Death toll from German music festival rises to 19

DUISBURG, Germany – The death toll rose to 19 on Sunday and police said that 342 had been injured in a panicked crush of partygoers in an overcrowded tunnel that served as the sole entrance to a German festival billed as the world's largest techno music party.
The founder of the Love Parade said it would never be held again.
"The Love Parade was always a peaceful event and a happy party" but would forever be overshadowed by the tragedy, Rainer Schaller said.
"It's over for the Love Parade," he said.
He spoke at a press conference where authorities faced tough questions, but provided few details, about why hundreds of thousands of people were funneled through a single highway underpass into the former freight railway station used to host the party.
German media reported that there were at least 1.4 million people but police did not confirm that estimate.

Click image to see more photos of Germany's Love Parade

AP

Detlef von Schmeling, the police chief in Duisburg, said that 16 of the 19 people killed have been identified so far. He said they include an Australian, an Italian, a Chinese citizen and a person from Holland.
Von Schmeling said their ages ranged from just over 20 to 40.
Witnesses said officers in Duisburg, a city near Duesseldorf in western Germany, closed the end of the tunnel emptying onto the festival grounds after they become overcrowded around 5 p.m. They told revelers over loudspeakers to turn around and walk back in the other direction. But the entrance to the tunnel did not appear to have been closed and people continued piling in, sparking a panic and then a deadly crush.
Witnesses described a desperate scene, as people piled up on each other or scrambled over others who had fallen.
Partygoer Udo Sandhoefer told n-tv television that even though no one else was being let in, people still streamed into the tunnel, causing "a real mass panic."
"At some point the column (of people) got stuck, probably because everything was closed up front, and we saw that the first people were already lying on the ground," he said.
City officials chose not to evacuate the site, fearing it might spark more panic, and many people continued partying, unaware of the deaths.Rescue workers carried away the injured as techno music thundered in the background.
Other workers had trouble getting to the victims, hampered by the huge crowds. Local media reported that the cell phone system in Duisburg broke down temporarily and frantic parents trying to reach their children instead drove to the scene to look for them.
However, most streets downtown were blocked by police and the highways leading to the city were jammed. Several media outlets also reported that rescue helicopters had problems taking away the heavily injured because there was not enough space for them to land.
The founder of the Love Parade, Matthias Roeingh, known by the name Dr. Motte, blasted the planning for the event, saying "one single entrance through a tunnel lends itself to disaster. I am very sad."
German authorities also have not identified the victims yet, but the Dutch Foreign Ministry said that a 22-year-old Dutch man was among then.
German leaders, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, voiced shock that an event meant to celebrate youth, peace and love could turn so deadly.
"The young people came to celebrate and instead there are dead and injured," Merkel said Saturday. "I am horrified by the suffering and the pain."
It was the worst accident of its kind since nine people were crushed to death and 43 more were injured at a rock festival in Roskilde, Denmark, in 2000. That fatal accident occurred when a huge crowd pushed forward during a Pearl Jam gig.
The Love Parade, where people from across Europe gather to dance, watch floats and listen to DJs spin, was once an institution in Berlin, but has been held in the industrial Ruhr region of western Germany since 2007.
The original Berlin Love Parade grew from a 1989 peace demonstration into a huge outdoor celebration of club culture that drew about 1.5 million people at its peak in 1999. But it suffered from financial problems and tensions with city officials in later years, and eventually moved.
The website of the Love Parade — whose motto this year was "The Art of Love — went black on Saturday night, with words in white saying:
"Our wish to arrange a happy togetherness was overshadowed by the tragic accidents today. ... Our sincere condolences to all the relatives and our thoughts are with all of those who are currently being taken care of."
_source:___yahoo news

MedalsVision: Almost invisible mirrored tree house built in Sweden

MedalsVision: Almost invisible mirrored tree house built in Sweden

Almost invisible mirrored tree house built in Sweden

 They said it couldn't be done. When we first wrote about the almost invisible tree house to be built in Sweden by Tham & Videgard, 899 commenters thought it was computer-generated eye candy, impossible to build, and death for birds.
But the architects built it, one of six units in a "Treehotel," which recently opened 40 miles south of the Arctic Circle in Sweden.

 The four-meter glass cube looks as spectacular in reality as it did in the rendering. Kent Lindvall, co-owner of the TreeHotel, has been quoted as saying:

Everything will reflect in this -- the trees, the birds, the clouds, the sun, everything. So it should be invisible nearly in the forest.

 And what about the birds? According to Designboom, Lindvall says that a special film that is visible to birds will be applied to the glass.

The units are constructed from sustainably harvested wood and have electric radiant floor heating and "a state-of-the-art, eco-friendly, incineration toilet"
(Although I've owned an incinerating toilet, and it wasn't that eco-friendly. It used a lot of electricity and created noise and some smells. But perhaps they've improved.)
But other than that minor quibble, this appears to be a truly "eco" resort. The owners say in Designboom:

"This is untouched forest, and we want to maintain it the same way. We decided, for example, to not offer snowmobile safari which is very common up here," says Selberg. Instead, wilderness walks will be offered.

Source: yahoo Green

France coach Blanc drops all 23 World Cup players

—France coach Laurent Blanc will drop all 23 World Cup players for his first match next month as collective punishment for the team’s embarrassing fiasco in South Africa.

The French federation said Friday in a statement it had granted Blanc permission to suspend the players at the coach’s request.
France was eliminated in the group stage at the World Cup, failing to win a game. The players also refused to train as a protest after Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka was sent home following an expletive-laced tirade at then-coach Raymond Domenech.

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Blanc refused to speak to reporters when he left the federation’s headquarters Friday.
France plays a friendly against Norway on Aug. 11 in Oslo, and Blanc is set to announce his squad Aug. 5.
France’s disappointing performance in South Africa came after the team failed to win a game at the 2008 European Championship, also under Domenech.

