The electoral commissioner of Ghana has delayed the result of Sunday‘s knife-edge presidential run-off until Friday.
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Atta-Mills
Results in the Ashanti and Volta regions have been disputed and the Tain region, where the poll could not go ahead, will vote on Friday.
Officials said the votes between the opposition‘s John Atta Mills and ruling party‘s Nana Akufo-Addo were so close one result could decide the outcome.
The BBC correspondent in Ghana reported there were fears violence could erupt.
New Patriotic Party candidate, Akufo-Addo, gained the most votes in the first round earlier this month but did not pass the 50 per cent threshold needed for outright victory.
Electoral commission Chairman, Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, said opposition National Democratic Congress candidate, Atta Mills had won 50.13 per cent of the vote, while Akufo-Addo had taken 49.87 per cent.
This means just 23,055 votes divide the two candidates, out of a total cast of some nine million.
”Results are so close that the result of the Tain constituency could determine the eventual winner,” Afari-Gyan said.
He said the results covered all 230 constituencies, except Tain in the Brong Ahafo region, which was unable to vote on Sunday due to a shortage of voting materials.
The commissioner, who has been stuck in behind-closed-doors wrangling with both parties in the capital Accra, said they would also use the delay to audit the disputed results.
The electoral commission headquarters was earlier besieged by thousands of NDC supporters demanding their candidate be declared the winner.
Armed police and soldiers backed by water cannon trucks and an armoured personnel carrier kept the protesters behind barricades and at one point fired warning shots.
As tensions rose, party officials handed out ice cream and water to the crowds to calm them down.
Atta Mills had earlier claimed victory, but the NPP said this was premature.
Shops closed early on Tuesday, with businessmen fearing that there could be looting once the result is announced.
The opposition has been disputing results awarded to the governing party from five constituencies in the Ashanti region.
It is understood turnout in one area was recorded at 99 per cent - said by election experts to be unheard of - while there were also complaints that dead people, children and foreign nationals had been listed among voters.
The NPP, meanwhile, said there had been widespread intimidation of its election agents in the Volta region and results from these areas would be challenged.
International observers have given the poll a preliminary clean bill of health and urged both candidates to accept the results.
Some 12.5 million people were eligible to vote in the election - the fifth since Ghana‘s return to democracy in 1992.
President John Kufuor is standing down having served two consecutive terms.
In the two previous elections he defeated Atta Mills.
Atta Mills served as vice-president under former leader Jerry Rawlings.
source:the punch newspaper
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Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Ekiti lawmakers in free-for-all
free-for-all fight broke out in the Ekiti State House of Assembly on Tuesday as some lawmakers moved to forestall the presentation of the state’s 2009 budget by Governor Segun Oni.
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Show of shame: Ekiti Lawmakers in a tussle for the state Assembly’s mace... on Tuesday.
Trouble started when the budget was called for discussion and the Action Congress Leader in the Assembly, Mr. Funminiyi Afuye, objected, saying that Section 41 of the Assembly’s Standing Order must be adhered to.
The Section reads, “Any message from the governor shall be read on the floor of the House and the debate on such letter shall be slated for a future date.”
Oni sent the letter to the Assembly on December 24, notifying the lawmakers of his intention to present the budget on Tuesday. But due to the Christmas break, the letter was read by the Speaker, Mr. Tunji Odeyemi, the same day.
Odeyemi, however, overruled Afuye, quoting Order 65, which empowers him to take decisions whenever the Assembly ran into a hitch on any issue.
Before the Speaker asked the Leader of Government Business in the Assembly, Mr. Lai Oke, to usher the governor to the hallowed chambers, some AC lawmakers attempted to seize the mace, the Assembly’s symbol of authority, in order to prevent the presentation of the budget.
The action resulted in a fracas with a non-member of the Assembly, Mr. Bola Olu-Ojo, reportedly throwing caution to the winds by exchanging blows with some of the AC lawmakers. Olu-Ojo is the Peoples Democratic Party Chairman in the state.
The PDP lawmakers and loyalists also joined in the shouting match, shoving and fisticuffs.
Our correspondent gathered that the AC lawmakers did not want the budget to be presented to show their displeasure with the Oni-led administration for going ahead to conduct the November 20 council poll in spite of their party’s protest against the perceived improper constitution of the state’s Independent Electoral Commission.
The leadership of the AC had asked the Ekiti High Court in Ado-Ekiti to stop the poll, but the judgment is yet to be delivered, owing to the ongoing judiciary workers‘ strike.
When Oni’s security aides eventually escorted him into the Assembly, some of the lawmakers still gathered around the mace.
The governor was apparently forced to spend less than 10 minutes presenting the 66-page appropriation bill, tagged “Budget of Consolidation.
Oni told journalists after presenting the budget that the lawmakers conducted themselves in the most dishonourable manner.
He said, “They have conducted themselves in the most dishonourable manner and these lawmakers would be known to their people.
“I want to make it very clear that this state belongs to all of us and nobody has a monopoly of anything.
“Let me say to the AC lawmakers that we have presented the budget putting the constitution in mind.
“Let me explain to you that the AC people are frustrated because they did not participate in the local government election but that should not be a licence for a dishonourable behaviour. It is a disgrace.
“The people should see the state beyond the frustration of a clique of people.
“We have presented the Budget of Consolidation. Anybody that is frustrated because of his political failure must know that the state is bigger than anybody.”
The AC leader in the House, Mr. Afuye, said as far as his colleagues were concern Oni had not presented the state’s budget.
He said, “The governor has not presented the 2009 budget to the House. He only came to be cheered by his supporters and PDP leaders. For Mr. Oni to have gone ahead to present the budget at such a rowdy session shows that he has lost self respect and self esteem. It is a continuation of Oni’s administration illegalities.”
The state government intends to spend N24.7bn on recurrent matters and N41bn on capital projects in 2009.
The budget will be financed through statutory allocation of N17.2bn, Value Added Tax of N5bn, internally generated revenue of N10.4bn, internal loan totalling N15bn and Ecological Fund remitance of N2bn.
source: the punch newspaper
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Show of shame: Ekiti Lawmakers in a tussle for the state Assembly’s mace... on Tuesday.
Trouble started when the budget was called for discussion and the Action Congress Leader in the Assembly, Mr. Funminiyi Afuye, objected, saying that Section 41 of the Assembly’s Standing Order must be adhered to.
The Section reads, “Any message from the governor shall be read on the floor of the House and the debate on such letter shall be slated for a future date.”
Oni sent the letter to the Assembly on December 24, notifying the lawmakers of his intention to present the budget on Tuesday. But due to the Christmas break, the letter was read by the Speaker, Mr. Tunji Odeyemi, the same day.
Odeyemi, however, overruled Afuye, quoting Order 65, which empowers him to take decisions whenever the Assembly ran into a hitch on any issue.
Before the Speaker asked the Leader of Government Business in the Assembly, Mr. Lai Oke, to usher the governor to the hallowed chambers, some AC lawmakers attempted to seize the mace, the Assembly’s symbol of authority, in order to prevent the presentation of the budget.
The action resulted in a fracas with a non-member of the Assembly, Mr. Bola Olu-Ojo, reportedly throwing caution to the winds by exchanging blows with some of the AC lawmakers. Olu-Ojo is the Peoples Democratic Party Chairman in the state.
The PDP lawmakers and loyalists also joined in the shouting match, shoving and fisticuffs.
Our correspondent gathered that the AC lawmakers did not want the budget to be presented to show their displeasure with the Oni-led administration for going ahead to conduct the November 20 council poll in spite of their party’s protest against the perceived improper constitution of the state’s Independent Electoral Commission.
The leadership of the AC had asked the Ekiti High Court in Ado-Ekiti to stop the poll, but the judgment is yet to be delivered, owing to the ongoing judiciary workers‘ strike.
When Oni’s security aides eventually escorted him into the Assembly, some of the lawmakers still gathered around the mace.
The governor was apparently forced to spend less than 10 minutes presenting the 66-page appropriation bill, tagged “Budget of Consolidation.
Oni told journalists after presenting the budget that the lawmakers conducted themselves in the most dishonourable manner.
He said, “They have conducted themselves in the most dishonourable manner and these lawmakers would be known to their people.
“I want to make it very clear that this state belongs to all of us and nobody has a monopoly of anything.
“Let me say to the AC lawmakers that we have presented the budget putting the constitution in mind.
“Let me explain to you that the AC people are frustrated because they did not participate in the local government election but that should not be a licence for a dishonourable behaviour. It is a disgrace.
“The people should see the state beyond the frustration of a clique of people.
“We have presented the Budget of Consolidation. Anybody that is frustrated because of his political failure must know that the state is bigger than anybody.”
The AC leader in the House, Mr. Afuye, said as far as his colleagues were concern Oni had not presented the state’s budget.
He said, “The governor has not presented the 2009 budget to the House. He only came to be cheered by his supporters and PDP leaders. For Mr. Oni to have gone ahead to present the budget at such a rowdy session shows that he has lost self respect and self esteem. It is a continuation of Oni’s administration illegalities.”
The state government intends to spend N24.7bn on recurrent matters and N41bn on capital projects in 2009.
The budget will be financed through statutory allocation of N17.2bn, Value Added Tax of N5bn, internally generated revenue of N10.4bn, internal loan totalling N15bn and Ecological Fund remitance of N2bn.
source: the punch newspaper
38 unregistered firms won oil blocks ’
More facts have emerged that 38 oil companies that were not registered for the 2005 bid rounds won interests in 23 oil blocks during the exercise.
A report by the House of Representatives ad hoc committee that probed the oil sector from 1999 to 2007 showed that $2,629,275,667 was realised as signature bonus through the sale of 36 oil blocks during the bid rounds.
The report also recommended that the Korea National Oil Company be made to pay the Federal Government $231m, being the purported discount for OPL 321 and 323, which it won during the exercise.
The total signature bonus KNOC paid for the two oil blocks was $255m.
The report said, “KNOC made a misleading presentation to the ad hoc committee concerning the issue of signature bonus. First, KNOC claimed that it received a discount of $231m on the payment of signature bonus.
“There is no evidential confirmation of this fact. Not a single document was presented in support of this assertion.”
Stressing the untidiness in the bid rounds, the committee said while the KNOC believed it did not have to pay the $231m, the Department of Petroleum Resources’ record on signature bonus payments “falsely signifies that KNOC has paid this sum.”
The discount claimed by the Korean firm was based on the purported attachment of strategic downstream investments to the blocks.
“OPLs 321 and 323 were awarded to Korea National Oil Company based on a doubtful right of first refusal attached to the said blocks,” the committee said.
It added that table one (paragraph 1.8) of its report show that deep offshore blocks 321 and 323 were not among the blocks attached to strategic downstream projects; and over which a right of first refusal existed.
“There is no evidence to suggest that any strategic downstream project is attached to any deep shore block in the 2005 bid round.”
According to the report, the 38 oil companies that did not register for the 2005 bid rounds evaded the statutory payment of $10,000 application fees and $10,000 for processing.
The committee, therefore, directed that the debts should be recovered.
Besides, the application forms of about 11 companies that won oil blocks during the bid rounds were missing from DPR records.
The 57-page report was submitted to the House of Representatives before it proceeded on Christmas break.
Its general recommendations, published exclusively in November by THE PUNCH, had criticised former President Olusegun Obasanjo for acting as the minister of petroleum, contrary to Section 138 of the 1999 Constitution.
Further details in the report showed that about 120 forms were missing in the compendium of application forms presented to the committee from 2000 to 2007 bid rounds.
The missing application forms are “001, 003-005, 006-008, 013-014, 019, 021-022, 029, 035-036, 038-039, 043,045, 048-050, 051,055,057, 060, 062, 065, 069-080,081, 084, 087,094-096.
Others are “100, 104, 177, 199, 120-122, 126,127-131, 133, 141, 143-146, 151, 153-158, 163, 166-168, 173-174, 180-182, 188, 190, 192, 196, 198-202, 204-206, 211-212, 216-219, 221, 224, 230, 238, 241, 243, 248-251, 253, 259-260, 263-264, 268-269,271, 273, 275-276.
Also missing in the compendium are “278, 280-281, 284, 287, 289, 290-291, 293-296, 299-303, 313-314, 319, 322-327, 328, 332, 335-337, 342-346, 348, 355, 360, 365, 370-372, 375-377, 380-381 and all forms after 381 such as Midland Petroleum Limited’s Form No. 385.”
The committee said, “The absence of these forms from the said compendium immediately questions its integrity.
“What is established is that companies that did not register for the bid process were pre-qualified, and eventually awarded blocks in clear violation of both the Internal Memorandum and the Guidelines.
“Moreover, participation in a bid process is de facto, an application for Oil Prospecting Licence.
“The non-registration of these 38 companies and their non-payment of the statutory application and processing fees of $10,000 each totaling $20,000 per applicant, were therefore, a clear violation of paragraph 59 (a) and (b) of the Petroleum (Drilling and Production) Regulations.
On the March 12, 2003 bid round for OPLs 223, 251 and 257, the panel said there was no evidence of ministerial approval for the exercise. It blamed a presidential aide for being its mastermind.
The committee also alleged that Elf Petroleum Nigeria Limited, which participated in the exercise, won OPL 223 in questionable circumstances. It consequently advised that Elf should be directed to pay $5m outstanding signature bonus on the block.
The Bid Evaluation Committee of 2003 had fixed $20m as signature bonus on the block, but the company got a staggered payment schedule of $15m.
Exxon Mobil, Vintage Oil and Gas Limited and ECL were other companies that participated in the bid on invitation by the said presidential aide.
“The parameters of the invitation and the circumstances of the invitation are shrouded in mystery,” the report stated.
The report added that OPL 223 was awarded on April 29, 2003 to Elf and not on March 12 day of the bid for the exercise.
It said the circumstances in which Elf that had not been awarded OPL 223 on March 12, 2003 came to be awarded the same block six weeks later on April 29, 2003 was suspicious.
“It is all the more suspicious when this latter award is juxtaposed against the fact that its partner on the block is NPDC, a subsidiary of NNPC,” the committee said.
An exclusive report by THE PUNCH on November 17 had indicated that about N134bn or ($1.148bn) staggered signature bonuses were outstanding
source:the punch neswpaper
A report by the House of Representatives ad hoc committee that probed the oil sector from 1999 to 2007 showed that $2,629,275,667 was realised as signature bonus through the sale of 36 oil blocks during the bid rounds.
The report also recommended that the Korea National Oil Company be made to pay the Federal Government $231m, being the purported discount for OPL 321 and 323, which it won during the exercise.
The total signature bonus KNOC paid for the two oil blocks was $255m.
The report said, “KNOC made a misleading presentation to the ad hoc committee concerning the issue of signature bonus. First, KNOC claimed that it received a discount of $231m on the payment of signature bonus.
“There is no evidential confirmation of this fact. Not a single document was presented in support of this assertion.”
Stressing the untidiness in the bid rounds, the committee said while the KNOC believed it did not have to pay the $231m, the Department of Petroleum Resources’ record on signature bonus payments “falsely signifies that KNOC has paid this sum.”
The discount claimed by the Korean firm was based on the purported attachment of strategic downstream investments to the blocks.
“OPLs 321 and 323 were awarded to Korea National Oil Company based on a doubtful right of first refusal attached to the said blocks,” the committee said.
It added that table one (paragraph 1.8) of its report show that deep offshore blocks 321 and 323 were not among the blocks attached to strategic downstream projects; and over which a right of first refusal existed.
“There is no evidence to suggest that any strategic downstream project is attached to any deep shore block in the 2005 bid round.”
According to the report, the 38 oil companies that did not register for the 2005 bid rounds evaded the statutory payment of $10,000 application fees and $10,000 for processing.
The committee, therefore, directed that the debts should be recovered.
Besides, the application forms of about 11 companies that won oil blocks during the bid rounds were missing from DPR records.
The 57-page report was submitted to the House of Representatives before it proceeded on Christmas break.
Its general recommendations, published exclusively in November by THE PUNCH, had criticised former President Olusegun Obasanjo for acting as the minister of petroleum, contrary to Section 138 of the 1999 Constitution.
Further details in the report showed that about 120 forms were missing in the compendium of application forms presented to the committee from 2000 to 2007 bid rounds.
The missing application forms are “001, 003-005, 006-008, 013-014, 019, 021-022, 029, 035-036, 038-039, 043,045, 048-050, 051,055,057, 060, 062, 065, 069-080,081, 084, 087,094-096.
Others are “100, 104, 177, 199, 120-122, 126,127-131, 133, 141, 143-146, 151, 153-158, 163, 166-168, 173-174, 180-182, 188, 190, 192, 196, 198-202, 204-206, 211-212, 216-219, 221, 224, 230, 238, 241, 243, 248-251, 253, 259-260, 263-264, 268-269,271, 273, 275-276.
Also missing in the compendium are “278, 280-281, 284, 287, 289, 290-291, 293-296, 299-303, 313-314, 319, 322-327, 328, 332, 335-337, 342-346, 348, 355, 360, 365, 370-372, 375-377, 380-381 and all forms after 381 such as Midland Petroleum Limited’s Form No. 385.”
The committee said, “The absence of these forms from the said compendium immediately questions its integrity.
“What is established is that companies that did not register for the bid process were pre-qualified, and eventually awarded blocks in clear violation of both the Internal Memorandum and the Guidelines.
“Moreover, participation in a bid process is de facto, an application for Oil Prospecting Licence.
“The non-registration of these 38 companies and their non-payment of the statutory application and processing fees of $10,000 each totaling $20,000 per applicant, were therefore, a clear violation of paragraph 59 (a) and (b) of the Petroleum (Drilling and Production) Regulations.
On the March 12, 2003 bid round for OPLs 223, 251 and 257, the panel said there was no evidence of ministerial approval for the exercise. It blamed a presidential aide for being its mastermind.
The committee also alleged that Elf Petroleum Nigeria Limited, which participated in the exercise, won OPL 223 in questionable circumstances. It consequently advised that Elf should be directed to pay $5m outstanding signature bonus on the block.
The Bid Evaluation Committee of 2003 had fixed $20m as signature bonus on the block, but the company got a staggered payment schedule of $15m.
Exxon Mobil, Vintage Oil and Gas Limited and ECL were other companies that participated in the bid on invitation by the said presidential aide.
“The parameters of the invitation and the circumstances of the invitation are shrouded in mystery,” the report stated.
The report added that OPL 223 was awarded on April 29, 2003 to Elf and not on March 12 day of the bid for the exercise.
It said the circumstances in which Elf that had not been awarded OPL 223 on March 12, 2003 came to be awarded the same block six weeks later on April 29, 2003 was suspicious.
“It is all the more suspicious when this latter award is juxtaposed against the fact that its partner on the block is NPDC, a subsidiary of NNPC,” the committee said.
An exclusive report by THE PUNCH on November 17 had indicated that about N134bn or ($1.148bn) staggered signature bonuses were outstanding
source:the punch neswpaper
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Don’t take health tips from celebs if you know what’s good for you
From Madonna’s quest to “neutralise radiation” to Tom Cruise’s dismissals of psychiatry, celebrities are seldom shy about expressing their views on health and science – even when they appear not to know what they are talking about.
A roll call of public figures such as Cruise and Delia Smith have offered bogus advice or “quackery” this year, according to scientists and doctors. The charity Sense About Science is concerned that celebrities mislead the public when they endorse theories, diets or health products while misrepresenting the science involved.
Some – such as Oprah Winfrey and Kate Moss – espouse “detox” regimes, while others, such as Sharon and Kelly Osbourne, believe (mistakenly) that the Pill can cause cancer.
Nor are politicians exempt from lending credence to health myths. The US President-elect is among several American public figures who continue to suggest that the MMR vaccination is a potential cause of autism, despite an overwhelming weight of scientific evidence to the contrary.
