₦airaland Forum

benedictac:
when will they show Miguel Varone

That's true o!!! With all the drama already going on, I wonder where he'll fit in.

56 more episodes n FH will finish I wish it had a fast forward button. I'm tired already!!!

You probably clicked this article because you found yourself in utter disbelief after reading the title. That’s the reaction the majority of people will have because… Who thinks there are any benefits of being a side chick?

Well, today, we’re going to play devil’s advocate because it’s almost Valentine’s Day and side chicks are getting severely ignored.

Honestly, it’s with good reason, but we’re in the mood to give a little love to the otherwise ignored on this love-filled holiday.

1. You get all the benefits, none of the bullsh*t.

You get all of the great parts from a relationship with none of the headache! Could you imagine what life would be like without the nagging and annoyances?

2. You’re not the one he’s lying to.

Everything is out in the open as there are no secrets. There is no tip-toeing around either of your feelings for each other or what this all “means.”

And isn’t that the biggest benefit of it all? (Spoiler: Yes)

3. You don’t have to pretend to be interested in anything.

You aren’t offending him when you straight up don’t care what he’s saying.

There’s no pretending to be interested for the sake of his feelings, as feelings are the last thing coming into play.

4. You’re never expected to pay for anything.

If dinner is involved, you know you aren’t paying for a thing. Why would this guy want to do something to piss you off? He should be thanking you for your discretion.

5. He’s always coming to you.

One of the best parts of this arrangement is you never have to leave the comfort of your own home.

He doesn’t want to run the risk of you leaving anything behind at his apartment, so everything is done right where you want it: your place.

6. You don’t have to share your bed.

How’s he going to explain to his girlfriend he’s sleeping out? He can’t and he won’t — so the bed goes back to being all yours at the end of the night. Perfect sleep, guaranteed.

7. You don’t even have to meet his friends.

In fact, he doesn’t even want you to!

8. …Or his parents.

He definitely doesn’t want to introduce you to them. In fact, he doesn’t want his family or friends to even know you exist.

9. You don’t have to worry about where it’s going.

You already know: NOWHERE! Doesn’t that ease your anxiety as it basically eliminates any and all worries about the future?


10. There is no talking.

Well, there is some talking, but it’s kept to a bare minimum. You don’t have to be bothered with someone else’s stresses or problems because he already has someone else to talk to that about.

Sounds f*cked up? At least you’re not the one with a significant other.

11. You never have to see him in daylight.

These little indiscretions are kept behind closed doors and after hours.

12. You never have to worry about looking good when you wake up.

Why? Because he won’t f*cking be there! You can wake up in all your glory: smudged eyeliner, messy hair and all.

13. You don’t have to explain where you stand with him to your friends.

There’s really nothing worse than your friends demanding you find out where you stand with a guy. When it comes to a situation like this, there really isn’t anything to debate.

14. You never have to worry or care about what he’s doing.

In fact, you really just don’t want to know. Until it’s time for some personal attention, he’s irrelevant to your life anyway.

15. It’s on your terms.

You call the shots when it comes to this because it’s based around your schedule — not the other way around.

16. You can always say “no.”

He’s the Yes Man and you’re the Decision Maker. All the power rests in your hands. You get to do whatever you want, whenever you want, without justifying it to anyone.

17. There may not be much moral high ground, but you definitely have an inch on him.

No matter how badly you may feel from time to time, it’s nothing compared to what must go through his mind.

18. It’s an automatic ego boost.

No man is going to risk cheating on his girlfriend with an ugly chick.

19. You don’t care if you don’t love him.

You don’t really care if you even like him, to be honest.

20. You’re never waiting by the phone.

There will never be nights where you sit and wait for this guy to hit you up. You’re too busy having fun with your friends and out living your life.

If he hits you up at a convenient time, great; if not, it’s not your problem.

21. There’s no breakup.

There is no awkward ending, no drastic conclusion, just something that fizzled out as it ran its course.

http://www.radar.ng/art-life/22-crazy-benefits-of-being-a-side-chick/

The spokesman for the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Mr. Kayode Idowu, has debunked reports that INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, would proceed on terminal leave on 1 March this year.

Idowu, who spoke on a TV programme monitored in Lagos, southwest Nigeria, on Tuesday, said Jega’s appointment was not guided by civil service rules and so he would serve until his tenure elapses on 30 June this year.

After the postponement of the elections last weekend, there have been reports that President Goodluck Jonathan’s next move is to relieve Jega of his job and replace him with a pliant person to conduct the elections.

Idowu also said the ballot papers for Nigeria’s presidential election scheduled to hold on 28 March were ready.

He said the ballot papers had been delivered by the printers and that they were being kept in the vault of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

He also disclosed that thousands of ad hoc staff were being trained for the elections initially billed to take place on 14 and 28 February but shifted to 28 March and 11 April.