The French team endured days of chaos at the World Cup after L’Equipe newspaper published a rant by Anelka aimed toward Domenech at halftime of a 2-0 loss against Mexico, prompting the French federation to send him home.

The next day, the entire squad refused to train in protest and captain Patrice Evra had a lively altercation with the team’s fitness coach that was captured on TV.

The events caused an outcry in France, with politicians harshly criticizing the players’ attitude, legislators in parliament questioning the coach and even President Nicolas Sarkozy weighing in on the mess.

Earlier Friday, France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris criticized the squad for being “totally stupid” for going on strike and said he is desperate to “restore the image” that was so badly damaged in South Africa.
“Going on strike was the decision of a group that felt isolated, that felt no one had protected it, and that wanted to get a message across,” Lloris said in an interview with L’Equipe. “We went way too far. It was a clumsy decision, a big mistake. It was totally stupid.”
Lloris, who has 14 international appearances and is expected to stay the No. 1 goalkeeper, accepts the players have an obligation “to make sure what happened in South Africa never happens again, that we don’t self-destruct in that way ever again.”

“We acted more like a team in the bus than on the pitch,” the 23-year-old Lloris said.
“We all want to restore the image of Les Bleus. I’m not asking for us to win everything, just that we all make an effort, that we give everything,” he added. “We need to get back to basics, respect for the jersey, for ourselves, our teammates and the institution that is the France team.”

Federation president Jean-Pierre Escalettes handed in his resignation earlier this month and the federal council unanimously appointed Fernand Duchaussoy as caretaker president Friday.

Duchaussoy said earlier this week it would be difficult for Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema to play for France after both players were issued the preliminary charges for their alleged involvement in a sex scandal with an underage prostitute.
Duchaussoy moderated his position Friday, saying any decision would have to be made in accordance with Blanc’s views on the matter, and that sometimes decisions must be made that go “against one’s personal convictions.”

Source: Yahoo Sport

Ghana team to be honored by government

ACCRA, Ghana (AP)—Ghana’s World Cup players will be given national honors and $20,000 each after reaching the quarterfinals in South Africa.

“You deserved to be honored because you have made Ghana and indeed Africa proud by your performance,” Mills said Tuesday in announcing the accolades at a lunch for the team. The Black Stars were greeted by cheering fans when they returned to Accra on Monday night.

Ghana was adopted as Africa’s team during its run to the final eight of the tournament. The squad came close to being the first team from the continent to make the semifinals; they were knocked out in a penalty shootout by Uruguay in the quarters. The other five African teams all failed to qualify for the second round.

“You did not win the World Cup but, through your performance, you carried high the flags of not only Ghana but Africa,” Mills said.

As well as the cash bonus for the players, a government official said members of the coaching team would receive a reward of $10,000 each.

Former United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan, who is from Ghana, wrote in a letter to the team that he was one of millions left “heartbroken” after the Uruguay loss.

Ghana was denied victory when a blatant hand ball prevented a goal in the final seconds of extra time. Asamoah Gyan missed the resulting penalty kick, forcing the shootout.

“You won because you brought us all together,” Annan’s letter said. “The lasting trophy to take away from the tournament is this incredible moment of unity.”

Maradona in post-match altercation with German fans

Bye Maradona

Immediately after Argentina's 4-0 quarterfinal loss to Germany on Saturday, Maradona was understandably upset. And according to Argentina's Diarios y Noticias, he let a group of German fans know it. A translation of their report:



Argentina national team coach Diego Maradona had an altercation with German fans after the end of the match that marked the elimination of said team from the 2010 South Africa World Cup.

Apparently upset over post game celebrations by fans located behind the Argentinean bench, Maradona approached and scolded them, until Dalma, one of his daughters, entered the field and contained him.

It's a shame the man who has entertained us all over the last few weeks with his exuberance and delightful antics had to get involved in something like this. He would go on to say that this loss was "the most disappointing moment in my life" which shows just how devastated he must have been as he walked off the pitch and saw German fans in red and yellow wigs partying like it's Oktoberfest in July right behind him. A sad end for the most interesting man of the tournament. Or anywhere else.


Source: Yahoo news

.Khloe and family cheer Lamar at the NBA championship

Khloe Kardashian's Extravagant Victory Gift to Lamar Odom

.Khloe and family cheer Lamar at the NBA championship.

Noel Vasquez/Getty images Helping his team win the NBA championship title should be a gift in and of itself for Los Angeles Laker Lamar Odom, but his wife must have thought the big win needed more celebration than a ticker tape parade.



E! News reports that Khloe Kardashian, Lamar's wife of nearly nine months, bought him a Rolls-Royce.



The car is said to retail at $443,000, and Kardashian's mother, Kris Jenner, calling it "fabulous," told E! News a few details about the gift.



"It's a brand-new 2010 Rolls-Royce," Jenner said. "Drop-top coupe, white on white."



Jenner was most likely describing the 2010 Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe, which Car and Driver magazine calls "pretty much everything you'd expect from a convertible that costs half a million dollars."



The review of the Rolls, written by satirist and pundit, P.J. O'Rourke, also referred to the car as "faster than the stink of how rich you'd have to get to buy one."



Writer P.J. O'Rourke fishes from a Rolls Royce Phantom.

