Witnesses: At least 15 killed when suspected sect gunmen attack a village in northeast Nigeria
Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/news/Witnesses+least+killed+when+suspected+sect+gunmen+attack/7756802/story.html#ixzz2GT3VGYAP
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Saturday, December 29, 2012
Boko Haram Slaughter 15 Villagers Like Goats in Musari
Witnesses: At least 15 killed when suspected sect gunmen attack a village in northeast Nigeria
Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/news/Witnesses+least+killed+when+suspected+sect+gunmen+attack/7756802/story.html#ixzz2GT3VGYAP
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You Need Humility To Date Nigerians in Nigeria: From the Diary of a Traveling Nigerian Writer
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You Need Humility To Date Nigerians in Nigeria: From the Diary of a Traveling Nigerian Writer
There is a glaring difference between Nigerian girls and women in Nigeria and Nigerian girls and women in developed countries, because those in developed countries are more advanced than those in Nigeria in information, education and communication (IEC) and standards of living. And the appalling poor quality of education in Nigeria is worsening the intellectual development of Nigerians in Nigeria.
Communicating with Nigerians who even boast of being graduates of Nigerian universities is a nightmare when addressing intellectual and political matters of local and global significance. For instance, majority of Nigerian girls in Nigeria who claim to be educated and informed with their latest gadgets and toys of BBM and other trendy mobile devices were clueless about the popular discussions on Chinua Achebe’s controversial memoir There Was A Country and how the issues raised matter in the history of Nigeria. Majority of these BlackBerry babes don’t even read newspapers, except gossip tabloids online and offline on celebrities and their lifestyles and scandals. In fact, even the so called trendy ones who are often seen posing and posturing on the red carpets in Nigeria and claiming to wear the top designers clothes, shoes and other accessories don’t even know the difference between Spring and Fall collections of the designers they drop their names in their fake impressions of Hollywood celebrities they see on cable TV and on the internet.
Having a healthy cerebral conversation with anyone of them is almost impossible and among them are graduates of top Nigerian universities and you can be really flummoxed by their vacuity. So, what do you do with these milling hordes of intellectually retarded Nigerian babes on the street and on the internet whose best contributions to Facebook is posting their useless photographs to solicit for the attention of their romantic interests and targets?
The best thing to do in most cases is to skip all intellectual matters on serious literary and sociopolitical issues and indulge in their trivialities and play along to dine and wine and fork them as they wish and when they have nothing more to offer than their junk life, just dump them when you are bored and tired of them and move on to those you can really have a more fulfilling relationship with, because with these intellectually retarded Nigerian girls and women, you can never be at par with your intellectual peers in the developed countries. They are just too intellectually backward to comprehend the trending contemporary issues and how they will determine our future on earth. That is why majority of them have been caught napping by the notable paradigms in both pop culture and political developments in the world.
How many of them knew about the Orange Revolution in Eastern Europe or how climate change is also worsening the volatile political crisis in the north that has done collateral damage to peace and stability in Nigeria and affects the welfare of everyone in Nigeria? What they all shout is Boko Haram! But how many of them can sit down with you and discuss the direct or indirect relationship between the Islamic terrorism in northern Nigeria and the spread of the Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)? But now the horrifying and terrifying acts of the Boko Haram have disrupted the formal and normal life of many of them who would have been doing their National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), working and dating in the northern and Middle Belt states?
Majority of them who have fled the conflict zones have chosen defeatist and escapist ways of life instead of addressing the present realities in Nigeria.
They have ignorant and nonchalant attitudes and they have only made themselves more insecure in sociopolitical emergencies. And they still want to be counted among the future leaders of this country when they are so clueless about the local and global indicators of political developments in the 21st century?
When a community loses the appreciation of intellectual values it will gradually and eventually lose its humanity and will degenerate into a state of bestiality and incivility and that was exactly what happened in the horrifying murder of four students of the University of Port Harcourt in Umuokiri village, Aluu, Rivers State on October 5, 2012, and other tragic cases of barbaric acts in different parts of Nigeria.
