While it’s still not a state, the airspace above the District of Columbia is one of the most restricted places in the world. After 9/11, the FBI and Homeland Security created concentric circles of no-fly zones. Even the otter ring, known as the Air Defense Identification Zone, requires any entering aircraft to identify themselves. A smaller area of 15 nautical miles around Reagan International Airport is a Flight Restricted Zone. Given the sheer amount of federal agency headquarters, political figures, and historical significance in the area it’s no wonder these precautions are continued to be taken seriously. How seriously you might ask? In 2005, a Cessna 150 flew just five miles from the White House and was met with an F-16 dropping flares to signal the infraction.
4. Machu Picchu
The cultural and historical significance of Peru can’t be overstated much as the pure amount of unique wildlife and plant life that grow there can only be found there. An airport is currently still under construction called the Chinchero Airport but is highly opposed by historians and activists alike because of the fragile ecology and Inca ruins.
Currently, aircraft is banned from flying over the region. This is to keep the area clear of as much pollution as possible. But also, should a plane crash or require an emergency landing, it would cause irreparable and lasting damage to the ecosystem.
Mstravelindiva: Indeed friend! Best country, which might sound condescending, but my own (USA), we have hospitality down to a science (especially when staying at a true 5* hotel/resort) and with all the cost that goes into traveling abroad, there is a level of service, quality and structure than many travelers simply expect. If I had to select a runner up, then I’d go with either Hungary or Malta, I had such a fabulous time visiting both destinations.
My worst is the Dominican Republic, beautiful country, but I would always come home sick after my visits, so it’s just not worth the headache (and time at the dr office) for me.
Deep insights MsTravelindiva.
Lol... You had to blow your horn about the U.S. right here.
But seriously though, you have a point about the U.S. hospitality sector, speaking matter-of-factly. Malta is a picturesque location, and a lot of destination weddings and honeymoons are going on there!
Dominican Republic, right next door to Haiti! Dominican Republic even has a golden visa program. Could it be something in the air quality? OR the water you drank that made you feel that way (i.e., made you come home feeling ill?).
A few U.S.-based females who I know have been to India on vacation, also spoke about falling ill from some kind of infection there. It could also be the humid weather conditions. Very uncanny.
Low-blowing... Ned's legal team stating in the press release that the Governor has NO children from his current wife is ridiculous. Focus on the real issues. Period.
I love to travel internationally too. You gain a lot of fresh insights on the good and bad sides of human nature, and greenfield investment opportunities.
So, which would you consider your best and worst countries you've ever visited?
Whoa! This thread has finally made it to the front page since our Vietnamese "Pho" convo here in July 2022. You're getting some mad luv from one of the mods here with 2 of your threads on the front page within 2 days. Way to go!
Don't accept her apologies privately. Cheating spouses and manipulative partners are most happy when they're able to take you through cycles of "private-hurt/private-apology" when caught because it hides their guilt, shame and lays foundation for them to continue. It makes them believe they can easily manage or handle you. You don't want to be handled by a manipulative narcissistic cheat.
Get marital counseling where necessary.... You'll be shocked what you'll hear. But committing to the process will yield great results for you.
Do what you can to re-spice your marriage after all your making up. Re-ignite your love, up your dicck game.
It's 2 and half decades of beautiful memories you've made together... Don't let teenagers here tell you to throw her away.
Nicely put. My exact line of thinking.
Never accept a private apology from a cheating woman who has been secretly sexting or sharing an erotic vid in this real or imagined story.
The man has to work on his inner game too and be creatively mysterious because a rut or predictability usually sets in after just 1 to 5 years of marriage NOT to talk of 25 years of marriage.
macphilip: For forex traders that wish to withdraw from their InstaForex account using Sowget.com, but had previously deposited using another InstaForex agent or ewallet payment system. You first need to deposit to your account using Sowget.com, afterwards you can then proceed to withdraw from your InstaForex account using Sowget. Login to your Sowget account, click on Buy and select InstaForex. Place your order and make payment. Minimum deposit amount is 10USD.
sukkot: Yes Sirrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!! greetings to you on this fine friday afternoon. yeah decree 34. noted. i would alter it if i can find it lol
I've uploaded it. Read the second page [Page 8] of the article. A very explosive and true history. Nobody has the right to lie about these facts. I still have the original paper in my archives.
sukkot: wow this is mind blowing information. i await the share. and no i never banned one single person. i know that for a fact. i dont like to deny people their right of freedom. however i have hidden many inappropriate posts. you have to handle power with grace. many africans dont have the emotional intelligence to handle power. i have the emotional intelligence. i dont let my ego or primitive urge to dominate others make decision for me, i would never ban anyone. its not in my nature to be that draconian. i would feel bad if i did something like that. i have empathy even for stupid people
@Sukkot, greetings to you... "The Grandmaster of the entire Lekki Peninsula."
