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Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon have finally revealed the names of their newborn twins: Their son’s name is Moroccan Scott Cannon and daughter is Monroe Cannon! Interesting to say the least!
Take a look at the announcement on Mariah’s official Twitter account:
The people on this list are not as notorius as Bin Laden, but they are fugitives wanted for crimes that range from murder and fraud to terrorism and alleged conspirators. Some names may be familiar for their connections to Bin Laden and others have flown under the radar.
Here are some of the people, in the US and outside of our borders, that will be taking up the FBI’s time.
Miracle landing caught on video:
Russian aviation officials have launched an urgent investigation after a passenger plane went berserk and began ‘dancing’ in the sky shortly after take-off.
An amateur video of the incident shows the Tupolev Tu-154 heading for what appeared to be disaster as it lurched wildly at low altitude.
The jet, owned by the Russian Air Force, was on a test flight to a repair centre after more than ten years in storage when it developed the wobbles.
Scroll down to see dramatic video
Scroll down to see dramatic video
Plane crazy: Russian aviation officials have launched an urgent investigation after this Tupolev Tu-154 passenger plane went berserk and began 'dancing' in the sky shortly after take-off
The severe loss of control happened just minutes after take-off from Chkalovsky airfield near Moscow last week, forcing the pilots to immediately return to base.
The airmen managed to land the shaking jet on their second attempt, wrestling the ageing plane to the ground despite the aircraft banking and pitching dangerously.
Observers at the airfield praised the pilots and claimed their cool heads avoided scores of casualties among military personnel and local civilians.
Danger: The Tupolev Tu-154 pitched wildly from one side to the other after take-off
Amazingly, no one was injured during the emergency landing and the three-engine medium-range aircraft escaped without a single scratch.
Military sources claimed there had been a massive failure in the plane’s control system causing it to behave erratically.
Officials in Moscow are now probing whether any flight security laws were broken during the test flight and are refusing to rule out criminal charges.
Cheer they go: The expert Russian pilots somehow managed to wrestle the plane safely to the ground and were greeted hearty applause by on-lookers
‘The military prosecutor's office has begun an investigation to establish the cause of the incident that could have led to an air crash,’ a spokesman for the Office of the Military Prosecutor said.
The Soviet designed Tupolev TU-154 has been involved in more than 100 serious incidents since entering service in the early 1970s.
Russia’s transport watchdog ordered all airlines to ground the jets after a Kolavia Airlines Tu-154 exploded in a fireball in Siberia in January, killing three people.
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As the nation marks the first anniversary of the death of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua today, prominent Nigerians have eulogised him.
Senate Deputy Minority Whip, Senator Kabiru Gaya described Yar’Adua as a great leader, who despite his failing health, worked hard to entrench enduring legacy in the country.
He said: "He was a great leader, who thought and felt that he could bring about positive change, and he indeed brought about change. He spearheaded the electoral reforms, and with his inaugural speech, he created the atmosphere for free and fair election in the country.
"Yar’Adua considered the Southsouth as his primary constituency, by initiating the amnesty programme, which has led to the reduction in the restiveness in the Niger Delta region and led to the creation of job opportunities for the restive youths, especially the militants in the region. Amnesty is a blessing to Nigeria.
"Remember that he also tackled the Boko Haram uprising in the north and restored security in the country. I urged President Jonathan to follow his footsteps and actualize the dreams that Yar’Adua had for this country."
The Special Adviser to former President Shehu Shagari on National Assembly Matters, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai said it was unfortunate that the Seven-point Agenda, which was initiated by the Yar’Adua/Jonathan administration, was abandoned.
"What the nation is missing most is the abandonment of the Seven-point Agenda, a programme jointly initiated by the Yar’Adua/Jonathan ticket.
"I do hope that President Jonathan would use his second mandate to revisit the seven point agenda and implement it to the letter."
He paid glorying tributes to late President Yar’Adua for laying the foundation for the conduct of free, fair and credible election in the country.
"Yar’Adua initiated the electoral reforms and set up the Justice Uwais Committee. Out of the 90 recommendations, Yar’Adua forwarded 86 proposals to the National Assembly, and I think that formed the basis for credible election we just had."
He said Nigeria would have attained the 6,000 megawatts benchmark of electricity, if he had lived.
A former Civilian Governor of Katsina State Alhaji Lawal Kaita said Nigeria would not have been able to improve its electoral system were it not for the foundation laid by the late President.
Kaita added that the late President worked towards ensuring the restoration of peace in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, noting that Yar’Adua enshrined the principle of rule of law in the nation.
By Myne Whitman
When you have no one you love or care for, you easily convince yourself sex doesn’t really matter. It’s no big deal, you say to anyone who raises an eyebrow, or asks. I am strong you persuade yourself on those nights you go out with friends to catch that romantic comedy with those beautiful love scenes.
Hmmmmm. I tell you it is not easy. Abstinence is not what nature planned for a healthy human body. You hit puberty and the hormones start raging in your system. You read mills and boon and thrills and boon and sex is this earth shattering experience. You read Joan Collins and Harold Robbins and the raunchy aspects are described in titillating detail. The blood pools in certain parts of your body and you can’t wait to meet your own love and share sex with him.
Why abstinence then? You are a teenager and your body is so ready, more than ready. But you are filled with romantic fantasies of there being just one person with whom it would be special. You also remember all the sunday school lessons you attended and if you’re like me, what the catechist made you vow before your confirmation. The years creep by and you become mature enough to realise that you are not emotionally ready no matter how much your body screams for it. You go back to your bible roots and tap some strength from being born again.
Abstinence. Sometimes you ask yourself, what does it really mean? If you make out with your transient boyfriends, does that count? Afterall you did get some pleasure and maybe an orgasm or two from them. You recreate these episodes in your mind those days during your cycle when you are so easily aroused. And if you’re like me you put yourself in the dock those nights you wake up horny from the erotic dreams stalking subconscious. There is afterall that guy that wanted to be your **** buddy.