Related Links
Stars often make nonsense of science
Smith’s suggestion that obesity is caused by sugar addiction is another of the assertions under scrutiny. In March, the cookery writer and broadcaster told The Times: “That’s what causes obesity. It’s addiction. You need to have six weeks without sugar or sweetener . . . After six weeks, everything will taste sweet . . . because you will have got your palate back to what nature created. We could cure the nation if we cut down sugar addiction.”
Lisa Miles, of the British Nutrition Foundation, counters: “Delia, you’ll never get rid of sugar from the diet, nor would you want to, as you consume sugars naturally in foods such as fruit and milk, which provide us with important nutrients . . . the causes of obesity are much more complex.”
Demi Moore, the actress, surprises the experts with her use of “highly trained medical leeches” to “detoxify” her blood.
Kate Moss, the model, is reported to be on a strict “detox” diet of fruit and vegetables at a health spa in Thailand. But nutritionists note that such regimes exclude important food groups such as protein.
Moss’s friend Stella McCartney, the designer, was criticised last year for saying that a chemical found in skin creams was also found in antifreeze. Gary Moss, a pharmacologist, said that the chemical, propylene glycol, was versatile and its use in cosmetics was not “scary”, as claimed.
Both Mr Obama and his rival for the presidency, John McCain, responded to stories about vaccines by highlighting the rise in diagnoses in children of autism.
Mr Obama told a campaign rally in April: “We’ve seen a skyrocketing autism rate. Some people are suspicious that it’s connected to the vaccines. This person included. The science right now is inconclusive, but we have to research it.” In February Mr McCain had remarked on the rise in autism cases, saying that there was “strong evidence that indicates it’s got to do with a preservative in vaccines”.
The suggestion that the MMR jab is linked to the developmental disorder dates back to a study of 12 children published in The Lancet in 1997. The research, led by Andrew Wakefield, a gastroenterologist at the Royal Free Hospital, has since been discredited. Yet fears about the vaccine – for measles, mumps and rubella – have resulted in many parents refusing to have their children inoculated, and there has been a resurgence of measles.
Dr Wakefield and colleagues have been appearing before the General Medical Council on charges of serious professional misconduct, relating to their original study, which they deny.
Studies in several countries involving millions of children have shown no correlation between MMR and autism rates.
Michael Fitzpatrick, author of MMR: What Parents Need to Know, said that Mr Obama and Mr McCain were correct in noting a rise in cases of autism. “However, authoritative studies confirm that the apparent rise is attributable to increased public and professional awareness of the condition and to widening definitions of autistic spectrum disorders,” he said. “Though the causes of autism remain obscure, exhaustive researches have failed to substantiate any link to vaccines or any preservatives in it.”
The Sense About Science initiative is an update of a leaflet encouraging celebrities to avoid making claims until they have checked the facts. While there has been “considerable improvement” in the way British celebrities approach medicine, the charity says its files are still too full of pseudo-scientific claims. “We don’t expect people to know everything about science; the problem comes when they don’t consider checking it or asking questions.”
source:the london times
A roll call of public figures such as Cruise and Delia Smith have offered bogus advice or “quackery” this year, according to scientists and doctors. The charity Sense About Science is concerned that celebrities mislead the public when they endorse theories, diets or health products while misrepresenting the science involved.
Some – such as Oprah Winfrey and Kate Moss – espouse “detox” regimes, while others, such as Sharon and Kelly Osbourne, believe (mistakenly) that the Pill can cause cancer.
Nor are politicians exempt from lending credence to health myths. The US President-elect is among several American public figures who continue to suggest that the MMR vaccination is a potential cause of autism, despite an overwhelming weight of scientific evidence to the contrary.
Related Links
Stars often make nonsense of science
Smith’s suggestion that obesity is caused by sugar addiction is another of the assertions under scrutiny. In March, the cookery writer and broadcaster told The Times: “That’s what causes obesity. It’s addiction. You need to have six weeks without sugar or sweetener . . . After six weeks, everything will taste sweet . . . because you will have got your palate back to what nature created. We could cure the nation if we cut down sugar addiction.”
Lisa Miles, of the British Nutrition Foundation, counters: “Delia, you’ll never get rid of sugar from the diet, nor would you want to, as you consume sugars naturally in foods such as fruit and milk, which provide us with important nutrients . . . the causes of obesity are much more complex.”
Demi Moore, the actress, surprises the experts with her use of “highly trained medical leeches” to “detoxify” her blood.
Kate Moss, the model, is reported to be on a strict “detox” diet of fruit and vegetables at a health spa in Thailand. But nutritionists note that such regimes exclude important food groups such as protein.
Moss’s friend Stella McCartney, the designer, was criticised last year for saying that a chemical found in skin creams was also found in antifreeze. Gary Moss, a pharmacologist, said that the chemical, propylene glycol, was versatile and its use in cosmetics was not “scary”, as claimed.
Both Mr Obama and his rival for the presidency, John McCain, responded to stories about vaccines by highlighting the rise in diagnoses in children of autism.
Mr Obama told a campaign rally in April: “We’ve seen a skyrocketing autism rate. Some people are suspicious that it’s connected to the vaccines. This person included. The science right now is inconclusive, but we have to research it.” In February Mr McCain had remarked on the rise in autism cases, saying that there was “strong evidence that indicates it’s got to do with a preservative in vaccines”.
The suggestion that the MMR jab is linked to the developmental disorder dates back to a study of 12 children published in The Lancet in 1997. The research, led by Andrew Wakefield, a gastroenterologist at the Royal Free Hospital, has since been discredited. Yet fears about the vaccine – for measles, mumps and rubella – have resulted in many parents refusing to have their children inoculated, and there has been a resurgence of measles.
Dr Wakefield and colleagues have been appearing before the General Medical Council on charges of serious professional misconduct, relating to their original study, which they deny.
Studies in several countries involving millions of children have shown no correlation between MMR and autism rates.
Michael Fitzpatrick, author of MMR: What Parents Need to Know, said that Mr Obama and Mr McCain were correct in noting a rise in cases of autism. “However, authoritative studies confirm that the apparent rise is attributable to increased public and professional awareness of the condition and to widening definitions of autistic spectrum disorders,” he said. “Though the causes of autism remain obscure, exhaustive researches have failed to substantiate any link to vaccines or any preservatives in it.”
The Sense About Science initiative is an update of a leaflet encouraging celebrities to avoid making claims until they have checked the facts. While there has been “considerable improvement” in the way British celebrities approach medicine, the charity says its files are still too full of pseudo-scientific claims. “We don’t expect people to know everything about science; the problem comes when they don’t consider checking it or asking questions.”
source:the london times
Israeli jets kill ‘at least 225’ in strikes on Gaza
Israel yesterday launched its largest raid on Gaza with two waves of air attacks that killed at least 225 people and injured more than 700, according to Palestinian doctors.
Children on their way home from school and policemen parading for a graduation ceremony were the principal victims of a bloody few hours that left the territory in flames.
The short but brutal aerial blitz — codenamed Operation Cast Lead — was aimed at targets held by the Islamic fundamentalists of Hamas, which seized control of the Gaza Strip 18 months ago.
After weeks of rising tension and repeated Hamas rocket attacks on Israeli territory, the air force struck with warplanes and unmanned drones loaded with guided missiles.
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They hit at least 100 security compounds and rocket-launching bases across the heavily populated Strip.
The strikes caused panic and confusion as black clouds of smoke rose above the territory. Most of those killed were security men — including Gaza’s police chief — but an unknown number of civilians were also among the dead.
One perfectly aimed missile demolished the Hamas-controlled Rafah police station. But the building next door was a school and several pupils were on the street outside when a huge explosion sent shards of shrapnel and concrete hurtling in all directions. Parents rushed into the streets frantically looking for their children.
The strikes on Gaza yesterday were unparalleled. Israeli warplanes screamed in from the sea across Gaza in wave after wave, pounding at least 30 security compounds in the strip controlled by the Hamas government.
At 11.30am Israeli time, the first wave of 60 F-16s screamed over Gaza, launching missiles at more than 50 targets. Israeli military sources said a total of 100 missiles were fired at Hamas police stations, command centres, training bases and illicit manufacturing warehouses.
In the second wave, 20 Israeli jets returned, following up intelligence received from drones in the skies over the Strip. They launched 50 missiles aimed almost entirely at militants who had come out with makeshift rockets to hit back.
The offensive took Hamas by surprise. The Islamic fundamentalist government had expected retaliation for the 200 rockets that Hamas and other extremist groups have launched into Israel since a six-month truce expired earlier this month. It had believed, however, that the attack would follow an Israeli cabinet meeting today.
According to military sources, the Israeli leadership decided to attack after intelligence revealed that Hamas leaders and military officials were still inside key buildings.
So unprepared was Hamas that two graduation ceremonies for new police recruits were being held in the open air. In one strike, on a graduation ceremony in Gaza City, scores of police cadets were killed along with General Tawfiq Jabr, chief of the Palestinian police force, who had been presiding over the ceremony. At the parade ground uniformed bodies lay in piles, the wounded writhed in pain and cars and jeeps screamed up to carry the wounded to the hospitals.
"I was driving by when two or three jets came in with so much noise I didn’t know where to hide," said Hamed Keshta. "The whole building went up into the sky. There was smoke everywhere. I ran to the area and there were just bodies, bodies and pieces of bodies."
In Gaza City’s main security compound, the bodies of more than a dozen uniformed Hamas police lay on the ground. One survivor raised his index finger in a show of Muslim faith, uttering a prayer. One man, his face bloodied, sat dazed on the ground as a fire raged nearby.
Ehud Barak, Israel’s defence minister, said it would expand the operation if necessary. "There is a time for calm and there is a time for fighting and now is the time for fighting," he told a news conference. He did not say whether a ground offensive was planned.
Gordon Brown, the Vatican and Tony Blair, in his role as Middle East envoy, all called for an immediate restoration of calm. A White House spokesman said: “Hamas’s continued rocket attacks into Israel must cease if the violence is to stop. The United States urges Israel to avoid civilian casualties as it targets Hamas in Gaza.”
Some of the Israeli missiles struck in densely populated areas. Gaza is home to about 1.5m Palestinians, at least half of whom are dependent on some kind of food aid.
Among the bereaved was Said Masri, 57, who sat in the middle of a Gaza City street, close to a security compound, alternately slapping his face and covering his head with dust from the bombed-out building.
“My son is gone, my son is gone,” he wailed. The shopkeeper said he had sent his son, 9, to buy cigarettes minutes before the airstrikes began and now could not find him. “May I burn like the cigarettes, may Israel burn,” Masri moaned.
At the Rafah hospital on the Gaza Strip, chaos followed the carnage. Families desperate to find missing children screamed for help. The attendant guarding the entrance to the morgue was mobbed by women begging to be allowed to examine the bodies brought in after the raids.
“My son, my son, he was at school and has been missing since this morning,” howled a woman from the Abu Jazer family. Relatives who were admitted to the chilly morgue pulled out stainless steel drawers containing the bodies of four teenagers among 27 newly arrived corpses.
One of them was identified as Ahmed Abed Jazer, a 14-year-old pupil whose body had been wrapped in a white sheet by doctors. Shrapnel wounds in his head and stomach were still seeping blood as his distraught relatives confirmed his name.
One Gaza City man brought the body of his seven-year-old son to hospital but, finding no place in the morgue, took him home in a cardboard box. He said the boy would be buried in the back yard.
Shifa hospital, the main medical centre in Gaza, was overwhelmed. Bodies lined the corridors, relatives screamed in the emergency room, cars and trucks pulled up into the courtyard with their doors open, the wounded piled inside because there were not enough ambulances. Huge pillars of black smoke rose over the city.
“There are heads without bodies . . . There’s blood in the corridors. People are weeping, women are crying, doctors are shouting,” said Ahmed Abdel Salaam, a nurse.
The morgue had overflowed at Shifa hospital, and the stench was overwhelming because the electricity was cut throughout the city. “In every corner, there are bodies,” said a doctor. “The stink of death is overwhelming. We are throwing bodies on the floor because the morgue is full.”
Palestinian news stations began calling the day of the Israeli airstrikes “Black Saturday”, a reference to Black September when Jordan sent tanks into Palestinian camps inside its borders. That massacre led to the founding of the terrorist group Black September, which killed Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972.
Israeli military officials said more than 100 tons of missiles had been fired at Gaza by mid-afternoon. By early evening 205 Gazans were known to be dead and 700 wounded, Gaza health official Dr Moaiya Hassanain said. He did not provide figures on civilian deaths. Some of the dead, rolled in blankets, were laid out on the floor of Gaza’s main hospital for identification. Earlier in the day, when the death toll stood at 155, police spokesman Ehud Ghussein had said about 140 Hamas security forces were killed.
Hamas leaders threatened revenge. Hamas “will continue the resistance until the last drop of blood,” said Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman.
Israel told its civilians near Gaza to take cover as militants began retaliating with rockets, and in the West Bank, Mahmoud Abbas, the moderate Palestinian president, called for restraint. Egypt summoned the Israeli ambassador to express condemnation and opened its border with Gaza to allow ambulances to drive out some of the wounded.
Protests against the campaign erupted in Arab Israeli villages and the Abbas-ruled West Bank. The most violent West Bank response came in the city of Hebron, where dozens of youths, many of them masked, hurled rocks at Israeli forces, who lobbed tear gas and stun grenades in response.
Officials in Bethlehem, Jesus’s traditional birthplace, turned off Christmas lights and traders shuttered shops to protest at the Israeli attack.
In Ein Hilweh, a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, dozens of youths hit the streets and set fire to tyres. In Syria’s al-Yarmouk camp, outside Damascus, dozens of Palestinian protesters vowed to continue fighting Israel.
In the West Bank, Hamas’s rival, Abbas, said in a statement that he “condemns this aggression”. Abbas, who has ruled only the West Bank since the Islamic Hamas seized power in Gaza in June 2007, was in contact with Arab leaders, and his West Bank cabinet convened an emergency session.
Israel has targeted Gaza in the past, but the number of simultaneous attacks was unprecedented. It left Gaza in 2005 after a 38-year occupation, but the withdrawal did not lead to better relations with Palestinians in the territory as Israeli officials had hoped.
Instead, the evacuation was followed by a sharp rise in militant attacks on Israeli border communities that on several occasions provoked harsh Israeli military reprisals. The last, in February and March, spurred both sides to agree to a truce that began unravelling in early November.
Since Hamas took power, it has created a militant “Hamastan”, whose borders and coastline are sealed by Israel and whose only conduit to the outside world is through the Egyptians and Hamas’s radical leader, Khaled Mashaal, who is based in Damascus.
Additional reporting: Hamed Keshta in Gaza
The path to violence
January 25, 2006 Hamas wins Palestinian general elections, defeating the secular Fatah party
March 18 America, the European Union and Israel boycott the new government and say they will suspend aid
June Corporal Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier, is captured and held hostage by Hamas. Israel launches operation to recover him and bombs bridges, roads and the only power station in Gaza
March 15, 2007 Palestinians reach agreement on unity government
June 15 Hamas crushes Fatah in Gaza after three days of fighting. Israel starts blockade
June 19, 2008 Truce between Israel and Hamas brokered by Egypt
November 4 Israeli army destroys a tunnel built by militants, sparking a new round of violence
December 19 Hamas’s six-month ceasefire with Israel ends
source:the london times
Children on their way home from school and policemen parading for a graduation ceremony were the principal victims of a bloody few hours that left the territory in flames.
The short but brutal aerial blitz — codenamed Operation Cast Lead — was aimed at targets held by the Islamic fundamentalists of Hamas, which seized control of the Gaza Strip 18 months ago.
After weeks of rising tension and repeated Hamas rocket attacks on Israeli territory, the air force struck with warplanes and unmanned drones loaded with guided missiles.
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They hit at least 100 security compounds and rocket-launching bases across the heavily populated Strip.
The strikes caused panic and confusion as black clouds of smoke rose above the territory. Most of those killed were security men — including Gaza’s police chief — but an unknown number of civilians were also among the dead.
One perfectly aimed missile demolished the Hamas-controlled Rafah police station. But the building next door was a school and several pupils were on the street outside when a huge explosion sent shards of shrapnel and concrete hurtling in all directions. Parents rushed into the streets frantically looking for their children.
The strikes on Gaza yesterday were unparalleled. Israeli warplanes screamed in from the sea across Gaza in wave after wave, pounding at least 30 security compounds in the strip controlled by the Hamas government.
At 11.30am Israeli time, the first wave of 60 F-16s screamed over Gaza, launching missiles at more than 50 targets. Israeli military sources said a total of 100 missiles were fired at Hamas police stations, command centres, training bases and illicit manufacturing warehouses.
In the second wave, 20 Israeli jets returned, following up intelligence received from drones in the skies over the Strip. They launched 50 missiles aimed almost entirely at militants who had come out with makeshift rockets to hit back.
The offensive took Hamas by surprise. The Islamic fundamentalist government had expected retaliation for the 200 rockets that Hamas and other extremist groups have launched into Israel since a six-month truce expired earlier this month. It had believed, however, that the attack would follow an Israeli cabinet meeting today.
According to military sources, the Israeli leadership decided to attack after intelligence revealed that Hamas leaders and military officials were still inside key buildings.
So unprepared was Hamas that two graduation ceremonies for new police recruits were being held in the open air. In one strike, on a graduation ceremony in Gaza City, scores of police cadets were killed along with General Tawfiq Jabr, chief of the Palestinian police force, who had been presiding over the ceremony. At the parade ground uniformed bodies lay in piles, the wounded writhed in pain and cars and jeeps screamed up to carry the wounded to the hospitals.
"I was driving by when two or three jets came in with so much noise I didn’t know where to hide," said Hamed Keshta. "The whole building went up into the sky. There was smoke everywhere. I ran to the area and there were just bodies, bodies and pieces of bodies."
In Gaza City’s main security compound, the bodies of more than a dozen uniformed Hamas police lay on the ground. One survivor raised his index finger in a show of Muslim faith, uttering a prayer. One man, his face bloodied, sat dazed on the ground as a fire raged nearby.
Ehud Barak, Israel’s defence minister, said it would expand the operation if necessary. "There is a time for calm and there is a time for fighting and now is the time for fighting," he told a news conference. He did not say whether a ground offensive was planned.
Gordon Brown, the Vatican and Tony Blair, in his role as Middle East envoy, all called for an immediate restoration of calm. A White House spokesman said: “Hamas’s continued rocket attacks into Israel must cease if the violence is to stop. The United States urges Israel to avoid civilian casualties as it targets Hamas in Gaza.”
Some of the Israeli missiles struck in densely populated areas. Gaza is home to about 1.5m Palestinians, at least half of whom are dependent on some kind of food aid.
Among the bereaved was Said Masri, 57, who sat in the middle of a Gaza City street, close to a security compound, alternately slapping his face and covering his head with dust from the bombed-out building.
“My son is gone, my son is gone,” he wailed. The shopkeeper said he had sent his son, 9, to buy cigarettes minutes before the airstrikes began and now could not find him. “May I burn like the cigarettes, may Israel burn,” Masri moaned.
At the Rafah hospital on the Gaza Strip, chaos followed the carnage. Families desperate to find missing children screamed for help. The attendant guarding the entrance to the morgue was mobbed by women begging to be allowed to examine the bodies brought in after the raids.
“My son, my son, he was at school and has been missing since this morning,” howled a woman from the Abu Jazer family. Relatives who were admitted to the chilly morgue pulled out stainless steel drawers containing the bodies of four teenagers among 27 newly arrived corpses.
One of them was identified as Ahmed Abed Jazer, a 14-year-old pupil whose body had been wrapped in a white sheet by doctors. Shrapnel wounds in his head and stomach were still seeping blood as his distraught relatives confirmed his name.