Car and Driver Some of the Phantom's features are classic: a teak wood deck ("the same kind of wood used in a really nice yacht," Car and Driver notes); a Rolls-Royce logo that remains upright on the wheel-heads even when they're in motion. But some are downright futuristic, like doors that close with the push of a button. It even has a mechanism to keep its iconic hood ornament safe: If someone messes with it, it drops into the car, and there's even a button on the dashboard that the owner can push to make the ornament disappear into the hood.

source: OMG from yahoo

Ibori: FG may sack NPA, NIMASA bosses

 There were indications on Monday that the Presidency may be planning to sack the leadership of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency and the Nigeria Ports Authority over the escape of a former governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori, from the country.
One of our correspondents gathered that government’s action was based on reports that Ibori may have evaded arrest by fleeing through the country’s waterways.


Ibori fled the country to Dubai after he was declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission last month. He was declared wanted after he failed to honour its invitation over allegations that he used shares belonging to Delta State to secure a N44bn loan from a bank.


A competent source in the Federal Ministry of Transport told one of our correspondents in Abuja on Monday that government was unhappy that the officials of both agencies failed to apprehend Ibori. This, the official said, had fuelled the suspicion that some of them may have aided his escape.


Consequently, it was gathered that sweeping changes in the two agencies may be imminent in both agencies. Those likely to be affected are the Director-General of NIMASA, Mr. Temsare Omatseye, and Managing Director of the NPA, Mallam Abdul Salam Muhammed.


The ministry source said, “The DG of NIMASA has already been informed about his disengagement. Unless there is a last-minute change of mind by the President, his disengagement will be announced before the end of this week. Also, the Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority may likely be affected.”


When contacted on the telephone, the Head, Public Relations, NIMASA, Mrs. Ego Nwokocha, said the agency was not aware of such a plan.


According to her, “I am not aware of any plan by the Federal Government to remove the DG. I think it is a mere speculation. Moreover, he came in not long ago.


“Removing him now will not augur well for the development of the maritime sector. However, I believe that there is nothing like that.”


When one of our correspondents contacted the NPA’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Musa Liya, on the telephone at 5:22 pm, he said, “In fact, right now, I am still in the office. I am not aware of such a development.”

Source: Punch

Celebrity sex-tape scandal grips Indonesia

AP – In his July 14, 2009 photo, pop singer Nazril Irham, better known as Ariel, left, and his girlfriend …

•  
•  By NINIEK KARMINI,

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Indonesians grappled with their first-ever celebrity sex-tape scandal, casting aside social taboos as they swarmed around office computers and mobile phones to watch clips allegedly showing a much-loved pop star with two girlfriends.
The story topped newscasts for a week and dominated chatter on social-networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. But just as controversial was the reaction of officials in the newly democratic nation.
Police initially threatened to charge the "stars" under a strict anti-pornography law.
Several high schools were raided for mobile phones so the offending clips could be removed. And some ministers said the incident pointed, once again, to moral decay and the need for stricter controls of the Internet.
Indonesia, a secular nation with more Muslims than any other in the world, emerged from 32 years of dictatorship in 1998. It won praise for tackling the tough tasks of fighting corruption and terrorism and implementing widely lauded social and economic reforms.
But it still faces challenges on the road to democratization, from the explosion of grass-roots campaigning on the Web to old-style politicians, who speak to small constituencies or narrow-based parties rather than the central government, said sociologist Wimar Witoelar.
For some, the initial instinct still is to clamp down.
When the scandal spurred debate as to whether education about sex — a subject still taboo at home and in the classroom — should be added to the school curriculum, Minister of Education Muhammad Nuh responded with a flat out "no."
"I may be obsolete, but I don't see that sex education in schools is needed," he told reporters. "I believe people will learn about sex naturally."
Instead, he recommended authorities search students' mobile phones for copies of the tapes, the rapid dissemination of which "violates the rules and cultural norms in a religious society."
"Whoever is responsible should be punished," Nuh said.
The first six-minute video clip appears to show pop singer Nazril Irham, better known as Ariel, in bed with his girlfriend Luna Maya, a top model, actress and, up until the scandal, the face of Lux beauty soap.
The two deny it was them, saying the footage has been doctored, but were called in for questioning by police.
Initially officers threatened to charge them under a tough anti-pornography law, even though there was no indication the intimate but explicit sex scenes were ever intended for public viewing.
"If someone is proven to have intentionally distributed the videos, that person will be charged," said Brig. Gen. Zainuri Lubis, spokesman for the national police, adding even those caught downloading clips and copying it for others could face jail time.
Local media said the video started appearing in early June after Ariel's laptop was stolen and many similar tapes, with other celebrities, are still out there.
Then a second eight-minute video emerged, purportedly showing Ariel with a former girlfriend, also a well-liked model and television presenter, further fanning public appetite for more.
As the tapes were downloaded onto Facebook and YouTube (they have since been removed by the sites' administrator) and distributed from mobile phone to mobile phone, the country tottered on the verge of sexual hysteria.
Fifteen-year-old Bintang Irvano, a student at a high school in south Jakarta, huddled around a mobile phone with his two friends to look at the video "for about the fourth time."
He said after teachers started launching daily raids, teens started removing the footage from their phones ahead of class only to later upload it.
"It's easy to get it back again," said Raikhan Daffa, 16. "We just pass it to one another by Bluetooth."
"Hey, it's one way to learn about sex!" he said, laughing.
Work grinded to a halt at some offices last week, as employees discussed the scandal on Facebook or forwarded a steady string of jokes, the punch lines all tied to the scandal.
The country of 240 million has seen an explosion of social networking as more people have access to the Internet, prompting the government earlier this year to propose a bill to regulate content.
Public pressure forced it, eventually, to be shelved.
But, in the wake of the sex-tape saga, Minister of Information and Technology Tifatul Sembiring renewed calls for content control, and teams immediately set out to deploy firewalls for more than 2,000 Internet cafes around the country.
He said it was a "race against time" to protect children from harm.
Others argued while it is important to protect the young, new media has a key role to play in helping democratize the country, and curtailing content does not come without risks.
"The government may have good intentions," said Roy Suryo, an information and technology analyst. "But freedom of information and personal access rights have to be protected as well."

