US Leads Global Rescue Efforts in Haiti

Nations Rush To Help Haiti After Catastrophic Earthquake

Photo Credit: Finantial Times Media

Nigeria and other nations are rushing in response to the humananitarian crisis in Haiti after the Tuesday devastating earthquake that left hundreds dead and thousands rendered homeless in the capital city of Port-au-Prince.



President Barack Obama of the United States said his government is already sending emergency relief supplies of foodsuffs, water and medical aid to assist Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere.



"This is also a time when we are reminded of the common humanity that we all share, and Americans have always responded to these situations with generosity of spirit. If you would like to support the urgent humanitarian effort in Haiti, I encourage you to visit our website where you can learn more about how to contribute," President Obama said.

He told Americans who want to locate members of their family in Haiti to call the State Department at (888) 407-4747.



For more details and how to help, see Haiti Earthquake and read the following reports.



All photographs are from the copyright owners.



14 Jan 2010 01:03 Africa/Lagos Time

United Nations Foundation Founder and Chairman Ted Turner Statement on the Earthquake and Relief Efforts in Haiti

Commits $1 million and Appeals for Support of UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF)

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Ted Turner today issued the following statement in response to the January 12 earthquake in Haiti:


"Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti last night. We offer condolences to the families of those Haitians, UN peacekeepers and other international staff who have suffered tremendous losses. We are particularly concerned by reports that UN staff including Hedi Annabi, Head of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti, are missing following the collapse of the UN headquarters building. The men and women of the United Nations work on the global frontlines, putting their lives at risk to help address the world's most pressing problems. Many of them have paid an enormous price today.


"We are committing $1 million today to address the most urgent humanitarian and re-construction needs in Haiti. The United Nations Foundation is calling on its partners and friends to add their support by contributing to the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which is the UN's humanitarian fund responding to emergencies like the earthquake in Haiti. Donations can be made on-line at www.unfoundation.org/donate/cerf.html.


"We note UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's statement that UN agencies are deploying to provide humanitarian assistance in close coordination with all parties on the ground. Such quick action, and the release of $10 million from CERF, is vital in preventing even further loss of life. We are grateful for the close coordination of the U.S. Government and other partners to ensure that timely, effective assistance gets to those that need it most.


"We are closely following reports about the devastation to facilities of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). This ongoing peacekeeping effort, comprised of over 9000 international forces, has been in place since the mid-1990s to enhance stability in the country. The UN is working side-by-side with Haitians to provide important security sector reforms, offer election monitoring and police training. UN peacekeepers now face the difficult transition to aid in the search, rescue and recovery efforts in the country, while confronting major personal losses of friends and colleagues.


"The UN Foundation and Vodafone Foundation are also supporting the immediate deployment of two emergency response teams who will work to rebuild the communications infrastructure crippled by the earthquake. These teams, from the World Food Programme and the UN partner Telecoms Sans Frontieres, are deploying to provide emergency communications systems that will enable relief workers to coordinate the delivery of life-saving aid and supplies."


About the United Nations Foundation


The United Nations Foundation, a public charity, was created in 1998 with entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner's historic $1 billion gift to support UN causes and activities. We build and implement public/private partnerships to address the world's most pressing problems, and work to broaden support for the UN through advocacy and public outreach. Through our campaigns and partnerships, we connect people, ideas, and resources to help the UN solve global problems. The campaigns we conduct reduce child mortality, empower women and girls, create a new energy future, secure peace and human rights, and promote technology innovation to improve health outcomes. For more information, visit www.unfoundation.org.


Source: United Nations Foundation

CONTACT: Aaron Sherinian of the United Nations Foundation,
+1-202-778-1622, +1-202-403-9525


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


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Win An all-expense-paid Trip to Washington, D.C., New York and Hollywood

About the challenge
Create a video short that completes the phrase “Democracy is…”
The Prize
• An all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., New York and Hollywood.
• Gala screenings of the winning videos in Hollywood, New York and Washington
• Exposure to filmmakers and the U.S. film and television industry.
• Meetings with democracy advocates from government, media and civil society.
The Timeline
• SUBMISSION DEADLINE - MIDNIGHT GMT JANUARY 31, 2010.
• Challenge semifinalists will be selected on or about March 31, 2010.
• An independent jury will narrow down the semifinalists to 21 finalists on or about May 15, 2010.
• The general public will vote online for the winning videos May 15 – June 15, 2010.
• Seven winners – one each from the Western Hemisphere, Europe, Middle East/North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, South & Central Asia, East Asia/Pacific and one anonymous winner – will be announced in mid-June 2010.
• The six publicly identified winners, one from each of the six geographic regions, will travel to the United States to claim their prize in the fall of 2010.
The Details
• You must be 18 or older to enter.
• Videos can be any style: fiction or documentary, animated or live action.
• Videos must be no longer than three minutes.
• Videos must be in English or have English subtitles.
• Contestants may enter anonymously, but anonymous winners cannot collect the grand prize.
• See contest site for a complete list of rules, CLICK HERE TO ENTER NOW

