Black Hole Caught Red-handed In A Stellar Homicide

ABOUT THIS IMAGE:

This computer-simulated image shows gas from a tidally shredded star falling into a black hole. Some of the gas also is being ejected at high speeds into space. Astronomers observed a flare in ultraviolet and optical light from the gas falling into the black hole and glowing helium from the stars's helium-rich gas expelled from the system.

To see the computer simulation movie, visit: http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2012/18/video/

Image Type: Scientific Visualization

Credit: NASA, S. Gezari (The Johns Hopkins University), and J. Guillochon (University of California, Santa Cruz)

2 May 2012 18:14 Africa/Lagos

Black Hole Caught Red-handed In A Stellar Homicide



WASHINGTON, May 2, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Astronomers have gathered the most direct evidence yet of a supermassive black hole shredding a star that wandered too close. NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer, a space-based observatory, and the Pan-STARRS1 telescope on the summit of Haleakala in Hawaii, were among the first to help identify the stellar remains.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO)

Supermassive black holes, weighing millions to billions times more than the sun, lurk in the centers of most galaxies. These hefty monsters lay quietly until an unsuspecting victim, such as a star, wanders close enough to get ripped apart by their powerful gravitational clutches.

Astronomers have spotted these stellar homicides before, but this is the first time they identified the victim. Using several ground- and space-based telescopes, a team of astronomers led by Suvi Gezari of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore identified the victim as a star rich in helium gas. The star resides in a galaxy 2.7 billion light-years away. The team's results will appear in today's online edition of the journal Nature.

"When the star is ripped apart by the gravitational forces of the black hole, some part of the star's remains falls into the black hole while the rest is ejected at high speeds," Gezari said. "We are seeing the glow from the stellar gas falling into the black hole over time. We're also witnessing the spectral signature of the ejected gas, which we find to be mostly helium. It is like we are gathering evidence from a crime scene. Because there is very little hydrogen and mostly helium in the gas, we detect from the carnage that the slaughtered star had to have been the helium-rich core of a stripped star."

This observation yields insights about the harsh environment around black holes and the types of stars swirling around them. It is not the first time the unlucky star had a brush with the behemoth black hole.

The team believes the star's hydrogen-filled envelope surrounding the core was lifted off a long time ago by the same black hole. The star may have been near the end of its life. After consuming most of its hydrogen fuel, it had probably ballooned in size, becoming a red giant. Astronomers think the bloated star was looping around the black hole in a highly elliptical orbit, similar to a comet's elongated orbit around the sun. On one of its close approaches, the star was stripped of its puffed-up atmosphere by the black hole's powerful gravity. The stellar remains continued its journey around the center, until it ventured even closer to the black hole to face its ultimate demise.

Astronomers predict stripped stars circle the central black hole of our Milky Way galaxy. These close encounters are rare, occurring roughly every 100,000 years. To find this event, Gezari's team monitored hundreds of thousands of galaxies in ultraviolet light with the Galaxy Evolution Explorer, and in visible light with Pan-STARRS1. Pan-STARRS, short for Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System, scans the entire night sky for all kinds of transient phenomena, including supernovae.

The team was looking for a bright flare in ultraviolet light from the nucleus of a galaxy with a previously dormant black hole. Both telescopes spotted one in June 2010. Astronomers continued to monitor the flare as it reached peak brightness a month later and slowly faded during the next 12 months. The brightening event was similar to the explosive energy unleashed by a supernova, but the rise to the peak was much slower, taking nearly one and a half months.

"The longer the event lasted, the more excited we got, because we realized this is either a very unusual supernova or an entirely different type of event, such as a star being ripped apart by a black hole," said team member Armin Rest of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore.

By measuring the increase in brightness, the astronomers calculated the black hole's mass to be several million suns, which is comparable to the size of our Milky Way's black hole.

Spectroscopic observations with the Multiple Meter Telescope Observatory located on Mount Hopkins in Arizona showed the black hole was swallowing lots of helium. Spectroscopy divides light into its rainbow colors, which yields an object's characteristics, such as its temperature and gaseous makeup.

To completely rule out the possibility of an active nucleus flaring up in the galaxy, the team used NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory to study the hot gas. Chandra showed that the characteristics of the gas didn't match those from an active galactic nucleus.

