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ymoviesblog-249596189-1286810636.jpg?ymNAM6DDCW7cUGDOMatt Damon in Bourne UltimatumUniversal Pictures Matt Damonvowed, after director Paul Greengrass left the "Bourne" franchise, thathe'd never do another "Bourne" movie unless they let Greengrass return.Tony Gilroy, screenwriter of two of the films and director of "Michael Clayton," has taken over the franchise, and he's found a way out of the Damon problem: Get rid of Jason Bourne.

The next film will be called "The Bourne Legacy," but even though the name's in the title, the film will have no Jason Bourne. Thus, no Matt Damon. Interestingly enough, the book "The Bourne Legacy" does have Jason Bourne (though it wasn't actually written by Robert Ludlum, the creator of the book series). Gilroy explained to Hollywood Elsewhere's Jeffrey Wells that he's just taking the title and running with it.

"The easiest way to think of it is an expansion or a reveal. Jason Bourne will not be in this film, but he's very much alive. What happenedin the first three films is the trigger for what happens. I'm building alegend and an environment and a wider conspiracy…the world we're makingenhances and advances and invites Jason Bourne's return [down theroad]. Everything you saw in the first three films actually happened,and everyone who got into will be rewarded for paying attention. We'regoing to show you the bigger picture, the bigger canvas. When you seewhat we're going and see what we're doing it'll be pretty obvious….butJason Bourne's actvities in the first three films is the immediatetrigger."

When Gilroy says he's only using the title of the book, not the plot, he's not kidding: "The Bourne Legacy," which came out in 2004 and iswritten by Eric Van Lustbader (who took over the franchise from theLudlum estate for six more books), is all about Jason Bourne. Picking upwhere "The Bourne Ultimatum"left off, "Legacy" features Bourne back as David Webb (his birth name),teaching classes at Georgetown. He survives an assassination attemptand is -- all together now -- drawn into a complicated web of intrigueand deceit. Considering the whole book -- and the rest of the bookswritten by Van Lustbader -- is about Bourne's adventures, Gilroy'sadaptation will be anything but: He's essentially inventing a brand-newcharacter and hitching it to the Bourne franchise.

The new direction may jibe well with Gilroy's "Michael Clayton" sensibility, though basically it sounds like Jason Bourne started somesort of "movement," which doesn't seem like Bourne's style. Curiously,Gilroy leaves the door open for Bourne's - that is to say, Damon's -return at some point, presuming the films are so good he just couldn'thelp but want to be a part of them. So, we have another entry in thecasting couch speculation derby: Who's playing the newBourne/not-Bourne? Horizons should be expanded; when they cast the firstBourne film, no one considered Matt Damon an action star either..

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If billionaire Alki David is an honest man, the man who streaked in front of Barack Obama at the president’s rally today in Philadelphia will be paid $1 million for his stunt. The man who
performed today’s stunt, which captured the attention of the Drudge
Report , is 24-year-old Juan James Rodriguez, THE WEEKLY STANDARD has learned..


Photo Credit: Joey "Boots" Bassolino

David is a billionaire shipping and bottling magnate who is known to carry out stunts, mainly by paying others to perform them.
"A WACKY billionaire has offered $1million (£638,700) to the first
person who streaks in front of US President Barack Obama. Loaded Alki
David has promised to pay out the cash — providing the streaker writes
the name of his website 'Battlecam' across their chest."

“When I see the video and it’s confirmed...it won’t be check [that Rodriguez receives], it will be cash,” David, reached by phone tonight, told THE WEEKLY STANDARD..

The requirements of the streaking stunt, David told me, are that the streaker must have been within “eye-shot and ear shot of the president, they have to scream the name ‘battlecam’ six times, and they have to be nude.”

a_obama_streak3_blurr_crop.img_assist_custom-640x299.jpg

Two men involved in the stunt, Glen Zolar and Joey “Boots” Bassolino, assured THE WEEKLY STANDARD that Rodriguez met the requirements.

Zolar, who spoke with me on the phone earlier tonight, is a moderator on battlecam.com. Zolar was cruising the website when Rodriguez contacted him and asked whether he’d be able to
facilitate this stunt. Seeking personal gain – primarily, monetary gain –
Zolar agreed.

When asked how much he would get paid from Rodriguez’s payout, Zolar said, “I’d rather not disclose the figure, but it would definitely be more than $5,000 … and less than $25,000.”

Zolar says he has done freelance producing for the Howard Stern Show. Bassolino is a frequent guest on the show, which is well-known for conducting stunts just like the one carried out today in
Philadelphia. Zolar asked Bassolino to film the stunt this evening. The
two say it has been recorded but has not yet been broadcast on the
website. No payment has yet been made, and though it has not yet been
given David’s approval, it appears Rodriguez met all of David's
requirements.

“I am on the record as saying that it needed to be done in a place where it’s legal to be nude,” David said. But “it’s a suggestion, not a rule.”

In that case, the requirements appear to have been met. .



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The Nigerian's sample contained the banned stimulant methylhexaneamine, which was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) list of banned substances for the first time this year.

The 24-year-old's suspension was extended after a hearing on Monday and she will keep her gold medal until after her B sample is tested.

"(The) B Sample result is expected within 48 hours from the time of the request so further details are not expected until Wednesday morning," said a Games Federation statement..

Oludamola took gold after Australian Sally Pearson, who crossed the line first in Thursday's race, was disqualified for a false start three hours after the finish.

Natasha Mayers, who crossed the line third in the blue riband sprint to take St Vincent and the Grenadines' first athletics medal, will be elevated to gold medallist if Oludamola is stripped of the title.

Mayers herself served a two-year doping ban after testing positive for testosterone in 2005.

The online edition of Nigeria's Vanguard newspaper (www.vanguardngr.com) quoted the president of Athletics Federation of Nigeria as saying that they would back the athlete as they believed she took the substance inadvertently.

"She took medication for her toothache and we strongly suspect that it was that which led to her failed drug test," Solomon Ogba told the paper.

'Shocked and disappointed'

Elias Usman Gora, chef de mission of the Nigeria team, told Reuters he was "shocked and disappointed."

"We brought our athletes here to compete and in the right spirit," he said. "It is very unfortunate if the second test also comes out positive.

"We had done out of competition testing on most of our athletes before coming here, except a few who joined us directly from the United States and Canada. Osayemi happens to be one who joined us from the United States.

"She has been a good athlete and had no problems with doping ever. I just don't know what happened."

A world championship 100 metres finalist in 2007, Oludamola reached the semi-finals of the sprint at the Beijing Olympics a year later."Any positive test, whether it is in a high-profile event or not, is something that is very much regretted because we all are striving for clean Games, clean sports and clean competitions," said Fennell.

Organisers have conducted over 950 tests since the start of the Games, Fennell said, with Oludamola's the first positive in more than 700 results.

"We just want to let everyone know that we are very vigilant," Fennell added. "This is something we have to work with and do a part in monitoring and eliminating doping in sports."

