This sounds/looks like a campaign from one of the PDP opposing parties, doesn't it?

A European president steals a pen, stylishly!

   

[flash=900,600]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFoYkWulKOI[/flash]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFoYkWulKOI

12:15 PM ET
Lunch Break: Czech president steals pen?

Has the Czech President ever got this much international attention before?

Václav Klaus, the president of the Czech Republic, was caught apparently pilfering a pen during a large news conference in Chile with President Sebastian Pinera. The two leaders were celebrating the signing of a new transportation agreement.

He picks up the pen encrusted with semi-precious Chilean lapiz lazuili stones and slips it into his pocket. To cover his tracks, he shuts the antique box before smiling for the camera. He certainly looks guilty.

But Chilean spokesperson said the President's guests were free to take the pens. And Mr. Klaus said he frequently helps himself to such things. "It is what people do regularly," he said. "They keep notepads and pens from such events."


According to the Prague Post, "It’s not the first time the Czech president has held such an expensive pen, either. At his swearing-in for his second presidential term in 2008, Klaus was presented with a 18-carat gold pen worth 1 million Kč (around $60,000), Radio Prague reported."

Now the Associated Press reports, "More than 5,000 Czechs have signed up to a Facebook campaign to mail pens to the president."

The clip of the president and the pen has been viewed more than 3 million times on Youtube.

http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/14/lunch-break-czech-president-steals-pen/

Okay, so you thought it was only in Nigeria that the lawmakers are afraid of certain individuals or are afraid to pass/amend certain laws?
------------------------------------------


Royal weddings: time to update the laws of saying 'I do'?

The outdated laws on royal marriages need changing, says a researcher – and William and Kate's wedding is the perfect time

Prince William's forthcoming marriage to Kate Middleton is unlikely to be beset by any legal confusion. But future Windsor weddings could easily be mired in controversy unless there are changes to the law, according to Professor Rebecca Probert from Warwick University, an expert on marriage law.

Probert argues that laws need to be unravelled which, for example, give the royals exemptions that don't apply to the rest of us, while others saddle the royal family with archaic restrictions that contravene their human rights.

The forthcoming royal wedding seemed a good impetus to convert 10 years of research into a book, The Rights and Wrongs of Royal Marriage: How the Law Has Led to Heartbreak, Farce and Confusion, and Why It Must Be Changed.

Probert points out that, as the law stands, any future heir could succeed to the throne if he or she married a Muslim or a Hindu, but not a Catholic. And in fact, marrying a scientologist or a Satanist would still put him or her in the clear. "There's nothing stopping them under current legislation," she says. "The Act of Settlement says only that you drop out of the succession if you marry a Catholic. Any other religion, it's fine. Of course, it's absurd by 21st century standards. But it's a consequence of 18th century law designed to secure a Protestant succession. It's ridiculous that it has never been repealed. "

It's even more ridiculous, perhaps, when heirs are allowed to cohabit with Catholics or enter into same-sex relationships with them without forfeiting their place in the succession. Also there is nothing to stop the wife or husband of a royal from converting to Catholicism after the wedding.

The issue of royal consent is just as baffling. Anyone who can trace his or her ancestry back to George II may require the Queen's consent before marrying. Otherwise the marriage could be declared technically void under UK law.

Extensive research in the National Archives has led Probert to conclude that while successive governments have been aware of the "absurdities" of royal marriage law, they have done nothing about it. "They don't want to be seen to be legislating during a crisis, such as Princess Margaret's plan to marry [the divorcee] Group Captain Peter Townsend in 1955. And when there isn't a crisis, there are always more pressing problems."

The issue came to a head, she feels, 50 years on from Princess Margaret being pressed into breaking off her engagement. The build-up to Prince Charles's marriage to Camilla Parker-Bowles in 2005 brought about judicial contortions from the Lord Chancellor of the day. Lord Falconer struggled to balance laws that were forged in the 18th century to bolster the hereditary monarchy with a Human Rights Act passed in 1998 making equality before the law a fundamental principle.

