poisoning in the emergency room is to give them ethanol, for thereasons described above.

The ethanol will preferentially be broken down before the methanol. The methanol then remains unmetabolized, and in its base form it isrelatively nontoxic. It’s becomes a problem when your body breaks itdown to formaldehyde.

So while your body is breaking down the ethanol it has enough time to breathe out the methanol unchanged in your lungs and excrete itunchanged in your urine.

A Little Alcohol Might Be Good, But More is Definitely Dangerous

As I mentioned earlier, if this theory is correct, it could rival the scientific findings on fructose in terms of importance, and couldexplain not only the health benefits of low-to moderate alcoholconsumption, but also how aspartame affects some people more negativelythan others.

It may still be too early to draw definitive conclusions, but the arguments are compelling and I’ll be following this line of researchwith great interest in the years to come.

In his paper, Dr. Monte continues to connect the dots and shows how greater alcohol consumption ceases to be beneficial at a certain point, and instead starts to take its toll on your health:

“A compelling explanation of the dose region of adverse effects of the U-shaped curve with high ethanol consumption, which shows increased risk of these same diseases, could be themechanism by which humans habituate to high consumption of ethanol.

The induction of the P450 hepatic microsomal ethanol-oxidizing system results in a considerably higher clearance rate of ethanol fromthe bloodstream for an extended period of time, thus accounting for moreconsumption leading to statistically less time of protection.

Small amounts of supplemental alcohol not sufficient to induce P450 might be expected to prolong the residence time and avoid gaps inthe protection afforded by ethanol in preventing methanol-placedformaldehyde. “

P450 is a class, or family, of liver enzymes whose main functions include catalyzing the metabolism of drugs and the oxidation of organicsubstances.

In simplistic terms, higher alcohol consumption sends this system into high gear, and starts clearing ethanol from your system.

Again, a simplified explanation for how you become a habitual drinker (which also tends to lead to drinking increasing amounts of alcohol) isthat the more you drink, the more efficient this ethanol-clearingsystem becomes, and you begin to be able to drink more before you noticethe effects of the alcohol.

What this all means is that in order for the alcohol to provide you with the health benefit of preventing formaldehyde formation, it must below enough to not activate the P450 system.

Hence you get a U-shaped curve, where low- to moderate alcohol consumption gives you increasing amounts of health benefits, until youreach the “threshold,” at which point the more you drink, the more harmit causes.

It’s important to realize that formaldehyde is a class 1 carcinogen and a mutagen, and in the form of methanol, it can easily be transportedthroughout your entire body and brain.

Wherever you have a lot of ADH1 (the enzyme metabolizes methanol to formaldehyde), such as in your brain, methanol can be particularlytroublesome.

But as long as there’s just enough ethanol in your system to keep the methanol moving along, without ever being metabolized to formaldehyde,no damage is caused.

It’s worth noting here also that the average person typically has some naturally-occurring ethanol in their system, as it is also created through the fermentation process in your gut.

However, the addition of small amounts of ethanol in the form of alcohol may be able to more fully prevent formaldehyde from forming,which could explain why low- to moderate alcohol consumption appears tobe even more healthful than total abstinence…

How Can You Get the Same Benefits Without Drinking Alcohol?

It is not my recommendation to start drinking alcohol or to use this information as a justification to continue drinking alcohol. I am notconvinced it is physiologically beneficial for you in the long run.

The purpose of running this article was to merely inform you of a recent appreciation of methanol toxicity, and how ethanol can interactwith it. If this theory is true then the primary benefit of usingethanol would be to prevent methanol from converting to formaldehyde.

So what is the main source of methanol in your diet?

Remember that fresh fruits and vegetables have it but it’s harmless if you eat them fresh, as the methanol is then bound to pectin andcannot dissociate and cause you harm.

They key is to avoid ALL canned (or bottled) fruit or vegetable juices as they will have free methanol. Another large source of freemethanol would be aspartame which is 11 percent methanol by weight.

So if this theory is correct, you would likely receive very little benefit from consuming ethanol if you just avoid canned fruits andvegetables and asparatame….....

Do You Drink Too Much?

