₦airaland Forum

Gunmen early yesterday attacked a medium security prison in Akure, Ondo State and freed about 175 inmates.
The gunmen raided the Olokuta prison at about 12.30 am using explosives to force their way into the facility.
About 30 gunmen were said to be involved in the attack. They made way for the inmates to escape before they fled.
Witnesses said the gunmen attacked the walls with dynamite before gaining access to the over 180 capacity prison.
They moved from cell to cell and freed those they came for, while some took advantage of the development and ran away.
Witnesses say the prison is located a few kilometers from the 32 Artillery Brigade, Akure.
The Comptroller of Prison, Tunde Olaniyan denied four people died in the attack. He said some of the fleeing inmates had been arrested.
He said the gunmen had superior weapons making it possible for them to escape before reinforcement arrived.
Spokesman of the Ondo State police command, Wole Ogodo denied claims members of the Boko Haram sect carried out the attack. He said the attackers were armed robbers who came to free their colleagues in the prison.

Source: Dailytrust.com

About 15 suspected members of the Boko Haram sect have been arrested in Lagos by security agents.
They were arrested at various parts of the metropolis, with most of them arrested at Ijora Badia and Kotankowa areas, it was gathered.

The 15 suspects were among the 1661 people that were arrested by Ops MESA between February and May in the state, Daily Trust learnt.

The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Divi-sion of the Nigerian Army, Major General Umahi, while reviewing the activities of the army in Lagos and Ogun State, stated that the Joint Military Task Force, Ops MESA, arrested 1361 miscreants within the Lagos area, while its counterpart attached to the Quick Response Squad, arrested 115 criminals along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.

“Those arrested by the Quick Response Squad include 71 males and 53 females. These criminals are among those terrorising innocent citizens plying the route,” he added.
He said all the suspects have since been handed over to the police for further investigation and prosecution.
General Umahi maintained that the Quick Response Squad was created by the Chief of Army Staff to assist the police in patrolling flash points along federal highways.

http://dailytrust.com.ng/index.php/news-news/57942-15-boko-haram-suspects-arrested-in-lagos

Leader of the Boko Haram sect Imam Abubakar Shekau hails from Niger Republic, according to the report of a Senate joint committee that investigated the deadly violence in Baga town of Borno State in April.

Senate report says Baga death toll exaggerated

Leader of the Boko Haram sect Imam Abubakar Shekau hails from Niger Republic, according to the report of a Senate joint committee that investigated the deadly violence in Baga town of Borno State in April.

Shekau is widely believed to be from Shekau village of Yobe State, but the Senate committee in its report submitted yesterday said Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima told visiting senators that the man was actually from the neighbouring Republic of Niger.

The report, a copy obtained by Daily Trust, said senators were told that “although the Boko Haram sect members have some Chadians and Cameroonians within their midst about 80 per cent of them are of Kanuri tribe, adding that the leader of the sect Abubakar Shekau is a Kanuri from Niger Republic.”

Shekau became leader of the group in 2009 following the death in police custody of erstwhile leader Mohammed Yusuf.

He is believed to have spearheaded the regrouping of the sect, which quickly graduated from conducting targeted drive-by shootings in Maiduguri to launching massive bomb assaults in Abuja, Kano, Kaduna and other places in the North.

Although he has not been seen in public since July 2009, Shekau has released occasional internet videos in which he makes claims of responsibility of attacks and taunts the Federal Government.

‘Exaggerated’

The Senate on April 23 mandated its committees on Defense and Army, Police Affairs, and National Security and Intelligence to investigate the Baga violence in which local leaders accused soldiers of killing 185 people and destroying more than 2,000 homes.

Military authorities had denied conducting indiscriminate killings, saying only 37 people died in a gun battle between soldiers from the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) and Boko Haram fighters.

In its report, the Senate committee disputed the Baga death toll given by both sides but failed to provide a specific figure.

“The death toll of 185 was exaggerated but there may be more than 37 deaths. This is possible as there is no documentary evidence from either the natives or the military to ascertain figure quoted,” the report said.

The report also tried to exonerate the military, saying the incident was caused by Boko Haram who pulled out an army officer from a bus and killed him on March 29, and also killed another soldier on April 16. It said MNJF troops sent 70 soldiers to repel the Boko Haram fighters in Baga on the night of April 16, resulting in a shootout that caused “some deaths.”

But the report said the military carried out a hasty operation and this might have contributed to the level of destruction.

“The operation to flush out the Boko Haram members between 20:30HRS and 2100HRS on April 16, 2013 was carried out hastily. The MNJTF should have cordoned the area till day break and carry out house to house check; this would have reduced number of casualties and damages,” the report said.

On the destruction of houses, the report also said the “quantum of destruction of houses, vehicles and motorbikes were exaggerated. There was actual physical count of 155 houses burnt as against the figure of 2000 given by Governor Shettima and 3,059 given by the district head.”