For images, video and more information about this study, visit:
http://hubblesite.org/news/2012/18

For graphics and information about the Galaxy Evolution Explorer, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/galex
http://www.galex.caltech.edu


SOURCE NASA
CONTACT: J.D. Harrington, Headquarters, Washington, +1-202-358-0321, j.d.harrington@nasa.gov

Web Site: http://www.nasa.gov

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Americans Want Sleep More Than Sex

Americans Crave Sleep More Than Sex, Says Better Sleep Council Survey



ALEXANDRIA, Va., May 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A national survey by the Better Sleep Council (BSC) found that 61 percent of Americans and a whopping 79 percent of women would rather get a good night's sleep than have sex. The survey also found that nearly half of Americans fall asleep somewhere other than their bed at least once a week, and about 11 percent fall asleep somewhere other than their bed every day.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120501/CL98559)

So where are people nodding off? Turns out, some very peculiar and dangerous places.



"We were stunned by some of the survey responses," said Karin Mahoney, director of communications for the BSC. "One man fell asleep on a rooftop. Another man fell asleep while interviewing a job candidate. There was a teacher who fell asleep at the podium in front of her class. Clearly, people are sleeping just about everywhere except where they should be – in their own beds. And they're likely not realizing the critical role the right mattress plays in achieving the quality of life that only good, healthful sleep can bring."

But there's hope. Seventy-seven percent of people surveyed say they'd give up something to get a better night's sleep. Tops on the list were watching TV (31 percent), time spent on computers and social media (23 percent), exercise and going to church (both 16 percent).

"The health problems associated with not getting enough sleep are well documented," said Mahoney. "People who don't get enough sleep can suffer from poor performance at work or school to depression, diabetes, heart disease and other ailments."



To promote a healthier lifestyle, the BSC – in conjunction with its annual "May Is Better Sleep Month" promotion – has launched Stop Sleeping Around, a campaign that encourages people to spend more time on their mattresses, so they don't fall asleep in dangerous or embarrassing places. The campaign also serves to emphasize the importance of mattress quality and selection when looking to improve sleep and, in turn, overall health and well being.



The campaign kicks off on May 1st, with National Eight Hours in Bed Night, when the BSC is encouraging people to get a full night's rest in their own. The BSC has set up a Facebook site and Twitter handle (@StopSleepinArnd, #stopsleepingaround) where people can go to share stories and videos of their most embarrassing moments "sleeping around," as well as thoughts on how much better they feel when achieving a full night of healthful sleep.

"Our campaign is edged in humor, but our message is serious. People who consistently cheat themselves of a good night's rest are risking their health," said Mahoney. "By encouraging people to take a critical look at their sleep habits and their sleep environment, we're hoping to play a role in improving their overall health and wellness."

To learn more about the BSC's campaign and to get more tips on how to achieve a full night of high-quality rest in a healthy sleep environment, visit BetterSleep.org and facebook.com/stopsleepingaround.


About the BSC
The Better Sleep Council is the consumer education arm of the International Sleep Products Association, the trade association for the mattress industry. With a quarter of a century invested in improving America's quality of sleep, the BSC educates consumers on the critical link between sleep and health, as well as the role of the sleep environment, primarily through an informative consumer website www.bettersleep.org, partner support and proactive consumer media outreach.


SOURCE Better Sleep Council

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Nollywood Divas Awards Magazine Is Out And It Is Free

The maiden edition of the annual NOLLYWOOD DIVAS AWARDS MAGAZINE ® is out and it is available gratis in Lagos, Nigeria. It is not for sale. For those who cannot get the free copies in Lagos, you can download it gratis online.

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MultiVu Celebrates 10 Years of Innovation and Success in the Broadcast & Multimedia Industry

MultiVu Celebrates 10 Years of Innovation and Success in the Broadcast & Multimedia Industry

Provide your thoughts on the changing communications industry and enter to win a free multimedia news release

New York, April 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — This month, MultiVu, PR Newswire’s full service multimedia and broadcast division, celebrates 10 years of providing innovative communications services to tens of thousands of companies globally.

Since its inception in April 2002, MultiVu has been committed to delivering its clients the best-of-the-best in talent, production services and multimedia platforms that allow them to create the most dynamic campaigns and engage their audiences through all of the channels on which they are active. Coupled with PR Newswire’s nearly 60-year legacy in the communications industry and superior distribution network, MultiVu’s offering remains unique and unparalleled.

“MultiVu’s success is a huge reflection of the dedicated and creative executive, sales and production teams,” said Kevin West, senior vice president, Multimedia, MultiVu. “A significant part of our team that was here during our earliest days is still with us today; with the same unwavering passion to collaborate with our clients and create a true multimedia experience for them.”



MultiVu has remained innovative and pioneering since its inception. Ten years ago, the primary goal of PR professionals was to generate traditional broadcast news coverage by using audio and video news releases. Recognizing what was coming with the increasingly important role of the Internet on news consumption, MultiVu developed products and services that would allow its clients to leverage online opportunities, distribute multiple content assets through additional channels and communicate directly with their consumers.

