Monday, March 14, 2011

Pass Bill to Prosecute Electoral Abuses and End Impunity for Electoral Offenses



14 Mar 2011 14:19 Africa/Lagos


Nigeria / Pass Bill to Prosecute Electoral Abuses / End Impunity for Electoral Offenses by Prosecuting Perpetrators

ABUJA, March 14, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The National Assembly should pass legislation establishing a special Electoral Offences Commission to investigate and prosecute election-related abuses, including violence, Human Rights Watch and the Nigerian Bar Association said today. Nigerian authorities should also set a clear precedent for accountability ahead of elections, planned for April 2011, by prosecuting under current law the perpetrators of recent abuses.


Nigeria has a history of violent and deeply flawed elections. At least 300 people were killed in violence linked to the last general elections in 2007, according to Human Rights Watch. Corrupt politicians, in many cases backed by mafia-like “godfathers,” openly mobilized gangs of thugs to terrorize ordinary citizens and political opponents and to stuff or steal ballot boxes. The police were often present during such incidents but frequently turned a blind eye or, at times, participated in abuses. The police have the sole power to investigate these crimes, yet no one has been held accountable.


“It's time for Nigeria to break with the past and to ensure that violence, intimidation, and fraud don't undermine the credibility of the upcoming elections,” said Dafe Akpedeye, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and chairman of the Election Working Group of the Nigerian Bar Association. “Setting up a properly resourced Electoral Offences Commission under strong leadership will send a clear signal to candidates and political parties that people may be held accountable for any election-related abuses.”


Nigerians will go to the polls on April 2 to elect National Assembly members, on April 9 to choose a president, and on April 16 to elect state governors and state assembly representatives.


Since November 2010, more than 50 people have been killed in violence linked to political party primaries and election campaigns. The level of violence is expected to increase in the days leading up to and during the elections based on experience during previous elections.


Challenges of the Current System

Despite the rampant violence and fraud that have characterized Nigeria's elections, state institutions responsible for investigating and prosecuting such crimes have largely abdicated their role and, in some cases, have even been complicit in the crimes. The Electoral Reform Committee, established by the late president, Umaru Yar'Adua, following the 2007 elections, found that not a single Nigerian had been convicted and punished for electoral offenses since the country's independence in 1960.


Under the current system, the Nigeria Police Force, federal and state prosecutors, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), established in 1998, all have authority to prosecute electoral offenses. Only the police have the power to investigate such abuses. Yet the police lack the political will and independence to carry out investigations of election-related offenses, Human Rights Watch and the Nigerian Bar Association said.


Human Rights Watch has extensively documented extortion, embezzlement, and abuse of office by members of the police force in the course of their daily operations. Individual police officers have also been implicated in election-related criminal activity, including violence and thuggery on behalf of corrupt politicians. Human Rights Watch found that during the 2007 elections the police leadership consistently refused to investigate incidents of political violence orchestrated by influential politicians or senior members of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP).


“Normally crimes should be investigated by the police,” said Corinne Dufka, senior West Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “But the police in Nigeria have shown themselves incapable of effectively investigating election-related crimes, with not one conviction in 50 years.”


In the few cases in which the police have conducted investigations into electoral offenses, the police and federal and state prosecutors have failed to follow through with criminal prosecutions.


Until recently, the electoral commission has also been largely ineffective in holding perpetrators accountable for electoral offenses. There were numerous reports that commission officials participated in vote-rigging during the 2007 elections.


In June 2010, President Goodluck Jonathan appointed an academic, Attahiru Jega, to head the institution. Jega has embarked on a program to reform the electoral process. In January, the commission launched a voter registration campaign using biometric technology and created a new voters' register aimed at removing thousands of false names and duplicate entries that many claimed had been used to rig previous elections. Jega also pledged to investigate and prosecute those implicated in electoral offenses since he took office.


In October, the commission filed criminal charges against three people who had been found with 82 voter registration cards during a re-run for a state legislature seat in Anambra State in September. The commission is also prosecuting two men accused of stealing ballot boxes at gunpoint during a state assembly by-election in Lagos State in December.