He said the postponement would allow INEC perfect its preparations for the polls, adding that there can never be 100% preparations for an election since things continue to change until the last day of the polls.

But Idowu may not be right after all on reports that Jega may be asked to proceed on terminal leave in March.

A Federal civil service circular, issued by former head of service, Alhaji Isa Bello Sali entitled, ‘Three Months pre-retirement/terminal leave’ made no distinction as to whether one is a career civil servant or a political appointee.

According to the circular, “It has been observed that the mandatory notice of retirement for officers who are due to retire is not being observed as provided for in the extant rules. Accordingly, it has become necessary to reiterate the provisions of Public Service Rules (PSR) 100238 which states that officers are required to give three months notice of their retirement from service terminating on the effective date of their retirement”

The circular was addressed and sent to the Chief of Staff to the President, Chief Justice of the Federation, all Ministers, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Service Chiefs, the Inspector-General of Police, Chairman Federal Civil Service Commission, the Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Others are Heads of extra-ministerial departments, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Auditor-General of the Federation, Surveyor-General of the Federation, Directors-General/chief executives of parastatals and agencies.

Jega’s predecessor, Prof Maurice Iwu. Iwu’s tenure was due to expire on June 13, 2010. However, on April 28, 2010, then acting President Jonathan, ordered Iwu to proceed on terminal leave.

Former IGP Abubakar’s tenure was due to end on July 30, 2014 but he proceeded or was sent on terminal leave on May 12, 2014. Former Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Dahiru Musdapher voluntarily proceeded on terminal leave three months before the constitutional or mathematical end of his tenure.

http://thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2015/02/10/inec-spokesman-denies-jegas-terminal-leave/

Captain Sagir Koli who leaked the #EkitiGate audio and documentary which had Governor Ayo Fayose, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, Iyiola Omisore, Brigadier General Momoh and others planning how they will stifle and trample the opposition using the military and other security agencies said he did it for the unity of Nigeria and the military.

“In order to strengthen the unity and continue existence of Nigeria, I call on the federal Government to desist from using the military for partisan politics. This is to avoid the military from being divided along ethnic and regional lines which is dangerous to the defence of the nation,” Koli said.

In an affidavit titled: How the Nigerian Army personnel were used to rig Ekiti and Osun States Gubernatorial Elections 2014., Captain Sagir Koli gave details of all that transpired between himself, his Commanding officer, two Ministers and some politicians prior to the elections in the state.
See the full text of his submission below:

Staff In Confidence

How the Nigerian Army personal were used to Rig Ekiti and Osun States Gubernatorial Elections 2014.

1. I was officially deployed as the 32, Artillery Brigade Intelligence Officer to provide credible Intelligence to the success of Ekiti State governorship election. At about 2030 hours on June 2014, a day to the election proper, the commander, Brigadier General AA Momoh told me to escort him to a place where the State Minister for Defence wanted to see him.

Reaching the place (Spotless Hotel in Ado- Ekiti), which serves as coordinating campaign office for the PDP candidate Mr. Ayodele Fayose, we met the Minister himself, Mr of Police Affairs, Mr Fayose, My Iyiola Omisore, one Honoruable Abdulkareem and host of other top PDP chieftains.

The Outcome of what was discussed that gave the party victory during the election are as follows:

A. They told brigade commander that they are on presidential assignment and they cannot afford to fail. Also, they told him that they were there to remove any obstacles that would block their victory and the commander is the key; therefore, he has no option but to collaborate with them. They said, if the commander play(ed) with them, his promotion is in their hands and the president and the chief of army Staff would be very angry with him and he knows what that means.

B.They directed that soldiers on election duty must work hand in hand with the PDP agents and give them all the necessary support they needed without limitation.

C. They ordered the arrest of selected APC stalwarts that could greatly assist the party during the election including the DG campaign organisation for Dr Fayemi Mr Bimbo Daramola. APC members in Ekiti State should be interviewed of what they went through. We were forced to do a dirty job for them with a threat of court martial.

D.They directed that soldiers must block APC members’ access to the electorates but all PDP supporters’ movement anywhere using a designated sticker with inscription, “National Security Task” it should be noted that some of these PDP agents were given NYSC uniforms because we were well briefed by the commander.

E. Chief Chris Uba who also said he was from the presidency entered Ado- Ekiti a day to the election accompanied by 16 commissioned Army officers (Major and below) led by Major Ujung of 82 Base Ammunitions Depot from Nigeria Army 82 Division Enugu. Their major task was to effect arrest and move secret materials and money. This money was brought from CBN Umuahia.


Photo: SaharaReporters

F. Chief Chris Uba was physically present with the soldiers and the commander at Forward Operational Base (FOB) close to government house in Ado- Ekiti. He personally supervised the movement of the strike force. This act of a civilian directing military operation is highly unprofessional and tarnishing of the military discipline and regimentation.