One Gaza City man brought the body of his seven-year-old son to hospital but, finding no place in the morgue, took him home in a cardboard box. He said the boy would be buried in the back yard.
Shifa hospital, the main medical centre in Gaza, was overwhelmed. Bodies lined the corridors, relatives screamed in the emergency room, cars and trucks pulled up into the courtyard with their doors open, the wounded piled inside because there were not enough ambulances. Huge pillars of black smoke rose over the city.
“There are heads without bodies . . . There’s blood in the corridors. People are weeping, women are crying, doctors are shouting,” said Ahmed Abdel Salaam, a nurse.
The morgue had overflowed at Shifa hospital, and the stench was overwhelming because the electricity was cut throughout the city. “In every corner, there are bodies,” said a doctor. “The stink of death is overwhelming. We are throwing bodies on the floor because the morgue is full.”
Palestinian news stations began calling the day of the Israeli airstrikes “Black Saturday”, a reference to Black September when Jordan sent tanks into Palestinian camps inside its borders. That massacre led to the founding of the terrorist group Black September, which killed Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972.
Israeli military officials said more than 100 tons of missiles had been fired at Gaza by mid-afternoon. By early evening 205 Gazans were known to be dead and 700 wounded, Gaza health official Dr Moaiya Hassanain said. He did not provide figures on civilian deaths. Some of the dead, rolled in blankets, were laid out on the floor of Gaza’s main hospital for identification. Earlier in the day, when the death toll stood at 155, police spokesman Ehud Ghussein had said about 140 Hamas security forces were killed.
Hamas leaders threatened revenge. Hamas “will continue the resistance until the last drop of blood,” said Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman.
Israel told its civilians near Gaza to take cover as militants began retaliating with rockets, and in the West Bank, Mahmoud Abbas, the moderate Palestinian president, called for restraint. Egypt summoned the Israeli ambassador to express condemnation and opened its border with Gaza to allow ambulances to drive out some of the wounded.
Protests against the campaign erupted in Arab Israeli villages and the Abbas-ruled West Bank. The most violent West Bank response came in the city of Hebron, where dozens of youths, many of them masked, hurled rocks at Israeli forces, who lobbed tear gas and stun grenades in response.
Officials in Bethlehem, Jesus’s traditional birthplace, turned off Christmas lights and traders shuttered shops to protest at the Israeli attack.
In Ein Hilweh, a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, dozens of youths hit the streets and set fire to tyres. In Syria’s al-Yarmouk camp, outside Damascus, dozens of Palestinian protesters vowed to continue fighting Israel.
In the West Bank, Hamas’s rival, Abbas, said in a statement that he “condemns this aggression”. Abbas, who has ruled only the West Bank since the Islamic Hamas seized power in Gaza in June 2007, was in contact with Arab leaders, and his West Bank cabinet convened an emergency session.
Israel has targeted Gaza in the past, but the number of simultaneous attacks was unprecedented. It left Gaza in 2005 after a 38-year occupation, but the withdrawal did not lead to better relations with Palestinians in the territory as Israeli officials had hoped.
Instead, the evacuation was followed by a sharp rise in militant attacks on Israeli border communities that on several occasions provoked harsh Israeli military reprisals. The last, in February and March, spurred both sides to agree to a truce that began unravelling in early November.
Since Hamas took power, it has created a militant “Hamastan”, whose borders and coastline are sealed by Israel and whose only conduit to the outside world is through the Egyptians and Hamas’s radical leader, Khaled Mashaal, who is based in Damascus.
Additional reporting: Hamed Keshta in Gaza
The path to violence
January 25, 2006 Hamas wins Palestinian general elections, defeating the secular Fatah party
March 18 America, the European Union and Israel boycott the new government and say they will suspend aid
June Corporal Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier, is captured and held hostage by Hamas. Israel launches operation to recover him and bombs bridges, roads and the only power station in Gaza
March 15, 2007 Palestinians reach agreement on unity government
June 15 Hamas crushes Fatah in Gaza after three days of fighting. Israel starts blockade
June 19, 2008 Truce between Israel and Hamas brokered by Egypt
November 4 Israeli army destroys a tunnel built by militants, sparking a new round of violence
December 19 Hamas’s six-month ceasefire with Israel ends
source:the london times
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Muhammed May Become Speaker
Peoples Democractic Party (PDP) in Kwara State may have endorsed incumbent Deputy Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Honourable Babatunde Muhammed, as speaker.
Muhammed, who represents Omupo state constituency, was one of the personal assistants to former Senate leader and strongman of Kwara politics, Dr Olusola Saraki, before his election to the state House of Assembly in 2003.
Office of the Speaker became vacant recently, following the appointment of the former speaker, Honourable Issa Bio Ibrahim, as Minister of Transport by President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua.
Since then, according to sources, PDP in the state had been working round the clock to ensure that a loyal and committed member of the House emerge replaces him.
Leadership of the party headed by the state Governor, Bukola Saraki, met on several occasions on the replacement and jointly agreed to allow Muhammed take over.
Sources added that the development was based on his experience, coupled with his loyalty to the Saraki’s political camp.
we further learnt that the PDP leadership also endorsed the appointment of a member, Honourable Shuka Baba, from Kwara North, as the new Deputy Speaker .
A leader of the party who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed the development, adding that the approval is meant to ensure continuity and standard. in order to improve the social well being of the people in the state.
source:thisday news paper
Muhammed, who represents Omupo state constituency, was one of the personal assistants to former Senate leader and strongman of Kwara politics, Dr Olusola Saraki, before his election to the state House of Assembly in 2003.
Office of the Speaker became vacant recently, following the appointment of the former speaker, Honourable Issa Bio Ibrahim, as Minister of Transport by President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua.
Since then, according to sources, PDP in the state had been working round the clock to ensure that a loyal and committed member of the House emerge replaces him.
Leadership of the party headed by the state Governor, Bukola Saraki, met on several occasions on the replacement and jointly agreed to allow Muhammed take over.
Sources added that the development was based on his experience, coupled with his loyalty to the Saraki’s political camp.
we further learnt that the PDP leadership also endorsed the appointment of a member, Honourable Shuka Baba, from Kwara North, as the new Deputy Speaker .
A leader of the party who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed the development, adding that the approval is meant to ensure continuity and standard. in order to improve the social well being of the people in the state.
source:thisday news paper
Don’t take health tips from celebs if you know what’s good for you
From Madonna’s quest to “neutralise radiation” to Tom Cruise’s dismissals of psychiatry, celebrities are seldom shy about expressing their views on health and science – even when they appear not to know what they are talking about.
A roll call of public figures such as Cruise and Delia Smith have offered bogus advice or “quackery” this year, according to scientists and doctors. The charity Sense About Science is concerned that celebrities mislead the public when they endorse theories, diets or health products while misrepresenting the science involved.
Some – such as Oprah Winfrey and Kate Moss – espouse “detox” regimes, while others, such as Sharon and Kelly Osbourne, believe (mistakenly) that the Pill can cause cancer.
Nor are politicians exempt from lending credence to health myths. The US President-elect is among several American public figures who continue to suggest that the MMR vaccination is a potential cause of autism, despite an overwhelming weight of scientific evidence to the contrary.
Related Links
Stars often make nonsense of science
Smith’s suggestion that obesity is caused by sugar addiction is another of the assertions under scrutiny. In March, the cookery writer and broadcaster told The Times: “That’s what causes obesity. It’s addiction. You need to have six weeks without sugar or sweetener . . . After six weeks, everything will taste sweet . . . because you will have got your palate back to what nature created. We could cure the nation if we cut down sugar addiction.”
Lisa Miles, of the British Nutrition Foundation, counters: “Delia, you’ll never get rid of sugar from the diet, nor would you want to, as you consume sugars naturally in foods such as fruit and milk, which provide us with important nutrients . . . the causes of obesity are much more complex.”
Demi Moore, the actress, surprises the experts with her use of “highly trained medical leeches” to “detoxify” her blood.
Kate Moss, the model, is reported to be on a strict “detox” diet of fruit and vegetables at a health spa in Thailand. But nutritionists note that such regimes exclude important food groups such as protein.
Moss’s friend Stella McCartney, the designer, was criticised last year for saying that a chemical found in skin creams was also found in antifreeze. Gary Moss, a pharmacologist, said that the chemical, propylene glycol, was versatile and its use in cosmetics was not “scary”, as claimed.
Both Mr Obama and his rival for the presidency, John McCain, responded to stories about vaccines by highlighting the rise in diagnoses in children of autism.
Mr Obama told a campaign rally in April: “We’ve seen a skyrocketing autism rate. Some people are suspicious that it’s connected to the vaccines. This person included. The science right now is inconclusive, but we have to research it.” In February Mr McCain had remarked on the rise in autism cases, saying that there was “strong evidence that indicates it’s got to do with a preservative in vaccines”.
The suggestion that the MMR jab is linked to the developmental disorder dates back to a study of 12 children published in The Lancet in 1997. The research, led by Andrew Wakefield, a gastroenterologist at the Royal Free Hospital, has since been discredited. Yet fears about the vaccine – for measles, mumps and rubella – have resulted in many parents refusing to have their children inoculated, and there has been a resurgence of measles.
Dr Wakefield and colleagues have been appearing before the General Medical Council on charges of serious professional misconduct, relating to their original study, which they deny.
Studies in several countries involving millions of children have shown no correlation between MMR and autism rates.
Michael Fitzpatrick, author of MMR: What Parents Need to Know, said that Mr Obama and Mr McCain were correct in noting a rise in cases of autism. “However, authoritative studies confirm that the apparent rise is attributable to increased public and professional awareness of the condition and to widening definitions of autistic spectrum disorders,” he said. “Though the causes of autism remain obscure, exhaustive researches have failed to substantiate any link to vaccines or any preservatives in it.”
The Sense About Science initiative is an update of a leaflet encouraging celebrities to avoid making claims until they have checked the facts. While there has been “considerable improvement” in the way British celebrities approach medicine, the charity says its files are still too full of pseudo-scientific claims. “We don’t expect people to know everything about science; the problem comes when they don’t consider checking it or asking questions.”
source:the london times
A roll call of public figures such as Cruise and Delia Smith have offered bogus advice or “quackery” this year, according to scientists and doctors. The charity Sense About Science is concerned that celebrities mislead the public when they endorse theories, diets or health products while misrepresenting the science involved.
Some – such as Oprah Winfrey and Kate Moss – espouse “detox” regimes, while others, such as Sharon and Kelly Osbourne, believe (mistakenly) that the Pill can cause cancer.
Nor are politicians exempt from lending credence to health myths. The US President-elect is among several American public figures who continue to suggest that the MMR vaccination is a potential cause of autism, despite an overwhelming weight of scientific evidence to the contrary.
Related Links
Stars often make nonsense of science
Smith’s suggestion that obesity is caused by sugar addiction is another of the assertions under scrutiny. In March, the cookery writer and broadcaster told The Times: “That’s what causes obesity. It’s addiction. You need to have six weeks without sugar or sweetener . . . After six weeks, everything will taste sweet . . . because you will have got your palate back to what nature created. We could cure the nation if we cut down sugar addiction.”
Lisa Miles, of the British Nutrition Foundation, counters: “Delia, you’ll never get rid of sugar from the diet, nor would you want to, as you consume sugars naturally in foods such as fruit and milk, which provide us with important nutrients . . . the causes of obesity are much more complex.”
Demi Moore, the actress, surprises the experts with her use of “highly trained medical leeches” to “detoxify” her blood.
Kate Moss, the model, is reported to be on a strict “detox” diet of fruit and vegetables at a health spa in Thailand. But nutritionists note that such regimes exclude important food groups such as protein.
Moss’s friend Stella McCartney, the designer, was criticised last year for saying that a chemical found in skin creams was also found in antifreeze. Gary Moss, a pharmacologist, said that the chemical, propylene glycol, was versatile and its use in cosmetics was not “scary”, as claimed.
Both Mr Obama and his rival for the presidency, John McCain, responded to stories about vaccines by highlighting the rise in diagnoses in children of autism.
Mr Obama told a campaign rally in April: “We’ve seen a skyrocketing autism rate. Some people are suspicious that it’s connected to the vaccines. This person included. The science right now is inconclusive, but we have to research it.” In February Mr McCain had remarked on the rise in autism cases, saying that there was “strong evidence that indicates it’s got to do with a preservative in vaccines”.
The suggestion that the MMR jab is linked to the developmental disorder dates back to a study of 12 children published in The Lancet in 1997. The research, led by Andrew Wakefield, a gastroenterologist at the Royal Free Hospital, has since been discredited. Yet fears about the vaccine – for measles, mumps and rubella – have resulted in many parents refusing to have their children inoculated, and there has been a resurgence of measles.
Dr Wakefield and colleagues have been appearing before the General Medical Council on charges of serious professional misconduct, relating to their original study, which they deny.
Studies in several countries involving millions of children have shown no correlation between MMR and autism rates.
Michael Fitzpatrick, author of MMR: What Parents Need to Know, said that Mr Obama and Mr McCain were correct in noting a rise in cases of autism. “However, authoritative studies confirm that the apparent rise is attributable to increased public and professional awareness of the condition and to widening definitions of autistic spectrum disorders,” he said. “Though the causes of autism remain obscure, exhaustive researches have failed to substantiate any link to vaccines or any preservatives in it.”
The Sense About Science initiative is an update of a leaflet encouraging celebrities to avoid making claims until they have checked the facts. While there has been “considerable improvement” in the way British celebrities approach medicine, the charity says its files are still too full of pseudo-scientific claims. “We don’t expect people to know everything about science; the problem comes when they don’t consider checking it or asking questions.”
source:the london times
Ken Russell on his new film Bravetart
What better way to celebrate Christmas than to begin filming another mini-masterpiece, God willing? It’s a season of miracles, after all. Many of the presents under my tree had to be opened before Christmas and are taking over the conservatory, which is buried in bundles: swords, battle-axes, spears, masks, hats, fishnets, knee socks, crystal balls, magic wands, witches’ hats, wigs of every colour, false teeth, fake blood, Billy Connolly CDs, bagpipes, corsets, kilts, mini-kilts, sporrans, tams, magicians’ cloaks, tartan, plaid and more tartan . . .
Yes, my latest biographical romp, Bravetart vs the Loch Ness Monster, began filming last Sunday at the stately Walhampton School, a couple of miles up the road from my home in Lymington.
There was a time, back in the middle of the past century, when I was known for my drama-documentaries on the lives of famous dancers such as Isadora Duncan, painters such as John Everett Millais, poets such as Wordsworth and composers such as Debussy. I made almost 50 biographies in all — mostly for the BBC arts programme Monitor, with a film crew of half a dozen or so. There were also a handful of feature films on arty biographical subjects, with crews of about 50.
Half a century later, I’m still at it. I still celebrate inspiring artists, but my current biographical subjects are just as liable to be social misfits whose heroism gallops down backstreets into the land of postmodern chaos. Their creative process may be making art with a paintbrush in their teeth (Revenge of the Elephant Man), raising an army from disparate tribes (Boudica Bites Back), spying (Mystery of Mata Hari), raising the dead (Louse of Usher) or saving one’s family from a bloodthirsty magician (Bravetart). I like to stretch the parameters of expectations — and flirt a little with the edges of bad taste. All in all, I aim for “dangerous beauty”, and I know it when I see it.
The technique of film has changed beyond all recognition since I started. The crews can still be minuscule, as in the early days of Monitor, which encourages an intimate camaraderie, and jobs are often shared: patience is essential when five hours’ work can often result in a mere minute of usable screen time. But the technology has zoomed into sci-fi territory since the early days: film has given way to tape.
And of course the magic green screen has enabled us to put in the background of our choice, from Baghdad to the Baltic, without leaving the studio. All you need for exotic landscapes is a still or moving photograph. In fact, regular readers of this column will be aware that I’ve just finished my latest screen biography, Boudica Bites Back, using green screen and animation in the same way that Sin City, Star Wars and Spider-Man went to town with it.
And so to my current epic. Bravetart is a sassy Scottish prostitute who is played by my (Jill-of-all-trades) wife Elise and is pure invention, with a nod to Mel Gibson. The monsters — both the man (played by myself) and his amphibious ally or “familiar” — are based on real-life characters. The world-famous denizen of the deep is in actuality Nessie, that serpentine creature of myth and legend come to life. For the extravagant claim that she actually exists, I have the word of my one-time cameraman Dick Bush, who saw the monster from a hilltop overlooking the famous loch. Before he had time to reload his camera, the enormous beast had dived beneath the billows. Still, I believe him — Bush was, as they say, a “God-fearing man”.
Which brings us to the second Loch Ness Monster. I’m sure some of you have already guessed that I’m referring to that evil master of black magic, Aleister Crowley — who at one time lived in a sinister castle on the very shores of Loch Ness itself (before Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin bought it in a moment of rock-star hubris, only to sell it after it proved to be haunted).
But of course Gorsewood Films (my answer to Hollywood) won’t be going to Scotland; no need to when we have Hatchet Pond in the New Forest as a credible stand-in. That plus a dozen kilts and a visit to the Just for Fun joke shop in Southampton should see us through our tale of Highland murder, mists, magic, mischief, mentalism and the martial arts. And as a bonus, the medieval walls of Southampton will adequately provide a replica of Edinburgh Castle.
Bravetart MacDonald, our matter-of-fact hooker with a heart of gold and a brogue as thick as her boot soles, comes from a family of entrepreneurs — all in the flesh trade. Brother and sister arrive as paying guests at Crowley’s castle to participate in a wild haggis hunt, sponsored by Crowley and his trusty henchman MacHaddock (played by Barry Lowe). How the MacDonald siblings end up in a coffin floating down Loch Ness, and Bravetart challenges the magician Crowley to a battle of wits and swordplay — with a bewitched, man-eating haggis joining the fun — are just more thrilling episodes in this bizarre and touching tale.
What is MacHaddock hiding under his kilt? Is Bravetart a common whore or a real-life Highland heroine? Is Crowley pure evil or do his feelings for Nessie and MacHaddock imply a tender side? Will the auld MacDonalds be restored to their clan glory, or will the family end up as fast food for a sea serpent’s snack?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot? Never! Hoots mon and a happy Hogmanay from all at Gorsewood. And some good news: the mini-epic Bravetart vs the Loch Ness Monster will be available by Easter 2009 on a website near you. And may you, like my cast and crew of seven after a hard day’s night, sit down to a pre-Christmas feast with lashings of home-made pizza, mince pies and plenty of plonk. Hame is wherr the hert is.
Yes, my latest biographical romp, Bravetart vs the Loch Ness Monster, began filming last Sunday at the stately Walhampton School, a couple of miles up the road from my home in Lymington.
There was a time, back in the middle of the past century, when I was known for my drama-documentaries on the lives of famous dancers such as Isadora Duncan, painters such as John Everett Millais, poets such as Wordsworth and composers such as Debussy. I made almost 50 biographies in all — mostly for the BBC arts programme Monitor, with a film crew of half a dozen or so. There were also a handful of feature films on arty biographical subjects, with crews of about 50.
Half a century later, I’m still at it. I still celebrate inspiring artists, but my current biographical subjects are just as liable to be social misfits whose heroism gallops down backstreets into the land of postmodern chaos. Their creative process may be making art with a paintbrush in their teeth (Revenge of the Elephant Man), raising an army from disparate tribes (Boudica Bites Back), spying (Mystery of Mata Hari), raising the dead (Louse of Usher) or saving one’s family from a bloodthirsty magician (Bravetart). I like to stretch the parameters of expectations — and flirt a little with the edges of bad taste. All in all, I aim for “dangerous beauty”, and I know it when I see it.
The technique of film has changed beyond all recognition since I started. The crews can still be minuscule, as in the early days of Monitor, which encourages an intimate camaraderie, and jobs are often shared: patience is essential when five hours’ work can often result in a mere minute of usable screen time. But the technology has zoomed into sci-fi territory since the early days: film has given way to tape.