Result: farce. "The initial announcement that the civil marriage was to take place at Windsor Castle had to be hastily revised," Probert recalls. "It was shifted to Windsor Guildhall, which was registered for civil marriages." And why did it have to be a civil ceremony for the man who was first in line to the throne and head of the Church or England? Because he was a divorcee, and so was his bride. Attitudes had changed in 50 years, and the Queen felt able to give the consent to her son's marriage that she had been advised not to give to her sister's.

Crucial to the Queen's decision was Lord Falconer's judgment that the Human Rights Act meant that nobody, including the Prince of Wales, could be discriminated against on grounds of birth. "All we had was a statement in parliament and a decision by the registrar general to grant a certificate of marriage," says Probert. "The Lord Chancellor never went into detail about how the Act might apply to other members of the royal family. Can any of them now get married in a civil ceremony? And, if they choose to marry in church, do they have to go through the same formalities as everyone else?"

Royal privilege, it seems, has hitherto exempted them from certain requirements enshrined in the Marriage Act of 1753, including the need to get a licence and sign the appropriate parish or civil register. If Probert has her way, even the Archbishop of Canterbury could face a fine of £1,000 if he failed to ensure that this was done. Why? Because claiming rights on the basis of non-discrimination must inevitably mean forfeiting privileges enjoyed since the 18th century, she argues. "The time to legislate is now while there is a groundswell of enthusiasm for the forthcoming wedding." But surely the government has more pressing problems to deal with?

"Successive governments have been saying that since the 1950s and ducking the issue."

But why does it matter? "For the general population, it doesn't matter too much these days whether or not their parents are married. But unmarried royals can't pass on titles to their heirs. So as long as we have a royal family, we need to have clear laws that ensure that their marriages are free from challenge as to whether or not they're valid."

The Rights and Wrongs of Royal Marriage is published by Takeaway Press at £9.99

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/apr/05/royal-wedding-william-kate-law

Republicans will make US a ‘Third World’ country: Obama

By Agence France-Presse
April 15, 2011 @ 7:43 am


CHICAGO (AFP) – US President Barack Obama accused his Republican foes of wanting to turn the United States into a "Third World" country Thursday as he rallied support for his reelection campaign.

The attack came a day after Obama savaged Republican budget plans and unveiled his $4 trillion deficit reduction drive that aims to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans in order to preserve key social services.

The debate over fiscal policy will prove critical to the 2012 campaign, and Obama sought to frame it as a "stark choice" between investing in the future or watching the country fall apart.

"Under their vision, we can't invest in roads and bridges and broadband and high-speed rail," Obama told a select group of the Democratic faithful at the second of three fundraising events in his hometown of Chicago.

"I mean, we would be a nation of potholes, and our airports would be worse than places that we thought -- that we used to call the Third World, but who are now investing in infrastructure."

Republican plans to shrink the reach of government is "not a vision that's impelled by the numbers" but a "choice" to give a trillion dollars in tax breaks to the rich rather than ask those who have been "blessed" to "give a little more," he said.

Obama said his vision was one of an ambitious, compassionate and caring America "where we're living within our means but we're still investing in our future."

"If we apply some practical common sense to this, we can solve our fiscal challenges and still have the America that we believe in," Obama told supporters at Chicago's N9NE restaurant.

"That's what this budget debate is going to be about. And that's what the 2012 campaign is going to be about."

The events in Chicago were Obama's first fundraisers since he officially launched his bid for a second term on April 4 and were expected to raise about two million dollars (1.4 million euros).

Analysts predict Obama -- who raised a record $750 million ahead of the 2008 election -- will build a billion-dollar war chest this time around.
But money won't be enough to win, senior advisor and 2008 campaign manager David Plouffe told a crowd of 2,300 supporters gathered in a ballroom at Navy Pier ahead of Obama's speech.

