Miami (CNN) -- NASA plans a return to yesteryear by developing a space capsule that will carry humans into deep space, it announced Tuesday.

"We are committed to human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit and look forward to developing the next generation of systems to take us there," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said.

The new spacecraft, to be built by Lockheed Martin, will be known as the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, or MPCV. It will carry four astronauts and be based on designs originally planned for NASA's Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle, whose development was canceled by President Barack Obama.

NASA says astronauts would not fly onboard until at least 2016. NASA has not flown astronauts beyond low-Earth orbit since the Apollo program, in the 1970s.

"We hope to have test flights in this decade. We're not sure when but certainly as early as possible," said Douglas Cooke, NASA's associate administrator for exploration systems mission.

Like the Apollo spacecraft, which landed 12 men on the moon, the MPCV will splash down in the Pacific Ocean upon return to Earth. However, the new craft will be the 21st-century version: Much larger and 10 times safer to launch and land than the space shuttle, NASA says.

"We would have an abort system, all the way from sitting on the pad, to flying up, up and away. The space shuttle has never had that capability," Cooke said.

This new spacecraft is NASA's first step forward in its next great leap, as the U.S. space shuttle program heads into retirement.

Officials say this vehicle will be able to go to the moon or do a deep space mission to Mars. Any deep space mission would be accompanied by a larger compartment for the crew, Cooke said.

The MPCV is currently at Lockheed Martin's facility in Denver, undergoing testing.

NASA is hoping to start flying as soon as possible to close the gap in the U.S. manned space program. With the retirement of the space shuttle, expected in July, the U.S. will have to pay the Russian space agency to take astronauts back and forth from the station until the MPCV is ready.

NASA is also hoping that private, commercial companies will soon be able to fly astronauts to the space station in newly developed vehicles.

The original Orion spacecraft was part of NASA's Constellation program to take man back to the moon, and later, to Mars. That program was canceled.

In 2010, it was resurrected, and downsized to be used as a "lifeboat," in the event of an emergency on the space station. Five billion dollars have already been spent on Orion -- another reason to keep the design.

NASA has not yet developed a rocket powerful enough to propel this spacecraft out of Earth's atmosphere.

"As we aggressively continue our work on a heavy-lift-launch vehicle, we are moving forward with an existing contract to keep development of our new crew vehicle on track," Bolden said.

Obama has committed $3 billion for NASA to develop the heavy-lift-launch vehicle.

I've often heard Nigerians say, "you cant make it in Nigeria with being a corrupt citizen; in Nigeria, honesty doesn't pay". 
I often laugh when I hear such because it's obvious to me that people who believe such crap aren't using their heads. Because if they were, they would know that just isn't true.

Why would I say that? It's simple.Picture this:
When your car gets bad, which mechanic do you take it to? Is it the honest one or the corrupt one? When you are selecting a bank, is it the one that has a reputation  for fraud or the one that has integrity? When you want to buy a car, do you go to the corrupt car dealer or the one that will be honest with you?When you want to buy drugs, do you go to the pharmacy that has a reputation for selling fake drugs or the one that is known for selling only quality drugs?Even a bad man wants a good wife and a corrupt politician looks for those with integrity he can trust. 
I could go on and on giving your more examples.
So you see integrity is even in high demand in Nigeria because it is scarce.So it's absurd to say that you cant make it in Nigeria without being corrupt.

Harold Camping speaks! The 89-year-old Nostradamus from Northern California, who spent millions of his followers' dollars to get out the word that the world was ending on Saturday, has been noticeably silent since that day came and went rather unremarkably. But he's at last ready to talk — and oy, what a weekend. Don't get him started.

Appearing at his front door, sfgate.com reports, Camping told the crowd of journalists and angry followers that "it has been a really tough weekend."

[T]here was Camping, "flabbergasted" in Alameda, wearing tan slacks, a tucked-in polo shirt and a light jacket. [...]

"I'm looking for answers," Camping said, adding that meant frequent prayer and consultations with friends.

"But now I have nothing else to say," he said, closing the door to his home. "I'll be back to work Monday and will say more then."