I've finally found the explosive scanned interview granted by Chief Harold Dappa-Biriye in the 1999 Guardian article in my Google Drive. I've never shared it with any one. You have it here first! This will shut the mouths of those historical revisionists.
Pardon me, I kept on repeating Decree 33 INSTEAD of Decree 34 of May 1966. Kindly assist in editing or fixing the error in my original posts that you quoted here.
tshtsh: Oga I live in canada (Toronto) and have lived in USA(Bethesda) . I have also worked in Nigeria(Lagos). Nigerians are no where near upper class in USA or Canada. I am not comparing a doctor in Nigeria vs a doctor in USA. I am comparing a doctor in USA with the founder/CMD of Lagoon hospital Ikoyi or a Nigerian pediatric physician in Mayoclinic with the Founder/CEO of Evercare hospital in Lekki. I am not comparing employees in north america with their counterparts in Nigeria rather I am comparing employees in North america with businessmen in Nigeria. Some people get tired of being in the middle class and want to move up thus decide to move back to africa where it is more attainable
When I worked in Lagos as a software engineer my take home was just a little over 600k naira monthly at age 25. When I moved to canada my first income as a software engineer was $8,300 (3840 bi-weekly) monthly hence I earned better and was in the middle class. But If I want to make a lot more money it is easier for me to raise capital and set up a fin-tech or software company in Nigeria. Those who did so successfully are making good cash in Nigeria far more than what we employees in north america make.
Show me a Nigerian that has become an executive VP at google or that has become CEO at yahoo inc or that have become a partner at KPMG HQ . Among the few immigrants that make it to the top you will mostly find people from asia before you find any Nigerian.
True that... The tech-savvy Indians dominate the upper echelons in those institutions.
Aareona: Earlier this year, I went back in time to few years back when I was doing so well in Nigeria. The noises from friends and all nurtured the decision to move abroad inside of me. I became so restless till I finally leave. The first day in Canada was the day I knew this place isn't where I can be forever. Most of us would have come back before the time we had in mind except for the fact that I don't still have enough. If I want to travel to naija for vacation now, I will need up to $4k. If I take that away from my savings, I don't know how I can recover.
No one tells about the downside of this place. I feel lonely, depressed and empty most times. Because no one to talk to, just everyone in my workplace goin about their business. If I make attempt to talk to them, they just waive it with a smile. It's been 3years here and the people I still talk to on video call are friends from Nigeria. It's been 3years and my savings is still Short of $20k despite how much my friends in Nigeria do tell me how easy it is for me to make money abroad but I never tell them my situation. I can't wait to make enough and leave Canada for good. I know a lot will come at me with the usuall "come back to Nigeria na", please this is not an attempt to denigrate your abroad heaven, just for me to rant out and be fine
I love the way you ranted here... it'll provide some therapeutic effects for you. This thread shows that you are NOT alone and will surmount the odds. . You have to diversify your income streams though for true financial independence.
opamoses1: BEIJING, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Beijing shut parks and museums on Tuesday and Shanghai tightened rules for people entering the city as Chinese authorities grapple with a spike in COVID-19 cases that has deepened concern about the economy and dimmed hopes for a quick reopening.
China reported 28,127 new domestically transmitted cases for Monday, nearing its daily peak from April, with infections in the southern city of Guangzhou and the southwestern municipality of Chongqing accounting for about half the total.
In Beijing, cases have been hitting new highs every day, prompting calls from the city government for more residents to stay put and show proof of a negative COVID test, not more than 48 hours old, to get into public buildings.
Makeshift Camps have been constructed in Beijing City Center.
WannaHowzit: King Charles hosted his first state visit since becoming British monarch on Tuesday, welcoming South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to Buckingham Palace.