This foresight prepared MultiVu for the evolution of the industry as social channels emerged and consumers began to access and share multimedia information 24/7 and from mobile and tablet devices.

“Social media redefined the earned media landscape and introduced an enormous spectrum of new brand influencers,” said Todd Grossman, MultiVu’s Vice President of Sales and Client Service. “MultiVu didn’t skip a beat and expanded its traditional offerings to take advantage of these new influencers. For example, mimicking the structure of a Satellite Media Tour, a more traditional PR service, we created a new tool, the Blogger Media Tour, which gives our clients the opportunity to tap into the hugely influential network of bloggers, create shareable videos and easily measure the impact of their strategies. It has become an integral component of our comprehensive Multimedia Tour offering.”

MultiVu also ensures that its offerings are aligned with the most impactful and influential industry trends. It is the only multimedia company that offers a single, integrated tool that enables its clients to leverage the convergence of paid, owned and earned media into their strategy. The ARC Engagement Platform combines multiple assets into one branded, HTML platform that is distributed over PR Newswire’s unparalleled content distribution network to tens of thousands of traditional media, social media and online destinations, includes multiple social sharing opportunities and can be strategically placed on target websites, guaranteeing a set number of impressions. Additionally when clients update the ARC content, it is dynamically updated on any third-party site in which it was embedded.

Through continued investment in technology and an ongoing commitment to employ forward thinking people, MultiVu will continue to achieve success and remain leaders in the industry.

View MultiVu’s impressive 10-year history of innovation.

In celebration of MultiVu’s 10 year anniversary, we are giving away a free Multimedia News Release. Enter to win by answering a few short questions and sharing your thoughts on the ongoing transformation of the multimedia and broadcast PR industry. Access the survey now.

About PR Newswire:
PR Newswire (www.prnewswire.com) is the premier global provider of multimedia platforms that enable marketers, corporate communicators, sustainability officers, public affairs and investor relations officers to leverage content to engage with all their key audiences. Having pioneered the commercial news distribution industry 58 years ago, PR Newswire today provides end-to-end solutions to produce, optimize and target content — from rich media to online video to multimedia — and then distribute content and measure results across traditional, digital, mobile and social channels. Combining the world’s largest multi-channel, multi-cultural content distribution and optimization network with comprehensive workflow tools and platforms, PR Newswire enables the world’s enterprises to engage opportunity everywhere it exists. PR Newswire serves tens of thousands of clients from offices in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region, and is a UBM plc company.

Media Contacts:
Rachel Meranus
Vice President, Marketing and Communications
PR Newswire
+1.201.360.6776
Rachel.Meranus@prnewswire.com

Meryl Serouya
Marketing and Communications Associate
PR Newswire
+1.201.360.6009
Meryl.Serouya@prnewswire.com

Source: PR Newswire Association LLC

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Systemic Corruption, Criminal James Ibori and Nigeria’s Justice System

James Ibori

Systemic Corruption, Criminal James Ibori and Nigeria’s Justice System

~ By Nwaorgu Faustinus

That corruption has become endemic, hydra-headed and even emasculated the political, religious, social and economic landscape of the sub-Saharan clime (Nigeria not exception) and has eaten so deep into its sustaining bone marrow cannot be overstressed. This is expressed in the many corruption cases being investigated by the EFCC and ICPC on high ranking government officials – former governors, cronies of the party in power, politicians, representatives of corporate organization etc. which the Fourth Estate of the Realm has described as mere public infotainment in the past and even now.

The Nigerian impoverished masses are not only aware of the alleged half-baked prepare readiness of anti-corruption agency to fight corruption head-on but are also keen watchers, observers and readers of how a few individual who have found themselves in position of trust use such posts to corruptly line their ever-swallowing, greedy and immoral vaults to the detriment of the Nigerian people who have continued to wallow in abject poverty and underdevelopment. The question is: how many cases of money laundering, official corruption, embezzlement and misappropriation of public fund and so on involving highly placed persons, especially the political class, has the EFCC or ICPC won. The Nigerian people for me have had enough of this entertainment probes carried out by EFCC.

In the past, list of governors who were alleged to be corrupt have been made public but the question is: have these governors been found guilty for pilfering public fund entrusted to them? Your answer to this question is as good as mine. What is it that constitutes a cog in the wheel of fighting corruption mainly associated with politicians whom the Nigerian electorates elected into positions of trust with a view that those elected could bring development, employment, change and invariably put smile on the faces of Nigerians? Is it that the EFCC or ICPC does not have water-tight evidence to send these perpetual, habitual and unremorseful kleptomaniacs to jail? Is the fault located in the past Attorney General of the Federation (Mike Aondoakaa) who pressurize court to respect “restraining injunction” filed by politicians that the EFCC wants to prosecute or is it in the nation’s justice system which many believed to have been morally debased and perverted by those running from the long arm of law?