To be well informed on the realities affecting our life in the present circumstances is a must in every relationship, courtship and marriage so that you will not be overwhelmed by the crisis as witnesses in the tragic case of Rwanda where their ignorance and nonchalance worsened the management of the crisis until it became one of the worst human catastrophes in history. Hundreds of thousands of lives were lost and the relationships of the survivors were altered forever.
The terrible economic and sociopolitical realities in Nigeria are affecting lives and relationships and the results are mass unemployment with millions of jobless singles who cannot even afford three square meals to think of having and maintaining relationships and those who have ended up with unplanned marriages and families are having children they cannot even give good parenting. Therefore in every relationship in Nigeria, you must address the present realities of life before marriage. I wonder how many singles are enjoying normal relationships and getting married in the Boko Haram zones of northern Nigeria? What of those who have been attacked and lost their lovers and spouses?
Have you ever paused to think of how you would survive if another civil war should break out in Nigeria?
Would you still be dancing Iyanya’s Kukere at the club or going Chuddy K’s Gaga Crazy on the street?
Can we have some reasonable dialogue on this before it is too late?
~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, prize winning Nigerian born author of Children of Heaven, Scarlet Tears of London, Bye, Bye Mugabe, In the House of Dogs, Diary of the Memory Keeper, The Prophet Lied and other books.
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Beyoncé Invites Fans to Help Kick Off the Pepsi Super Bowl XLVII Halftime Show on February 3, 2013
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28 Dec 2012 15:52 Africa/Lagos
Pepsi and Beyonce Invite Fans to Help Kick Off the Pepsi Super Bowl XLVII Halftime Show
Fans will have the chance to be a part of the First Ever Crowd-Sourced Super Bowl Halftime Introduction And Help Welcome Beyonce to the Stage
PURCHASE, N.Y., Dec. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Pepsi and Beyonce are inviting fans to help make this year's Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show one of the most memorable and compelling shows ever. Beginning on Saturday, December 29th, fans are encouraged to submit photos of specific "poses" in hopes of being selected for a chance of a lifetime – to appear in an on-air introduction welcoming Beyonce to the stage for the Pepsi Super Bowl XLVII Halftime Show.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121228/LA34915)
Beginning Saturday, December 29, Pepsi will take over Times Square with digital billboards calling fans to submit their photos. Fans who visit www.pepsi.com/halftime will be given a series of poses to photograph, including head bopping, feet tapping, and yes, even hips shaking. Hundreds of photos uploaded at www.Pepsi.com/halftime with the hashtag #PepsiHalftime will be used to introduce the Pepsi Super Bowl XLVII Halftime Show and to welcome Beyonce to the world's biggest stage. The show will air on CBS on February 3, 2013.
In addition, people who submit their photos by January 11 th will be entered into a drawing for a chance to be one of 50 lucky fans selected for an unforgettable on-field experience during Beyonce's Pepsi Super Bowl XLVII Halftime Show performance seen by millions of viewers at home. These fans will be able to bring a friend to New Orleans, participate in dress rehearsals during the week leading up to the show, and be a part of the Halftime Show's on-field dance team on Super Bowl Sunday.
"Pepsi is bringing to life its 'Live for Now' mindset which places fans at the center of this experience," said Angelique Krembs, vice president of marketing, Pepsi. "Pepsi is looking for new ways to involve fans in the Halftime Show experience, and 'live' it like never before. And this is just the beginning. Only Pepsi could offer these amazing experiences, and we are proud to be able to work with our partners at the NFL, CBS and with Beyonce in this unique and creative manner."
Pepsi has also created a local promotion for residents of the New Orleans area. Pepsi will select an additional 50 winners and their guests from Pepsi's local retail partners, and give them an on-field experience at the Pepsi Super Bowl XLVII Halftime Show. These fans will also be on the field during Beyonce's performance.
Photo submissions for #PepsiHalftime will end on January 19 th. For official rules and information, fans can visit www.pepsi.com/halftime. The "NFL Entities" (as defined in the official rules) have not offered or sponsored the sweepstakes in any way.