G. Chief Chris Uba entered Ado-Ekiti a day to the election accompanied by military/police escort with 2 black tinted Hilux Vans with “secret” materials according to him. Items inside the vans were 1000/500 Naria notes closed and cloned marked ballot papers.

H. Chris Uba, Minster of police Affairs, Obanikoro and Co said this is just a test run that should not fail and its to be done in SS and SW states, moreover, Rivers State to make sure Rotimi Ameachi bow to the federal government.

2. Based on the aforementioned, they succeeded in rigging the Ekiti State election with victory in all the 16 LGAs.

These really inspired them and they were with the euphoria that same would happen in Osun State. In preparation of the plans, they confirmed the posting of the commander and task him to prepare for Osun State election (remember that Osun State is not part of 32 Artillery Brigade Area of operations) but they ordered the Nigerian Army Construction Engineers Commander Brigadier General Adeyemi to proceed for 3 weeks compulsory leave until after the election just to pave way for General Momah to repeat the same dirty work that he has done to them in Ekiti State.

3. In build-up towards the Osun State elections, the commander directed me as his intelligence officer who has worked with him perfectly in Ekiti State to go ahead and recce (Army word for Spy or Survey ) the area as well as familiarize myself with all stake holders for the election. While I and my team were working for the operations, the commander was in Abuja re-strategizing how to use the military to rig the elections.

Feelers based on my discussion with him on phone confirmed to me beyond reasonable doubt that we were repeating the same compromise in Osun State.

My heart got burnt and become disenchanted and in total disagreement with such being professional junior officer aspiring to become a General tomorrow.

4. However efforts to explain my grievances prove abortive due to the military dictatorial hierarchy in channel of communication vis a vis threat of court martial from the commander.

I resorted to alert the APC high level officials with the aim of stopping Army from partisan involvement during election. A week to the election, the commander came back from Abuja and he made revelations being their final arrangement on how the PDP was to become victorious in Osun state as follows:

A. After welcome address by the commander, he thanked all his staff officers, and said “you all know who we are working for, so you guys MUST follow my direction. I am working for the presidency and the ruling party as you all know, is no longer a hidden thing” for those of you who are moles among us, the presidency is watching you, be careful because the consequence will be severe.

I learnt that some of you went to Lagos and met with Tinubu without knowing that his line is already bugged at Abuja, then we are in trouble, but before somebody will kill me I have to kill him first” (referring to me). The commander asked how many of us were involved, that I should say the truth, he now held a secret talk with the operation officer and military police officer to tie and handcuff me to Army HQs, from there I know that my life was in danger.

B. The commander categorically told us that the soldiers were to work under PDP agents while their platoon commanders only supervise the soldiers conduct. He briefed the officers that were working the list of agents and those to be arrested at the SGF office in Abuja and once the list is out everybody must work with accordingly.

C. The commander briefed us on the formation of a strike-force in conjunction with police, DSS and NSCDC and he would command the strike force directly. Their duty was to work directly with the PDP aspirant for arrest and intimidation of APC supporters in their strong hold.

D. Money was shared openly at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp Ede to the strike force to ensure compliance.

5. Having said all of the above, I must state before concluding that:

A, My brother Adamu Koli a 15yrs old school boy was under detention since on the 2nd August 2014. The boy stays with me at 32 Artillery Brigade Akure.

B. Brigadier General AM Dikko who they consulted initially for the scam insisted that the army must remain professional and apolitical, was disgracefully removed from his command which he served only for 7 months just to allow General Momoh to carry out the dirty work.

6. Last but not the least, to further substantiate my submission and how my dear-loving, hard-achieving noble calling was de-professionalized; here is the recorded voices of the Ministers, the aspirant and the Brigade Commander. Other officers present at the hotel were Major Aliyu and captain Adegoke who were also part of the officers that escorted commander to the venue where the compromise was made. Also conversation between the commander and Abuja could be traced via MTN, GLO, on the under listed phone numbers (between 20-21 June 2014).

A. 08037033694
B. 08055832835

7,Lastly, in order to strengthen the unity and continue existence of Nigeria, I call on the federal Government to desist from using the military for partisan politics. This is to avoid the military from being divided along ethnic and regional lines which is dangerous to the defence of the nation. I remain a patriotic Nigerian and a loyal professional army officer.

God bless you all

Thank you for listening. Captain Sagir Koli

Culled from PremiumTimes

http://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2015/02/07/why-i-leaked-ekiti-election-rigging-tape-nigerian-army-captian/

Praise God! Guys, Omonigho Abraham, the four year old boy who was attacked by dogs in the Igando area of Lagos State, has returned into the country from an India medical trip.