"If only the people who normally vote in presidential elections vote in this election it will be too close," Plouffe said as he urged supporters to get more people involved in the campaign.

"You've got to get these people to get involved and to vote so we can make sure that we succeed in this election."

Obama established his 2012 campaign headquarters in Chicago, the first time a presidential reelection campaign was not based in Washington.

He said the campaign wanted to be "rooted in your hopes and rooted in your dreams" instead of influenced by Washington pundits and powerbrokers.

Obama reminded the cheering crowd of the sense of hope and possibility they felt when they celebrated his election as the first African-American US president in Chicago's Grant Park.

"And yet, even as we celebrated -- you remember what I said back then? I said our work wasn't ending, our work was just beginning," Obama said.

"We've still got business to do. We are not finished.

"We've got to reclaim the American dream for all Americans. That's the change we still believe in," the US leader added.

"We took office in the middle of the worst recession in our lifetimes," Obama reminded supporters. The recession, he said, was "so bad that many families are still grappling with the aftershocks, even though the economy is growing again."

Barring a dramatic turn, no major adversary from within his party is likely to challenge Obama, who turns 50 in August.

As for who might run against him from the Republican Party's ranks, uncertainty reigns.

Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney have taken the first official steps toward candidacy, while conservative former House speaker Newt Gingrich and even real estate mogul Donald Trump have hinted at mounting bids for the Republican nomination.

In less than a month, the 64-year-old Trump has jumped from 10 to 19 percent support among Republican voters, tying with former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, according to a CNN poll released this week.

Republican officials worry that the crowded field of possible White House hopefuls could end up helping Obama, who could be vulnerable as the US economy limps out of its worst downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

URL to article: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/04/15/republicans-will-make-us-a-third-world-country-obama/

CA GOP official sent picture of Obama as chimp, didn’t think it was racist

By Kase Wickman
April 17, 2011 @ 10:27 pm


Marilyn Davenport, an elected member of the Orange County Republican Party central committee, said she doesn't think a photoshopped image she sent of President Barack Obama's superimposed on a chimpanzee's body is racist.

She sent the emailed the picture of Obama and two chimp parents to friends Friday, with the caption, "Now you know why — No birth certificate."

"Oh, come on!" said Davenport said to O.C. Weekly . "Everybody who knows me knows that I am not a racist. It was a joke. I have friends who are black. Besides, I only sent it to a few people--mostly people I didn't think would be upset by it."

One of the people she sent it to was County Committee Chair Scott Baugh, who, he told the LA Times [2], immediately emailed Davenport back, telling her that it was "dripping with racism and is in very poor taste."

Baugh said the most the committee could do was to censure Davenport, but he called on her to resign. Davenport says she won't.

"I'm sorry if my email offended anyone, I simply found it amusing regarding the character of Obama and all the questions surrounding his origin of birth," she said in an email to fellow party members. "In no way did I even consider the fact he's half black when I sent out the email. In fact, the thought never entered my mind until one or two other people tried to make this about race. We all know a double standard applies regarding this president. I received plenty of emails about George Bush that I didn't particularly like, yet there was no 'cry' in the media about them."

Davenport is also associated with the Tea Party, and this isn't her first political scandal.

Michael J. Schroeder, the former chairman of the California Republican Party, told the Daily Mail [3] that it was a "three strikes situation for Marilyn Davenport."

"She was a passionate defender of former Newport Beach city councilman Dick Nichols who stated that he was voting against putting in more grass at Corona del Mar's beach because, he said, there were already 'too many Mexicans on the beach'," said Schroeder.

She also sided with Los Alamitos Mayor Dean Grose, who sent out a controversial doctored email depicting the lawn of the White House converted into a watermelon patch [4], just before Obama's inauguration.