-REUTERS

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My hands are clean
By Henry Umoru, Abuja

The Director-General, Ibrahim Babangida Presidential Campaign Organisation, Chief Raymond Dokpesi said yesterday that security agencies now investigating the Abuja bomb blasts should look elsewhere for the brains behind the explosions as he knew nothing about the blasts that killed at least 10 Nigerians on the occasion of the nation’s 50th Independence Day anniversary..

He was arrested and detained for 24 hours by the State Security Services, SSS, to explain how an SMS message purportedly from him was found in the handset of a suspect in security custody.

Chief Dokpesi, speaking in Abuja for the first time since his release by the SSS, said he had never met or discussed with MEND leader, Henry Okah or anyone suspected of involvement in the Abuja bomb blasts.

“I have never corresponded with him through either directly or communicated with him through any third party. Nor has my principal, General Ibrahim Babangida in anyway associated or collaborated with anybody”, he said.

“Let me say that I am still at a loss myself why I was invited. Because I have nothing to do with the bomb blast. But let me simply state the fact that on Monday, the 3rd of October, I received a telephone call on my way from Jigawa asking me to report at the SSS headquarters at 10:00 am in the morning.

“And I asked the name of the person that was calling and he gave me the name that he is an official of the SSS. I was at the SSS headquarters diligently at 10 a.m. on Monday, 3rd October. When I came in, I was shown a handset where somebody was asking whether he had collected the N4 million from Dokpesi. And whether I knew anything about this text message.

“And I said, to start with, I am not the owner of the handset. The message was not sent to me. I don’t even know who the party, who and who is exchanging this text message. I was told that it is one Edo Aroh from Bayelsa State. And I was asked if I have any financial contact or any financial agreement with anybody that bears that name. However, I have appointed in Bayelsa State Hon. Okokeno as the IBB 2011 State Co-ordinator in Bayelsa State.

“And with Okokeno I have a relationship. I released the sum of N4 million to him to be able to secure an office in Bayelsa State. And that is the extent to which I have had a contact and they called me further to say do I know the Niger Delta Renaissance Network and I said Yes. I do recall clearly that when I was still Chairman of Daar Communication PLC, about the 26th of August prior to my acceptance of being the Director General of the campaign of IBB 2011, that a group, about five gentlemen wrote a letter, seeking an appointment to see me.

“And that these five gentlemen said they were representatives of the Niger Delta Renaissance Network. They had placed advertorials from the end of July in The Nation, Daily Trust, This Day. They had appeared on AIT and on Channels TV. And the main trust of their advertorial was that they are in support of the PDP zoning. They are in support of the fact that we should have justice and fairness in the polity that PDP members should respect the zoning formula of the party. And these their views they have been promoting. They have appeared twice on AIT and on Focus Nigeria.

“And each time they have paid the sum of N1 million. Now that they were speculating in the papers to the effort that I was going to be DG of the IBB 2011 presidential campaign and coupled with the fact that I am a leader of the South-South that they were stranded in Abuja and that they wanted some sort of financial assistance to be able to go back.

“I went ahead and I said yes as a leader of the South-South I can try to see how I can help you, but the truth of the matter is that what you have paid to AIT you have paid to AIT I cannot go and call anybody to assist. And I called my Executive Assistant to explain to him and I said my assistant should give N500,000. So that everyone of them could have N100,000. I had a concurrent meeting going on in my main office, so I met them in my guest waiting room.

“So I left them and that was all the discussion. There was no politics, there was nothing that was there apart from the fact that they needed financial assistance and I gave them N500,000. Thereafter I never had any contact with them until 1st September when I was appointed DG of the IBB campaign organisation”.


Reflecting on what happened before then he said: “And by 1st September I had cause to write a letter to the then Inspector-General of Police drawing attention to very unfortunate developments that were taking place in the polity. The South –South Leaders and Elders Committee had met under the chairmanship of Chief Clark. According to newspaper of reports, I understand that the former Chief of General Staff, Admiral Mike Akhigbe (rtd), Minister of Petroleum, Alison Madueke, former Deputy Speaker of House of representative, Mr Chibudum, Chief Graham Douglas was present, former Governor of Edo State Prof Osunbor, Minister of environment, John Odey and Minister of State work were present at the meeting where I was purportedly expelled or suspended from the South-South Peoples Assembly as advertised in the papers.

“This was a statement. I am not saying these people were the ones plotting to kill me. I never said so. My letter to the Inspector General of Police has been very explicit to the effect that I did state very clearly that I understand from newspaper report, that these people were the ones present at the meeting where I was said to have been expelled. Less than 24 hours later a joint Revolutionary Council (JRC) which says it comprises of an alliance of MEND, active combat unit of the Niger Delta People Volunteer Force declared me persona non grata in the Niger Delta. And that publication that was sent was signed by Cynthia Wyte and it was widely published throughout Nigeria and on the wire services across the whole world .

“Having taken this position against me, I wrote to the Inspector General of Police coupled with the fact that my son and members of my entire house hold started receiving telephone calls and threats; I wrote to the IGP asking that I should be protected, that the members of my family be protected. That my company , AIT and anybody who transact with it, should be protected.

“That the people who deal with Daar Communication should also be protected. It is worthy of note that letter to the IGP was on 1st September 2010. I also addressed it to the Director Central State Security Services(SSS). I also directed it to all National Security Adviser, the NIA and all the security agencies. But up till today, they have not invited me or responded to the matter, only for me to now get the invitation to come in for interrogation. Now that was squarely on the issue of interrogation. After the questioning of my giving money to the members of the Niger Delta Renaissance Network, I again asked questions about my relationship with Henry Okah. And said Henry Okah I have never met before

“Henry Okah I have never dealt with. I have never communicated with him. I’m not even sure that if I see him I will recognise him. I have never had any transaction with him either directly or through a third party.

“I think on Wednesday at about almost 10 or 11 in the night, they brought one Eduware before me. And I said yes, I have seen this face on three or four occasions. I have seen him when he came with the Renaissance Network Group people. I have seen him when he came with my coordinator in Bayelsa State, Hon. Okokeme.

“ I also saw him when I was to meet with the lawyer of the Renaissance Network at General IBB’s Guest House in Maitama, he came along with him. I saw him alight from a taxi together with the lawyer and I invited the lawyer in. And that is the only time. I have never had any type of financial transaction with him or exchanged any other thing order than the fact that he was in the company of these people I have mentioned.

“The N4 million that is being referred to is money that was released for the acquisition of the office in Bayelsa State. And it was not only Bayelsa state that benefited from that initial grant of getting offices and furnishing. In some states, some people donated buildings. So all we needed was to try to do some furnishing. That is the only financial transaction I have had. On Wednesday I was asked to write my statement.


“I wrote my statement within two hours, I remained there for several hours thereafter, almost about 7 or 8 hours later. On Thursday I went down there I was there for almost another 10, 11 hours doing absolutely nothing. Apart from people coming to say sit down here and I sit down nobody said good morning or good night to me from morning till almost about 10 to 15 minutes, they would ask me one or two questions, “can you help us put down this your explanation.”