Omonigho returned into Nigeria on Thursday, yesterday, with his father, Odia, and mother, Helen, who went with him on the trip.

Last year, October 7, 2014, the young boy was attacked by two dogs at their house on Adegboyega Street, Akesan Estate. Omonigho was playing with his two brothers, Osemudiamen and Bobby, when the dogs, owned by their landlord, pursued them.

While the others escaped because they were older, the dogs bit off Omonigho's scalp and dragged
him around. Policemen and residents who came around could not rescue him until his mother arrived at the scene and fought off the dogs.

PUNCH had reported that his stay at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, was marred by complaints of neglect and at a point, his father raised the alarm that Omonigho’s condition had worsened.

In December, Odia announced that the Delta State Government and a non-governmental organisation, Global Initiative for Peace, Love and Care had concluded plans to fly him to India.

An alternative plan by the Lagos State Government was turned down by the victim’s family, who said the India travel plan had been concluded.

The four-year-old departed for India on November 28, 2014 despite concerns by the Lagos State Commissioner of Health, Mr. Jide Idris, that his condition was delicate and needed special attention.

When PUNCH Metro spoke with the family during the week while they were still in India, the mother said there were improvements in her son’s condition. She added that the family would be arriving Lagos on Thursday.

His father, Odia, on Thursday later told the newspaoer that the family finally arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport around 2pm. He said:
 “We touched down at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport around 2pm. We are on our way home now. The doctors in India have completed their job. My boy is back to normal. I thank God that everything is okay.”
He appreciated the efforts of the Delta State Government, the NGO and the media for the attention given to his son. He also acknowledged the support of the Lagos State Government during his admission in LASUTH.

http://www.lailasblog.com/2015/01/omonigho-abraham-boy-attacked-by-dogs.html?m=1

Queenhadassah:
Miguel and Fabiola's romance is annoying. Whenever Miguel says 'shawty' I just cringe. I prefer miguel with cecilia. Miguel and Fabiola is a NO for me. That JM's new bodyguard was 'gemma' in labour of love.

I've been trying to figure out where I had seen JM's new b/guards' face since I saw her. Now that u mentioned it, it just clicked. As for Miguel n Fabiola, I tire for them. With all the wrinkles on his face, he's still doing 'shawty'.

bentenny:
...nah..i used deir body language 2 understand wat dey were doing...i know it sounds funny but i was just too eager to know wat happened @ d end!

Lol.... I tried it once with FH. I watched the episode where Nicholas confessed to everyone that Willy & Sammy weren't siblings in Spanish but it was much more interesting watching the English version

bentenny:
Waoh just finished watching the spanish version of broken angel...didnt really like the end part but i tink an 8 out of 10 is gud enough...a very gud telenovela...had so many life lessons...thumbs up

Was it subtitled or u understand Spanish?

