24 Aug 2010 14:16 Africa/Lagos
UNEP Press Statement on the Cause of Oil Spills in the Niger Delta
ABUJA, August 24, 2010/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), at the request of the government of Nigeria, is conducting an environmental assessment of the impacts of oil spills in Ogoniland, in the Niger Delta, and options for remediation.
UNEP's decision to respond to this request by a member state recognizes the human and environmental tragedy associated with oil contamination in Ogoniland and the fact this needs to be addressed.
The UNEP study represents an unprecedented effort to examine the location, nature and extent and implications of oil contamination in Ogoniland. It is part of a longer term goal to clean up contaminated sites for the benefit of local communities and people living in parts of the Niger Delta and for the region's sustainable development.
The fieldwork by UNEP's scientific teams collecting samples of water, soil, sediment, air and plant and animal tissue is due to be completed in October 2010, and will be followed by laboratory analysis. As this process of sample collection is still under way no draft or final report currently exists. Once finalized, the report will provide a compilation of all results and present options to the government and all interested parties on the most appropriate measures to clean up the area's environment. It is due to be presented to the government of Nigeria and interested parties in early 2011.
Media reports over the past days and weeks have indicated that it is UNEP's determination that 90 per cent of oil spills are linked with so called ‘bunkering' and criminal activity.
In referring to this data UNEP clearly indicated that these figures represented official estimates of the Government of Nigeria, based in part on data supplied by the oil industry.
They therefore do not represent nor reflect results of UNEP's current assessment process which is still ongoing. To link this data with UNEP's study or indeed any future attribution of responsibility is incorrect.
UNEP would ask all parties within and outside Nigeria to recognize this fact and to respect the multi-disciplinary team carrying out this important task. UNEP wishes to assure all concerned that the assessment will be concluded to the highest standards of independence, integrity and transparency.
UNEP has over several years secured the confidence of the international community in many challenging regions of the world from the Balkans and Afghanistan to Gaza and Sudan.
The same professionalism and independence shown in these situations is being exercised in respect to UNEP's work in Nigeria.
The funding of the assessment was negotiated over a period of one and a half years to ensure the independence and integrity of the assessment. In keeping with the polluter pays principle the Government of Nigeria, the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) of Nigeria and UNEP agreed that costs of USD 9.5 million would be borne by SPDC.
Source: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time
25 Aug 2010
13:09
São Tomé e Príncipe: Oil Deals and the New Government / A Chance to Improve Life for Its People by Managing Resources Well
24 Aug 2010
16:40
Insurance Premiums Benefit Global GDP
14:16
UNEP Press Statement on the Cause of Oil Spills in the Niger Delta
14:04
São Tomé e Príncipe: Oil Deals and the New Government / A Chance to Improve Life for Its People by Managing Resources Well
22 Aug 2010
22:11
Shikun & Binui Announces Second Quarter 2010 Results
19:00
Castor Bean Genome Published by Research Team Including Scientists from the Venter Institute
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Michael Jackson, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones Top '100 Greatest Music Artists of All Time' List
Michael Jackson25 Aug 2010 11:00 Africa/Lagos
Michael Jackson, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones Top VH1's '100 Greatest Music Artists of All Time' List
VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" Premieres Monday, September 6 at 10/9c VH1 Personality Jim Shearer to Host 4-Night Special Go to TheGreatest.Vh1.com to Vote Your Favorites
Bob Dylan
NEW YORK, Aug. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- VH1 goes back to its music roots and revisits the age-old question: "Who is the greatest music artist for all time?" Determined by a poll of well-known music artists and music experts in the industry, VH1 will reveal this definitive (and sure-to-be highly controversial) list declaring who is the greatest of the great. Hosted by Jim Shearer (VH1's "Top 20 Video Countdown"), the 4-night special, VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of All Time," premieres Monday, September 6 at 10/9c with a 2-hour premiere.
The BeatlesThis definitive countdown covers all genres of music - from rock to pop to rap to metal - to answer who is worthy to possess the title as "the greatest music artist of all time." Over the 200 musicians including Alicia Keys, Ozzy Osbourne, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Iggy Pop, Nas, Rob Halford (Judas Priest), Geddy Lee (Rush), Alex Lifeson (Rush), Michael Diamond (Beastie Boys), Daryl Hall, John Oates, Noel Gallagher (Oasis), Gene Simmons (KISS), Adam Levine (Maroon Five), 50 Cent, Nelly Furtado, Mandy Moore, Carrie Underwood, Adam Clayton (U2) and many more voted on who they believe deserves this highly coveted title.
Rolling StonesIn 1998, VH1 launched the same list as the channel's first countdown special; however; much has changed since the dawn of the new millennium. VH1 puts this debate up for a vote again to see which rock pioneers still matter and which new acts rate in the age of download-to-own music and ever-changing pop culture. The countdown will include special, rarely-seen performance footage along with brand new, totally original interviews with music's most famous faces including interviews by Adele, Backstreet Boys, Brandy, Bret Michaels, Chris Daughtry, Hall & Oates, Keane, Ozzy Osbourne, Ray J, Sheryl Crow, Usher, Whitney Houston and many more.
Led Zeppelin
VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" has changed since its first poll in 1998. Some notable changes include:
-- Michael Jackson was number 40 in the 1998 poll; however, in the
current list Jackson is in the top 5.
-- Artists from the 1960s and 1970s are still relevant with today's
artists. Younger musicians like Adam Levine, Jason Mraz, Chris
Daughtry and Carrie Underwood cast votes for classic acts like the
Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and Stevie Wonder.
-- Contemporary artists like Beyonce, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Eminem,
Coldplay and Green Day are in the Top 100. However, current headliners
Lady Gaga, Kanye West, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Lil' Wayne
and The White Stripes failed to make the cut.
-- The poll reflects changing tastes. The list features over 30 artists
who did not make the cut in 1998 including ABBA, Journey, Hall and
Oates, Rush, George Michael, Mariah Carey, Sade and Cheap Trick.
-- The 1998 list included very few Hard Rock artists. This time, Black
Sabbath, AC/DC, Metallica, Judas Priest and Def Leppard made the list.
-- The 1998 list ignored Hip Hop entirely. Now Jay-Z, OutKast, Run-DMC,
Public Enemy, Tupac Shakur, Notorious B.I.G., LL Cool J and N.W.A. are
in the top 100. However no hip hop artist broke the top 40. Jay-Z was
highest at #47.
TheGreatest.VH1.com will have exclusive extras including interviews and commentary. Additionally, online visitors will be able to participate by using VH1's voting tool that allows users to pick their favorite artists, weigh in their opinions and socially broadcast their take on the list through Twitter.com and Facebook.com.
"VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time" List:
TOP 5, IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER
1. The Beatles
2. Bob Dylan
3. Michael Jackson
4. Led Zeppelin
5. Rolling Stones
NUMBER 6 - 11, RANKED
6. Jimi Hendrix
7. Prince
8. Elvis Presley
9. James Brown
10. Stevie Wonder
11. Bob Marley
12. David Bowie
13. The Who
14. Nirvana
15. The Beach Boys
16. Madonna
17. Queen
18. Pink Floyd
19. U2
20. Marvin Gaye
21. Bruce Springsteen
22. The Clash
23. AC/DC
24. The Velvet Underground
25. Chuck Berry
26. Neil Young
27. Aretha Franklin
28. Elton John
29. Radiohead
30. Aerosmith
31. John Lennon
32. Black Sabbath
33. Guns N' Roses
34. Tina Turner
35. Johnny Cash
36. Paul McCartney
37. Fleetwood Mac
38. Sly & The Family Stone
39. The Kinks
40. The Police
41. Van Halen
42. Metallica
43. Ray Charles
44. Joni Mitchell
45. Al Green
46. Ramones
47. Jay-Z
48. Rage Against The Machine
49. Parliament-Funkadelic
50. Sade
51. Billy Joel
52. Beyonce
53. Little Richard
54. Public Enemy
55. Peter Gabriel
56. KISS
57. Iggy & The Stooges
58. Cheap Trick
59. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
60. Whitney Houston
61. Cream
62. Genesis
63. Notorious B.I.G.
64. Talking Heads
65. The Doors
66. Justin Timberlake
67. Coldplay
68. Otis Redding
69. Tupac Shakur
70. Def Leppard
71. R.E.M.
72. Janis Joplin
73. Van Morrison
74. The Cure
75. Rush
76. Run-D.M.C.
77. Lynyrd Skynyrd
78. Judas Priest
79. Eminem
80. Mary J. Blige
81. ABBA
82. Steely Dan
83. Earth, Wind and Fire
84. Curtis Mayfield
85. The Band
86. N.W.A.
87. George Michael
88. Bee Gees
89. Beastie Boys
90. Elvis Costello
91. Green Day
92. LL Cool J
93. Pearl Jam
94. Mariah Carey
95. OutKast
96. Journey
97. Pretenders
98. Depeche Mode
99. Hall & Oates
100. Alicia Keys
ABOUT VH1:
VH1 connects viewers to the music, artists and pop culture that matter to them most with TV series, specials, live events, exclusive online content and public affairs initiatives. VH1 is available in 95 million households in the U.S. VH1 also has an array of digital channels and services including VH1Classic, VH1 Soul, VH1 Mobile, VH1Games and extensive broadband video on VH1.com. Connect with VH1 at VH1.com.