On his discussion with Eduware, Dokpesi said, “Eduware confirmed those were the only moments he met with me and that was the basis of the contacts he had with me and no more.

Asked whether Eduware ran errands for him, he said, “No I never said I sent him on any errand or had anything at all to do with me. Then they insinuated that “But Eduware you told us that you met him at a meeting with IBB and chief which you attended”. And I said there couldn’t have been such a meeting which he attended with me. It was September 29th it was LEADERSHIP 50th anniversary ceremony which General IBB came as a special guest of honor.

“We attended that ceremony and they wanted to reach me earlier before we left for that ceremony but I was not available. I had to go to his guest house to wait for him because immediately after that ceremony he was going back to Minna and the venue of the function would not be a proper place for us to meet and discuss what ever it was he wanted to see me for.

“So I went to his guest house to wait for him. While I was waiting for him, a lawyer called me from Port Harcourt which coincidentally is the same lawyer to this Renaissance Network telling me that he wanted to see me urgently on the PDP nomination /election primary guidelines which had been issued. That there were some sorts of lacuna that he was not aware whether I had taken note of. So I said come and see me.

“When he came in I was not able to see him the day he came in. He called one the next day that he was going to be going back to Port Harcourt that it was very painful that he came all the way from Port Harcourt and he had not been able to see me. And I told him I was somewhere in Maitama. So he came in a taxi with this Eduware to the gate. So I asked the lawyer inside to be able to have the discussion.

“And we had the discussion it was not an issue we could finish on that day, not on the next day but on the third day. So I asked him to come and meet me in the house. He came with two other lawyers to the house, on the third day. So I asked him to come and meet me in the house. He came with two other lawyers to the house. On the third day, he met me with four lawyers at me office and we reviewed the implications of the points he had raised. So there was not time that I had any type of contact, any type of message or errand for that gentleman called Eduware.

On whether Eduware was at the meeting with the lawyers, Dokpesi said, “No”
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The late Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, was again remembered yesterday as events marking the ‘Felabration 2010’ began at the African Shrine in Lagos. Felabration is a yearly event organised to celebrate the Afrobeat specialist. According to the organisers, this year’s theme, ‘Viva Africa’, is a song written by Fela in 1969 at a time when as a country “we were at war with ourselves.”

The week-long celebration began with a seminar, ‘The Fela Debates 2’. Speakers drawn from different professional backgrounds spoke on the life of the late Anikulapo-Kuti who used his music to fight against military oppression and injustice in Nigeria. The moderator of the debate, Femi Falana, a legal practitioner and human rights activist, described the Kuti family as comprising “some of the greatest Nigerians in terms of fighting for the independence of this country.” “We are here to celebrate a great Nigerian who is being honoured in other parts of the world,” he said. “If there is one cultural ambassador Nigeria has produced, it is the late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.”

Activist to the core.

Dipo Fashina, a renowned activist and former President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), described the music legend as the first person to stand up for human rights in the country. “Fela confronted government, Fela fought on behalf of the people, but inside him, Fela was a gentle introvert,” he said. “When you sit down with Fela and talk to him deeply, you see that he was somebody who had much more than his political views. Fela was not a simple person. He lived simply but he was a very complex person. Fela crossed the class boundary not because he was rejected by his family. Fela could have become part of the ruling class. Fela was the first to start the activism for human rights.”

He also emphasized the need to continue the fight that Mr Anikulapo-Kuti started. “We have to create a political movement that will address the issues of the masses, the issues of culture, the issues of how to play our role in liberation of the world,” he said. “This life must not be wasted; we must create a political movement.”

Yemi Osinbajo, a former Attorney General of Lagos State, spoke on Fela’s music and how he managed to use it as a weapon of protest. “Fela through his music, created a bridge across tribes, across classes; a bridge that was built on the collective anger of the people consistently traumatised by the ruling class,” he said. “Fela’s protest against military dictatorship was founded on his own encounters with military injustice. Fela’s characterisation of our neo-colonial forces is apt in many respects. Fela’s self-appointed role was to speak the truth rudely and tauntingly and at great personal risk. His defined and unionistic stance against the fierce brutality of the state especially under military rule encouraged many. Fela left no doubt that he wanted his songs to anger the ordinary man enough to propel him into action.”

The fight must continue .

While expressing hope of a better future for Nigeria, Mr Osinbajo charged Nigerians not to succumb to the conditions that oppress them as a nation. “For as long as we remain in opposition to the conditions that humiliate us as a people, then there is hope,” he said. Also Carlos Moore, a friend of the late Mr Anikulapo-Kuti and author of his biography, ‘Fela. This Bitch of a Life’, described him as a man who stood up against injustice and who at a time felt like committing suicide because he felt that he was fighting alone. He added that the late Afrobeat legend was greatly missed and would not have been a part of the throng of musicians who celebrated what was not worth celebrating.

“If Fela were alive, he would not have joined the musicians who went to Abuja to celebrate 50 years of poverty, 50 years of hypocrisy, 50 years of manipulation and 50 years of oppression,” he said. Mr Falana also advised Nigerian musicians to sing songs that protest against the injustice being experienced in the country just like Mr Anikulapo-Kuti did. “We need protest music to continue in our culture so that we can liberate our country the way Fela would have wanted it,” he said.jpeg&STREAMOID=icDKqTt6CLLbT1576NTXbi6SYeqqxXXqBcOgKOfTXxSdcPi_2E7u4DNE_AWcGj5fnW_PgxgftuECOcfJwS6Jtlp$r8Fy$6AAZ9zyPuHJ25T7a9GKDSxsGxtpmxP0VAUyHL6IDcZHtmM2t7xO$FHdJG95dFi6y2Uma3vSsvPpVyo-

Falana (L) Moore and Kuti at the Debate to mark the opening of Felabration 2010 in Lagos, yesterday Photo:
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Babatunde Aliyu Fafunwa, former minister of education, died yesterday morning at the National Hospital, Abuja. He was aged 87.

According to a hospital official, he died a few minutes before 7am. Although the hospital staff refused to disclose the cause of death, it is believed that Mr. Fafunwa had fallen ill during a recent trip to Abuja, where he was expected to deliver a speech at the Open University.

Widely credited as introducing the 6-3-3-4 educational system in the country, the late Mr. Fafunwa was also the first Nigerian to receive a doctorate degree in Education. His teaching career began in 1961 at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Following the advent of the Civil War, he moved to Ife, and taught at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), where he remained until his retirement.

Innovative methodologies

He is accredited with introducing several innovative teaching methodologies during his days at Ife. It was his contemporary methods that brought him to national prominence when he served as an education minister for three years under Ibrahim Babangida..

President Goodluck Jonathan had last week blamed him for the failure of the 6-3-3-4 education system.

He is to be buried today according to Islamic rites. He is survived by his wife, Doris, four children, and several grand children.

Fasasi Gbagba, the president of Jama’atul Islamiyya Society, the Islamic sect to which Mr. Fafunwa belonged, said the members were awaiting the body from Abuja. He is to be buried at his residence on Victoria Island, Lagos, today.