Tim Whitacre, one of Davenport's colleagues on the committee, described Davenport as a "polite, gentle grandmother" to the LA Times [5], and said she should not be punished for the email, since it was not sent in her capacity as a committee member, or to the party at large. It was a personal email, he said, one that he received and saw as "a light-hearted stab over the birther question."

Whitacre also said that Baugh was blasting Davenport as "political payback" because Davenport has criticized Baugh's leadership in the past.

URL to article: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/04/17/ca-gop-official-sent-picture-of-obama-as-chimp-didnt-think-it-was-racist/

URLs in this post:

[1] Davenport said to O.C. Weekly: http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2011/04/racist_orange_county_republica.php
[2] he told the LA Times: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/04/gop-official-defends-obama-chimpanzee-email-party-leader-calls-it-racist.html?cid=6a00d8341c630a53ef01538ded7543970b
[3] told the Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1377725/Now-know-theres-birth-certificate-jokes-Tea-Party-member-racist-email-showing-Obama-parents-chimps.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
[4] lawn of the White House converted into a watermelon patch: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/25/white-house-watermelon-em_n_169933.html
[5] to the LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-davenport-20110417,0,157428.story

Trump lashes out at George W. Bush and Obama

By: CNN Political Producer Shannon Travis


Palm Beach, Florida (CNN) – Donald Trump has more harsh criticism for one of the most recognizable men in the world: George W. Bush.

In a display of bipartisan bashing, Trump lashed out at the nation's 43rd president as he criticized the 44th.


"George Bush gave us Barack Obama. If it weren't for George Bush, we wouldn't have Barack Obama," Trump said on Friday. "So I'm not thrilled with George Bush."

The billionaire real estate mogul made the comments at his famed Palm Beach estate Mar-a-Lago that sits on 20 acres and boasts 126 rooms. The star of NBC's "The Apprentice" spoke to reporters in a hastily arranged news conference moments before a posh, poolside party at the estate and hours before he was to speak at a Tea Party rally.

Trump was pressed to explain his comments.

"Because he[Bush] didn't have a great presidency, especially at the end. And because of his actions, and because of his aura, it was very tough for a Republican to win," Trump said. "And in all fairness to John McCain and to Sarah Palin, I think it would have been very, very tough for anybody – for Abraham Lincoln – to win after having followed George Bush."

Trump has previously let out harsh criticism of the 43rd president.

In a March 2007 interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Trump said, "Well, I think Bush is probably the worst president in the history of the United States." He cited the war in Iraq, calling it a "total disaster" and added later: "Look, everything in Washington has been a lie. Weapons of mass destruction - it was a total lie. It was a way of attacking Iraq."

Trump now sees Obama as deserving that notorious distinction, calling him "the worst president in the history of the United States." Among other items, Trump reasoned that the president has not done well handling foreign affairs, such as the conflict in Libya, and that "Obamacare" is bad for the country.

Headlining a Tea Party rally in Boca Raton on Saturday, Trump will make his first appearance at a campaign-like political rally this year. The rally will mirror others across the country over the weekend as conservative activists protest government spending days before Monday's deadline to file taxes.

Media and public interest in Trump has recently increased as he's questioned President Obama's birthplace. And his popularity with Tea Party activists has also increased. The reality television star boasted that interest in Saturday's rally ballooned after it was announced that he would appear.

"It was supposed to be 300 people," he said. "When they heard I was speaking, I heard it's going to be anywhere from five-to-ten thousand people."

And yet Trump has publicly supported one issue that Tea Party activists despise: the bank bailout. When asked if he can win Tea Party support given his support for this issue, Trump demurred from a direct response.

"Well I actually think the tea party is more of a party of common sense."



http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/16/trump-lashes-out-at-george-w-bush-and-obama/

I guess you are all familiar with the fracas that broke out last year at the house of representative.