Femi Fani-Kayode, Time to Fully Disclose Your Psychiatric History – Ilesanmi Omabomi
Yesterday the PDP’s Media and Publicity spokesperson, Femi Fani-Kayode questioned the health status of the APC’s presidential candidate, retired General Mohammadu Buhari (“GMB”). He said there were concerns that he had prostate cancer and if true, Nigerians will like to pray for him. He argued and I, unfortunately agreed with him, that Nigerians are entitled to full disclosure on this issue. However, I disagree with his idea of the scope of full disclosure needed or the meaning of full disclosure. Given Femi Fani-Kayode’s position it is clear to every Nigerian that he is doing the bidding of his master, President Goodluck “Dumbo” Jonathan (“GEJ”)
Permit me to remind my readers that GEJ was the vice presidential candidate to the then overtly sick late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua who was flown to Germany for treatment after collapsing in public. I do not remember GEJ asking the late Yar Adua make to full disclosure to Nigerians? GEJ was an active and willing participant in that political fraud because it paved the way for him to take over the presidency.
Nigerians have been and continue to call for GEJ to release his Ph.d. thesis as a way of settling concerns that he plagiarized as his reasoning and utterances fall well short of a properly educated first degree holder. Fani-Kayode, I guess, does not realize the benefit of full disclosure on this issue.
When Patience Jonathan flew to Germany for medical treatment last year at the expense of Nigerians and their resources and returned in a presidential plane, I guess Fani-Kayode was in one of his self-induced “stupors” and forgot to remind GEJ that Nigerians were entitled to full disclosure of his wife’s medical condition. Patience Jonathan of the “there is God O” infamy may not be an elected official but the nexus between her medical condition and full disclosure to Nigerians is that our resources paid her medical bills – he who pays the piper dictates the tune!
When Femi Fani-Kayode became OBJ’s spokesman and later the Minister of Aviation (a ministry that he fleeced for billions and is still on trial for), Nigerians who were familiar with Fani-Kayode’s history of psychiatric imbalance demanded full disclosure of his treatment history. As far as I know we are yet to get the full disclosure. Again, he may have been too “zoned out” to recall.
Given the fact that the nightmare and trauma that GEJ has become to this country is the inevitable concomitant of Yar Adua’s refusal to make full disclosure to Nigerians regarding his medical condition, Nigerians are right to be wary of a presidential candidate who looks well on his way to defeat an incumbent president for the first time in the history of this country – a fact that is the actual motivation for Fani-Kayode’s diatribe rather than any genuine concern for the rights of Nigerians to know. Having said that, I believe GMB, who has publicly declared his assets, will also be willing to release his medical records on the following conditions:
GEJ should publicly declare his assets and apologize for not giving “a damn before”;
GEJ provides full explanation as to why his wife was charged by the Ribadu led EFCC for money laundering – forget Nuhu Ribadu’s self-serving denial. The court docket number is available and Ribadu only succeeding in making a fool of himself. The connection being that the money came from what GEJ stole from the Bayelsa state coffers;
GEJ makes a full disclosure of his medical records, including full disclosure of the treatment for his ogogoro induced liver schlerosis at a London-England clinic;
GEJ makes full disclosure of how much it cost Nigerians to treat his wife in Germany; and
GEJ discloses the full amount of estacode he earns per night on his foreign trips as a way of settling concerns that the speculated $100,000 per night estacode is the primary motivation of his frequent and unproductive foreign trips.
To digress a bit, I think the reason why GEJ, Fani-Kayode, and other members of his campaign team are still in this game is because the APC, for reasons best known to them, have chosen not to land the final flurry of Mike-Tyson like blows on a presidential candidate who is clearly on the ropes. GMB and APC need to borrow a leaf from Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. While trying to please the conservatives in his quest for the Republican nomination for the presidency John McCain made the regrettable revelation that he voted with/for the outgoing and unpopular George Bush 100% of the time. The Obama Campaign Team knew they had a game changer. Thereafter in the presidential election campaign, everywhere candidate Obama went he reminded American voters that McCain was the same as the outgoing Bush and a vote for him was a return to the Bush ways which they have rejected. John McCain could not extricate himself from the assault and he went on to lose that election.
I believe the above is precisely what GMB and his team need to do to GEJ. GMB needs to tie corruption on GEJ’s neck until he is politically suffocated and maybe directly accuse him of being personally corrupt because that is the fact.  At every campaign stop GMB needs to remind Nigerian voters of the following:
GEJ’s brutal economic attack on Nigerians through the fuel subsidy removal and his blatant refusal, to date, to hold any of his friends who stole the trillions accountable;
 GEJ’s stated position that he does not believe in investigating, prosecute and imprisoning those who are convicted for corruption because it is GEJ’s constitutional duty – he does not have a choice;
GEJ’s refusal to account for the missing $20 billion of oil proceeds;
Stella Oduah’s BMW scandal for which the PDP attempted to reward her with a senatorial seat;
GEJ’s allocation of N1 billion naira for his feeding while millions of Nigerians cannot get garri to “soak”; and
GEJ’s decision to allocate billions of Naira for the purchase of a new presidential jet in the 2015 budget at a time when the price of oil has declined by more than 50% and he is asking Nigerians to make sacrifice. GEJ and his friends enjoyed the bounty and they should be the ones making the sacrifice.
Mr. Fani-Kayode, notwithstanding the fact that every reasonable Nigerian within and outside the PDP is aware that the reason you are crying more than the bereaved is that GEJ has your balls in a nut crusher over your trial for the billions allegedly stolen from the Aviation Ministry, I hope you will find the above to be factual, assuming you are not in one of those self-induced “stupors”.
GEJ is a drowning man politically speaking. You can see it in his body language. You can see it in his uncontrolled outbursts, you can see it in the refusal of PDP governors and other elected officials to stick their net for him, the refusal of his oil subsidy theft billionaires friends to be seen with him. Even the refusal of a formerly straight forward Reuben Abati to engage in defending GEJ speaks volume.
My friend Fani-Kayode, since you have forgotten that those who live in glass house should not throw stones and have decided to get high with a mud-slinging rather than issues campaign, you are welcome to the mud fight. GMB maybe too decent for it but because your utterances have the capability of confusing unwary Nigerians voters, it has become the responsibility of every Nigerian who cares about this potentially great country to respond to your tales and set the facts straight. I am hoping to hear from you soon.

http://omojuwa.com/2015/01/femi-fani-kayode-time-to-fully-disclose-your-psychiatric-history-ilesanmi-omabomi/

Vanije:
@Rust2000 How far with the issue now?

Rust2000 changed her moniker to blendy77 and has twin boys now. I was really inspired by this thread. I'm glad I found my way here.