About PepsiCo
PepsiCo is a global food and beverage leader with net revenues of more than $65 billion and a product portfolio that includes 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in annual retail sales. Our main businesses – Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade, Frito-Lay and Pepsi-Cola – make hundreds of enjoyable foods and beverages that are loved throughout the world. PepsiCo's people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth by investing in a healthier future for people and our planet, which we believe also, means a more successful future for PepsiCo. We call this commitment Performance with Purpose: PepsiCo's promise to provide a wide range of foods and beverages for local tastes; to find innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment by conserving energy and water and reducing packaging volume; to provide a great workplace for our associates; and to respect, support and invest in the local communities where we operate. For more information, please visit http://www.pepsico.com
SOURCE PepsiCo
CONTACT: Esther-Mireya Tejeda, PepsiCo, +1-914-253-3347, Esther-Mireya.Tejeda@pepsico.com; Scott D. Floyd, PMK*BNC, For Pepsi, +1-310-854-4784, scott.floyd@pmkbnc.com; Yvette Noel-Schure, Beyonce, Yns333@parkwood-ent.com
Web Site: http://www.pepsico.com
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Friday, December 28, 2012
Thank You!
We are glad and grateful to the Almighty God our maker and owner for all our friends, partners and sponsors in Nigeria and the rest of the world.
We say THANK YOU for your cooperation and support.
With my best wishes,
Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima
Publisher/Editor
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Aliko Mohammad Dangote; The Biography of the Richest Black Person in the World
Aliko Mohammad Dangote; The Biography of the Richest Black Person in the World by Moshood A. Fayemiwo & Margie M. Neal
The authors traced the history of Mr. Aliko Dangote and his larger than life personality as a business icon and perhaps the most successful business man in Nigeria and in Africa today. The book took readers into Mr. Dangote’s persona; a cool headed, humble, simple and hardworking man, who has succeeded in building the largest private industrial business empire in Nigeria and West Africa which have enriched many lives through job creation and service delivery. The authors presented Aliko as a poster boy for Nigeria’s potential and a tremendous boost for morale. What is truly exciting about Mr. Dangote’s wealth, as this book shows, is that he plows his business profits back into the local economy to generate more wealth and employment opportunities. That definitely distinguishes Mr. Dangote from other men and women of means in Nigeria. Mr. Dangote is presented in this book as a genuine African patriot for contributing to the industrialization of the continent. The fact that Dangote is the richest African and black man in the world are a testament to the potentials of the African economy for investors interested in making legitimate money in the Nigerian economy. In fact, Aliko’s business success presents a window of opportunity for the Nigerian government to attract foreign investors into the Nigerian and African economies. If Dangote can make stupendous profit locally, so can others who are willing to invest in the African economy. A readable book written in an easy and straight forward prose.
~ Dr. Segun Oshinaga, author, coach, speaker, pastor and president, Wisdom for Winning Network, Lagos, Nigeria.
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Thursday, December 27, 2012
Nollywood Diva Stephanie Okereke-Linus Engages International Public Relations Company
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Stephanie Okereke-Linus becomes the first Nollywood actress to engage an international public relations company. Her public relations will now be managed by It’s All About You PR.
It’s All About You PR supports sole proprietary business owners, entertainment talent, designers, artist and corporations who need a innovative publicity firm that places you first. Our team consist of researchers, publicist, marketing gurus, photographers, website master and event planners. To know us is to experience the absolute, the powerful, the successful.
It’s All About You PR has just released the news on Stephanie Okereke-Linus’ global film brand as a vehicle for her charity in giving back to society.
The following is the complete news release.
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- After her successful debut as writer, director and producer of the award-winning film "Through the Glass," A-List Nollywood actress Stephanie Okereke-Linus (http://www.stephanieokereke.net) is working on a new filmmaking project, titled "Dry," that will further her mission of helping victims of vesico vaginal fistula (VVF). The feature film is the latest in Okereke-Linus' myriad endeavors, which also include international acclaim as a model, style icon, and winner of the 2008 Beyond the Tears Humanitarian Award for her work against rape and VVF.