Here's how it was reported on Kenyan TV:


[flash=400,400]http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/96ZulEt2h5c[/flash]

and CBS:


[flash=400,400]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLWCgq4LPA8[/flash]

The newly elected lawmakers might want to take some lessons from this and begin karate, boxing and wrestling lessons.

Before you start castigating our lawmakers.

Take a look at this:

[flash=400,400]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlXKBribICs[/flash]

It happens even in the US of A!

And Slovakia and Taiwan!


[flash=400,400]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxZ3RNYEa0Y[/flash]

And Ukraine

[flash=400,400]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrZMlujuGHk[/flash]

And Russia

[flash=600,600]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZGaaqH2o6I[/flash]

And Bolivia

[flash=600,600]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjMeQoIq36c[/flash]

Even the women are not left out,

in South Korea,


[flash=600,600]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHMrgwAuJ_U[/flash]

And Sri Lanka

[flash=600,600]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAJEoThK0-g[/flash]

And India

[flash=600,600]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbGpf0hKqY8[/flash]

And Mexico


[flash=600,600]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7poK4TlGeWo[/flash]

Do you remember Benny Hill?

This is what he qould have made of the lot:

[flash=600,600]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=somH2V19BjE[/flash]

Yes, that one you saw around 1:06 is from Africa.

It is actually from Somalia, the home country of BlueNWhite (the Nigeria Hater).

This happened in Kenya which offered to host their parliament (http://allafrica.com/stories/200506130909.html)

Maybe this is why they havn't had a central government for some years now.

[flash=600,600]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGsMiOLQWX4[/flash]

Please tell Deji Bademosi (of Channels TV) and other presenters who invite politicians to their talk shows to get those Jerry Springer minders:

[flash=600,600]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqqnM38-mkE[/flash]

That was India.

This is Pakistan:

[flash=600,600]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f0l_DAt7Eo[/flash]

And how about this from Georgia:

[flash=600,600]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6R1I9sB3KU[/flash]

How about this from the Czech Republic:

[flash=600,600]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fM-fGw_Pgkk[/flash]

Presidential debate: Like Shekarau like Clegg

By Nnaemeka Meribe, Published: Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Before its last general election, Britain, unlike the United States, did not have, as part of their political culture, a live television debate for the leaders of the parties aspiring to form a government.

Britain, as you probably know, runs a parliamentary system of government which means that a government is formed by the party that wins the majority seats in the general election. The leader of the party, who becomes the prime minister, is usually invited by the Queen to form a government. But if no party wins enough seats to be in clear majority, two parties can hold coalition talks with a view to forming a government. In such case, the leader of the senior partner in the coalition would be invited by the Queen to form a coalition government.

That was exactly what happened in the last general elections in the UK that produced David Cameron, the leader of the Conservative Party, as the prime minister. After the election last year, the Conservatives did not win enough seats in the parliament to form a government-though they won more seats than the then ruling Labour Party, which came second, and the Liberal Democrats which came third. And after the ruling Labour Party, led by Gordon Brown, could not strike a deal with the Liberal Democrats led by Nick Clegg, the door was open for the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats to form a government.

[b]But how did the Liberal Democrats win enough seats to become the beautiful bride? It was Clegg’s live TV debate performance. Few days before the debate featuring the leaders of the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democratic parties (the three largest political parties in the UK—though the Liberal Democratic Party is by far the smallest of the three) were put on the spot in a live TV debate.

Before then, the only time the UK people saw leaders of the parties in a TV debate-like situation was during parliamentary sessions when leader of opposition party and that of any other party with significant seat asked the prime minister questions.

With the public disapproval of the Labour party increasing by the day coupled with the poor debating skills of Brown and many not knowing Clegg’s debating ability, pundits expectedly gave the debate to Cameron, whom the right wing press had packaged over the years as the perfect man for the prime minister’s job. But Clegg, a known atheist, surprised everybody during the first of the two debates with his articulacy and analysis of the economic cum social crisis of Britain.