The years continue to pass and you still abstain. Some of your secondary school friends get married, get pregnant and you wonder at their new found confidence. Your university mates are sexually active and talk about all manner of stuff in your presence. Sometimes you own up to your inexperience and if the company is hostile, you brazen it out with knowledge gleaned from books. You cringe when they mention their numerous abortions, are disgusted when they crawl back to abusive BFs just for the sex and your decision is strengthened.
But does that strengthen your body? Not for me. A case of the spirit being willing and the flesh weak. You help yourself out sometimes and other times you go out with that guy that has been hanging around and allow him cop a feel. Most of the time though you stiffen your upper lip and go to sleep. Your guilty conscience makes you backslide. Furthermore, trying to get busy with church shows up the corrupt underbelly and you lose faith. The choirmaster and the solo singer are having sex so why do you bother? The pastor and his wife wear only Armani and Prada while Brother Puis and his family starve so why do you bother?
You are almost an atheist but you know that’s not possible. You hold on to your decision but it’s no more for God. Some of your friends you shared the pact with had either fallen by the wayside or gotten married. You’re approaching your big 3-0 and your closest friend tells you it’s only fear holding her back. It is no more strength of will. It is no more saving it for that one special guy. The other says its just that after rejecting all the previous eligible suitors, why give it up to some of the yeye people coming around now. What to do? Your crown has become a millstone around your neck.
Then that friend gives in to one of those not so eligible guys, and he marries her after a bit. She’s lucky isn’t she? He’s a bachelor anyways unlike the majority married men that trail after you like flies to raw meat. There is one left and so you console yourself. Then out of the blues, she calls you. I have done it. Done what you ask? Had sex and girl it is so overrated, she blurts. You have heard that before but hearing it from her makes your heart plummet. Is that it? All that you’ve been looking forward to?
But that’s not the end. Did I say it was not easy? If anyone tells you abstinence is easy, they’re fibbing big time. You are now dating a guy you love more than all the others. He loves you so much and also understands you stance, he is ready to wait. But your friend is on your neck. Ahhh it gets better. The more you have sex, the better it becomes. She is having the time of her life and she wants you to join the league. Bobo is making subtle moves and your body is feeling him. A lot. What to do?
It is not easy I tell you. However, at the end of the end, it a decision you have to make yourself.
The new federal universities created by President Goodluck Jonathan across the six geopolitical zones are in Kogi, Taraba, Ebonyi, Jigawa, Bayelsa, Gombe, Ekiti, Nasarawa and Katsina states.
Minister of Education, Professor Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i, speaking with newsmen after declaring open a two-day retreat for vice chancellors and registrars of the newly approved fourth generation federal universities, expressed the need to have a trim number of students in the universities in order to regulate the product of the institutions.
She urged the vice- chancellors to ensure strict compliance with the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) guidelines on the carrying capacity of the universities set up as specialised institutions, saying, “we really want to have control so that we can have more effective teaching and quality graduates in these institutions.
“The issue of carrying capacity is a directive because we do not intend to have more than we can carry. Actually, we want to start with 100 or 200 per session so that by the time the universities are on full stream, we do not intend to have more than 500 students per session,”the minister declared.
President Jonathan had approved the appointments of vice-chancellors and registrars for the newly established universities while a committee headed by the executive secretary of the NUC, Professor Julius Okojie, was inaugurated to develop the Academic Brief and Physical Master Plan of the universities.
Written by Oluwole Ige
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
THE tradition of African tribal marks dates back to the 14th century and forms part of the rich culture of the black race, most especially in Nigeria. At that point in time, people attached so much importance to tribal scars for various reasons.
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Tribal marks were a result of religious beliefs passed down from family to family, either as hearsay or just a common societal norm, usually as relating to a particular god or deity.
Similarly, Africans of old viewed tribal marks as a means of proper identification of people from different neighbourhoods. Members of the same village, family tree or lineage had the same tribal marks. The hometown, village and lineage of a child or anyone with tribal marks were quickly known and therefore, outsiders, who did not have such marks, were immediately spotted.
Parents also used tribal marks to lend credence to the legitimacy of their children. Hence, a tribal mark on a child is a way of a father acknowledging that he or she is a legitimate child. Some marks run as parallel grooves from forehead, through the temple and cheek to the chin and are complemented with accessory marks from the medial canthus of the eyes downward. Each ethnic group has its own unique pattern.
For example, vertical marks, one on each cheek, identify Ondo men and women. Three horizontal marks on each cheek reveal the identity of Oyo people. To those literate in markings, a mere glance at someone's face is sufficient to read that person's ethnic group, town, or even family.
However, the ancient custom of tribal marks is fast fading away in the country. In its place, people are now embracing tattoos to either beautify their bodies or for spiritual and other purposes.
Because of the fact that marking is usually done to youngsters, most Nigerians whose faces bear ethnic marks had little choice in the matter. When they become parents, however, they often decide not to give their children facial marks. The pain and risk of infection along with scorn and discrimination the child may face later in life are all factors that make parents reject facial marking. Clearly, the popularity and acceptance of facial marks are waning. Individuals now prefer that their "identity card" should be in the wallets, not on their faces anymore.
Beside, the Nigerian government has moved to outlaw the practice, but many states are yet to approve the law. Some human rights organisations also argued that the scarring of children amount to gross abuse.
However, regardless of their efforts, facial scars are becoming harder to find for different reasons, including the displacement of the old ways by the Western influence.