Nigeria: A Sick Nation with a Sick President

President Umaru Yar'Adua has never been really healthy since he became the head of state of Nigeria.

Nigeria: A Sick Nation with a Sick President


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima

A silver spooned young Nigerian al-Qaeda suicide bomber failed in his desperate mission to bomb an American plane from Amsterdam to Detroit and the news made headlines all over the world, but not a word from the President of Nigeria. Why? They said he was ill and recuperating at a hospital in Saudi Arabia, but the hospital cannot be named. His vice president spoke on his behalf, but Nigerians felt disappointed. Then the US quickly added Nigeria on their list of terrorist countries to worsen the critical state of the most populous nation in Africa. They thought the shocking news was bad enough for their ailing President to be jolted to react, but there was no word again.

The condition of the president must be terrible that he could not even speak on the international political embarrassment of Nigeria in a state of emergency. He must be in coma or could he be dead?

Both the educated and uneducated have been commenting and speculating on what has gone from bad to worse with their president and his government. Rumours of his death have been spread on the Internet. But the rumours have been debunked by his press sectary and the office of the President played a BBC Interview of him addressing Nigerians that he would soon be back once his doctors declare him healthy enough to return back to work. But many Nigerians called it a hoax.

This is not the first time that spurious speculations and rumours of his deteriorating health and death have been circulated. An online political rumour website once published a fake report that President Umaru Yar’Adua was dead until the man resurfaced alive and continued his presidential responsibilities with full support of the political contractors in his cabinet, shareholders in the corridors of power and their beneficiaries.

A president that has failed to improve the deplorable living conditions of the majority of Nigerians who are living on less that one dollar per capita income in a country rated as one of the most corrupt and among the poorest in the world. They have little or no confidence in their sick president and corrupt government. But spurious speculations and rumours are the stock-in-trade of tabloids and should not be taken seriously.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

A sick political system has given Nigerians a sick President of Nigeria.

This is the simple diagnosis of the present political crisis and the only cure is not the replacement of the sick President by another sick product of the same sick ruling party, but the total quarantine of the sick political system.

Nigerians do not need any mass rally or whatever hullabaloo over the hide and seek game that the ruling party is playing with the critical state of the President of Nigeria, who was never really elected in the first place, but was appointed by rigging the last Presidential election in 2007.

Corruption is very contagious. Corruption makes people sick and that is why most Nigerians are sick.

Making noise online and offline will not frighten these devils, because they do not care about what makes Nigerians sick. In fact, the sicker Nigerians become, the better, happier and richer they would be. What makes normal humans sick is what makes these abnormal people well. Their government is a government of corrupt people by corrupt people and for corrupt people. If you are not corrupt, you cannot be in their government. Being well fitted in the costume of corruption is the de rigueur of the ruling party of Nigeria. So, it is not only the President of Nigeria that is sick, but the whole political leadership of the country. They are all sick.

It is not an easy task to find incorruptible Nigerians, except those who were born last night. It is an oddity to be honest in Nigeria. So, it is not always wise to join the majority of Nigerians pointing accusing fingers at the corrupt political contractors, corrupt workers in private business and the religious hypocrites, because most of them are not holier than those they are accusing of corruption. A thief is a thief, from the one who stole one naira to the one who stole one billion naira.

You wonder if there is anyone who has not been entangled in the tentacles of corruption in Nigeria through their common extended family system. Therefore, directly or indirectly everyone could be implicated. Nigerians should stop pointing accusing fingers and start making amends from the person gazing at the mirror...

At the national level, the ruling political party should be sacked, because this is the cankerworm of corruption that is destroying Nigeria. And if this cankerworm is not destroyed, it would eat up the whole country.


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Avatar is Triumphant!