And of course the magic green screen has enabled us to put in the background of our choice, from Baghdad to the Baltic, without leaving the studio. All you need for exotic landscapes is a still or moving photograph. In fact, regular readers of this column will be aware that I’ve just finished my latest screen biography, Boudica Bites Back, using green screen and animation in the same way that Sin City, Star Wars and Spider-Man went to town with it.
And so to my current epic. Bravetart is a sassy Scottish prostitute who is played by my (Jill-of-all-trades) wife Elise and is pure invention, with a nod to Mel Gibson. The monsters — both the man (played by myself) and his amphibious ally or “familiar” — are based on real-life characters. The world-famous denizen of the deep is in actuality Nessie, that serpentine creature of myth and legend come to life. For the extravagant claim that she actually exists, I have the word of my one-time cameraman Dick Bush, who saw the monster from a hilltop overlooking the famous loch. Before he had time to reload his camera, the enormous beast had dived beneath the billows. Still, I believe him — Bush was, as they say, a “God-fearing man”.
Which brings us to the second Loch Ness Monster. I’m sure some of you have already guessed that I’m referring to that evil master of black magic, Aleister Crowley — who at one time lived in a sinister castle on the very shores of Loch Ness itself (before Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin bought it in a moment of rock-star hubris, only to sell it after it proved to be haunted).
But of course Gorsewood Films (my answer to Hollywood) won’t be going to Scotland; no need to when we have Hatchet Pond in the New Forest as a credible stand-in. That plus a dozen kilts and a visit to the Just for Fun joke shop in Southampton should see us through our tale of Highland murder, mists, magic, mischief, mentalism and the martial arts. And as a bonus, the medieval walls of Southampton will adequately provide a replica of Edinburgh Castle.
Bravetart MacDonald, our matter-of-fact hooker with a heart of gold and a brogue as thick as her boot soles, comes from a family of entrepreneurs — all in the flesh trade. Brother and sister arrive as paying guests at Crowley’s castle to participate in a wild haggis hunt, sponsored by Crowley and his trusty henchman MacHaddock (played by Barry Lowe). How the MacDonald siblings end up in a coffin floating down Loch Ness, and Bravetart challenges the magician Crowley to a battle of wits and swordplay — with a bewitched, man-eating haggis joining the fun — are just more thrilling episodes in this bizarre and touching tale.
What is MacHaddock hiding under his kilt? Is Bravetart a common whore or a real-life Highland heroine? Is Crowley pure evil or do his feelings for Nessie and MacHaddock imply a tender side? Will the auld MacDonalds be restored to their clan glory, or will the family end up as fast food for a sea serpent’s snack?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot? Never! Hoots mon and a happy Hogmanay from all at Gorsewood. And some good news: the mini-epic Bravetart vs the Loch Ness Monster will be available by Easter 2009 on a website near you. And may you, like my cast and crew of seven after a hard day’s night, sit down to a pre-Christmas feast with lashings of home-made pizza, mince pies and plenty of plonk. Hame is wherr the hert is.
Support for families suffering fuel poverty fails to reach the needy
Only one in eight households in fuel poverty receives discounted gas and electricity bills, despite a multimillion-pound commitment by the main energy companies to help vulnerable people to endure the winter.
The companies promised to spend £225million over the next three years on social tariffs, which offer the cheapest deals to customers most in need, but an investigation by the Liberal Democrats has found that the initiative is not working.
A combination of huge variations in deals offered by the main suppliers, complex rules and onerous eligibility criteria has meant that consumers have little idea what help is available, how to claim or which company offers the best terms, the party says.
Of the 5.4 million households trapped in fuel poverty - where one tenth or more of income is spent on gas and electricity - only 641,438 are on social tariffs with the six main energy suppliers. Centrica, the owner of British Gas, has the most, with 352,303, and ScottishPower the least, with 2,500. ScottishPower has said that its new fuel poverty programme will significantly increase this number.
Related Links
Government turns up heat over power price cuts
Costs exclude thousands from fuel poverty aid
Steve Webb, energy spokesman for the Lib Dems, said: “Millions of households face a bleak winter because of fuel poverty, yet most are not even covered by the special schemes run by the energy companies. The rules of the schemes on offer are bewilderingly complicated, which means that consumers have little hope of knowing which company's scheme would be best for them. The Government needs to make sure that all people living in fuel poverty receive systematic help, wherever they live and whoever they buy their power from.”
Gas and electricity bills rose a record 42 per cent, or £381, this year, and the average annual power bill is £1,292, according to the price comparison website uSwitch.
Paul Dornan, head of policy and research at the Child Poverty Action Group, said: “Poor families often pay the most for energy because they have to use the more expensive payment methods and, though social tariffs are supposed to stop this problem, to be effective, the access needs to be easy.”
According to the Lib Dem research, help for vulnerable households depends on an array of differing and confusing factors. Some companies base eligibility on age and the number of bedrooms, others on state benefits and how the bill is paid, and yet more base it on total income. Aid also varies, from cash discounts to fixed bills regardless of consumption.
Mervyn Kohler, special adviser to Help the Aged, said: “The inconsistency and restrictions found in the social tariffs currently on offer from the big six energy providers is a clear indication that a new strategy on fuel poverty is required.”
Age Concern said that the poorest households were least aware of bill discounts and least likely to know how to apply for them. It estimated that one in three older households was in fuel poverty and accused the Government of failing to tackle price inequalities.
Ofgem, the energy regulator, has demanded commitments from the main power companies that they will pass on recent steep falls in wholesale energy prices. It published its own report on discounts yesterday. The report says that take-up of cheaper energy deals, including social tariffs, had reached 800,000.
Centrica (owner of British Gas)
350,000 customers on a list entitled to benefits are eligible for the “Essentials” tariff. Annual cost to company: £90 million
E.ON “StayWarm” tariff available, based on size of the house. Saving of £400, but only to about 27,000 customers. Cost: £10 million
ScottishPower “Carefree Plus” tariff on offer to some over60s. Currently just 2,500 customers. Cost to company: £4.5 million
EDF “Energy Assist” available to those in receipt of some benefits, currently 115,000. Cost: £10 million
Scottish & Southern “Energyplus Care” for 81,000 who spend more than 10 per cent of their income on energy bills. Cost: £16 million
npower “Spending Warmth Tariff” for 63,000 households with income under £13,500. £14 million
Source: Liberal Democrats
The companies promised to spend £225million over the next three years on social tariffs, which offer the cheapest deals to customers most in need, but an investigation by the Liberal Democrats has found that the initiative is not working.
A combination of huge variations in deals offered by the main suppliers, complex rules and onerous eligibility criteria has meant that consumers have little idea what help is available, how to claim or which company offers the best terms, the party says.
Of the 5.4 million households trapped in fuel poverty - where one tenth or more of income is spent on gas and electricity - only 641,438 are on social tariffs with the six main energy suppliers. Centrica, the owner of British Gas, has the most, with 352,303, and ScottishPower the least, with 2,500. ScottishPower has said that its new fuel poverty programme will significantly increase this number.
Related Links
Government turns up heat over power price cuts
Costs exclude thousands from fuel poverty aid
Steve Webb, energy spokesman for the Lib Dems, said: “Millions of households face a bleak winter because of fuel poverty, yet most are not even covered by the special schemes run by the energy companies. The rules of the schemes on offer are bewilderingly complicated, which means that consumers have little hope of knowing which company's scheme would be best for them. The Government needs to make sure that all people living in fuel poverty receive systematic help, wherever they live and whoever they buy their power from.”
Gas and electricity bills rose a record 42 per cent, or £381, this year, and the average annual power bill is £1,292, according to the price comparison website uSwitch.
Paul Dornan, head of policy and research at the Child Poverty Action Group, said: “Poor families often pay the most for energy because they have to use the more expensive payment methods and, though social tariffs are supposed to stop this problem, to be effective, the access needs to be easy.”
According to the Lib Dem research, help for vulnerable households depends on an array of differing and confusing factors. Some companies base eligibility on age and the number of bedrooms, others on state benefits and how the bill is paid, and yet more base it on total income. Aid also varies, from cash discounts to fixed bills regardless of consumption.
Mervyn Kohler, special adviser to Help the Aged, said: “The inconsistency and restrictions found in the social tariffs currently on offer from the big six energy providers is a clear indication that a new strategy on fuel poverty is required.”
Age Concern said that the poorest households were least aware of bill discounts and least likely to know how to apply for them. It estimated that one in three older households was in fuel poverty and accused the Government of failing to tackle price inequalities.
Ofgem, the energy regulator, has demanded commitments from the main power companies that they will pass on recent steep falls in wholesale energy prices. It published its own report on discounts yesterday. The report says that take-up of cheaper energy deals, including social tariffs, had reached 800,000.
Centrica (owner of British Gas)
350,000 customers on a list entitled to benefits are eligible for the “Essentials” tariff. Annual cost to company: £90 million
E.ON “StayWarm” tariff available, based on size of the house. Saving of £400, but only to about 27,000 customers. Cost: £10 million
ScottishPower “Carefree Plus” tariff on offer to some over60s. Currently just 2,500 customers. Cost to company: £4.5 million
EDF “Energy Assist” available to those in receipt of some benefits, currently 115,000. Cost: £10 million
Scottish & Southern “Energyplus Care” for 81,000 who spend more than 10 per cent of their income on energy bills. Cost: £16 million
npower “Spending Warmth Tariff” for 63,000 households with income under £13,500. £14 million
Source: Liberal Democrats
Police hand over suspected killer ratings to Navy
The two naval ratings, who allegedly stabbed a policeman to death and fatally wounded another in Ota, Ogun State on November 12, have been handed over to military authorities for disciplinary action.
A top police source, who spoke with our correspondent in Abeokuta on Friday, said the procedure in the military and police was that an offending officer should be handed over to its service, which would determine the appropriate sanction. The naval ratings, who had gone to a hotel to relax, had allegedly engaged two policemen in a scuffle.
The scuffle arose over the affiliation of a waitress at the hotel with the ratings, leading to the stabbing of the two policemen. One of the policemen, however, died the following day at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, after spirited attempts to save his life failed.
The source said, “It is the procedure in the military and the police commands that if an officer is involved in any misdemeanour, he will have to be handed over to his formation, which will have to deliberate over his case and recommend appropriate punishment.”
He explained that the police could, however, arrest such offender after he had been dismissed by his superiors, if the offence was of a criminal nature. The source said, “If such an offender is dismissed, we will go ahead and arrest him for prosecution, if the offence is of a criminal offence. Like in this case, we cannot act until the naval authorities decides on the case of the naval ratings.
“If they are, however, dismissed for the criminal act, we will go ahead and arrest them for prosecution; but we don’t know the stage of the case as at today.”
He added that the naval authorities, which he commended for displaying maturity, visited the command when the incident happened in November to commiserate with the police and “hold necessary consultations.”
It was not possible to obtain official comments from the state police command as its Spokesman, Mr. Sunday Ubua, had been transferred to Rivers State.
source:the punch news papers
A top police source, who spoke with our correspondent in Abeokuta on Friday, said the procedure in the military and police was that an offending officer should be handed over to its service, which would determine the appropriate sanction. The naval ratings, who had gone to a hotel to relax, had allegedly engaged two policemen in a scuffle.
The scuffle arose over the affiliation of a waitress at the hotel with the ratings, leading to the stabbing of the two policemen. One of the policemen, however, died the following day at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, after spirited attempts to save his life failed.
The source said, “It is the procedure in the military and the police commands that if an officer is involved in any misdemeanour, he will have to be handed over to his formation, which will have to deliberate over his case and recommend appropriate punishment.”
He explained that the police could, however, arrest such offender after he had been dismissed by his superiors, if the offence was of a criminal nature. The source said, “If such an offender is dismissed, we will go ahead and arrest him for prosecution, if the offence is of a criminal offence. Like in this case, we cannot act until the naval authorities decides on the case of the naval ratings.
“If they are, however, dismissed for the criminal act, we will go ahead and arrest them for prosecution; but we don’t know the stage of the case as at today.”
He added that the naval authorities, which he commended for displaying maturity, visited the command when the incident happened in November to commiserate with the police and “hold necessary consultations.”
It was not possible to obtain official comments from the state police command as its Spokesman, Mr. Sunday Ubua, had been transferred to Rivers State.
source:the punch news papers
Siemens bribes paid through ex-VP’s wife’s US account– US SEC
The United States’ Security Exchange Commission, which investigated global telecommunications giant, Siemens, for using huge bribes to win multi-billion dollar contracts in over 16 countries, has revealed that the bribes were paid into the US bank acoount of a former Vice President’s wife. It also reveals that a former Nigerian President, the former vice-president and his wife were some of the recipients of these bribes. The SEC also said that Siemens, accused of running an “annual bribery budget of about $40 million to $50 million” in 16 countries, gave at least $12.7 million in bribes to Nigerian officials between 2001 and 2006.
These revelations were contained in a US SEC complaint document made public last week when the settlement that the US Justice Department and the SEC reached with Siemens was announced. To reach the settlement, Siemens had to plead guilty to violating accounting provisions of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which outlaws bribery abroad, and agree to pay a fine of more than $2.6 billion. The amount includes $1.6bn in fines and fees to Germany and the United States and more than $1bn for internal investigations and reforms.
However, the SEC complaint, which Saturday Punch obtained from www. sec.gov only describes the recipients of the bribes. It does not mention their names. The document, which was submitted to Judge Richard Leon of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on December 15, has the US SEC as the Plaintiff and Siemens as the Defendant.
Officials of the US Justice Department explained, in a statement, that the names, which were given to the judge in a sealed envelope, could not be made public because of what they described as ‘privacy laws in several countries’ and for the sake of ‘the integrity of continuing investigations’. But Lori Weinstein, the prosecutor, said the documents were deliberately left with clues to provide “sufficient clarity” for the court to figure out who was who. For example, the recipient of the bribes that Siemens officials reportedly gave to highly-placed Argentine officials during an identity-card contract is described as a “president of Argentina who left office in 1999;” an indication that former President Carlos Menem, who ruled Argentina from 1989 to 1999, is the recipient.
In Nigeria, in particular, Siemens, the complaint says, made approximately $12.7m in suspicious payments in connection with four projects, with at least $4.5m paid as bribes in projects involving the Nigeria Telecommunications Limited and the Ministry of Communications. According to the SEC, the total value of the four contracts was about $130m.
The portion of the complaint, which gave the recipients of the bribes, says that approximately $2.8m of the bribe payments was routed through a bank account in Potomac, Maryland, in the name of the wife of a former Nigerian vice-president.
“The Vice President’s wife, a dual U.S. Nigerian citizen living in the United States, served as the representative of a business consultant that entered into fictitious business consultant agreements to perform ‘supply, installation, and commissioning’ services but did no actual work for Siemens. The purpose of these payments was to bribe government officials. Other corrupt payments included the purchase of approximately $172,000 (N17.3m) watches for Nigerian officials designated in internal Siemens records as “P.” and “V.P.,” likely referring to the President and Vice-President of Nigeria.”
It says, “The practice of paying bribes by Siemens COM in Nigeria was long-standing and systematic. According to a high ranking official within Siemens Limited Nigeria, a regional company, corrupt payments in 2000 and 2001 commonly reached 15 to 30% of the contracts’ value. Bribe payments were typically documented using fictitious business consultant agreements under which no actual services were performed. The CEO of Siemens Limited Nigeria forwarded requests for ‘commission’ payments to Siemens headquarters in Germany.
“The illicit payments were then made through a number of means, frequently including large cash withdrawals from cash desks that were then hand-carried in suitcases to Nigeria.”
The complaint accuses Siemens of creating elaborate payment schemes to conceal at least 4,283 payments, totalling approximately $1.4bn.
“Among the transactions on which Siemens paid bribes were those to design and build metro transit lines in Venezuela; metro trains and signalling devices in China; power plants in Israel; high voltage transmission lines in China; mobile telephone networks in Bangladesh; telecommunications projects in Nigeria; national identity cards in Argentina; medical devices in Vietnam, China, and Russia; traffic control systems in Russia; refineries in Mexico; and mobile communications networks in Vietnam,” the document says.
The Siemens bribery scandal caused a stir in Nigeria in October 2007, after a Munich court had found the company guilty of bribing government officials in several countries and fined it 201 million Euros. The court also released some of the names of these officials, including Nigeria’s, while blacking out others.
Subsequently, the Federal Government suspended dealings with the telecommunications firm and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission commenced investigations, but the progress of this probe has not been made public. nothing has been heard of the investigations, while the Federal Government has since gone back into doing business with Siemens without the firm being fined, as was done in the US and Germany.
source:the news papers
These revelations were contained in a US SEC complaint document made public last week when the settlement that the US Justice Department and the SEC reached with Siemens was announced. To reach the settlement, Siemens had to plead guilty to violating accounting provisions of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which outlaws bribery abroad, and agree to pay a fine of more than $2.6 billion. The amount includes $1.6bn in fines and fees to Germany and the United States and more than $1bn for internal investigations and reforms.
However, the SEC complaint, which Saturday Punch obtained from www. sec.gov only describes the recipients of the bribes. It does not mention their names. The document, which was submitted to Judge Richard Leon of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on December 15, has the US SEC as the Plaintiff and Siemens as the Defendant.
Officials of the US Justice Department explained, in a statement, that the names, which were given to the judge in a sealed envelope, could not be made public because of what they described as ‘privacy laws in several countries’ and for the sake of ‘the integrity of continuing investigations’. But Lori Weinstein, the prosecutor, said the documents were deliberately left with clues to provide “sufficient clarity” for the court to figure out who was who. For example, the recipient of the bribes that Siemens officials reportedly gave to highly-placed Argentine officials during an identity-card contract is described as a “president of Argentina who left office in 1999;” an indication that former President Carlos Menem, who ruled Argentina from 1989 to 1999, is the recipient.
In Nigeria, in particular, Siemens, the complaint says, made approximately $12.7m in suspicious payments in connection with four projects, with at least $4.5m paid as bribes in projects involving the Nigeria Telecommunications Limited and the Ministry of Communications. According to the SEC, the total value of the four contracts was about $130m.
The portion of the complaint, which gave the recipients of the bribes, says that approximately $2.8m of the bribe payments was routed through a bank account in Potomac, Maryland, in the name of the wife of a former Nigerian vice-president.
“The Vice President’s wife, a dual U.S. Nigerian citizen living in the United States, served as the representative of a business consultant that entered into fictitious business consultant agreements to perform ‘supply, installation, and commissioning’ services but did no actual work for Siemens. The purpose of these payments was to bribe government officials. Other corrupt payments included the purchase of approximately $172,000 (N17.3m) watches for Nigerian officials designated in internal Siemens records as “P.” and “V.P.,” likely referring to the President and Vice-President of Nigeria.”
It says, “The practice of paying bribes by Siemens COM in Nigeria was long-standing and systematic. According to a high ranking official within Siemens Limited Nigeria, a regional company, corrupt payments in 2000 and 2001 commonly reached 15 to 30% of the contracts’ value. Bribe payments were typically documented using fictitious business consultant agreements under which no actual services were performed. The CEO of Siemens Limited Nigeria forwarded requests for ‘commission’ payments to Siemens headquarters in Germany.
“The illicit payments were then made through a number of means, frequently including large cash withdrawals from cash desks that were then hand-carried in suitcases to Nigeria.”
The complaint accuses Siemens of creating elaborate payment schemes to conceal at least 4,283 payments, totalling approximately $1.4bn.
“Among the transactions on which Siemens paid bribes were those to design and build metro transit lines in Venezuela; metro trains and signalling devices in China; power plants in Israel; high voltage transmission lines in China; mobile telephone networks in Bangladesh; telecommunications projects in Nigeria; national identity cards in Argentina; medical devices in Vietnam, China, and Russia; traffic control systems in Russia; refineries in Mexico; and mobile communications networks in Vietnam,” the document says.