Shettima, the report said, classified Boko Haram into three categories: “criminal elements that send text messages to individuals to extort money, political Boko Haram who sought to advance their political interstate and the real Boko Haram which are made up of moderates that are prepared to dialogue with government and the crazy religious elements who are die hard and are not ready for compromise.”

In its recommendations, the 28-member Senate panel urged troops on internal security operations to adhere to the provisions of the Geneva Convention, Code of Conduct and Rules of Engagement in order to minimise casualties.

The committee called on President Goodluck Jonathan to direct the armed forces to carry out urgent recruitment of soldiers and officers as insurgency has overstretched the military.

Senators are scheduled to consider the report this morning.

source:http://dailytrust.com.ng/index.php/top-stories/57803-boko-haram-leader-is-from-niger-republic

Black lie....Bill Gates does not have such car...

The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, has handed over power to his son, the Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

In a speech broadcast on Qatari television, he said it was time for a new generation to take over.

Rumours had been circulating for days that Sheikh Tamim, 33, was preparing to succeed his 61-year-old father.

A peaceful handover is a rarity for the Gulf, where most rulers stay in place for decades, normally until they die.

Qatar-based al-Jazeera TV said Sheikh Hamad told the "ruling family and top advisers" of his decision on Monday.

Addressing the nation on Tuesday, a national holiday, Sheikh Hamad said: "I announce I am handing over power to Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani".

"I am fully certain that he is up to the responsibility, deserving of confidence, capable of shouldering the responsibility and fulfilling the mission," he said, adding that his decision was to open the way for a "young leadership".


"Our youth have proved in recent years that they are resolute people, that they comprehend the spirit of the times and participate in it," he added.

Sheikh Hamad said he had never sought power for its own sake or for personal gain, but "for the good of the nation".

State television later showed Qataris greeting the outgoing emir and Sheikh Tamim at the royal court.
Cabinet shake-up?

On Wednesday, both Sheikh Hamad and Sheikh Tamim are expected to receive Qatari citizens who want to "swear allegiance" to the new emir.

A cabinet reshuffle is also expected as part of the changes in the government line-up, with younger ministers likely to take charge. It is not clear if the long-serving Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, will also step aside.

Qatar has been dominated by the Al Thani family for almost 150 years.

Sheikh Hamad seized power from his father Sheikh Khalifa in a bloodless coup in 1995, with the support of the armed forces and cabinet, and also neighbouring states.

Since then the emir has introduced some political and economic liberalisation, and in recent years has made Qatar a major player in regional diplomacy.

In 2003, he named Sheikh Tamim - his second son by his second wife Sheikha Moza bint Nasser - as his heir apparent. He replaced his elder brother, Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani.

Analysts say the British-educated Sheikh Tamim, who is deputy commander-in-chief of the armed forces, is unlikely to deviate far from his father's policies.

He chairs the 2030 Vision project which outlines the development goals for the country and has a clear liberalising social agenda. The project has had significant input from his father and mother.

Sheikh Tamim is also head of the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee, which is in charge of preparing the emirate to host the 2022 Fifa World Cup.

In foreign policy, the emirate is expected to maintain its alliance with the West while at the same time pursuing an activist stance in Syria and other Arab countries.

However, he will also inherit strained relations with some of Qatar's Gulf neighbours, notably Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who have been angered by Qatar's perceived closeness to the influential regional Islamist movement, the Muslim Brotherhood.

The emirate has also tried to increase its diplomatic prestige further afield. Earlier this month, Afghanistan's Taliban movement opened its first office in the capital Doha to facilitate peace talks with the United States.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23026870

Please a friend posed this question to me and l could not really give him answers that could please him. Nairalanders let me hear you guys from the biblical point of view. Thanks

A palestenian refugee, Muhammad Asssaf, age 23years has won the Arab idol show contest. He became the first palestinian to choosen as United Nation Goodwill ambassador..

A 75 year old man was yesterday sentenced to 21 years in prison with hard labour for raping an 8-year old girl in Dawanau area, Kano State. While the offender did not show any remorse for his action, the judge said this sentence will serve a deterrent to other potential rapist. He however warned parents to always be watchful of their wards.

James Gandolfini, the US actor best known for his role as a therapy-seeking mob boss in The Sopranos, has died at the age of 51.

Gandolfini suffered a possible heart attack while on holiday in Rome, the US HBO TV network told the BBC.

According to TMZ website, New Jersey-born Gandolfini went to Italy to attend a film festival in Sicily.

He won three Emmy awards for his role as Tony Soprano, a mafia boss juggling his criminal career and family life.

"It is with immense sorrow that we report our client James Gandolfini passed away today while on holiday in Rome, Italy," said his managers, Mark Armstrong and Nancy Sanders, in a statement on Wednesday night.

"Our hearts are shattered and we will miss him deeply."

HBO also said the star of The Sopranos, which ran for six series on the cable channel from 1999-2007, would be "deeply missed".