Clegg’s performance at the debate made him the latest British hero. It created a Clegg bounce and handed his party its best performance in the polls since the late 1970s.[/b]

During our own presidential debate last week, I doubt if anybody gave the All Nigeria Peoples Party candidate, Ibrahim Shekarau, any chance to do well. In fact, among the frontrunners in the presidential race (Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party, Nuhu Ribadu of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari of the Congress for Progressive Change and Shekarau himself) Shekarau, to many, is by far the outsider. Personally, I wanted to hear the other candidates as I believed Shekarau wasn’t intellectual and experienced enough to perform well when put on the spot.

Since the PDP man, President Jonathan, ‘dodged’ the debate, I was waiting to see how Buhari and Ribadu would handle some intellectually tasking questions about their antecedents and our socio-economic situation. Before the debate, I had given it to Ribadu, considering that he is the youngest among them and seemed to have in the recent past been more active at the national level than others.

But after the first round of questions, I began to see Shekarau in another light. And by the time the debate ended, my total impression about him changed. And when I made a few calls to friends and asked them whom they felt carried the day, they all gave it to the Kano State governor. His analyses of issues were spot on. And even when questions which were expected to rattle him were asked, he did justice to them with candour. He did not debate like a student activist and never lacked a satisfying answer to any question.

After the debate, his popularity rating soared. In fact if the presidential election was done on that Friday (and if ours is a country were votes count and debate performances can win elections), we would have been talking of president-elect Shekarau. Unfortunately, however, it isn’t like that here. He will have a lot of issues to contend with—his performance in Kano State as a governor, the spread of his party’s structure cum rigging ability, the sentiments, the depth of his pocket, etc.

http://www.punchng.com/blog_read.aspx?read=244

[flash=800,800]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3DHKni1mu8[/flash]

Kyrgyzstan politicians slaughter sheep to exorcise 'evil spirits'



Kyrgyz boys tend to their sheep on the outskirts of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Photo: AP

Last Updated: 2:34PM BST 21/04/2011

Politicians in Kyrgyzstan ritually slaughtered seven sheep in parliament to exorcise "evil spirits" from the chamber, following a string of violent incidents.

The parliament press service said the sheep were killed in a ritual sacrifice within the walls of the Zhogorku Kenesh parliament in Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek.

"Parliament deputies are hoping to chase evil spirits from the Zhogorku Kenesh," an official with the public relations department said.

Earlier this month, politicians arranged an armed showdown after a parliamentary row in the chamber over corruption got out of hand, according to security forces.

Ten handguns and an AK47 rifle were seized after police sealed off the building.

The impoverished former Soviet nation went through a series of violent clashes last year when a bloody revolution last April which unseated president Kurmanbek Bakiyev was followed by deadly inter-ethnic clashes in June.

Kurmanbek Osmonov, a politician, said the sacrifice had been conducted at the initiative of the deputies and a Muslim cleric had been invited to pray for the victims of the April and June clashes.

"The meat of the sacrificial sheep will be sent to a home for the elderly, an orphanage and a mosque," he said.

"We're hoping that the tragic events that happened last year will not be repeated and peace and stability will settle in the country.

Source

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/kyrgyzstan/8466399/Kyrgyzstan-politicians-slaughter-sheep-to-exorcise-evil-spirits.html

Gambian Opposition Leader Critical of Bid to Make President Jammeh 'King'

Ousainu Darbo of the United Democratic Party says those leading the campaign know President Jammeh cannot win re-election in 2011

James Butty | Washington, D.C. November 09, 2010

The leader of Gambia’s opposition United Democratic Party told VOA no leader can change Gambia from a republic to a monarchy without first going to a referendum.

This comes as reports say a number of tribal chiefs are rallying support throughout the country to give President Yahya Jammeh the title of king.


Opposition leader Ousainu Darbo said those seeking to make President Jammeh a king are doing so because they know the president cannot win next’s election.