The Siemens bribery scandal caused a stir in Nigeria in October 2007, after a Munich court had found the company guilty of bribing government officials in several countries and fined it 201 million Euros. The court also released some of the names of these officials, including Nigeria’s, while blacking out others.
Subsequently, the Federal Government suspended dealings with the telecommunications firm and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission commenced investigations, but the progress of this probe has not been made public. nothing has been heard of the investigations, while the Federal Government has since gone back into doing business with Siemens without the firm being fined, as was done in the US and Germany.
source:the news papers
Controversy over alleged N14m Persian rug for NASS
There are indications that the National Assembly may have by-passed local industries to order a N14 million Persian rug from Iran.
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File
Speaker, House of Representative, Hon. Dimeji Bankole
A report on http://english.farsnews.net/newstext on Thursday indicates that the “precious rug” is being woven by artists from Rabat, a suburb of Sardasht. The order for the rug, priced at one billion Iran rials (N14m) was reportedly placed by an Iranian merchant.
The website reports that the head of the Sardasht Commerce Department, Ali Zandesh, told the Iran News Agency on Tuesday that the rug was 12.8 metres long and 9.1 metres wide.
Zandesh said the job was scheduled to be completed in 10 months. So far, over 80 per cent of the contract has been done while the rest is expected to be completed within two months.
Zandesh stated that about 48 weavers and craftsmen worked on the rug in two shifts, noting that it was the biggest rug so far woven in Sardasht. Listing other specifications of the rug, Zandesh said it was made of first degree sheep wool, pure silk and natural paints, featuring legendary designs at its margins.
The report described Sardasht as one of the main rug-weaving centres in West Azerbaijan, where more than 2,300 square meters of various precious rugs are made each year. It added that Sardasht, which has an over 110,000 population, is located on the Iran-Iraq border.
However, the leadership of both the upper and lower chambers of the National Assembly has said that it was not involved in the alleged deal. The two chambers said that none of their principal officers were involved, even if the claim was correct.
According to the Senate Spokesperson, Senator Ayogu Eze, who said that he doubted the veracity of such a claim, none of its officers were involved in the matter. Eze, who spoke with our correspondent in a telephone interview, wondered what the rug would be used for, when the offices of the senators and their House of Representatives counterparts were tiled.
Eze said, “That we want to import rug? What for? Is it for the yet to be completed offices or for the already completed ones? You have been to our offices and you are aware that we don’t need carpet for them? That story might not be true, please.”
The Spokesperson for the House of Representatives, Mr. Eseme Eyiboh, on the other hand said that it was not the duty of the leadership of the House to award contracts and therefore he would not be in the position to know if such was awarded.
He said that it was the duty of the civil servants in the House to do and not that of the House leadership.
Eseme said, “You know that I am the spokesperson for the House alone and not the entire National Assembly, and so I would not be able to know what you are talking about. But let me tell you that it is not the duty of the House leadership to be involved in awarding contract; that is the duty of the National Assembly management of which none of us can claim to be part of.”
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File
Speaker, House of Representative, Hon. Dimeji Bankole
A report on http://english.farsnews.net/newstext on Thursday indicates that the “precious rug” is being woven by artists from Rabat, a suburb of Sardasht. The order for the rug, priced at one billion Iran rials (N14m) was reportedly placed by an Iranian merchant.
The website reports that the head of the Sardasht Commerce Department, Ali Zandesh, told the Iran News Agency on Tuesday that the rug was 12.8 metres long and 9.1 metres wide.
Zandesh said the job was scheduled to be completed in 10 months. So far, over 80 per cent of the contract has been done while the rest is expected to be completed within two months.
Zandesh stated that about 48 weavers and craftsmen worked on the rug in two shifts, noting that it was the biggest rug so far woven in Sardasht. Listing other specifications of the rug, Zandesh said it was made of first degree sheep wool, pure silk and natural paints, featuring legendary designs at its margins.
The report described Sardasht as one of the main rug-weaving centres in West Azerbaijan, where more than 2,300 square meters of various precious rugs are made each year. It added that Sardasht, which has an over 110,000 population, is located on the Iran-Iraq border.
However, the leadership of both the upper and lower chambers of the National Assembly has said that it was not involved in the alleged deal. The two chambers said that none of their principal officers were involved, even if the claim was correct.
According to the Senate Spokesperson, Senator Ayogu Eze, who said that he doubted the veracity of such a claim, none of its officers were involved in the matter. Eze, who spoke with our correspondent in a telephone interview, wondered what the rug would be used for, when the offices of the senators and their House of Representatives counterparts were tiled.
Eze said, “That we want to import rug? What for? Is it for the yet to be completed offices or for the already completed ones? You have been to our offices and you are aware that we don’t need carpet for them? That story might not be true, please.”
The Spokesperson for the House of Representatives, Mr. Eseme Eyiboh, on the other hand said that it was not the duty of the leadership of the House to award contracts and therefore he would not be in the position to know if such was awarded.
He said that it was the duty of the civil servants in the House to do and not that of the House leadership.
Eseme said, “You know that I am the spokesperson for the House alone and not the entire National Assembly, and so I would not be able to know what you are talking about. But let me tell you that it is not the duty of the House leadership to be involved in awarding contract; that is the duty of the National Assembly management of which none of us can claim to be part of.”
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Police commission dismisses Ribadu
The Police Service Commission on Tuesday dismissed the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, from the Nigeria Police Force for an alleged serious misconduct.
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Photo file
Mallam Nuhu Ribadu
The Deputy Force Secretary, Mr. Sulaiman Abba, said the action was in line with the recommendation of a Force Disciplinary Committee set up by the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro.
According to him, the Ogbonna Onovo-led committee found that Ribadu‘s actions were inimical to national security.
He said, “The PSC, therefore, met and considered the presentation made to it by the IG on the recommendation of the FDC.
“At the end of the deliberation, the commission dismissed the officer from the Force for acts of gross indiscipline, insubordination and absence from duty which are singularly and collectively acts punishable under rules 030401 of Public Service Rules 2006 which states that ‘Serious misconduct is a specific act of various wrong-doing and improper behaviour which is inimical to the image of the service and which can be investigated and if proven, may lead to dismissal.”
He said that Ribadu was not the only one affected by the demotion approved by the PSC.
According to him, while other affected officers accepted their demotion without challenge, Ribadu “took the path of indiscipline, confrontation and destruction never known before in the Force, forgetting that discipline is the bedrock upon which the Force rest.”
He added, “Unlike the path taken by his other colleagues whose promotions were also withdrawn and have been performing their duties without acrimony, he refused to accept his fate or seek for redress of any perceived injustice in the appropriate manner.
“Ribadu‘s case is not and has not been the only instance where officers have been reduced in rank in the history of NPF and hell was not let loose.
“His conduct is not only inimical to the enforcement of discipline in the Force but it also created disharmony amongst officers and encouraged indiscipline among members of the Force.”
Abba stated that the chains of events which led to Ribadu‘s demotion happened while he was on course at the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies in Kuru, Plateau State.
He said the Force received various petitions on illegal and unauthorised promotions carried-out without the consent of the PSC, following which it (commission) decided to have a look at the promotions resulting in the demotion of 139 Police Officers who were wrongfully promoted.
The underlisted are the misconducts which he said Ribadu committed after his demotion:
- Improper dressing by appearing in plain clothes while on official courtesy visit to President Umaru Yar’Adua on November 13, 2008 with other members of the NIPSS Senior Executive course, contrary to rule 030301(k) of the Public Service Rules 2006;
- Institution of legal proceedings against the IG, the Attorney-General of the Federation and the PSC on October 2, 2008 at the Federal High Court, Lagos.
Abba argued that “such action without proper authority from Federal Government is a conduct prejudicial to discipline, proper administration of the Force and unbecoming of the officer contrary to Sections 352 and 367 of the Police Act and against rules 030402 and 030301 of the Public Service Rules 2006.”
- Institution of legal proceedings against Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the AGF, contrary to Sections 352 and 367 of the Police Act and Rules 030301 and 030402 of the Public Service Rules 2006.
The Force Secretary said the “action was to forestall the directives given to him to meet with the request of the EFCC Chairman with regards to handing over to her the official documents in his possession. This amounts to disobedience of lawful order.
- Ribadu flagrantly refused to obey the order and directives of the IG to report in his office on November 24, 2008 along with his course mates at the completion of their studies.
He added that the former EFCC boss “similarly failed to obey the order and directives to the effects that he should report at my office on November 25, 2008 where he was to be advised to report to the Chairman of the EFCC, Mrs. Farida Waziri, as earlier directed, contrary to rules 030401 and 030301(m) of the Public Service Rules 2006.”
- Ribadu also instituted legal proceedings against the Federal Republic of Nigeria at the Community Court of Justice of ECOWAS in Abuja on December 2, 2008 contrary to Sections 352 and 367 of the Police Act;
- The former EFCC Chairman disregarded his posting order and refused to proceed on transfer when he was posted to Zone 5, Benin, as a Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of administration since Novembe 21, 2008 contrary to Sections 347 and 349/ 348 of the Police Act and Rules 030301/ 030401(e), 030413/ 030402(w) and 030428 of the Public Service Rules 2006;
- He also refused to avail himself of the opportunity given to defend himself of all the above charges before a Disciplinary Committee at its 4th December 2008 sitting in Kaduna. He similarly failed to report before the committee when he was given another chance to appear at its December 12 sitting in Abuja; and
- That to date, Ribadu neither reported back to Police authorities at the completion of his course, nor complied with the directives to report at his new duty post.
Abba said that the whereabouts of the former anti-graft czar had remained unknown. This, according to him, “amounts to desertion of the Force under Section 398 of the Police Act.”
He added that “in circumstances of desertion, the law provides that it is at the discretion of the Commissioner of Police to arrest such a deserter and charge him to court.”
The Force Secretary said that the consequences of Ribadu’s alleged offences was dismissal from service.
“Refusal to accept posting or report for duty is a very serious misconduct and may lead to dismissal in the Armed Forces and Police as such action is inimical to national security,” he said.
source:the punch news papers
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Photo file
Mallam Nuhu Ribadu
The Deputy Force Secretary, Mr. Sulaiman Abba, said the action was in line with the recommendation of a Force Disciplinary Committee set up by the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro.
According to him, the Ogbonna Onovo-led committee found that Ribadu‘s actions were inimical to national security.
He said, “The PSC, therefore, met and considered the presentation made to it by the IG on the recommendation of the FDC.
“At the end of the deliberation, the commission dismissed the officer from the Force for acts of gross indiscipline, insubordination and absence from duty which are singularly and collectively acts punishable under rules 030401 of Public Service Rules 2006 which states that ‘Serious misconduct is a specific act of various wrong-doing and improper behaviour which is inimical to the image of the service and which can be investigated and if proven, may lead to dismissal.”
He said that Ribadu was not the only one affected by the demotion approved by the PSC.
According to him, while other affected officers accepted their demotion without challenge, Ribadu “took the path of indiscipline, confrontation and destruction never known before in the Force, forgetting that discipline is the bedrock upon which the Force rest.”
He added, “Unlike the path taken by his other colleagues whose promotions were also withdrawn and have been performing their duties without acrimony, he refused to accept his fate or seek for redress of any perceived injustice in the appropriate manner.
“Ribadu‘s case is not and has not been the only instance where officers have been reduced in rank in the history of NPF and hell was not let loose.
“His conduct is not only inimical to the enforcement of discipline in the Force but it also created disharmony amongst officers and encouraged indiscipline among members of the Force.”
Abba stated that the chains of events which led to Ribadu‘s demotion happened while he was on course at the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies in Kuru, Plateau State.
He said the Force received various petitions on illegal and unauthorised promotions carried-out without the consent of the PSC, following which it (commission) decided to have a look at the promotions resulting in the demotion of 139 Police Officers who were wrongfully promoted.
The underlisted are the misconducts which he said Ribadu committed after his demotion:
- Improper dressing by appearing in plain clothes while on official courtesy visit to President Umaru Yar’Adua on November 13, 2008 with other members of the NIPSS Senior Executive course, contrary to rule 030301(k) of the Public Service Rules 2006;
- Institution of legal proceedings against the IG, the Attorney-General of the Federation and the PSC on October 2, 2008 at the Federal High Court, Lagos.
Abba argued that “such action without proper authority from Federal Government is a conduct prejudicial to discipline, proper administration of the Force and unbecoming of the officer contrary to Sections 352 and 367 of the Police Act and against rules 030402 and 030301 of the Public Service Rules 2006.”
- Institution of legal proceedings against Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the AGF, contrary to Sections 352 and 367 of the Police Act and Rules 030301 and 030402 of the Public Service Rules 2006.
The Force Secretary said the “action was to forestall the directives given to him to meet with the request of the EFCC Chairman with regards to handing over to her the official documents in his possession. This amounts to disobedience of lawful order.
- Ribadu flagrantly refused to obey the order and directives of the IG to report in his office on November 24, 2008 along with his course mates at the completion of their studies.
He added that the former EFCC boss “similarly failed to obey the order and directives to the effects that he should report at my office on November 25, 2008 where he was to be advised to report to the Chairman of the EFCC, Mrs. Farida Waziri, as earlier directed, contrary to rules 030401 and 030301(m) of the Public Service Rules 2006.”
- Ribadu also instituted legal proceedings against the Federal Republic of Nigeria at the Community Court of Justice of ECOWAS in Abuja on December 2, 2008 contrary to Sections 352 and 367 of the Police Act;
- The former EFCC Chairman disregarded his posting order and refused to proceed on transfer when he was posted to Zone 5, Benin, as a Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of administration since Novembe 21, 2008 contrary to Sections 347 and 349/ 348 of the Police Act and Rules 030301/ 030401(e), 030413/ 030402(w) and 030428 of the Public Service Rules 2006;
- He also refused to avail himself of the opportunity given to defend himself of all the above charges before a Disciplinary Committee at its 4th December 2008 sitting in Kaduna. He similarly failed to report before the committee when he was given another chance to appear at its December 12 sitting in Abuja; and
- That to date, Ribadu neither reported back to Police authorities at the completion of his course, nor complied with the directives to report at his new duty post.
Abba said that the whereabouts of the former anti-graft czar had remained unknown. This, according to him, “amounts to desertion of the Force under Section 398 of the Police Act.”
He added that “in circumstances of desertion, the law provides that it is at the discretion of the Commissioner of Police to arrest such a deserter and charge him to court.”
The Force Secretary said that the consequences of Ribadu’s alleged offences was dismissal from service.
“Refusal to accept posting or report for duty is a very serious misconduct and may lead to dismissal in the Armed Forces and Police as such action is inimical to national security,” he said.
source:the punch news papers
Assault: Military bans officers, men from use of sirens, horsewhips
The Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Paul Dike, on Tuesday read the Riot Act to military personnel, banning them from the use of sirens and horse whips anywhere in the country.
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File
Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Paul Dike
The ban followed the recent assault on one Miss Uzoma Okere 26, by four naval ratings attached to the convoy of Rear Admiral Harry Arogundade in Lagos.
The incident, which attracted great public outcry, resulted in the Presidency and the Defence headquarters calling for a probe by the Chief of Naval Staff.
The Navy, consequently set up of a Board of Inquiry, and the report, which is yet to be made public, has since been submitted to the Chief of Naval Staff.
But, on Tuesday, the CDS, who briefed the press through the Director of Defence Information, Col. Chris Jemitola, said the persistent use of sirens and horsewhips by military personnel to terrorise civilians was unacceptable in the new dispensation.
He said the ban would however, not affect himself, the Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, and Chief of Air Staff, who were directed to use sirens‘only when absolutely necessary’.
“The Chief of Defence Staff has noted the unacceptable use of sirens and horsewhips to terrorise and force other road users off the road with dire consequences it has created in some cases.
“These acts do not portray the military as a noble and respectable profession; rather it creates negative publicity before the public that the military is supposed to serve and protect.
“The horsewhip is not part of the military uniform and will not be tolerated to be seen in the possession of anyone.”
“The usage of sirens by all categories of military personnel is banned except for the CDS and Service Chiefs, who in turn, may use it sparingly and when absolutely necessary.
“The use of horsewhips by any service personnel is banned and must not be seen in possession of anyone.”
The CDS has, therefore, directed the Service Chiefs to ensure strict compliance with the directive.
Jemitola said any officer and soldier not covered by the CDS directive and caught flouting the directive would be dealt with.
The CDS has equally directed the ejection of all miscreants in military barracks and bases across the country, and be handed over to the police without delay.
He said he had noted the rising wave of criminality in the barracks which was being perpetrated by miscreants
and jobless persons staying at the barracks, stating that there must be a stop to these.
source:the punch news papers
Skip to next paragraph
File
Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Paul Dike
The ban followed the recent assault on one Miss Uzoma Okere 26, by four naval ratings attached to the convoy of Rear Admiral Harry Arogundade in Lagos.
The incident, which attracted great public outcry, resulted in the Presidency and the Defence headquarters calling for a probe by the Chief of Naval Staff.
The Navy, consequently set up of a Board of Inquiry, and the report, which is yet to be made public, has since been submitted to the Chief of Naval Staff.
But, on Tuesday, the CDS, who briefed the press through the Director of Defence Information, Col. Chris Jemitola, said the persistent use of sirens and horsewhips by military personnel to terrorise civilians was unacceptable in the new dispensation.
He said the ban would however, not affect himself, the Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, and Chief of Air Staff, who were directed to use sirens‘only when absolutely necessary’.
“The Chief of Defence Staff has noted the unacceptable use of sirens and horsewhips to terrorise and force other road users off the road with dire consequences it has created in some cases.
“These acts do not portray the military as a noble and respectable profession; rather it creates negative publicity before the public that the military is supposed to serve and protect.
“The horsewhip is not part of the military uniform and will not be tolerated to be seen in the possession of anyone.”
“The usage of sirens by all categories of military personnel is banned except for the CDS and Service Chiefs, who in turn, may use it sparingly and when absolutely necessary.
“The use of horsewhips by any service personnel is banned and must not be seen in possession of anyone.”
The CDS has, therefore, directed the Service Chiefs to ensure strict compliance with the directive.
Jemitola said any officer and soldier not covered by the CDS directive and caught flouting the directive would be dealt with.
The CDS has equally directed the ejection of all miscreants in military barracks and bases across the country, and be handed over to the police without delay.
He said he had noted the rising wave of criminality in the barracks which was being perpetrated by miscreants
and jobless persons staying at the barracks, stating that there must be a stop to these.
source:the punch news papers
Investors act against golden couple tarnished by Madoff fund scandal
Investors who have lost their money in what is alleged to be the world’s biggest financial fraud may also be made to repay any profits that they made to US liquidators. Under a new bankruptcy ruling, any investors who withdrew cash from the hedge fund run by Bernard Madoff before the $50 billion (£34 billion) fraud was discovered could be forced to return their original investment and any profits.
The ruling, which was made in October, will come as a devastating development to Walter Noel, 78, the billionaire whose own investment firm — Fairfield Greenwich — lost $7.3 billion in Mr Madoff’s scheme.
As the victims began a batch of lawsuits against him, one financier who had invested his own clients’ money with Mr Madoff committed suicide yesterday. Thierry de la Villehuchet, 65, the co-founder of Access International Advisors, a fund management company, killed himself in his Madison Avenue office after losing as much as $1.4 billion.
As the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission began to construct the world’s biggest fraud case against Mr Madoff, a second class-action lawsuit was filed against Mr Noel and Fairfield Greenwich.
