That (44)

The 14 that was not present when they were needed.

 

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SEN. NENADI ESTHER USMAN
Senator, 7th National Assembly (2011-2015)

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Political Party:

Peoples Democratic Party

State:

KADUNA

 

Formed “Education and Empowerment for women” with its headquarters at Jere in Kaduna State and she is the present chairperson of the Coalition of NGO´s for Women Development in Kaduna State.

Not Registered to Vote

Holds a first degree in Geography at ABU, Zaria and later a PGD Uni Jos.

 

 

 

What about their children?

SEN. ALHASSAN AISHA JUMMAI
Senator, 7th National Assembly (2011-2015)

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Political Party:

Peoples Democratic Party

State:

TARABA

 

Said she will “make laws that will touch the lives of the Nigerian people”.

 

Abstain

A lawyer; Really?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where were you when you were needed? You abstained

SEN. KURE ZAYNAB ABDULKADIR
Senator, 7th National Assembly (2011-2015)

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Political Party:

Peoples Democratic Party

State:

NIGER

 

Claim she will “contribute towards the vision for Youth Development through Empowerment Socially, Economically and Politically”.

 

Abstain

BSc in Political Science from ABU, Zaria.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Claims !!!!

SEN. HELEN UDOAKAHA ESUENE
Senator, 7th National Assembly (20011-2015)


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Political Party:

Peoples Democratic Party

State:

AKWA IBOM

 

Has the political clout to make impact in the Senate and had promised to do so to the benefit of her constituents and the nation at large.

 

Not Registered to vote

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Widow of former military governor of old Cross River State, UJ Esuene.

SEN. ALOYSIUS AKPAN ETOK
Senator, 7th National Assembly (2011-2015)

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Political Party:

Peoples Democratic Party

State:

AKWA IBOM

 

Claim To Contribute to A Vibrant Senate And To Ensure That Quality Legislation

Not Registered to vote

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

E Tu Brutee

Very vague!!!! Doctorate in what?

 

SEN. EWHERIDO AKPOR (DECEASED 4/5/1963 - 30/6/2013) PIUS
Senator, 7th National Assembly (2011-2015)


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Political Party:

Democratic Peoples Party

State:

DELTA

Deceased

Counterpart from same state voted to delete cl4b

 

May His Soul Rest In Peace.

 

 

 

SEN. KUTA DAHIRU AWAISU
Senator, 7th National Assembly (2011-2015)


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Political Party:

Peoples Democratic Party

State:

NIGER

 

Claims Representation of his Constituency, Qualitative Education, Job creation for the youth and attracting federal presence in Niger State.

Not Voted

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Education for all? What happen to your vote for underage girls???

 

SEN. AYADE BENEDICT BENGIOUSHUYE
Senator, 7th National Assembly (2011-2015)
Professor

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Political Party:

Peoples Democratic Party

State:

CROSS RIVER

 

1.agro investment development 2.mini - hydro rural power supply 3.improved healthcare system

Not Registered to vote

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What happened to your number 3 undertaking? This year there will be 20,000 cases of VVF- all mostly children

 

SEN. MAINA MA'AJI LAWAN
Senator, 7th National Assembly (2011-2015); CON


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Political Party:

All Nigeria Peoples Party

State:

BORNO

 

Rural infrastructure, poverty alleviation and employment generation for all

Not Registered to vote

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Afraid of Boko Haram?

 

 

SEN. AHMED M. MAKARFI
Senator, 7th National Assembly (2011 -2015)

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Political Party:

Peoples Democratic Party

State:

KADUNA

 

No achievements

Abstain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course; local and religious politics at play here.

SEN. MOHAMMED BASHIR GARBA
Senator, 7th National Assembly (2011-2015)

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Political Party:

Peoples Democratic Party

State:

KANO

 

He is in the Women Affairs committee of the senate and he has achieved nothing.

 

Not Registered to vote

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Highest paid senator in the world and has achieved nothing.

 

SEN. ONAOLAPO OLUGBENGA OBADARA
Senator, 7th National Assembly (2011-2015)

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Political Party:

Action Congress Of Nigeria

State:

OGUN

 

Privatization (Chairman) Local and Foreign Debts

Not Registered to vote

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making the future of our children very onerous indeed.

 

 

 

 

 

SEN. David Mark
Senator, 7th National Assembly (2011 - 2015)

View My: Benue South Senatorial District.

Political Party:

 

Peoples Democratic Party

 

State:

Benue

 

 

The declaration has however aroused a series of controversies as exit polls in the state had suggested otherwise. Is it the reason we do have his details in the Senate website?

He promised people he will provide quality leadership and representation saying, “I will not let you down, I will do only those things that will bring honour and glory to the people of Benue South, the State and the Nation at large”.

Not Registered to Vote

Their Leader.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Really Corneal?

 

But you are from Benue

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • The 14 that was not present when they were needed.

     

    , Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zainab Maina, has disclosed!

 

  • It is noteworthy that 50% of the only women (all grandmothers) in the senate failed to turn up, abstained or failed to register to vote. They were clearly told by boy Friday yerima that for Islamic reasons the clause should be kept!

 

  •  Please find the telephone of these senator and query them through text and calls.

VVF is an abnormal fistulous tract extending between the bladder and the vagina that allows the continuous involuntary discharge of urine into the vaginal vault.
In addition to the medical sequelae from these fistulas, they often have a profound effect on the patient's emotional well-being.
Causes[edit]

It is often caused by childbirth (in which case it is known as an obstetric fistula), when a prolonged labor presses the unborn child tightly against the pelvis, cutting off blood flow to the vesicovaginal wall. The affected tissue may necrotize (die), leaving a hole.
Vaginal fistulas can also result from violent rape. This injury has become common in some war zones, where rape is used as a weapon against female civilians. As a result, some health centers in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo have begun to specialize in the surgical repair of vaginal fistulas.

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Pg-26-juju-main_594903t.jpgNigerian traffickers use black magic to trap thousands of women and send them to Italy as prostitutes



It is 6pm on a Monday night on a highway outside Milan. The thermometer on the car dashboard says it is two degrees below zero, but every few metres our headlights pick out figures waiting along the roadside, some hunched with their palms splayed over makeshift fires. Silvio Berlusconi outlawed soliciting on the street three years ago, but the estimated 20,000 Nigerian women who work as prostitutes in Italy are easy to find. Even in winter, there is no shortage of customers.
Vivian Peter, 23, has sworn loyalty to her traffickers in a ritual carried out by the juju priest Dr Stanley
This is one of hundreds of highways throughout Europe where Nigeria's trafficking victims are forced to work. We could be in Barcelona or Madrid, Paris or Berlin, Glasgow or London. There are 100,000 trafficked Nigerians in Europe, and 80 per cent come from Edo – a southern state that is home to only three per cent of Nigeria's population. It is the trafficking capital of Africa, and home of the traditional West African religion they call juju.

The condom-strewn lay-by near Bergamo where Rita picks up clients is a far cry from the Europe she imagined five years ago when traffickers approached her in Edo. "I was happy that I was going to Europe to feed my family," explains Rita, 27. "I didn't know it would turn out to be like this." She now sleeps with about 10 men a day, seven days a week, for €20 (£17.50) a time. She will work even if she feels ill, even if she has her period, even though she has been badly beaten in the past.


Rita says she has no choice but to carry on working. Before she left Nigeria, she swore an oath of loyalty to her traffickers in a traditional religious ritual, a practice I was investigating for Channel 4's Unreported World programme. She promised to pay back the cost of her transportation to Europe and offered up her soul as collateral for the debt. When she arrived in Italy, she was told she owed her traffickers €50,000 (£44,000), as well as extortionate living costs, including €300 a month in "rent" for the right to solicit from her particular patch. "I can't escape this unless I pay," she says. "Africans have very strong charms that can destroy someone in the twinkle of an eye."

Nigeria's human traffickers are using black magic to trap thousands of women like Rita into a life of sex slavery in Europe. Eastern European gangs use violence to coerce the women they transport, but the "madams" at the top of the Nigerian trafficking chain don't need muscle – they have juju on their side. It is a form of ritualised extortion that allows Nigerian women to be both perpetrators and victims of the exploitation.