“There’s not a single government official who has condemned their so-called campaign to convert the president of The Gambia to king of the Gambia or to convert the Gambia from a republican state to a monarchy. The majority leader (of the Gambian parliament) did say that the constitution is not the holy Koran; it can be changed. But, we know that this is not possible without going to a referendum,” he said.

Darbo described as averted thinking that, in this age and time, an African leader can be thinking of converting himself from president to an absolute monarch.

The Gambian president’s current titles include “His Excellency the President Sheik Professor Alhaji Doctor Yahya Jammeh.”

Darbo said if President Jammeh is allowed to get his new title of king, or His Majesty, it would lead to a Jammeh family dynasty in the Gambia.

“Obviously, when that happens, you will have a dynasty, a ruling dynasty and it would be from Yahya Jammeh to his son, and it is a pathetic. First of all, the sycophants in this country could say that, ‘Mr. President, we want you to rule until at such time when you are ready to hand over power to your son who is not even six years old,’” Darbo said.

The chiefs reportedly said they wanted to give President Jammeh the title of king to reward him for bringing development to the Gambia.

But, Darbo said President Jammeh has given nothing but hunger and poverty to the people of the Gambia

“What he has done is to deprive the Gambians of what they deserve. He is everything. He’s into butchery, he’s into poultry, he’s into animal husbandry, he’s into all sort of business that should be left to ordinary Gambians, and he has killed economic activity in this country. And now, he is trying to kill political plurality in this country,” Darbo said.

Darbo criticized the Gambian leader for also assuming the title of university professor.

“I have never heard in my life of somebody being made a professor. I think people work hard to become professors in universities,” he said.

He said those seeking to make President Jammeh a king are doing so because they know the president cannot win next year’s election.

“I strongly believe that President Jammeh knows that there’s every likelihood that the opposition will get together and that he will be flushed out of power in 2011, and he thinks that this a way of keeping himself in power,” Darbo said.


http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Butty-Gambia-Jammeh-Seeks-New-Title-Darbo-09november10-106938983.html

ANC Midvaal candidate attacked
2011-05-06 22:08


Johannesburg - An ANC Midvaal ward candidate was allegedly attacked after a door-to-door campaign in the area, the party said on Friday.

African National Congress spokesperson Brian Hlongwa said Loveliness Mazibuko claimed three men attacked her while she was walking home wearing an ANC T-shirt in Daleside on Thursday

She claimed that while the men assaulted her they said: "ANC se kak, jou kaffir", said Hlongwa.

Mazibuko's upper shoulder and neck were injured. She was still in the Heidelberg Hospital on Friday night.

"All that we are praying for is free political activity, The sad thing is that tensions seem to be rising as we approach election day," Hlongwa said.

He criticised the Democratic Alliance for the way in which it removed a bust of Hendrik Verwoerd from outside the municipal offices in Meyerton on Wednesday night, saying this could contribute to the highly charged atmosphere.

The Midvaal municipality is run by the DA.

"I just hope that we don't have a repetition of this. There is life after the May 18 and people will have to co-exist."

Mazibuko would lodge a complaint with police when she was discharged from hospital, Hlongwa said.


- SAPA

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Local-Elections-2011/ANC-Midvaal-candidate-attacked-20110506

ANC candidate attacked by 'IFP mob'
Apr 11, 2011 10:16 PM | By AMUKELANI CHAUKE

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ANC election candidate Julia Moloi went door to door introducing herself to residents of Alexandra, Johannesburg, on Sunday.

Just before 4pm, excited about attending a live broadcast of TV programme Election Debate, she waited alongside the township's main road, 12th Avenue, for a minibus to fetch her and three other women.

Minutes later, Moloi, 53, found herself under attack.

She said yesterday: "As we waited for our transport, two groups of IFP supporters went past chanting election songs with us, in the spirit of ubuntu, as they walked from [a rally at] the Alexandra stadium to their buses, which were parked within walking distance of where we were.