The upsurge in the transmission of HIV/AIDS, which is believed in the medical circles to be largely contracted through unprotected sexual intercourse and sharing of sharp objects, has gone a long way to play down the custom of tribal marks. This was evident in the resolve of the government to ban genital mutilation, circumcision and other traditional acts that involve the laceration of skin with sharp knives or instruments. Long before the awareness programmes on AIDS, many innocent people, mostly children, who were subjected to tribal marks laceration, had inadvertently been infected with the deadly HIV virus, a development that compelled Osun and Ekiti state governments to recently outlaw the practice of tribal marks and female genital mutilation. Sharp instruments used by the locales to inscribe the tribal marks were not sterilised, thus exposing kids, even adults, to the risk of HIV/AIDS.
While the custom of tribal marks is losing its ground, many individuals, who bear facial markings hold divergent opinions on the merits and demerits of such native identifications.
Reactions of people who interact with them on interpersonal basis somehow dampen their spirit or lower their self esteem.
It is common to hear people refer to an individual as colonel, only to discover that he is not a member of the armed forces, but the stripes on his cheeks are the same number as that of the stripes on the uniform of a colonel in the Army. Some are called tiger, because of their striped cheeks or some are referred to as everlasting tears. Just as the marks and reason for them vary greatly, so do attitudes concerning them. Many wear the marks with pride, considering it as an insignia of patriotism, which makes them feel like true sons of their ancestors while others detest it strongly.
Jimoh Adedoyin, a 65-year -old, who has tribal markings on his face said, "I have never felt bad about my Oyo marks, because they shows that I am a real Yoruba indigene from the town of Alaafin". He further related how in 1967 the marks saved his life during the Nigerian civil war. "The house where I lived was invaded and all other persons were gruesomely killed. The murderers did not touch me because of the marks on my face".
Baring his mind on the benefits and disadvantages of facial tribal marks, Mr Adeleke Ajai, who earned a degree in Psychology at the University of Lagos, remarked thus, "what is a matter of pride for someone with marks on his cheeks, when among his own clansmen, becomes a reproach, because of the ridicule and contempt which is meted out to him in other parts of the country"
On the other hand, Tajudeen Gbolagade expressed regrets over his facial marks. In an interview with the Nigerian Tribune, he said, "I hate it, and I curse the day it was inflicted on me. The marks really disfigure my face and make me feel terrible anytime I look into the mirror. What pains me most is that there is nothing I can do to erase it from my cheeks".
A teenager girl, who pleaded anonymity, praised her mother for not allowing her to be subjected to the operation as a child. She said: "I would have considered suicide if I had been given the marks".
Perhaps the toughest trials are endured in schools by young students, with facial marks. Adejuwon Samuel was the only one in his class with facial marks. He recounted his experience. "In school I was made fun of a lot. My mates would call me 'railway line' and the boy with the railway line. They were always making jest of me and would raise three fingers to indicate the tribal lines on my cheeks. It made feel inferior".
How did he cope with all the bullies? Samuel continued, "One day, the jesting was so intense that I went to my Biology teacher and asked him if it was possible to remove the marks. He told me that it could be done through plastic surgery but that I should not bother because thousands of Nigerians had marks. He said my peers were making fun of me because they were not mature, assuring that when we grewup all the jesting would stop. He also lifted my spirit by saying that the marks did not determine what I really was or what I would become.
"That made me feel much better, and the bad feeling I had regarding the marks disappeared. People seldom refer to my marks now. Even when they do refer to them, I just smile. My relationship with others is not impaired. People respect me because of what I am, not due to the marks I have", Samuel asserted.
The latest vogue in town, which is submerging the hitherto dominance of tribal mark is tattoo. It is a marking made by inserting indelible ink into dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment for artistic, ritualistic or other reasons. Tattoos on humans are a type of decorative modification.
Today, people choose to be tattooed for cosmetic, sentimental and sexual drive. Some individuals also inscribe tattoos on their skins for religious and magical considerations and to symbolise their belonging to or identification with particular groups, including criminal or streets gangs.
A critical look at most of the people wearing tattoos on their bodies, most especially women or ladies indicates that they do it, mainly to attract men.
The primary aim is to lure or seduce men into sexual activities. Towards this end, these tattoos are conspicuously engraved in sexually provocative regions of their bodies such as the breasts and buttocks. Hence, it is a common scene to sight some girls, seating behind commercial motorcyclists as they often display the tattoos on the upper region of their buttocks by wearing skimpy dresses, which expose the tattes to public view.
Fathia Anjola, an undergraduate in one of the universities in the South-West, who also has tattoo on her chest, however, disagreed with the notion that some girls or women tattoo their bodies to attract men. According to her, "I don't believe that most girls with tattoos are all out to woo men.
Personally, my tattoo is done for decoration or what I may term beautification purpose. Therefore, I have no ulterior motive of luring or seducing men with it".
In an interview with the Nigerian Tribune, the Aare Latosa of Yorubaland, Arole Mabinuori Adegboyega, traced the history of tribal marks, particularly in the South- West to the ancestors and forefathers, who had existed in the 14th century. According to him, "there were many people from Oyo, Oke Ogun, Osun, Ekiti and other parts of Yorubaland. Our forefathers now decided to do something distinct that would enable them to recognise their children. That was the genesis of tribal marks. In those days, if you didn't have a facial mark, you were nothing".
He continued, "The traditional set-up was very important at that time. Then, there were criminals in the society. How do you recognise or know where they come from without tribal marks? So the marks went a long to assist our forefathers in proper identification of a specific neighbourhood, ethnic and family lineage that anybody came from", adding that when a child committed an offence or got involved in any vice, the community would not rebuke him, by saying that "we know his roots or where he comes from".
Arole Adegboyega, who is versatile in the Yoruba culture and tradition, observed that individuals from the royal lineage cherish the custom of tribal marks in Nigeria and Africa as a whole, stressing that "you can vividly recognise somebody from Oyo Alaafin or Aaare Latosa family in Oke-Are, Ibadan through his or her facial marks, which are peculiar to their families"
While commenting on the overriding influence of tattoos on the age long tribal marks, he recalled that tattoos originated from Africa, pointing out that "our forefathers had done so much to beautify the body of their children and the Western countries emulated the inscription of tattoos from the African continent".