Three thousand miles away in the small Edo village of Ewhoini, I meet 23-year-old Vivian Peter – intelligent, beautiful and full of aspirations that are hard to realise in rural Nigeria. The £2 a day she earns selling tomatoes at the market isn't enough to put her younger brothers and sisters through school, and buy a home where she can live with her boyfriend, Elonel. But he says he has the answer to their problems: he is arranging for Vivian to go and work for someone he says is his sister in Italy.

Paved roads and reliable electricity may not have reached this part of rural Nigeria, but the myth of the "Italos" – the women who have made a fortune in Italy – has permeated every household. It is an open secret that the Italos earn their money by selling sex, and there is no shame in it – Nigerian women who travel are stigmatised only if they return home penniless. But many do, often beaten and HIV-positive, and are rejected by their families.

Vivian doesn't know exactly where she will be taken, or how much she will owe her traffickers, but she imagines her debt will be paid within a few months. "I won't have any idea until I get there," she tells me. Her boyfriend has no qualms about sending her to sell sex on Italy's streets. "A lot of people do it over there," Elonel, 27, says matter-of-factly, "I'm not going to stop her." All the arrangements are in place: he has bought her plane ticket to Rome and booked her in to see Doctor Stanley, the local juju priest. He says the ritual will "help her out" and bring her luck in Italy. Juju has been practised in West Africa for centuries, and it would be hard to find anyone in Edo who is prepared to say they don't fear it. Believers say invisible spirits govern the earth and control every aspect of human existence, and nothing can be hidden from their scrutiny. The spirits can be called on to protect people, but they can also destroy them.

"If she breaks the promise she makes at my shrine, we need blood from her," Dr Stanley tells me on the morning of Vivian's ritual. "I can use my power to destroy anything I want. I can throw any type of sickness to a person, whether cancer or stroke." He boasts that "uncountable" trafficked women have sworn oaths at his shrine. I ask if he feels responsible for compelling so many to a life of prostitution. He fixes me with a stern gaze. "When you promise this is what you will do, unfailingly you must do it."12166307692?profile=original

Tall and muscular, with crimson robes adorned with talismans, Dr Stanley strikes an imposing figure next to Vivian's small frame. While not officially part of the trafficking chain, he provides the most important component: the oath that makes women compliant. It is a lucrative source of business for him. He is making £120 from today's ritual – a serious amount of money here.

The shrine is filled with juju fetishes: rattles, idols made out of feathers, bones and sea shells, crucibles filled with bright powders. Dr Stanley commands Vivian to undress and wash in the hut outside the shrine, and when she emerges he blows chalk dust over her body and smears clay over her forehead, marking her out so the spirits can identify the soul that is being offered to them. Then he asks her to kneel before him to swear the oath. Elonel watches impassively, smoking a cigarette. The ritual over, Dr Stanley lifts Vivian to her feet. "I feel safe in his hands," she says, visibly relieved.

A few days later, in a bar an hour's drive away, Elonel says he is doing another piece of business: he claims his sister has found two other women to travel alongside Vivian, and he is arranging for them to swear their oaths tomorrow so they can all go and work for her in Italy. "When they get there, she will make money. A lot of money," he says blankly, "and if things are going well, they will send me money." Poverty has absolved him of any moral responsibility for the women he's trafficking, he says. "I don't have to feel bad. I need money."

Vivian has been outside Edo only once – when Elonel took her to Lagos to get her travel papers – but the myth of the Italos has convinced her she belongs in Italy. "I know it will be a better place for me," she says when we meet for the last time. I tell her about the women I saw at the roadside outside Milan, about the cold, the beatings, and the €50,000 debt that Rita is still paying off, five years on. "I don't think so. Mine won't be like that," Vivian frowns. "If you are hard-working, you won't suffer. I know how to plait hair. There are lots of things I know how to do," she insists. Then she pauses. "I've made up my mind that I will go there, and I must go there. I chose it."

Europe's trafficking statistics are made up of Edo women like Vivian who do not conform to the stereotype of passive "victims". It is the most determined and driven who fall prey to Nigeria's traffickers – those without dreams to exploit are left alone. No matter how strong these women might be, the juju oath leaves them manipulated, abused and utterly trapped. Without faith in ancient, traditional beliefs, this modern form of slavery would not exist. And without a thriving market for their services, no Nigerian woman would be trafficked to Europe in the first place.

An ancient African ritual

* Little is known about the origins of juju – a West African tradition which encompasses a range of rituals and supernatural entities from auras, spirits and ghosts, to magical properties believed to be bound to objects.

* It is not uncommon for Nigerians from all walks of life to carry amulets to ward off evil spirits and bad luck. But it is also believed that the powers of juju can be summoned and used only by a witch doctor. Contrary to popular belief, juju is not related to voodooism.

* Believers hold that juju can be used for 'good' purposes, such as curing ailments, but 'bad' juju can also be used to impose a host of misfortunes, such as madness, disease and death.

* Dried chameleons and chickens are often used in juju rituals.

Jenny Kleeman's film for 'Unreported World', called 'Nigeria: Sex, Lies and Black Magic', will be broadcast on Channel 4 tomorrow at 7.30pm. It can also be watched at channel4.com
Read more…

Ex-Governor Ayo Fayose Erects Eye-Catching Luxury Apartment In Banana Island

The name of former Governor of Ekiti State,12166300863?profile=original

Mr. Ayo Fayose has debuted on the list of Nigerians who own properties on Banana Island- the haven exclusively for the well-to-do in the heart of Lagos.  

Findings revealed the soon to be completed structure to be blocks of luxury apartment.

Disclosed to be a twin building, it parades all of 12 block of flats.

Sitting on some two plot of land, the all brick wall property is located on close C, off Nasarawa Street on the paradise-like Island.   

Work men at the site have less than a month to deliver the project, a source divulged.

Parts of the facilities on parade at the place are a sprawling car park and a lovely swimming pool.

Though it not clear how much the hunky politician has expended on the project a piece of land where the building is sited is said to have cost him 450 million naira.

A visit to the site showed that work is being speed up to ensure that the deadline is met. Further findings showed the edifice will serve commercial purpose on completion.

Investigation revealed that most of the fixtures and fittings that went into building, except the furniture, were sourced abroad..

At the moment, an insider disclosed, the controversial politician who is aspiring to represent one of the senatorial districts in his home state on the platform of Labour Party is shopping for a reliable property company that would effectively handle the management of the property for him.12166301653?profile=original

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12166300684?profile=originalThe glamorous lovers’ day celebration on Monday turned bloody at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) when gunmen killed two students. Daily Sun gathered that the clash was between two rival cult groups, namely, Black Axe and the Buccaneers,’ over a female student allegedly snatched by the Capone of the Black Axe for Valentine celebration.

 

The action of the Capone , the source said did not go down well with the other group leading to the clash.
A student who witnessed the shooting said besides the two cult members who were shot dead, about four others sustained injuries and were ferried out of the campus by their leaders to shield their identity.

The sources said the cult members who carried out the attack were not UNILAG students but members from another campus, adding that the attack was carried out in a commando style with sporadic shooting.
An undergraduate student of English Department told Daily Sun that the Buccaneers’ group attacked the Black Axe members while another student returning from the Mosque said those who carried out the killing were not from UNILAG because they did not cover their faces.

It was learnt that as soon the shooting started, students scampered for safety while others took cover behind the wall and under cars packed around, while others ran into the halls to avoid being hit by stray bullets. 
A senior lecturer who confirmed the killings said the university management had met to curtail any reprisal attack while security personnel had taken over the investigation of the deadly cult clash.
When Daily Sun visited the troubled institution yesterday, there was uneasy calm, as most staff and students rebuffed efforts made by the reporters to get their comments.

However, one of the students who resides at Sodeinde Hall, said there was sporadic gunshots outside the premises which caused panic everywhere. 
It was gathered that the crisis, which erupted when the students were at the peak of lovers’ day celebration, created stampede on the campus as people ran for safety.