The Ogun State government has described his death as the loss of a major pillar of the education sector who worked tirelessly throughout his lifetime for the enhancement and development of the sector.

“A great mentor and outstanding person of character has just left us,” said the cultural activist, Segun Olusola, adding, “His relationship cuts across the entire nation and though a very religious person, he never allowed religion to affect his relationship.”

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Q: What are the health consequences of being overweight?

A: The latest WHO projections indicate that at least one in three of the world's adult population is overweight and almost one in 10 is obese. Additionally there are over 20 million children under age five who are overweight.

Being overweight or obese can have a serious impact on health. Carrying extra fat leads to serious health consequences such as cardiovascular disease (mainly heart disease and stroke), type 2 diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders like osteoarthritis, and some cancers (endometrial, breast and colon). These conditions cause premature death and substantial disability.

What is not widely known is that the risk of health problems starts when someone is only very slightly overweight, and that the likelihood of problems increases as someone becomes more and more overweight. Many of these conditions cause long-term suffering for individuals and families. In addition, the costs for the health care system can be extremely high.

The good news is that overweight and obesity are largely preventable. The key to success is to achieve an energy balance between calories consumed on one hand, and calories used on the other hand.

To reach this goal, people can limit energy intake from total fats and shift fat consumption away from saturated fats to unsaturated fats; increase consumption of fruit and vegetables, as well as legumes, whole grains and nuts; and limit their intake of sugars. And to increase calories used, people can boost their levels of physical activity - to at least 30 minutes of regular, moderate-intensity activity on most days.

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Ibb Kaduna Rally annulled

THE police in Kaduna, on Sunday, stopped the official launch of the presidential campaign of former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida, for security reasons..


Kaduna State coordinator of the IBB Campaign Organisation and former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Honourable Bashir Zubairu, had earlier informed newsmen that General Babangida and his national campaign team would visit the state on Sunday for consultation with politicians and other prominent citizens of the state.

However, the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, Mr Tambari Yabo Mohammed, told newsmen that his command had to stop the programme from holding, because the organisers did not adhere to the Public Order Act which requires that the police be informed 48 hours before such event would hold.

The police commissioner said it was wrong to insinuate that it was a directive “from above,” adding that Vice-President Namadi Sambo was in Kaduna and in order to avoid any possible clash with the supporters of the vice-president, the police had to stop the event in the interest of law and order.

According to him, “but the IBB people came to our office at about 10.00 p.m. on Saturday to inform us about the rally. When we considered the proximity of the IBB campaign office to the Government Lodge at Alimi Road, where the vice-president is staying, we decided not to allow them hold the rally to avoid a situation, where there will be a clash between their supporters..

“We did that in the interest of the state and so it will be wrong to say that the commissioner of police stopped the rally, because I did not stop the rally. I cannot stop any rally that conforms with the provisions of the law.”

“If they had complied with the law and given us 48 hours notice or even came to us early in the day, we could either have changed the date for them or changed the venue if they insisted on going ahead with the rally.

“You can see that the vice-president is in town and we are heavily involved in his activities. But that notwithstanding, we would have changed the venue for them and mobilised our men to the place.

But they did not follow the rules,” he said.
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MORE EX-BANK CHIEFS WILL BE JAILED-SANUSI

click to expand image
CBN Governor Lamido Sanusi, CBN Headquarters in Abuja (background).

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, has said that more former bank chief executive officers facing trial for criminal offences will go to jail.

Sanusi, while briefing journalists on the sidelines of the ongoing World Bank/International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington DC, United States on Saturday night, said that the CBN had enough evidence to convict the sacked CEOs.

The Minister of Finance, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, who also addressed journalists, said that the Nigerian economy, with a 7.4 per cent growth rate in the first half of 2010 , had been ranked the third fastest growing economy in the world. The top two are China and India.


Sanusi, spoke against the backdrop of the conviction of a former Group Managing Director of Oceanic International Bank Limited, Mrs. Cecilia Ibru, on Friday.

He said, “I have no doubt in my mind that we have enough evidence to convict everybody that we have charged. It’s just that it can take a long time...

“In each of those banks, I know what I saw and I told the public from the very first day. I have no doubt in my mind that every one of those people (sacked bank chiefs) that are being tried for criminal offences will go to jail.”

He commended the Ministry of Justice for doing a good job on the judgment against Ibru.


Sanusi said, “I’m not personally happy at somebody’s misfortune, but I think as a country, we have to make sure that when a law is broken in such a manner, people must pay a price and that is the important lesson.

“The fact that Mrs. Ibru has been convicted is a big lesson for the elite and for the rich and the powerful because nobody thought it could happen.

“It’s not a perfect conviction, it’s not ideal, maybe I would have wanted more in the circumstances, but the Justice Ministry has done a very good job.

“You must not forget that the total cost of assets in the books of Oceanic Bank was N191bn, that is the highest recovery in criminal trial in the history of Nigeria and that is money going to depositors.


“I commend the Minister (Justice) for holding firm on this and the political support that remains after the transition is also very important.

“When people said that the bank chiefs would eventually walk out free after the death of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, I said I knew President (Goodluck) Jonathan as Vice-President and that it would not happen.

“I think this is a good thing for the country because it has shown that nobody listens to all the talk about somebody is my friend or somebody is from a part of the country anymore.

“Whoever you are, if you commit an offence, if you cross a line, you will pay a price for it.”

The CBN governor, who said the N191bn would go back to depositors, added that whatever value the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria put on Ibru’s seized assets would go back to the bank’s books.

He , however, described Ibru’s admission to the three of the 25 counts of fraud and mismanagement against her as “honourable.’’

Sacked chief executive officers of Intercontinental Bank Plc, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, Bank PHB Plc, Finbank Plc and Afribank Plc, among others, are currently facing trial for offences ranging from reckless credit management to outright stealing.



On the allegations against him and others by the former Group Managing Director, Intercontinental Plc, Mr. Erastus Akingbola, Sanusi said it was better to wait and see what would happen at the end of the court cases.

On the alleged planned take-over of Intercontinental Bank by Kwara State Governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki, he said, “If you had money and you want to buy a bank, would you acquire a bank with a negative capital of N400bn? Why?

“To the best of my knowledge, Dr. Saraki, has been struggling to get Societe General Bank of Nigeria back on its feet; he doesn’t have enough money to recapitalise Intercontinental Bank. I’ve never had any such discussion with him. But it’s a political time and people make all sorts of comments.”

He also noted that by the end of October, 2010, a significant proportion of the banks would be able to announce the names of their preferred strategic partners in terms of recapitalisation.

On the licences of the 224 microfinance banks that were revoked, Sanusi said the action was taken after thorough investigations.

He added that if the apex bank could verify that any of the MFBs had raised enough capital, its licence would be restored.

Sanusi was named the “Central Bank Governor of the Year, sub-Saharan Africa” by the global business magazine, Emerging Markets.

The organisers of the award said this was in recognition of his radical intervention in Nigeria’s financial sector, which has prevented an “impending bigger collapse” at the height of the Nigerian banking sector crisis last year.