* All times ET/PT
Source: VH1
CONTACT: Michael Barrett, +1-212-654-3060, Michael.Barrett@mtvstaff.com
Web Site: http://www.vh1.com/
Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/583050.html
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Tuesday, August 24, 2010
On Nigerian Roads, Religion and the Nigerian Police Force
Mr. President, So What If Nigeria Is a Very Religious Society, the Curse on the Nigerian Roads remain Unbearable.
Sir, during your life interview with CNN Anchor Christian Amanpour in April of this year in Washington D.C. you proclaimed that Nigeria is a “very, very religious society”. But of what use is a religious atmosphere when the care of life and the disposal of dead bodies are handled with a Godless attitude?
Sir, no one should query with the office of the presidency as it is reportedly getting ready to buy three airplanes. Why, because the Nigerian roads are not routes in the civil, mechanical or actual sense. They are simply impassable and deadly.
The Nigerian Police Force in its style of traffic management remains crude at best, but how can one put all the blame on the police as its officers are products of an almost ruined society, in the institutional sense especially.
Who will like to maintain traffic rules in roads that lack updated or posted speed limits, adequate lighting, emergency telephones, rest spots, control of armed bandits and continue to lack operational rules in regards to curtailing abandoned vehicles?
For now there are crude like check-points set up by the police, mainly in busy highways and at times these check points have become temporal centers of unmanageable traffic jams, points for bribery negotiation and in some cases sites of deadly accidents.
In the face of these turbulences it is not uncommon to find victims of fatal accidents rotting away along the highway and in nearby bushes.
Mr. President, take the case of one 39-year old Egbosele Eronmosele of Uromi , Edo State. Just this past Wednesday, he left Uromi in his car on his way to the nation’s capital, Abuja.
Throughout Wednesday and Thursday attempts by his family to reach him on his mobile phone failed. He is a newlywed man and naturally his wife and family were concerned and heavily worried.
The family being disturbed by his unusual silence and by him not picking up his phone, some family members had no choice but to look for him. They then proceeded to do this manually by aimlessly travelling by car, as there are no functioning police emergency services for distressed callers. These family members on leaving Uromi, took the normal route which included Auchi, only to reach the town of Okene in Koji State, one of the leading towns to Abuja.
Sir, with bits and pieces of information around the surroundings, 39-year old Egbosele Eronmosele was found in the bush—all burnt up and dead.
His burnt body reportedly lay helpless facing the steering wheel in the burnt car. The family like every reasonable and concerned family proceeded to the local police station, Division 2 to inquire about the fatal accident.
They were reportedly informed by the attending station officers that the victim was involved in an accident with a trailer. As they requested to see the actual traffic incident report they were informed that there were no available reports of the accident. Also, there was no information provided on the trailer because the investigating officers were not currently on duty and could not be reached.
As to why the report which is supposed to be filed, kept and maintained in the police station, was not present the family were told, the report is with the investigators.
Mr. President, here is the most distressing part of the story. As to why the lifeless body of the victim was left rotting away from Wednesday up to Friday when the burnt car was found in the bush, the police reportedly stated that the body was left unattended due to religious reasons. What does that mean, the family asked the station officer? The apparent police response was gravely disturbing.
They were informed that Mr. Eronmosele died in a “very , very religious” area of Nigeria, a Muslim area. As such no casket could be procured, purchased, or publicly sold or allowed in the area. And neither was the body taking to any hospital mortuary as there is no fully functioning one in the area. Sir, all these occurrences generally resulted due to religion and as a consequence of the backward mentality that still exist in the policing of the Nigerian people.
The family then gathered the pieces of Mr. Eronmosele, and returned to Uromi to bury his remains this past Saturday. Sir, this reality!
Mr. President, fifty years later Nigeria the so called giant of Africa appears to be moving opposite to progress with a few Nigerians sharing in your sentiments that there is optimism for Nigerians.
No reasonable mind believes that the nation is finished but the evidence is openly clear that without sweeping improvement in the highways, traffic system, electric power, police system and in leadership; religion alone will not save the country from its quick entry into a state of an all-out collapse.
Mr. President, as you set out to declare a yes or no answer to the 2011 presidency on or about September 10th, 2010; hopefully you will remind the nation of the story of Egbosele Eromonsele as it relates to the need for a commons sense governance of the nation, despite the so called sacred state of the country.
~ By John Oshodi
John Egbeazien Oshodi, Ph.D, DABPS, FACFE is a practicing Forensic/Clinical Psychologist and the Interim Associate Dean of Academic Affairs-Behavioral Science, North Campus, Broward College, Coconut Creek, Florida. joshodi@broward.edu.
Sir, during your life interview with CNN Anchor Christian Amanpour in April of this year in Washington D.C. you proclaimed that Nigeria is a “very, very religious society”. But of what use is a religious atmosphere when the care of life and the disposal of dead bodies are handled with a Godless attitude?
Sir, no one should query with the office of the presidency as it is reportedly getting ready to buy three airplanes. Why, because the Nigerian roads are not routes in the civil, mechanical or actual sense. They are simply impassable and deadly.
The Nigerian Police Force in its style of traffic management remains crude at best, but how can one put all the blame on the police as its officers are products of an almost ruined society, in the institutional sense especially.
Who will like to maintain traffic rules in roads that lack updated or posted speed limits, adequate lighting, emergency telephones, rest spots, control of armed bandits and continue to lack operational rules in regards to curtailing abandoned vehicles?
For now there are crude like check-points set up by the police, mainly in busy highways and at times these check points have become temporal centers of unmanageable traffic jams, points for bribery negotiation and in some cases sites of deadly accidents.
In the face of these turbulences it is not uncommon to find victims of fatal accidents rotting away along the highway and in nearby bushes.
Mr. President, take the case of one 39-year old Egbosele Eronmosele of Uromi , Edo State. Just this past Wednesday, he left Uromi in his car on his way to the nation’s capital, Abuja.
Throughout Wednesday and Thursday attempts by his family to reach him on his mobile phone failed. He is a newlywed man and naturally his wife and family were concerned and heavily worried.
The family being disturbed by his unusual silence and by him not picking up his phone, some family members had no choice but to look for him. They then proceeded to do this manually by aimlessly travelling by car, as there are no functioning police emergency services for distressed callers. These family members on leaving Uromi, took the normal route which included Auchi, only to reach the town of Okene in Koji State, one of the leading towns to Abuja.
Sir, with bits and pieces of information around the surroundings, 39-year old Egbosele Eronmosele was found in the bush—all burnt up and dead.
His burnt body reportedly lay helpless facing the steering wheel in the burnt car. The family like every reasonable and concerned family proceeded to the local police station, Division 2 to inquire about the fatal accident.
They were reportedly informed by the attending station officers that the victim was involved in an accident with a trailer. As they requested to see the actual traffic incident report they were informed that there were no available reports of the accident. Also, there was no information provided on the trailer because the investigating officers were not currently on duty and could not be reached.
As to why the report which is supposed to be filed, kept and maintained in the police station, was not present the family were told, the report is with the investigators.
Mr. President, here is the most distressing part of the story. As to why the lifeless body of the victim was left rotting away from Wednesday up to Friday when the burnt car was found in the bush, the police reportedly stated that the body was left unattended due to religious reasons. What does that mean, the family asked the station officer? The apparent police response was gravely disturbing.