So far this year, the commission has initiated criminal proceedings against at least 30 other people for voter registration offenses. A handful of them have been convicted and fined, but these cases have barely scratched the surface. The commission identified more than 870,000 instances of multiple registration on the new voters' register that have yet to be addressed.


“Prosecuting electoral offenders is sending an important message to Nigeria's politicians that the upcoming elections will not be business as usual,” Akpedeye said. “However, INEC's main job is ensuring credible and peaceful elections. We need an independent body that has a clear mandate, with investigative powers, and that can act quickly and effectively to prosecute election-related offenses.”


The Case for an Electoral Offences Commission

Despite the promising steps in recent months, the electoral commission does not have the resources or capacity to prosecute all electoral offenses. To address this problem, Jega wrote to the National Assembly in late 2010 and urged legislators to pass the Electoral Offences Commission Bill, which had been stalled in the National Assembly for nearly two years.


The proposed commission would have the principal responsibility for investigating and prosecuting electoral offenses under the Electoral Act, including incitement, the use or threat of violence, bribery of voters or election officials, theft of ballot materials, and falsification of election results. It would have investigative powers to summon individuals for questioning, to request documentation and other evidence, and to search premises where reasonable cause exists.


The police force and federal and state prosecutors would continue to have authority to prosecute election-related abuses. But the proposed commission would have greater independence to handle politically sensitive investigations and prosecutions, and with no role in overseeing elections, it would also have fewer conflicts of interest. The National Assembly should protect the independence of a new Electoral Offences Commission by ensuring that appointment and removal of the chairperson would require two-thirds approval by the Senate.


Establishment of an Electoral Offences Commission was part of broader reforms recommended by the presidential Electoral Reform Committee in December 2008. President Yar'Adua presented the Electoral Offences Commission Bill to the National Assembly in April 2009, along with six other electoral reform bills. The National Assembly amended the Electoral Act in August 2010 to include some of the presidential committee's recommendations and has since adopted other amendments. But it has not passed the Electoral Offences Commission Bill.


“The National Assembly should use the last few weeks before elections in April to end the history of electoral impunity and to create an independent Electoral Offences Commission,” Dufka said. “Failure to do so would risk further entrenching violence and corruption in the electoral process and continue the disenfranchisement of Nigerian citizens.”


Background

Between independence in 1960 and 1999, Nigeria produced only two elected governments – both were overthrown in military coups. Nigeria's military ruled the country for nearly 30 of its first 40 years of independence. However, in 1999, Nigeria made a transition to civilian rule. The 1999 elections, which brought a retired general, Olusegun Obasanjo, to power, were blighted by such widespread fraud that observers from the Carter Center concluded that “it is not possible for us to make an accurate judgment about the outcome of the presidential election.”


Federal and state elections in 2003 were again marred by fraud as well as serious incidents of violence that left at least 100 people dead and many others injured. Human Rights Watch found that members and supporters of the ruling PDP were responsible for the majority of abuses, though opposition parties also engaged in political violence. Most deaths occurred when opposing bands of armed thugs fought each other in an effort to control an area and displace supporters of the opposing party.


Human Rights Watch documented how ruling party politicians in the oil-rich Niger Delta mobilized and funded armed groups to help rig elections. That led to a sustained increase in violence and criminality in the region. In some locations elections simply did not take place, yet the electoral commission reported PDP victories with high voter turnout.


Despite the abysmal record of the 1999 and 2003 elections, the government did not correct the problems. Observers from the European Union described the 2007 elections, which brought Yar'Adua to power, as among the worst they had witnessed anywhere in the world. At least 300 people were killed, and many others injured, in violence linked to the elections. Many of the results led to court challenges.


In December 2008, the Supreme Court narrowly upheld Yar'Adua's election, although courts overturned 12 of the PDP's 28 gubernatorial victories from 2007 on the grounds of electoral malpractices or other irregularities. Following Yar'Adua's death from natural causes in May 2010, Jonathan, his vice president, was sworn in as president.