Also speaking with journalists, Aganga described Nigeria’s growth rate as a good development, especially at a time the economies of the developed countries were contracting.

He added that, with new policies being initiated by the Federal Government, “this could be the defining decade for Nigeria.”

The minister also said that the future was bright for the Nigerian economy, which according to him, was yet to fully harness its abundant human and natural resources.

The IMF had in its World Economic and Financial survey made available to journalists in Washingtong DC, on Thursday, said that Nigeria’s output real Gross Domestic Product was expected to accumulate from seven per cent in 2009 to 7.4 per cent in 2010/2011.

The fund, however, predicted slow growth for Nigeria, compared with the Republic of Congo, Botswana and Ethopia, which it said would grow at 10.6 per cent, 8.4 per cent and eight per cent, respectively in 2010.

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U.S.-China Trade War: Should We Fear ?

One week ago, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly -- 348 to 79 -- to give the Obama administration expanded authority toimpose tariffs on nearly any Chinese import. This move is, of course, aform of retaliation against China for the country's refusal to let theyuan appreciate.

Now, don't get me wrong -- trade between China and the U.S. is significantly lopsided. Last year, joint trade between the twocountries amounted to nearly $300 billion, but the U.S. trade deficitwas more than $220 billion.

However, the current bill passed by the House is a clear case of election-year politics, and it shows just how desperate Congress is tolook as if they are doing something to fix the economy. Now, if coolerheads prevail, this bill may not pass the Senate. But if it does passthere, and is then signed into law, it could be the first major salvo ina trade war that would do significant damage to both the U.S. and Chinaeconomies.

One reason why is because China is unlikely to sit idly by and watch its exports face high tariffs without its own form of retaliation. Buteven though this bill would hurt Chinese exporters, I think thehardest hit by a trade war would be millions of cash-strapped U.S.consumers, as tariff-laden goods from China would end up costingconsumers more money at nearly every major retailer in the country..

In the end, it would be U.S. consumers who would be hurt and end up footing the bill for Congress' so-called "solution."

So, how does this affect the companies in the China Strategy portfolio that I so often discuss here in Asia Insider?

Well, to be honest, this latest political action emphasizes just why it is so important to understand the differences between Chinesecompanies -- and is a big reason why I have largely stayed away fromChinese companies that rely on exports. In addition, I'm also notentirely comfortable with using multinational companies that are sellingto China as a way to play the China growth story.

I've discussed this in great depth with my China Strategy readers, but it boils down to that these types of companies will likelycome under significantly increased pressure in the near future as thebrewing trade and currency issues pick up steam.

As a result, my China Strategy portfolio focuses on Chinese companies that cater to China's burgeoning internal demand -- companiesthat will be the least affected by any new politically-imposed tariffrules.

In fact, a retaliatory restriction on imports from the U.S. could ultimately lead to more demand for China-based goods -- adding to the bottom line of China-based companies selling in China, such as the ones that I recommend in China Strategy.

I think we're going to see some very significant gains in the near future in several domestic-demand driven companies. Several of our topdomestic consumption plays have performed exceptionally well:

  • China's Number-One Online Travel Company, soaring a whopping 356%;
  • The Google of China, already giving us 284% gains, with more to go;
  • China's Leading Offshore Oil Corporation, up 227% and heading higher with the price of oil.

Just in the past two week, we've seen some significant gains in some of my other latest China Strategy recommendations:

  • Our China Clean Water Play, up 33%
  • Leading Probiotic Producer in China, up 17%
  • Chinese Oil and Biofuel Company, up 16%
  • Largest Private Printing Supplier in China, up 14%
  • Chinese Aluminum Giant, up 12%

And that's just a sampling of the profits my China Strategy subscribers have seen by focusing on Chinese domestic consumption.

So, even though the prospect of a new trade war is disturbing, our select China Strategy portfolio companies are doing just fine. To learn more about business strategies and receive weekly and monthly updates with my mostrecent advice on our investment opportunities check out my blogs http://www.9jabook.com/profiles/blog/list?user=26kfovjx02akt

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Characteristics of Programming Geeks

hello guyz….I’m shifting to new home so I will not be able to post for few days as I’ve to get another internet connection in new place and connect it but I’ve not forgotten to post
the special dose of Sunday to make you laugh. In this post, I’m going to
tell you some characteristics of experienced programmer. After reading
this post, please let me know weather you fall within this category or
not?


When you are counting objects, you go like “0,1,2,3,4,5, 6,7,8,9,A, B,C,D…” .

When asked about a bus schedule, you wonder if it is 16 or 32 bits.

When your wife says “If you don’t turn off that darn machine and come to bed,then I am going to divorce you!”, and you chastise her for for omitting the else clause.

When you are reading a book and look for the space bar to get to the next page.

When you look for your car keys using: “grep keys /dev/pockets”

When after fooling around all day with routers etc, you pick up the phone and start dialing an IP number.

When you get in the elevator and double-press the button for the floor you want.

When not only do you check your email more often than your paper mail, but you remember your {network address} faster than your postal one.

When you go to balance your checkbook and discover that you’re doing the math in octal. ..

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black woman eating fruit

Even though it’s celebrated during the month of October, breast cancer awareness is really a year-round issue.

Dr. Ann Kulze, MD, author of “Dr. Ann’s Ten-Step Diet” offers great guidance with a list of things we can do right now … to do everything possible to prevent breast cancer and stop all these silly races, walks, shopping sprees and those damn ribbons!

1. Maintain a healthy body weight (BMI less than 25) throughout your life. Midlife weight gain has been shown to significantly increase the risk of breast cancer. Additionally, an elevated BMI has been conclusively shown to increase the risk of post-menopausal breast cancer.

2. Minimize or avoid alcohol. The use of alcohol, according to Dr. Kulze is the most well-established dietary risk factor for breast cancer. The Harvard Nurses’ Study, along with several others, has shown that consuming more than one alcoholic beverage a day can increase the risk of breast cancer by a much as 25 percent.


(Article extracted from www.hellobeautiful.com)

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Boko Haram militants struck again this morning in ancient city of Maiduguri as they shot and killed a prominent Islamic preacher, Sheik Bashir Mustapha, in the in front of his house.



The eminent Islamic scholar was critical of the Boko Haram sect and also close ally of the Borno State governor Ali Modu Sheriff. Eyewitnesses told Saharareporters that one of Sheik Bahir's student died of gunshot wounds. The preacher lives in the Gwande area of Maiduguri.



Two police officers were also killed in the audacious early morning raid near the GRA part of the city near the police commissioner's home on Damboa road. The daylight killings left residents cowering in their respective homes.



http://www.saharareporters.com/news-page/prominent-islamic-preacher-sheik-bashir-mustapha-killed-boko-haram-militants-maiduguri

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(CNN) -- At age 13, Hope Witsell struggled in middle school. Not because her class work at Shields Middle School in Ruskin, Florida, was challenging, but because Hope was being bullied.

