[The Nation (Nairobi)] Nigerian High Commissioner to Kenya Chijioke "Thumper" Wigwe, has been recalled over allegations of wife battering.
Nigerian media, quoting the country's foreign ministry official reported on Tuesday that the "ministry had decided that the diplomat should go home as part of its investigation and disciplinary measures."
The wife of the Nigerian envoy, Ms Tess Iyi Wigwe, was examined on Monday by a police doctor over assault claims.
Ms Wigwe recorded a statement with the Diplomatic Police Unit in Gigiri after reporting that she was assaulted by her husband, Dr Wigwe.
The Nigerian High Commission has, however, termed the allegations against Dr Wigwe as "malevolent, far from the truth and unsubstantiated."
The Nigerian Bulletin quoted the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Damian Agwu saying: "He will first of all be recalled and then be handled from there."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/02/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
I thought wife-beating was ENCOURAGED?
At least in the deep, deep southern regions.
(NO Not Dixie)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
06/02/2011 13:24 Comments ||
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[Al Jazeera] South Africa has cleared the way for Wal-Mart to gain its first foothold in Africa, approving the company's $2.4bn bid for control of retailer Massmart with minimal conditions.
South Africa's competition tribunal on Tuesday gave Wal-Mart the go-ahead to buy a 51 per cent stake in Massmart provided the US retailer does not lay off any workers for two years. The condition is designed to placate organised labour, which has accused the world's largest retailer of union-bashing.
"We have decided to approve the merger subject to the undertakings made by the parties becoming conditions for the approval," the tribunal said in a statement.
"The merged entity must ensure that there are no retrenchments, based on the merged entity's operational requirements in South Africa, resulting from the merger, for a period of two years."
Wal-Mart in January signed a $2.5 bn offer for a controlling stake in Massmart, which runs nine wholesale and retail chains with 288 stores in 14 African countries.
'Mother of all boycotts'
But the deal has been slammed by South Africa's politically powerful unions. The country's largest labour federation, Cosatu, initially threatened "the mother of all boycotts" if the merger went through.
The tribunal has ordered Wal-Mart to honour all existing labour agreements and not challenge the position of the country's largest retail-sector labour union, the South Africa Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union.
But Mike Abrahams, a front man for SACCAWU, told the Rooters news agency that the union might consider appealing to the Competition Appeals Court.
"We are meeting with our legal representatives to explore legal possibilities," he said.
The deal will for the first time give Arkansas-based Wal-Mart a foothold in Africa and increase its market share in emerging countries, which have been driving its profits as US retail sales have slowed.
The company believes South Africa is a key market for growth, accounting for some 20 per cent of consumer spending on the African continent.
The tribunal acknowledged the merger was likely to have losers, as Wal-Mart's entry might displace small businesses and reduce the market share of some of the country's major retailers.
"That is an inevitable consequence of the competitive process," it said.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/02/2011 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] A Dhaka court on Wednesday acquitted all the five, including Air Marshal (Retd) Jamal Uddin Ahmed, who were accused in MiG-29 purchase graft case. "Nothing to see here. These aren't the droids you're looking for. Move along..."
The four others are: former Defence Secretary Syed Yusuf Hossain, Air Commodore (Retd) Mirza Akhter Maruf, former joint secretary Hossain Serniabat and Unique Group Managing Director Nur Ali.
Judge Mohammad Abdul Majid of the Special Court for Dhaka Division pronounced the judgment in presence of all the five, saying that the prosecution failed to prove the charges brought against them.
Special public prosecutor Shahin Ahmed Khan told news hounds that all the five accused were acquitted due to weak investigation and flaws in the process of charge framing and filing of the case.
"The case was filed to harass us and we have got justice from the court," Nur Ali said.
An official of the now defunct Bureau of Anti-Corruption (BAC) filed the case with Tejgaon Police Station against Hasina and six others on December 11, 2001.
On August 12, 2008, a Dhaka court relieved former army chief Mustafizur Rahman of all charges in the case after he died on August 3.