One of the victims of the attack reportedly ran into Sodeinde Hall for help, from where he was taken to the hospital.
Although the Hall Master of Sodeinde Hall declined comments on the issue, one of the officials, who wouldn’t want his name published, said the attack could not be linked to any cult group. He said there was increasing speculation that the perpetrators of the attack could be fighting for love. Efforts made by Daily Sun our reporter to ascertain the identities of the victims were unsuccessful.
The news bulletin of the university, Information Flash (ISSN 08195540) also captured the incident, while assuring the staff and students of the university of adequate security.

“The attention of the universities authorities has been drawn to the incident which occurred in one of the Halls of Residence in the late hours of Monday, February 14, 2011 where two persons were reportedly injured in fracas. The university management has commenced investigation into the unusual incident, in particular at a time when preparation for the first semester examinations due to commence on February 21, 2011 are in top gear. Security has been intensified to ensure safety of life and property on campus. Law enforcement agents have been involved to assist the university in this respect,” it said. 
Daily Sun learnt that students are leaving the campus because of the fear of reprisal attack while some parents called their wards on phone to return home until the situation is brought under control. 

The Deputy Registrar Information of UNILAG, Mr. Dare Adebisi refused to pick his calls or replied to text message sent to his phone.
When the Lagos Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Samuel Jinadu (DSP) was called thrice, he promised to contact the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in the area and did not call back as at the press time....

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Stampede in Ibadan: Parents storm schools, withdraw pupils as the rumour mills went abuzz that Alao-Akala planned to use 200 people for rituals to obtain 2nd Term victory From YINKA FABOWALE and GBENGA ADESUYI, Ibadan 
Friday, February 11, 2011• It’s blackmail - Oyo Govt
Akala
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There was pandemonium in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital as thousands of panic-stricken parents besieged public schools in the metropolis to withdraw their children, following rumours that some pupils died after eating meal allegedly poisoned but provided free by the Adebayo Alao-Akala government.
The poison scare was coming even as the rumour mills went abuzz that Governor Alao-Akala planned to use 200 people for fetish rituals to realize his second term ambition But the state government and the governor’s campaign organization, swiftly dismissed the reports, describing them as wicked lies and blackmail. Governor Alao-Akala’s Special Adviser on Communication, Dotun Oyelade, in a reaction, said the development was an attempt by political opponents to blackmail his principal as his administration does not run a free meal programme in schools.
He assured state residents of their safety.
Many public schools in the city had become empty by 100pm, after news made the round that some officials and politicians seeking elective offices in the state were distributing free food packs from government round the schools in the metropolis, of which some school children had died after eating thereof.
The food poison scare which hit the city about noon spread like wild fire, as anonymous callers made calls to parents and teachers in schools, warning them not to accept or allow their wards to partake of the meal.
Parents, including civil servants, market women and housewives stormed primary and secondary schools to withdraw their children and wards, on receiving the alarming messages.
But most school premises were scenes of chaos as hot arguments ensued between them and school authorities following the latter’s attempt to prevent the parents, who headed for the classrooms to pick the pupils. Hundreds of parents were sighted at Mokola,, Oniyanrin, Odo Iye, Oke Are, Opo Yeosa, Oje and other parts of Ibadan rushing to schools in the areas ostensibly to beat the arrival of the food distributors.
Similar situation played out in areas such as Oke Ado, Liberty road, NTC area, Molete, Sango, Ojoo, Mokola, Agodi gate,Old Ife road,Alakia,Challenge,Muslim/Odinjo area,Bodija,Basorun.
Some head teachers had to resorte to locking school gates, but this provoked serious protests and agitation by the teeming parents, some of who threatened to break the gates. Some even assaulted teachers.
The development caused security to be quickly beefed up with armed policemen stationed at strategic locations including Oniyanrin area to forestall break down of law and order.
Some of the parents vowed not to allow them back to school until the state government could publicly assure their safety.
A nursing mother met at St. Stephens Primary school,Oniyanrin, however told Daikly Sun that she had to go to the school and pick her seven year old daughter when she heard the rumours, declaring” You don’t take risks with politicians. I heard some pupils ate akara(baked beans) and died. They even said some disappeared after eating.,
So I had to rush here and pick my daughter.” Investigations at Adeoyo General Hospital, the University College Hospital (UCH) and some private hospitals located around Yemetu and Mokola areas of Ibadan , where some of the victims of the poisonous meal were said to have been taken, did not, however, reveal any reported case. Teachers declined comments on the development, but some at C and S New Eden Primary School Mokola were overheard saying they rexceived phone calls warning them not to receive the toxic food package from the Akala men.
But, Oyelade, assured residents of the state of their safety, describing the whole development as blackmail.
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Have more sex, look healthier, younger