To read the Human Rights Watch report on violence, “godfathers,” and corruption in the 2007 elections, please visit:

http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2007/10/08/criminal-politics-0


To read the Human Rights Watch report on the 2003 election violence, please visit:

http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2004/06/01/nigeria-s-2003-elections-0


For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Nigeria, please visit:

http://www.hrw.org/en/africa/nigeria



Source: Human Right Watch (HRW)

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Sunday, March 13, 2011

Two feared dead at ACN campaign rally in Lagos


Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN)

Unconfirmed reports said two young men were killed yesterday afternoon in a bloody clash between rival gangs of political thugs at a campaign rally of the Action Congress of Nigeria (CAN) in Shomolu, Lagos.

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), addressed hundreds of supporters at the Angus Memorial High School, venue of the ACN Mega rally to canvass for votes for a second term in office.


An ACN campaign rally


The rally started peacefully with excited members of the party coming to the venue in cars, SUVs, minibuses, trucks and on foot, brandishing campaign banners, flags and almost everyone holding one broom, (popularly known as “Igbale” in the Yoruba language) the symbol of the ACN. They were chanting party slogans, drumming and dancing as the thronged the open field of the Angus Memorial High School. But outside the walls of the venue, the restless political thugs in fierce rivalry attacked themselves with bricks, pump action guns, machetes and other lethal weapons. An anti-riot squad of the Nigeria Police Force in armoured vehicle chased them away from the vicinity of the rally, but they continued their battle along the Bajulaiye Road. Unconfirmed reports said two of them died and others left with wounds from gunshots, machete cuts and other lethal weapons.



Saturday, March 12, 2011

New book to help today’s students and young managers become the leaders of the 21st Century




Bestselling author Annie McKee releases new book to help today’s students and young managers become the leaders of the 21st Century

Bestselling author Annie McKee


Philadelphia, PA. March 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — The world has changed. In Management: A Focus on Leaders (Prentice Hall, 2011), New York Times bestselling business book author, Annie McKee, broadens her reach from business leaders to include students and young managers—combining the best of the old with the best of the new. This book prepares today’s students and young managers to become the leaders of the future.

Hundreds of thousands of graduate and undergraduate students take a Principles of Management course each year. Most textbooks used in these courses today were originally written decades ago—many of which still include research and models that aren’t relevant to today’s organizations. McKee’s Management: A Focus on Leaders gives faculty the book they have been asking for to address today’s challenges. The book provides practical, relevant content and a readable style that engages students and young managers meaningfully in what it takes to lead in the 21st Century. McKee has reset the dial for students.

“At a time when leadership has become almost indefinable, McKee has given it new depth and clarity. This is a management book carefully crafted to raise the bar—and it does.”—Jim Lopresti, faculty, University of Colorado
Tradition Meets NOW–Essential, Current Topics

Grounded in the best research of the past and latest research in neuropsychology, organizational theory, and management, Management: A Focus on Leaders moves away from looking at management as silos: planning, organizing, leading and controlling. It presents an integrated model with leadership at the center. In order to better reflect the environment in which students will soon find themselves, this text has incorporated key and current management topics throughout the book and includes immense online resources, including:

* Emotional and social intelligence
* Ethics and the responsible use of power
* Social, technological, and organizational change
* Fostering innovation at all levels in organizations
* Sustainable organizations and communities
* The power of human diversity
* Managing in a global environment
* How to inspire and motivate people
* Adaptability and resilience
* Self-awareness and self management
* Leadership at all levels: today everyone needs to lead
* Creating high performance cultures

“The pace and scope of change in our organizations and our economic and social systems is unprecedented,” says McKee. “Many people believe, and I am one of them, that many of the crises our globe is facing today are the result of a failure of leadership at many levels and in all sectors. Today’s students will be cleaning up our messes, and I see this as a once-in-a-lifetime wake-up call and opportunity for educators everywhere to prepare students for the very complex world that awaits them.”