A special court, dealing with graft cases, framed charges against Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina and five others on August 20, 2008,.
The HC quashed the case proceedings against Hasina on March 9 last year.
According to the prosecution, it was alleged that while Hasina was in power, she in collaboration with the other accused unnecessarily purchased eight MiG-29 jet fighters for gaining benefits, causing a loss of Tk 700 crore to the state exchequer.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/02/2011 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] A man was killed and 10 injured during a 'shootout' between supporters of a BNP backed chairman candidate and law enforcers in Bera upazila of Pabna early Wednesday.
Someone fetch The Map, the loup, the magnifying glass, and the electron microscope! We have an upazilla to find!
Police recovered the bullet-hit body of Osman Goni Gama, 40,
Two bullets, one behind each ear, according to protocol.
from Haturia village at around the noon,
Noon?!? There's nothing middle of the night-ish about noon! They're doing it wrong!
said Sheikh Zillur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Bera Police Station.
The BNP-backed candidate's supporters also beat up four coppers during the incident, our Pabna correspondent reported quoting police.
An unwise choice.
After the incident, police in a pre-dawn raid picked up 10 people, including presiding officer of Haturia Jagannathpur Dugdho Samobai Samity centre Abdul Hamin and polling officer Kabirul Islam, for interrogation in connection with the clash.
"Cpl. Chowdury! Fetch the mustache wax and the number seven pliers! We have four of our coppers to avenge!!"
Pabna Superintendent of Police (SP) Jahangir Hossain Matabbar told The Daily Star that the supporters of Chand Pramanik, the chairman candidate of Haturia Nakalia union, asked the presiding officer to announce the result formally after they came to know that their candidate won the polls.
The people of Pramanik locked in arguments with the presiding officer when he asked them to wait saying the returning officer would declare the result.
Apprehending vote manipulation, the agitating supporters put a barricade on a road and tried to snatch the ballot boxes when those were being taken to the control room.
They also beat up four coppers who were inside the vehicle carrying the ballot boxes.
Sensing danger,
Hard to miss while being beaten by a mob...
the cops contacted with Bera Police Station over phone and sought their help.
A team of police led by the SP went to the spot and tried to disperse the agitators.
At one stage, the unruly BNP men opened fire on the law enforcers. In reply, they also shot 270 rounds of bullets, the SP said.
It takes serious talent, albeit at a subconscious level, to avoid casualties in such a situation.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/02/2011 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] Noble Energy Inc., a US-based oil and gas producer, says it is leaving Ecuador after receiving USD97 million for selling its assets to government-affiliated entities in the South American country.
Prior to the announcement on Tuesday, Noble Energy had assigned a net book value for the assets of about USD68 million in compensation for the transfer of its assets, which include offshore Amistad field assets and a production-sharing contract that the government of the Latin American nation terminated in November, Rooters reports.
Noble Energy said in November that its investment and reserves in Ecuador were less than 3.5 percent of company-wide totals.
Ecuador's government has been expanding its control of domestic energy production, including seeking more revenue through agreements with foreign producers.
Ecuador is one of the two South American members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and rejoined the organization in 2007 after leaving it in 1992.
Shares of Noble Energy fell nine cents to 93.14 dollars in after-hours trading following the announcement of its exit from Ecuador. In the regular session, the stock rose 81 cents, or about 0.9 per cent, to close at 93.20 dollars.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/02/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Will this be used to fund that corrupt leader moving back in? The tin-pot dictator that the democrats like soo much there in our little ally Honduras? Not only was it un-Constitutional, but is smells rotten to the deepest of hell.
The president's plan would establish a seven-hundred person board that would bypass make recommendations to Congress on the disposal of federal properties and other seized assets.
At least 15 60 percent of funds generated through the disposal or co-location of excess property would be used to pay down the deficit. All At least some of the remainder would be given back to the board to continue to feed the beast dispose of federal property.
[Iran Press TV] The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives has turned down a bill intended to raise the country's $14.3 trillion borrowing limit.