Sure, easy for him to say! What about poor Robert Fitzpatrick, the former MTA employee we told you about earlier, who spent his savings on doomsday subway ads and billboards. Here's video of him being accosted by an angry mob in Times Square. Downside: No apocalypse. Upside: Jersey Boys is half-off at the TKTS booth! [sfgate, video via Daily What]

Over one-quarter of the performers who took part in 1991's Wrestlemania VII have died, a wrestling website noted in the wake of the death of "Macho Man" Randy Savage.
The Wrestling Observer newsletter discovered that 14 of the 51 performers at the event have died in the past 20 years, with many of the deaths attributed to drug use (link is subscription only).
The list of wrestlers who have died since 1991 include some of the biggest stars in the sport like Savage, Andre the Giant, Miss Elizabeth and The British Bulldog. Causes of death include suicides, murder and heart attacks, some the result of years of anabolic steroid use. Savage died last week after suffering an apparent heart attack behind the wheel of his truck. His ex-wife, Miss Elizabeth, passed away after overdosing on a variety of drugs in 2003.
Looking at the list is a sobering reminder of the realities of a make-believe sport like professional wrestling. Not all of the men and women listed played a part in their own demise; referee Joey Marella was the victim of a car crash that occurred when he was driving home from a match.

As wrestlinginc.com points out, none of the 44 starters from the Super Bowl played in 1991 have passed away and only two of 44 boxers who held a championship belt that year are gone.

At 58, Savage made it nearly a decade longer than some of his deceased colleagues.

Just recently John Campbell the former United States ambassador to Nigeria was denied visa by the Nigerian government to visit Nigeria where he was scheduled to speak at the graduation ceremony in the American University of Nigeria in Yola. A few months ago Nigeria spearheaded the unpopular call to forcefully oust Laurent Gbagbo of Cote d’Ivoire from power despite the fact that the Supreme Court of that country had ruled in favor of Gbagbo as the winner of the disputed election result. About the same time also Nigeria went contrary to the majority decision of members of the African Union concerning the Libyan Crisis. Nigeria signed to destabilize and destroy Libya by groups which recent facts coming out following the death of Osama bin Laden show that they may have connections with the international Islamic terrorist network, Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida.  

How do these stories connect? They are the pathetic painful tossing and thrashings of a diseased murderous monster at the throes of death. The ill-fated behemoth, Nigeria is choking in the blood of innocent children, women and men that it has murdered over several decades and it is spending the terminal stages of its existence throwing tantrums. And as it were, with soiled hands Nigeria is grabbing at every gossamer strand, weeds and straws, gasping and trying to save its last breath. Nigeria is drowning; in the blood of the slain Igbo/Biafrans and other Southern Christians, it is dying and it is blaming everyone else but itself. This is true to form of the country. Nigeria hates to hear the truth about itself which is why it is in pains anyway. The ambassador John Campbell is being blamed by Nigeria because he was sincere enough to be critical of Nigeria in his book; Nigeria: Dancing on the Brink. He alluded to the predictions on Nigeria’s inevitable destiny as pointed out by a research group.

The group that carried out the study has no link with the respected diplomat, Mr. Campbell. The published report which is accessible to the public has it that Nigeria will disintegrate into several countries along ethnic/cultural lines in the year 2015. This prediction by the group, of course is based on very sound and obvious conditions that are currently playing out and assuredly leading up to the fulfillment of the predictions by the dispassionate analysts.  Nigeria’s 2015 “doomsday” is actually freedom date, the time when all the peoples who had been falsely and forcefully subjugated in an inconvenient union shall be free.

The best thing that Nigeria can ever do to prevent the coming of that day is what they have just done; persecute and kill the messengers, those who tell them the truth, people like John Campbell. Of course Nigeria can do whatever they wish at this late hour, the Ambassador and other honest people the world over will have the last laugh because in about four years from now there will be nothing like Nigeria as we know it today. It would have disintegrated as the Ambassador and other people have foretold. One of the many important reasons why this will happen also comes from the same honest and bold Ambassador. This time was during the December 2010 annual event of Chinua Achebe Colloquium by the Brown University Rhode Island in the United States. In his speech titled: “The Niger Delta Crisis: The Political, Economic and Environmental Conundrum”  Mr. Campbell in his usual honest and sincere candor stated the obvious when he said that Niger Delta and its people are under colonial rule of both Nigeria’s government and the oil companies operating in the area. In his words the; “imperialists in that case are not some foreign country, but some other parts of Nigeria.”