Charles, 74, rolled out the traditional pomp and ceremony for the first time as head of state, as Britain seeks to bolster its relations with its biggest trading partner in Africa.
Ramaphosa and his wife were officially greeted by Charles's eldest son and heir Prince William and his wife Kate at a central London hotel to mark the start of his two-day trip, the first state visit to the UK by a world leader since that of former US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania in 2019.
Gun salutes and a ceremonial welcome from the King and his wife Camilla, the Queen Consort, followed before a grand carriage procession along The Mall to Buckingham Palace, where a banquet will be held later in the president's honor.
Ramaphosa is scheduled to visit Westminster Abbey to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior and see the memorial stone for former South African President Nelson Mandela. He will also address lawmakers in parliament and meet UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Britain hopes the visit, which had been planned before the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September, will strengthen trade and investment ties between the two nations, and show the importance of links with the Commonwealth of Nations, the international organization which Charles now heads.
"This is a reinforcement of the strong bilateral relationship that we have with South Africa, a real opportunity to build on that close working relationship and discuss some of the issues that affect us all," British Foreign Minister James Cleverly told Reuters.
The last state visit to Britain by a South African leader was that of President Jacob Zuma in 2010 when he was met by Charles and Camilla at the start of the trip.
Awesome pics... Captured in time and space.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in an iconic swag down the INKWAZI.
GiddySY: Economic diplomacy: Nigeria and opportunities in Guinea-Bissau
By Jibrin Baba Ndace
Upon attainment of independence in 1960, Nigeria’s Prime Minister (1960-1966), Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, declared “Africa is the centrepiece of Nigeria’s foreign policy.” That policy statement has been the underlying commitment of Nigeria to the continent and the West African subregion.
Since independence, therefore, Nigeria’s foreign policy has been characterised by a “Big Brother” role – as a regional power and by attachment to several fundamental principles such as African unity and independence; capability to exercise hegemonic influence in the region; peaceful settlement of disputes; non alignment and non-intentional interference in the internal affairs of other nations; and regional economic cooperation and development.
Thus, for many decades, the nation’s foreign policy thrust was unmistakably afro-centric, becoming the backbone of armed struggle to finally rid the continent of the remnants of the vestiges of colonialism and apartheid.
Consequently, Angola, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Liberia, Sierra Leone and The Gambia among other African nations, were beneficiaries of Nigeria’s diplomatic benevolence.
In carrying out these principles, Nigeria participates in the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Non-Aligned Movement, the Commonwealth of Nations, the United Nations, and recently, adopted the Continental Free Trade protocol.
In pursuing the goal of regional economic cooperation and development, Nigeria helped create ECOWAS, which seeks to harmonise trade and investment practices for its 15 West African member countries, ultimately achieve a full customs union, and establish a single currency. Nigeria has played a central role in the ECOWAS efforts to end the civil war in Liberia and contributed the bulk of the ECOWAS peacekeeping forces sent there in 1990. Nigeria also has provided the bulk of troops for ECOMOG forces in Sierra Leone.
Nigeria has enjoyed generally good relations with its immediate neighbours and has actively played a leading role in West Africa. With enormous military power, it has been perpetual in its aim of promoting peace and stability in Africa's most prosperous region for more than three decades.
Despite Nigeria’s glaring contribution to regional peace and stability as well as social and economic development, experts on international affairs and diplomacy have argued that there have not been commensurate benefits and opportunities for the country’s investors, entrepreneurs, and business leaders. Nigeria has no meaningful economic presence in these countries to compensate for her sacrifices.
Therefore, there is the need for Nigeria to take the lead in articulating the views of developing nations on the need for modification of the existing international economic order and economic diplomacy to promote the growth of these West African country’s economy by increasing trade, promoting investments, collaboration on bilateral and multilateral trade agreements.
As the giant of Africa, Nigeria has succeeded in playing the role of the protective big brother in West Africa but it is time for it to engage in economic diplomacy which can improve foreign policy. There are countries in Africa with huge potentials waiting to be explored. These countries have their own natural resources and niche which keeps the countries afloat and are open to investors across Africa, especially Nigerians who have the capacity to invest.
It is important to note that the main goal of ECOWAS is to promote economic cooperation among the 15 member states comprising Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo, in order to raise living standards and promote economic development.