All Republicans flatly rejected the measure that would raise the US debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion, a move that Democrats described as political posturing, according to a UPI report.
US politicians voted 318-97 to defeat the measure, in yet another sign of growing division between Republicans and Democrats. All Republicans were opposed to the increase, as were most Democrats.
Following the voting, House Speaker John It is not pronounced 'Boner!' Boehner ... the occasionally weepy leader of House Republicans... said that hiking the debt limit without implementing major spending cuts would prove detrimental to the US economy. "Today the House stood with the American people and said very clearly that this course of action is unacceptable," he said.
However, The mauve However... last week, the Democratic-controlled Senate rejected the Republican budget proposal, which considered serious spending cuts and a major change in the country's healthcare program for the elderly.
The recent rejections of legislative proposals comes two months ahead of the crucial August 2 deadline for raising the debt ceiling, despite efforts by US Vice President Joe Foreign Policy Whiz Kid Biden The former Senator-for-Life from Delaware, an example of the kind of top-notch Washington intellect to be found in the World's Greatest Deliberative Body... to fill the gap by holding a series of meetings since early May.
Republicans have said they are ready to make concessions on their plans to cut healthcare costs to help reduce trillions of dollars from the US budget deficit. They previously offered cuts in benefits for the elderly as well as the Medicare and Medicaid healthcare funds. Medicare and Medicaid represent nearly a quarter of all US federal spending.
Democrats, however, have opposed Republican plans despite claiming that they too want to curb the budget deficit. They suggest that deficit reduction should be accomplished by raising taxes on the wealthy.
Experts say that failure to increase the debt limit could be devastating for the US and other economies around the world.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/02/2011 00:00 ||
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failure to increase the debt limit could be devastating for the US and other economies
This is a true statement. It is also true to say that increasing the debt limit would be devastating. The essential question is which would be more devastating.
#2
How is it "devastating"? It doesn't mean we're not gonna repay the debt we already have, does it? All it means is we're not gonna incur any more debt, right?
It sounds like common sense to me. If your credit card is maxed out you don't get another one and keep spending. You stop spending and pay down the balance on the card you have. Is that too much to ask from our elected representatives?
Or is there something here I don't understand?
Is the interest growing faster than we can pay it down?
Does it mean we're not gonna borrow from Peter to pay Paul?
#3
Some in our government seem to be more fixated on Weinergate at this moment instead of trying to get the damned fiscal mess they created straightened out. Time to clean house again if things don't get straightened out.
#5
How is it "devastating"? It doesn't mean we're not gonna repay the debt we already have, does it? All it means is we're not gonna incur any more debt, right?
Ebbang: correct. However, this would be devastating because the current gap between revenues and expenses is about $1.5 trillion/year. So if the US government can't borrow any more, the FY 2012 budget would have to be cut by almost half. Politically impossible. The fight that almost shut down the government in April resulted in a compromise of $35 billion in cuts - about a week's worth of spending. A drop in the bucket.
There is no flaw in your common sense. Problem is, this household has come to rely on credit for almost half its expenses. Try snatching the credit card away from someone used to throwing money around like that (and those who feel entitled to their handouts): that's where "devastating" comes in.
#6
So then we are living beyond our means. How long can that last?
The thing that's disturbing here is that the people who got us into this mess are still running things and they don't show any signs of changing their ways. I don't see this ending well.
#7
Yep. It can last longer than you might expect - longer than a household could - because the US and its currency occupy a unique position in the world. Also, the government has an option besides borrowing that households don't: printing money, which is what the Fed's "quantitative easing" amounts to. Legal counterfeiting. Flooding the markets with funny munny is what's keeping stocks afloat, while every other economic indicator is screaming STALL. Like pumping a dying man full of cocaine. Absent a radical change in his fundamental underlying condition, he's still gonna die.