It’s dangerous to place too much weight on recommendations that include imbibing alcohol on a regular basis. And even if you do takethat recommendations to heart, it’s important to remember that healthbenefits have ONLY been found in people who drink small amounts ofalcohol on a daily basis, NOT a week’s worth of alcohol over theweekend...

This fact also further strengthens the theory that the benefit is derived from having low amounts of ethanol circulating almostcontinuously, or at least regularly, through your system, keepingformaldehyde from forming and doing any damage.

Unfortunately, alcohol abuse is a major problem in most countries, so I certainly hope you will not use this information as an excuse to hitthe bottle every day.

Most alcohol misuse and abuse stems from deep emotional challenges. Addressing these issues at a deep level is imperative to avoid thenegative health consequences--both physical and mental--that inevitablyresult from excessive drinking.

The Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) can be helpful if this is an issue for you. This psychologicalacupressure technique is routinely used in my clinic and it works betterthan any other traditional or alternative method I am currently awareof.

However, if you try the technique yourself and find that you are not improving, consider consulting a trained EFT therapist to facilitate theprocess. You can find a list of qualified EFT practitioners near you atthis link. For more information, feel free to review Pat Carrington’s site TappingCentral.

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IBB "bribes" Journalists

Five months ago, a friend of mine, who edits a national daily, sent me a text message agreeing substantially with my column, ‘The Punch and the rest of us’, except the generalised conclusion that “all (journalists) have sinned and fallen short of the glory of the profession”. There are still some journalists, he submits, who toe the narrow path of integrity. Of course I knew where he was coming from, but I also knew the context in which I had made that statement.

I revisit that statement in light of the stories spewing out of the political beat, specifically on the race for the 2011 presidential elections and how it affects the integrity of news.

As part of the effort to sell his candidature for the presidency, former military president, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) invited as many as 40 journalists to his Minna home on August 14 for an interview. I have heard questions asked about why he should invite journalists to his home instead of a public place if he didn’t have an ulterior motive, and why he should offer monetary gifts to the journalists in the name of paying for their transportation.

One news medium, which has championed this opposition in the open, is the online agency, Sahara Reporters. According to SR each of the journalists received N10 million for heeding Babangida’s call on his presidential ambition. That is N400 million just for one night’s interview from an aspirant yet to win his party’s nomination if it were true. But it was not. When some of the journalists complained about the fictional sum, SR changed the story on August 19, saying it was just “a paltry N250, 000 each”. Rather than admit its initial error SR simply said, “our accountants have told us that going by the number of 40 journalists in attendance, we are still around the same ballpark of N10 million”. So much for credible reporting!

Three days later, SR followed up with ‘IBB and his Rogue Journalists’, accusing the journalists of roguery and professional misconduct; roguery, because they collected money from two sources—their employers who presumably authorised and funded the trip and their news source, IBB; misconduct because it is unethical for them to demand/receive gratification from news sources for their services.

And on August 23 in ‘IBB Nocturnal Press Parley: Punch fires Editorial board Chairman’, SR stayed on top of the story by reporting that Adebolu Arowolo, editorial board chairman of the Punch, had lost his job for going on that trip without his management’s approval..

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Reinsurance

What Does it Mean?
The practiceof insurers transferring portions of risk portfolios to other parties bysome form of agreement in order to reduce the likelihood of having topay a large obligation resulting from an insurance claim. The intent ofreinsurance is for an insurance company to reduce the risks associatedwith underwritten policies by spreading risks across alternativeinstitutions.

Also known as "insurance for insurers" or"stop-loss insurance"...

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Congo,Nigeria and a host of African States had a taste of vast wealth that transformed them into the Corrupt "Failed" State they are today can the US campaign offer any succour to the Holy Blood Letting still going on in this Desert Mineral Filled State ?

Jason Simpkin of Money morning takes a look at the issues and solutions:
Overnight, Afghanistan has gone from being a political pariah to one of the most significant, and potentially richest, countries on the globe. But can the rocky, war-torn desert - known mostly for harboring terrorists and exporting opium - be reborn as a major commodities exporter? Photos:Hamid Karzai Kabul Strongman, War Mongers in the Sands of Afghanistan
U.S. geologists have found some $1 trillion of untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, The New York Times reported Sunday. Afghanistan's mineral wealth includes large caches of iron, copper, gold and lithium that could turn the country into one of the most important mining centers in the world.