Studies have revealed that regular sex does the body good, writes NNAEMEKA MERIBE. Do you dread the wrinkles that come with old age? If your answer is in the affirmative, then you may need to be more active sexually, because scientists say that sex does the body good. In fact, anti-ageing experts say that the more sex you have, the younger and healthier you become. A good sex life, they say, also helps you to live longer. Comment: Well what we need are two from each gender maybe A "nun" and one "eunuch" to verify this .probably we wont ask Tonto Dike or RMD . Certain we wont ask Senate President Mark or OBJ we hear he is quick to laff about his kampe ability in the bedroom . An active sex life is good for your heart, memory and immune system, and, as a new book, Younger (Sexier) You, reveals, you can boost yours just by drinking coffee and eating peanuts... The book, written by a United States anti-ageing expert, Dr. Eric Braverman, says sex not only raises your hormone ­levels (so keeping you young), but can also boost your metabolism, brain, heart and immunity. And if your sex life is tepid, rather than torrid, don't despair, says Braverman, according to the Mail of London. Whether you're 30 or 100, a combination of good diet, nutritional supplements and some 'natural' hormones will restore your drive and ensure that you enjoy the health benefits, too. Many sexual problems, says Braverman, can be addressed by eating particular foods. Drinking coffee, he says, can help boost a flagging libido, while snacking on peanuts can enhance arousal. Eating brown rice can help combat sexual coldness, while avocadoes might increase your capacity for pleasure. But while agreeing that regular sex can increase metabolism and boost hormones, one consultant family physician at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Dr. Tony Aluka, doubts how regular sex can make one to look healthier and younger. However, Braverman says the other great physical enemy of a healthy sex life is the menopause - and the male version, the andropause (both of which entail the loss of sex hormones which affect sex drive and function). But it's not just about the mechanics of sex. Healthy sexual function is also about how your brain reacts to the messages it's receiving from your body, he adds. When your brain is working at its peak, brain chemicals are produced and dispersed at the correct levels. A reduced sexual desire can apparently be the first sign there's a ­problem with one of the four key brain ­chemicals. These are dopamine, acetylcholine, GABA and serotonin. A deficiency in each will produce ­specific types of sexual problem. In fact, some scientific studies have suggested that sex can bring many health benefits. A 2001 study, Sex and the heart: what is the role of the cardiologist?, published in European Heart Journal, notes that sex is good for the heart. According to the study, anything that exercises the heart is good for it, including sex. Sexual arousal sends the heart rate higher, and the number of beats per minute reaches its peak during orgasm. Sex can also be a stress buster. A study on blood pressure and sex published in Biological Psychology of February 2006 claims that sex can help you beat the stresses of 21st Century life style. The 46 men and women who participated in the study kept a diary of sexual activity, recording penetrative sex, non-penetrative sex and masturbation. In stress tests, including public speaking and doing mental arithmetic out loud, the people who had no sex at all had the highest stress levels. People who only had penetrative sex had the smallest rise in blood pressure. This shows that they coped better with stress. Researchers have also found a link between how often one has sex and how strong one's immune system is. A study, Sexual frequency and salivary immunoglobulin A (IgA), published in the June 2004 edition of Psychology Report found that students who had sex once or twice a week had higher levels of an important illness-fighting substance in their bodies. Immunoglobulin A (IgA) was 30 per cent higher in those who had sex once or twice a week than in those who had no sex at all. However, the lowest levels were in people who had sex more than twice a week. But the researchers say more research is needed before it can be proved that weekly sex helps your immune system. However, in another study correlating overall health with sexual frequency, Queens University in Belfast Northern Ireland tracked the mortality of about 1,000 middle-aged men over the course of a decade. The study was designed to compare people of similar age and health. Its findings, published in 1997 in the British Medical Journal, were that men who reported the highest frequency of orgasm enjoyed a death rate half that of the laggards. Sex has also been found to be therapeutic in many other ways. An article on reasons to have sex every week, published on the December 10, 2007 edition of Newsweek magazine lists the following as ways that sex can boost your health: * It's a beauty treatment. In a study at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital in Scotland, a panel of judges viewed participants through a one-way mirror and guessed their ages. Those who looked seven to 12 years younger than their age (labeled 'superyoung') were also enjoying lots of sex-four times a week, on average. OK, maybe they were having so much fun because they looked young. But it's likely the sex was helping, researchers say. One reason is that it raises a woman's estrogen level, which helps make hair shiny and skin supple. * It burns calories. A little over four calories a minute, or the equivalent of four Hershey's kisses in a half hour of love. * It can cure migraine. For a woman a migraine might actually be a reason for making love rather than avoiding intercourse: the increase in endorphins and corticosteroids during arousal and orgasm is analgesic. * It promotes regular menstrual cycles. A series of studies by behavioral endocrinologist Winnifred Cutler, and colleagues at Columbia and Stanford universities found that women who have intercourse at least weekly (except during their period) cycle more regularly than abstainers or the sporadically active. Cutler argues that intimacy is essential, not orgasms, "Regular exposure to a loving partner has extraordinary effects on health and well-being." * It can prevent accidents. Women use the muscles of the pelvic floor to stem the flow of urine. As they age, they need to keep these strong to avoid peeing accidentally. The same muscles are exercised during intercourse. But is there anything like too much sex? The answer is different for male and females. According to the article, Sex does the body good, published on www.msbn.com, Dr. Claire Bailey of the University of Bristol, says that there is little or no risk of a woman overdosing on sex. In fact, she says, regular sessions can not only firm a woman's tummy and buttocks but also improve her posture. As for men, Dr. J. Francois Eid, a urologist at Weil Medical College New York Presbyterian Hospital, says it's definitely possible to get too much of a good thing, now that drugs such as Viagra and Levitra have given men far more staying power than what may actually be good for them. The male organ, Eid says, is wonderfully resilient. But everything has its limits. Penile tissues, if given too roistering or prolonged a pummelling, can sustain damage. However, arguing that regular sex may not make one healthier and younger, Aluka says that a look at many commercial sex workers will give a lie to the claim. He said, "Yes, sex can increase hormones, raise metabolism and release tension. I have watched a documentary of an elephant on heat. It was very destructive and only became calm after having sex. It can be the same for humans. But that is how far that can go. "But I doubt whether regular sex can make one look healthier and younger. If you look at many commercial sex workers or some people living in rural areas that have more than one wife, you will notice that they do not appear healthier and younger. And these are the people that have sex regularly. He says while some of the studies' findings may be true in the Western world, it may not be replicated in the Nigerian environment where many people do not feed well. "So, telling somebody who is no feeding well to have sex regularly may be telling the person to commit suicide," he says.
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By Ella Davies Earth News reporter12166299264?profile=original
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A polar bear swam continuously for over nine days, covering 687km (426 miles), a new study has revealed.

Scientists studying bears around the Beaufort sea, north of Alaska, claim this endurance feat could be a result of climate change.

Polar bears are known to swim between land and sea ice floes to hunt seals.

But the researchers say that increased sea ice melts push polar bears to swim greater distances, risking their own health and future generations.

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start_quote.gif We are in awe that an animal that spends most of its time on the surface of sea ice could swim constantly for so long in water so cold. end_quote.gif
George M. Durner

In their findings, published in Polar Biology, researchers from the US Geological Survey reveal the first evidence of long distance swimming by polar bears (Ursus maritimus).

"This bear swam continuously for 232 hours and 687 km and through waters that were 2-6 degrees C," says research zoologist George M. Durner..

"We are in awe that an animal that spends most of its time on the surface of sea ice could swim constantly for so long in water so cold. It is truly an amazing feat."

Although bears have been observed in open water in the past, this is the first time one's entire journey has been followed.

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By fitting a GPS collar to a female bear, researchers were able to accurately plot its movements for two months as it sought out hunting grounds.

The scientists were able to determine when the bear was in the water by the collar data and a temperature logger implanted beneath the bear's skin.

The study shows that this epic journey came at a very high cost to the bear.

"This individual lost 22% of her body fat in two months and her yearling cub," says Mr Durner.

"It was simply more energetically costly for the yearling than the adult to make this long distance swim," he explains.

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Swimming long distances puts cubs at risk

Mr Durner tells the BBC that conditions in the Beaufort sea have become increasingly difficult for polar bears.

"In prior decades, before 1995, low-concentration sea ice persisted during summers over the continental shelf in the Beaufort Sea."

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POLAR BEAR FACTS
A polar bear (c) Tom Mangelsen / naturepl.com
Polar bears are the world's largest land carnivores
They have black skin and transparent hairs but appear white, turning yellow with age
On land, they can reach up to 40 kph (25 mph) when sprinting short distances to catch prey
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"This means that the distances, and costs to bears, to swim between isolated ice floes or between sea ice and land was relatively small."

"The extensive summer melt that appears to be typical now in the Beaufort Sea has likely increased the cost of swimming by polar bears."

Polar bears live within the Arctic circle and eat a calorie-rich diet of ringed seals (Pusa hispida) to survive the frozen conditions.

The bears hunt their prey on frozen sea ice: a habitat that changes according to temperature.

"This dependency on sea ice potentially makes polar bears one of the most at-risk large mammals to climate change," says Mr Durner.

The IUCN red list identifies polar bears as a vulnerable species, citing global climate change as a "substantial threat" to their habitat.

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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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The gun that changed the world

In 1980s Afghanistan, a Tajik commander attended the funeral of a soldier who’d been killed in their war against the Soviet Union.

At one point, he picked up the dead man’s Kalashnikov rifle and presented it to his younger brother. With a ceremonial flair, he asked the man, “Do you want to be a mujahid?” The man took the gun and replied, “I am going to take my brother’s weapon. I am going to be with you.”

The importance of the weapon was more than simple ceremony. Later, when elements of the mujahideen evolved into al Qaeda, the first class taken by new recruits was a lesson on the Kalashnikov..

Mikhail T.Kalashnikov holds his world-famous AK-47 assault rifle
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mikhail T.Kalashnikov holds his world-famous AK-47 assault rifle

The Kalashnikov, or AK-47, is the gun that assassinated Sadat, armed the PLO and allowed Idi Amin to become the devil of Uganda. A favorite of both Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, the AK-47 and its offshoots are by far the most plentiful guns on Earth, with over 100 million in circulation — one for every 70 people on the planet.

In his fascinating book, “The Gun” (Simon & Schuster), Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist C.J. Chivers shows how the world was forever altered by the pursuit of automatic weapons and especially the invention of the Kalashnikov — an easy-to-use automatic rifle that allowed any one man to possess the firepower of an army.

By the time the AK appeared, of course, military men already were enamored with the machine gun. In the 1860s, North Carolina’s Dr. Richard Gatling invented “the first reasonably effective rapid-fire arm” in the Gatling gun, which weighed about a ton and was operated by a bulky hand crank.

The Gatling gun proved effective in battle, although many rejected it for its size, fearing that it would slow an army’s movement. (Before the Battle of Little Bighorn, Lt. Col. George Custer was offered Gatling guns but opted for single-shot rifles instead, likely leading to his massacre.)

The world got a taste of the Gatling’s power in 1879, when the British faced down 20,000 Zulus. Outnumbered four to one, the Brits started shooting, and Zulu lines “began to melt away.” The Zulu’s were conquered in a half-hour, with only 11 British casualties.