VVF are holes resulting from a breakdown between the vaginal wall and the bladder or rectum, usually caused by days of a baby struggling to fit through the birth canal. In "Dry," Okereke-Linus tells the story of two young girls trying to survive in a world of rejection and hopelessness brought on by their condition. The film will raise funds to pay for VVF surgery and rehabilitation, and after its premiere, a mobile movie theatre will take it to African villages and towns, particularly those where VVF patients reside.
Okereke-Linus has earned a reputation as Africa's foremost actress, especially in Nollywood, the Nigerian film industry, which The New York Times reported to be the world's third largest. In 2002, she became a household name in Nigeria for her performance in the movie "Emotional Crack," which earned eight awards. Okereke-Linus herself won the 2003 Reel Awards for Best Actress English and Best Actress. The movie was screened at New York City's 2004 African Film Festival.
Since then, Okereke-Linus has starred in more than 100 films. In 2006, she won the Afro-Hollywood Award and the Film Makers USA Award for Excellence, followed by the Miriam Makeba Award for Excellence in 2007.
"Through the Glass" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYhXngxcIrU) premiered in October 2008 at the Pacific Design Center in Hollywood, Calif. and won the Recognition Award from the California Legislature and the city of Carson. It opened in theaters across Nigeria in 2009 and was the country's first film to gross over 10 million naira in its first week. The movie was nominated for African Academy Movie Award as Best Screen Play. In 2010, the film premiered in Switzerland, the first Nigerian movie to open in a Swiss cinema, and it also had a market screening at the Cannes Film Festival in 2010.
In 2010, Okereke-Linus was featured in the CNN documentary "50 years of Nigerian Independence." That same year, she joined Hollywood A-list star Meryl Streep, for an exclusive stage reading of the play "Seven" at the Hudson Theatre in New York City as part of the Women in the World Conference, opened by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Okereke-Linus has been nominated three times for the prestigious Africa Movie Academy Awards. She was awarded Nigeria's fourth highest award, Member of the Order of the Federal Republic. She also serves as a brand ambassador for LG Super 3D Smart Phone, Kanekalon, recently winning the Eloy award for brand ambassador of 2012 and a brand icon for numerous Nigerian fashion designers, Okereke-Linus is a graduate of the New York Film Academy. She married Idahosa Linus in the spring of 2012 in Paris, and fans can share their joy in the wedding video titled "BEST WEDDING VIDEO EVER" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABngyrGyYic). In addition to "Dry," Okereke-Linus plans a reality show in the near future.
Fans and interested parties can find out more about Okereke-Linus at Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephanie_Okereke) and follow her via her Twitter page https://twitter.com/StephanieLinus), Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/StephanieOkerekeLinus?ref=hl), and her blog, "Stephanie Daily.com" (http://www.stephaniedaily.com).
Contact:
Karen Lloyd
Press Manager
310-645-8823
Publicity@itsallaboutyoupr.com
http://www.stephanieokereke.net
This press release was issued through eReleases® Press Release Distribution. For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com.
SOURCE Stephanie Okereke-Linus
Web Site: http://www.stephanieokereke.net
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Chinelo Okparanta : The Hottest Nigerian Girl Making Waves In The Book World
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Chinelo Okparanta was born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. She received her BS from Pennsylvania State University, her MA from Rutgers University and her MFA from Iowa Writers' Workshop. She teaches at the University of Iowa.
Her novel Happiness Like Water made the exclusive list of Best Books Of 2013?: Our Picks For The Year's Biggest Reads by the highly esteemed Huffington Post and also the latest New Voice in a series on GRANTA.
Read her interview on http://www.granta.com/New-Writing/Interview-Chinelo-Okparanta
About Happiness Like Water
A debut story collection of Nigerian women building lives out of longing and hope, faith and doubt, the struggle to stay and the mandate to leave, the burden and strength of love.