Source: yahoo news

Mandela relative killed after World Cup concer

Nelson Mandela with his great granddaughter Zenani, who was killed in a car accident following Thursday's kickoff concert. (AP 

Instead, South Africa’s beloved anti-apartheid icon stayed at home with his family Friday in northern Johannesburg during the opening ceremony and game, mourning his 13-year-old great-granddaughter Zenani, who died in a car crash on the way home from a tournament-eve concert in Soweto.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation said the tragedy “made it inappropriate” for the former president, who is 91, to attend the opening ceremony in Johannesburg.

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“We are sure that South Africans and people all over the world will stand in solidarity with Mr. Mandela and his family in the aftermath of this tragedy,” the foundation said, adding that Mandela “will be there with you in spirit today.”
Johannesburg Metro police spokeswoman Edna Mamonyane said the driver of the car had been arrested and charged with drunk driving. Mamonyane said the driver, whom police didn’t identify, could also face homicide charges.
“The Metro police found that he was drunk,” Mamonyane said. “He lost control of the vehicle and it collided with a barricade.”
Police spokesman Govindsamy Mariemuthoo, who earlier said the driver would appear in court for a preliminary hearing Friday, said that had been postponed for further investigations, and that the driver was not being held. Mariemuthoo said that was not unusual.
“It’s a decision of the prosecutor,” he said.
The Mandela foundation denied reports that the former president’s ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela was in the car, but said she was treated in a hospital for shock after being told of the fatal accident. She was discharged after a few hours.
She was on the VIP list for the opening ceremony, and a press box official confirmed she was at Soccer City, but the foundation said later that Madikizela-Mandela did not attend.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who was in South Africa to lead his country’s delegation to the opening ceremony, were among those who offered condolences.
South African President Jacob Zuma, calling Mandela by his clan name Madiba — a term of affection—referred to the death in the Mandela family in an address to the crowd before the Mexico-South Africa game started.
He said Mandela had wanted to be there, “but unfortunately there was a tragedy in the Mandela family.”
“But he said the game must start. You must enjoy the game,” Zuma added.
Mandela has achieved glory as a politician and human rights campaigner, but suffered many personal tragedies.
In 1969, three years after arriving on Robben Island to serve a life sentence for sabotage, Mandela received a telegram from his younger son, Makgatho, informing him that his eldest son, Madiba Thembekile, died in a car crash.
Prison authorities refused to allow Mandela to attend the funeral.
“I do not have words to express the sorrow, or the loss I felt,” Mandela wrote in his autobiography. “It left a hole in my heart that can never be filled.”
Thirty-six years later, Makgatho died. Mandela announced his last surviving son died of AIDS-related complications, saying the only way to fight the disease’s stigma was to speak openly.
Mandela’s family life suffered during years devoted to politics, as an underground anti-apartheid fighter and in prison. Two marriages fell apart, the second to Winnie. He began his 27-year imprisonment only four years after marrying her.
Mandela was freed in 1990. Four years later, his lifelong battle over apartheid won, he became South Africa’s first black president. He served just one term, then devoted himself to international causes, including fighting AIDS.
He has announced his retirement and desire to devote time to his family several times. Increasingly, those close to him and other South Africans have said the reward for all he has done for his country should now be freedom from the public’s demands.
On his 80th birthday July 18, 1998, he married Graca Machel, a veteran of the anti-colonial struggle in her native Mozambique, former education minister, noted international child rights advocate and widow of Mozambique’s first president, Samora Machel.
Graca Machel once told a television interviewer she helped Mandela reconnect with his family. Family photos released by his foundation Friday showed a relaxed and smiling Mandela with Zenani and other great-grandchildren.
Zenani was one of the anti-apartheid icon’s nine great-grandchildren.

Source: Yahoo Sport

Wealthy businesswomen energize Calif. GOP voters

LOS ANGELES – A Republican primary season marked by a blistering campaign spending spree and less-is-more approach to government comes to an end Tuesday with two wealthy businesswomen poised to make history for the GOP.

Former eBay chief executive Meg Whitman and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina have become the front-runners to lead the Republican Party this fall. If the most recent polls hold, it would be the first time the party would have put a woman — much less two — at the top of its ticket in the nation's most populous state.
Whitman has built a wide lead over her rival for the Republican nomination for governor, state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, thanks in large part to spending from her personal fortune. The billionaire has spent $81 million so far, all but about $10 million of it from her own bank account.

Poizner, himself a wealthy Silicon Valley entrepreneur, has spent $25 million.
Fiorina has had a come-from-behind story in her race for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate, greatly outspending her two challengers. She also has appealed to conservative voters with her views on abortion, guns and gay marriage but will face a difficult task trying to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer if she emerges victorious in Tuesday's primary.

She holds double-digit leads against former congressman Tom Campbell and state Assemblyman Chuck DeVore.

Republicans hope the anti-incumbent mood that has swept the nation will help them defeat Boxer and state Attorney General Jerry Brown, two of California's most well-known Democrats. Brown is seeking a comeback as governor, a post he held from 1975-83 in the era before term limits.

Brown emerged from the fog to vote at a fire house in the Oakland hills after walking from his nearby home.
"I feel very confident about this primary election. I'm going to win this one," joked Brown.
Brown said he would not talk about the individual Republicans jockeying to challenge him in the governor's race. But he took a veiled swipe at GOP frontrunner Meg Whitman's reputation for tightly controlled campaign appearances.
"I'm looking forward to a campaign where people get to see the candidates, not just the commericals," Brown said.
Brown and Poizner scheduled public events on Election Day, while Whitman has no planned public appearances, an unusual move for a top-tier candidate.