In line with the goals of ECOWAS and the need to open up Guinea Bissau to investors in Africa and around the world, the government of Guinea Bissau and the embassies of Nigeria, Cape Verde, and South Africa together with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are jointly organizing and hosting the inaugural edition of Bissau Rising Impact Investment and Trade Forum.
The aim of the event is to open a platform for business leaders, artistes, government officials, policymakers, diplomats and influencers from Africa and beyond. The forum creates new opportunities through cooperation and the exchange of ideas that foster innovation and generate new value to achieve positive impact in the economy, society and environment.
Unlike previous diplomatic engagements, where the majority of Nigerians could not justifiably see anything tangible and beneficial to the man on the street, the current focus is expected to be felt in several ways, including more foreign direct investments, transfer of technologies, taking the nation’s industrial capacities to neighbouring countries, thereby creating a pool of expatriate Nigerian workers, as well as opening new frontier of business opportunities for big and small businesses within and outside the African continent.
Speaking about the potentials and opportunities, Nigeria’s Ambassador to Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde, Ambassador John James Usanga, says: “I have been pushing, very seriously mobilising other ECOWAS ambassadors to prevail on the government to adopt policies that are conducive for investment and investors from ECOWAS, particularly from Nigeria. Can you imagine one industry set up here employing 2000 people, that’s more than 20% of the population taken off.
“We have collaborated with a lot of people in the government and in the private sector, to make Nigerians become aware of the prospects here then we begin to see Nigerians investing and taking up opportunities that for me, will be a good reward because these countries have been our trusted allies in multi-lateral relationships but we have a big problem of connectivity.
“We have a very big problem of connectivity in this place, we need maritime transport to move the goods, and we need air connectivity. I will encourage the Nigerian aviation sector to begin to look towards that. Aircraft can be deployed to these islands and they will still make a lot of money”.
The potentials are unending - “digital economy, infrastructure, blue economy, tourism, finance banking and insurance, creative industry, intellectual property, water sanitation and eco solutions including energy and waste management, logistics and transport” - all these have the potential to drive investment leading to positive social impact and economic change, he said.
Bissau Rising, is no doubt a forum for Africans, but more importantly, Nigerians to look inward and embrace the potentials on the African continent. It is time for Nigerian investors, business leaders to heed the call of Ambassador Usanga by taking advantage of the Guinea Bissau Investment Forum
Jibrin Baba Ndace works with Blueprint Newspapers, Abuja
Insightful.
However ECOMOG was a disaster in terms of wastage of military manpower and finance on the part of Nigeria back in the early 1990s when the Liberian Civil War finally kicked in. Nigeria was trying to play the kind of role that the U.S. has been playing since the start of World War 2
Mstravelindiva: Part 2 of 3. I thoroughly enjoyed watching fresh palm wine being taped while shopping and chatting with the local craft market owners. I even captured a luscious field of plantain trees and a rice field. Nigeria is absolutely beautiful (take a close look at what’s in your backyard) …such rich soil, land, culture and kind-hearted people!
As for the craft market, it’s unfortunate their previous location was recently demolished, but they will rebuild and I was happy to patronize their businesses at the new location.
I actually did LOTS of shopping (clothing, art, crafts, etc), and was thrilled that my dollars went back to the local businesses. Someone nastily asked on this thread, “Why Did I Choose To Visit Nigeria”? Well my response, Why Not Visit Nigeria! I’d rather spend my hard earned money where it will be appreciated, even if others are negative or have rude things to say.
I travel the world and educate myself through the local culture, food (yes, food and flexing is ALWAYS in my threads so close your eyes if it hurts your feelings) and local experiences. It’s how I choose to live my life (spend my money) and I’m proud to give back to my people…because every little bit helps!
So much talent in Nigeria (especially its youth), wow, I’m so proud of my African brothers and sisters!
Stayed tuned for my final conclusion!
That's awesome. I love abstract works of art... (Abstract paintings and sculptures).
WhatCanIsay: It's not a "Yoruba" game, rather it's an African sports.
In Igbo we call it, "Nchọkọrọ" other Igbo dialects have words for it too. My grandma that has never visited Yoruba land played it in her childhood. Her childhood is more than 80 years ago. Let's stop appropriating something that is general as personal to us.