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The plaintiffs accuse Mr Noel of failing to vet Mr Madoff adequately. The Fairfield Greenwich founder had invested $7.3 billion of his own, his family and investors’ money. Mr Noel’s role as a financier who introduced new clients to Mr Madoff — through “feeder funds” such as Fairfield — is also under scrutiny by federal investigators.
While the financial cost to Mr Noel is already public, the personal cost to the Manhattan socialite and his wife, Monica, has yet to emerge.
The couple and their five daughters were well known on the New York and Connecticut party circuits, regularly hosting social events at their Park Avenue apartment in the Upper East Side of New York and at their home in Greenwich, Connecticut. It was through these parties that Mr Noel and four of his sons-in-law, who worked for the family firm, were able to attract new investors drawn from America’s financial elite.
According to David Patrick Columbia, of New York Social Diary, the website chronicling the city’s monied social scene, Mr Noel and his wife had made a concerted effort over the past five years to be part of the wealthy New York set.
He said: “He is a kind of Jimmy Stewart figure with a craggy face and has five beautiful daughters. They were very attractive, very rich and very successful — that gets you into that set.”
Speaking to The Times on Monday evening, Monica Noel seemed unruffled by the scandal. Believing that she had been connected to another party, she chatted about arrangements for a wedding reception in Mexico.
The family divide their time between the flat in New York — 11 blocks from where Mr Madoff is under 24-hour house arrest — the house in Connecticut and a villa in Florida. It is also believed that the Noels have a home on the Caribbean island of Mustique.
Two weeks ago Mr Madoff shocked the world’s financial community when he allegedly confessed to his two sons — Mark and Andrew, who worked for him — that his business was “basically, a giant Ponzi [pyramid] scheme” and that “it’s all just one big lie”. He also told his sons he believed that he had defrauded about $50 billion from his investors.
Mr Madoff is said to have told his sons that he would disburse the remaining $300 million in his business to staff, family and friends and then turn himself in, but they informed the FBI before he had chance to do so.
Mr Madoff is charged with one count of fraud and, having failed to secure a remaining $3 million to meet bail conditions, has been electronically tagged. His wife, Ruth, has been ordered by a New York court to hire and pay for security guards to protect her husband from irate investors and to prevent him from fleeing.
Lawyers are preparing class actions on behalf of investors against Mr Madoff, his business, and the feeder funds that supplied him with fresh capital.
They are expected to use a precedent set by a landmark case seeking the return of cash from the Bayou Hedge Fund Group, which defrauded investors of an estimated $450 million.
A US judge said that investors who withdrew money they had made from Bayou before it collapsed must return the cash so that it could be shared among those who had lost money. The only way this could be avoided was if investors could prove that they withdrew the money “in good faith”.
Carole Neville, a partner at Sonnenschein representing investors in the Bayou case, said of Mr Noel: “He lived high on the hog and was very visible so I’d expect people to go for him. Anything they’ve redeemed from the Madoff fund is vulnerable for clawback.”
Some investors are appealing against the Bayou ruling.
Noel’s road to riches
— Founder of Fairfield Greenwich, a hedge fund based in New York but run out of Connecticut
— Fairfield Greenwich has lost $7.3 billion in the fraud, slightly more than half of its funds
— In 2007 Fairfield Greenwich made $160 million from its relationship with the Madoff fund
— Mr Noel owns at least three homes in the US – a flat on Park Avenue in the Upper East Side area of Manhattan, a home in Greenwich, Connecticut, and a villa in Palm Beach, Florida
— He is believed to have known Bernard Madoff for 19 years and regularly introduced his clients to Mr Madoff’s investment business
— A graduate of Harvard Law School, he is married to a wealthy Brazilian socialite called Monica. They have five daughters
source:thelondontimes
The ruling, which was made in October, will come as a devastating development to Walter Noel, 78, the billionaire whose own investment firm — Fairfield Greenwich — lost $7.3 billion in Mr Madoff’s scheme.
As the victims began a batch of lawsuits against him, one financier who had invested his own clients’ money with Mr Madoff committed suicide yesterday. Thierry de la Villehuchet, 65, the co-founder of Access International Advisors, a fund management company, killed himself in his Madison Avenue office after losing as much as $1.4 billion.
As the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission began to construct the world’s biggest fraud case against Mr Madoff, a second class-action lawsuit was filed against Mr Noel and Fairfield Greenwich.
Related Links
Grown-up experts needed to stop the next Madoff
Bad for investors, good for lawyers
Novel take on Madoff’s story
The plaintiffs accuse Mr Noel of failing to vet Mr Madoff adequately. The Fairfield Greenwich founder had invested $7.3 billion of his own, his family and investors’ money. Mr Noel’s role as a financier who introduced new clients to Mr Madoff — through “feeder funds” such as Fairfield — is also under scrutiny by federal investigators.
While the financial cost to Mr Noel is already public, the personal cost to the Manhattan socialite and his wife, Monica, has yet to emerge.
The couple and their five daughters were well known on the New York and Connecticut party circuits, regularly hosting social events at their Park Avenue apartment in the Upper East Side of New York and at their home in Greenwich, Connecticut. It was through these parties that Mr Noel and four of his sons-in-law, who worked for the family firm, were able to attract new investors drawn from America’s financial elite.
According to David Patrick Columbia, of New York Social Diary, the website chronicling the city’s monied social scene, Mr Noel and his wife had made a concerted effort over the past five years to be part of the wealthy New York set.
He said: “He is a kind of Jimmy Stewart figure with a craggy face and has five beautiful daughters. They were very attractive, very rich and very successful — that gets you into that set.”
Speaking to The Times on Monday evening, Monica Noel seemed unruffled by the scandal. Believing that she had been connected to another party, she chatted about arrangements for a wedding reception in Mexico.
The family divide their time between the flat in New York — 11 blocks from where Mr Madoff is under 24-hour house arrest — the house in Connecticut and a villa in Florida. It is also believed that the Noels have a home on the Caribbean island of Mustique.
Two weeks ago Mr Madoff shocked the world’s financial community when he allegedly confessed to his two sons — Mark and Andrew, who worked for him — that his business was “basically, a giant Ponzi [pyramid] scheme” and that “it’s all just one big lie”. He also told his sons he believed that he had defrauded about $50 billion from his investors.
Mr Madoff is said to have told his sons that he would disburse the remaining $300 million in his business to staff, family and friends and then turn himself in, but they informed the FBI before he had chance to do so.
Mr Madoff is charged with one count of fraud and, having failed to secure a remaining $3 million to meet bail conditions, has been electronically tagged. His wife, Ruth, has been ordered by a New York court to hire and pay for security guards to protect her husband from irate investors and to prevent him from fleeing.
Lawyers are preparing class actions on behalf of investors against Mr Madoff, his business, and the feeder funds that supplied him with fresh capital.
They are expected to use a precedent set by a landmark case seeking the return of cash from the Bayou Hedge Fund Group, which defrauded investors of an estimated $450 million.
A US judge said that investors who withdrew money they had made from Bayou before it collapsed must return the cash so that it could be shared among those who had lost money. The only way this could be avoided was if investors could prove that they withdrew the money “in good faith”.
Carole Neville, a partner at Sonnenschein representing investors in the Bayou case, said of Mr Noel: “He lived high on the hog and was very visible so I’d expect people to go for him. Anything they’ve redeemed from the Madoff fund is vulnerable for clawback.”
Some investors are appealing against the Bayou ruling.
Noel’s road to riches
— Founder of Fairfield Greenwich, a hedge fund based in New York but run out of Connecticut
— Fairfield Greenwich has lost $7.3 billion in the fraud, slightly more than half of its funds
— In 2007 Fairfield Greenwich made $160 million from its relationship with the Madoff fund
— Mr Noel owns at least three homes in the US – a flat on Park Avenue in the Upper East Side area of Manhattan, a home in Greenwich, Connecticut, and a villa in Palm Beach, Florida
— He is believed to have known Bernard Madoff for 19 years and regularly introduced his clients to Mr Madoff’s investment business
— A graduate of Harvard Law School, he is married to a wealthy Brazilian socialite called Monica. They have five daughters
source:thelondontimes
Baghdad agrees to extend non-US troop presence
British commanders in Iraq breathed a sigh of relief last night when the parliament in Baghdad approved a deal that would allow their troops to stay on until next summer.
An overwhelming number of MPs voted in favour of giving legal status to British troops until the end of July, after the resignation of the Speaker broke a political deadlock that had paralysed parliament.
“This project got a majority of votes. We authorise the Government to take all necessary steps regarding foreign forces other than US forces,” Khalid al-Attiya, the deputy parliamentary Speaker, said.
A UN resolution dating from 2003 that authorised the presence of British forces runs out on January 1 and failure to approve a new agreement would have limited troops to their bases and most likely led to immediate withdrawal.
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Under the new deal, all non-American troops will begin to withdraw in May and be gone within three months, while the US has until 2011 to withdraw.
Yesterday’s vote followed days of high drama in the Iraqi parliament. MPs refused to approve the troop deal until the Speaker had resigned. Mahmud Mashhadani had offended them during an earlier session, creating a political crisis that threatened to engulf thousands of foreign troops.
A week ago Mr Mashhadani lost his temper in the chamber, branding some MPs “sons of dogs”. On Monday he lashed out again, telling Kurdish MPs: “It is not you who decide my fate in Baghdad. Go back to Arbil \.”
By yesterday afternoon, the pressure on him had become overwhelming. He agreed to resign, saying: “What happened in the last session was a slip of the tongue, and what I wanted to say was in the interests of the people. But the anger I felt, God did not give me the power to control myself.”
He added: “My excuse to you is I spent 35 hard years of my life moving from one prison to another. If I have hurt you, please excuse me. I apologise for my shortcomings.”
During a visit to Iraq last week, Gordon Brown announced that only 400 troops would remain in the country after July, mainly as trainers. There are currently 4,100 British troops in Iraq, concentrated around Basra airport in the south.
source:the times newspapers
An overwhelming number of MPs voted in favour of giving legal status to British troops until the end of July, after the resignation of the Speaker broke a political deadlock that had paralysed parliament.
“This project got a majority of votes. We authorise the Government to take all necessary steps regarding foreign forces other than US forces,” Khalid al-Attiya, the deputy parliamentary Speaker, said.
A UN resolution dating from 2003 that authorised the presence of British forces runs out on January 1 and failure to approve a new agreement would have limited troops to their bases and most likely led to immediate withdrawal.
Related Links
Iraqi row delays crucial vote on British mandate
Plea to diplomats by family of murdered aid worker
Iraq hostage families speak of their anguish
Under the new deal, all non-American troops will begin to withdraw in May and be gone within three months, while the US has until 2011 to withdraw.
Yesterday’s vote followed days of high drama in the Iraqi parliament. MPs refused to approve the troop deal until the Speaker had resigned. Mahmud Mashhadani had offended them during an earlier session, creating a political crisis that threatened to engulf thousands of foreign troops.
A week ago Mr Mashhadani lost his temper in the chamber, branding some MPs “sons of dogs”. On Monday he lashed out again, telling Kurdish MPs: “It is not you who decide my fate in Baghdad. Go back to Arbil \.”
By yesterday afternoon, the pressure on him had become overwhelming. He agreed to resign, saying: “What happened in the last session was a slip of the tongue, and what I wanted to say was in the interests of the people. But the anger I felt, God did not give me the power to control myself.”
He added: “My excuse to you is I spent 35 hard years of my life moving from one prison to another. If I have hurt you, please excuse me. I apologise for my shortcomings.”
During a visit to Iraq last week, Gordon Brown announced that only 400 troops would remain in the country after July, mainly as trainers. There are currently 4,100 British troops in Iraq, concentrated around Basra airport in the south.
source:the times newspapers
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Ribadu cannot be intimidated –Counsel
The former Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu does not feel intimidated, in spite of the threats he has faced so far.
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Photo file
RIBADU
Ribadu’s lawyer, Mr. Ahmed Uwais said this on Friday when he spoke to SUNDAY PUNCH on his client’s travails.
”He is very happy where he is. He is all right. He is not bothered at all. You only have fears when you know that you are guilty. Nuhu Ribadu has a clear conscience,” Uwais stated.
Ribadu had earlier approached the court for protection against the infringement of his fundamental human rights by the police authorities, but his lawyer said that there was no need any longer to sustain the matter.
“The former EFCC boss wants the suit withdrawn because the matter has been overtaken by events, in view of recent happenings. As everyone has seen, he did not take part in the (NIPSS) graduation ceremony, so every Nigerian can see that they have achieved their aim,” the lawyer stated.
Stressing that there was no substance in speculations that Ribadu did something improper with dud cheques kept at the EFCC headquarters during his tenure, Uwais added that his client was ready to visit EFCC again anytime his attention was required.
”If it is to clarify one or two issues that they do not understand, we are ready to go there again; going back to EFCC cannot be a problem.
“We went there last week and they were not there at the office; the chairman was not in, the head of operations was not there. If they want him to come to the EFCC headquarters within the next one hour, my client will be there,” Uwais added.
Pointing out that he could not say anything on Ribadu‘s problems with the police because the matter was in court, Uwais acknowledged that it would have been proper for the police to show interest in investigating the assassination attempt made against his client while travelling from Jos to Abuja recently.
”The police matter is going on, we have been told to file our written addresses and we have done that; the matter will come up in court next week. I would not want to say much on a matter that is in court. I do not want to prejudice the outcome.
”How can anyone know who was trying to kill him (Nuhu)? The police know their duty, he doesn’t need to ask before they should begin investigation into the shooting. The police ought to do what they should do,” Uwais said.
Meanwhile, the EFCC counsel, Mr. Festus Keyamo, said that Ribadu‘s decision to withdraw the matter from court last Friday was an indication ”that good sense is now prevailing.”
According to Keyamo, in an interview with SUNDAY PUNCH, the EFCC has not done anything wrong towards its former chairman.
He stressed that Ribadu should know that as a public officer, he could be summoned to render an account of his stewardship anytime after leaving office.
He expressed surprise that Ribadu only chose to visit the EFCC headquarters when some key personnel were not in.
”I do not know whether or not the matter of dud cheques have substance or not; that is not part of my brief. But from what I have read, he (Nuhu) went to the EFCC when nobody was aware that he was coming,” Keyamo said.
source: the punch news paper
Skip to next paragraph
Photo file
RIBADU
Ribadu’s lawyer, Mr. Ahmed Uwais said this on Friday when he spoke to SUNDAY PUNCH on his client’s travails.
”He is very happy where he is. He is all right. He is not bothered at all. You only have fears when you know that you are guilty. Nuhu Ribadu has a clear conscience,” Uwais stated.
Ribadu had earlier approached the court for protection against the infringement of his fundamental human rights by the police authorities, but his lawyer said that there was no need any longer to sustain the matter.
“The former EFCC boss wants the suit withdrawn because the matter has been overtaken by events, in view of recent happenings. As everyone has seen, he did not take part in the (NIPSS) graduation ceremony, so every Nigerian can see that they have achieved their aim,” the lawyer stated.
Stressing that there was no substance in speculations that Ribadu did something improper with dud cheques kept at the EFCC headquarters during his tenure, Uwais added that his client was ready to visit EFCC again anytime his attention was required.
”If it is to clarify one or two issues that they do not understand, we are ready to go there again; going back to EFCC cannot be a problem.
“We went there last week and they were not there at the office; the chairman was not in, the head of operations was not there. If they want him to come to the EFCC headquarters within the next one hour, my client will be there,” Uwais added.
Pointing out that he could not say anything on Ribadu‘s problems with the police because the matter was in court, Uwais acknowledged that it would have been proper for the police to show interest in investigating the assassination attempt made against his client while travelling from Jos to Abuja recently.
”The police matter is going on, we have been told to file our written addresses and we have done that; the matter will come up in court next week. I would not want to say much on a matter that is in court. I do not want to prejudice the outcome.
”How can anyone know who was trying to kill him (Nuhu)? The police know their duty, he doesn’t need to ask before they should begin investigation into the shooting. The police ought to do what they should do,” Uwais said.
Meanwhile, the EFCC counsel, Mr. Festus Keyamo, said that Ribadu‘s decision to withdraw the matter from court last Friday was an indication ”that good sense is now prevailing.”
According to Keyamo, in an interview with SUNDAY PUNCH, the EFCC has not done anything wrong towards its former chairman.
He stressed that Ribadu should know that as a public officer, he could be summoned to render an account of his stewardship anytime after leaving office.
He expressed surprise that Ribadu only chose to visit the EFCC headquarters when some key personnel were not in.
”I do not know whether or not the matter of dud cheques have substance or not; that is not part of my brief. But from what I have read, he (Nuhu) went to the EFCC when nobody was aware that he was coming,” Keyamo said.
source: the punch news paper
Police arrest child trafficker with 245 kids
The Police have intercepted a truck in Niger State conveying 245 kids from Sokoto and Zamfara States to the state.
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File
Inspector-General of Police, Mike Okiro
The trailer with a registration number Kano XB241 FGE was intercepted around 3am on Kontagora Road on Friday.
The age range of the kids were between six and 10 years.
The Commissioner of Police, Niger State Command, Mr. Paul Iseghohi, who confirmed the development alleged that one Mallam Awaisu Abubakar, had been arrested in connection with the incident.
Iseghohi said the suspect was undergoing investigations at the police headquarters, alleging that the suspect at the point of his arrest claimed he brought the kids for Islamic education.
The police chief said arrangements had been concluded to transfer the kids to their various homes in their respective states on the order of the state government.
Our correspondent gathered that the kids who were jampacked inside the trailer throughout their journey from Sabo Binin in Zamfara State to Minna, lamented their ordeal.
The kids also said that most of them went without food because they did not have money to feed themselves.
The Islamic scholar, who during interrogation claimed that he had been bringing such children to the town for the past 20 years, maintained that it was not his responsibility to provide accommodation or feeding for the kids.
He, however, appealed to the police to allow him to return the kids to their parents, while promising not to engage in such an act again.
The Director General of Media and Public Affairs to the Niger State Government, Alhaji Bala Abdulkhadir, while speaking with our correspondent on the issue, expressed dismay over the manner in which the kids were transported.
“It is not only improper to convey such a number of children at this moment considering the socio-political atmosphere in the country and in view of the recent unrests in some parts of the country, but it is also immoral for such kids to be subjected to a terrible inhuman condition,” he said.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Value Re-orientation, Alhaji Hamidu Kuta, also described the plight of the kids as saddening.
source:the punch news paper
Skip to next paragraph
File
Inspector-General of Police, Mike Okiro
The trailer with a registration number Kano XB241 FGE was intercepted around 3am on Kontagora Road on Friday.
The age range of the kids were between six and 10 years.
The Commissioner of Police, Niger State Command, Mr. Paul Iseghohi, who confirmed the development alleged that one Mallam Awaisu Abubakar, had been arrested in connection with the incident.
Iseghohi said the suspect was undergoing investigations at the police headquarters, alleging that the suspect at the point of his arrest claimed he brought the kids for Islamic education.
The police chief said arrangements had been concluded to transfer the kids to their various homes in their respective states on the order of the state government.
Our correspondent gathered that the kids who were jampacked inside the trailer throughout their journey from Sabo Binin in Zamfara State to Minna, lamented their ordeal.
The kids also said that most of them went without food because they did not have money to feed themselves.
The Islamic scholar, who during interrogation claimed that he had been bringing such children to the town for the past 20 years, maintained that it was not his responsibility to provide accommodation or feeding for the kids.
He, however, appealed to the police to allow him to return the kids to their parents, while promising not to engage in such an act again.
The Director General of Media and Public Affairs to the Niger State Government, Alhaji Bala Abdulkhadir, while speaking with our correspondent on the issue, expressed dismay over the manner in which the kids were transported.
“It is not only improper to convey such a number of children at this moment considering the socio-political atmosphere in the country and in view of the recent unrests in some parts of the country, but it is also immoral for such kids to be subjected to a terrible inhuman condition,” he said.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Value Re-orientation, Alhaji Hamidu Kuta, also described the plight of the kids as saddening.
source:the punch news paper
The END of FALCONS?