Whitman's campaign said she will avoid the typical Election Day photo-op because she already has cast her mail-in ballot. Whitman has been criticized for her poor voting record and has acknowledged that she did not vote for most of her life. She had been expected to vote near her home in Atherton, south of San Francisco.
Her spokesman, Tucker Bounds, said Whitman decided to vote absentee for convenience because she will be in Los Angeles on Tuesday. She planned to meet with campaign workers and supporters, he said.
Democrats have been raising money in anticipation of what are expected to be difficult and expensive campaigns for governor and U.S. Senate.

A union-funded group that supports Brown reported raising more than $4 million over the last two weeks and planned to begin airing its first television commercials Wednesday, a day after Republicans select their challengers. Whitman and Fiorina have campaigned on promises to cut government spending.
Beyond the top candidate races, Californians also will decide whether they want to transform the state's primary election process and test public financing of campaigns.

Passage of Proposition 14 would allow all voters to cast ballots in a primary, with the top two vote-getters advancing to the general election, regardless of party. In highly gerrymandered districts, that could mean two Democrats or two Republicans on the November ballot.

The proposition was placed on the ballot in a budget deal last year between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and then-state Sen. Abel Maldonado, who said he would support higher taxes if the Legislature agreed to place the open-primary measure before voters. He has said it will benefit more moderate candidates such as himself in state legislative and congressional primaries.
Earlier this year, Schwarzenegger appointed Maldonado lieutenant governor, and the former lawmaker is on Tuesday's ballot as a candidate for that job. The two were scheduled to appear together Tuesday morning to promote the measure.
California voters also could opt for a trial run of public financing of campaigns, somewhat ironic in a year of record political spending in the GOP race for governor.

Turnout for the primary is expected to be relatively light, with perhaps a third of registered voters casting ballots. Of the 16.9 million Californians registered, 40 percent — or 6.8 million — requested vote-by-mail ballots. As of Monday, 1.8 million of those ballots had been returned.


Interest is expected to be higher among Republicans because of the gubernatorial and Senate contests. Brown and Boxer did not face serious challengers.
Source:  yahoo news

Jega is new INEC chairman

President Goodluck Jonathan has named Attahiru Jega, a former president of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, as the new chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Mr. Jega's appointment was approved today at the meeting of the Council of State, which largely composed of former heads of state and state governors.

His nomination, which still requires the approval of the Senate, followed the recent sack of the former electoral commission boss, Maurice Iwu.

Mr. Jega, a Professor of Political Science, is the current vice chancellor of Bayero University, and a former consultant to the commission and participated in the electoral reform project headed by Justice Mohammed Uwais.
Source: NEXT

New Lagos

50 Cent: Get Skinny Or Die Tryin

 PDT by Billy Johnson, Jr. in Hip-Hop Media Training

Die-hard 50 Cent fans won't recognize the rap superstar in a new photo that has surfaced in US Weekly. The normally buff and chiseled G-Unit head lost 54 pounds for a role in Things Fall Apart, a movie he wrote and stars in, about a promising college football player who gets cancer.
"I was starving," the 6-foot artist, who reduced his weight from 214 pounds to 160, told the magazine. To lose the weight, 50 walked three hours a day on a treadmill for nine weeks and lived on a liquid diet.When the shocking photo hit the web, some speculated that he was sick, but a longtime spokesperson said that was not the case.
"I can confirm that he is indeed okay," the spokesperson told Y.
Source: Yahoo news

Jonathan, PDP leaders meet on new chairman

Labour, Oshiomhole oppose politician as INEC boss


THE appointment of the next chairmen of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday received the attention of leaders of the ruling party and organised Labour in Nigeria.

While leaders of the PDP, including President Goodluck Jonathan, held secret talks in Aso Villa, which sources said was on the appointment of Chief Vincent Ogbulafor’s successor, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) threatened to resist any partisan Nigerian from being made the next INEC boss.

The PDP Deputy National Chairman, Haliru Mohammed Bello, led some members of the National Working Committee (NWC) to the meeting with Jonathan yesterday in the Presidential Villa.

The Guardian learnt that the meeting of the party’s leaders was to discuss the issue of the next national chairman of the PDP zoned to the South East geo-political zone.

Later yesterday, former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the Senate President David Mark were seen at the Villa. Although the mission could not be established, it was the first time, Obasanjo came to the state house since Jonathan assumed office. Obasanjo is also the PDP Board of Trustees chairman.

Following the resignation of Ogbulafor, the party had turned its searchlight on the South-East for his successor but it has been difficult picking a consensus candidate for the office.

However, worried by the delay in the emergence of a consensus candidate, the PDP leadership met yesterday with Jonathan on the way forward.

PDP sources told The Guardian that the party wants the process concluded before the meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) expected to hold on either June 9 or 10, 2010. It was also learnt that the meeting discussed the allegation of bribery against Bello, for which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has invited him.

It was not clear yesterday whether the meeting took a decision on the fate of Bello as there were speculations that he might be asked to resign for the allegations against him to be investigated since Ogbulafor toe the line.

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Rufai Ahmed Alkali, could not be reached for details of the meeting but a senior officer of the party confirmed the meeting with Jonathan. He said: “I don’t exactly know what the issues to be discussed will be but they have gone to the Presidential Villa for a crucial meeting.’’

It was also learnt yesterday that the party had tentatively fixed the meetings of National Caucus, Board of Trustees (BoT) and National Executive Committee (NEC) for June.

According to party sources, the National Caucus meeting has been fixed for June 7, 2010 while that of BoT will come up on June 8, 2010 and after which the NEC meeting is expected to hold either on June 9 or 10, 2010.