In The Wall Street Journal, Business Week and New York Times bestseller, Primal Leadership, Annie and her co-authors (Daniel Goleman and Richard Boyatzis) unveiled new scientific evidence demonstrating that a leader’s emotional intelligence and mood have an enormous impact on group performance and an organization’s bottom line. With the publication of her new textbook, Annie has become the scholar-practitioner-mentor for a new generation of managers and leaders across sectors.

As a founder of the global leadership firm, Teleos Leadership Institute, Annie is a leader in her own right, named by Business Week as one of the Top Leaders of the Year, calling her “The high priestess of executive coaching,” for her work advising executives around the globe.
About Annie McKee

McKee is best-known as the co-author of the Harvard Business Press trilogy, including bestseller, Primal Leadership: Learning to Lead with Emotional Intelligence (2002) with Daniel Goleman and Richard Boyatzis; Resonant Leadership: Renewing Yourself and Connecting with Others Through Mindfulness, Hope and Compassion (2005); and Becoming a Resonant Leader (2008).

McKee has worked closely with senior teams at international firms such as UniCreditGroup, Thomson-Reuters, BP, HSBC, United Nations Development Program, Vodafone, SAP, and Creative Commons. McKee serves on the Board of Directors for the Leader to Leader Institute and is Adjunct Professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education and has lectured at The Wharton School. Her work has appeared in the Harvard Business Review, BusinessWeek, Leader to Leader, and Psychology Today.

As a prominent thought leader, Annie speaks to global audiences about leadership, most recently at the World Bank, the United Nations, Google, The Omega Institute, and IBM.

Annie currently leads the Teleos Leadership Institute with co-founder Frances Johnston and a powerful team of senior advisors and consultants.
About Teleos Leadership Institute

Teleos Leadership Institute is a global consulting firm founded in 2002 by leadership experts Dr. Annie McKee and Dr. Frances Johnston. Teleos partners with CEOs, senior teams, Boards of Directors, government agencies and NGOs to move the leaders who move the world.

Teleos’ work is grounded in decades of research and experience in leadership development, neuropsychology, emotional and social intelligence, organizational development, group dynamics, Gestalt, and change management. Teleos has a proven track record of designing and delivering a wide range of highly-customized services to create the leadership cultures required for sustained success.


Media Contact:
Suzanne Rotondo
Executive Director
Teleos
267-620-9986
srotondo@teleosleaders.com http://www.teleosleaders.com



Friday, March 11, 2011

Warning: Strange Happenings in Nigeria



Two Nigerian Yoruba politicians caught naked in Juju ritual.
"The oath, which was taken naked by the members and in daylight, was witnessed by the sponsors and the native doctors, the administrators of the oath. Items used for the oath included blood, cow heads, calabash and other fetish materials. Each participant swore to upholding opposition to Daniel at all times and submitted to the death of their first born, should they renege on the oath." -Compass News
From Nigeria Masterweb.



A primitive native of Abuja with his little “daughter” sitting on a tamed Hyena.
From What Possessed Me.



A naked man pulling a young woman along to only God knows where on the street in a town in Nigeria. Is he going to rape her in public?
From Nigerians Report.



A man caught having sex with a she goat.



Thursday, March 10, 2011

Squatters seize Gaddafi London mansion




Squatters vow to occupy the multi million dollar home of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son until the property's assets are returned to the Libyan people.

© 2011 Reuters



Sudan / Crackdown on peaceful protest continues



10 Mar 2011 14:27 Africa/Lagos



Sudan / Crackdown on peaceful protest continues

KARTHOUM, March 10, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The Sudanese authorities must release over 50 protesters arrested during a peaceful anti-government demonstration in the capital Khartoum, Amnesty International said today.


Police and Agents of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) reportedly beat protesters in Abu Jenzir Square who were calling for an end to President Al Bashir's 21-year rule.


Among those arrested are prominent human rights activists, politicians and journalists. Some were arrested at their homes by the NISS.


The protest was part of ongoing demonstrations organized by youth groups and opposition parties inspired by the anti-government protests in North Africa.