(The Northern and Western Regions Islamic hegemony). And what is Libya’s connection in the equation? In March 2010 Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi had called for the division of Nigeria along ethnic/cultural lines to help end the endemic killings of innocents in Nigeria. At the time the Northern Islamic extremists had as usual slaughtered thousands of Igbo/Biafrans and other Southern Christians. When Libya’s Gaddafi made the call, Nigeria as expected, instead of acknowledging the truth of Gaddafi’s sincere statement went berserk. It expelled Libya’s ambassador to their country and recalled its own from Tripoli. That was Nigeria’s solution, the best foot it could and can ever put forward in all situations that require honesty and competence.  When Gaddafi made the very obvious and logical statement, Nigeria’s elite who are the beneficiaries of the vile system, feeding fat from the filthy Nigerian table which is continuously made viler daily with the spilled blood of Igbo/Biafrans and other Southern Christians shed by the Islamic North, called for the head of Gaddafi and when they could not have it waited for the opportunity that would present itself a year later. That opportunity came when the al-Qaida’s backed rebels capitalized on the popular uprising in the Arab world and struck to cause trouble in Libya, Nigeria cashed in.

Nigeria went against the consensus of the majority of the members of African Union and sided with the rebels of Libya. But the question is how long can the destruction of Libya help stave off the inevitable fate of Nigeria, the demise of a rudderless ship on a collision course with the jagged iceberg?  Cote d’Ivoire was among the five nations that gave recognition to the Republic of Biafra when she declared her independence from Nigeria on the 30th of May, 1967. Cote d’Ivoire as well as taking in Biafra’s Leader Emeka Ojukwu when he had to leave also took in a lot of Biafran survivors of the Nigerian Genocide in Biafra (3.1 million people were murdered by Nigeria between 1966 and 1970) and gave them safety and a new beginning. For that Nigeria never forgave Cote d’Ivoire. Nigeria saw Cote d’Ivoire as part of the obstructions that prevented them from finishing off their avowed human quarry, the Biafrans whom they wanted completely destroyed from the face of the Earth. So when the time came for Nigeria to get even with Cote d’Ivoire they championed the call to the regional body Economic Communities of West Africa, United Nations and France to use force and commit genocide on the Ivorian civilian population and destroy the country in spite of the illegality of their actions.

Nigeria had conducted elections in 2003 and 2007 and both elections were regarded as among the worst rigged elections of all time anywhere, by every standard. So one wonders where Nigeria gets its moral strength from to justify their support of removal of anyone accused of electoral malpractice if it were not the case of the kettle calling the pot black. With all that go on in and about Nigeria one keeps wondering just how some Nigerian commentators who of course are serving as the Islamic Northern Nigeria’s mouthpiece could find time to focus on Middle East issues. Recently one of them in an article went to the ridiculous level of calling on United States to break from her relationship with Israel. The writer’s insane reason for the call is that some 12 Nakba multiple-border protesters of Israel’s right to existence were killed when they rushed at border fences and Israeli forces. (The question is if the writer knew the difference between self-defense in Israel and unprovoked aggression in Nigeria)? Now the trouble is that this person who wants to be regarded as being sympathetic with an “oppressed” people of the world is just another of those insincere and confused government sponsored critics who pretend to commenting on world issues when they have no enough honesty by first acknowledging in true perspective the ugly events taking place in their own places of origin. (They are playing out the usual old trick of diverting people’s attention from real issues at hand). A people’s blood is being unnecessarily wasted by Nigeria but the unconscionable writers and advocates would prefer their distorted “patriotism” over the people’s lives. The entire Igbo/Biafra and other Christian population can be wiped out by the Islamist jihadists, that is alright, so long as the One-Nigerian state is preserved for the writer and the rest of his ilk. Yet these great One-Nigerianists most times prefer the residential comfort of other societies made right by honesty and truth, to their “wonderful” One-Nigeria.

That writer’s opinion would have been better respected if he had spent the same energy talking honestly on Nigeria’s last April polls when Nigeria and Nigerians once again murdered 3000 and displaced 65000 Igbo/Biafrans and other Southerners just for being Christians and believing differently. (Even Nigeria’s president elect Jonathan acknowledged that the Igbo/Biafrans killing orgy that followed the April election was a reenactment of the prelude to the Biafra War of the 1960s). The truth though is that dishonesty and senseless championing of a “patriotism” based on unreason have never preserved or advanced any society. Nigeria’s ship has run its course; it has hit its fated rocks as a result of the bestial and dishonest people who have heedlessly operated the diseased vessel against all standard navigation rules and caution, the deadly journey must end now. The world has watched with bated breath, almost helplessly, as Nigeria continued on this dangerous journey, destroying every good thing that would have been in the past fifty years. For Igbo/Biafra people the only reasonable thing to do is, rather than continue to fight for an undignified existence and political relevance in this capsized and fast sinking ship and, trying to bail out the water with blood-stained sieve, they should abandon ship now; they are in the process anyway, but they must hasten up. Why go down with a dead ship that would not stay afloat no matter how well you wish for it to? The rest ethnic groups should also leave if they so chose,