Among those alleged to have shown interest in the PDP topmost office are its former National Secretary, Okwesilieze Nwodo, incumbent Vice Chairman (South-East), Olisa Metuh, erstwhile National Vice Chairman, Fidelis Ozichukwu, Mao Ohabunwa, Polycarp Nwite, former Senate President, Pius Anyim Pius, among others.

President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Abdulwaheed Omar, who gave the warning yesterday in Abuja, also called for the sack of all top officials of INEC that served under the tenure of Prof. Maurice Iwu.

Amid the controversy trailing the alleged zoning of the Presidency by the PDP, Labour said it should not be used to exclude competent Nigerians from the office or infringed on their rights.

Omar appealed to Jonathan to ensure that the processes of the 2011 elections are free and fair. He said the President should give the choice to the people and not manipulate anything even if he wants to contest.

The NLC chief said the Congress would mobilise its members “to resist anybody that is card-carrying member of any political party, including the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, to head the Independent National Electoral Commission.”

Omar spoke yesterday in Abuja at an event organised by the Alliance for Credible Election to mark the removal of Iwu. He held that if the processes that would lead to the 2011 are credible enough, the President can work his way into the hearts of Nigerians but should also be prepared to handover to the opposition if his party loses the election.

To ensure good governance in the country, the governor prescribed the evolvement of a truly democratic system through electoral reforms. In achieving this, the governor sides with the Muhammadu Uwais report on electoral reform, insisting that the President should not solely appoint INEC chairman.

Also, Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has opposed the appointment of INEC chief solely by the President.

He told the audience at a forum by Island Club in Lagos yesterday that in situation where the President insists on appointing INEC chairman, the appointee should be a card-carrying member of any party. He further charged the President to use the short time he had to institute a credible foundation for Nigeria’s democracy so that history will be kind to him.

Oshiomhole urged Jonathan to look at the human rights and civil society community for the appointment of the next INEC boss because they risked their lives fighting for the return to democratic rule.

The governor would also wants to see attitude changes in the electoral reforms beyond the legal frame-work whereby the President instructs the INEC chairman to work for Nigeria’s democracy by ensuring that the right things are done and even if it meant the President’s party losing at polls based on the choice of the electorate.

The NLC boss argued that it would be tantamount to trampling on Jonathan’s fundamental human right to exclude him from contesting the election simply because of the zoning arrangement by the PDP, which he lamented had helped thrown up politically incompetent people to rule the country.

Omar submitted that what the Nigerian people are desirous of is somebody that would guarantee them good live and not necessarily where he or she comes from.

He argued that if organising credible elections, which will have Jonathan as a participant, would not be achievable under him, he should take the path of honour and allow posterity judge him.

His words: “Though Congress may not wish to also dictate to Mr. President the direction he should take in terms of his personal political ambition, we would state unequivocally that it would be in his greater personal interest and integrity to prioritise the conduct of a free, fair, just and credible election. History and indeed, generations yet unborn will remember him more if he chooses the path of honour to engage his energy and focus attention towards instituting an electoral system that is trustworthy and which will attract the confidence and respect of all civilised and democratic nations.”

Labour also called for the removal of Mr. Solomon Soyebi, saying the interim chairman of INEC is nothing but “a member of five leprous hands of Iwu-led commission that organised the worst elections Nigeria ever had.

The Secretary-General of Alliance for Credible Election, Mr. Emmanuel Ezeazu asked the National Assembly to jettison on-going debates on two-party system and focus on electoral and constitutional reforms.

Ezeazu also declared that Jonathan’s entering into the 2011 election might jeopardise the rotational principle, which he said, had helped to stabilise the country, especially after the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election that was presumably won by the late Moshood Abiola.

He said: “Those who are supporting Jonathan to run further argue that he can still run and conduct credible elections. Our experience in Nigeria compels us to disagree with them. Those of us who are telling him not to run are not urging him to do what has not been done before. He needs to make this sacrifice for the good of the nation. We urge him not to contest and also not to impose somebody on Nigeria.”

Ezeazu finds an ally in former Oyo State Governor Lam Adesina, who yesterday urged the President to ignore the call to contest and concentrate on how to better the lot of Nigerians.

Adesina, in an interview said since there is a zoning arrangement, it will not be in the best interest of the President to scuttle it.

Rather than listen to the advice of praise singers, Adesina urged Jonathan to focus on how to tackle the epileptic power supply, the vexed issue of electoral reform, corruption and insecurity.

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Chairman, Jigawa State Chapter, Garun Gabas, has said there is no alternative to the multi-party arrangement in Nigeria.

The NBA boss, who is also a member of Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), said the multi-party system creates room for new ideas and gives people the opportunity to express themselves without fear or favour.

He pointed out that the multi-party arrangement helps to open up the democratic space and that all that is needed is for electoral reforms, the report of the Uwais panel should be implemented.

Gabas, who spoke against the zoning policy of the PDP that it is the turn of the North to field a candidate for the 2011 presidency other than Jonathan, said the alleged clause is a violation of the Nigerian constitution.

“Any political party that has no respect for the constitution of the country should beware of the doomsday. The constitution does not bar Jonathan from contesting any election merely because of zoning policy of the PDP even though PDP has done that for convenience.”

Also, another legal practitioner based in the state, Abubakar Yusuf Gumel, has challenged Jonathan to leave an enduring legacy through positive changes rather than devote his energy to the call by sycophants to contest the 2011 election.

Considering the circumstances of Jonathan’s ascendancy to the Presidency, he said it is proper for him to be focused and to deliver on his promises within the one year, adding that if he can impact positively on Nigerians in the area of power supply, education and health, Nigerians will support him for another term.
 
Source: The Guardian

Police authority reverses self on Ribadu

    Former anti-corruption czar, Nuhu Ribadu has been reabsorbed into the police force in his full ranks of Assistant Inspector General.