They were informed that Mr. Eronmosele died in a “very , very religious” area of Nigeria, a Muslim area. As such no casket could be procured, purchased, or publicly sold or allowed in the area. And neither was the body taking to any hospital mortuary as there is no fully functioning one in the area. Sir, all these occurrences generally resulted due to religion and as a consequence of the backward mentality that still exist in the policing of the Nigerian people.
The family then gathered the pieces of Mr. Eronmosele, and returned to Uromi to bury his remains this past Saturday. Sir, this reality!
Mr. President, fifty years later Nigeria the so called giant of Africa appears to be moving opposite to progress with a few Nigerians sharing in your sentiments that there is optimism for Nigerians.
No reasonable mind believes that the nation is finished but the evidence is openly clear that without sweeping improvement in the highways, traffic system, electric power, police system and in leadership; religion alone will not save the country from its quick entry into a state of an all-out collapse.
Mr. President, as you set out to declare a yes or no answer to the 2011 presidency on or about September 10th, 2010; hopefully you will remind the nation of the story of Egbosele Eromonsele as it relates to the need for a commons sense governance of the nation, despite the so called sacred state of the country.
~ By John Oshodi
John Egbeazien Oshodi, Ph.D, DABPS, FACFE is a practicing Forensic/Clinical Psychologist and the Interim Associate Dean of Academic Affairs-Behavioral Science, North Campus, Broward College, Coconut Creek, Florida. joshodi@broward.edu.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
MTN Project Fame West Africa is a Blessing to Nigeria
No doubt, MTN Project Fame West Africa is the best music talent show on TV in Nigeria.
The music director of Project Fame West Africa Ben Ogbeiwi is a total package. The guy is God sent to the participants.
He is a genius as a teacher with a down-to-earth sense of humour.
The Faculty of MTN Project Fame West Africa is doing for the participants what no music school in Nigeria can do.
Yetunde, one of the contestants.My favourite contestant is Yetunde.
I rate it 100%.
Friday, August 20, 2010
2011 Frist Center Exhibition Schedule Features Andy Warhol, Art of India, Egyptian and Shaker Cultures, Northern Renaissance Paintings
19 Aug 2010 23:30 Africa/Lagos
2011 Frist Center Exhibition Schedule Features Andy Warhol, Art of India, Egyptian and Shaker Cultures, Northern Renaissance Paintings
Contemporary Art Exhibitions Include Works of William Eggleston, Simen Johan, Vesna Pavlovic, Magdalena Compos-Pons
NASHVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Frist Center for the Visual Arts celebrates its tenth year and continues to gain prominence as a major center for art exhibitions with the 2011 Ingram Gallery exhibition schedule that includes the Frist-organized Vishnu: Hinduism's Blue-Skinned Savior, Warhol Live: Music and Dance in Andy Warhol's Work and the stunning exhibition of Egyptian antiquities, To Live Forever: Egyptian Treasures from the Brooklyn Museum.
The Frist Center's Upper-Level Galleries will feature photographs by Tennessee native William Eggleston, one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century, an important collection of Shaker furniture, Northern Renaissance paintings from Bob Jones University and works of Cuban-born installation artist and photographer Maria Magdalena Compos-Pons. The Gordon Contemporary Artists Project Gallery will showcase photographs and sculptures by the New York-based Simen Johan, Vanderbilt University Assistant Professor of Art and Serbian native Vesna Pavlovic, as well as a large-scale sculptural installation by Tracey Snelling of Oakland, California.
The Frist Center's schedule of exhibitions for 2011 in order of opening:
William Eggleston: Anointing the Overlooked
Jan. 21-May 1, 2011
Upper-Level Galleries
William Eggleston: Anointing the Overlooked brings together more than 70 photographs made by the Memphis, Tenn., resident who is one of the most influential artists of his generation. The exhibition includes iconic images from the early 1970s, important series and portfolios held in the Memphis Brooks collection as well as the rarely seen 21st Century Photographs. William Eggleston was a key figure in charting a new course for color photography. Prior to his first exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (New York) in 1976, fine art photography was typically black and white, while color photography was used commercially. By not censoring, rarely editing and photographing the seemingly banal, Eggleston reminds us of the inherently democratic uses of and wide-spread access to photography. His images are psychologically complex, yet structurally quotidian, drawing attention to the power and beauty of the overlooked. Eggleston's work has influenced subsequent generations of fine art photographers and contemporary artists. The exhibition is organized for the Frist Center for the Visual Arts by Susan H. Edwards, Ph.D., Frist Center executive director and CEO.
Vishnu: Hinduism's Blue-Skinned Savior
Feb. 20-May 29, 2011
Ingram Gallery
Vishnu: Hinduism's Blue-Skinned Savior will be the first major museum exhibition to focus on Vishnu--one of Hinduism's three major deities. Composed of approximately 150 paintings and sculptures made in India between the second century and 1900 A.D., this exhibition will serve as a brief survey of Hindu art styles as well as an examination of the Vaishnava (Vishnu-worshipping) tradition. Known as Hinduism's gentle god, Vishnu is easily recognized in paintings because of his blue skin, which legend states is the result of ingesting a particularly powerful poison that threatened to destroy the world.
The exhibition will be accompanied by an illustrated catalog published by Mapin Publishing, an Indian art book publishing company.
Vishnu: Hinduism's Blue-Skinned Savior is organized by the Frist Center for the Visual Arts with Guest Curator Joan Cummins.
Simen Johan: Until the Kingdom Comes
Feb. 20-May 29, 2011
Gordon Contemporary Artists Project Gallery
Simen Johan's works reflect uneasy connections between humans and other species. His digital photographs, which show live or taxidermied animals Photoshopped onto various natural and human-made landscape environments, blur boundaries between the real and unreal, animal and human and beauty and brutality. His sculptures of taxidermied birds are interwoven with insects and foliage, serving in his words as "miniature parasitical ecosystems."
Simen Johan: Until the Kingdom Comes is organized by the Frist Center for the Visual Arts.
Connecting Cultures: Children's Stories from Across the World
April 15, 2011-March 27, 2012
Conte Community Arts Gallery
This exhibition is the result of the Frist Center for the Visual Arts and ten diverse local community organizations working together on a project that explores the ways art may be used to tell children's stories from a number of cultural perspectives. Starting with the premise that the stories of children simultaneously reflect unique cultural values as well as perspectives that are shared across cultures, the stories presented in this exhibition present universal human experiences and concerns that connect us all.
Connecting Cultures: Children's Stories from Across the World is organized by the Frist Center for the Visual Arts.
Gather Up the Fragments: The Andrews Shaker Collection
May 20-Aug. 21, 2011
Upper-Level Galleries
Gather Up the Fragments focuses upon the collection of Faith and Edward Deming Andrews, who from the 1920s through the 1960s formed a large and important assemblage of Shaker art and pioneered Shaker studies. This comprehensive exhibition includes more than 270 objects--furniture, drawings, household objects, textiles, baskets and kitchen implements--and will provide insight into this intriguing religious group that valued many ideas that resonate today such as equality, pacifism, community, sustainability, responsible land stewardship, innovation, simplicity, and quality in work.
Gather Up the Fragments: The Andrews Shaker Collection is organized by Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield, MA.
Warhol Live: Music and Dance in Andy Warhol's Work
June 24-Sept. 11, 2011
Ingram Gallery
Over the course of his meteoric career, Andy Warhol (1928-1987) used the medium of music to transform himself from fan to record album designer, producer, celebrity night-clubber and rock impresario. Warhol Live presents a comprehensive exploration of the artist's work as experienced through the lens of music and dance. This exhibition juxtaposes major pieces (Elvis, Marilyn, Liza Minnelli, Grace Jones, Mick Jagger, Debbie Harry, the Self-portraits and the Campbell's Soup Cans) with lesser-known works inspired by music and the performing arts (album covers, illustrations, photos and Polaroids), along with films and sound recordings, which provide a visual and aural score to Warhol's extraordinary work and life. The exhibition includes nearly 300 works, including objects and documents from the artist's personal archives.
Warhol Live: Music and Dance in Andy Warhol's Work is produced by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in partnership with The Andy Warhol Museum, one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh.