The next advance came via New Englander Hiram Maxim, who sought to design a weapon with a trigger instead of a hand crank. Realizing that the energy from a gun’s recoil could be used to power the crank’s tasks, he created the Maxim gun, which weighed less than 150 pounds and became the world’s first truly automatic weapon.

With the Maxim, the British showed how easy killing had become. In 1893’s Matabele War in South Africa, they killed 1,500 natives without suffering a single casualty. In another battle, four dozen policemen with four Maxims reportedly killed 3,000 Africans.


Despite — or sometimes because of — their clear success as killing machines, the global verdict on automatic weapons remained divided.

Theodore Roosevelt, who had been a colonel in the Spanish-American War, wrote of hearing a particular sound in battle.

“I leaped to my feet and called, ‘It’s the Gatlings, men! It’s our Gatlings!’ Immediately the men began to cheer lustily, for the sound was most inspiring.”

But the ease and brutality of murder inspired opposition as well. In 1898, 23-year-old British journalist Winston Churchill watched his countrymen kill somewhere between 10,000-20,000 Sudanese in one day — all before noon, in fact — while losing only 48 of their own men.

Mikhail T.Kalashnikov holds his world-famous AK-47 assault rifle
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mikhail T.Kalashnikov holds his world-famous AK-47 assault rifle

Churchill wrote of seeing men “destroyed, not conquered, by machinery.”

“At such sights,” he wrote, “the triumph of victory faded on the mind, and a mournful feeling of disgust grew stronger.”

Certain governments were too entrenched in tradition to truly embrace the leap forward. The US was still enamored by the romance of the frontier rifleman, and through World War I, the British — despite their own experiences — made bayonet training the priority for new soldiers, even though they caused only 0.5% of casualties in that war.

With Germany issuing 16 machine guns to their infantry battalions while the British offered only two, the Brits’ hesitation would have devastating consequences.

In one 1916 battle, the British marched in formation, equipped with bayonets, against a German army with machine guns. In the first hour, 30,000 British soldiers were killed or wounded.

One German soldier later said that, “The English came walking, as though they were going to the theatre or on a parade ground. We felt they were mad.”

While rifles changed little during World War II, the Soviets held a secret contest among their designers during the conflict, challenging them to create a light, compact, reliable gun that was made from few parts and easy to assemble and use.

Sgt. Mikhail Kalashnikov led the team that ultimately created the weapon that bears his name, and which became a much-touted tool for Soviet propaganda. The exact details of the weapon’s creation, though, are impossible to discern, due to the secrecy and lies of Josef Stalin’s government. It was surely more of a socialist team effort — possibly assisted by captured German weapons and designers — than the Kremlin ever let on.

The Kalashnikov’s critical feature was that, unlike most automatic weapons, its parts were designed to be loose fitting, which drastically reduced instances of jamming. It also consisted of very few parts, making it so easy to use that Soviet schoolboys — who were trained in these matters — could dissemble and reassemble the guns in 30 seconds flat.


Reliability and ease of use combined with two other factors to make the AK-47 the world’s most popular gun: Stalin relied on manufacturing the weapon to boost the Soviet economy, which led to eventual overproduction; and Nikita Khrushchev’s use of it as political currency, as he regularly sent arms to smaller nations in order to curry favor.

In 1955, the Soviets included in the Warsaw Pact the condition that all Eastern Bloc nations use the guns supplied by the Soviets. Many of those nations then set up their own factories for the production and export of the weapons, laying the groundwork for global saturation.

Mikhail T.Kalashnikov holds his world-famous AK-47 assault rifle
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mikhail T.Kalashnikov holds his world-famous AK-47 assault rifle

In September of that year, Khrushchev made a massive arms deal with Egypt that delivered the guns to the Middle East, and which soon lead to deals with Syria, Iran, and Iraq.

By the time of Vietnam, the US had failed to keep pace in the world of small arms development.

The American military — which dismissed the AK as being of “limited value” — had long been addicted to heavy ammunition, and larger ammo required larger guns. In the 1950s, they developed the 12-pound, 4-foot-long M-14, thereby committing themselves to a big weapon for their next war. But by that point, modern warfare relied more on rapid fire than precise fire. That required bullets to be smaller.

It wasn’t until the 1960s, when the AR-15 — later the M-16 — finally was rushed into production to address the new reality of war.

Chivers’ section on the subsequent development of the M-16 is enough to make any American’s blood boil. While today the world’s second-most prominent automatic weapon, the M-16 was far from combat ready when it was made standard issue for soldiers in Vietnam. It was shockingly susceptible to rust and, worse, jammed with alarming and deadly frequency.

Developed in a non-competitive environment — the AR-15 was chosen because it was the only automatic rifle available — the gun was tested with different ammo than it used in the field, and decisions about it were made by systems analysts who had no experience in weaponry or combat, and who failed to test it for possible rusting.

Politics also played an odd role in saddling our soldiers with the weapon. An arms dealer working with Colt’s Firearms Division, the AR-15’s manufacturer, arranged for the Air Force vice chief of staff, Gen. Curtis LeMay, to sample the gun at an outdoor party.

Three watermelons were set up as targets, and when struck, the first two “exploded in vivid red splashes,” leaving the general so impressed that he didn’t bother shooting the third, which was eaten instead. LeMay was promoted to chief in 1961, and in 1962 the Air Force bought 8,500 AR-15s from Colt.


In 1966, soldiers arriving overseas found their rifles “hard to clean, fussy and prone to untimely stoppages.” Inspectors from Colt later reported that the weapons were in such bad shape that they were “literally rotting in troops hands.”

By the summer of 1967, the Viet Cong were killing 800 US servicemen per month, with the majority of deaths coming from small-arms fire: the VC’s far-more-reliable AK-47s.

Chivers lays out numerous scenes in which trapped American soldiers faced enemy fire while trying to revive jammed weapons.

In one, a gunner with no counter fire to cover him is shot in the head. As the assistant gunner moves to take his place, he’s hit as well. Another company sees 40 rifles jam during one battle, leaving a quarter of them unable to return fire.

Mikhail T.Kalashnikov holds his world-famous AK-47 assault rifle
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mikhail T.Kalashnikov holds his world-famous AK-47 assault rifle

Increasingly, as Marines faced enemy bullets, they needed to “thread together several sections of narrow metal pipe . . . and plunge the rod down the barrel” to dislodge trapped shell cases — the same movement, Chivers notes, that “Revolutionary War soldiers had to do to reload muskets nearly 200 years before.”

Marines began to develop cuts on their hands from using their M-16s as clubs.

The situation got so bad that healthy Marines would walk among the wounded, asking if their guns still worked so they could trade. Others bought black market M-14s from rear echelon and aviation units. One platoon commander, conceding to the M-16’s ineffectiveness, ordered his company to “fix bayonets” before advancing on the enemy.

Chivers quotes a soldier, in an interview with the Asbury Park Evening Press, saying, “You know what killed most of us? Our own rifle. Practically every one of our dead was found with his rifle tore down next to him where he had been trying to fix it.”

Meanwhile, the AK-47 continued to spread around the world, as Eastern Bloc countries, now with massive stockpiles, sold off some and simply lost track of many others. When Palestinian terrorists took the Israeli Olympic team hostage with AKs in 1972, the world got its first horrifying look at the automatic weapon’s next fans.

In the ensuing years, the Kalashnikov became the weapon of choice for Middle Eastern terrorists and African despots, with AK coming to mean “Africa Killer” as African nations increasingly found themselves embroiled in brutal, oppressive and nightmarish civil wars.

Chivers includes a blood-curdling section on Uganda’s Lord’s Resistance Army, which not only terrorized the nation through the arming of soldiers as young as 9 — who had no trouble mastering the simple-to-use AKs — but had these children intimidate villages by choosing citizens at random and slicing off their noses and lips as a warning to others.

In 2001, the UN did a study that found that small arms had been the main weapons in 46 of the 49 major conflicts in the 1990s, in which 4 million people were killed — 90% of them civilians.