Writing on how the federal high court in Asaba, the Delta State Capital in 2009 struck out FRN vs. Ibori’s case which was on corruption charges against the later, sahararporters.com, an online media site gave its caption thus: “Federal Kangaroo High Court of Asaba discharges and acquits James Ibori”

The online media site wrote: “the federal high court judge in Asaba today (Thursday, 17 December 2009 my words) discharged and acquitted former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, of all the 170-count charge of corruption proffered against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Saharareporters had reported that Justice Marcel Awokulehin, personally approved for appointment to lead the newly created federal high court in Asaba by Ibori had struck a deal with the ex-governor and two-time ex-convict to quash the charges for a princely sum of $5 million.

Signs that the judge was going to deliver his highly compromised judgement showed early when heavy security was noticed at the venue, our source said the director general of the state security services, personally coordinated security from Abuja.
At today bizarre ruling, the judge arrived at 8:41 AM, but Ibori until 8:58 AM. Our reporter described Ibori’s arrival to the venue with the air of “absolute confidence” in uncommon swagger.

It was therefore a soothing balm for many Nigerians when Mr Ibori was convicted by the Southwark Crown Court in south London which sentenced him for 13 years in prison. The sentence of Ibori in faraway London on corruption charges therefore puts a very big question mark on the incorruptibility of Nigeria’s crop of legal personnel and its Justice system. If Mr James Ibori could be left off the hook by the justice system in Nigeria and afterwards convicted by a London court says much about the debauch nature of Nigeria’s justice system.

The Nigerian justice system as matter of fact has loss is integrity and something urgent must be done to redeem its currently battered image if the acquittal of James Ibori by a federal high court in Asaba and his current conviction is anything to go by. The appropriate body of the Nigerian legal system charged with disciplining its erring members should ensure that its members found to be corrupt in the pursuance of their enterprise are punished adequately to serve as a deterrent to others. The issue of granting court orders restraining EFCC or ICPC from investigating alleged corrupt politicians and others should be stopped forthwith.

The Nigerian judicial system and its operators as the last hope of Nigerians should be above board, incorruptible and eschew greed and corruption in the discharge of its responsibility if it wants to enjoy the commendation of the public. God help Nigeria.


~ Nwaorgu, Faustinus writes from Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Mobile: +2348035601312. Email: fausteness@yahoo.com.

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Azazi, Were You Using Emotions to Provoke President Jonathan’s Resignation?

General Owoye Andrew Azazi CFR FSS MSS DSS GSS psc((retired) is the National Security Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria and a former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of Nigeria. The Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo made this appointment.

Azazi, Were You Using Emotions to Provoke President Jonathan’s Resignation?

~ John Egbeazien Oshodi, Ph.D.

The first principled truth is that at this time in Nigeria life is frustrating and painful considering the current level of insecurity in the nation.

There is one Nigerian, apart from the nation’s President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, who really knows the depth and density of insecurity in the country, he is the President’s current national security adviser and his name is Owoye Andrew Azazi, a retired general and a former chief of defense staff.


President Goodluck Jonathan

In truth and in pain, and from the point of speculative or theoretic psychology, Azazi was waiting for that very Friday and that week end to reveal his repressed anger, feelings of shame and guilt about a dwindling nation, and find a way to turn all of his frustrations not against himself, at least not this time but towards the nation as a whole especially those in political leadership, the President apparently.

Azazi’s deep-seated rage it appears was more of a moral issue, as he could no longer guarantee an improvement on security issues, and in his capacity as the security ear of the President and as a well-tested soldier any restrictions placed on the secrecy and security aspect of his job was in disappearance, as disclosing his inner emotional pains was all that matters to him.

Even if his full-blown anger stood out as endangering national security it matters not on that faithful day as the top political parties have already done the damage with total impunity and indifference.

Azazi knew fully well that his burning frustration since finding himself in the midst of do or die politicians would draw attention away from the pretense, silliness and denial which appear to be continuously shaping the nation’s polity.
He knew that to bring to discourse honest dialogue about our present times and how we got to this level of national confusion and undemocratic ways of existence it was worth the effort and time to open his mouth.

Azazi’s show of public resentment which he displayed to the who-is-who in political leadership came out as a form of political anger even though he is not a politician, and he made sure to blame his listening political audience as responsible for the sweeping societal insecurity. Which to him is a factor of their self-made rules like the system of zoning which he sees as antithetical to the Nigerian constitution.
Azazi as a man of humanity and art by virtue of his education and as a man styled with an apparent personality of systematically reaching and executing decisions, some persons in our society have taking his meticulous appearance and painstaking conduct to be that of indifference. Now they see how wrong they are.