~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima

"Avatar is also an emotional journey of redemption and revolution. It is the story of a wounded former Marine, thrust unwillingly into an effort to settle and exploit an exotic planet rich in biodiversity, who eventually crosses over to lead the indigenous race in a battle for survival," and "We're creating an entire world, a complete ecosystem of phantasmagorical plants and creatures, and a native people with a rich culture and language."

~ From 2007 Press Release from the Producers.

The most ambitious director in Hollywood, James Cameron's Avatar has become the second highest grossing box office hit in history after his first groundbreaking box office mega movie, Titanic.

James Cameron’s filmography is enough to justify the fantastic cinematography of his mesmerizing movies and his latest mega movie Avatar adds more aura to his genius. Avatar is more profound than Titanic in concept and depth, because of the messianic mission of the reformation of the earth and the transformation of humankind. So, in vision should not be compared to the historical fiction of the romantic Titanic. Avatar is a universal film on a rescue mission to save the earth.

There is a Jake Sully in everyone with the head in the clouds in romantic escapism as Jake was enraptured in the Na’vi utopian planet of Pandora. But as we know in Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman who cazrried a jar “that, when opened by her, unleashed many terrible things on mankind – ills, toils and sickness – and hope”, and that hope would be the magic of the exotic love of Jake and Neytiri, the hero and heroine of Avatar. And millions of Americans and geeks of 3-D movies are going over the moon for Avatar.

Who wouldn’t love a paraplegic Marine reminding us of a war hero who might have been wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan?

The journey of the romantic fantasy of Avatar did not start when Cameron began the production, but in 1994 when his genius gave him the idea of a fantastic science fiction epic. The characterization looks like something taken from Marvel Comics. Something that Stan Lee would have written.

The first impression of Avatar is the proverbial triumph of good over evil, but analytically Avatar is James Cameron’s unapologetic denunciation and indictment of Western imperialism and endorsement of biodiversity.

The feline blue-skinned species of humanoids called Na’vi could be the personification of the primitive native tribes of the world whose continents were colonized by imperialist kingdoms of the West. The apparent echoes of imperialism and biodiversity have resonated at every screening of the film all over the world and propelled the epic fantasy to record breaking success as the fastest film to make $1 billion in box office receipts after it was released theatrically worldwide from December 16–18.

The sci-fi epic is Sam Worthington’s wildest dream wish coming true as Oprah Winfrey would have loved to call it and Zoë Saldana was fine as Neytiri, the female Na’vi. But the best acting in Avatar was done by Stephen Lang whose role as Col. Miles Quaritch is unforgettable.

The credit for the success of Avatar should go to the director and the multiple Academy Award winning special visual effects company Weta Digital for the awesome digital visual effects that took the movie to greater heights in cinematography. Weta Digital is famous for The Lord of the Rings Trilogy..

The New York Times reported that President Barack Obama and his family saw Avatar in IMAX 3-D and this is the best format to see the film.

According to Avatar Movie Zone, watch out for the sequels, because Cameron said, "I have a trilogy-scaled arc of story right now, but I haven't really put any serious work into writing a script." So, James Cameron's fantasy still continues.

..................

Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, the Publisher/Editor of Nigerians Report is also a TV/Film producer and prolific writer for local and international publications on movies and music and other subjects. He lives in Lagos, Nigeria.

About Avatar:

AVATAR takes us to a spectacular world beyond imagination, where a reluctant hero embarks on an epic adventure, ultimately fighting to save the alien world he has learned to call home. James Cameron, the Oscar-winning director of “Titanic,” first conceived the film 15 years ago, when the means to realize his vision did not exist yet. Now, after four years of production, AVATAR, a live action film with a new generation of special effects, delivers a fully immersive cinematic experience of a new kind, where the revolutionary technology invented to make the film disappears into the emotion of the characters and the sweep of the story.

More Details

Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore
Director: James Cameron
Genres: Sci-Fi Action, Science Fiction
Avatar Features and Exclusives

Watch our exclusive interviews with the cast!
Director James Cameron and Sam Worthington talk about what it was like on the set of 'Avatar!'Watch Exclusive Cast Interviews!

Enter to win an 'Avatar' poster, T-shirt and more!
Grand prize of an 'Avatar: An IMAX 3D Experince' poster, T-shirt, 2 books and a Mattel toy!Enter Here
See Avatar in IMAX 3D or Digital 3D!
Check out our 'Movie Aliens: From E.T. to Avatar' photo gallery!
Watch our exclusive interview with Sigourney Weaver!