Toward the end of the book, Chivers includes a horrifying seven-page scene detailing an assassination attempt in Iraq in 2002 that — at a time when more than 50 nations and countless terrorist groups rely on the weapon to further their causes — illustrates the Kalashnikov’s human cost from a victim’s point of view.

Chivers says that today, the AK has achieved a point of full saturation, with even the American military, understanding that their soldiers will have to face it in battle, training their people in its use.

As with nukes and land mines, the reduction of automatic rifles is hoped for, but ultimately futile. With some of the first AK-47s ever made still in service in Afghanistan, it’s a gun that has altered global politics for multiple generations.

There is only one factor, Chivers says, that will bring about the end of the AK: time. Perhaps a century from now, when enough rifles have been backed over by trucks, exploded in war zones, or simply erode with time, only then will the violent legacy of the Soviet Union’s most lasting accomplishment finally come to an end.

YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION?

The proliferation of the cheap, dangerous AK-47 has contributed to Third World instability. Got four grand? You have a militia.

Troops: In the Congo, 4 million have been killed in ongoing wars between the army and local warlords. A regular government soldier makes only $10 a month, double that (with the promise of spoils) and you have a happy mercenary. Get a dozen. Initial cost: $240

Transportation: Your choice here will be a Toyota Hilux pickup truck, popular for being indestructible and big enough to carry all your men. (There was even a conflict named after them, the Toyota War between Libya and Chad). Doesn’t matter if it’s 20 years old, it will still run. Cost: $1,000

Weapons: Prices vary, with some (likely apocryphal) reports saying an AK can be bought for $30 in parts of Africa. But one reliable figure is that when US troops seized the hard drive of Taliban leader Mullah Omar, it showed that he planned on arming 2,000 fighters with AKs at a cost of $202 per. Cost: $2,424

Dress: A good scarf, bandana or keffiyeh protects soldiers from dust, obscures identities and generally instills fear. Cost: negligible.

Total: $3,664



Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/the_gun_that_changed_the_world_59zxZTe83AHZjMqZmdDnoK#ixzz17yrXrgdx


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WISHING YOU THE BEST 2011

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Ladies PLEASE your Lives are literally in your HANDS ! USE Them, BREAST CANCER IS NOT A RESPECTER OF PERSONS !

The Comrade Governor of Edo State, Mr. Adams Oshiomole has reportedly lost his wife of many years, Mrs. Clara Oshiomole to breast Cancer. the woman who was last seen in public
some months back, died of the disease according to a source.

.Mrs. Clara Oshiomole, the wife of GovernorAdams Oshiomhole of Edo State has passed on. Vanguard uncovered that the deceased died after a battle with breast cancer.

Further inquest divulged that she died this morning, in Abuja with only about some days to her daughter’s wedding.

The 54 year old Edo First Lady had abstained from public functions because she was receiving treatment overseas and only returned to Nigeria some days ago for the daughter’s wedding slated for 19th of December .


Sadly as Liz Edwards below there are rumours of separation with the Comrade Governor before her passing.May her Soul Rest in Peace .




Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former presidential candidate, succumbs to cancer at 61

Elizabeth Edwards, who as the wife of former Sen. John Edwards gave America an intimate look at a candidate's marriage by sharing his quest for the 2008 presidential nomination as she struggled with incurable cancer and, secretly, with his infidelity, died Tuesday. She was 61.

Her family confirmed the death, saying Mrs. Edwards was surrounded by relatives when she died at her Chapel Hill, N.C., home. A family friend said John Edwards was present. Two family friends said Monday that Mrs. Edwards' cancer had spread to her liver and that doctors had advised against further medical treatment.

She posted a Facebook message to friends the same day, saying, "I have been sustained throughout my life by three saving graces — my family, my friends, and a faith in the power of resilience and hope."

"The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that," she added.

Mrs. Edwards spent much of her life as a little-known lawyer and mother. That changed when her husband became a U.S. senator, presidential candidate and Democratic nominee for vice president, propelling her into the spotlight as a smart, plain-spoken wife and key adviser to her husband.

She later became a figure of sympathy as she battled breast cancer and dealt with her husband's infidelity. Her public image shifted again in recent years: the scorned woman whose husband fathered a child with another woman.

She and John Edwards separated early this year but remained close.


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The website-attacking group "Anonymous" tried and failed to take down Amazon.com on Thursday. The group's vengeance horde quickly found out something techies have known for years: Amazon, which has built one of the world's most invincible websites, is almost impossible to crash.

Amazon has famously massive server capacity in order to handle the December e-commerce rush. That short holiday shopping window is so critical, and so intense, that even a few minutes of downtime could cost Amazon millions.

So Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500) has spent years creating and refining an "elastic" infrastructure, called EC2, designed to automatically scale to handle giant traffic spikes. The company has so much spare server capacity, in fact, that it runs a sideline business hosting other websites. Its customers include the New York Times, Second Life, Etsy, Playfish, the Indianapolis 500 and the Washington Post.

Until last week, WikiLeaks was one of Amazon's website-hosting customers. Amazon gave WikiLeaks the boot in the wake of the site's controversial release of a trove secret U.S. State Department documents...

That put Amazon in the crosshairs of Anonymous, a group that originated on image-board site 4chan.com, which organizes swarms to try to crash the websites of those it deems enemies. In the past, Anonymous has taken down several high-profile sites, including those of the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America.

This week, Anonymous launched takedown campaigns against organizations that have shunned the site WikiLeaks. Under the banner "Operation Payback," the Anonymous group successfully crashed Mastercard.com and strained the websites of Visa and PayPal. (Mastercard and Visa's transaction networks -- which run completely independently of their websites -- were unaffected.)

Anonymous makes its attacks not through hacking, but merely by directing a giant traffic surge to the targeted website. That's called a DDoS attack, short for distributed denial-of-service -- and it's hard for most websites to defend against. The attack itself isn't sophisticated. It's the equivalent of simply hitting the "refresh" button on a website thousands of times, which attackers use automated programs to do.

But Amazon's entire business model is built around handling intense traffic spikes. The holiday shopping season essentially is a month-long DDoS attack on Amazon's servers -- so the company has spent lavishly to fortify itself.

Anonymous quickly figured that out. Less than an hour after setting its sights on Amazon, the group's organizers called off the attempt. "We don't have enough forces," they tweeted.

Instead, they decided to go hammer PayPal's API, which seems to be holding up fine under the attack. "These attacks have at times slowed the website itself down, but have not significantly impacted payments," a PayPal representative said.

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The scandals unveiled by London’s Sunday Times and the Panorama, broadcast on BBC on Monday, cost England as it was beaten to the 2018 World Cup bid by Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Photo: FIFA President Sepp Blatter hands over the World Cup trophy to Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov (R) after the official announcement that Russia will host the 2018 World Cup on December 2 Photo: REUTERS

It was supposed to be a return to the “motherland of football” as Joseph Blatter, FIFA President, said on the podium moments before the envelope of the winning bid was passed to him. When the winning bid was announced, there were about eight Russians in the hall with the others in apparent shock. Russia won against all expectations but it could have been swung in their favour by the words of Putin, Russia’s President, who on Wednesday criticised England over the FIFA exposes. “I would like to note that recently we have watched with disappointment as an obvious campaign was being unleashed against members of the FIFA executive committee,” he said. “They are being smeared in dirt and compromised. I consider it as part of unscrupulous bit of competition in preparations for the selection of the host-country for the World Cup.”..

The politics of the 2018 bid

England was said to have had the best technical bid but Russia trumped all the stats by promising to inject over $10 billion to host the world. Russia will also be hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics. The Spain/Portugal bid President, Angel Villar Llona, in his presentation on Thursday said: “I love FIFA dearly but those I love the most are my colleagues in the Exco. Recently we have been criticised by many media outlets. Unfortunately for them, FIFA is a clean institution.” The defeat will be made more unpalatable as the England bid had been described by Blatter as being both excellent and remarkable. But it was not remarkable enough to be chosen. In revelations after FIFA’s members had voted in a secret ballot, it emerged that England did not make it to the second ballot.