That very Friday, during the second version of the South-South economic summit in Asaba, he knew that one side of the Nigerian political divide known as People's Democratic Party (PDP) would be fully represented and as a calculating soldier with well-planned and prepared notes, may be for days or weeks or even months, vented out his inner frustrations line by line, irrespective of whether the PDP power-that-be identified with his emotions—unconsciously or consciously. He may have even wished the President to be there to see a fellow kinsman telling it all!

In fact Azazi, would have done the same exact thing in the north-east of the country full of core members of Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) but with a different type of notes and preparedness.

Azazi by his nature and training in national and international principles of peacefulness, he sees the need for all humans irrespective of one’s place in the society, to follow the legal document called the Constitution.
As a long standing military student of national intelligence, national development, citizen involvement, strategic intensions, tactical coordination and international leadership he seems to approach governance and leadership through the apparatus of the Constitution imperfect as it may be.

For Azazi, anything short of true practice of the constitution or the rule of law could represent various lines and cycles of disorderliness, rebellion, double-dealing, intemperance, inequity, politicking, disunity and discomfort.

Azazi appears to be telling the political class across the nation unless they stop making their personalized rules or doctrines and take the pain to show greater respect for the rule of law in matters of elections, power sharing, and economy, the rising insecurity and civilian extremism may not submerge fully even with the best security infrastructures.

Azazi, by removing the wall of anger between him and his master—the PDP , he had in fact placed the political leaders in a sudden position from where they can see in full view the anger, worry, resentment, frustration, disappointment and other negative emotional states being felt in the north and in the south of the nation.
Azazi is making it clear to the political leadership that to continue to justify the principle of unconstitutional practice, leaves room for more undemocratic responses to their existence and that could include acts of insurgency and chaos in the society.

In using some of his embedded emotions and pains to repudiate the political leaders, beginning with the southern ones, he appears to be disclosing to the country very serious and powerful consequences in the upcoming rounds of political fight for the presidency and other similar positions.

Azazi as a man who is skilled in peaceful resolutions, national integration, meritorious leadership, and American diplomacy any attempt to ignore his true revelations, and even punish him will be a cause for him to further validate his deep feelings of anger, sadness, and frustration and in the process free himself from an interfering undemocratic politics which he sees as currently at play in lives of the people.

Consequently, whatever follows this undemocratic divide in leadership with its symptoms of burning distrust and greater danger occurring, Azazi who is currently in the midst of all this divide, appears to be creating healthy ways for his own personal freedom.

Azazi, as he fights inwardly and to some extent outwardly, in an attempt to rescue the nation and even if he is made to apologize for his honored words but under the cover of slip of tongue where the underlying truth really lies, he appears to have another painful concern for his kinsman , Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, who at this time and in the wake of all these happenings is heading a polarized society, and caught between the southern and northern political divide, as such may not be able to escape soon from the partisan burden of a worried nation like Nigeria.

Emotionally, he appears to be telling the President here is a quit notice, my anger is a call your resignation from the presidential leadership at this time!
If Azazi’s emotional exposé was to provoke more national crisis as in Jonathan’s resignation, sorry the President is still standing and the President should not resign.

The President must be wandering how could someone he trust dearly pour out his broken heart publicly, and resolve to pour out his wrath on him and the political leadership, a question that Azazi could fully answer personally in response to a psychological therapy session, that is if he deems it as helpful.

Nevertheless, Azazi in his spirit and mind appears to see the path of progress and unity through the eyes of the constitution but whether this fantasy will turn to a reality is what is probably burning within Gen. Andrew Owoye Azazi at this unpredictable time. On that unique day in Asaba, he must have hollered free at last, free at last!


~ John Egbeazien Oshodi, Ph.D., is an Abuja-based Forensic/Clinical Psychologist and the Secretary-General of the Nigeria Psychological Association (NPA), Abuja. Jos5930458@aol.com. Tel: 08126909839.

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Religious Freedom - A Vanishing Right in Middle East, Africa

If only they would practice the TRUTH of the Love of God.

30 Apr 2012 16:54 Africa/Lagos

Religious Freedom - A Vanishing Right in Middle East, Africa
Open Doors USA and Simon Wiesenthal Center to Address Dramatic Increase in Persecution May 3 at DC Press Conference

PR Newswire

SANTA ANA, Calif., April 30, 2012

SANTA ANA, Calif., April 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly 70 percent of the world's 6.8 billion people live in countries with little or no freedom of religion, including many countries in the Middle East and Africa.