"The Sudanese government must immediately release all demonstrators" said Erwin van der Borght Amnesty International's Africa Director.


"The authorities must also investigate all alleged cases of torture and other forms of ill-treatment in detention and hold the perpetrators responsible."


Yesterday, around 30 people including prominent human rights activists were reported to have been arrested during a peaceful march in Khartoum to celebrate International Women's Day. They were later released.


A dozen people are thought to remain in detention following demonstrations that began at the end of January this year.


Most of the detainees, mostly young male and female students, were reportedly tortured in detention.


Six cases of sexual harassment and abuse have been reported, including a case of multiple rape while in NISS detention.



Source: Amnesty International

Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time
10 Mar 2011
14:38 Statement on Recent Violence in Abyei Region of Sudan
14:27 Sudan / Crackdown on peaceful protest continues
9 Mar 2011
23:45 The Issue of Abyei Can Only be Resolved by its Residents, Not Through Media Antics
22:00 Judicial Watch Obtains New Border Patrol Apprehension Statistics for Illegal Alien Smugglers and 'Special Interest Aliens'
18:55 ICC / Justice Advances in Kenya Case Senior Officials Told to Report on April 7
14:33 The African Union calls for renewed effort to resolve the Abyei issue
14:17 AUC Chairperson receives High-Level Delegation from the Japan Association of Business Executives
14:04 ICC / Pre-Trial Chamber I commits Abdallah Banda and Saleh Jerbo to trial
05:04 Darfur / UNAMID Daily Media Brief
8 Mar 2011
18:35 WFP trucks food into eastern Libya
05:18 Darfur / UNAMID Daily Media Brief
7 Mar 2011
18:54 IOM Appeals for US$49.2 Million to Help Migrants Caught Up in Libyan Violence
13:30 Humanitarian Assistance to Stranded Migrants on Libyan-Egyptian Border Stepped Up as is Evacuation of Bangladeshi Nationals
13:17 Sudan / UNMIS welcomes 4 March Abyei agreement
13:15 Sudanese Parties Hold Post-Referendum Negotiations in Ethiopia
4 Mar 2011
19:58 Sudan / Tens of thousands displaced following days of fighting in the Abyei area / Médecins Sans Frontières committed to deliver impartial medical care
17:37 Sudan / UN human rights expert to study post-referendum situation in South Sudan
12:49 US State Department on Situation in Abyei Region of Sudan
3 Mar 2011
18:48 Press release by the Representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Sudan / Second visit of the United Nations independent expert on the human rights situation in the Sudan
18:45 Urgent Efforts Underway to Evacuate Migrants Stranded in Benghazi




Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Mission to Berlin


Frank Adekunle Macaulay at the venue of the 61st Berlin International Film Festival


Frank Adekunle Macaulay the Director of Photographer and CEO of Frank Adekunle Macaulay Production and Christian Nwankpa, one of the Executive Producers of Dangeous Men and an executive of the production company Gu International Pictures (G.I.P) went to the 61st Berlin International Film Festival, Berlinale to promote their movies and meet with prospective partners for international co-productions and distributions.



Christian Nwankpa at the venue of the 61st Berlin International Film Festival



Christian Nwankpa at the venue of the 61st Berlin International Film Festival


DANGEROUS MEN is a thriller by GuGu E. Michaels an accomplished filmmaker who has worked as a director and producer on a number of commercial and independent projects including the feature films "Thugz", "Repentance" and "Dangerous County". He has also helmed a number of campaigns for retailers like Cadillac, Lamborghini and Porche. Prior to co-founding New Era Pictures, Michaels served as president of Dallas based Redrumm Records and worked with such artists as hip hop giants UGK.



Frank Adekunle Macaulay at the venue of the 61st Berlin International Film Festival



IFC Village Phone Program Empowers Women in Africa, Wins CEO Gender Award

9 Mar 2011 05:06 Africa/Lagos



IFC Village Phone Program Empowers Women in Africa, Wins CEO Gender Award

WASHINGTON, March 8, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, announced today that its Village Phone program has helped provide credit to nearly 6,000 women and trained close to 10,000 to set up phone service businesses in Madagascar, Malawi, and Nigeria, increasing the economic participation of women in some of Africa's most rural communities.