[Iran Press TV] A top New York State official filed a lawsuit against the federal government on Tuesday to force an assessment of the environmental risks posed by drilling for natural gas in the Delaware River Basin, arguing that a regulatory commission should not issue final rules governing the drilling until a study is completed. Despite the fact that the EPA chief administrator admitted to Congress that fracking doesn't pose an environmental risk.
The suit, filed in United States District Court in Brooklyn by Eric T. Schneiderman, the New York attorney general, involves the Delaware River Basin Commission, a regional regulatory agency. Made up of the governors of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware and a federal representative from the Army Corps of Engineers, it is preparing to issue regulations intended to bring some uniformity to the rules applied to a controversial type of gas extraction that combines horizontal drilling with hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/02/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
I wonder what'll happen to NYC when , inevitable, ME war breaks out?
#2
I wonder what'll happen to NYC when , inevitable, ME war breaks out?
At that point they'll pass a law saying we'll have to shit out of our assholes all that oil they worked so hard to keep us from drilling, and expect it to work, because hey, they saw how the oilfield really works on "Dallas" once.
They're going to be so surprised that the industry they took 25 years to disassemble can't be reassembled in a couple months. They're going to be in denial about the lack of skilled labor because all they know is from watching "Dallas," again. Meanwhile, they've created an entire generation that may be untrainable for the work.
There's going to be a lot of dying when they do that, as a result, and they're going to blame it on sabotage.
They'll decide to solve it by leaning harder, those left in the industry will have their blood pressure go up, and suffer cardiovascular problems like strokes, making the situation worse.
My estimate is it'll take three years or so to train people up to actually being able to work in the industry at the scale it was back in the 80's, but only after the guys in New York and CA put down their crack pipes and decide to be rational about things. But they're going to have a couple years at least when the crisis hits of trying other solutions first, and probably making it worse.
[Dawn] Two under-trial prisoners briefly went missing during counting in Adiala Jail on Tuesday night, leading to a security alert and suspension of two head wardens, sources told Dawn.
The jail officials however quickly traced them in another barrack, smoking heroin-filled cigarettes, sources said.
When the jail staff started counting of prisoners of barrack no 4, they found Mubashir Qureshi, involved in a murder case, and Nasir Khan, facing a case of processing illegal arms, missing. A security alert was issued and a recount was ordered as nobody had been released.
According to jail authorities, the two prisoners were addicts and mentally disturbed.
Sources said they were found in the barrack 8, smoking heroin-filled cigarettes along with other inmates. They were shifted to their barrack. In the past some cases involving the jail`s guards selling narcotics to prisoners have come to light.
Mohsin Rafiq, superintendent Adiala jail, said the two prisoners were addicts and "mentally weak", adding that they got mixed up with others after they were allowed out of their barrack. He said two head wardens on duty have been suspended for negligence.
The Adiala Jail is housing more than 5,000 prisoners, almost double the number of inmates it was built to contain.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/02/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
So were they smoking heroin-laced tobacco cigs, or hashish? I'm confused.
h/t Gates of Vienna
Only three months to go until the First World Summit of African Descendants, a U.N.-sponsored event that aims to "right historical wrongs."
The August 18-21 summit in La Ceiba, Honduras, will focus on the socioeconomic conditions of Afro-descendant populations and establish a plan to "ensure development with equity for these groups," said the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), which announced the event in Washington on Thursday.
The event is part of the United Nations-declared International Year of African Descendants.
"This International Year of African Descendants provides an opportunity to right historical wrongs: in health, education, poverty, land rights, jobs, and financial credit for economic and social progress," said Pan American Health Organization Director Mirta Roses in a news release. "This celebration is important for recognizing the strength and resilience of Afro-descendant communities throughout the Americas, who have thrived despite historical discrimination and repression." Prepare the checkbooks
#7
Of course, the African muzzie traders who aquired and delivered the bulk of these 'commodities' long before and long after the westerners were interested won't be fingered in this little excercise.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
06/02/2011 14:01 Comments ||
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#8
Finally going after the Dutch and North/Horn muslim descendants, eh? I hope it includes a reimbursement to the British and Americans for the navy treasure spent patrolling West Africa and West Indies.