The purge of centuries-old Christian communities in Middle East countries like Iraq and Iran and the dramatic increase of persecution in African countries like Egypt and Nigeria are putting Christians and other minorities under unprecedented siege. On Sunday, gunmen reportedly killed at least 21 Christians and wounded 22 in two attacks during worship services held at a university and church in northern Nigeria.

Dr. Carl Moeller, president/CEO of Open Doors USA; Nina Shea, director for religious freedom at the Hudson Institute; Rev. Dr. Katharine Rhodes Henderson, president of Auburn Theological Seminary in New York City; Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein, director of Interfaith Affairs for the Simon Wiesenthal Center; and Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, will be among speakers addressing the issue of embattled Christian communities during a press conference on Thursday, May 3, at 10 a.m. at the National Press Club, Bloomberg Room, in Washington, D.C.

Last month the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) included Egypt, Eritrea, Iraq, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Sudan among 16 countries on its "Countries of Particular Concern" list. The report said that "across the global landscape, the pivotal human right of religious freedom was under escalating attack."

Open Doors is an international organization that for over five decades has covertly come along side Christians in 60 restrictive and dangerous countries, campaigning for their freedom to believe, from the gulags in North Korea to the halls of Congress. To partner with Open Doors USA, call toll free at 888-5-BIBLE-5 (888-524-2535 ) or go to www.OpenDoorsUSA.org .

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jerry Dykstra, Open Doors USA Media Relations Director,
at 616-915-4117 or JerryD@odusa.org ;
Marcial Lavina, Assistant Director of Public Relations, Simon Wiesenthal Center,
at 310-772-2455 or mlavina@wiesenthal.net

SOURCE Open Doors USA

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

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30 Apr 2012
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Nigerian Security and Executive Chiefs Need Re-Education on Security Matters

Nigerian Security and Executive chiefs need Re-education on security Matters


~ By John Egbeazien Oshodi, Ph.D.

As the Nigerian government struggles to manage and quell the continued targeted and strategic acts of wide-scale terrorist violence in recent times and even just a few days ago, it is not unusual to read or hear some of our nation’s federal officials dismissing warnings of bombing from security tested societies like the United States of America. In the least, this shows that the Nigerian security and executive chiefs need professional development and educational orientation on security talk and matters.

A case in point is the blatant, open and the careless dismissal of the United States of America’s warning that Abuja the nation’s capital could possibly and soon face planned terrorist attacks. This open disregard ironically came from the federal ministry of information/communications through the painful and now laughable words of the nation’s topmost head of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku.

He is not the first to utter dismissive words on terror warnings as others have thrown out same type of verbiage in the past.

Mr. Maku shockingly rebuked the United States Government “not to create public panic in our country.” America had warned us on April 17, 2012 and in nine days Abuja was attacked!

For a country swimming in systemic darkness, open insecurity, devastating violence, poverty of infrastructures and insufficient terror alerts, one would think that every information regarding possible attacks should be fully pursued vigorously.
Especially when such aid is coming from a globally tested anti-terror power like America who before the 9/11 terror disaster, had not fully toughened its anti-terror readiness.


The members of the "Boko Haram" Islamic Jihad in northern Nigeria.

But today, America can openly and publicly show full evidence of thousands of terrorist arrests, prosecutions and convictions, as well as show a profound global cognizance, control and reduction of terrorism.

Therefore, for our federal security/information chiefs and agencies to continue to downplay these warnings over and over, and doing it openly show signs of lack understanding for a complex matter like fanatic violence, lack of political imagination of the seriousness of radical-based violence or simply shows a sign of gross miscalculation on matters that require second-by-second watchfulness.

Terrorist-based violence occurs in almost all societies of the globe, but the values for combating it is the understanding the Nigerian people wants to see in and hear from our law enforcement, security and other public officials.

President Jonathan should begin to direct a new understanding and call for a full responsibility in matters that continues to give tremor to our internal democracy as Nigerians are just tired of complacent or unworried governance, and mannerisms that should not be occurring at these unpredictable times.

What we need now in our war against Nigeria-based terrorism is a line of scholarly thoughts in order to get additional, current and objective home-grown understanding of terrorists and terrorism as well as the influencing factors in the psychology of people who threaten or use violence against others while willing the perish in the process.

We need scholars to begin to find ways to study how to reduce the complexity surrounding terrorism as it relates to the sympathy that terrorists could be getting from some Nigerians.

The interpretation of terrorist violence in Nigeria must include evidence based external, political, economic, religious and intellectual treatments of terrorism. An all-out thinking and contributions from scholars in our Nigerian universities could assist in the interpretation of the patterns of violence we are currently experiencing and these studies could help uncover the psychological , sociological, economic and political as well as the scientific aspects of terror pacification, counterterrorism, and other forms of terrorist Violence.