CAIRO (AP) - After gunmen in Paris killed 12 people, Saudi Arabia's top body of Muslim clerics quickly condemned the attack and said it could have no acceptable justification. It was a signal from some of the Islamic world's strictest voices that cartoons lampooning the Prophet Muhammad in the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo were not a reason to kill the artists.
Only days later, Saudi Arabia sent an opposing message: On Friday, a young Saudi was whipped 50 times in a public square in the city of Jiddah, the first of what will be 20 such weekly rounds of lashes. That, along with 10 years in prison, is his sentence from the kingdom's religious-based courts for insulting Islam, based on posts on his blog criticizing prominent clerics close to the monarchy.
The contradiction points to the difficulties at a time of a growing debate within Islam about whether and how to  reject a radical minority that some fear is dragging them into conflict and wrecking the faith.
Western critics are increasingly brazen about suggesting there is something inherent in Islam that is sparking violence by some of its adherents. Most Muslims reject this, arguing that the tumult of the post-colonial Middle East has created fertile ground for radicalism among people whose faith is fundamentally one of peace.
Nonetheless, the past year has seen increasing voices among Muslims saying their community must re-examine their faith to modernize its interpretations and sideline extremists. As much as recent attacks in the West, the rise of startlingly vicious violence by Sunni Muslim militants in the name of Islam against fellow Muslims, including Sunnis, brought it home for many Muslims that something must change in religious discourse.
In Syria and Iraq, the Islamic State group has butchered entire families of Sunnis and beheaded Sunni soldiers, as well as Western hostages. In Pakistan, a Dec. 16 militant attack on a school that killed 150 people, mostly children, stunned the country. It made many Pakistanis question any empathy they felt in the past toward militant groups - the attitude of "even if they're wrong, they're still fellow Muslims."
"Now I hear more people talking openly against extremism and militancy," said Hasan-Askari Rizvi, an independent political analyst in Pakistan.
When people ask "why Islam?", much of the answer has little to do with the religion itself. The Arab world has seen decades of bloodshed and foreign intervention unlike any in any other region - long entrenched dictatorships, regime suppression, two Iraq wars, the Syrian civil war and Libya's turmoil.
Those conflicts have stirred up hatreds - against the U.S., against the West, against Shiites and other communities - that rebound back into religion. Some youth angered by the conflicts find the answers in the version of "true Islam" touted by extremists like al-Qaida and the Islamic State group and promoted on the Internet. Those groups tell them Islam requires them to use violence to defend the faith, then provide whole networks to make it easy for them to do so.
Notably, Cherif Kouachi, one of the French brothers behind the Charlie Hebdo killings, appears to have been first radicalized by hearing of abuses of Iraqi inmates by American guards at Abu Ghraib prison.
The attack on Charlie Hebdo prompted condemnations from across the Muslim world -and fueled voices in the West contending that Islam fuels violence. Social media feeds bristled that insults to other religions do not tend to spark murders.
That frustrates many Muslims who tire of apologizing for an extremist fringe they view as distorting their religion. Still, Muslims are also turning inward for change in the community.
The most prominent call came days before the attack, when Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi gave a speech to Muslim clerics saying interpretations developed over centuries have made the Muslim world a "source of worry, danger, killing and destruction in the whole world." He called for a "religious revolution" to modernize the faith.
The Paris attack added a complication to the debate, because of the magazine's extremely broad lampooning of Islam's Prophet Muhammad. Muslims who denounced the killings were often clearly discomfited by the content and defended their right to be upset over cartoons even some Western critics said crossed into racism.
In Egypt and Lebanon, political cartoonists published cartoons expressing solidarity with Charlie Hebdo, with images of pens standing up to gunmen. On Twitter, some pointed to Ahmed Merabet, a Muslim policeman of Algerian heritage killed by the attackers. "I am Ahmed the dead cop. Charlie ridiculed my faith and culture and I died defending his right to do so," was a tweet of solidarity circulating among Muslims.
"Obviously the act of terrorism is a far greater evil that the question of satirical comments," Khalid Samad, a lawmaker from an Islamist political party in mostly Muslim Malaysia, said.
But some in the religious establishment struggled with the issue.
On pan-Arab satellite channel al-Arabiya Thursday night, an official from al-Azhar, the state-run Egyptian institution that is one of the most prestigious centers of Sunni Islam, said al-Azhar is working to modernize religious discourse, in part by interpreting texts in light of the context in place and time as opposed to literally.
"But we can't exonerate the West for its insulting of the prophet. I'm not justifying what happened, but these are causes," Sheikh Ashraf Saad said. "Just as we condemn extremists, we must also condemn these freedoms that have reached the point of insulting the prophet."
He was countered by a Saudi journalist on the panel, Mshari al-Thaydi. "But the question is, why is it Muslims who get so angry and kill and blow things up? The French magazine insulted the pope, the Dalai Lama. ... Why do we express our anger in this way?
"We have 1,436 years in the history of Islam," he said. "Why do we hand ourselves over to a particular person who picks what he wants from that heritage and says that's Islam and accept it or you've left the faith?"
That hits to the issue of who speaks for Islam, where in the Sunni branch in particular, individual clerics build on centuries of scholarship to argue what the faith requires.
Al-Qaida and the Islamic State group roughly take elements from two relatively modern strands. One is the writing of Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood thinker Sayed Qutb, with its tenets that Muslim society has fallen from faith and violent jihad must be waged to bring "God's rule." The other is Wahhabism, a reform movement with a strict, literal and uncompromising interpretation of texts aimed at purging Islam of innovations. Wahhabism became the official doctrine of Saudi Arabia, which has promoted it around the Muslim world.
State religious institutions across the region, meanwhile, are widely criticized as stagnant. Government control has undermined their credibility among both liberal Muslims and militants. That was clear when Saudi Arabia's top religious body, the Council of Senior Scholars, condemned the Paris attack and called it "unacceptable under any justification."
That prompted a torrent of derision on Twitter from militant sympathizers who accused the clerics of doing the bidding of the U.S.-allied Saudi monarchy and protecting those who insult Muhammad. "The masks fall and reveal those who lick the boots of dictators," one proclaimed.