A Mariner Original Paperback
In Happiness, Like Water Chinelo Okparanta offers a portrait of Nigeria that is surprising, shocking, heartrending, loving. As Daniyal Mueenuddin brought us everyday Pakistan with In Other Rooms, Other Wonders, so Okparanta brings us life across social strata, dealing in every kind of change.
Among her characters are a young woman faced with a dangerous decision to save her mother, children slick with oil from the river, a woman in love with another despite the penalties. Their world is marked by electricity outages, lush landscapes, folktales, littered roads, Land Rovers, buses that break down and never start up again. They fight their mothers and their husbands, their own shame and their own sexuality, the power of religion and the pull of love.
These are startling, challenging stories filled with language to make your eyes pause and your throat catch. Happiness, Like Water introduces an astonishing talent, a young writer with a beautiful heart and a capacious imagination.
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Omirigwe Mathew Douglas and others Benefit from Senator David Mark's Scholarships
Omirigwe Mathew Douglas, a 300 Level student of Psychology at the Benue State University is among hundreds of 2012 beneficiaries of the Senator David Mark Scholarship Scheme from Ado and other Local Government Areas in Benue State of the Middle Belt of Nigeria.
Hundreds of other beneficiaries are from the following Local Government Areas (LGAs)..
Click on the LGAs for the full l lists of the lucky beneficiaries.
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Monday, December 24, 2012
Senator David Mark and the Future of Nigeria
Senator David Mark and the Future of Nigeria
Senator David Mark, GCON, fnim, the President of the 7th Senate and Chairman of the 7th National Assembly has been a senator representing Benue-South Senatorial district under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since 1999 to date and was first elected Senate President on June 6, 2007 and re-elected as the Senate President for the second time at the floor of the Senate chambers, on the 6th of June 2011 making him the first ever Senate President to achieve this historical feat in the history of Nigeria.
A lot of things have been said about Senator David Mark since his days as the executive Governor of Niger State, January 1984 – 1986, under the military government of Gen. Ibrahim Badamsi Babaginda and yet many people have forgotten the most significant landmarks of his political career so far. The pillars of his political sagacity and tenacity are his dignity, integrity and nobility and they have formed the embodiment of his indefatigable personality in his honest and transparent service to humanity.
As the military governor of Niger State, David Mark introduced compulsory education for all girls to promote girl child education in northern Nigeria and he also embarked on industrialization of Niger State.
David Mark as the Minister of Communications in 1987 introduced mobile phones and digital telephones systems in Nigeria. He started the city coding system; removed Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) from the Civil Service Structure, improved their welfare package, built two ultra modern digital earth stations from internally generated revenue without recourse to the Federal Government. During his tenure as Minister of Communications, NITEL stopped receiving subsidy from the Federal Government and operated purely from its own generated revenue. It was also able to make profit and even contribute to the federation account.
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These previous accomplishments are enough to prove the exemplary leadership of Senator David Mark which he has continued till date by sponsoring and co-sponsoring important bills in the Senate, such as the Anti Corruption Bill, Niger Delta Bill, Minimum Wage Bill, Free Universal Primary Education Bill and others. And presently in his constituency, Benue South Senatorial District , Senator Mark has established at least one cottage industry in each of the nine Local Government Areas; Ado, Apa, Agatu, Obi, Oju, Ogbadibo, Ohimini, Okpokwu and Otukpo. The cottage industries include garri processing plants to soap making plants and he has also provided regular interest free loans to traders, tailoring institutes and giving assistance to ailing community banks, rehabilitation of primary schools, youth empowerment projects, and facilitation of employments for Idomas at the state and federal levels.
Senators Mark believes education is key to sustainable human development and so has committed his energies and material resources to the educational development of Nigerian youths and thousands of Idoma youths in Benue have benefited from the David Mark Scholarship Scheme, through which he disbursed N10 million annually to indigent students from primary to tertiary levels and later increased the scholarship fund to N18 million with effect from the 2008/2009 session. There is also an annual inter-secondary school quiz in which winners are given cash prizes and issued scholarships.