Unlike many terror and security tested nations that see so much value in constantly using terrorism specialists and law enforcement scholars in the fight against terrorism, the Nigerian federal and state governments have been slow in this type of strategic collaboration.

In fact many of our public officials and some scholars appear to be equally shortsighted in regards to pressuring each other to join hands together in order to draw lessons from their own everyday work and scholastic research on terrorist violence.

We need vital collaborations that will not only assist individual and structural levels of analysis on terrorist mindset and strategies but would educate public officials on the need to be extraordinarily careful on the use of words as well as educate them on common modern usage of the words when dealing with the public, or explaining to the citizens and analyzing non-nationals predictions on terrorism matters.

The current government of Nigeria and its security and executive chiefs should bring in psychological scholars to take on and study the revelation by the President that terrorists have infiltrated the executive, parliamentary, judicial sections of government and other sections as this type of follow up will be the main road to initiate a line of solutions to control our everyday worry of when and where the next high-level simultaneous bomb and gun attacks on a public place across various cities will occur.

We need our law enforcement and judicial agencies to show actual numbers or data, successful prosecutions and court convictions on terrorism cases for the public to see, as such move will undoubtedly be the best way for our security, ministerial or executive chiefs to reduce public panic, ensure some degree of public confidence and show that we are not relenting on our anti-terror fight just like America, China, Pakistan, and Spain appears to be currently doing successfully.

No reasonable mind is asking that Nigeria becomes authoritarian government which could lead to unnecessary multiple raids, and unnecessary detention.

At this time and right now our preparedness is in doubt as evidenced by the “Jabi” surprise among others, therefore our officials should not wait for external bodies and agencies like American organizations to tell them or communicate to them their source of information on terror alerts as that will be clandestinely foolish, instead our officials must view all public instruments as targets and that include but not limited to media houses, markets, children play grounds, public eateries, higher institutions, hospitals, eateries, and others.

The next time we hear of terror warnings from credible sources and powerful authorities internal or external, let us start to see leaflets, mailshots, and fliers in different dialects in homes, shops, markets, schools, hospitals, fire stations, police stations, airports, post office, and other avenues educating us and giving info on terrorism warning, emergency preparedness and rescue tactics, and emergency evacuation methods.

In truth, these are trying times for our beloved country and the distresses Nigeria is currently going through remain similar to those of America before the 9/11 attacks, therefore scholars and policy makers alike must find a way to collaborate and seek out important transformation strategies and answers to help tackle various typologies of violence as in native terrorism or self-induced terrorism, cold blooded terrorism, religious-perpetrated violence, and situational terrorism as well as silent terrorism which as we all know is arising on a daily basis and it is being committed by those afflicted by what could be called “corruptomania”—a common monetary disorder among many public and private officials in particular.


~ John Egbeazien Oshodi, Ph.D., is an Abuja-based Forensic/Clinical Psychologist. Jos5930458@aol.com. 08126909839.

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Open Letter To Alhaji Aliko Dangote on Northern Nigeria and Boko Haram

Alhaji Aliko Dangote, MFR, GCON, ETC; is the richest black man on earth according the Forbes magazine, but his homeland Kano is one of the most underdeveloped places on earth where over 400 industries have collapsed and over 5 million lost their jobs and now terrorized by the dreaded Boko Haram Islamic terrorists on suicide-bombing rampage in northern Nigeria.

Open Letter To Alhaji Aliko Dangote on Northern Nigeria and Boko Haram


Dear Alhaji Aliko Dangote, MFR, GCON, ETC: Charity Begins At Home and Not On Forbes,

Are you still dining and wining with members of the elite billionaires club of Forbes 100 Most Richest People in the world?

Are you still gloating over being named the richest black man in the world?
Are you still gazing at the glittering trophies you have won as the greatest industrialist in Africa?

Are you still gazing at yourself in the cheval glass mirror grinning as you think you look dapper and better in your designer suit than in your native Babariga?
Are you still playing your Monopoly and Totopoly at the Nigerian Stock Exchange and saying Auzubillah as your billions increase daily?
Who are you impressing?

Your legion of flatterers, hypocrites, praise singing sycophants who are far away in their comfort zones while your motherland is on fire, smoking from suicide bombings and stinking from the acrid odours of charred bodies of corpses, burnt vehicles and razed houses in Kano, Kaduna, Borno, Gombe, Yobe, Adamawa, Kogi, Abuja, Plateau, Katsina, and other danger zones terrorized by the lunatic fringe of your own Islamic religion.

Haba Aliko! But while you are still cutting ribbons to open new industries in the safer southern and western regions and other countries in Africa, your own northern region is burning!
Burning in the catastrophic chaos of Islamic insurgency in the masquerade of Boko Haram.
But who is to blame?
You are not culpable?
You think you are innocent?