why not, this is the era of Self-Determination. All over the world people are asserting themselves and getting free of colonial subjugations of all sorts. Freedom through Self-Determination is legal and it is right. Unfortunately this Dying Ship Nigeria cannot be saved now because it was doomed from the beginning of its creation because of the indiscreet patching together of incompatible component parts. Igbo/Biafra people must leave this ship today with whatever breath that is still left in them. It is now clear that no superman with any supersized brain can save Nigeria’s self-inflicted death; no any good luck can keep its sails up in the wind any longer. Nigeria is doomed, it is finished, Nigeria is dead.

Tiger Woods plummeted depths he has not reached in 14 years when he dropped four spots to 12th in the world rankings issued on Monday. The former world number one has not triumphed anywhere since the 2009 Australian Masters and has been steadily losing ranking points because of his recent struggles on and off the course.

In Monday’s rankings, Woods is sandwiched by fellow Americans Bubba Watson (in 11th) and Dustin Johnson (13th), the first time he has been out of the top 10 since he was 13th on April 6, 1997.

Ever since his private life unravelled in sensational fashion at the end of 2009 and he tried to repair his crumbling marriage, Woods has been a shadow of the player he once was.

It has been almost three years since he clinched the last of his 14 major titles and the prospect of adding any more in the near future receded after he withdrew from this month’s Players Championship because of injury.

Injury woes

Aged only 35, Woods has already had four surgeries on his troublesome left knee and his latest injury setback comes at an inconvenient time with the second major of the year, the U.S. Open, fast approaching.

Woods is a three-time winner of his national open and had initially planned to compete in the Quail Hollow Championship, the Players and then the June 2-5 Memorial tournament to complete his U.S. Open build-up.

However, he was forced to pull out of Quail Hollow because of mild strains to his left knee and left Achilles’ tendon and those same injuries led to his withdrawal from the Players the following week.

Woods is rapidly running out of time in his preparations for the June 16-19 U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland.

He has repeatedly said he would quit the game whenever he felt he was unable to compete at the highest level.

“For me it is very simple, it (the time to quit) is when my best isn’t good enough any more,” Woods told Reuters shortly before he won his most recent major at the 2008 U.S. Open.

“I could not live with myself going out and practising and preparing as hard as I do and knowing that if I go out and play my best someone is just going to beat me.”

REUTERS

Plights of Saudi Women: previously Woman killed for chatting on facebook, Rape Victim given 200 lashes

The Middle East is a strange place for Women. Unseen, Unheard their Lives are still like the Middle Ages Where Women were to be seen and not Heard. Googling saudi woman will bring stories of inhumane treatment like these .Just this week a Saudi Woman has been detained for Driving ! 

A woman in Saudi Arabia was detained after she launched a campaign against the driving ban for women in the Kingdom and posted a video of herself behind the wheel on Facebook and YouTube.

Human rights activist Walid Abou el-Kheir said Manal al-Sherif was detained on Saturday by the country's religious police, who are charged with ensuring the kingdom's rigid interpretation of Islamic teachings are observed.

Al-Sherif was released hours later, according to the campaign's Twitter account. The terms of her release were not immediately clear.

Al-Sherif and a group of other women started a Facebook page called "Teach me how to drive so I can protect myself,'' which urges authorities to lift the driving ban.

She went on a test drive in the eastern city of Khobar and later posted a video of the experience.

"This is a volunteer campaign to help the girls of this country'' learn to drive, al-Sherif says in the video.

"At least for times of emergency, God forbid. What if whoever is driving them gets a heart attack?''

'Mass drive'

The campaigners have focused on the importance of women driving in times of emergencies and in the case of low-income families.

Al-Sherif said unlike the traditional argument in Saudi Arabia that driving exposes women to sinful temptations by allowing them to mingle with policemen and mechanics, women who drive can avoid sexual harassment from their drivers and protect their "dignity.''

Through Facebook, the campaigners are calling for a mass drive on June 17 and more than 12,000 people viewing the page have indicated they support the call.

On their Facebook page, the group says women joining the campaign should not challenge authorities if they were stopped and questioned, and should abide by the country's strict dress code.

"We want to live as complete citizens, without the humiliation that we are subjected to every day because we are tied to a driver,'' the Facebook message reads.

"We are not here to break the law or demonstrate or challenge the authorities, we are here to claim one of our simplest rights.''