As he said during the inauguration of the 7th senate and his swearing in as the President of the 7th Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, at the Senate Chamber on Monday, June 6, 2011:
“I will be honest, transparent, fair and I will ensure that there is equity and justice and above all, I will preside with the fear of God. Your mandate is a sacred trust, and I promise to hold it in trust for you, to work for you, to work with you, and together, we shall all work for a greater Nigeria. I recognize that I am only a first among equals. I will be your humble servant and you my bosses.”
With such strong words of commitment to the nation building of a New Nigeria, Senator David Mark has taken up the challenge of leadership of the Nigerian Senate and would be accountable for both the shortcomings and success of the upper house. And as he noted; the Nigerian Senate is made up of engineers, doctors, lawyers, journalists, accountants, artists, professors, teachers, business men and women, including former governors, former ministers, former civil servants and technocrats who will have no excuses if they failed in their stewardship and lest they forget, history will not judge them by how many times they appeared in their so called hallowed chambers of the Senate or how many bills they sponsored and passed, but by how much they have succeeded in the improvement of human development and welfare in their respective constituencies.
All members of the Senate, House of Representatives the Executive, the Judiciary; state governments, state assemblies and local government councils will be judged by their works and they are not innocent of the horrifying acts of lawlessness plaguing democracy and governance in Nigeria. Therefore, they need to address the present social, economic and political emergencies in the country.
As Senator David Mark said, by 2014, Nigeria would have existed for 100 years as a country. And history beckons on them to lay the foundation for a transformational agenda of development for a better Nigeria.
“The National Assembly would have to render a historic account to the Nigerian people on how we have laid the foundation for a new Nigeria; This calls for landmark legislations to change the course of history for the present and future generations.”
He said they are committed to the provision of basic needs like power, food, good health, good roads, education, security, shelter and transport system, because the federation and economy need strengthening and the Nigerian youths need jobs.
That is why the Nigerian Senate has been very pragmatic in reforming the budgeting system to ensure that every federal budget is effectively implemented and passing very critical legislations that would propel Nigeria to the 20 most advanced economies in the world before the next decade.
~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, author of Children of Heaven, Scarlet Tears of London, In the House of Dogs, Diary of the Memory Keeper and The Prophet Lied.
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Saturday, December 22, 2012
Christmas War Against Jesus is Happening in Bethlehem
21 Dec 2012 02:16 Africa/Lagos
Holy Land Missions: War Against Jesus is Happening in Bethlehem
BETHLEHEM, Dec. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Pressure from the local community is forcing the hands of the Bethlehem municipality to immediately take down a large Christmas billboard sign that has Jesus on it. "In the birthplace of Christianity, we have seen over the years that the Christmas holiday has been reduced to snowmen and bells," said Pastor Steven Khoury of Holy Land Missions, the ministry behind putting the 1200 square foot sign up. He added, "The essential message of the holiday season has been taken away for fear of what the dominant religious factors in Bethlehem would say."
Vandals had cut the electric cable surrounding the sign to ensure that it would not be lit up during the night, and the print shop hired to print and hang the billboard has been bombarded with harassments. Barraged with phone calls from the local community, the municipality informed Pastor Khoury that many are campaigning asking them to take down the sign. "Jesus and his message have been lost in the city that God chose for him to come into this world," Khoury remarked. The billboard sign, located at Manger Squares main street entrance with the slogan "Jesus born to die and rose again. Invite him into your heart so you might live - Merry Christmas," has caused some people to come out of their cars and take pictures. Out of fear of repercussions, no one in the vicinity of the billboard is willing to sell electricity access to the billboard. So Pastor Khoury has been going out with a portable generator and several high beam spotlights and lighting the sign up himself. Anticipating that the sign might be coming down any time, Khoury quickly did one last film next to the billboard sign. You can watch it at the link below:
You can click the link below or copy into web search:
http://youtu.be/zPtd87E9eNg
Contact Info For Interviews please call:
E-mail: steven@holylandmissions.org
Phone: 417-942-0392
WWW.HOLYLANDMISSIONS.ORG
SOURCE Holy Land Missions
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