On the centennial of International Women's Day, Cherie Blair, Founder of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, participated as special guest speaker at a ceremony at IFC's headquarters, where the program received the Annual IFC CEO Gender Award for outstanding achievement in promoting women in business. The ceremony was attended by representatives from governments, women's organizations, and the media.


“IFC is doing a remarkable job by increasing access to finance for women entrepreneurs, reducing gender-based barriers in the investment climate, and improving sustainability in the private sector,” said Blair.


IFC's Village Phone Program links large telecom operators with African entrepreneurs who sell airtime on the companies' networks to people in their local communities. The relationship brings rural villagers access to telephone services, local entrepreneurs the means to build an income-generating business, and participating telecoms companies a way to expand their reach. IFC launched the program in Nigeria in 2007, and expanded it to Madagascar and Malawi the following year.


“The IFC CEO Gender Award was created four years ago to underscore the priority IFC places on creating opportunities for women in its pursuit of sustainable development. Village Phone's success reaching women entrepreneurs illustrates the central role that women play in promoting sustainable economic growth,” said Lars Thunell, IFC Executive Vice President and CEO.


Extending benefits of mobile phone ownership to more women can advance a host of social and economic goals, according to a report by the Cherie Blair Foundation and the GSMA, which represents the interests of the worldwide mobile communications industry. Women & Mobile: A Global Opportunity, found that bringing mobile-phone penetration among women on par with penetration among men could enable mobile operators globally to collectively earn $13 billion additional revenue a year.


IFC recognizes that sustainable economic growth is not possible without full participation of women. Since 2006, IFC has partnered with 14 financial institutions to increase access to finance for women entrepreneurs. It has helped increase capital for over 2,000 women entrepreneurs, trained over 2,500 women in business skills, and facilitated over 6,000 women to open new accounts with financial institutions. IFC has also helped enact reforms to support women's participation in the private sector in more than a dozen countries.


About IFC

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. We create opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We do so by providing financing to help businesses employ more people and supply essential services, by mobilizing capital from others, and by delivering advisory services to ensure sustainable development. In a time of global economic uncertainty, our new investments climbed to a record $18 billion in fiscal 2010. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.


About the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women The Cherie Blair Foundation for Women helps women entrepreneurs to build businesses by offering access to technology, networks, finance and business development support. Programs are in Africa, South Asia and the Middle East, where there is potential for women in business to become self-sustaining in the longer term. By supporting women entrepreneurs, the foundation not only helps the women themselves to improve their quality of life, but also their families, communities and economies who benefit from their success. For more information, visit www.cherieblairfoundation.org.



Source: IFC - The World Bank


Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time
9 Mar 2011
05:06 IFC Village Phone Program Empowers Women in Africa, Wins CEO Gender Award
04:50 High-level panel on Cote d'Ivoire and Peace and Security Council to meet at presidential level
00:56 Grandes personalidades del ámbito empresarial, gubernamental, del comercio internacional y el periodismo participarán en el Congreso Anual 2011 del Ex-Im Bank Prominent Business Execs, Government Officials, Foreign Buyers and Journalists to Participate in 2011 Ex-Im Bank Annual Conference
8 Mar 2011
20:52 Prominent Business Execs, Government Officials, Foreign Buyers and Journalists to Participate in 2011 Ex-Im Bank Annual Conference




Beer Industry Contributes $223.8 Billion to U.S. Economy


President Barack Obama drinking beer

8 Mar 2011 18:47 Africa/Lagos

Beer Industry Contributes $223.8 Billion to U.S. Economy

PR Newswire

WASHINGTON, March 8, 2011

Despite Economic Downturn, New Study Shows Quality Jobs, Solid Wages, and Strong Overall Economic Impact in 2010

WASHINGTON, March 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new economic impact study shows America's beer industry, made up of brewers, beer importers, beer distributors, brewer suppliers and retailers, directly and indirectly contributes $223.8 billion each year to the U.S. economy. Commissioned by the Beer Institute and the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA), the study shows that the industry generates more than 1.8 million American jobs -- which account for $71.2 billion in wages and benefits. The industry also contributed $44.7 billion dollars in the form of business, personal and consumption taxes in 2010.