Avatar Trailers and Clips
Avatar: Trailer 2
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More Videos:
Interview: Exclusive: Avatar - Cast Interviews
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All-time worldwide box office

# Film title

1. Titanic (1997)
2. Avatar (2009)
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
4. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
5. The Dark Knight (2008)
6. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
7. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
8. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
9. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
10. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

Source: boxofficemojo.com

All-time box office -

# Film title

1. Gone With the Wind, 1939
2. Star Wars, 1977
3. The Sound of Music, 1965
4. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, 1982
5. The Ten Commandments, 1956
6. Titanic, 1997
7. Jaws, 1975
8. Doctor Zhivago,
9. The Exorcist, 1973
10. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 1937

Source: boxofficemojo.com

Avatar Pirated in Nigeria!

Avatar Pirated in Nigeria!

~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima

I was busy in our office going over my review of James Cameron’s billion dollars grossing sci-fi epic Avatar when a young friend came in to ask after the Publisher of Supple magazine.
He saw my review on the homepage of Supple magazine online edition and smirked.
“Have you seen Avatar?” I asked.
‘Yeah. In fact, my family is watching it right now at home,” he replied me.
I opened my mouth in disbelief.
“The DVD?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he replied.
‘Where did you get it?” I asked.
“I bought it from a street vendor for N150 (about 99 cents),” he replied.
“Must be pirated,” I said.
‘Of course,” he concurred.
I sighed in disappointment.
Avatar is already being pirated on the streets of Lagos, Nigeria. And I bet that both the famous director and 20th Century Fox do not know this!


...............

Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima is the author of Avatar is Triumphant!.



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President Barack Obama Reviews US Security After Failed Christmas Terrorist Attack

President Barack Obama

Release of the Security Review Conducted After the Failed Christmas Terrorist Attack

Posted by Jesse Lee on January 07, 2010 at 04:36 PM EST

The review of our security and intelligence systems following the attempted terrorist attack on Christmas Day has been completed. The President spoke two days ago about "the urgency of getting this right," and the identification of failures in this review, along with the immediate ordering of reforms and corrective steps both today and in the days since this incident, are a recognition of that urgency. This review is also a recognition that while there is no place for partisanship and the old Washington blame game in dealing with Al Qaeda and the threat they represent, keeping American safe depends on honest and direct accountability.

Read the summary of the security review (pdf).
Read the President's Directive on corrective actions (pdf).

UPDATE:
Read the President's remarks.

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Advert: All-electric Volvo C30 Project Presented for the First Time

All-electric Volvo C30 project presented for the first time

It looks like a regular Volvo C30 and it features the very same safety, comfort and space as the standard car. The difference is that it is powered solely by electricity, entirely without exhaust emissions, and has a range of up to 150 kilometres.

Gothenburg, SE (January 7, 2010) /PRNewswire/ — Volvo Cars' ambitious electrification strategy has quickly produced concrete results. In addition to the market introduction of a plug-in hybrid in 2012, work is currently under way on evaluating the viability of an entirely electric-powered car known as a BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle).

In 2009, a small number of prototype versions of the C30 BEV have been built and tested internally by Volvo. In addition to focusing on performance and safety, much of the focus is on integration of the electric propulsion system with the rest of the car.

"The Volvo C30 is the first model we will try out with electric power. This car's excellent properties in city traffic and its relatively low weight make it particularly suitable, since electric cars are primarily expected to be used in and around cities and for daily commuting," says Lennart Stegland, Director of Volvo Cars Special Vehicles.

Technical solution

Electricity is highly suitable as a fuel for passenger cars. It is the superior energy efficiency of the electric motor compared with the combustion engine which suggests that electric cars will become increasingly common in the future as fuel prices rise and demands for low CO2 emissions become ever more stringent.
The Volvo C30 BEV is powered with a Lithium-Ion battery that is charged via a regular power socket found in most homes.

Recharging an entirely depleted battery via the regular household power supply system (230V, 16A) will take about eight hours. If the car is charged with renewable electricity this means that emissions – all the way from electricity production to its use out on the road – will in principle be non-existent.