Vesna Pavlovic: Projected Histories
June 24-Sept. 11, 2011
Gordon Contemporary Artists Project Gallery
This exhibition will include photographs taken in Vesna Pavlovic's native Serbia and the United States over the last two decades. Focusing on sites and events of cultural significance, Pavlovic examines the power of photography to shape the perception of history as an expression of people's dreams and aspirations by projecting and conflating self-images and national ideologies. The exhibition begins with a selection of photographs that were taken in Serbia during the 1990s and explore the failure of utopian modernism under Communism while posing questions about the veneer of normalcy maintained during the civil war and allied bombardment. It concludes with an installation of recent works that considers the values and consumerist ideologies relating to contemporary American life.
Vesna Pavlovic: Projected Histories is organized by the Frist Center for the Visual Arts.
A Divine Light: Northern Renaissance Paintings from Bob Jones University Museum & Gallery
Sept. 9, 2011-Feb. 5, 2012
Upper-Level Galleries
This exhibition, which has received support from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, presents twenty-eight Renaissance paintings from one of the most renowned Old Master collections in the United States. The collection was formed during the mid-twentieth century by the evangelical preacher Dr. Bob Jones, Sr., for display at the university bearing his name in Greenville, S.C. The large number of Baroque paintings that Jones acquired tends to overshadow other parts of the collection, and A Divine Light marks the first time that the museum's equally beautiful Northern Renaissance paintings have been the sole focus of an exhibition and catalogue. These works of art, which consist of altarpieces and private devotional paintings, will be considered in regard to the latest scholarship and theories about the visual culture of the Renaissance. Several paintings will undergo conservation treatment in preparation for their presentation at the Frist Center.
A Divine Light: Northern Renaissance Paintings from Bob Jones University Museum & Gallery is organized by the Frist Center for the Visual Arts.
Maria Magdalena Compos-Pons: Journeys
Sept. 9, 2011-Feb. 5, 2012
Upper-Level Galleries
The Cuban-born artist Maria Magdelena Campos-Pons creates photographs, video and multi-media installations that tell the story of the survival of African cultures by evoking rites, myths and narratives that have evolved through generations. Her work symbolically follows the history of the slave trade from her family's origin in Nigeria to Cuba, where they worked in the sugar industry, to present-day Boston, where Campos-Pons now works and teaches.
Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons: Journeys is organized by the Frist Center for the Visual Arts.
To Live Forever: Egyptian Treasures from the Brooklyn Museum
Oct. 7, 2011-Jan. 8, 2012
Ingram Gallery
Following the incredibly successful Quest for Immortality exhibition, which came to the Frist Center in 2006, To Live Forever: Egyptian Treasures from the Brooklyn Museum includes 109 important works from the superb collection of the Brooklyn Museum that illustrate Egyptian beliefs regarding the defeat of death and promise of the eternal afterlife. To Live Forever explores the ancient Egyptian belief that proper preparation could enable a person to overcome the finality of death. The objects on display, including coffins, jewels and statuary from the Brooklyn Museum's extensive, world-renowned collection, introduce visitors to the mysteries of mummification, the funeral procession and rituals that prepared the entombed deceased for passage to the underworld, the final judgment of the gods in determining the disposition of the soul and the idealized afterlife. The objects in the exhibition were created over a period of more than 4,000 years.
To Live Forever: Egyptian Treasures from the Brooklyn Museum has been organized by the Brooklyn Museum.
Tracey Snelling: Woman on the Run
Oct. 7, 2011-Jan. 8, 2012
Gordon Contemporary Artists Project Gallery
Tracey Snelling's sculptures of vernacular buildings, streets and rundown neighborhoods show a keen sensitivity to the psychological tensions and hidden narratives of small town America. A large tableau of wooden structures, videos, projections and other mediums, Woman on the Run provides a film-noir-like setting for a crime story in which a mysterious woman is sought for questioning in a murder.
Tracey Snelling: Woman on the Run is organized by the Frist Center for the Visual Arts.
About the Frist Center
Accredited by the American Association of Museums, the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, located at 919 Broadway in downtown Nashville, Tenn., is an art exhibition center dedicated to presenting the finest visual art from local, regional, U.S. and international sources in a program of changing exhibitions. The Frist Center's Martin ArtQuest Gallery features interactive stations relating to Frist Center exhibitions. Gallery admission to the Frist Center is free for visitors 18 and younger and to Frist Center members. With possible exception for some specially-ticketed exhibitions, Frist Center admission is $10.00 for adults and $7.00 for seniors, military and college students with ID. College students are admitted free Thursday and Friday evenings, 5-9 p.m. Discounts are offered for groups of 10 or more with advance reservation by calling (615) 744-3247. The Frist Center is open seven days a week: Mondays through Wednesdays, and Saturdays, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; Thursdays and Fridays, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. and Sundays, 1-5:30 p.m., with the Frist Center Cafe opening at noon. Additional information is available by calling (615) 244-3340 or by visiting our Web site at www.fristcenter.org.
Source: Frist Center for the Visual Arts
CONTACT: Ellen Jones Pryor, +1-615-243-1311, epryor@fristcenter.org,
ejpryor@aol.com, or Emily Harper Beard, +1-615-744-3331,
ebeard@fristcenter.org
Web Site: http://www.fristcenter.org/
2011 Frist Center Exhibition Schedule Features Andy Warhol, Art of India, Egyptian and Shaker Cultures, Northern Renaissance Paintings
Contemporary Art Exhibitions Include Works of William Eggleston, Simen Johan, Vesna Pavlovic, Magdalena Compos-Pons
NASHVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Frist Center for the Visual Arts celebrates its tenth year and continues to gain prominence as a major center for art exhibitions with the 2011 Ingram Gallery exhibition schedule that includes the Frist-organized Vishnu: Hinduism's Blue-Skinned Savior, Warhol Live: Music and Dance in Andy Warhol's Work and the stunning exhibition of Egyptian antiquities, To Live Forever: Egyptian Treasures from the Brooklyn Museum.
The Frist Center's Upper-Level Galleries will feature photographs by Tennessee native William Eggleston, one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century, an important collection of Shaker furniture, Northern Renaissance paintings from Bob Jones University and works of Cuban-born installation artist and photographer Maria Magdalena Compos-Pons. The Gordon Contemporary Artists Project Gallery will showcase photographs and sculptures by the New York-based Simen Johan, Vanderbilt University Assistant Professor of Art and Serbian native Vesna Pavlovic, as well as a large-scale sculptural installation by Tracey Snelling of Oakland, California.
The Frist Center's schedule of exhibitions for 2011 in order of opening:
William Eggleston: Anointing the Overlooked
Jan. 21-May 1, 2011
Upper-Level Galleries
William Eggleston: Anointing the Overlooked brings together more than 70 photographs made by the Memphis, Tenn., resident who is one of the most influential artists of his generation. The exhibition includes iconic images from the early 1970s, important series and portfolios held in the Memphis Brooks collection as well as the rarely seen 21st Century Photographs. William Eggleston was a key figure in charting a new course for color photography. Prior to his first exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (New York) in 1976, fine art photography was typically black and white, while color photography was used commercially. By not censoring, rarely editing and photographing the seemingly banal, Eggleston reminds us of the inherently democratic uses of and wide-spread access to photography. His images are psychologically complex, yet structurally quotidian, drawing attention to the power and beauty of the overlooked. Eggleston's work has influenced subsequent generations of fine art photographers and contemporary artists. The exhibition is organized for the Frist Center for the Visual Arts by Susan H. Edwards, Ph.D., Frist Center executive director and CEO.
Vishnu: Hinduism's Blue-Skinned Savior
Feb. 20-May 29, 2011
Ingram Gallery
Vishnu: Hinduism's Blue-Skinned Savior will be the first major museum exhibition to focus on Vishnu--one of Hinduism's three major deities. Composed of approximately 150 paintings and sculptures made in India between the second century and 1900 A.D., this exhibition will serve as a brief survey of Hindu art styles as well as an examination of the Vaishnava (Vishnu-worshipping) tradition. Known as Hinduism's gentle god, Vishnu is easily recognized in paintings because of his blue skin, which legend states is the result of ingesting a particularly powerful poison that threatened to destroy the world.
The exhibition will be accompanied by an illustrated catalog published by Mapin Publishing, an Indian art book publishing company.
Vishnu: Hinduism's Blue-Skinned Savior is organized by the Frist Center for the Visual Arts with Guest Curator Joan Cummins.