"Brewers across the country, large and small, remain an integral part of their communities. Not only do they promote alcohol responsibility programs for local retailers, schools and families, this study shows they also create sustainable jobs and important tax revenues that contribute to our nation's economy," said Dave Peacock, president of Anheuser-Busch and chairman of the Beer Institute. "America's brewing industry continues to play a significant role in supporting the economy in each and every state."

"As independent businesses, America's 3,300 licensed beer distributors are proud to provide more than 98,000 quality jobs with solid wages and great benefits to employees in every state and congressional district across the country," said Larry Del Papa, president and CEO of Del Papa Distributing Company, Inc. in Galveston, Texas, and chairman of NBWA. "Beer distributors are deeply rooted in their local markets, so it's only natural that they work hard to keep their communities safe – especially by fighting underage drinking and drunk driving."

According to the study, the beer industry directly employs more than 1 million people, paying $32.5 billion in wages. Beer sales help support roughly 900,000 retail jobs, including those at supermarkets, convenience stores, restaurants, bars, stadiums, and other outlets. Supplier and induced impacts generate nearly $135.7 billion in economic activity in all industries specifically agriculture and manufacturing.

"These numbers demonstrate that our industry continues to play an integral role in providing jobs and revenue necessary to heal our recovering economy," said Joe McClain, president of the Beer Institute. "For this reason, it is important that state and federal officials consider equitable tax policies that do not unduly harm an industry that aids economic growth."

"In addition to providing quality jobs with solid wages, the three-tier beer distribution system provides transparency and accountability while offering American consumers with tremendous choice and variety – nearly 13,000 different labels of beer – at a great value," added NBWA President Craig Purser. "This time-tested, effective system of state controls, in which America's beer distributors play a critical role, works to ensure alcoholic beverages are sold only to licensed retailers who in turn are responsible for selling only to adults of legal drinking age," added NBWA President Craig Purser.

In addition to strengthening the U.S. economy, the beer industry plays a vital role in promoting responsible consumption of its products. Brewers, importers, and independent beer distributors, licensed at both the state and federal levels, dedicate significant resources to develop public safety, education and prevention campaigns and to promote federal and local programs that help reduce underage drinking and drunk driving. These efforts, along with those of parents, law enforcement, federal and state alcohol beverage regulators, educators, and other community groups, have helped contribute to declines in underage drinking and drunk driving for nearly three decades, according to government data.

The Economic Impact study was conducted by John Dunham & Associates based in New York City and covers data compiled in 2010. The complete study, including state-by-state and congressional district breakdowns of economic contributions, is available at Beer Serves America, www.BeerServesAmerica.org.

The Beer Institute, established in 1986, is the national trade association for the brewing industry, representing both large and small brewers, as well as importers and industry suppliers. The Institute is committed to the development of sound public policy and to the values of civic duty and personal responsibility: www.beerinstitute.org .

The National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) represents the interests of America's 3,300 licensed, independent beer distributor operations in every state, congressional district and media market across the country. Beer distributors are committed to ensuring alcohol is provided safely and responsibly to consumers of legal drinking age through the three-tier, state-based system of alcohol regulation and distribution. To learn more about America's beer distributors, visit www.AmericasBeerDistributors.com

SOURCE Beer Institute

CONTACT: Andrew Koneschusky, Beer Institute, +1-202-777-3553; or Emily Kuhn, NBWA, +1-202-289-2001

Web Site: http://www.AmericasBeerDistributors.com






Tuesday, March 8, 2011

International Women's Day, 2011: Time to Make the Promise of Equality a Reality



(In memory of my beloved mother Gladys Eke, one of the greatest women God created.)