Benjamin Franklin once wrote that nothing is certain except death and taxes, yet until recently Nigeria's dominance of African women's football might have been added to that famously short list. The CAF Women's Championship had certainly been the exclusive preserve of the Super Falcons ever since its 1991 inception, with the extent of the Nigerian stranglehold best illustrated in the aggregate score of 29-2 from their seven final appearances.
With this supremacy at senior level matched by pre-eminence in the continent's youth competitions, everyone expected a retelling of the same old story when the seventh edition of CAF's flagship women's tournament kicked off in Equatorial Guinea. What unfolded merely reaffirmed that, in football, there are no certainties.
It had always been assumed, after all, that if Nigeria were ever to be dethroned, it would be Ghana, or perhaps Cameroon, who would seize their crown. Absolutely no-one expected the final to be contested by Equatorial Guinea and South Africa, nor that the unfancied hosts would emerge with the prize.
Yet that was exactly what transpired as the existing African order was turned on its head in a tournament brimming with upsets. The first came when Ghana failed to survive the group stage, beaten by a South Africa side that had arrived with the intention of "going to war", according to coach Augustine Makalakane.
While Banyana Banyana advanced to the semi-finals alongside a sluggish-looking Nigeria, the hosts were signalling their intent by establishing the only 100 per cent record of the group phase. However, with South Africa having qualified ahead of the Falcons from Group B, Equatorial Guinea's dubious reward for their early heroics was an imposing semi-final date with the seven-time champions.
The holders had toiled, drawing their opening two matches, but they still fully expected to see off a team that included a clutch of naturalised, Nigeria-born players. Equatorial Guinea had other ideas, though, and claimed a well deserved 1-0 victory when Anonma Genoveva's 58th-minute free-kick somehow found a way past goalkeeper Precious Dede.
The shock within Nigerian ranks was palpable. Sani Lulu Abdullahi, chairman of the national association, did not mince his words. "This is an embarrassment to the nation," he said. "It is clear that there must be an overhaul in several aspects of our women's football."
Nigeria went on to claim bronze, albeit requiring penalties to edge out Cameroon, but the critics still rounded on coach Joseph Ladipo, who accepted "full responsibility" for his side's disappointing showing. He was, however, able to appreciate the bigger picture: "This goes to show that the game of female football has gone to a different level in Africa."
The finalists certainly proved this, performing to a standard that raised hopes that a new and more open era has been ushered in. South Africa had taken their place with a superb 3-0 semi-final victory over Cameroon, but despite hoping that it would prove third time lucky after final defeats in 2000 and 2004, it was the home fans who went home happy.
Equatorial Guinea dominated the early stages and took a deserved 22nd-minute lead through Blessing Naduju. Banyana Banyana had no intentions of meekly surrendering to defeat, however, and levelled 13 minutes later when the outstanding Alice Mattlou, a hat-trick heroine in the semi-finals, fired home her sixth goal of the tournament.
That Mattlou was ultimately denied both a gold medal and the competition's MVP award was down to one player: Genevova Anonma. Indeed, Equatorial Guinea's inspirational captain had already emerged as the jewel in the hosts' crown long before she provided a fitting climax to this historic tournament, curling home a superb 66th-minute free-kick to seal victory.
This decisive goal also ensured that Mattlou was forced to share the top scorer award with her nemesis, although the 22-year-old South Africa star was adamant that her team had deserved better. "There is nothing harder than playing the hosts in front of their own supporters," she said. "Yet we played well and in my heart I know we deserved the title."
With places at the FIFA Women's World Cup Germany 2011 up for grabs, the stakes will be considerably higher when South Africa have the chance to exact revenge two years from now. We will see then whether this edition was simply a blip, or if a new African order truly has been established.
source:THIS DAY NEWS PAPER
With this supremacy at senior level matched by pre-eminence in the continent's youth competitions, everyone expected a retelling of the same old story when the seventh edition of CAF's flagship women's tournament kicked off in Equatorial Guinea. What unfolded merely reaffirmed that, in football, there are no certainties.
It had always been assumed, after all, that if Nigeria were ever to be dethroned, it would be Ghana, or perhaps Cameroon, who would seize their crown. Absolutely no-one expected the final to be contested by Equatorial Guinea and South Africa, nor that the unfancied hosts would emerge with the prize.
Yet that was exactly what transpired as the existing African order was turned on its head in a tournament brimming with upsets. The first came when Ghana failed to survive the group stage, beaten by a South Africa side that had arrived with the intention of "going to war", according to coach Augustine Makalakane.
While Banyana Banyana advanced to the semi-finals alongside a sluggish-looking Nigeria, the hosts were signalling their intent by establishing the only 100 per cent record of the group phase. However, with South Africa having qualified ahead of the Falcons from Group B, Equatorial Guinea's dubious reward for their early heroics was an imposing semi-final date with the seven-time champions.
The holders had toiled, drawing their opening two matches, but they still fully expected to see off a team that included a clutch of naturalised, Nigeria-born players. Equatorial Guinea had other ideas, though, and claimed a well deserved 1-0 victory when Anonma Genoveva's 58th-minute free-kick somehow found a way past goalkeeper Precious Dede.
The shock within Nigerian ranks was palpable. Sani Lulu Abdullahi, chairman of the national association, did not mince his words. "This is an embarrassment to the nation," he said. "It is clear that there must be an overhaul in several aspects of our women's football."
Nigeria went on to claim bronze, albeit requiring penalties to edge out Cameroon, but the critics still rounded on coach Joseph Ladipo, who accepted "full responsibility" for his side's disappointing showing. He was, however, able to appreciate the bigger picture: "This goes to show that the game of female football has gone to a different level in Africa."
The finalists certainly proved this, performing to a standard that raised hopes that a new and more open era has been ushered in. South Africa had taken their place with a superb 3-0 semi-final victory over Cameroon, but despite hoping that it would prove third time lucky after final defeats in 2000 and 2004, it was the home fans who went home happy.
Equatorial Guinea dominated the early stages and took a deserved 22nd-minute lead through Blessing Naduju. Banyana Banyana had no intentions of meekly surrendering to defeat, however, and levelled 13 minutes later when the outstanding Alice Mattlou, a hat-trick heroine in the semi-finals, fired home her sixth goal of the tournament.
That Mattlou was ultimately denied both a gold medal and the competition's MVP award was down to one player: Genevova Anonma. Indeed, Equatorial Guinea's inspirational captain had already emerged as the jewel in the hosts' crown long before she provided a fitting climax to this historic tournament, curling home a superb 66th-minute free-kick to seal victory.
This decisive goal also ensured that Mattlou was forced to share the top scorer award with her nemesis, although the 22-year-old South Africa star was adamant that her team had deserved better. "There is nothing harder than playing the hosts in front of their own supporters," she said. "Yet we played well and in my heart I know we deserved the title."
With places at the FIFA Women's World Cup Germany 2011 up for grabs, the stakes will be considerably higher when South Africa have the chance to exact revenge two years from now. We will see then whether this edition was simply a blip, or if a new African order truly has been established.
source:THIS DAY NEWS PAPER
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Gordon Brown ignores CBI's call for help for British car manufacturers
Gordon Brown ignored renewed calls from business leaders to save the car industry yesterday, just as America’s ailing automotive giants were offered a $17.4 billion (£11.6 billion) bailout.
The Prime Minister insisted that the responsibility to help carmakers lay with their owners, but Richard Lambert, the director-general of the CBI, said that the Government needed to provide emergency financial support.
A number of foreign carmakers, including Tata, the Indian owner of Jaguar Land Rover, have approached the Government for cash for their British subsidiaries.
Describing car manufacturers as “vital to our future”, Mr Lambert said: “The whole industry needs access to credit and I think this is something the Government could do and should do with urgency. This is not money that’s being given away, it is money that will be repaid.”
Related Links
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Carmakers should be given state aid says CBI
Rescue package for UK car firms
Mr Brown said that the Government had not agreed any deals. “These are issues that will be debated over the next period of time, but there is no promise that we’ve made of any support,” he said.
Concerns for the 800,000 jobs reliant on carmaking heightened on Thursday as car production slumped by a third, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Just 97,600 cars were made in Britain in November, the lowest number since 1987. Commercial vehicle production dropped by 50 per cent.
Mr Lambert’s concerns are shared by the unions. Derek Simpson, the joint leader of the Unite union, described the Government’s failure to agree a rescue package as “disappointing”.
“The urgency of the situation dictates that the Government must, however, do as it did with the banks and lose no time in intervening with vital assistance,” said Mr Simpson. “It is no good bailing out the banks if the banks won’t then bail out business.”
There was further bad news for the car industry yesterday as the bankrupt car parts manufacturer Wagon laid off almost all of its 300 staff.
The car dealership chain Lookers, which has more than 100 showrooms, warned shareholders that profits for this year would be less than half those for last year, and the upmarket London dealership HR Owen said it could make a loss this year, adding that sales of Alfa Romeos and Lamborghinis had plummeted as City bankers cut back on spending.
President Bush, with just a month left in the White House, announced that the US Government would lend $17.4 billion to General Motors and Chrylser, both of whom had warned that they might otherwise run out of money by the end of the month. The firms are expected to receive the funds by December 29.
Announcing the aid package, Mr Bush insisted that there were strict conditions connected with the loan. He said that the car companies had until the end of March to set out how they would cut costs to survive in the long term. If they failed, the loan would be called in.
Washington was scared that the collapse of General Motors and Chrysler would also cause Ford to fail, triggering the loss of about three million jobs across the US, but car experts gave warning last night that such concerns would prove unfounded.
The Prime Minister insisted that the responsibility to help carmakers lay with their owners, but Richard Lambert, the director-general of the CBI, said that the Government needed to provide emergency financial support.
A number of foreign carmakers, including Tata, the Indian owner of Jaguar Land Rover, have approached the Government for cash for their British subsidiaries.
Describing car manufacturers as “vital to our future”, Mr Lambert said: “The whole industry needs access to credit and I think this is something the Government could do and should do with urgency. This is not money that’s being given away, it is money that will be repaid.”
Related Links
A ‘lifeline' to carmakers is nothing but a bung
Carmakers should be given state aid says CBI
Rescue package for UK car firms
Mr Brown said that the Government had not agreed any deals. “These are issues that will be debated over the next period of time, but there is no promise that we’ve made of any support,” he said.
Concerns for the 800,000 jobs reliant on carmaking heightened on Thursday as car production slumped by a third, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Just 97,600 cars were made in Britain in November, the lowest number since 1987. Commercial vehicle production dropped by 50 per cent.
Mr Lambert’s concerns are shared by the unions. Derek Simpson, the joint leader of the Unite union, described the Government’s failure to agree a rescue package as “disappointing”.
“The urgency of the situation dictates that the Government must, however, do as it did with the banks and lose no time in intervening with vital assistance,” said Mr Simpson. “It is no good bailing out the banks if the banks won’t then bail out business.”
There was further bad news for the car industry yesterday as the bankrupt car parts manufacturer Wagon laid off almost all of its 300 staff.
The car dealership chain Lookers, which has more than 100 showrooms, warned shareholders that profits for this year would be less than half those for last year, and the upmarket London dealership HR Owen said it could make a loss this year, adding that sales of Alfa Romeos and Lamborghinis had plummeted as City bankers cut back on spending.
President Bush, with just a month left in the White House, announced that the US Government would lend $17.4 billion to General Motors and Chrylser, both of whom had warned that they might otherwise run out of money by the end of the month. The firms are expected to receive the funds by December 29.
Announcing the aid package, Mr Bush insisted that there were strict conditions connected with the loan. He said that the car companies had until the end of March to set out how they would cut costs to survive in the long term. If they failed, the loan would be called in.
Washington was scared that the collapse of General Motors and Chrysler would also cause Ford to fail, triggering the loss of about three million jobs across the US, but car experts gave warning last night that such concerns would prove unfounded.
Appeal court stops Ibori’s trial in Kaduna
The Court of Appeal sitting in Kaduna on Friday ruled that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had no powers to prosecute the former governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori, at the Federal High Court, Kaduna.
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former Delta State Governor, C
The Appeal Court also said that the EFCC could not try an accused person outside the jurisdiction where the alleged offences were committed, stressing that such an action was tantamount to persecution rather than the prosecution of an accused person. Delivering a unanimous judgment in an appeal brought by Ibori against his trial at the Federal High Court, Kaduna, located about 700 kilometers away from Delta State where the alleged offences were committed, the appellate court said the EFCC erred by prosecuting the former governor in Kaduna instead of a court of proximate jurisdiction.
Justice Amina Adamu-Augie of the appeal court therefore ruled that Ibori‘s matter should be sent back to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for re-assignment to a court of competent jurisdiction. Ibori’s lead counsel, Mr Joseph Daudu, SAN, had appealed against the trial of his client before Justice Mohammed Lawal Shuaibu of the Federal High Court, Kaduna.
Daudu had argued that the case be transferred to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for re-assignment to a court of competent jurisdiction as the trial of Ibori in Kaduna amounted to “forum shopping.” Ibori’s lawyer had further argued that the trial of the former Delta State governor in Kaduna amounted to persecution. He had argued that it was not convenient for the former governor to transport over 200 witnesses and tonnes of classified documents belonging to Delta State to the Federal High Court, Kaduna.
But counsel to the EFCC, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs had opposed Daudu, arguing that the Federal High Court had jurisdiction to try any case committed against the Federal Government in any part of the country. Arguing further, Jacobs cited the trial of the late Chief Moshood Abiola for treason in Abuja instead of Lagos where he allegedly committed the offence as a precedent.
But having reviewed the submissions of both the prosecution and defence counsel, the justice dismissed the EFCC’s position. She said that Abiola was tried for treason, which was a crime against the nation, while Ibori’s case was a criminal matter, which should be tried at the nearest Federal High Court.
She wondered why the EFCC should investigate, prosecute and at the same time search for a judge of its choice. The appeal court said there would not have been any need to set up judicial divisions if accused persons could be taken to any judge of the Federal High Court for trial. She wondered why the EFCC by-passed the Benin and Abuja judicial divisions of the court and took the matter to Kaduna.
On allegations of the likelihood of bias, which the lower court dismissed as a non-issue, the appeal court said the judge of the lower court missed the point. She said that favouritism did not imply only bribery or that someone had compromised himself. She further faulted the lower court for giving Ibori only two weeks to prepare his case and appear in court after he had spent about two months in detention, without taking into consideration the distance between Delta and Kaduna states.
In his verdict, Justice Moshood Abdulrahman Oredola supported Adamu-Augie, saying that there was no reason why an accused person should be tried hundreds of kilometres outside the court’s jurisdiction. He said, “The fact that there is only one Federal High Court does not mean that you can uproot an accused person from any where and plant him wherever you want. You cannot take an accused person from Lagos to Gashua (Yobe State) for trial. It is not fair for EFCC to pick, choose and determine which court should try its matter. An accused person should be tried in a place close to his house. Prosecution can not be turned to persecution or denial of fundamental rights. The ruling of the lower court of March 3, 2008 is hereby set aside.”
Although Justice Abdulkadir Jega was absent from the court during the judgment, Adamu-Augie said he was in support.
source:the punch news paper
Skip to next paragraph
File
former Delta State Governor, C
The Appeal Court also said that the EFCC could not try an accused person outside the jurisdiction where the alleged offences were committed, stressing that such an action was tantamount to persecution rather than the prosecution of an accused person. Delivering a unanimous judgment in an appeal brought by Ibori against his trial at the Federal High Court, Kaduna, located about 700 kilometers away from Delta State where the alleged offences were committed, the appellate court said the EFCC erred by prosecuting the former governor in Kaduna instead of a court of proximate jurisdiction.
Justice Amina Adamu-Augie of the appeal court therefore ruled that Ibori‘s matter should be sent back to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for re-assignment to a court of competent jurisdiction. Ibori’s lead counsel, Mr Joseph Daudu, SAN, had appealed against the trial of his client before Justice Mohammed Lawal Shuaibu of the Federal High Court, Kaduna.
Daudu had argued that the case be transferred to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for re-assignment to a court of competent jurisdiction as the trial of Ibori in Kaduna amounted to “forum shopping.” Ibori’s lawyer had further argued that the trial of the former Delta State governor in Kaduna amounted to persecution. He had argued that it was not convenient for the former governor to transport over 200 witnesses and tonnes of classified documents belonging to Delta State to the Federal High Court, Kaduna.
But counsel to the EFCC, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs had opposed Daudu, arguing that the Federal High Court had jurisdiction to try any case committed against the Federal Government in any part of the country. Arguing further, Jacobs cited the trial of the late Chief Moshood Abiola for treason in Abuja instead of Lagos where he allegedly committed the offence as a precedent.
But having reviewed the submissions of both the prosecution and defence counsel, the justice dismissed the EFCC’s position. She said that Abiola was tried for treason, which was a crime against the nation, while Ibori’s case was a criminal matter, which should be tried at the nearest Federal High Court.
She wondered why the EFCC should investigate, prosecute and at the same time search for a judge of its choice. The appeal court said there would not have been any need to set up judicial divisions if accused persons could be taken to any judge of the Federal High Court for trial. She wondered why the EFCC by-passed the Benin and Abuja judicial divisions of the court and took the matter to Kaduna.
On allegations of the likelihood of bias, which the lower court dismissed as a non-issue, the appeal court said the judge of the lower court missed the point. She said that favouritism did not imply only bribery or that someone had compromised himself. She further faulted the lower court for giving Ibori only two weeks to prepare his case and appear in court after he had spent about two months in detention, without taking into consideration the distance between Delta and Kaduna states.
In his verdict, Justice Moshood Abdulrahman Oredola supported Adamu-Augie, saying that there was no reason why an accused person should be tried hundreds of kilometres outside the court’s jurisdiction. He said, “The fact that there is only one Federal High Court does not mean that you can uproot an accused person from any where and plant him wherever you want. You cannot take an accused person from Lagos to Gashua (Yobe State) for trial. It is not fair for EFCC to pick, choose and determine which court should try its matter. An accused person should be tried in a place close to his house. Prosecution can not be turned to persecution or denial of fundamental rights. The ruling of the lower court of March 3, 2008 is hereby set aside.”
Although Justice Abdulkadir Jega was absent from the court during the judgment, Adamu-Augie said he was in support.
source:the punch news paper
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Madoff warnings 'ignored for 10 years'
The world's biggest fraud could have been averted if the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had acted on numerous warnings about Bernard Madoff's financial impropriety years ago, the regulator's chairman admitted last night.
Christopher Cox, the chairman of the SEC, effectively admitted mea culpa over the scandal after conceding that tip-offs were repeatedly made to the investors' watchdog but never resulted in any investigation.
Mr Cox said that in less than a week of checks made into the regulator's oversight of investment businesses run by Bernard Madoff, he had found that "credible and specific allegations" had been "repeatedly" brought to the attention of the SEC but that no recommendations had ever been made to investigate the accusations.
The admission comes a week after Bernard Madoff, a 70 year old financier, admitted to his two sons that he was "finished" and that his investment firm was nothing more than a giant Ponzi scheme.
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He also admitted to his sons, who worked for him, that he believed that losses arising from his financial wrong-doing amounted to around $50 billion, representing the biggest fraud in history.
His investment firm, which has since been forced into liquidation, has triggered billions of dollars worth of losses among the world's biggest financial institutions, charities, state pension schemes, and personal savings.
While it emerged last night that some of the allegations about Mr Madoff's wrongdoing had been made as far back as 1999, well before Mr Cox was appointed as head of the SEC in June 2005, the 70 year old investor had only registered as a financial adviser in 2006.
The SEC has separately admitted that no inquiry into Mr Madoff's advisory business was conducted even after he registered the operations just two years ago.