Simen Johan: Until the Kingdom Comes
Feb. 20-May 29, 2011
Gordon Contemporary Artists Project Gallery
Simen Johan's works reflect uneasy connections between humans and other species. His digital photographs, which show live or taxidermied animals Photoshopped onto various natural and human-made landscape environments, blur boundaries between the real and unreal, animal and human and beauty and brutality. His sculptures of taxidermied birds are interwoven with insects and foliage, serving in his words as "miniature parasitical ecosystems."
Simen Johan: Until the Kingdom Comes is organized by the Frist Center for the Visual Arts.
Connecting Cultures: Children's Stories from Across the World
April 15, 2011-March 27, 2012
Conte Community Arts Gallery
This exhibition is the result of the Frist Center for the Visual Arts and ten diverse local community organizations working together on a project that explores the ways art may be used to tell children's stories from a number of cultural perspectives. Starting with the premise that the stories of children simultaneously reflect unique cultural values as well as perspectives that are shared across cultures, the stories presented in this exhibition present universal human experiences and concerns that connect us all.
Connecting Cultures: Children's Stories from Across the World is organized by the Frist Center for the Visual Arts.
Gather Up the Fragments: The Andrews Shaker Collection
May 20-Aug. 21, 2011
Upper-Level Galleries
Gather Up the Fragments focuses upon the collection of Faith and Edward Deming Andrews, who from the 1920s through the 1960s formed a large and important assemblage of Shaker art and pioneered Shaker studies. This comprehensive exhibition includes more than 270 objects--furniture, drawings, household objects, textiles, baskets and kitchen implements--and will provide insight into this intriguing religious group that valued many ideas that resonate today such as equality, pacifism, community, sustainability, responsible land stewardship, innovation, simplicity, and quality in work.
Gather Up the Fragments: The Andrews Shaker Collection is organized by Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield, MA.
Warhol Live: Music and Dance in Andy Warhol's Work
June 24-Sept. 11, 2011
Ingram Gallery
Over the course of his meteoric career, Andy Warhol (1928-1987) used the medium of music to transform himself from fan to record album designer, producer, celebrity night-clubber and rock impresario. Warhol Live presents a comprehensive exploration of the artist's work as experienced through the lens of music and dance. This exhibition juxtaposes major pieces (Elvis, Marilyn, Liza Minnelli, Grace Jones, Mick Jagger, Debbie Harry, the Self-portraits and the Campbell's Soup Cans) with lesser-known works inspired by music and the performing arts (album covers, illustrations, photos and Polaroids), along with films and sound recordings, which provide a visual and aural score to Warhol's extraordinary work and life. The exhibition includes nearly 300 works, including objects and documents from the artist's personal archives.
Warhol Live: Music and Dance in Andy Warhol's Work is produced by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in partnership with The Andy Warhol Museum, one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh.
Vesna Pavlovic: Projected Histories
June 24-Sept. 11, 2011
Gordon Contemporary Artists Project Gallery
This exhibition will include photographs taken in Vesna Pavlovic's native Serbia and the United States over the last two decades. Focusing on sites and events of cultural significance, Pavlovic examines the power of photography to shape the perception of history as an expression of people's dreams and aspirations by projecting and conflating self-images and national ideologies. The exhibition begins with a selection of photographs that were taken in Serbia during the 1990s and explore the failure of utopian modernism under Communism while posing questions about the veneer of normalcy maintained during the civil war and allied bombardment. It concludes with an installation of recent works that considers the values and consumerist ideologies relating to contemporary American life.
Vesna Pavlovic: Projected Histories is organized by the Frist Center for the Visual Arts.
A Divine Light: Northern Renaissance Paintings from Bob Jones University Museum & Gallery
Sept. 9, 2011-Feb. 5, 2012
Upper-Level Galleries
This exhibition, which has received support from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, presents twenty-eight Renaissance paintings from one of the most renowned Old Master collections in the United States. The collection was formed during the mid-twentieth century by the evangelical preacher Dr. Bob Jones, Sr., for display at the university bearing his name in Greenville, S.C. The large number of Baroque paintings that Jones acquired tends to overshadow other parts of the collection, and A Divine Light marks the first time that the museum's equally beautiful Northern Renaissance paintings have been the sole focus of an exhibition and catalogue. These works of art, which consist of altarpieces and private devotional paintings, will be considered in regard to the latest scholarship and theories about the visual culture of the Renaissance. Several paintings will undergo conservation treatment in preparation for their presentation at the Frist Center.
A Divine Light: Northern Renaissance Paintings from Bob Jones University Museum & Gallery is organized by the Frist Center for the Visual Arts.
Maria Magdalena Compos-Pons: Journeys
Sept. 9, 2011-Feb. 5, 2012
Upper-Level Galleries
The Cuban-born artist Maria Magdelena Campos-Pons creates photographs, video and multi-media installations that tell the story of the survival of African cultures by evoking rites, myths and narratives that have evolved through generations. Her work symbolically follows the history of the slave trade from her family's origin in Nigeria to Cuba, where they worked in the sugar industry, to present-day Boston, where Campos-Pons now works and teaches.
Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons: Journeys is organized by the Frist Center for the Visual Arts.
To Live Forever: Egyptian Treasures from the Brooklyn Museum
Oct. 7, 2011-Jan. 8, 2012
Ingram Gallery
Following the incredibly successful Quest for Immortality exhibition, which came to the Frist Center in 2006, To Live Forever: Egyptian Treasures from the Brooklyn Museum includes 109 important works from the superb collection of the Brooklyn Museum that illustrate Egyptian beliefs regarding the defeat of death and promise of the eternal afterlife. To Live Forever explores the ancient Egyptian belief that proper preparation could enable a person to overcome the finality of death. The objects on display, including coffins, jewels and statuary from the Brooklyn Museum's extensive, world-renowned collection, introduce visitors to the mysteries of mummification, the funeral procession and rituals that prepared the entombed deceased for passage to the underworld, the final judgment of the gods in determining the disposition of the soul and the idealized afterlife. The objects in the exhibition were created over a period of more than 4,000 years.
To Live Forever: Egyptian Treasures from the Brooklyn Museum has been organized by the Brooklyn Museum.
Tracey Snelling: Woman on the Run
Oct. 7, 2011-Jan. 8, 2012
Gordon Contemporary Artists Project Gallery
Tracey Snelling's sculptures of vernacular buildings, streets and rundown neighborhoods show a keen sensitivity to the psychological tensions and hidden narratives of small town America. A large tableau of wooden structures, videos, projections and other mediums, Woman on the Run provides a film-noir-like setting for a crime story in which a mysterious woman is sought for questioning in a murder.
Tracey Snelling: Woman on the Run is organized by the Frist Center for the Visual Arts.
About the Frist Center
Accredited by the American Association of Museums, the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, located at 919 Broadway in downtown Nashville, Tenn., is an art exhibition center dedicated to presenting the finest visual art from local, regional, U.S. and international sources in a program of changing exhibitions. The Frist Center's Martin ArtQuest Gallery features interactive stations relating to Frist Center exhibitions. Gallery admission to the Frist Center is free for visitors 18 and younger and to Frist Center members. With possible exception for some specially-ticketed exhibitions, Frist Center admission is $10.00 for adults and $7.00 for seniors, military and college students with ID. College students are admitted free Thursday and Friday evenings, 5-9 p.m. Discounts are offered for groups of 10 or more with advance reservation by calling (615) 744-3247. The Frist Center is open seven days a week: Mondays through Wednesdays, and Saturdays, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; Thursdays and Fridays, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. and Sundays, 1-5:30 p.m., with the Frist Center Cafe opening at noon. Additional information is available by calling (615) 244-3340 or by visiting our Web site at www.fristcenter.org.
Source: Frist Center for the Visual Arts
CONTACT: Ellen Jones Pryor, +1-615-243-1311, epryor@fristcenter.org,
ejpryor@aol.com, or Emily Harper Beard, +1-615-744-3331,
ebeard@fristcenter.org
Web Site: http://www.fristcenter.org/
| Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time | |
| 19 Aug 2010 | |
| 23:30 | 2011 Frist Center Exhibition Schedule Features Andy Warhol, Art of India, Egyptian and Shaker Cultures, Northern Renaissance Paintings |
| 16:45 | 'Manna From Heaven' for U.S. Wheat Exporters  |
| 14:00 | Delta Launches Special Introductory Fares to Monrovia, Liberia |
| 18 Aug 2010 | |
Thursday, August 19, 2010
President Goodluck Jonathan, Stop Fooling Nigerians On Facebook
President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria, majority of Nigerians are not on Facebook and do not care whether you are on Facebook or not.