Ayo is classified as a board game of Yoruba origins for centuries now. International literature online and offline clearly state this fact.
I engage in typing what I know, and don't engage in ethnic rivalry here.
Ibos may have created their own type of game and this is what I expected you to say here instead of saying it is general.
My own father is within your grandmother's age range so her childhood was just in the 1940s which is a recent timeframe in modern history when the British colonialists were still in Nigeria and there was migration of various ethnicities by rail, road, or water transportation from one region to the other with the adoption of words and traditions of others.
peacefull: AlphaTaikun san! Thank you so much for invite me to this wonderful topic! I appreciate you!!
Yeah! How's it going in Japan @Peacefull?
Oh... You are welcome my "kid" sis, anytime. I wanted you to see MsTravelinDiva's thread because you and her share similarities (in terms of marriage and being over 40 in age, etc)... And you may want to visit Nigeria too for the first time since you are married to a Nigerian.
You and MsTravelinDiva are very meticulous here on NL and this is one of the reasons I'm following both of you for functional international travel and culture contents.
Mstravelindiva: Yes, it was hilarious, they were so shocked, I beat them good, hahaha! I’m a quick learner!
Lol... That's good to know. I can imagine the look of intense shock on their faces. Hahaha.
I also like the stealth mode with which you made landfall in Nigeria and then left right back for the U.S. before posting your FCT visit details here on NL. We all must be conscious security-wise when embarking on short vacations worldwide. Way to go!
Mstravelindiva: Yes friend, they taught me how to play and I even won the first round so they stopped teaching me because they said I was winning too good!
For real? That's an awesome start with the game of "ayo"... You must be an intensely visual person. You'll also make a good trader and investor because discretionary thinking is required, and games of chess, ayo, etc, provide that.
It's your girl Ms Travelin Diva and she has arrived! What an adventure it has been so far, but I made it to Abuja!
First two days had a bit of a rocky start (our flight was delayed and luggage did not arrive in Abuja until the next evening). I must admit, if you have to return to the airport for anything, Nigeria makes it a bit difficult to navigate back and forth easily. At any rate, once we received our luggage then our vacation officially began. I quickly learned the true meaning of the nigerian factor, lol! While still a bit jet lagged, I have managed to enjoy a few adventures within my first few days, and even got my hair braided in my hotel room shortly after I arrived (BEST EXPERIENCE EVER). Here's part 1, and definitely check out my Instagram page @MsTravelinDiva_ if you’d like to follow videos of my stay. Cheers!
Stay tuned for Part 2!
Peace & Blessings to Nigeria and to you all!
"What it do?"
Woo hoo! @MsTravelinDiva has finally made landfall on the motherland just like you said you would... More ice cream, boli and grilled fish for you.
I'll check your social media platforms for more pics, vids, sights and sounds.
You got a problem? Go see Richard Bandler. As the founder of the controversial, multi-billion-dollar therapy NLP, he can get inside your head, and quick. But how did a former cocaine user and murder suspect become a guru to over 30,000 people in the UK? Kate Burt signs up for a session
How, exactly, does one go about interviewing a man who has dedicated his life's work to the art of mind control? Are difficult questions going to be swept under a carpet of charm? Can his answers be trusted? Will this piece, mysteriously, write itself as a glowing appraisal?All of which are valid considerations in advance of meeting Richard Bandler. Bandler is the American co-creator of the modern self-help phenomenon Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), a discipline developed to quick-fix life's problems by "reprogramming" one's brain. In crude terms, NLP explores the relationships between how we think (neuro), how we communicate (linguistic) and our patterns of behaviour and emotions (programmes). The idea is that, by studying these relationships, people can adopt more successful ways of thinking, communicating, feeling and behaving.
Even if you think you don't know much about NLP, the chances are you'll have witnessed it at work in instant phobia cures, shouty-titled management-skills books, "life coaching" and those unsettling conversations with sales people who seem to be mirroring your every move (because they quite possibly are – it's a classic NLP trick). Bandler has mentored Britain's favourite change-your-life hypnotist, Paul McKenna, and his work has influenced illusionist and master mindbender Derren Brown. Bandler himself still teaches NLP regularly, and claims to be able to "erase" traumatic memories, improve your relationships and even ' "cure" schizophrenia and paralysis (he taught himself to walk again using NLP after a stroke put him in a wheelchair).