100th Anniversary of International Women's Day



7 Mar 2011 11:00 Africa/Lagos

International Women's Day, 2011: Time to Make the Promise of Equality a Reality

PR Newswire

NEW YORK, March 7, 2011

NEW YORK, March 7, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is a message by Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director, UN Women:

A hundred years ago today, women across the world took an historic step on the long road to equality. The first ever International Women's Day was called to draw attention to the unacceptable and often dangerous working conditions that so many women faced worldwide. Although the occasion was celebrated in only a handful of countries, it brought over one million women out onto the streets, demanding not just better conditions at work but also the right to vote, to hold office and to be equal partners with men.

I suspect those courageous pioneers would look at our world today with a mixture of pride and disappointment. There has been remarkable progress as the last century has seen an unprecedented expansion of women's legal rights and entitlements. Indeed, the advancement of women's rights can lay claim to be one of the most profound social revolutions the world has seen.

One hundred years ago, only two countries allowed women to vote. Today, that right is virtually universal and women have now been elected to lead Governments in every continent. Women, too, hold leading positions in professions from which they were once banned. Far more recently than a century ago, the police, courts and neighbors still saw violence in the home as a purely private matter. Today two-thirds of countries have specific laws that penalize domestic violence and the United Nations Security Council now recognizes sexual violence as a deliberate tactic of war.

But despite this progress over the last century, the hopes of equality expressed on that first International Women's Day are a long way from being realized. Almost two out of three illiterate adults are women. Girls are still less likely to be in school than boys. Every 90 seconds of every day, a woman dies in pregnancy or due to childbirth-related complications despite us having the knowledge and resources to make birth safe.

Across the world, women continue to earn less than men for the same work. In many countries, too, they have unequal access to land and inheritance rights. And despite high-profile advances, women still make up only 19 per cent of legislatures, 8% of peace negotiators, and only 28 women are heads of state or government.

It is not just women who pay the price for this discrimination. We all suffer for failing to make the most of half the world's talent. We undermine the quality of our democracy, the strength of our economies, the health of our societies and the sustainability of peace. This year's focus of International Women's Day on women's equally access to education, training, science and technology underscores the need to tap this potential.

The agenda to secure gender equality and women's rights is a global agenda, a challenge for every country, rich and poor, north and south. It was in recognition of both its universality and the rewards if we get this right that the United Nations brought together four existing organizations to create UN Women. The goal of this new body, which I have the great privilege to lead, is to galvanize the entire UN system so we can deliver on the promise of the UN Charter of equal rights of men and women. It is something I have fought for my whole life.

As a young mother and a pediatrician, I experienced the struggles of balancing family and career and saw how the absence of child care prevented women from paid employment. The opportunity to help remove these barriers was one of the reasons I went into politics. It is why I supported policies that extended health and childcare services to families and prioritized public spending for social protection.

As President, I worked hard to create equal opportunities for both men and women to contribute their talents and experiences to the challenges facing our country. That is why I proposed a Cabinet that had an equal number of men and women.

As Executive Director of UN Women, I want to use my journey and the collective knowledge and experience all around me to encourage progress towards true gender equality across the world. We will work, in close partnership, with men and women, leaders and citizens, civil society, the private sector and the whole UN system to assist countries to roll out policies, programs and budgets to achieve this worthy goal.

I have seen myself what women, often in the toughest circumstances, can achieve for their families and societies if they are given the opportunity. The strength, industry and wisdom of women remain humanity's greatest untapped resource. We simply cannot afford to wait another 100 years to unlock this potential.

About the author: Michelle Bachelet is the first Executive Director of UN Women, a newly formed UN organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. She is the former President of Chile.



SOURCE UN Women
NOTE TO EDITORS: Photos available upon request.

CONTACT: Gretchen Luchsinger, +1-212-906-6506, Cell: +1-201-736-2945, gretchen.luchsinger@unwomen.org

Web Site: http://www.unwomen.org



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