Being on Facebook is not what they need.
They want to see you address the brazen acts of corruption in your office and the National Assembly.
They want to see you order the IG to stop the illegal toll-gates called police check-points on the streets and highways in Nigeria.
They want to see you prosecuting your corrupt political godfathers who have been indicted for corrupt practices in the Halliburton Bribery Scandal, Siemens Bribery Scandal, your wife, Mrs. Patience Jonathan involvemement of 104 million naira and 13.5 million dollars money laundering case and others you have ignored while you have been chasing shadows on Facebook.
They want to see you addressing the endless cases of pensioners who are suffering and dying.
They want to see an end to doctors going on strike.
They want to see an end to collapsing public schools at all levels of education.
Where did IBB, OBJ and AA get the millions of dollars for establishing private universities?
Do not squander and waste billions of naira on 50th Independence Anniversary of Nigeria.
Spend the billions of naira on modern health care services for Nigerians who cannot afford foreign medical trips.
You do not need new planes for your Presidential Fleet.
Your current Minister of Information and Communications is a square peg in a round hole. She seems confused and would be more competent in the Ministry of Health.
The list is endless.
HOW MANY NIGERIANS HAVE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET?
President Goodluck Jonathan is only fooling Nigerians on Facebook.
Let him face our realities on the streets, towns and villages.
Being on Facebook is not adding anything to our GDP or GNP.
Being on Facebook will not eradicate corruption in Nigeria.
Stop pretending on Facebook and come down to the streets of Nigeria and face the realities of the crimes and evils of your ruling party.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is the most corrupt political party in the history of Nigeria and Nigerians would be better and safer without the PDP.
~ By Orikinla Osinachi
Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time
19 Aug 2010
19:34
Pelosi Statement on Final American Brigade Combat Team Exiting Iraq
19:33
Little League World Series Fans: Explore Williamsport's 'Outfield;' Boost Your Social Media Standings
19:32
Côte d'Ivoire / L'ONUCI organise une séance de sensibilisation à un environnement électoral apaise à Ndebo
19:31
Côte d'Ivoire / L'ONUCI apporte un nouvel appui pour l‘encasernement des ex combattants
19:31
EAC Secretary general congratulates new Kenya minister OF EAC
19:31
EAC Secretary General congratulates president Kagame on election victory
19:30
Harris Supports Red Cross Flood Relief Efforts in Pakistan
19:25
Video Feed: Governor Rendell Releases Poll Showing Transportation Funding Support
19:19
Black Journalists' Group Calls for Forum on 'Talk Show Hate'
19:15
VH1 Save The Music Foundation to Honor John Mayer and The ASCAP Foundation at The VH1 Save The Music Foundation's 2010 Gala Presented by LG Mobile Phones
19:12
Cal/OSHA Adopts Revised Heat Safety Regulations
19:10
Kids' Sports Training Injuries on the Rise
19:06
Amerigroup Donates More Than 100 Computers to Georgia Nonprofits
19:04
XBRL US Labs Launches Brix Project, Releases Brix iPhone App
19:00
New Session on 'The Power of a Positive No' Debuts at Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School
18:59
To Keep Reducing Smoking, Washington Leaders Must Restore Funding for Successful Tobacco Prevention Program
18:56
Law Pivot Launches Its Confidential Legal Question and Answer Service for California Technology Companies and Lawyers
18:52
Greek Americans to Port Authority: Rebuild Ground Zero Church
18:43
St. Louis Fed's Bullard Discusses the Outlook for the U.S. Economy and Monetary Policy
18:35
Cargill Smallholder Scheme Receives RSPO Sustainability Certification
18:33
Simmons College Named a 'Best College' by U.S. News & World Report, The Princeton Review, and Forbes.Com
18:30
Experts to Florida PSC: We Told You So!
18:27
Washington's Adult Smoking Rate Now Third Lowest in the Nation
18:17
Bicyclist Rides from Alaska to Florida to Raise Funds and Awareness for Suicide Prevention and Mental Health
18:11
The Real Deal, Philly Style: Cafe Martorano Files Lawsuit Against Rhode Island Imitator
18:05
U.S. Appeals Court Reinstates Claim That Controversial Diet Drug Redux Should Never Have Been Offered to American People
17:51
The Cooper Institute Launches Personal Training Education Course Online
Growing Number of Americans Who Say Barack Obama is a Muslim
9 Aug 2010 05:01 Africa/Lagos
New Pew Research Center Survey Reveals Growing Number of Americans Who Say Barack Obama is a Muslim
WASHINGTON, Aug. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life finds that a substantial and growing number of Americans say that Barack Obama is a Muslim, while the proportion saying he is a Christian has declined. More than a year and a half into his presidency, a plurality of the public says they do not know what religion Obama follows.
According to the survey, nearly one-in-five Americans (18%) now say Obama is a Muslim -- an increase from 11% in March 2009. Only about one-third of adults (34%) say Obama is a Christian, a sharp decrease from 48% in 2009. Fully 43% say they do not know what Obama's religion is. The survey was completed in early August, before Obama's recent comments about the proposed construction of a mosque near the site of the former World Trade Center.
The belief that Obama is a Muslim has increased most sharply among Republicans (up 14 points since 2009), especially conservative Republicans (up 16 points). But the number of independents who say Obama is a Muslim has also increased significantly (up eight points). There has been little change in the number of Democrats who say Obama is a Muslim, but fewer Democrats today say he is a Christian (down nine points since 2009).
The new poll, conducted between July 21 and Aug. 5 among 3,003 respondents, also examines the link between Americans' perception of Obama's religion and their opinion of his job performance, and covers views on the President's approach to religion, including the influence of his religious beliefs on policy decisions. In addition, the survey explores Americans' attitudes toward churches' involvement in politics and religion's influence on American life and government, and looks at religion's impact on voting preferences for the upcoming 2010 congressional races.
The report, including a summary and topline questionnaire, will be accessible on the Forum's new Web feature, "Religion & Politics 2010," which provides a variety of election resources, including:
-- Poll analyses and survey reports on topics related to the midterm
elections
-- Links to news stories about religion-related issues impacting 2010
congressional and gubernatorial races around the country
-- "Election news briefs" highlighting interesting articles and common
themes making news headlines
The Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life conducts surveys, demographic analyses and other social science research on important aspects of religion and public life in the U.S. and around the world. As part of the Washington-based Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan, nonadvocacy organization, the Pew Forum does not take positions on any of the issues it covers or on policy debates.
Source: Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life
CONTACT: Liga Plaveniece of Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion &
Public Life, Communications Coordinator, +1-202-419-4586
Web Site: http://www.pewforum.org/
New Pew Research Center Survey Reveals Growing Number of Americans Who Say Barack Obama is a Muslim
WASHINGTON, Aug. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life finds that a substantial and growing number of Americans say that Barack Obama is a Muslim, while the proportion saying he is a Christian has declined. More than a year and a half into his presidency, a plurality of the public says they do not know what religion Obama follows.
According to the survey, nearly one-in-five Americans (18%) now say Obama is a Muslim -- an increase from 11% in March 2009. Only about one-third of adults (34%) say Obama is a Christian, a sharp decrease from 48% in 2009. Fully 43% say they do not know what Obama's religion is. The survey was completed in early August, before Obama's recent comments about the proposed construction of a mosque near the site of the former World Trade Center.
The belief that Obama is a Muslim has increased most sharply among Republicans (up 14 points since 2009), especially conservative Republicans (up 16 points). But the number of independents who say Obama is a Muslim has also increased significantly (up eight points). There has been little change in the number of Democrats who say Obama is a Muslim, but fewer Democrats today say he is a Christian (down nine points since 2009).
The new poll, conducted between July 21 and Aug. 5 among 3,003 respondents, also examines the link between Americans' perception of Obama's religion and their opinion of his job performance, and covers views on the President's approach to religion, including the influence of his religious beliefs on policy decisions. In addition, the survey explores Americans' attitudes toward churches' involvement in politics and religion's influence on American life and government, and looks at religion's impact on voting preferences for the upcoming 2010 congressional races.