Since Bandler invented NLP in the 1970s, it has grown into a multi-billion-dollar industry, influencing the way many people now understand psychology and psychotherapy (cognitive behavioural therapy, the increasingly popular "fast-track" style of psychotherapy, shares certain principles with NLP). But what inspired NLP's founding father to create an alternative to traditional psychotherapy, and does he practise what he preaches? What, too, of NLP's patients – or "students as Bandler prefers to call them – are they in safe hands?
Some people don't think so: critics have accused Bandler of everything from running a cult, failing to provide scientific evidence for his claims and brainwashing his clients. He's admitted drug abuse and even stood trial for murder. But in NLP circles Bandler is hailed as a sort of Messiah; indeed, while researching this piece, I lost count of the number of times I was told by its proponents that "NLP changed my life". Which is surprising, perhaps, given our national, deep-rooted suspicion of anyone too happy or self-assured, and antipathy towards motivational speakers, self-help gurus and the sorts of people who run "positivity workshops". And NLP practitioners – whose vocabulary is littered with phrases such as "installing strategies", "behavioural technologies", "cybernetics", "deletion", "content reframing" and "hypnosis" – seem scarier than most. Yet NLP is big business in the UK. The movement's not-for-profit representative body here claims that there are "at least 30,000 qualified NLP practitioners in the UK".
"It amazes me some of the stories I hear about myself," says Bandler, 59, a smartly dressed stocky man with piercing blue eyes and longish grey hair, a little thin on top, wearing a bulky gold and gemstone ring. I meet him in a bland, corporate-style hotel in Orlando, Florida, where he is speaking at a nine-day course – one of many he runs each year – to teach others the "tools" of NLP. "One student told me someone had said, 'Don't go to Richard, all he wants to do is control everyone.'" Another critic, he says, claimed Bandler beat up his students. He sniffs briskly: "But all I have ever tried to do is make people happier."
Bandler's ideas were revolutionary. In the wake of the Summer of Love, as a university student in Santa Cruz, California, he joined forces with a young linguistics professor called John Grinder. Pooling their passions – neuroscience, Noam Chomsky, hypnosis and early information technology – they created the NLP blueprint and began gathering case studies. The over-arching motivation was scorn for traditional schools of psychotherapy – a burgeoning American industry at the time. "How is forcing a person to relive a bad experience going to help them get over it? It's just cruel," says Bandler.
Each day of the course, Bandler leads the morning session with a demonstration and a talk (Grinder is long since out of the picture; the pair acrimoniously parted ways following a bitter copyright lawsuit in 1997 – proof that even NLP experts don't have solutions for everything). At 10am on the dot, the hotel conference-room doors open to a loud blast of emphatically upbeat synth music: our call to action. As students amble towards their seats, some do jiggly little dance steps, others clap to the beat; there are sporadic whoops of enthusiasm. Of the 100-odd here for the course, people have travelled from as far afield as England, Japan, Australia, Turkey and Baghdad. Others have volunteered to be course assistants, paying their own flights and accommodation, just to be close to Bandler. (Which is not all that surprising when one considers that "students" can pay up to £10,000 for one of his intimate, three-day courses.) I'm intrigued to see him in action.
"How many of you are not artistic?" he asks from the stage, Hands are raised. "Is that because you weren't born with the 'art gene'?" It's a leading question. A table on the stage is kitted out with brushes, paints and paper and four non- artistic volunteers are plucked to sit at it, then put into a trance. "Every time you hear yourself saying 'I'm not the kind of person who...'," he murmurs to the budding artists, "I want you to laugh because it's just like masturbating one stroke at a time, it'll never get you there..." This is typical of the way Bandler talks. Crude quips, detailed anecdotes and seemingly random digressions spill out relentlessly, punctuated by sound effects, imitations and expletives. There's the one about how he punched a man ("Thwack!" who hit his own daughter because she was speaking to invisible angels (the girl was cured, naturally, by Bandler); the smut (the following day on stage he'll motivate a young man to clear out his garage by thinking about breasts) and the tales to discredit psychotherapists (cue the account of the time he smuggled rubber snakes into a schizophrenic's shower at a mental hospital to prove that he didn't require drugs for sanity, but simply the opportunity to differentiate between hallucinated and actual serpents).