Arole Adegboyega noted that it was time for the tribal marks to go into oblivion because they had been in practice over a long period of time. "When you are doing something for over 100 years, it will surely fade away. The only thing that is permanent in life is change. The building we are constructing now are different from the ones we had in the ancient times.
"The custom of tribal marks is no longer fashionable. Even, the tattoo that seems to be replacing it are not all that visible because they are mostly hidden or covered by clothes, except those ladies that inscribe it in conspicuous parts of their bodies. What replaces tribal marks today is our behavioural pattern and mode of doing things. Perseverance, good character and patience are virtues that have taken the place of tribal marks in Yoruba land", he explained.
On the need to revive the cultural heritage of tribal marks, the traditionalist said, " I subscribe to the resuscitation of the African culture, but not facial marks. What we can do to replace the tribal marks is for the parents to bring their children up in the right way, with much emphasis on moral uprightness and honesty. Teach them humility, love and respect, such that they can bring glory not only to the family but also to their immediate community and country at large," he said.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday rearrested the former chief executive officers of AfriBank, Finbank, Union and Intercontinental banks and eight other directors in Lagos. According to Femi Babafemi, the commission’s spokesperson, the arrests were based on fresh discoveries. While confirming the arrest of Erastus Akingbola, the former managing director of Intercontinental Bank who was out on bail after a series of court appearances, Mr Babafemi said: “These are fresh charges but they are related — not only him, but three other former MDs (managing directors) and eight other directors; about eleven of them are arrested.”
Mr Babafemi, however, did not give details of the names of the eight directors that were arrested and when they might be charged to court.
“I know Akingbola will be charged to court tomorrow,” he said.
Mr Babafemi also confirmed that Sebastian Adigwe of Afribank, Bartholomew Ebong of Union Bank and Okey Nwosu of Finbank who were also rearrested would soon be charged to court.
Lamido Sanusi, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, had been in office for barely two months when he sacked the CEOs on August 14, 2009 and replaced them with new management. Mr Sanusi said that in building public confidence in the Nigerian banking system, the CBN would exercise zero tolerance on professional and unethical conduct.
“We will not allow any bank to fail,” Mr Sanusi said that Friday morning while announcing the sacking of the bank chiefs and the injection of about N420 billion into the rescued banks. “However, we will also ensure that officers of banks and debtors who contribute to bank failures are brought to book to the full extent of the law and that all proceeds of infraction are confiscated where legally feasible.”
Mr Sanusi also released the banks’ bad debt numbers which totalled over N716 billion. Oceanic Bank was owed N278.204 billion in nonperforming loans; Intercontinental, N210.903 billion; Afribank, N141.856 billion; Union N73.582 billion; and FinBank, N42.445 billion.
Plea bargaining
Sacked managing director of Oceanic Bank, Cecilia Ibru, has already pleaded guilty to the charges and forfeited N191 billion worth of assets and bagged an 18-month suspended jail sentence in the process. Mrs Ibru was released after six months due to poor health. The remaining suspects have been on trial since their sack. They were charged for various offenses including conspiracy to grant unsecured credit facilities, conspiracy to manipulate share prices, reckless consideration of credit facilities without adequate security and failure to present their monthly statements of account to the Central Bank. The anti-graft agency said then that the charges could still be amended as the trial progressed. Mr Nwosu of Finbank was arraigned on an 11-count charge. Mr Akingbola was on the run for over a year before his return last year. Other directors of Intercontinental Bank that have been arraigned include Raymond Obieri, Samuel Adegbite, Christopher Adebayo, Olusegun Ajibola, Sunny Adams, Isiyaku Umar and Bayo Dada who were all remanded in EFCC custody before they were eventually granted bail. They were arraigned on a 27-count charge.
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Lime Wire's day of reckoning is here by Greg Sandovalhttp://bit.ly/k17Uyt
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Mark Gorton and Lime Wire pocketed millions by enabling people to obtain songs online without paying for them. Now, Gorton and his company could end up paying damages of over $1 billion.
In a New York federal court this week, the four largest record companies will try to prove that it was Gorton's own greed that drove him to continue operating Lime Wire, the company behind the highly popular file-sharing service LimeWire, though they warned him years ago to stop and fellow peer-to-peer operators advised him to cut a deal. Gorton continued to defy the top labels even after their trade group, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), filed a copyright suit against him in 2006 and after the courts had issued unfavorable rulings against operations like his.
Starting this week, a jury will be asked to decide the amount Gorton and Lime Wire must pay in damages to the four major labels. Jury members can choose any amount between $750 and $150,000 for each infringing work. That's the range for copyright damages set by Congress. In this case, the RIAA seeks damages for 9,715 albums. That means Gorton doesn't walk out of the courtroom for less than $7.2 million. If the jury finds him liable for the maximum, he will owe about $1.4 billion.Gorton could not immediately be reached for comment.
The RIAA won its copyright case a year ago, when U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood found that Gorton and Lime Wire were liable for "willful" infringement. In October, she ordered the company to shut down operations. After that the only question left to answer was how much Gorton would be required to pay and whether the RIAA can collect.
Based on the way these things typically go, expect the music industry to win a judgment that will likely exceed Gorton's personal net worth. He could then attempt to file for bankruptcy and discharge the judgment that way. The music labels would dispute his bankruptcy claim, noting that he was found liable of willful copyright infringement and then try to prove his actions were malicious. Typically those found liable of willful and malicious copyright infringement aren't allowed to shed judgments because of a bankruptcy claim. If I'm correct, then following all that, the labels will need to find Gorton's assets. Some of them won't require too much searching. Records show that Gorton owns a $4 million home on Manhattan's Upper West Side.