The report, including a summary and topline questionnaire, will be accessible on the Forum's new Web feature, "Religion & Politics 2010," which provides a variety of election resources, including:
-- Poll analyses and survey reports on topics related to the midterm
elections
-- Links to news stories about religion-related issues impacting 2010
congressional and gubernatorial races around the country
-- "Election news briefs" highlighting interesting articles and common
themes making news headlines
The Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life conducts surveys, demographic analyses and other social science research on important aspects of religion and public life in the U.S. and around the world. As part of the Washington-based Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan, nonadvocacy organization, the Pew Forum does not take positions on any of the issues it covers or on policy debates.
Source: Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life
CONTACT: Liga Plaveniece of Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion &
Public Life, Communications Coordinator, +1-202-419-4586
Web Site: http://www.pewforum.org/
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
President Barack Obama Speaks on Ending the War in Iraq
Good afternoon,
Shortly after taking office, I put forward a plan to end the war in Iraq responsibly. Today, I'm pleased to report that -- thanks to the extraordinary service of our troops and civilians in Iraq -- our combat mission will end this month, and we will complete a substantial drawdown of our troops.
Over the last 18 months, over 90,000 U.S. troops have left Iraq. By the end of this month, 50,000 troops will be serving in Iraq. As Iraqi Security Forces take responsibility for securing their country, our troops will move to an advise-and-assist role. And, consistent with our agreement with the Iraqi government, all of our troops will be out of Iraq by the end of next year. Meanwhile, we will continue to build a strong partnership with the Iraqi people with an increased civilian commitment and diplomatic effort.
A few weeks ago, men and women from one of the most deployed brigades in the U.S. Army, the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, returned home from Iraq. The Vice President and Dr. Jill Biden were at Fort Drum to welcome the veterans home and spoke about their personal experiences as a military family:
Our commitment to our troops doesn't end once they come home -- it's only the beginning. Part of ending a war responsibly is meeting our responsibility to the men and women who have fought it. Our troops and their families have made tremendous sacrifices to keep our nation safe and secure, and as a nation we have a moral obligation to serve our veterans as well as they have served us.
That's why we're building a 21st century Department of Veterans Affairs. We've made one of the largest percentage increase in the VA’s budget in 30 years, and we're dramatically increasing funding for veterans' health across the board. In particular, we're delivering unprecedented resources to treat signature wounds of today's wars—Traumatic Brain Injury and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Our sacred trust to take care of our veterans goes beyond simply healing the wounds incurred in battle. We must ensure that when our veterans leave the Armed Forces, they have the opportunities they need to further their education and support their families. Through the Post-9/11 GI Bill, some 300,000 veterans and families members have pursued a college degree. Others are taking advantage of job training and placement programs.
My Administration will continue to do our part to support the brave men and women in uniform that have sacrificed so much. But supporting our troops and their families is not just the job of the Federal Government; it's the responsibility of all Americans.
As we mark this milestone in the Iraq war and our troops continue to move out of Iraq, I hope you'll join me in thanking them, and all of our troops and military families, for their service.
Sincerely,
President Barack Obama
Shortly after taking office, I put forward a plan to end the war in Iraq responsibly. Today, I'm pleased to report that -- thanks to the extraordinary service of our troops and civilians in Iraq -- our combat mission will end this month, and we will complete a substantial drawdown of our troops.
Over the last 18 months, over 90,000 U.S. troops have left Iraq. By the end of this month, 50,000 troops will be serving in Iraq. As Iraqi Security Forces take responsibility for securing their country, our troops will move to an advise-and-assist role. And, consistent with our agreement with the Iraqi government, all of our troops will be out of Iraq by the end of next year. Meanwhile, we will continue to build a strong partnership with the Iraqi people with an increased civilian commitment and diplomatic effort.
A few weeks ago, men and women from one of the most deployed brigades in the U.S. Army, the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, returned home from Iraq. The Vice President and Dr. Jill Biden were at Fort Drum to welcome the veterans home and spoke about their personal experiences as a military family:
Our commitment to our troops doesn't end once they come home -- it's only the beginning. Part of ending a war responsibly is meeting our responsibility to the men and women who have fought it. Our troops and their families have made tremendous sacrifices to keep our nation safe and secure, and as a nation we have a moral obligation to serve our veterans as well as they have served us.
That's why we're building a 21st century Department of Veterans Affairs. We've made one of the largest percentage increase in the VA’s budget in 30 years, and we're dramatically increasing funding for veterans' health across the board. In particular, we're delivering unprecedented resources to treat signature wounds of today's wars—Traumatic Brain Injury and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Our sacred trust to take care of our veterans goes beyond simply healing the wounds incurred in battle. We must ensure that when our veterans leave the Armed Forces, they have the opportunities they need to further their education and support their families. Through the Post-9/11 GI Bill, some 300,000 veterans and families members have pursued a college degree. Others are taking advantage of job training and placement programs.
My Administration will continue to do our part to support the brave men and women in uniform that have sacrificed so much. But supporting our troops and their families is not just the job of the Federal Government; it's the responsibility of all Americans.
As we mark this milestone in the Iraq war and our troops continue to move out of Iraq, I hope you'll join me in thanking them, and all of our troops and military families, for their service.
Sincerely,
President Barack Obama
Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time 18 Aug 2010 13:25 Additional Assistance to Peacekeeping Training Centers in Africa
African Media and New Business Models in Cameroon
A24 Media Supports Media Forum to Tackle Issue of Funding for African Media and New Business Models in Cameroon )
Funding African Media in an Age of Uncertain Business Models will be
the main theme of the African Media Leaders Forum (AMLF) when it meets
in Yaoundé, Cameroon in November.
The Forum is the flagship programme of the African Media Initiative
(AMI) and is the only annual gathering of African media owners and
operators from around the continent. “The main objective of the
Forum is to facilitate the emergence of an African media sector that
is professional, financially sustainable, technologically adaptable
and socially responsible,” according to Amadou Mahtar Ba, AMI CEO.
The Forum, which will take place on the 18th and 19th November, is
being hosted by the Spectrum Media Group, one of the largest
broadcasters on the continent, which operates out of West and Central
Africa. Over 250 participants including CEOs, managing directors,
publishers and media leaders from Africa and beyond are expected to
attend. The organizers have reported an over five-fold increase in
number of participants attending when compared to the first AMLF which
was held in Dakar, Senegal in 2008
This year’s Forum will be organized around both plenary sessions and
working groups that will run simultaneously. The topics will be
Financing; Technology and New Business Models; and Ethics, Leadership
and Social Responsibility.
The co-chairs of the 2010 Forum are: Joyce Barnathan, President of the
International Center for Journalist (ICFJ), USA, Papa Madiaw Ndiaye,
CEO and Founder of the Advanced Finance & Investment Group, USA,
Reginald Mengi, Executive Chairman of IPP, Tanzania and Salim Amin,
Chairman, A24 Media and Camerapix, Kenya
“AMLF is honoured to have these leading professionals co-chair the
2010 Forum. We believe that their skills, views and experience will
provide invaluable input in discussions around how to improve the
media landscape in Africa and how to empower media to play a greater
role in promoting democracy, human development and economic growth on
the continent,” said Mr Mahtar Ba.
For more information, please contact:
Edith Muthoni Meme
+254 (0) 710 972 596
Noreen Wambui Nthiga
+254 (0) 722 210 842
Vimbai Kadenhe
+27 (0) 785 299 108
amlf2010@africanmediainitiative.org
Funding African Media in an Age of Uncertain Business Models will be
the main theme of the African Media Leaders Forum (AMLF) when it meets
in Yaoundé, Cameroon in November.
The Forum is the flagship programme of the African Media Initiative
(AMI) and is the only annual gathering of African media owners and
operators from around the continent. “The main objective of the
Forum is to facilitate the emergence of an African media sector that
is professional, financially sustainable, technologically adaptable
and socially responsible,” according to Amadou Mahtar Ba, AMI CEO.
The Forum, which will take place on the 18th and 19th November, is
being hosted by the Spectrum Media Group, one of the largest
broadcasters on the continent, which operates out of West and Central
Africa. Over 250 participants including CEOs, managing directors,
publishers and media leaders from Africa and beyond are expected to
attend. The organizers have reported an over five-fold increase in
number of participants attending when compared to the first AMLF which
was held in Dakar, Senegal in 2008
This year’s Forum will be organized around both plenary sessions and
working groups that will run simultaneously. The topics will be
Financing; Technology and New Business Models; and Ethics, Leadership
and Social Responsibility.