Pressure has been growing on the SEC over the last week to explain how the Wall Street regulator could have missed a collossal scam.
Christopher Dodd, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, yesterday demanded information from the SEC to ascertain how such a fraud could have taken place, a scandal which was only discovered because Mr Madoff's sons contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
As a result of the "apparent multiple failures," Mr Cox has asked the agency's inspector general to investigate contacts between SEC staff and Mr Madoff and his family.
The inquiry is expected to include the relationship between Mr Madoff's niece Shana Madoff and a senior inspections and examinations official, Eric Swanson, whom she married in 2007
source: the london times
Christopher Cox, the chairman of the SEC, effectively admitted mea culpa over the scandal after conceding that tip-offs were repeatedly made to the investors' watchdog but never resulted in any investigation.
Mr Cox said that in less than a week of checks made into the regulator's oversight of investment businesses run by Bernard Madoff, he had found that "credible and specific allegations" had been "repeatedly" brought to the attention of the SEC but that no recommendations had ever been made to investigate the accusations.
The admission comes a week after Bernard Madoff, a 70 year old financier, admitted to his two sons that he was "finished" and that his investment firm was nothing more than a giant Ponzi scheme.
Related Links
Madoff put under house arrest - in $7m apartment
Madoff 'fraud' reaches Shell pension fund
Banks lose billions in biggest ever fraud
He also admitted to his sons, who worked for him, that he believed that losses arising from his financial wrong-doing amounted to around $50 billion, representing the biggest fraud in history.
His investment firm, which has since been forced into liquidation, has triggered billions of dollars worth of losses among the world's biggest financial institutions, charities, state pension schemes, and personal savings.
While it emerged last night that some of the allegations about Mr Madoff's wrongdoing had been made as far back as 1999, well before Mr Cox was appointed as head of the SEC in June 2005, the 70 year old investor had only registered as a financial adviser in 2006.
The SEC has separately admitted that no inquiry into Mr Madoff's advisory business was conducted even after he registered the operations just two years ago.
Pressure has been growing on the SEC over the last week to explain how the Wall Street regulator could have missed a collossal scam.
Christopher Dodd, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, yesterday demanded information from the SEC to ascertain how such a fraud could have taken place, a scandal which was only discovered because Mr Madoff's sons contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
As a result of the "apparent multiple failures," Mr Cox has asked the agency's inspector general to investigate contacts between SEC staff and Mr Madoff and his family.
The inquiry is expected to include the relationship between Mr Madoff's niece Shana Madoff and a senior inspections and examinations official, Eric Swanson, whom she married in 2007
source: the london times
Pound dives on prospect of steep UK rate cut
Sterling tumbled to a new low against the euro today after it emerged that the Bank of England discussed making a steeper interest rate cut while analysts suggested the UK will follow the US Federal Reserve by making a sharp reduction to borrowing costs.
Minutes from December's meeting between the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) revealed that members considered a larger rate cut than the eventual 1 per cent but held off for fear of causing an excessive fall in the exchange rate.
However, the pound edged further towards parity with the single currency at €1.08 today as details of the minutes emerged, giving weight to expectations that the Bank may follow the US Fed's surprise steep cut last night, to a record low of between 0 per cent and 0.25 per cent.
Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said: "The minutes of the December meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) suggest that another hefty interest rate cut in January is very much on the cards."
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Bank of England considered bigger rate cut
In December, the MPC voted unanimously for a one point cut to 2 per cent.
Mr Archer said that, as the downturn deepens with the UK economy set to officially fall into recession and a retreat in inflationary pressures, the Bank could cut the interest rate by 0.75 per cent to 1.25 per cent in January.
But he added: "We believe that the Bank of England may moderate the pace at which it is cutting interest rates as they near zero and the previous large cuts take time to feed through.
"Even so, another 100 basis point reduction is certainly possible in January if the data show further serious deterioration.
"Further out, we expect interest rates to fall to a low of 0.50 per cent in the second quarter of 2009 and then stay there for the rest of the year. However, it is far from inconceivable that interest rates could come all the way down to zero."
source: the london times
Minutes from December's meeting between the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) revealed that members considered a larger rate cut than the eventual 1 per cent but held off for fear of causing an excessive fall in the exchange rate.
However, the pound edged further towards parity with the single currency at €1.08 today as details of the minutes emerged, giving weight to expectations that the Bank may follow the US Fed's surprise steep cut last night, to a record low of between 0 per cent and 0.25 per cent.
Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said: "The minutes of the December meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) suggest that another hefty interest rate cut in January is very much on the cards."
Related Links
UK jobless claimants break one million barrier
Richard Branson says economy is "f****d"
Bank of England considered bigger rate cut
In December, the MPC voted unanimously for a one point cut to 2 per cent.
Mr Archer said that, as the downturn deepens with the UK economy set to officially fall into recession and a retreat in inflationary pressures, the Bank could cut the interest rate by 0.75 per cent to 1.25 per cent in January.
But he added: "We believe that the Bank of England may moderate the pace at which it is cutting interest rates as they near zero and the previous large cuts take time to feed through.
"Even so, another 100 basis point reduction is certainly possible in January if the data show further serious deterioration.
"Further out, we expect interest rates to fall to a low of 0.50 per cent in the second quarter of 2009 and then stay there for the rest of the year. However, it is far from inconceivable that interest rates could come all the way down to zero."
source: the london times
Hitler and the You Tube Downfall mash-ups
The Führer, in the bunker with all his top brass, awaits news from the outside world. When it arrives, it is good. They’ve managed to get him online, with a good connection and a Yahoo! account. He now plans to visit YouTube. “I hear they got some funny shit on there,” he says. But two generals are quaking. “A YouTube search with your name,” explains the braver one, “brings up hundreds of videos about you. Anything from Xbox Live to waffles getting stolen.” Quivering with Parkinson’s, the leader of the Third Reich slowly removes his glasses and, keeping a rein on his emotions, mutters an order. “Anybody who has made a video about me, please. . . leave. . . this .. . room.” The place all but empties. Then he goes ballistic.
In 2004, I flew to Berlin to interview Hitler. All right, not Hitler, but the closest anyone has come to impersonating him. The Swiss actor Bruno Ganz landed the lead role in the first German-language drama to place Hitler at the heart of the narrative. It was the ne plus ultra of commanding performances, which drew deep on Ganz’s phenomenal resources. I saw Downfall three times without tiring of its sheer relentless force. It has its detractors, of course. An Oxford historian of the second world war recently told me that the film promulgates a dangerous myth: that the German people were Hitler’s final victims. To less rarefied viewers, it’s simply a masterpiece. Yet however many times you could be mesmerised by the three hours’ traffic of its story, you couldn’t possibly have predicted, four years ago, that its most iconic scene would be turned into a four-minute sketch, destined to be recycled in an apparently limitless set of variations.
Ganz’s Führer is an unwitting star of the internet. Want to see Hitler expatiating on the disastrous impact of Sarah Palin or the meltdown of the property market? Want to see him ordering a pizza or struggling with Windows Vista or responding to the news that Newcastle United is for sale? It’s all there on YouTube. The scene in Downfall in which Hitler goes doolally after learning of the encirclement of Berlin has spawned more than 150 parodies, and counting. At the time of writing, the most recent - a fairly lame skit in which Hitler goes ballistic on hearing that a junior Nazi has stolen his trademark combover as a seduction aid - had been added four hours previously.
Times Archive, 1945: Hitler, The Times obituary
Few men in the whole of history and none in modern times have been the cause of suffering on so large a scale as Hitler
Adolf Hitler is dead
Jawbones identified as Hitler's
Related Links
That Adolf Hitler, he's having a laugh
Bruno Ganz - my part in the downfall
In terms of subject matter, it’s open season. There are versions in which the Führer reacts badly to matters sporting, sexual and technological. The parodies can be hugely popular - “Hitler gets banned from World of Warcraft” has so far had 950,000 hits - or intended, like “Hitler hears news of Pete’s wedding” (80 hits), solely as a private joke. For those who have read the restaurant critic Giles Coren’s leaked letter of foul-mouthed complaint to the Times subeditors over some micro-edits to his copy, there is a particularly funny one in which Hitler berates his underlings for provoking such a thin-skinned writer. “You’ve removed the letter A?!?”
Many of the films poke fun at Hitler’s sexual misfortunes. He variously discovers that he can’t find the G-spot, is gay, has Aids, is banned from using pornography. “Your mum put a website tracker on your computer,” he is advised, “and cancelled all your subscriptions.” Nor is he best pleased to learn that the entire top brass of the Reich, apart from a few who remain in the room, have had their way with his wife.
The dramatic weighting of the scene itself makes it endlessly versatile. Hitler is given bad news, dismisses it with a counter-suggestion, is told why that won’t be happening, then pauses before dismissing most of the room in order to blow his top, while outside in the corridor everyone eavesdrops in terrified silence, apart from a weeping secretary who is comforted by a comment from her colleague. “It works well,” explains Paul Blackburn, who posts under the nom de guerre of animukfilms, “because it fits within the parameters of sketch comedy. We have conflict, a high level of tension and an emotional, over-the-top character, who is also safe to ridicule, due to him being such a despicable person. The structure is already in place, it’s just a case of making the dialogue fit and timing it right.” Since July, Blackburn has posted seven Downfall mash-ups, in which Hitler reacts, inter alia, to bad news concerning Gordon Brown, Adam Sandler comedies and the Australian Olympic team.
“It could be applied to any circumstance where people get brought down by hubris. It’s the same theme for every other parody video, and as long as great people fall victim to hubris, there will be parodies.” This from 7boon, who is, in reality, a 19-year-old Canadian whose mash-up finds Hitler as John McCain, responding to the breaking news of his defeat (“I want to speak to only those who thought I had a chance,” says Hitler/McCain, and the room empties). His film illustrates the way in which the democracy of the internet allows parodists to respond to unfolding events with the nimbleness of bloggers.
The Downfall mash-up in which news reaches Hitler that Cristiano Ronaldo wants to move to Real Madrid has had more than 1m hits. “We did it thinking it would be viewed more than a dozen or so times,” says darylsblog, which is the composite name for a group of eight football fans who count among their number two video FX artists and three comedy writers. “In fact, the success of the first one still leaves us shaking our heads in shock. The humour is base, coarse and offensive. Apparently, that is what appeals.”
There is something in that. Films in which the Führer explodes with frustration at events in the sporting world over which he has no control are funny because they locate the ranting, screaming, infantile little Hitler in all of us. They are the comedy of identification. This applies even more to the hilarious series of mash-ups in which Hitler, like the rest of us, has problems with his software. He can’t get Windows Vista to work, his Wii is malfunctioning and then he tries his hand with a Mac. The joke here is that our inner Luddite is on Hitler’s side. And there are other computer-linked meltdowns: Hitler gets banned from Xbox Live and MySpace for using foul language, and from Wikipedia for falsifying information about Berlin. He also gets scammed on eBay.
The satire can be redirected more intelligently back towards Nazi history, and a joke goes to another level. “He’s a f***ing snakeoil salesman!” Hitler screams when Obama comes to Berlin. It takes one to know one. And, being stung by the overconfidence of the property market, the Führer’s defence is the same as every other Nazi killer’s: “I was only obeying orders.”
The oldest clip I retrieved in a search of “Hitler+Downfall” dates to the start of last year. The only previous film to provoke such an avalanche of parodists is Brokeback Mountain, but there the subject matter remained strictly local to American culture. With Downfall, the phenomenon of the mash-up, as this subgenre is known, has gone global. Apart, of course, from in Germany. Part of the reason for its viral success is the language, which allows parodists to lob in their own subtitling with impunity.
Thus, Hitler can plausibly respond to new Labour’s meltdown in recent by-elections, or go ballistic when he hears about the delay of the latest Harry Potter release, without anyone being any the wiser. “If you can understand German and are unable to mute the sound,” advises a pop-up panel on one mash-up, “please GTFO off this video with your NOT FUNNY I CAN UNDERSTAND GERMAN comments.” “As a large number of English-speaking viewers cannot speak German, they are totally detached from the scene,” darylsblog says. “We got a few messages from people who could speak German, and they said they had to turn the volume down to concentrate on the text.”
Eventually, the Downfall mash-up was always going to turn self-referential. “It would seem some people who are German have been missing the point entirely,” Hitler is advised when he learns that they’re putting alternative subtitles on his dialogue. In a further development, the subtitler has “got a really shit font CD off eBay”. One or two parodists have tried to call time on the whole phenomenon. Darylsblog has even attempted a “final parody”, in which “we poke fun at ourselves as parody-makers and add a message to tell people to go buy the film and watch it”.
This one is mostly unquotable, but, in a brief respite from turning the air blue, Hitler is full of regrets: “I was supposed to be the timeless evil dictator portrayed brilliantly by Ganz in the classic Downfall movie. Now look at me.” Trouble is, only 843 have looked at him in this one. The message has not got through.
source: the london times
In 2004, I flew to Berlin to interview Hitler. All right, not Hitler, but the closest anyone has come to impersonating him. The Swiss actor Bruno Ganz landed the lead role in the first German-language drama to place Hitler at the heart of the narrative. It was the ne plus ultra of commanding performances, which drew deep on Ganz’s phenomenal resources. I saw Downfall three times without tiring of its sheer relentless force. It has its detractors, of course. An Oxford historian of the second world war recently told me that the film promulgates a dangerous myth: that the German people were Hitler’s final victims. To less rarefied viewers, it’s simply a masterpiece. Yet however many times you could be mesmerised by the three hours’ traffic of its story, you couldn’t possibly have predicted, four years ago, that its most iconic scene would be turned into a four-minute sketch, destined to be recycled in an apparently limitless set of variations.
Ganz’s Führer is an unwitting star of the internet. Want to see Hitler expatiating on the disastrous impact of Sarah Palin or the meltdown of the property market? Want to see him ordering a pizza or struggling with Windows Vista or responding to the news that Newcastle United is for sale? It’s all there on YouTube. The scene in Downfall in which Hitler goes doolally after learning of the encirclement of Berlin has spawned more than 150 parodies, and counting. At the time of writing, the most recent - a fairly lame skit in which Hitler goes ballistic on hearing that a junior Nazi has stolen his trademark combover as a seduction aid - had been added four hours previously.
Times Archive, 1945: Hitler, The Times obituary
Few men in the whole of history and none in modern times have been the cause of suffering on so large a scale as Hitler
Adolf Hitler is dead
Jawbones identified as Hitler's
Related Links
That Adolf Hitler, he's having a laugh
Bruno Ganz - my part in the downfall
In terms of subject matter, it’s open season. There are versions in which the Führer reacts badly to matters sporting, sexual and technological. The parodies can be hugely popular - “Hitler gets banned from World of Warcraft” has so far had 950,000 hits - or intended, like “Hitler hears news of Pete’s wedding” (80 hits), solely as a private joke. For those who have read the restaurant critic Giles Coren’s leaked letter of foul-mouthed complaint to the Times subeditors over some micro-edits to his copy, there is a particularly funny one in which Hitler berates his underlings for provoking such a thin-skinned writer. “You’ve removed the letter A?!?”
Many of the films poke fun at Hitler’s sexual misfortunes. He variously discovers that he can’t find the G-spot, is gay, has Aids, is banned from using pornography. “Your mum put a website tracker on your computer,” he is advised, “and cancelled all your subscriptions.” Nor is he best pleased to learn that the entire top brass of the Reich, apart from a few who remain in the room, have had their way with his wife.
The dramatic weighting of the scene itself makes it endlessly versatile. Hitler is given bad news, dismisses it with a counter-suggestion, is told why that won’t be happening, then pauses before dismissing most of the room in order to blow his top, while outside in the corridor everyone eavesdrops in terrified silence, apart from a weeping secretary who is comforted by a comment from her colleague. “It works well,” explains Paul Blackburn, who posts under the nom de guerre of animukfilms, “because it fits within the parameters of sketch comedy. We have conflict, a high level of tension and an emotional, over-the-top character, who is also safe to ridicule, due to him being such a despicable person. The structure is already in place, it’s just a case of making the dialogue fit and timing it right.” Since July, Blackburn has posted seven Downfall mash-ups, in which Hitler reacts, inter alia, to bad news concerning Gordon Brown, Adam Sandler comedies and the Australian Olympic team.
“It could be applied to any circumstance where people get brought down by hubris. It’s the same theme for every other parody video, and as long as great people fall victim to hubris, there will be parodies.” This from 7boon, who is, in reality, a 19-year-old Canadian whose mash-up finds Hitler as John McCain, responding to the breaking news of his defeat (“I want to speak to only those who thought I had a chance,” says Hitler/McCain, and the room empties). His film illustrates the way in which the democracy of the internet allows parodists to respond to unfolding events with the nimbleness of bloggers.
The Downfall mash-up in which news reaches Hitler that Cristiano Ronaldo wants to move to Real Madrid has had more than 1m hits. “We did it thinking it would be viewed more than a dozen or so times,” says darylsblog, which is the composite name for a group of eight football fans who count among their number two video FX artists and three comedy writers. “In fact, the success of the first one still leaves us shaking our heads in shock. The humour is base, coarse and offensive. Apparently, that is what appeals.”
There is something in that. Films in which the Führer explodes with frustration at events in the sporting world over which he has no control are funny because they locate the ranting, screaming, infantile little Hitler in all of us. They are the comedy of identification. This applies even more to the hilarious series of mash-ups in which Hitler, like the rest of us, has problems with his software. He can’t get Windows Vista to work, his Wii is malfunctioning and then he tries his hand with a Mac. The joke here is that our inner Luddite is on Hitler’s side. And there are other computer-linked meltdowns: Hitler gets banned from Xbox Live and MySpace for using foul language, and from Wikipedia for falsifying information about Berlin. He also gets scammed on eBay.
The satire can be redirected more intelligently back towards Nazi history, and a joke goes to another level. “He’s a f***ing snakeoil salesman!” Hitler screams when Obama comes to Berlin. It takes one to know one. And, being stung by the overconfidence of the property market, the Führer’s defence is the same as every other Nazi killer’s: “I was only obeying orders.”
The oldest clip I retrieved in a search of “Hitler+Downfall” dates to the start of last year. The only previous film to provoke such an avalanche of parodists is Brokeback Mountain, but there the subject matter remained strictly local to American culture. With Downfall, the phenomenon of the mash-up, as this subgenre is known, has gone global. Apart, of course, from in Germany. Part of the reason for its viral success is the language, which allows parodists to lob in their own subtitling with impunity.
Thus, Hitler can plausibly respond to new Labour’s meltdown in recent by-elections, or go ballistic when he hears about the delay of the latest Harry Potter release, without anyone being any the wiser. “If you can understand German and are unable to mute the sound,” advises a pop-up panel on one mash-up, “please GTFO off this video with your NOT FUNNY I CAN UNDERSTAND GERMAN comments.” “As a large number of English-speaking viewers cannot speak German, they are totally detached from the scene,” darylsblog says. “We got a few messages from people who could speak German, and they said they had to turn the volume down to concentrate on the text.”
Eventually, the Downfall mash-up was always going to turn self-referential. “It would seem some people who are German have been missing the point entirely,” Hitler is advised when he learns that they’re putting alternative subtitles on his dialogue. In a further development, the subtitler has “got a really shit font CD off eBay”. One or two parodists have tried to call time on the whole phenomenon. Darylsblog has even attempted a “final parody”, in which “we poke fun at ourselves as parody-makers and add a message to tell people to go buy the film and watch it”.
This one is mostly unquotable, but, in a brief respite from turning the air blue, Hitler is full of regrets: “I was supposed to be the timeless evil dictator portrayed brilliantly by Ganz in the classic Downfall movie. Now look at me.” Trouble is, only 843 have looked at him in this one. The message has not got through.
source: the london times
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