For the music industry though, the case isn't just about dollars and cents. The LimeWire software was downloaded more than 150 million times and was one of the top file-sharing services. More than 90 percent of the service's file-sharing traffic was pirated material and the cost to the music sector was in the billions, the RIAA has alleged.
Lime Wire was the last of its kind. There aren't any more mainstream U.S.-based companies accused of employing music piracy as a business strategy. With Lime Wire's demise, the RIAA can now boast that they've driven file-sharing services underground or overseas. In addition, by taking down the company and possibly hefting huge debt onto Gorton's shoulders, the music industry has turned LimeWire and Gorton into a powerful cautionary tale.
In discussions with several copyright hardliners from the music sector, I've seen that for them Lime Wire's legal undoing is a story about justice and retribution.
To his music industry critics, Gorton, who is 44 and also operates a hedge fund as well as a software business, is little more than a digital-music carpetbagger. He swooped in after Napster exposed the industry's vulnerability to file sharing and before the courts had yet to rule on the legality of operations like his.
RIAA lawyers will likely tell the jury that even after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the 2005 landmark case of MGM Studios v. Grokster that peer-to-peer services could be sued for inducing copyright violations Gorton refused to clean up his act.
His competitors--Grokster, Kazaa, BearShare, WinMX, and eDonkey--either went legitimate or closed down. That left Lime Wire in charge of file sharing during the 2000s. The service went from a file-sharing market share of 3 percent in 2004 to nearly 80 percent by 2007, according to research firm NPD Group.
During the same period, Lime Wire's annual revenue grew from $6 million in 2004 to $20 million two years later.
The only changes Gorton appeared to make were moving personal assets into trusts controlled by his family.
According to testimony from Lime Wire's former CEO as well as from Gorton's own deposition with RIAA lawyers, he transferred his money to "protect the assets in the event of a legal judgment against me personally."
Gorton suggested in an interview last year with The New York Times that he was "naïve" about the legal issues involved. Some who used to work with Gorton say that isn't true.
Ted Cohen, a long-time music industry exec who now is a consultant for digital-music services, was hired in 2006 by Gorton and Lime Wire to "take them legal" Cohen wrote in a blog post last December. According to Cohen, after he wrote an opinion piece in Billboard magazine that the labels should license Lime Wire in "its then-current state" and after he began to set up meetings with the record companies, the plan was scrapped unexpectedly by Gorton.
"LimeWire's owner, called me to express his displeasure with my editorial position," Cohen wrote. "He said he had no intention of paying a dime to artists, labels or publishers and I should not be stating anything to the contrary. When I reminded him that he'd hired me to get LimeWire agreements with the rights holders, he said all he wanted me to do was to get them to leave him alone. I told him that wasn't going to happen...I knew it was not going to be a happy ending."
Greg Sandoval covers media and digital entertainment for CNET News. Based in New York, Sandoval is a former reporter for The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times.
Article extracted from: http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20059366-261.html?tag=topImage2
ABBOTTABAD, Pakistan – When a woman involved in a polio vaccine drive turned up at Osama bin Laden's hideaway, she remarked to the men behind the high walls about the expensive SUVs parked inside. The men took the vaccine, apparently to administer to the 23 children at the compound, and told her to go away.
The terror chief and his family kept well hidden behind thick walls in this northwestern hill town they shared with thousands of Pakistani soldiers. But glimpses of their life are emerging — along with deep skepticism that authorities didn't know they were there.
Although the house is large, it was unclear how three dozen people could have lived there with any degree of comfort.
Neighbors said they knew little about those inside in the compound but bin Laden apparently depended on two men who would routinely emerge to run errands or to a neighborhood gathering, such as a funeral. There were conflicting details about the men's identities. Several people said they were known as Tariq and Arshad Khan and had identified themselves as cousins from elsewhere in northwestern Pakistan. Others gave different names and believed they were brothers.
Arshad was the oldest, and both spoke multiple languages, including Pashto and Urdu, which are common here, residents said.
As Navy SEALs swept through the compound early Monday, they handcuffed those they encountered with plastic zip ties and pressed on in pursuit of bin Laden. After killing the terror leader, his son and two others, they doubled back to move nine women and 23 children away from the compound, according to U.S. officials.
Those survivors of the raid are now "in safe hands and being looked after in accordance to the law," the Pakistani government said in a statement. "As per policy, they will be handed over to their countries of origin." It did not elaborate.
Also unclear was why bin Laden chose Abbottabad, though at least two other top al-Qaida leaders have sheltered in this town. The bustling streets are dotted with buildings left over from British colonial days. These days it attracts some tourists, but is known mostly as a garrison town wealthier than many others in Pakistan.
Bin Laden found it safe enough to stay for up to six years, according to U.S. officials, a stunning length of time to remain in one place right under the noses of a U.S.-funded army that had ostensibly been trying to track him down. Most intelligence assessments believed him to be along the Afghan-Pakistan border, perhaps in a cave.
Construction of the three-story house began about seven years ago, locals said. People initially were curious about the heavily fortified compound — which had walls as high as 18 feet topped with barbed wire — but over time they just grew to believe the family inside was deeply religious and conservative.
The Pakistani government also pushed back at suggestions that security forces were sheltering bin Laden or failed to spot suspicious signs.
"It needs to be appreciated that many houses (in the northwest) have high boundary walls, in line with their culture of privacy and security," the government said. "Houses with such layout and structural details are not a rarity."
The house has been described as a mansion, even a luxury one, but from the outside it is nothing special. Bin Laden may have well have been able to take in a view of the hills from secluded spots in the garden, though.
The walls are stained with mold, trees are in the garden and the windows are hidden. U.S. officials said the house had no Internet or phone connection to reduce the risk of electronic surveillance. They also said residents burned their trash to avoid collection.
Those who live nearby said the people in bin Laden's compound rarely strayed outside. Most were unaware that foreigners — bin Laden and his family are Arabs — were living there.