Think of Australia, Canada, and Latin America. That is the league into which these geographical revelations have thrust Afghanistan.

"There is stunning potential here," General David Petraeus, commander of the United States Central Command, told The Times. "There are a lot of ifs, of course, but I think potentially it is hugely significant."

Those "ifs" include ongoing warfare, a lack of infrastructure, and more than a little political corruption. But the upside for the country is enormous.

While U.S. officials estimate the potential value of Afghanistan's mineral wealth at $1 trillion, President Hamid Karzai said last month during a visit to Washington that his country's deposits could be worth three times as much.

So why did it take so long for this information to surface? .

Soviet mining experts originally discovered the potential of Afghanistan's mineral wealth in the 1980s. However, the data that was collected was cast aside when the Soviet Union abandoned the country in 1989. A small group of Afghani scientists kept the charts secret for the next 20 years as the country was engulfed by civil war and eventually taken over by the Taliban. Those charts were returned to the Afghan Geological Survey in Kabul after the United States invaded, and were subsequently discovered by American geologists.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) began aerial surveys of the noted regions in 2006 and 2007. And in 2009, a Pentagon task force that had helped nurture business opportunities in Iraq was transferred to Afghanistan, where it finally assessed the potential economic impact of the discoveries.

Waheed Omar, a spokesman for Karzai, said at a news conference yesterday (Monday) that the USGS was "contracted by the Afghan government to do a survey, so this is basically an Afghan government initiative."

"I think it's very, very big news for the people of Afghanistan and that we hope will bring the Afghan people together for a cause that will benefit everyone," he said. "This is an economic interest that will benefit all Afghans and will benefit Afghanistan in the long run."
Re-Imagining Afghanistan
The significance of the geological find cannot be overstated. Afghanistan is one of the world's poorest and least developed nations. Its gross domestic product is just $12 billion and as much as one-third of that comes from the growth and distribution of illegal drugs - particularly opium and its two derivatives, morphine and heroin. In fact, Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of opium and heroin, according to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime.

About 40% of the country's population lives below the poverty line, and some 70% of the population lives on $2 a day. Having suffered through decades of long and costly military conflicts, virtually no infrastructure exists to support an economic revitalization process.

Even now, as the U.S. campaign wears thin, military clashes continue to erupt along the border the country shares with Pakistan. There are serious doubts about whether or not Karzai's government, which itself has been blotted by scandal and corruption, will remain relevant after the United States withdrawal.

Some critics have even suggested that now that the full extent of Afghanistan's mineral wealth is known, the Taliban will fight even harder to regain control of the country.

"I highly doubt it will be able to either properly manage these resources or use the riches to build a more peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan for all Afghans," Janan Mosazai, a political analyst, told AFP. "We have living examples of other countries where natural riches have actually turned into a curse for peace and prosperity for people," he said, citing Nigeria's endemic poverty and conflict despite vast oil exports.

Of course, there's also reason to remain optimistic. While it will take many years for Afghanistan to develop a mining industry, the vastness of Afghanistan's mineral reserves could attract substantial investments well before mines become profitable.

Take, for example, resource-hungry China's recent foray into the country.

In 2007, China Metallurgical Group agreed to invest $3 billion in Afghanistan's Aynak copper mine, which by some estimates holds the world's largest undeveloped reserves of its kind. As part of the deal China agreed to provide an onsite copper smelter, a $500 million electric station that will power the project and augment Kabul's electricity supply, a coal mine to fuel the power station, a ground water system, and roads, homes, hospitals and schools for the miners and their families. China is also working on a rail line that will stretch from Afghanistan's northern border with Uzbekistan to its southern border with Pakistan.

That investment is the largest in the Afghanistan's history, and it's being guarded by the U.S. military, which was already established in the region to prevent Taliban soldiers from infiltrating the country's capital.