By Idris Akinbajo
About two years after it stripped former anti-corruption czar, Nuhu Ribadu, of his police rank and dismissed him from service, the Police Service Commission, PSC, the agency with authority for employment, discipline, and posting of senior officers reversed itself yesterday.
In a letter dated 24 May 2010 and addressed to the Inspector General of Police, the PSC said Mr. Ribadu has been reabsorbed into the police in his full ranks of Assistant Inspector General, AIG, with effect from December 2008, adding however that he would immediately proceed on retirement from the police.
Rank Stripping
In a July 2008 move, the PSC stripped 140 officers including Mr. Ribadu of their ranks claiming they earned undue promotion under the Obasanjo administration. Mr. Ribadu headed to court to challenge the move prompting the police authorities to fire him for insubordination in December of that year.

The police claimed he breached official process by going to court without official clearance as stipulated by the Police Act.
In a preliminary ruling on the case last year, Justice Adamu Bello slammed the police and said the provisions of the Police Act that require the aggrieved officer to take permission from the police authority before seeking legal redress were inconsistent with the provisions of the constitution.

Mr. Bello held that, by coming to court without the express permission from the police authority, Mr. Ribadu only exercised his discretionary right, as the provision does not make it mandatory for him to get the approval of his employers before seeking redress in a court of law.

Police Act undermines individual liberty

"It would have been fool-hardy for. Mr. Ribadu to seek and await the approval from the authority as such approval may never come," Mr. Bello said. "To say that Mr. Ribadu must seek the approval of the police authority before instituting the action in court is inconsistent with the provisions of the constitution. Regulations 347 of the Police Act is inconsistent with the provisions of the constitution and is therefore void on the strength of this inconsistency."

The PSC letter reabsorbing Mr. Ribadu letter, signed by the permanent secretary of the agency, did not give reasons for the volte face but NEXT sources in the police reasoned that it was a result of an

awareness in police circles that the December 2008 punitive measures lacked merit, amounted to a persecution, and was anyway going to fail in the current legal battle.

Conspiracy Against Ribadu

Sources at the Force headquarters told NEXT in Abuja that the news came with shock and anxiety for many in the velvet rank of the police who were thought to have orchestrated Mr. Ribadu's exit in what was generally thought to be a malicious power play.

PSC Chairman, Parry Osayande, announced the demotion of Mr. Ribadu while the current Inspector General of Police, Ogbona Onovo, headed a disciplinary committee set up to try Mr. Ribadu. He never appeared before the committee because he had challenged the police in court.

This was later used against him in the PSC's definition of insubordination.

With the restoration of Ribadu as an AIG, the former anti-corruption Czar is now entitled to pension and would receive all his entitlements and outstanding allowances due him as the period he was out of office.

Asset Declaration Case
Early this month, the federal government discontinued the trial of Mr. Ribadu at the Code of Conduct Tribunal where he was facing charges for not declaring his assets while he was the chairman of the
anti-corruption agency.

Following Mr. Ribadu's controversial removal from office, and subsequent dramatic dismissal from the Nigeria Police Force, the former attorney general, Michael Aondoakaa, filed charges against Mr.

Ribadu, accusing him of failing to declare his assets while he was the EFCC chairman. Mr. Ribadu, who has always denied the allegations, told journalists that his asset declaration forms were, "submitted on assumption of office in March 2003, and my exit from office in December 2008.

"I assert that there is no substance to this case; that my assets were declared. How could I have been confirmed for my position in 2003 if I did not submit an asset declaration form to the Senate, as all

officers needing Senate confirmation are obligated to do?" he asked. He said the charges were trumped up basically to smear his name and persecute him because he had crossed some influential people while in office.

Cleared from Watch-List

Last week the Nigeria's office of the International Police (INTERPOL), formally notified security and immigration agencies that Mr Ribadu has been removed from its security watch list, following the withdrawal of the charges against him by the Nigerian government.
"I refer to the watch-listing of the above named person watch-listed for some specific acts. The charges against him have been withdrawn. The watch-listing has accordingly been cancelled," Mr. Nwodibo Ekechukwu, the Interpol anchor man, said in the notice.

Doctorate Degree
Meanwhile, the Babcock University in Ogun State has chosen Mr Ribadu as a recipient of its honorary doctorate degree in law [Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa]. The formal ceremony for the award is scheduled for the University's convocation ceremony to be held in Ilishan, Ogun on

June 6, 2010.

In a letter sent to Mr. Ribadu by the President and Vice Chancellor of the University, Kayode Makinde, the university said the award was in recognition of Mr Ribadu's "loyal breeding", "lofty aim" and "resolute courage" as well as what it called his, "fierce stance against corruption in the face of sponsored disgrace and certain death that has resulted into positive changes and global acclaim hitherto considered impossible"

Mr. Ribadu, was removed from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) which he headed from 2003 to 2007, under controversial circumstances, escaped from the country and was declared wanted by the Nigeria police on November 20, 2009, after being accused of not declaring his assets as the chairman of the ant-graft agency.
Returning Soon

Presidency sources said at the weekend that Mr. Ribadu is expected to resume "in a matter of weeks" in Abuja. As part of his remit, Mr. Ribadu will be the presidential anchorman supervising the broad anti-corruption platform of the country which includes his former agency, the EFCC; the ICPC; the Code of Conduct Bureau and other related agencies.

Mr. Ribadu is, at the moment, winding up a plum fellowship at the Centre for Global Development (CGD), a think tank in Washington D.C. dedicated to international issues of development.

SOURCE: NEXT

Nigeria protests killing in Poland

    Minister of Foreign Affairs, Odein Ajumogobia.