Khurshid Bibi, in her 70s, said one man living in the compound had given her a lift to the market in the rain. She said her grandchildren played with the kids in the house and that the adults there gave them rabbits as a gift.
But the occupants also attracted criticism.
"People were skeptical in this neighborhood about this place and these guys. They used to gossip, say they were smugglers or drug dealers. People would complain that even with such a big house they didn't invite the poor or distribute charity," said Mashood Khan, a 45-year-old farmer.
Questions persisted about how authorities could not have known who was living in the compound, especially since it was close to a prestigious military academy.
As in other Pakistani towns, hotels in Abbottabad are supposed to report the presence of foreigners to the police, as are estate agents. Abbottabad police chief Mohammed Naeem said the police followed the procedures but "human error cannot be avoided."
Reporters were allowed to get as far as the walls of the compound for the first time, but the doors were sealed shut and police were in no mood to open them.
Neighbors showed off small parts of what appeared to be a U.S. helicopter that malfunctioned and was disabled by the American strike team as it retreated. A small servant's room outside the perimeter showed signs of violent entry and a brisk search. Clothes and bedding had been tossed aside. A wall clock was on the floor, the time stuck at 2:20.
Abbottabad has so far been spared the terrorist bombings that have scarred much of Pakistan over the last four years.
Like many Pakistani towns where the army has a strong presence, Abbottabad is well-manicured, and has solid infrastructure. Street signs tell residents to "Love Pakistan." The city also is known for its good schools, including some that were originally established by Christian missionaries.
Little girls wear veils while carrying Hannah Montana backpacks to school. Many houses in the outlying areas have modern amenities, but lie along streets covered with trash. Shepherds herd their flock of sheep along dusty roads just a few hundred yards from modern banks.
Al-Qaida's No. 3, Abu Faraj al-Libi, lived in the town before his arrest in 2005 elsewhere in northwest Pakistan, according to U.S. and Pakistani officials. Earlier this year, Indonesian terror suspect Umar Patek was nabbed at a house in the town following the arrest of an al-Qaida courier who worked at the post office. It is not clear whether Patek had any links with bin Laden.
Western officials have long regarded Pakistani security forces with suspicion, chiefly over their links to militants fighting in Afghanistan. Last year, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton caused anger in Pakistan when she said she found it "hard to believe" that no one in Islamabad knows where the al-Qaida leaders are hiding and couldn't get them "if they really wanted to."
But al-Qaida has been responsible for scores of bloody attacks inside Pakistan, including on its army and civilian leaders. Critics of Pakistan have speculated that a possible motivation for Pakistan to have kept bin Laden on the run — rather than arresting or killing him — would be to ensure a constant flow of U.S. aid and weapons into the country.
Suspicions were also aired in Pakistani media and on the street Tuesday.
"That house was obviously a suspicious one," said Jahangir Khan, who was buying a newspaper in Abbottabad. "Either it was a complete failure of our intelligence agencies or they were involved in this affair."
___
Associated Press Writer Chris Brummitt in Islamabad contribute to this report.
Here are more photos of the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan where Navy Seals killed Osama bin Laden. More to come soon, stay tuned on Twitter @pimpmy9jabook http://twitter.com/pimpmy9jabook
This undated artist rendering handout provided by the CIA shows the Abbottabad compound in Pakistan where American forces in Pakistan killed Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. (CIA)
Does not look like $1 million dollars in my book. Maybe in California.
The area of a compound where it is believed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden lived seen in Abbottabad, Pakistan on Monday, May 2, 2011. (AP / Anjum Naveed)
Pakistani authorities beefed up security around a compound of the U. S. consulate after killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, in Karachi, Pakistan on Monday, May 2, 2011. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)
Osama bin Laden used his youngest wife as a human shield in the minutes before he was shot dead
Obama administration's insistence that DNA tests prove body is 'virtually 100% match' fails to silence calls for graphic evidence
The official US version of Osama bin Laden's killing is being questioned around the world, with doubters asking why they have not yet seen stills or video footage of the raid, his corpse or his burial at sea.
The White House said it was considering whether to release photos of Bin Laden after he was killed, but admitted the photos were "gruesome". Press spokesman Jay Carney said officials were concerned about the "sensitivity" of releasing any photos, but "there is not some roiling debate here about this."
Asked if President Obama is involved in the photo discussion, Carney said the president is involved in every aspect of the issue.
The Obama administration earlier insisted it used advanced DNA techniques to find a "virtually 100% match" of the body with DNA taken from relatives of Bin Laden. Face-mapping software was also used.
But doubts persist – especially online. "Is Bin Laden Really Dead Or Is This Some Conspiracy Bullsh*t The Government Is Feeding Us??? Something To Think About," asked Hiphopwired.com.
"Talk about perfect timing! Right when the president's approval rating is at an all-time low, and just as he prepares his re-election campaign, look who he discovers hiding under a rock? What a way to kick some life into his career?"
Participants in jihadi website forums also expressed doubts about the killing. "How sound is the news of the martyrdom of Sheikh Osama bin Laden?" asked a member of the Ansar forum. Another said: "God willing, [this] news is not true. Catastrophic if it is authentic."
On Islamic Awakening one sympathiser wrote: "I will wait for the mujahideen to confirm this, and will not believe until I see a picture of his dead body."
Zabiullah Mujaid, a Taliban spokesman in Afghanistan, said in a statement to journalists: "This news is only coming from one side, from Obama's office, and America has not shown any evidence or proof to support this claim.".
American right-wingers were sceptical and scornful. On the Free Republic forum, a poster called salamander wrote: "The commie muzzie usurper in chief had better release photos and videos toot sweet. WTF with this burial at sea before the body is cold? … Something about this smells."
In July 2003, the US faced criticism but succeeding in silencing most conspiracy theorists by releasing graphic photos of the corpses of Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay to prove that US forces had killed them. The bodies were embalmed for 11 days before being buried.