Last minute attempts by Prime Minister, David Cameron, Prince William and David Beckham to persuade the football’s world governing body executive members came too late to douse the embarrassments suffered by these members by the revelations of the BBC and London Times. Amos Adamu and Reynald Temarii, the two FIFA executive members named in cash-for vote scandal, had been suspended and fined some sums of money following the revelations by the London Times that both members were ready to sell their bidding votes to the highest bidders. There will be recriminations from the British press but many observers feel that England shot itself in the foot by being “undiplomatic.”

Qatar trumps the USA

Qatar became the smallest country to be awarded the hosting rights of a FIFA World Cup by snagging the 2022 World Cup. The Qatar bid committee used French football legend, Zinedine Zidane, as a goodwill ambassador and said in their presentation that the World Cup project of hosting the world in 2022 could help unify the region. There was also the promise to overcome overwhelming heat by air conditioning the stadia it will build. Sheikh Mohammad bin Hamad Al-Thani, Qatar’s bid chairman, sounding all exultant after the pronouncement said: “Thank you for believing in change, thank you for believing in expanding the game, thank you for giving Qatar a chance. We will not let you down. You will be proud of us, you will be proud of the Middle East and I promise you this.”

And in what could be a final word to the backlash that will definitely come forth after the England snub, Llona had this to say, “You have already heard enough slander in the media, the bidding process is clean regardless of what they say.” The world will converge in Russia in 2018. And as the Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Igor Shuvalov, was handed the World Cup by Blatter, he celebrated by saying: “You have entrusted us with the FIFA World Cup for 2018 and I can promise, we all can promise, you will never regret it. Let us make history together.”

History will definitely be in the making as the Eastern European giants host the greatest single sport fiesta in the world while Qatar’s 1.7 million people prepare to welcome the world in 2022.

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34-Ivory-Coast_509439t.jpgThe outcome of Ivory Coast's first presidential election in a decade was plunged into doubt yesterday as the constitutional council declared incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo the winner a day after the election chief handed victory to the opposition.

The new results released by a Gbagbo loyalist on national television directly contradicted those announced on Thursday, which were considered credible by the US, the African Union and the United Nations.

Ivory Coast's presidential election was meant to restore stability in the West African nation after a 2002-03 civil war destroyed the economy of one of the most affluent countries on the continent. Instead the poll is now casting a growing shadow. If Gbagbo refuses to step down, many fear the world's top cocoa producer could spiral into violence again.

The results announced on state television by constitutional council head Paul Yao N'Dre cancelled the votes from seven of the country's 19 voting districts, all opposition strongholds where the ruling party claims the vote was marred by violence and intimidation.

"The irregularities are of such a nature that they invalidate the vote (in those districts)," said N'Dre, who is also a senior member of Gbagbo's party.

Erasing those districts wiped out a significant share of opposition leader Alassane Ouattara's margin, resulting in a victory for Gbagbo. His five-year mandate officially expired in 2005. For five years he has repeatedly cancelled the date for this election, claiming the country was too volatile to assure security and later that polls were technically flawed. A 2007 peace deal broke years of political stalemate, leading to the dismantling of a UN-patrolled buffer zone.

The US has urged the parties to accept the election commission's results showing Mr Ouattara had won. "Credible, accredited electoral observers have characterised the balloting as free and fair, and no party should be allowed to obstruct further the electoral process," US National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said in a statement.

The African Union said that Thursday's results were satisfactory and asked the country's leaders to put the interest of the Ivory Coast first.

"Any other approach risks plunging Côte d'Ivoire into a crisis with incalculable consequences for the country, as well as for the region and the continent as a whole," the AU said in a statement.

The country was isolated by the ruling elite immediately after Mr Ouattara's win was announced, with a decree read on state TV saying that the nation's air, sea and maritime borders had been closed....

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By Alfred Donovan and John Donovan

We have previously revealed how Royal Dutch Shell Group and its founder, Sir Henri Deterding, saved the Nazi Party when it was in danger of financial collapse.

After considerable further research, we are now ready to publish extensive information revealing the variety of ways Shell found to provide huge financial support to the most evil regime in history.

We also provide comprehensive information/evidence of how Royal Dutch Shell (and/or its German subsidiary): -

  • was arguably indirectly responsible for over 30 million deaths in World War 2
  • sold out its own Jewish employees to the Nazis, some of whom did not survive the war
  • instructed its employees in the Netherlands to complete a form giving particulars about their descent, which for some, amounted to a self-declared death warrant
  • engaged in anti-Semitic policies against Shell employees
  • financed the Nazis
  • appeased the Nazis
  • collaborated with the Nazis
  • used slave labor
  • conspired directly with Hitler
  • got into bed with I.G. Farben, the notorious Nazi run chemical giant that supplied the Zyklon-B gas used during the Holocaust to exterminate millions of people, including children
  • continued the partnership with the Nazis in the years after the retirement of Sir Henri as the Chief Executive of the Royal Dutch Shell Group and even after his death

We also explain why these events still matter, despite the decades that have passed. Royal Dutch Shell was driven by greed then, just as it is today, in continuing to trade with another despotic regime in Iran.

All information is supported by independent verifiable evidence from reputable sources.

We will also publish stunning photographs as further evidence of the Royal Dutch Shell/Nazi association.

Today, we will make the draft article, including associated photographs/graphics, accessible to Royal Dutch Shell Plc in advance of publication, so that the company has the opportunity to correct any inaccurate information and supply any comment to be published alongside the article on an unedited basis.

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IF EVER a ruling elite seemed to justify the Bush-era doctrine of “pre-emption”, it is the Kim dynasty in North Korea. No government anywhere subjects its own people to such a barbarous regime of fear, repression and hunger. And the Kims are complicit in international outrages ranging from murderous terrorism and nuclear proliferation to drug-smuggling and currency-counterfeiting. The present dictator, Kim Jong Il, is apparently not long for this world, and seems to be boosting his 27-year-old son and anointed successor as a victorious warrior. When the elder Kim was himself dauphin, in the 1980s, he earned his spurs through international terrorism.

This week the North waged war for the second time this year with South Korea when it shelled a South Korean island near the disputed maritime boundary, killing two soldiers and two civilians, injuring others and burning a score of houses. In March, when one of its torpedoes sank the Cheonan, a naval vessel, killing 46, North Korea could, albeit implausibly, deny culpability. This time, though the North describes its aggression as retaliation (for a harmless South Korean military exercise), there is no gainsaying its responsibility for one of the most serious incidents since the end of the Korean war in 1953. To add to this dismal catalogue, the latest onslaught came just three days after the revelation that, in defiance of international efforts to curb its nuclear programme, North Korea has developed a sophisticated facility for enriching uranium. That gives it a further potential source of material for bombmaking.



The starting-point for answering the North’s aggression has to be that, in the most basic sense, the Kims will almost certainly get away with only a symbolic return of fire. It is entirely wrong for North Korea to act as it does. But punitive military reprisals against the North risk a spiral of escalation and catastrophic war. Deterrence works badly against a dictator who blithely imposes famine and gulags on his people during peacetime. Even if there are doubts about the efficacy of its tiny nuclear arsenal, North Korea has enough men under arms, and enough conventional ammunition within range of Seoul—just 35 miles (60km) from the frontier—to make war seem very much a last resort.

If war and the threat of war are hardly even options, what can the world do? The best card in a bad hand is to heal the divisions among other countries about how to handle North Korea. That means, in particular, making China see that a tinderbox it has long regarded as a strategic asset has become an appalling liability. China also struggles to control North Korea. But a united front would change the environment that encourages the rogue state’s bad behaviour.

China cannot be blind to the Kims’ bungling and bellicosity, nor welcome their nuclear ambitions. But it has had two worse fears. One is of a rekindled war on the peninsula, which would damage China. The other is of North Korean collapse, with millions of desperate refugees pouring into China and South Korea or even American troops on China’s border. It is as a bulwark against this “instability” that China cossets the Kims. It refused to condemn them even for the sinking of the Cheonan, and this week issued blandly even-handed calls for restraint. It apparently believes that if their only ally abandons them, the Kims might do something really rash..