"You all know my cure for schizophrenia is to alter reality not hallucinations," he says to his audience. "A lot of patients with mental issues simply don't have proper strategies." He's a little scary, but his thinking is persuasive. And it seems to be working on stage,too – the budding artists are – surprise surprise – confidently expressing themselves via the medium of acrylic paint. There had been similar turnarounds at the end of yesterday's session: the woman from Baghdad who thanked Bandler for "giving [her] life back" after he'd erased a horrific image from her mind; the delegate who had been petrified of heights but, by day three, was embracing several of Orlando's most dramatic rollercoasters. It's like watching a cross between Bernard Manning and Jesus.
Bandler doesn't work alone on these seminars. Also travelling with him are husband and wife John and Kathleen LaValle, who run his NLP training business and met Bandler around 20 years ago when they took one of his courses. John, a corporate coach, who specialises in NLP for business, is an imposing New Jersey native with the thick Sopranos accent to match, a ponytail and a fondness for Hawaiian shirts and Gothic bling. He fell for NLP while searching for a "better way to train" explains his lovely wife Kathleen (blonde with a streak of purple – NLP is also all about recognising the individual). She joined John after noticing that "communication at home really improved" since he encountered Bandler. Her sweet nature seems strangely at odds with the fact that one of her specialist areas is "sales and influence" – the area of NLP that involves techniques such as "mirroring" and "pacing" (matching the way someone else communicates, essentially, to get what you want from them).
"Richard may not be famous to the average person – but if you know NLP, he's a celebrity," confides Kathleen over a glass of Merlot later that evening. "He's the Tom Cruise of the industry." Given his Messiah-like reputation, he must get some interesting fans, I suggest... "Uh-huh. There are some pretty whacked-out types who'll go up to his [hotel]
room at three or four in the morning," she says, "or claim to be an old friend and try to get his number. We have to be careful." Some people also want to hassle him, she adds, particularly on religious grounds. "They think that fate is something you can't control. They get angry."
In life, Bandler has certainly wanted to control his own fate, it seems. "My mother is a wonderful person," he says of his childhood, "but she married a few bad drunks." He grew up in a tough part of New Jersey and says that, as a child, he had "every bone in his body broken by adults". His musician father "just took off one day" and they've never had a relationship. He sounds like a psychotherapist's dream. Is it his bad childhood that gave him the drive to help other people to get over difficulties? "Excuse me," he says, leaning forward, indignant. "The fact I was beaten up by adults as a child means I've never laid a hand on my kids. This nonsense about if your parents are alcoholics you're going to be an alcoholic – that's a bad post-hypnotic suggestion to live by."
But he does talk a lot about violence, I suggest. "I can be violent," he says bluntly. "If someone attacks me I will hurt them – and any person who's a pussy is frightened by that. I've popped a few shrinks, but I've never hit one hard enough to knock him down. [And] I've slapped a client across the face – just to wake him up, but I never hit 'em hard enough to leave a mark. In the supermarket I whacked some guy with a can of peas – but he was beating the crap out of a six-year-old kid." One can't imagine it helped his case when, in 1988, Bandler was charged with the murder of a woman – Corine Christensen, a prostitute and NLP student – shot dead in the face with Bandler's gun, while only he and a friend, allegedly his cocaine dealer, were present. The publicity surrounding the case painted him as a nasty piece of work.
"What pisses me off," he says, is that none of this has anything to do with any of the good work I've done." Bandler says he was set up for the murder (and, accordingly, the court acquitted him – "in 20 minutes!" he points out). "And yes, I took coke for a while. But I also went on a binge of Hershey bars for a while too, and I was addicted to peanuts for a year, probably far more than I was to cocaine." He doesn't shy away from discussing the case, and yet he has a way of being "upfront" about things that is quite disconcerting.
One thing (among many, it seems) that winds Bandler up is when people criticise him for not being perfect. "Well, I've got news for you," he says, "if I wasn't this imperfect I wouldn't have had room for improvement." He used to get irritated when people pulled him up for smoking – a habit NLP is popular for ridding people of. "I knew how to stop, I just didn't want to!" he says. "I'm not trying to get people to be enlightened. I'm not a guru. I'm not even terribly sociable, to tell you the truth." This is also part of the reason he says that he shies away from television: "I want to be able to walk down the street." Then he smiles: "Paul [McKenna] loves all that, though. The autographs, his phone constantly ringing. He's just moved to the Hollywood Hills and it suits him."