"We are looking at releasing additional information, details about the raid as well as any other types of material, possibly including photos," White House counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan said on ABC News's Good Morning America show. "We want to understand exactly what the possible reaction might be to the release of this information."
The DNA evidence that confirmed Bin Laden was dead came through in the morning after the assault at Abbottabad.
By that time, US intelligence officials were 95% certain they had their man. He was identified by those who took part in the raid and by a woman in the building said to be one of the fugitive's wives.
Further identification came from photographs of the body that were beamed back to CIA specialists who compared them with confirmed images of the al-Qaida leader.
The DNA test left little room for doubt, with one intelligence official telling reporters they had "a virtually 100% match" of the body against DNA taken from "several Bin Laden family members."
As a prioritised task, the DNA analysis could be completed within six hours, said Mark Jobling, a geneticist at Leicester University where DNA fingerprinting was invented.
The first step was to extract DNA from a swab of blood or saliva, a procedure that can be done with a commercial kit in minutes. The next stage was to create a DNA profile to check against those compiled long ago from Bin Laden's relatives.
A genetic profile is based on regions of DNA called short tandem repeats (STRs). These are parts of the genetic code where a sequence of "letters", such as GATA, repeats several times over. The number of times an STR repeats varies from person to person, but is crucially inherited from parents, passed on to children and shared with siblings. A typical genetic fingerprint shows how many times 10 or more STRs repeat in an individual.
The match was obtained when the genetic profile of the dead man was compared with profiles already worked up for Bin Laden's close relatives, such as his sister, who is reported to have died in a Boston hospital. A sibling of Bin Laden's would share half his DNA, but a much stronger match was possible with profiles from more relatives.
NOTE: These photos are NOT the real photos of bin Ladens death.
The real photos have not yet been released. These photos are circulating now, but Defense Dept. says they are old edited photos that have been around for a while. the photos of the homes are REAL though .
Rick Shell: Reporting Live – Osama or Usama bin Laden has been killed. US sources including the president, have confirmed the death of the top al-Qaeda leader, saying he has been killed in firefight following a US Navy Seals raid in Abbottabad.
The operation to kill bin Laden was launched earlier Sunday in Pakistan’s Abbottabad, a two-hour drive north of the capital Islamabad.
Bin Laden was killed in a firefight. No Americans were harmed.
US Navy Seals attacked the 3 story home where Bin Laden was in hiding. The Seals rappelled from Chinook and Blackhawk helicopters. A large firefight ensued.
The home was 8 x larger than others in area, built in 2005 in a largely unpopulated area that had since grown around the home.
The home was surrounded by 2 security fences and barbed wire.
2 brothers who worked for bin Laden reportedly lived in the home and were also killed.
Latest reports indicate that Bin Laden’s son was also killed. Other dead include the two brothers and one woman that may have been used as a bullet shield. . Apparently there were many people at the residence. U.S. forces took custody of bin Laden’s body and it was later buried at seain keeping with Islamic tradition which calls for a body to be buried within 24 hours in most cases.
There are also reports that two of bin Laden’s wives and four of his children were also captured during the operation. No confirmation yet on these reports.
US authorities received intelligence last September and were able to track bin Laden down through his couriers. They followed them to the compound and after weeks of surveillance, Navy Seals attacked.
DNA testing was conducted as well as facial recognition techniques to help formally identify him.
Oil and Silver have taken a dive and the US dollar has soared. It will be interesting to see the reaction of Wall Street in the next few hours.
In addition to 9/11 ( September 11, 2001) bin Laden has also been linked to a string of attacks including the 1998 bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and the 2000 bombing of the warship USS Cole in Yemen. More Indepth Updates forthcoming.
former chief security officer to the late Sani Abacha, a dictator who ruled the country between 1993 and 1998 - Hamza Al-Mustapha - is alive and well, says his lawyer. Olalekan Ojo, Mr Al-Mustapha's lawyer, said on telephone yesterday that he spoke with someone "who was with him early today (Monday) while he was playing tennis at the prison."
The fragile peace of Kano city was nearly shattered yesterday when news of the alleged murder of Mr Al-Mustapha at the Kirikiri Maximum Security Prisons broke. A press statement by his younger brother, Hadi, nearly stoked the embers of the fire more when it demanded that the federal government avail the family of the true position on Mr Al-Mustapha's current state.
"For days running, we have been inundated with several calls from well wishers and friends as well as other well-meaning Nigerians that want to ascertain the veracity of the truth of the rumour.
"We have made several unsuccessful attempts to get to the root of the matter. Most worrisome about this matter is that it has thrown the entire family, who are aware of the fact that there is no smoke without fire, into a state of frustration and apprehension," the statement read.
The statement added that the last time they saw Al-Mustapha was when he appeared in the court recently and that since then they had not heard from him.
"The last time we saw Major Hamza Al-Mustapha was in April when he put up one of his several appearances before a Lagos High court. We were already looking forward to his release after his case was closed for lack of witnesses to prove the charges preferred against him.
"Even the Lagos-based Court of Appeal corroborated this when the presiding judge ruled that the witnesses that would have proven the charges against him are all unreliable. This revelation that appears to have absolved Major Al-Mustapha, who has spent 13 years awaiting trial, came to us as a cheering development. We are very worried with the turn of events as we have been forced to call for the intervention of human rights organisations in and outside Nigerians first time."
Not entirely correct
But it appears the family did not give the total picture in its statement as Mr Ojo, the lawyer further claimed that he was with Al-Mustapha last week "and I'm also in touch with his younger brother who was with him last week." When contacted on phone at 5.45pm, Mr Ojo denied that his client had died saying, "It can never be true, because God forbid, if it had been true, I should have known about it in a matter of 30 minutes. I can authoritatively tell you that with what I know and also knowing the last time we were in touch; it is not true and can never be true."