#11
My French/Belgian Walloon ancestors are there and my Cuban ones escaped Fidel. Why should MY money be taken from me? Do I get exempted since my family never took part in any of the slavery activities? Sheer idiocy! Thievery.
Posted by: The Other Beldar ||
06/02/2011 16:59 Comments ||
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#13
I thought those that fought & died fighting in the Civil War to free the slaves was reparations enough.
Posted by: Mike Hunt ||
06/02/2011 20:06 Comments ||
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#14
Of course not, Mike - there's no profit for these leeches in that.
In fact, the next Jesse or some other idiot starts talking "reparations," I'd love for someone to ask him that very question on camera.
A reporter doing it would be great, but I'm not delusional.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/02/2011 20:39 Comments ||
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#15
This conference may have just tipped me into the "kill the UN" camp. I used to believe it could be reformed, that perhaps it had some useful purpose. No longer.
h/t Gates of Vienna
A year or so ago, I talked to a park ranger in Yankton, South Dakota, while watching the Missouri River from an overlook near Yankton. I casually asked the ranger why the Corps was holding back so much water in the spring. To protect the plover, he repliedas if it were common knowledge. The what? I inquired. The ploverit is a shore bird that nests along the Missouri. If they let out too much water in the spring, it drowns out their nests and kills the baby birds. So the Corps holds it back to allow the birds to hatch. How noble, I thoughtwe hold back mighty waters to protect bird life.
Fast forward to the spring of 2011. As I watch my friends in Dakota Dunes frantically trying to escape the mighty flood waters released in record amounts by the Corps this week, while their houses are ruined by the Muddy Mo, and my friends, neighbors, and family members work feverishly to protect our own homes and each others homes in Wynstone, South Dakotaup river a waysI thought a lot about the plover.
#2
And they are in no need of "protecting". They are all over the place and range across North America, Asia, and Europe.
Who protected the plover before the dam was there? Plovers that nested too close to the river got their nests washed away. Plovers that nest a little ways back survive. Pretty soon, you have a population of plovers adapted to not building nests where they might be flooded because those with that tendency have been selected by natural flooding.
The Corps of Engineers is messing with their natural adaptation. Basically, they are making the plovers stupid.
#3
here in San Diego - it's Snowy Plover. Never seen one. Lost a couple construction cycles to the "potential" unseen Snowy Plovers. I hope they're tasty on the BBQ
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/02/2011 21:38 Comments ||
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#4
They're taste is cross between Sea Otter and Spotted Owl, very delicate. Really tasty with a nice Wine and Shallot sauce.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man ||
06/02/2011 22:34 Comments ||
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#5
Why are we protecting species anyway? Really - that is a serious question. Why are we doing it?
Extinction is a perfectly natural process which has been going on for millions of years before man even appeared. And it will be going on for millions of years after we, ourselves are extinct.
Protecting a species is against nature. To attempt to stop it or defer it is going against the very ecology they claim to be protecting. Its the 'circle of life' - but on a species scale - they are created, grow and adapt, get old and specialized or whatever and die.
The Spotted Owl? Should go extinct if it's too specialized to live in a new environment.
I suspect its the same with the Plover. If they are so stupid to build their nests in a flood plane - they don't deserve to live as a species.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Bangla Daily Star] A Dhaka court on Wednesday acquitted all the five, including Air Marshal (Retd) Jamal Uddin Ahmed, who were accused in MiG-29 purchase graft case.
[Bangla Daily Star] A man was killed and 10 injured during a '
Joe 
A top New York State official filed a lawsuit against the federal government on Tuesday to force an assessment of the environmental risks posed by drilling for natural gas in the Delaware River Basin, arguing that a regulatory commission should not issue final rules governing the drilling until a study is completed.
[Dawn] Two under-trial prisoners briefly went missing during counting in Adiala Jail on Tuesday night, leading to a security alert and suspension of two head wardens, sources told Dawn.