How many of you industries are located in Kano and other northern states?
Are you biggest factories located in the northern regions?

How many of the millions of jobless people in Kano are employed in your following Dangote Group of Companies and subsidiaries?

ALCO International Limited
Dangote Nigeria Limited
Dangote Transport Limited
Dangote Cement Plc. - Listed on Nigeria Stock Exchange[4]
National Salt Company of Nigeria Plc. - Listed on Nigeria Stock Exchange
Dangote Flour Mills Plc. - Listed on Nigeria Stock Exchange
Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc. - Listed on Nigeria Stock Exchange[5]
Dangote Oil & Gas Industries International
Dangote Textiles Limited
Dangote Holdings Limited
Blue Star Limited
Dansa Foods Limited
Dansa Food Processing Limited
Dancom Technologies
GreenView International Company Limited - Has invested US$28+ million in cement factory in Ghana.
Sephaku Cement Limited - Dangote Group has 64% shareholding in this South African cement company.
Alheri Engineering Limited
Kura Holdings Limited

Haba Aliko!
Where were you when over 400 industries closed in Kano?
Where were you when over five million jobs were lost?

Where are the cotton plantations?
Where are the sugarcane plantations?
Where are the groundnut pyramids?
What have you done with your billions of dollars to revive the collapsed industries?

What have you done for your thousands of nomadic and rampaging cattle herdsmen who are roaming and trespassing farmlands from the north to the middle belt and to the south when they would fare better if you can just spend only $1 billion to settle them in ranches and let them develop livestock farms all over your northern states and stop their prehistoric nomadic life of trespassing other lands.

What your people need most are not your cement and sugar and pasta factories.
They need livestock farms for large scale dairies, cotton plantations for cotton to use in Nigeria and export to the rest of the world to make billions of cotton products used for clothes, cotton wools and other uses and revive all the collapsed textile industries, sugarcane plantations to produce sugar and stop useless importation of sugar from America and Europe like St. Louis and other unhealthy sugary junk foods dumped in Nigeria and farmlands to grow groundnuts to revive the famous groundnut pyramids and date palms to produce dates and peanuts to enrich the millions of pastries and loaves of bread we eat daily to nourish millions of Hausas and other Nigerians.

One Babariga is sold for over $600 on Coyotes Paw. One Babariga is made of strips of hand-loomed cotton sewed side by side to form large panels of cloth that are then meticulously embroidered with local silk or cotton thread.
Do you know how many thousands of Almajiris and other jobless Hausas would be employed in "Alhaji Aliko Dangote Textile Factories" to produce enough cotton for millions of Babarigas for millions of people in Nigeria and other Africans in the Diaspora?

These would definitely make you a richer billionaire than all your sugar, pastry and cement factories.

When you address the humanitarian emergencies caused by the collapse of hundreds of factories in your homeland Kano and other northern states, and help to create millions of jobs for the millions of jobless Hausas and others and they are gainfully employed to earn good wages to make ends meet, then where would the the devils on rampage find new recruits for their suicidal jihads?



~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, author of Children of Heaven, Sleepless Night, Scarlet Tears of London, Bye, Bye Mugabe, In the House of Dogs and other books and founder of Eko International Film Festival and Screen Naija One Village, One Cinema Project.

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Screen Outdoor Open Air Cinema to Run Screen Naija One Village, One Cinema Project

SOOAC will use the outdoor cinema equipment and services of Open Air Cinema.

Screen Outdoor Open Air Cinema to Run Screen Naija One Village, One Cinema Project

A new outdoor cinema enterprise Screen Outdoor Open Air Cinema (SOOAC) owned by Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima will execute the Screen Naija One Village, One Cinema Project in Nigeria.

SOOAC has already secured the public broadcast rights for the multiple awards winning documentaries Project Happiness and Cultures of Resistance and also independent movies for commercial distribution in Nigeria and other parts of Africa.

The documentaries will be screened gratis to the public before the commercial screening of the non-documentary movies from the urban areas to the rural communities in selected states in Nigeria.

“SOOAC will show documentaries and movies in conducive and receptive communities as long as there is peace and security at the locations,” said Michael Chima.

SOOAC will be managed by Miss. Roseline Philip, the Festival/Project Manager of Screen Naija.

For advertisement and sponsorship considerations, contact the following:

Roseline Philip
The Festival/Project Manager
Screen Naija One Village, One Cinema
Screen Outdoor Open Air Cinema
International Digital Post Network Limited
1, Bajulaiye Road,
Morocco Bust Stop, Shomolu,
Lagos, Nigeria.
Tel: 234 7066379246, 234 8160402006.

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