Kano city recently erupted in spasmodic violence after supporters of Muhammadu Buhari, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) presidential candidate went on a rampage over their candidate's loss in the presidential elections of April 16. The Emir of Kano's palace in Dorayi was burnt just as the house of a former House of Representatives speaker, Umar Ghali Na'abba was set on fire. The house of the Galadima of Kano, who allegedly distributed money and fabric on behalf of President Goodluck Jonathan, was also burnt down.
History
Mr Al-Mustapha was arrested on October 22, 1998 and has since been in and out of the courts. He was arrested and arraigned in court for allegedly killing Kudirat Abiola, wife of the late Moshood Abiola, the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential elections, and attempted murder of former internal affairs minister, Alex Ibru.
He was recently acquitted of the charges in Mr Ibru's case.
The Lagos state police command said parents and guardians who assault their children and wards will be made to face the full wrath of the law.
This follows the arrest and prosecution of a housewife, Chigozie Godrick, for allegedly brutalising her ward, Ifunnaya Nwamba, 12.
Mrs Godrick was arrested last month following a petition to the police by the school authority at the Adeniyi Jones Primary School located at 1 Kudeti Street, Adekunle Village in Adeniyi Jones, where Miss Nwamba is a pupil, on repeated cases of brutality by her guardian Mrs Godrick.
Looking wrong
Miss Nwamba's classroom teacher, Mr Jimoh, noticed on April 8 that she had come to school that day with a swollen face and bruises all over her body.
Mr Jimoh took Miss Nwamba's case to the school authority and the girl, who was weak and groaning in pain, was taken to the hospital for treatment.
"After her treatment, Ifunnaya narrated her ordeal to the school authority. She stated that she was punished for her inability to wash Mrs Godrick's Nissan Sienna wagon properly. Ifunnaya is a little above four feet while the height of the car is above five feet so she was unable to wash the top parts of the car. So when her madam saw that the top of the car was not washed, she became angry and used the water hose to beat the poor girl," Mr Jimoh said.
Taking action
Following this brutality, the school authority, in a petition dated April 8 and addressed to the commissioner of police in the state, read in part:
"The management of Adeniyi Jones Primary School hereby petition the police command on the assault on one of our pupils Miss Ifunnaya Nwamba, a 12-year-old girl who was brutalised by her guardian (Mrs Chigozie Godrick). The girl claimed to have been battered as a result of her failure to wash her (Mrs Chigozie Godrick's) car to her satisfaction. This has been a re-occurring issue for the past two years. About a year ago, her back was bruised and when the management asked her, she said it was caused by hot oil poured on her by this same guardian. She claimed to have always beaten her with turning pestle, hose, pipes and wood with nails," read the petition.
The school also petitioned the executive chairman of the state's Universal Basic Education Board at Maryland, the Social Welfare, and the Guidance and Counselling Unit School services, through the education secretary of the local government education authority, who gave the school license to proceed with the case.
The police spokesperson Samuel Jinadu said the police will not hesitate to arrest and prosecute any parent or guardian who assaults their children and wards.
"The case was transferred to the Human Rights Department and the woman (Chigozie Godrick) was charged to court on April 14, 2011. Mrs Godrick was charged to the Ikeja Magistrate court," Mr Jinadu said.
NEXT gathered that Mrs Godrick was charged on a two-count charge of alleged assault and causing grievous bodily harm.
Miss Godrick, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges and was granted bail in the sum of N100,000. The case has been adjourned until May 23, 2011
Amnesty International has condemned a sharp rise in the rate of executions in public in Iran – which have included the first executions of juvenile offenders in the world this year.
Since the start of 2011, up to 13 men have been hanged in public, compared to 14 such executions recorded by Amnesty International from official Iranian sources in the whole of 2010. Eight of those executions have taken place since 16 April 2011.
On 20 April 2011, two juvenile offenders – identified only as “A.N” and “H.B” - were among three individuals hanged in public in Bandar Abbas, southern Iran, after being convicted over a rape and murder committed when they were only 17. A fourth man was hanged at the same time for rape.
“Yet again, Iran has distinguished itself by being the only country this year to execute juvenile offenders. No more juvenile offenders must die at the hands of the state,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme
“Not only were these young men executed for crimes committed when aged under 18, but their executions were carried out in public. Public executions are not only a violation of the right to life, but are a gross affront to human dignity which cannot be tolerated.”
On 16 April 2011, three men were also hanged in public in Shiraz for murder, armed robbery and kidnapping. A fourth man was hanged on the same day near Kazeroun in Fars Province after being convicted of four counts of murder.
Public executions in Iran are usually carried out by cranes which lift the condemned person by a noose around the neck. They are advertised in advance.
Iran is one of the only countries that still imposes the death penalty on juvenile offenders - those convicted of an alleged crime committed before they were 18 - and was the only country known to have executed a juvenile offender in 2010. Executions of juvenile offenders are strictly prohibited under international law.
UN human rights experts have made it clear that executions in public serve no legitimate interest and only increase the cruel, inhuman and degrading nature of this punishment.
“It is deeply disturbing that despite a moratorium on public executions ordered in 2008, the Iranian authorities are once again seeking to intimidate people by such spectacles which not only dehumanize the victim, but brutalize those who witness it,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui.
There was a sharp rise in the rate of executions in Iran in December 2010 and January 2011, with at least 86 people executed in January alone.
The rate fell significantly in February 2011, after international condemnation of the rise, but has risen again since the end of the Iranian New Year holiday in early April.
According to official sources, at least 135 people – ten in public - have been executed so far this year. Credible reports suggest over 40 others - three of which were said to have taken place in public in Salmas, north-west Iran, in February – have also taken place, which have not been acknowledged by the authorities.
UN human rights bodies have also stressed the need for states which carry out executions to be transparent about their use of the death penalty. The UN General Assembly has passed three resolutions calling for a worldwide moratorium on executions.
Article extracted from: http://www.amnesty.org