The electric motor is housed under the bonnet, just like the engine in a conventional car. One of the priorities within the BEV project is to find the optimal placing of the battery. Most likely the best places are the prop shaft tunnel and the place where the fuel tank normally is located. These locations are within the car's optimised crumple zone in the most common collision scenarios. Since the car runs solely on electricity, it requires a larger battery with higher capacity (24 kWh) than in the case of the plug-in hybrid (12 kWh).
Battery capacity

The C30 BEV is limited to a top speed of about 130 kilometres an hour, which will be more than sufficient for most users of this type of car. Acceleration from 0 to 100 kilometres an hour will take less than 11 seconds. The car will have a range of up to 150 kilometres. This range is longer and far better than the distance 90 percent of all Europe's motorists drive per day.

The same safety standards as always

Volvo Cars imposes the very same high safety standards on all its products irrespective of the type of fuel or power source used. Volvo's safety dedication is always focused on the human being and is based on solid knowhow of real-life traffic situations. What is more, comprehensive in-house tests are carried out both virtually and in Volvo's highly advanced crash-test laboratory. If Volvo chooses to introduce an entirely new type of electric car on the market, it will be just as safe as any other car bearing the Volvo badge.

Volvo has theoretically identified all the electrification-related safety scenarios in the stages before, during and after a collision. After careful study of these scenarios, the company's engineers will create solutions for handling each and every situation identified, guaranteeing that any future electric cars fully match Volvo's renowned safety standards in every respect.

Market potential

Volvo Cars' main electrification track over the coming decades is plug-in hybrids. This applies in particular to the company's larger car models. The combination of electric motor and combustion engine is the solution that probably has the greatest potential from both the technical and commercial viewpoints. Plug-in hybrids offer long range, good environmental performance and at the same time limited dependence on expensive battery technology.

There are several factors that determine how successful dedicated electric cars will be in the future:
"The consumer must feel that this type of car is attractive both to drive and own. In order to ensure this, we feel that electric cars will have to be as comfortable and safe and offer similar levels of performance as cars with other power sources. The learning from the C30 BEV project will help us to fulfil all these criteria and showcase Volvo's determination to drive developments in the field of electrification," says Paul Gustavsson, Director of Electrification Strategy at Volvo Cars.

Descriptions and facts in this press material relate to Volvo Cars' international car range. Described features might be optional. Vehicle specifications may vary from one country to another and may be altered without prior notification.

Registered Office
Göteborg, Sweden
Registration No.
556074 -3089

Press Contact:
PVH50, 50200
SE-405 31 Göteborg
Sweden
Phone: +46 31 59 65 25
Fax: +46 31 54 40 64
http://www.media.volvocars.com
James Hope
Phone: +1 949 242 6654

$75 Billion of Oil and Gas Deals Announced Fourth Quarter 2009

6 Jan 2010 22:24 Africa/Lagos


$75 Billion of Oil and Gas Deals Announced Fourth Quarter 2009

PLS, Inc. reports tenfold increase in United States deal values propels global increase

HOUSTON, Jan. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- PLS, Inc. ("PLS") and international partner Derrick Petroleum Services ("Derrick") report that Global M&A activity for the 4th Quarter 2009 totaled nearly $75 billion in 172 separate deals, up from $21 billion in 112 deals in 3rd Quarter 2009. According to Brian Lidsky, Managing Director, Research, at PLS, "ExxonMobil's blockbuster $41 billion all-stock bid to buy U.S. unconventional resource leader XTO Energy took the market by surprise and marked a significant shift for the major back to North America onshore natural gas. The deal vaults ExxonMobil to the largest producer in the United States and gave the market and producers a large dose of confidence. U.S. gas prices have been in a slump for over a year. Shortly after the Exxon deal, French company, Total, struck a $2.25 billion JV with Chesapeake in the Barnett shale of Texas."


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Continuing the momentum in E&P transactions which began in August 2009 with oil prices stabilizing in the $75 range, the 4th Quarter 2009 witnessed ten deals struck globally topping the $1 billion threshold; eight for oil, two for gas. Of the ten deals, four were in the U.S., one in Canada, three in Africa and two in Asia.


In the quarter (see Table 1), the U.S. led all countries in activity with $53.4 billion, followed by Canada ($7.2B), Ghana ($4.0B), Kazakhstan ($2.1B), Turkmenistan ($1.9B), Uganda ($1.5B), and Angola ($1.3B).


In Ghana, media reported ExxonMobil making a $4 billion bid for Kosmos Energy's stake in the offshore Jubilee field. Observers report the deal remains in limbo as the Ghana National Petroleum Company is reportedly in talks with the Chinese. The deal is indicative of the changing nature of the international oil industry.

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