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_289563/contentdetail.htm?full=true&contentguid=nSTYSak0&detailindex=#display

Yanaye Grema hid for three days between a wall and his neighbours’ house, as Boko Haram fighters ransacked his hometown of Baga on the shore of Lake Chad in Nigeria’s far northeast.

The 38-year-old fisherman already knew the attack was serious: he joined civilian vigilantes to defend the town but their simple weapons were no match for the Islamists’ superior firepower.

“People fled into the bush while some shut themselves indoors,” he said of last Saturday’s attack.

“The gunmen pursued fleeing residents into the bush, shooting them dead,” he told AFP from the Borno state capital, Maiduguri.

But it was only after breaking cover on Tuesday night that he realised the true scale of the attack, which it is feared may be one of the worst in the six-year insurgency.

“For five kilometres (three miles), I kept stepping on dead bodies until I reached Malam Karanti village, which was also deserted and burnt,” he said.

Local officials this week said the attack forced at least 20,000 people from Baga and other settlements in and around Lake Chad to flee, many of them across the border.

Nearly 600 others had been stranded on an island on the lake without food, water or shelter.

– Looting and burning –

The attack wasn’t the first on Baga. Nearly 200 people were killed in April 2013, when militants stormed the town and set much of it on fire, prompting fierce fighting with the Nigerian military.

This time, the Islamists met less resistance and were able to take over the town and overrun the headquarters of the Multinational Joint Task Force, which is based there.

At least 16 towns and villages in the area were razed.

Security analysts believe the targets of last weekend’s attack were the civilian vigilantes helping the military in the counter-insurgency.

Hiding from view between the wall and the house, behind a roadside stall and the cover of a thick neem tree, Grema said the rampaging Islamists unleashed mayhem.

“All I could hear were ceaseless gunshots, explosions, screams from people and chants of ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is greatest) from the Boko Haram gunmen,” he added.

“I remained in my hiding place until Tuesday evening.

“Every night when it was dark, I would furtively scale the fence into my house to quickly eat garri (processed cassava granules) and drink water and go back to my hideout.”

His family was not at home. They were in Kukawa, 40 kilometres (25 miles) away, paying their respects after Boko Haram killed his wife’s cousin about two months ago.

“Some of the Boko Haram gunmen camped outside the Baga main market just 700 metres from my hideout,” he explained.
“At night I could see lights from the power generator they ran. I could also hear their cheering and laughter.

“Luckily on Monday some of the gunmen withdrew while others stayed in the town. This reduced their number, which made it difficult for them to patrol the whole town. It worked to my advantage.

“On Tuesday they began looting the market and every home in the town… Around 6:00 pm (1700 GMT) they set fire to the market and began burning homes. I decided it was time I leave before they turn in my direction.

“Around 7:30 pm I ventured out of my hiding and started to walk away from the noise coming from the gunmen. It was dark, so no-one could see me.”

– Nomad herdsman –

In the bush, Grema chanced upon an old man at a nomadic Fulani herdsmen’s settlement, who advised him to move west to avoid running into the militants.

“His warning frightened me but made me more determined to get away. I thanked him and moved on,” he said.
“I quickened my pace. I soon caught up with… four women. One of them was carrying a baby on her back.

“They told me they were among hundreds of women that were arrested by Boko Haram and detained in the home of the district head which Boko Haram had converted into a women’s detention centre.”

Three of the women had been separated from their children, he added.

Grema said he pushed out on his own, as the women were “too slow”, running and walking throughout the night, before arriving at Kekeno village near Monguno, 65km away, the following morning.