China, which has trillions of dollars available for investment and a huge appetite for commodities to fuel its economic growth, has not shied away from the more troubled regions of the planet.

China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) won bids to take part in the development of Iraq's Rumaila and Halfaya oil fields. China has also been active in various hot spots throughout the continent of Africa.

"If they (Chinese leaders) don't feed their immense industrial complex, their populace could become disruptive," a Western official, who asked not to be further identified so he could speak freely, told McClatchy Newspapers. "We expect to see more such competitions" over Afghanistan's huge untapped reserves of natural resources.

Indeed, with the prices for many commodities on the rise, investment in Afghanistan could come much more quickly than the country's critics anticipate.

The Pentagon has already set about helping Afghanistan set up a system to develop its resources. International accounting firms that have expertise in mining contracts have been hired to consult with the Afghan Ministry of Mines, and technical data is being prepared to turn over to multinational mining companies and other potential foreign investors. U.S. officials are assisting the Afghan government in seeking bids on mineral rights by next fall, officials told The Times.

"All the ingredients are there to build a modern society," said the USGS' Stephen Peters. "If we can create jobs for the people, give them salaries, they will be satisfied with their lives."
Source: http://moneymorning.com/2010/06/15/afghanistan-mineral-wealth/
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jpeg&STREAMOID=lkSQz19magcs6aCtMj_PjS6SYeqqxXXqBcOgKOfTXxSPSCNUYY$TLmegjn$M60wunW_PgxgftuECOcfJwS6Jtlp$r8Fy$6AAZ9zyPuHJ25T7a9GKDSxsGxtpmxP0VAUyHL6IDcZHtmM2t7xO$FHdJG95dFi6y2Uma3vSsvPpVyo-Rafael Nadal won the French Open for the fifth time yesterday and in the new rankings that will be released this week will return to being world number one.

The Mallorca native also had his revenge on the only player to have ever beaten him in Paris, Robin Soderling. In a match that did not live up to its high billing, it appeared that the fight had been drained from Soderling in the five set marathon against Thomas Berdych as Nadal won in three straight sets of 6-4 6-2 6-4. He thus won the championship without dropping a set. Nadal also made a record by claiming the ‘Clay Slam’, comprising the Monte-Carlo, Internazionali BNL d’Italia and the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Masters and finally the French Open.

In the process, he denied former number one, Roger Federer the chance to claim the all time record for weeks at number one. Roger Federer held the number one position for 237 consecutive weeks.

The final match took two and a half hours to complete. In the first set Nadal broke his opponent in the fifth set and never looked back. Soderling pushed Nadal to 30-30 at 5-4 but Soderling sent a backhand wide and Nadal had a hand on the trophy.

The second set was a breeze for the Spaniard and he took the set in 29 minutes. Soderling then tried to make a game of it in the third but Nadal was not having any of it. The Swede was broken in the second game and after that it was just a matter of time.

Nadal wrapped up the set and the game when Soderling hit a forehand into the net behind an approach shot, and a forehand return into the net behind a heavy first serve from Nadal. Soderling then sent a backhand return wide across court and that was it.

Nadal remained unbeaten in the clay season. Last year was not a good one because of tendinitis of the knee but Nadal is back as the king on clay. Wimbledon will be where he starts to defend his world number one status and that is in three weeks.
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April 28, 2010. We here at 9jabook.com are 100% supporters of President Obama. At first we thought about SUPPRESSING this new report . . . but we figure that it would be better to know about what Republicans are trying to do to the prez.. Photo Alleged Obama Lover

According to a new report, Republican operatives are looking to pay as much as $1 million to anyone willing to discuss the president's relationship with a 35 year old woman named Vera Baker..

And according to one weekly tabloid, Vera's limo driver is SNITCHING!!! Here's what Vera's limo driver is saying:
"I took [President Obama] to various locations while he was looking for campaign funds. Vera accompanied him to each meeting.

"About 10:30 pm, I drove them to the hotel and they went in together. She didn't ask me to wait or to be taken back to her friend's home - or to her home"

Well .. . . we ain't gonna believe NOTHING about the prez unless we have more solid evidence.
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