Her friend, Kyla Stich, told CNN that fellow students would "walk up to her and call her 'slut,' 'whore,' and they would sometimes, they would call her 'skank' and just be really cruel to her.".

Another friend, Lexi Leber, said, "We had to make like a wall, we had people surrounding her, and she had to be in the middle because people would come by and try to hit her and push her into a locker or something.

"She was afraid to walk alone, she was afraid someone would do something to her, like verbally attack her, so she would always have someone with her," Leber added.

This all started in the spring of 2009 during the last week of school.

Friends and family say Hope had "sexted" a picture of her breasts to her boyfriend. Another girl from school, they say, got her hands on the photo and sent it to students at six different schools in the area.

Before Hope could do anything to stop it, that photo had gone viral.

The school alerted Hope's parents. Her mother, Donna Witsell, told CNN how she learned about the photo.

"The assistant principal had a meeting with my husband and I and pretty much told us that he did not see the image but that he had heard that it was Hope and when he confronted Hope, Hope did not deny it. She wasn't proud of it but she didn't lie," Hope's mother said.

Mrs. Witsell says she had warned her daughter about the dark side of technology, about "some of the pretty sexual images of young girls and guys."

She added, "Hope was very aware of that, of inappropriate dress and most definitely posing."

Still, because of that photo, Hope had become a target for 11-, 12-, and 13-year-old bullies.

But she didn't share her pain with her parents.

Even when bullies wrote horrible things about Hope on a MySpace page called the "Shields Middle School Burn Book" and started a "Hope Hater Page," the young girl kept silent.

Summer provided a bit of a break, but when the new school year began, the taunting was even worse.

On Saturday, September 12, 2009, Hope Witsell helped her father mow the lawn. They cooked a special seafood dinner together as a family. Then Hope disappeared to her room upstairs. Her parents stayed downstairs and watched TV.

Donna Witsell will never forget the moment she went to say goodnight to her daughter.

"I went upstairs to go in her room and kiss her goodnight. That was when I found her. I screamed for my husband. And started doing CPR."

It was too late. Hope was already dead. She had used her favorite scarves to hang herself from her canopy bed.

After Hope died, her mother learned her daughter had been summoned to meet with a school social worker. A spokesperson for the school says the social worker was concerned Hope might have been trying to hurt herself, so she had Hope sign what's called a "no harm" contract in which Hope agreed to talk to an adult if she wanted to harm herself..

Hope's mother says she was never told about the contract, which she found crumpled up in the garbage in her daughter's bedroom after she died.

School officials told CNN they believed the social worker had tried calling Hope's mother to alert her but weren't sure if she had left a message.

"The school dropped the ball," Donna Witsell said.

"The school did not call. We have the digital telephone; we have the cell phones that indicate when there was an incoming call and what number was calling in. We have a house phone, I have a cell phone, my husband has a cell phone. We have emergency contact numbers at the school which was my sister-in-law and her husband. There was no indication that the school called any of those numbers," Hope's mother said.

Days after Hope died, her older sister, Samantha Beattie, discovered the bullying was still going on. Even in death, Hope could not escape it.

"I knew she had MySpace and Facebook. There were people putting comments on there: 'Did Hope really kill herself?' 'I can't believe that whore did that.' Just obscene things that I would never expect from a 12-year-old or a 13-year-old," said Samantha.

In the year or so that has passed since Hope Witsell took her own life, her mother has started a group called Hope's Warriors. She hopes it will help combat bullying and save other moms from feeling the horrendous pain that she feels.

Donna Witsell has a message for parents: "It happened to my daughter, it can happen to yours too. No one is untouchable. No one is untouchable."

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Related:How a Sexting picture led to girl's suicide http://bit.ly/bjT1vO

The newest pastime in town among youths is ‘sexting‘. ‘Sexting‘ is the act of sending or exchanging sexually explicit text messages and nude pictures over mobile phones. The name was derived by combining sex and text, as in text messages.

Our correspondent gathered that this new fad is a common practice among youths, especially in tertiary institutions. The reason why youths do this range from their desire to keep their relationships to mischief. During the week, a soft sell magazine published semi-nude pictures of a young actress which a friend of hers circulated over mobile phones without her knowledge. Although she expressed regrets that it was published during an interview with an evening newspaper, she insisted that it was common..

A 26-year-old student of one of the federal universities in the South West, who pleaded anonymity, said, “My current relationship is about one and half years old. Though I have never sent my girlfriend any nude picture of myself, she sent me hers. I had a nude picture of myself on my phone which she saw. It was after that she sent me a nude picture of herself.”

“The final year Political Science undergraduate also admitted sending her sexually explicit text messages. According to him, ”If we are not together, we need to make each other happy. Texting nude pictures and suggestive SMS is a way of keeping the relationship going.”

Another student of a state university in the Eastern part of the country said she went along with the sexting tradition to please her boyfriend. “My relationship is about a year old. Though we have never sent nude pictures to each other but we do text sexually explicit messages. My boyfriend started it and I went along to make him happy.” The final year computer science student however admitted that sexting was among girls. “Most of them do it to keep their boyfriends happy.”

Twenty-nine year-old student of another federal university in the East, who also pleaded anonymity, said, “I am not currently in a relationship but in my last relationship, I sent my girlfriend sexually explicit text messages. I did it each time I missed her, kind of like an emotional eruption.”

Very few, it seems, consider the fate of the nude pictures when the relationship goes awry or the phone gets stolen as was in the case of the scandal last year where some nude pictures of a couple working in a major telecommunications firm was published on Facebook. There is always the danger, of course, of such pictures going into the wrong hands like the case of Natasha Obetan, a Port Harcourt ex-beauty queen whose nude pictures made the rounds.,

“I don’t know of any guy who used his girlfriend‘s nude pictures against her. The only person I know of that did something akin to that, his ex-girlfriend wasn’t even aware of what he did. She thought he had deleted all her nude pictures but he had one left. It was his friends that got to see it,” the student from a federal university in the South West said.

A psychiatrist at the Federal Psychiatrist Hospital, Yaba, Dr. Oladapo Adepoju sees the practice as a reflection of the moral decadence in the society. “Sexting is a social ill. It just shows that young people have taken romantic involvements to another level. I cannot call it a sexual disorder, except if it causes the person to harm himself and others too. On the other hand, however, deriving sexual satisfaction from viewing nude photos is a sexual disorder.” Disagreeing with the idea that sexting keeps the flame of love burning, he said, ”Sexting does not promote faithfulness in the long run. The danger of sexting is that both parties are likely to get sexually aroused. By the time this happens, they will want sexual satisfaction. If your partner is absent, the person might then resort to masturbation or engage any willing member of the opposite sex to achieve that sexual satisfaction.”

A concerned parent who didn‘t want to be named said, ”I have a teenage daughter in school. I would be very sad if I find out she is doing something like that. You really don‘t have to send amorous text messages or nude pictures to keep any relationship alive. There is a time for everything. All sexting does is to distract the parties involved from what they should actually be doing which is studying.”