On Thursday, he took a bus from Monguno to Maiduguri.

“I will never forget this experience and I will forever be grateful to the old Fulani nomad for his life-saving advice,” he added.

http://newswirengr.com/2015/01/10/i-kept-stepping-on-dead-bodies-escapee-from-boko-haram-narrates-ordeal/

Maycuity:
pls which episode are they in where is elisa and broken angel?

WIE - Episode 67
BA - Episode 107

favoredgal:
Who is Natalia again? Name doesn't ring a bell

The BLONDIE who helped Miguel find his "ALEX".

favoredgal:
Wished they allowed Miguel be with that willy/ Bernardo's secretary. Cecelia

This Fabiola is too young for him. Not feeling this budding romance

Abi o.... Even Alex looked too young for him. Natalia won't hv been a bad choice either.

Orikinla:
Fearless Heart has continuity issues.
Many things don't add up.
Great dialogues, but poor plots.

Yeah, it does. But many of us still follow it.

post=29026629:
I swear you just read my mind, btw that Nicholas is just a silly boy, trying to feel like he can make decisions, and i dont even get it, Angela(Milagros) knows shes a fugitive so why does she keep going out and she has forgotten about Nora sharp sharp. That Duval after all his good at my job bullshit, so he actually covered up his own secret.

Nicholas is really behaving like a spoilt brat. He's getting too much attention and Willy is always explaining one thing or the other to him. Its all getting into his big head. Mtcheew I tire for Angela o and for Duval, hes the laziest n most incompetent cop I've seen since, always waiting for "evidence" to come n meet him in his office. Lazy bonzoo

AARRRRRGGGHHHH!!!!!! Why did FH have to finish nah!!! I was just beginning to enjoy today's episode. Juan Marcos has finally seen Angela aka Milagros. Sometimes i feel Lorena isn't really preggos. She moves around too easily. Always wants to drink alcohol till someone reminds her that shes pregnant. So Camilo was arrested today. But why Miguel didn't tell Duval that Camilo was Luis.... Hmmmm... Bernardo is a very interesting character. Still taunting Fernanda while shes down. But still both of them can't do without each other. Miguel on the other hand won't last with Alex. She's too much of a loose head. Now she has OD'd. I hope he finds someone better.

Seeing the look on Bernardo's n Esteban's face was too funny. They tried to pretend they didn't know what Nicholas was talking about. Willy has a forgiving spirit. Some guys go first do shakara before them go gree forgive d woman.

..........and Willy wears d purple shirt oh oh Gustavo is wearing his too. Na wa o

@ stalker; I've been around tho in guest mode most times. Hope u r good too.

@favoredgirl ; u r very right, being Gustavo's woman suits Milagros better.

FH mumu Vincente just got himself killed for nothing. But its a good thing tho, cos he has passed on the purple shirt to Gustavo While the women hv a whole warehouse full of clothes, the men were given one little box of clothes to share O ma se o

post=28721863:
Samantha is still goingto have another baby that she will carry herself.

I didn't say she'll never be able to. Besides, many of us here hv also read the full story

RikoduoSennin:
Thank you very much, so this baby is going to be Willy's and Samantha's with Lorena as the surrogate mom.

How did Sammy lose her pregnancy again?

Yes, Lorena will be the surrogate mum. Sammy had an ectopic pregnancy n it had to be terminated. She lost a lot of blood n had to be operated on. When Sammy asked if she could ever be a mother again, Lorena said she could but it will take a miracle for her to carry the pregnancy.

RikoduoSennin:
Please can someone tell me if Samantha is pregnant for Willy again and How is Lorena pregnant with Willy's baby?

Sammy had issues after she lost her pregnancy so they did artificial insemination for Lorena using Willy's spérm. It was a medical procedure so Willy n Lorena didn't actually *coughs*, u know what I mean .

preetydiva:
Very correct coz I know Fernanda is a product of Incest by ofilia and Bernardo. Nora brought them (fernanda and willy)up till she went to jail. if I'm wrong pls correct me o. I don't know it all.

My thots too. I guess that's why Ofelia is over-protective of her.

Sipe n jj out.

Butterfly n Mambea r out.

Hmmmmm....... First 6 names for eviction r in IK 's hands

Finally, I get to watch the missing FH episode.

dahmie2013:
I don't like dis queen of d south dey are repeating o! Dey shud even change d timing&put broken angel in place of dis one. D sound track is quack, I even like d one of aurora. One thing is 4 sure, telemundo shudnt repeat fearless heart.
Fransisca is really dealing with my santa, I think dat press statement she gave caused dat problem 4 her.

At this rate, all will be repeated. I'm eagerly waiting for DMD's turn Its just funny tho that QOTS has started and will most likely end before FH will finish