But they already have. Whatever it says publicly, China must surely see that this regime flirts with war as an instrument of diplomacy and that its desire to shock the world into negotiating with it requires ever greater outrages. Ultimately, this pattern of behaviour threatens the very stability China craves. China’s alliance with North Korea thus undermines not just its image as a global power but also its own interests.

So how to nudge China in the right direction? One possibility is the revival of the six-party forum, chaired by China and involving Japan and Russia. Talks stalled after North Korea forged ahead with its nuclear programme. The Kims would regard a revival as a victory. But talks will eventually have to resume if North Korea’s nuclear ambitions are to be negotiated down. If they also help persuade China to rein in North Korea, that would be a double benefit.
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Amid record profits Microsoft has serious cause for concern. It is coming off the high of the fastest-selling operating system in its history -- Windows 7. That OS sent its profits soaring and convinced some that Microsoft was no longer on the retreat.

17229_steve-ballmer-laughs.jpg
But part of Windows 7's success was due to how poorly received Vista was. With Windows 8 landing reportedly in 2012, the company may have significant difficulties in convincing the average consumer to upgrade to its latest and great OS.

Other than the Windows brand, Xbox and Microsoft Office are the company's other two major successes in the consumer sector. But the Xbox trails Nintendo's “family friendly” Wii and the Office team is getting seriously nervous about growing consumer interest in OpenOffice.Photos Steve Balmer and Bill Gates ..

On the other hand, Bing has failed to gain even 10 percent of the search market in most metrics, despite a massive ad push and a deal with Yahoo. Zune remains a tiny player in the MP3 market, having failed to become a true competitor in terms of sales to Apple's iPod line. And Microsoft's smartphone empire, once a major player, is in rebuilding mode after the disastrous Kin and ill-received Windows Mobile 6.5. It is placing its hopes on Windows Phone 7, but that phone enters a packed market.

Internet Explorer, Microsoft's browser, has long led the market, but has seen a steady decline in recent years, which may allow Firefox and Chrome to eventually reach its formerly insurmountable market share peak. Microsoft's key hope here is a new product, Internet Explorer 9.

So while it seems that CNN Money's recent headline, "Microsoft is a dying consumer brand", is a bit sensational, it is a claim that is grounded in some reality.

One of the key points in the article is that aside from the struggles of many of Microsoft's consumer "expansion" business units, it is also bleeding executive talent, like many other struggling firms (HP, Yahoo, etc.). States the report, "Microsoft's executive suite is in turmoil. CFO Chris Liddel, entertainment unit head Robbie Bach, device design leader J Allard and business division chief Stephen Elop have left within the past year. Ray Ozzie joined the exit parade last week."

The report praises Microsoft's recent efforts, but concludes in cautionary fashion, "Microsoft just has to hope [they're] not too late."

Much like the Romans or Greeks, Microsoft has built a mighty empire, a key part of which are expansions into new arenas -- in Microsoft's case phones, video game consoles, and internet services.

But much like the Roman empire fell, Microsoft appears dangerously close to losing its expansions to hungrier parties. But much like Rome, it will likely hold on to its central holdings (Windows, Internet Explorer, Xbox, and Microsoft Office) for some time, even if its other efforts fall into commercial purgatory.

The talent gap is absolutely a concern for Microsoft. And equally concerning is the fact that the company is being led by Steve Ballmer. Mr. Ballmer, while a brilliant tactician in some regards and a man with obviously enormous love for the company, has failed to execute a strategy to turn around the company's struggling units -- or one that works at least.

To succeed, Microsoft may need to move on without Mr. Ballmer. But who to pick to lead the world's largest software company, perhaps the most powerful technology company in the world? The leading candidates have already left the company. That means that, essentially, there's no easy answer to Microsoft's leadership issues and that the ongoing risk to the company is tremendous.

Is Microsoft's consumer brand "dying"? Not yet, in our minds. But it lacks the hunger that it once did. And it most certainly sorely misses the leadership of its founder and chief visionary -- Bill Gates..
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Round Up: Tonto Dikeh defends new movie

role, P-Square unveil Square-Villa, Annie Macaulay addresses baby mama drama & Ikechukwu talks about his ideal woman

A few things have happened this week on the Naij celeb front. Lets start with Nollywood actress Tonto Dikeh, except you’ve been living under a rock somewhere you’ve probably seen the trailer for her new movie Dirty Secret, which is creating a lot of controversy as it features explicit sex scenes & a gay kiss…I don’t know if Nigeria is ready for this, knowing how conservative the industry is the movie may likely get banned! Anyways Tonto has gotten a lot of criticism over her role, she took to twitter to address them;

Chick does have a mouth on her…If you wanna see the trailer; youtube “Dirty Secrets African Movie” I couldn’t finish watching it…the man in the silver thong killed it for me…I’m not a prude but I had to hit the stop button…#imeanwharrahell?

There has been a lot of speculation about the cost of P-Square‘s new pad in Lagos. I’ve heard N300 mill, N500 mill. From the pictures though you can tell they spent a whole lot . One half of the duo, Peter says;

Getting a land in Omole Estate (Ikeja, Lagos) alone is N100m. When you look at the house, especially the finishing, it is over $2million. When people speculated that the house was worth N300 million, we had not even finished the interior. What do you think is the cost of a mansion that has a swimming pool, six living rooms, ten master bedrooms, all fully furnished? It’s far more than the speculated N300million

Congrats to them, but did Peter have to say that? See pictures of the house below.

Moving on to Annie Macaulay who this week was interviewed by entertainment reporter and blogger Stella Dimoko Korkus. For those who don’t know Annie is an actress & Tuface Baby Mama #3. Stella asked her about the rumoured altercation with Baby Mama #1 Pero Adeniyi at Tuface’s recent concert in Lagos to which Annie said;

Let me state it here now that nothing of such happened (sic), I have not seen the write up but people have been calling me and those who know the truth know the truth of what happened on that day. I didn’t fight or quarrel with anyone on that day. Yes I was at the same place and at the same time with her but we didnt fight or anything.i didnt even exchange words with the mentioned person.

I love how she referred to Pero as “the mentioned person”, it’s clear she can’t stand the chick…LOL. The interview also touched on her career in Nollywood and why she decided to join the league of 2Baba baby mamas. Read the rest of the interview here.

there is an interesting interview with Rapper Ikechukwu, hetalked about his ideal woman, who he sums up in two words…Sarah Ofili. I guess it’s safe to assume he’ll be wifing her up pretty soon. I also found it compelling that he admitted his dislike for recording commercial music. I mean let’s be honest most artistes loathe “selling out” but I guess it puts food on the table…I don’t think anyone, at least not in Naija music has admitted to it before. Maybe this is the the real reason he left Mo’Hits. A bit of the interview:

TARI: Do you get any job satisfaction when you have to make commercial tracks…

IKECHUKWU: NO!!

TARI: (laughing) Really? Not even the paper?

IKECHUKWU: Zero; but I have formulated a way to get satisfaction, which is in interacting with the crowd and me being this… but even now because of P, where we’re posing for the crowd …I hate that stuff I swear…

TARI: Then why do you it?

IKECHUKWU: Because the Nigerian society dictates that it’s the necessity..

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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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A corpse was allegedly discovered in an Arik aircraft last night, sources told P.M.NEWS today.
Our sources said that the deceased passenger was a man. However, no one is sure if he was a genuine or illegal passenger.
Details about the tragic incident or the deceased were sketchy at the
time of filing this report.
The media officer of Arik Air, Mr. Adebanji Ola told our correspondent
that it was a security issue and did not go into details.
He said: “It’s a security issue beyond the airline’s control.Photo: Passengers praying they survive the flight The
airport security operatives will be in a better position to give
details.”
The Media officer to the Director General of NCAA, Mr. Sam Adurogboye,
sent our correspondent back to Arik when he was asked to comment about the incident.
“Talk to Arik,” he said.
The incident comes weeks after a similar incident happened on an Arik
flight to the United States.
Photo right:One of such wings of crashless death
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