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Answer:
Psalm 139:14 declares, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” The context of this verse is the incredible nature of our physical bodies. The human body is the most complex and unique organism in the world, and that complexity and uniqueness speaks volumes about the mind of its Creator. Every aspect of the body, down to the tiniest microscopic cell, reveals that it is fearfully and wonderfully made.

Engineers understand how to design strong yet light beams by putting the strong material toward the outside edges of a cross-section and filling the inside with lighter, weaker material. This is done because the greatest amounts of stress occur on the surfaces of a structure when handling common bending or stresses. A cross section of a human bone reveals that the strong material is on the outside and the inside is used as a factory for blood cells of various kinds. When you examine a sophisticated camera with its ability to let in more or less light as needed and its ability to focus automatically over a vast range of field, you find repeated imitations of the operation of the human eye. And yet, having two eyeballs, we also have depth perception which gives us the ability to judge how far away an object is.

The human brain is also an amazing organ, fearfully and wonderfully made. It has the ability to learn, reason, and control so many automatic functions of the body such as heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing, and to maintain balance to walk, run, stand, and sit, all while concentrating on something else. Computers can outdo the human brain in raw calculating power but are primitive when it comes to performing most reasoning tasks. The brain also has an amazing ability to adapt. In an experiment, when people put on glasses that made the world seem upside down, their brains quickly reinterpreted the information they were being given to perceive the world as “right-side-up.” When others were blindfolded for long periods of time, the “vision center” of the brain soon began to be used for other functions. When people move to a house near a railroad, soon the sound of the trains is filtered out by their brains, and they lose conscious thought of the noise.

When it comes to miniaturization, the human body is also a marvel fearfully and wonderfully made. For instance, information needed for the replication of an entire human body, with every detail covered, is stored in the double-helix DNA strand found in the nucleus of each of the billions of cells in the human body. And the system of information and control represented by our nervous system is amazingly compact in comparison to man’s clumsy inventions of wires and optical cables. Each cell, once called a “simple” cell, is a tiny factory not yet fully understood by man. As microscopes become more and more powerful, the incredible vistas of the human cell begin to come into focus.

Consider the single fertilized cell of a newly conceived human life. From that one cell within the womb develop all the different kinds of tissues, organs, and systems, all working together at just the right time in an amazingly coordinated process. An example is the hole in the septum between the two ventricles in the heart of the newborn infant. This hole closes up at exactly the right time during the birth process to allow for the oxygenation of the blood from the lungs, which does not occur while the baby is in the womb and is receiving oxygen through the umbilical cord..

Further, the body’s immune system is able to fight off so many enemies and restore itself from the smallest repair (even repairing bad portions of DNA) to the largest (mending bones and recovering from major accidents). Yes, there are diseases that will eventually overcome the body as we age, but we have no idea how many times through a lifetime that our immune systems have saved us from certain death.

The functions of the human body are also incredible. The ability to handle large, heavy objects and to also carefully manipulate a delicate object without breaking it is also amazing. We can shoot a bow with the arrow repeatedly hitting a distant target, peck away quickly at a computer keyboard without thinking about the keys, crawl, walk, run, twirl around, climb, swim, do somersaults and flips, and perform “simple” tasks such as unscrewing a light bulb, brushing our teeth, and lacing up our shoes—again without thinking. Indeed, these are “simple” things, but man has yet to design and program a robot that is able to perform such a vast range of tasks and motions.

The function of the digestive tract and the related organs, the longevity of the heart, the formation and function of nerves and of blood vessels, the cleansing of the blood through the kidneys, the complexity of the inner and middle ear, the sense of taste and smell, and so many other things we barely understand—each one is a marvel and beyond man’s ability to duplicate. Truly, we are fearfully and wonderfully made. How grateful we are to know the Creator—through His Son, Jesus Christ—and to marvel not only at His knowledge but also at His love (Psalm 139:17-24).
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By Deborah Ese Ekperigin

Hello guys another day another Word. Chapter 5 is another long chapter; I will definitely need your help on this one. For those who have newly joined the project, I will quickly give a brief explanation about this wonderful project. Every book in the bible has its treasures and i thank God for each and every one of them. The project is going through the book of Isaiah and finding God’s treasures deposited for us. Isaiah means “the Lord saves" tells us about the past, present and the future. Please join us in going through this wonderful book. Feel free to contribute and ask questions, we are all learning as we go on. There are verses that might minister to you, please share.
Chapter 5.............
End Product: When you work soooo hard on something you always want to have a good end product especially when resources and time have been used on that product. It’s no different from God’s expectations from us, verse 1-4 talks about God's vineyard on a rich and fertile hill; he ploughed the land, cleared its stones and planted it with the best vines. In the middle he built a watchtower and carved a wine press in the nearby rocks, then he waited for a harvest of sweet grapes but the grapes that grew were bitter. It’s surprising the end product of this vineyard; it really hurts after seeing the care and time that had been given to this vineyard.
Photo:Isaiah's Lips Anointed with Fireby Benjamin West (1782, Bob Jones University Museum and Gallery).


When you read further you will understand that this well kept vineyard is no different from God's people ( You and I ) , he put us on a land that is fruitful , but he did not end there he took away those things that would disrupt our growth ( some of these things we see and some of it we do not see, believe me if we knew some of the tribulations God has taken away from our lives without our knowing we will give thanks every second, the only ones we see are the ones he knows we can bear, he knows we can learn from them and give him the glory for it at the end of the day), but it did not end there he gave us guardian angels to watch over us 24/7 . After all this you would expect that he would want results immediately, but the Word says he WAITED for a harvest, he was patient and is still patient for you and I, although when he expects good fruits and when we end up producing bad fruits (sins) it's heart breaking. Let search ourselves today. Are we fruitful in God's kingdom, what fruits are we producing? What is the end product after all God has showered on our lives?


Daddy loves you: There are different ways love can be expressed; love should always be expressed in truth no matter the medium we use. Parents love their children, that’s why they provide for them, but also when they do wrong because of this love they correct them. It is no different with God. Revelation 3: 19 “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent”. God is not wicked when he disciplines, if he does not discipline then he is wicked. Some people are very indifferent about their sins/behaviours and act like this behaviours are right, God is patient but he will definitely discipline the disobedient ones. Verse 5 - 6 tells us what he will do with those that are not fruitful, disobedient, stubborn etc. He will break down those walls of protection and let strangers/animals trample on what that person has, he will stop growth and leave thorns instead. I pray that would not be our portion in Jesus name.



Rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer: if I am being totally honest, there is nothing wrong with rich getting richer or the poor getting poorer it all depends on how they get richer or poorer. If the rich are getting richer because of their hard work and dedication and the poor are getting poorer because of laziness and poor decisions then that's how life is, but there is a problem when the rich get richer at the expense of the poor. verses 8 - 10 talks about greedy people who keep it all to themselves, they spend soo much time acquiring earthly possessions they seem to forget they can't take it anywhere, they came to this world naked and will leave naked( with nothing). Now for those that God has blessed with riches, help the poor this can only add to the riches you already have. When you help the lowly it affects God as well.