By Ifedayo Adebayo and Ayodele Okulaja

The permanent secretary of the ministry of foreign Affairs, Martin Uhomoibhi, yesterday met with the charge d'affaires of the Polish Embassy to formally protest the shooting to death of a Nigerian citizen in Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, May 23, 2010, by the Polish Police.
Mr Uhomoibhi expressed Nigeria's displeasure over the incident and the arrest of other 30 Nigerian citizens resident in Poland, which he said is a harassment aftermath of the killing.
According to him, instructions have been given to the Nigerian Ambassador in Poland to make a formal demarche to the Polish foreign ministry in protest of the killing. He equally called on the polish authorities to set up an inquiry into the incident, to ensure that all those found guilty are held accountable.
A tragedy
The charge d'affaires conveyed the condolences of the Polish government over the tragic incident which she described as unfortunate. She also disclosed that the Polish authorities were already investigating the matter and assured that the details and outcomes of the investigation will be communicated to the Nigerian government as soon it is resolved.
She also observed that the incident was not pre-planned, but a one-off incident that did not reflect the Polish government's policy or attitude towards Nigerian living in Poland. Nigerian-Poland relations have been cordial and built over years of cooperation in various fields of endeavour, she said, urging that this incident should not be allowed to soil the otherwise excellent relations between the two countries.

Nigeria's Foreign Affairs Ministry confirmed that the unnamed citizen died after being shot on Sunday during a police raid on an open-air market in Warsaw.
"The ministry strongly believes that there can be no justification for this wanton killing of a Nigerian citizen," the ministry said in a statement.

"The killing without established culpability demonstrates the high-handedness on the part of the Polish police."
Unprovoked attack
Polish National Police spokesperson, Mariusz Sokolowski, said officers at the market chased after a Nigerian who ran away from them while they were on patrol. One of the officers threw the man to the ground and tried to handcuff him, but a group of foreigners attacked him, Mr Sokolowski said, claiming that the officer's handgun fired during the struggle, with the round striking the Nigerian.
"This man could have been saved and police officers started to resuscitate him, but they were repeatedly attacked with stones by a group of foreigners and were forced to defend themselves, and had to stop the resuscitation," Mr Sokolowski added.

He said six police officers were injured in the fighting and 32 foreigners were arrested.

Source: NEXT

Uduaghan raises the alarm over plot to “hijack” Jonathan

Delta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan has alleged that some people are planning to “hijack” President Goodluck Jonathan.

Uduaghan, at a meeting with the Delta State Elders Council in Warri, on Saturday, claimed that such people were shielding Jonathan from relevant stakeholders, especially, those from the Niger Delta.

Although he did not give the names of these people, he said they freely peddled rumours about the disposition of Jonathan to some Niger Delta leaders, including himself, for selfish political gains.
Uduaghan, who was apparently reacting to the reports that Jonathan was not favourably disposed to some South-South governors because of their roles during the succession crisis in the Presidency, said the action of the group was not in the best interest of Jonathan.
“Let me state that no person or group of persons should try to build a wall around the Presidency and from that wall, start dispatching stories that are not true as well as blackmailing people. If you push everybody away, it may not be to our benefit because the Presidency cannot succeed in isolation,” the governor said in an email statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Sunny Ogefere.
“I have refused to be pushed away. Mr. President needs the Governor of Delta State and the Governor of Delta State needs Mr. President. I have easy access to Mr. President because Mr. President recognises that I am the Governor of a critical state in Nigeria,” the statement added.
Governors of the core Niger Delta states were alleged to have funded various plots to scuttle Jonathan’s ascendancy to the Presidency before former President Umaru Yar’Adua died.
Our correspondent learnt that the governors, who had initiated moves for a truce with Jonathan, were said to be jittery that they could be dealt with by the Presidency.

However, Uduaghan, according to the statement by Ogefere, said he was not disturbed by the actions of those behind these moves.
Contrary to the belief in certain quarters especially among his political opponents in the state, Uduaghan said he enjoined cordial relationship with Jonathan.

The governor explained his roles during the controversy generated by the worsening health of Yar’Adua.

“Contrary to the impressions being created by some persons, the state (Delta State) through the active participation of myself and members of the National Assembly from the state, were involved in the emergence of the then vice- president as Acting President and President. I remain unruffled by the actions of those painting negative pictures about how the President emerged,” he stated.

Uduaghan warned that nobody should make unilateral claim as regards the elevation of Jonathan, adding that the credit belonged to all Nigerians, including himself.
He said all Nigerians, particularly those of Niger Delta extraction must join hands to ensure the success of Jonathan’s presidency. He advised his detractors to shun all activities aimed at smearing the image of the state.

Uduaghan added, “Those who truly love Mr. President should collectively work for the success of Mr. President as well as the betterment of the Niger Delta region because the success or failure of Jonathan’s Presidency will not be attributed to the President alone.

“It is our collective responsibility, not one person’s responsibility, but our collective responsibility as a people of the Niger Delta to give him (President) the maximum support.

“The success of Jonathan’s Presidency is a collective responsibility particularly for us, the people of the Niger Delta.”

The governor welcomed those planning to unseat him during the 2011 election, adding that they reserved the right to aspire to any political office.
But he warned them to eschew bitterness and operate within the ambit of the law, adding that any of them found to be involved in violence and breach of the peace would be dealt with according to the law.
The Delta Elders’ Council is chaired by Chief Gabriel Sefia and has a former Deputy Governor of the state, Chief Simeon Ebonka; Senator Fred Brume, former Minister of Information, Prof. Sam Oyonvbaire; former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state, Dr. Pius Sinebe ; Senator Francis Nwajei ; Prof B.I.C. Ijeoma; Prof. Abednego Ekoko and Senator Stella Omu as some of its members.
 
Source: Punch