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world to ban women, both Saudi and foreign, from driving. The prohibition forces families to hire live-in drivers, and those who cannot afford the $300 to $400 a month for a driver must rely on male relatives to drive them to work, school, shopping or the doctor.

Previously in 2008:

It also urged the court for “An order mandating the Respondent to immediately investigatethe aggravated burglary of the Applicant’s house and the malicious destruction and theft of his properties by Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, Mr. Collins Igbinidu and their accomplices on August 26, 2010.

1. Introduction

   • Eating healthy consists of consuming a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, healthy oils, low fat dairy and lean animal or plant-based proteins. This balance is outlined in the United States Department of Agriculture's healthy foods pyramid. This pyramid acts as a basic guideline to eating in such a way that you promote a healthy body. Of course, this pyramid can be altered to fit your lifestyle (such as that of a vegetarian), but the same principles apply in getting the right mixture of carbohydrates, healthy fats and protein needed for the body to function correctly.

   Weight Control

   • When eating a balanced diet, one of the first ways that your body benefits is through weight control. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2006 alone, over 72 million Americans over the age of 20 were considered obese. Obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) score of 30 or more. Eating healthy helps prevent obesity in several ways. First, those who eat healthy tend to take in less calories during meals. Second, eating healthy ensures higher amounts of fiber (such as those found in fruits vegetables and whole grains). Fiber gives your body the sensation of feeling fuller longer, which reduces the overall intake of food during the day. Finally, eating healthy influences your metabolism, allowing you to burn more calories each day.

   Heart Health

   • A healthy diet replaces unhealthy fatty foods packed full of LDL (bad) cholesterol with foods that are full of HDL (good) cholesterol (such as olive oil or salmon). High levels of LDL cholesterol in the blood create plaque buildup in the blood vessels. This can lead to arterial hardening and heart disease. HDL cholesterol removes bad cholesterol from the bloodstream to the liver, where it can then be processed and removed from the body. A healthy diet is also high in fiber, which can help control the levels of bad cholesterol in the blood.

   Blood Sugar

   • Eating healthy also benefits your body by helping control your blood sugar levels. This is mostly achieved through eating healthy forms of carbohydrates. Eating foods full of sugar and other unhealthy forms of carbohydrates can quickly cause the levels of blood glucose to rise in your circulatory system. Although your cells need glucose to create energy, too much glucose can result in insulin resistance, known as diabetes. Insulin is an important hormone that unlocks the cell's ability to absorb glucose from the bloodstream. When the cells become resistant, they no longer can absorb the glucose from the blood. This causes the glucose levels to rise above healthy levels in the bloodstream, resulting in serious damage to the blood vessels.

   Disease Prevention

   • Eating healthy also helps the body prevent disease. Healthy foods, especially vegetables, tend to contain higher levels of phytochemicals. Pytochemicals are substances that increase your immune system's ability to fight diseases. Eating healthy also helps prevent conditions that promote disease. For example, according to the Mayo Clinic, by eating less fatty foods and increasing the amount of plant-based foods you consume, you can actually prevent certain cancers. Eating healthy can also help prevent heart disease, diabetes, strokes and even Alzheimer's disease.

   • Extracted from ehow.com
     

A Benin high court has sentenced one Kalejaiye Ola to death by hanging for shooting to death one Paul Erimafa with his AK-47 service rifle on the 23rd of June 2003 at Central Road in Benin City, the Edo State capital.

Roland Amaize who handed down the judgment on Monday, held that the action of Mr Ola, a police sergeant, was pre-meditated and not a case of accidental discharge as offered by the convict.

He said the convict had initially reported a case of armed robbery against the deceased which was later discovered to be false, adding that there was no justification for the convict to have shot and killed the deceased who was harmless as at the time of the incident.

Mr Amaize further held that there were contradictions in the convict's extra-judicial statement and his oral testimony in court.

Overwhelming evidence

According to him, there was evidence from the police doctor who performed a post-mortem on the corpse showing damaged urinary bladder and profuse bleeding which led to the death of the victim.

The court held that the evidence of one of the expert prosecution witnesses on the handling of arms and ammunitions showed that AK-47 rifle was at the safety catche when the incident occurred.

Mr Amaize also held that the evidence of another prosecution witness present at the scene of crime as at the time of the murder was not challenged. On the whole, the court held that the prosecution proved the case of murder against the convict beyond reasonable doubts as stated by law.

Mr Amaize, therefore, sentenced the convicted Mr Ola to death by hanging under section 319 of the Criminal Code.