Your time: Verse 11- 12 talk about what we use our time to do, there it talks about those that wake up early in the morning looking for a drink of alcohol and spend long evenings making themselves drunk and throw grand parties, the message is in verse 12 " but they never think about the Lord or notice what he is doing" what do we spend our time doing? he has given us 24hrs what are we doing with it, is there time to get to know him in our plans ( I am guilty of this at times), it necessarily does not have to be alcohol it could be anything that takes the time we should be spending with him. May God help us.


Repercussions: We should know the effect of our decisions. Verses 13-15 talks about what will happen to those that choose not to know God, they will starve, they will be swallowed by the earth they will be destroyed and brought down. Why go through all this when you have knowledge of the truth.


Baggage drop it!!!: Verse 18 says " What sorrow for those who drag their sins behind them, with ropes of lies, who drag wickedness behind them like a cart!! Sin is baggage as we drag it with us not only do we feel heavy, but more will be added, because sin attracts more sin. People are carrying sooo much baggage and garbage that they are getting too used to it, Christ died on the cross and took all this baggage from us, why do some of us want to go back, pick this baggage and carry it. Please DROP IT!!!!.


News of the World today: Verse 20 says " What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter" is that not what is happening in the world today, the ones that decide to do good are seen as the backward, while the ones that decided to follow the world, are seen as the wise ones. Cheating, murder, adultery, fornication, lies, bribery etc are now a norm in the world any other way is seen as foolishness, the man/woman that decides to be faithful to their spouse is seen as a fool who does not know what's in trend, the man/woman who decides to go about business the right way without lies/cheating is seen as slow or stupid, the girl/boy who decides to keep themselves till they get married are told they are only deceiving themselves, sleeping with your own sex is norm are you blind the whole world is doing it !!!!! The Lords anger is burning against those that are wise in their own eyes and think themselves so clever, who have rejected the law of the Lord of Heaven's armies.


Their end will be nothing to write home about, the last verse of this chapter verse 30b says " If someone looks across the land, only darkness and distress will be seen; even the light will be darkened by clouds" Does this sound familiar to you, listen to news today and see what’s happening around the world..... Natural disasters, inflation, fear, crimes etc


I pray none of us will be caught in this darkness in Jesus name.


Please feel free to contribute, I have left out some verses, you can contribute or add comments to what has been written.


I give God the glory for this note.


Have a lovely week people.


Ese signing out.

you can reach the writer on ese@systemini.net



COMMENTS FROM FACEBOOK !

The woes mentioned in verses 8-23 had the most impact on me. They provide a current meaning towards God and His word.

Vs 11 & 12- “Woe to those who rise early in the morning to run after their drinks, and stay up late at night till they are... inflamed with wine. They have harps and lyres at their banquets, tambourines and flutes and wine, but they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord, no respect for the work of His hands."

This verse is literal; it addresses a lifestyle of partying, getting drunk, ‘living life’. This epicure kind of living has become the norm. It’s no longer viewed as wrong but as having fun. I remember living this kind of live. For years, I drank and I partied like there was no tomorrow. I ‘lived life’. I did those things not because I wanted to but because it seemed cool and everyone was doing it so why not? I realized now and I have conversations with people that not because culture says something is fine does not mean it is fine with God. The amazing thing is He is such a forgiving God.

Vs 13-15, these verses pronounce judgment for the blatant disregard for Gods law. Vs 15 most especially; “So man will be brought low and mankind humbled the eyes of the arrogant humbled”.
The purpose of Gods judgment is to humble every man, not just the arrogant man. If we think we can do as we please, without the fear of God or His judgment, we do it more and keep doing it until arrogance sets in and then we become boastful in our ability to defy Gods word. The bible is full of accounts where the same pattern is followed.
“if I can get away with it, why not rebel?’ that’s the attitude of man. If our errors are not confronted, reproved and corrected they will only remain obstinate and we will be self confident in our arrogant disobedience. My sister for example has a very nonchalant attitude towards live. She doesn’t think she should call u when she travels out of the country and lives you in her house. She doesn’t think she is doing anything wrong and then you get mad at her but she is just so clueless as to why u are upset. Hahahahahahahaha, it’s funny now but not so when she does it.

Vs 21- "Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and clever in their own sight."
The bible is the clearest way to live a just life. It’s a constant struggle for me. I ask God to show me all the time but then I get a nudge saying, “how much clearer can God make things?” I digress….
Man's wisdom has crowded out the true knowledge of God to the point that those of us who still believe the Bible is the God Breathed Word and Will of God are looked upon as weird and crazy. Worldly wisdom rules in every school district in America and every secular university we attend. Is it any wonder that by the time most people graduate from college, they are lukewarm Christians at best?

Even though Satan was thrust out of God's presence because of his rebellion, he daily persuades countless people to believe he really won and that his systems of greed, lust and power are genuine and the other "god's" are inferior and wrong. And people believe him.
I am not allowed to have a conversation around religion at my job. Its against company policies. I still do indirectly because I have to let pple know that there is a supreme being greater than us all that is willing to be that comforter that they yearn for.

May the good Lord bless u all richly and may His word never depart from our hearts.



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President Goodluck Jonathan



A Peoples Democratic Party leader in Kwara, State, Chief Taiwo Popoola, on Thursday called on the people of the state to give their support to the Federal Government.


Popoola, in a statement made available to journalists in Ilorin, lauded President Goodluck Jonathan ”for what he has been able to do within a short time,” noting that if given the needed cooperation, the President would take the country to greater heights.


He called on the National Assembly to hasten the process of amending the electoral law and the constitution to give the Independent National Electoral Commission time to conduct credible polls.


He appealed to politicians to play according to the rules and eschew all traces of violence, adding that this was capable of undermining the success of the 2011 elections.


Popoola urged INEC to be just and impartial in the conduct of the 2011 elections and remove the perception by the international community that the country could not conduct free and fair elections.
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A letter to all Nigerians

Fellow Nigerians, it is with mixed feelings that I write this letter to you all. I am not happy with the present state of our dear country. Nigeria has no reason whatsoever to be where it is today.I have decided that despite my unhappiness with our current situation, our independence day is worth celebrating. There are some who can list countless reasons why there is nothing worth celebrating but there are also just as many reasons why we should celebrate.Nigeria has been through a lot of crisis which would have broken a lesser people since our colonial masters took their departure from our shores. We have been through several military coups, a civil war, several civil unrests and most recently religious wars which have become a recurring decimal in our lives.We musn‘t forget to add the militant uprising in the Niger Delta and subsequent kidnappings, which the rest of the country caught on like wild fire. Despite all these, Nigeria has tottered on the brink of war and back. We have refused to let our troubles break us. What we should be celebrating on October should be our resilience. It is only in Nigeria that a people would resort to making their homes and living amongst refuse dumps when life becomes unbearably tough.While our leaders clink their glasses and give national broadcasts, they should bear it in mind that beneath the seeming docility of our people is a rising resentment.We might be a hopeful, resilient race but hope is useless when we are determined to do what is wrong.
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