The two met after McKenna came along to a seminar and was so impressed that he immediately booked out his diary for three weeks to complete the whole course. "He was a good student – and it's really changed his career," says Bandler. "He used just to be a stage hypnotist – now he's a real agent for change." Bandler tells a story of the time they went for dinner in London and McKenna was glued to his mobile. "In the end I went to the bathroom and called him – it was the only way I could get his attention."
It's hard to steer Bandler off rambling anecdotes that don't a) belittle psychotherapists, and b) illustrate the successes of his work – but when you do, he talks affectionately about his family and how he feels his greatest achievement – far greater than inventing NLP – was his long marriage (to his late wife, Polly, who died after a long illness eight years ago) and raising two well-balanced children who don't need to use NLP. He beams when he describes how lucky he is to have recently been remarried, to Glenda, a good-looking doctor who has "whipped [him] into shape".
But just when you think you're getting to know Bandler, he's off on a tangent: safety on the streets of New York, John Lennon's murder, the time he "installed" vegetable phobias into a room full of vegans because they hadn't let him eat meat all day... Talking to Bandler one to one is much like listening to him on stage. "I've no secrets, nothing to hide," he cheerfully points out (I'm no NLP expert, but surely that's a phrase that should ring linguistic alarm bells).
And yet, open as he appears to be, there's a sense that the stuff you hear is somehow a well-managed distraction from the stuff you don't. Which, of course, given his vocation, is precisely what one would expect.
Back in the UK, I track down a few Brits who've been Bandlered", hoping for some dirt. No luck: they are universally evangelical. "He put me in a trance," recalls one woman. "I don't remember what happened, I just remember Richard saying: 'The floodgates of happiness are now open.' Then he touched my face and from that moment all of the rubbish of my life suddenly went," she says. "It was weird." It's a common reaction. In Orlando, over a conference break for lunch, there was a moment when a concerned-looking student, also a highly successful business coach, came over having seen me scribble down some of Bandler's rhetoric. "I'm not a groupie," she began, "but I just wanted to say that when I first heard Richard speak – all that sexual innuendo and stuff, I was offended and appalled. But it's deliberate, you know. It's all to create a heightened state – a state in which you're more aware. All the while he's talking, he's changing brain chemistry and implanting ideas. Since I've done you a favour," she continued carefully, "perhaps you might be kind enough to send me a copy of your piece."
sukkot: not really bro. i dont think i banned anyone at all. i handle power with grace.
LOL... Yeah, I am certain that you didn't ban folks any how back then.
For the records...
I have the scanned 1999 Guardian interview of Biriye, the father of Ijaw nationalism that I posted about above here. He took a swipe at the military and civilian leadership of the Ibos back in 1966 to 1967 for wanting to dominate other Nigerians via Decree 33 of 1966, and the first coup.
He bluntly said in every position, they were trying to out do or compete with the Yorubas who were far ahead of them at that time in development.
I will share the article which I saved in one of my Google Drives with you when I find the scan this week. I have never shared it with anyone before.
sukkot: and the game of power happened before the pronouncemet of the republic of biafra
@Sukkot, you are refering to Decree 34 of 1966 when Ironsi's military govt used that Decree 34 to centrally unify Nigeria and many Ibos were immediate transfered from the East to the Civil Service of other parts or regions of Nigeria.
The father of Ijaw nationalism, Chief Harold Dappa-Biriye, in a 1999 Guardian article, Biriye bluntly accused the Ibos of wanting to dominate Nigeria because Aguiyi Ironsi's irresponsible actions sent fears of ethnic Ibo domination among the ethnic minorities in the South as well as other major ethnicities.
Crime › Re: Ademola Afolabi Kazeem Arrested By NDLEA For Drug Trafficking by AlphaTaikun: 6:07pm On Nov 27, 2022
. You have to diversify your income streams though for true financial independence.
I wanted you to see MsTravelinDiva's thread because you and her share similarities (in terms of marriage and being over 40 in age, etc)... And you may want to visit Nigeria too for the first time since you are married to a Nigerian.