The co-chairs of the 2010 Forum are: Joyce Barnathan, President of the
International Center for Journalist (ICFJ), USA, Papa Madiaw Ndiaye,
CEO and Founder of the Advanced Finance & Investment Group, USA,
Reginald Mengi, Executive Chairman of IPP, Tanzania and Salim Amin,
Chairman, A24 Media and Camerapix, Kenya
“AMLF is honoured to have these leading professionals co-chair the
2010 Forum. We believe that their skills, views and experience will
provide invaluable input in discussions around how to improve the
media landscape in Africa and how to empower media to play a greater
role in promoting democracy, human development and economic growth on
the continent,” said Mr Mahtar Ba.
For more information, please contact:
Edith Muthoni Meme
+254 (0) 710 972 596
Noreen Wambui Nthiga
+254 (0) 722 210 842
Vimbai Kadenhe
+27 (0) 785 299 108
amlf2010@africanmediainitiative.org
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
7 of 10 LGBT Americans Say U.S. Remains Far from Gender Equality
7 Aug 2010 12:07 Africa/Lagos
7 of 10 LGBT Americans Say U.S. Remains Far from Gender Equality
90 Years After Enacting Women's Suffrage, LGBT Americans See Greater Evidence of Inequalities Still Facing 21st Century Women
NEW YORK, Aug. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- In 1920, 144 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, women in the United States achieved the right to vote. Ninety years later, the issues of gender equality remain debated and unresolved.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100517/NY06256LOGO )
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100517/NY06256LOGO )
Among all American adults, 63% agree that the U.S. still has a long way to go to reach complete gender quality. While three-quarters of women (74%) agree with this, so do just over half of men (52%). By comparison, when this question is posed to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) adults, 73% say the U.S. still has a long way to go, including 95% of lesbians (an especially notable finding when compared with 74% of heterosexual females.)
When querying whether things are fine between men and women, the nation is split - just over half of Americans (52%) disagree that things are fine between the genders while 43% say things are fine. But men and women have a different take on the situation with over half of men (55%) believing things are fine compared to just one-third (32%) of women who say the same.
However, when these overall findings are contrasted with the attitudes of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender adults, the differences become even sharper. Only 22% of lesbians (and 32% of gay men) suggest that things are fine between genders, as well as only one-third or 34% of all LGBT adults sampled.
These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,412 adults surveyed online between June 14 and 21, 2010 by Harris Interactive including 341 adults who self-identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender by Harris Interactive, a global market research and consulting firm, in conjunction with Witeck-Combs Communications, Inc., a strategic public relations and marketing communications firm with special expertise in the LGBT market. [Please note that this survey was designed to measure the general attitudes and beliefs of American adults about the changing roles of men and women in society - and not specifically about issues surrounding gender identity and expression nor about continued discrimination towards transgender Americans.]
Whether the issue of gender equality should be addressed is another question in these times with so many other pressing concerns. Three-quarters of U.S. adults (74%) agree that they do not think gender equality is perfect, but there are more pressing issues to fix first. And men and women are in agreement on this (74% of men agree as do 75% of women). A smaller majority (59%) of LGBT adults agrees that while gender equality is not perfect, there are other priorities requiring attention.
Women and Work
Some of the discrepancies the still unratified Equal Rights Amendment was intended to correct were chronic inequities in the workplace among men and women. Seven in ten Americans (69%) say that women often do not receive the same pay as men for doing exactly the same job; which rises to nearly eight in ten (79%) LGBT Americans.
Three in five of all U.S. adults (62%) and 72% of LGBT adults agree that women are often discriminated against in being promoted for supervisory and executive jobs. Women are much more likely than men to agree with this but almost half of men also agree with both sentiments. Four in five women (80%) and 96% of lesbians agree that women often do not receive the same pay for the same job compared to 58% of men (71% of gay men). Three out of four women (yet 93% of lesbians) agree women are discriminated against in their promotions compared to 48% of all men (and 69% of gay men).
For LGBT Americans, do these findings sound familiar?
In ninety years many things have changed for women in this country simply beginning with the right to vote. And some may argue things are better, but there is still the undercurrent that there are issues, especially when it comes to pay and employment, where things have not yet approached an equal footing with men.
Bob Witeck, CEO of Witeck-Combs Communications, which specializes in LGBT marketing and trends, notes that, "LGBT Americans, who most likely recognize the consequences of their own workplace and social inequities are especially sensitive to perceived discrimination in all forms. For gay Americans, these may be life lessons that mirror their own experiences - and demonstrate that the divide today between men and women remains as real as the evidence of unfair and unequal treatment still shown to women in public life."
TABLE 1
GENDER EQUALITY TODAY
"On another subject, August of this year will mark the 90th
anniversary of women receiving the right to vote in the United
States.
How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements about
gender equality in the United States
Click here for more Details.
7 of 10 LGBT Americans Say U.S. Remains Far from Gender Equality
90 Years After Enacting Women's Suffrage, LGBT Americans See Greater Evidence of Inequalities Still Facing 21st Century Women
NEW YORK, Aug. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- In 1920, 144 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, women in the United States achieved the right to vote. Ninety years later, the issues of gender equality remain debated and unresolved.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100517/NY06256LOGO )
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100517/NY06256LOGO )
Among all American adults, 63% agree that the U.S. still has a long way to go to reach complete gender quality. While three-quarters of women (74%) agree with this, so do just over half of men (52%). By comparison, when this question is posed to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) adults, 73% say the U.S. still has a long way to go, including 95% of lesbians (an especially notable finding when compared with 74% of heterosexual females.)
When querying whether things are fine between men and women, the nation is split - just over half of Americans (52%) disagree that things are fine between the genders while 43% say things are fine. But men and women have a different take on the situation with over half of men (55%) believing things are fine compared to just one-third (32%) of women who say the same.
However, when these overall findings are contrasted with the attitudes of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender adults, the differences become even sharper. Only 22% of lesbians (and 32% of gay men) suggest that things are fine between genders, as well as only one-third or 34% of all LGBT adults sampled.
These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,412 adults surveyed online between June 14 and 21, 2010 by Harris Interactive including 341 adults who self-identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender by Harris Interactive, a global market research and consulting firm, in conjunction with Witeck-Combs Communications, Inc., a strategic public relations and marketing communications firm with special expertise in the LGBT market. [Please note that this survey was designed to measure the general attitudes and beliefs of American adults about the changing roles of men and women in society - and not specifically about issues surrounding gender identity and expression nor about continued discrimination towards transgender Americans.]
Whether the issue of gender equality should be addressed is another question in these times with so many other pressing concerns. Three-quarters of U.S. adults (74%) agree that they do not think gender equality is perfect, but there are more pressing issues to fix first. And men and women are in agreement on this (74% of men agree as do 75% of women). A smaller majority (59%) of LGBT adults agrees that while gender equality is not perfect, there are other priorities requiring attention.
Women and Work
Some of the discrepancies the still unratified Equal Rights Amendment was intended to correct were chronic inequities in the workplace among men and women. Seven in ten Americans (69%) say that women often do not receive the same pay as men for doing exactly the same job; which rises to nearly eight in ten (79%) LGBT Americans.
Three in five of all U.S. adults (62%) and 72% of LGBT adults agree that women are often discriminated against in being promoted for supervisory and executive jobs. Women are much more likely than men to agree with this but almost half of men also agree with both sentiments. Four in five women (80%) and 96% of lesbians agree that women often do not receive the same pay for the same job compared to 58% of men (71% of gay men). Three out of four women (yet 93% of lesbians) agree women are discriminated against in their promotions compared to 48% of all men (and 69% of gay men).
For LGBT Americans, do these findings sound familiar?
In ninety years many things have changed for women in this country simply beginning with the right to vote. And some may argue things are better, but there is still the undercurrent that there are issues, especially when it comes to pay and employment, where things have not yet approached an equal footing with men.
Bob Witeck, CEO of Witeck-Combs Communications, which specializes in LGBT marketing and trends, notes that, "LGBT Americans, who most likely recognize the consequences of their own workplace and social inequities are especially sensitive to perceived discrimination in all forms. For gay Americans, these may be life lessons that mirror their own experiences - and demonstrate that the divide today between men and women remains as real as the evidence of unfair and unequal treatment still shown to women in public life."
TABLE 1
GENDER EQUALITY TODAY
"On another subject, August of this year will mark the 90th
anniversary of women receiving the right to vote in the United
States.
How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements about
gender equality in the United States
Click here for more Details.
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