"A third group, however, caught us by surprise and started hitting us with traditional Zulu weapons while swearing at us [and the ANC]."

Moloi said she and the other "old women" were defenceless during the attack.

"I could not even see how many of them there were; there were a lot of them.

"I have nine stitches to my head and I am in a lot of pain, but the woman who was admitted to hospital is in a critical condition."

The woman was discharged from Charlotte Maxeke Hospital yesterday but is still in a serious condition.

She, Moloi and the other women were rushed to the nearby Alexandra Clinic.

The ANC has condemned the attack and called on the police to act swiftly to arrest the perpetrators.

ANC national spokesman Jackson Mthembu labelled the behaviour of the IFP supporters "barbaric".

"One person is critical following this attack. Their only sin was to wear an ANC T-shirt," he said.

Bonginkosi Dlamini, spokesman for the IFP in Gauteng, apologised "unconditionally" for the attack but immediately shifted the blame to the newly formed National Freedom Party, which broke away from the IFP.

"We condemn it in the very strongest terms and we are calling on our members, and members of the Alexandra community, to come forward to work with us to apprehend the perpetrators," he said.

"We are going to be engaging with the police to bring those responsible to book. We want them to broaden their investigation."

http://www.timeslive.co.za/Politics/article1014557.ece/ANC-candidate-attacked-by-IFP-mob

Murdered IFP councillor had jumped ship
Feb 17, 2011 11:16 AM | By Sapa

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The Imbabazane Municipality councillor killed on Wednesday evening had just jumped ship from the Inkatha Freedom Party to the National Freedom Party, the leader of the breakaway NFP said.

“Duma Mcebisi recently announced publicly that he was moving to our party. We may not rule his move as one of possible reasons why he was killed,” said NFP leader Zanele Magwaza-Msibi.

She said she was extremely worried about violence perpetrated against her party members.

“Three people have already been killed in Uthukela and some were seriously injured. Two other people were attacked in Gauteng on Sunday,” she said.

NFP was formed in January after Magwaza-Msibi and other IFP leaders had a fallout with the IFP.

According to police reports, Mcebisi was shot dead in Ntabamhlophe on Wednesday evening. He was an IFP ward councillor until he crossed to the NFP.

“On Wednesday at around 6pm, Mcebisi, 32, was travelling in his vehicle in Ntabamhlophe Road in Imbabazane Municipality when he was attacked,” said Director Phindile Radebe.

Mcebisi was shot in his upper body and he died at the scene, she said.

The police recovered R5 cartridges and the Toyota Corolla believed to have been used by the gunmen.

“He (Mcebisi) was in possession of a pistol. It is believed he may have fired at the attackers to defend himself,” said Radebe.

“The political violence team is investigating. Motive is not known but we may not rule out the possibility of political violence.”

The incident took place barely three weeks after Simon Shange, an IFP councillor in eNdulinde in eShowe was found dead. He was found dead after leaving home with two men. Two men were arrested in connection with his death.

http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/article919550.ece/Murdered-IFP-councillor-had-jumped-ship

La. Gov. Bobby Jindal releases birth certificate

The Associated Press

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who was born in Baton Rouge to immigrant parents from India, has released his birth certificate.

The Republican made the move Friday, nine days after President Barack Obama released his own long-form birth certificate to further prove that he was born in the United States.

Jindal is considered by some observers as a potential candidate in the 2012 presidential race.

His office says they released the document on request, after being asked whether Jindal's eligibility to run for office would be affected by a "birthright citizenship" bill introduced by fellow Republican U.S. Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana. It would limit automatic U.S. citizenship to children whose parents were legal residents.

Jindal's parents had green cards for permanent residency and wouldn't have been affected by the legislation.



Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/05/07/2206028/la-gov-bobby-jindal-releases-birth.html#ixzz1M2CLlrmC