James Gandolfini: 1961-2013

1961: Born in Westwood, New Jersey to school dinner lady and a bricklayer, both of Italian descent
Gained BA in Communications from Rutgers University
1993: Played woman-beating mafia enforcer Virgil in Tony Scott's True Romance
1995: Performed in Broadway's On the Waterfront.
1999: Debut appearance as New Jersey Mafia boss Tony Soprano, for which he won won three Emmys and a Golden Globe during its eight-year-run
2007: Produced HBO documentary on injured Iraq War veterans and their devotion to America
2012: Executive producer of HBO film Hemingway & Gellhorn, starring Clive Owen and Nicole Kidman

Gandolfini is survived by his second wife, Deborah Lin, a former model from Hawaii, whom he married in 2008, and their daughter, Liliana, born last year.

He also leaves a teenage son, Michael, from his first marriage to Marcy Wudarski, his former personal assistant. They wed in 1999 and split three years later.

Sopranos creator David Chase said Gandolfini was a "genius".

"He is one of the greatest actors of this or any time," he said. "A great deal of that genius resided in those sad eyes."
James Gandolfini and wife Deborah Lin in Los Angeles on 11 April 2011 Gandolfini with his second wife, Deborah Lin

Lorraine Bracco, who played Tony Soprano's psychiatrist, Dr Jennifer Melfi, in the TV drama, said: "We lost a giant today. I am utterly heartbroken."

Jeff Daniels, who starred with Gandolfini in God of Carnage, said: "If Broadway has a version of a guy you want in your foxhole, Jim Gandolfini was mine."

In a December 2012 interview with the Associated Press news agency, Gandolfini said he had become an actor to overcome his anger.

"I don't know what exactly I was angry about," he said.

"I try to avoid certain things and certain kinds of violence at this point," he added. "I'm getting older, too. I don't want to be beating people up as much."


source:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22980414

Thanks Moderators.. Popping a chilled wine for my first break on Front page..

Report from kizara, Tsafe LGA indicates that some unknown gun men killed over 40 people including the district head and local imam....
more details later..

source: bbchausa.com

Clerics, Village Head among victims
Gunmen yesterday raided a village in Zamfara State and killed at least 48 people including the district head, chief imam and the local vigilante leader.

The attack in Kizara village of Tsafe local government area started at about 4am and lasted for more than five hours, residents told a Daily Trust reporter who visited the area soon after the incident.
Witnesses said dozens of unidentified gunmen arrived on motorbikes, and laid siege on the village, firing at residents.

Some of the gunmen climbed a hill behind the village and shot at people trying to escape the attack as well as those trying to come in to help from neighbouring villages.

The gunmen also went house-to-house, shooting men dead. They told residents that they were looking for vigilante members who they said were threatening them for a long time.

During the attack, chief imam of the village, his deputy and three of his disciples were killed. Also shot dead were 11 people who came in from neighbouring villages to offer help.

The gunmen also set fire to many houses and shops before they fled the village around 9 am.
Residents said the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Keta division engaged the attackers in a shootout for hours but he was overwhelmed and had to retreat.

Alhaji Ali Hakimi, who survived the attack, gave an account of the incident to our reporter: “I woke up in the morning to get my children set for work on my farm. I suddenly started to hear gun shots. I listened attentively and I realized that sounds of the gun shots were coming directly behind me.

“I then sensed trouble and quickly run into my house. I saw one of my children standing at the compound and I told him to hide himself in a room close to mine but before he did that they came and shot him dead.”

Another resident, Idi Namarake, told Daily Trust that when he heard the gunshots, his wife advised him to hide under the bed, and soon after the gunmen forced their way into the room. They asked the wife where her husband was and she told them he had travelled. “That was how I escaped being killed,” he said.

The attack in Kizara came just two days after the security agents stationed at the village were withdrawn.
State police commissioner Mr Akila Usman Gwary confirmed the attack, saying the police would leave no stone unturned in bringing the perpetrators to justice.
This was the deadliest in the series of bandit attacks on villages in Zamfara State over the past two years.

http://dailytrust.com.ng/index.php/top-stories/57250-gunmen-kill-48-in-zamfara

former Hollywood stunt double has sued News Corp and its subsidiary News International, accusing the companies of ordering the hacking of her phone.

The suit, the first such claim from the US, was filed by Eunice Huthart, a British former double for Hollywood star Angelina Jolie.

In the suit, the Liverpool resident alleges messages from family, friends and Ms Jolie were intercepted and in some cases deleted.

News Corp declined to comment.

In a civil complaint filed on 13 June, Ms Huthart seeks damages for violations of federal and California laws and "intrusion into private affairs".
'Close friend'

According to IMDB, Ms Huthart worked as Ms Jolie's stunt double on the films Wanted, Mr and Mrs Smith, and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.

In the court filing, she describes herself as a close friend of Ms Jolie, and says the pair "often travelled and socialized together".

Ms Huthart said that in 2004-05, some friends and relatives complained she had not returned their phone calls, and she in turn complained to her mobile phone provider that voice messages were being lost in their system.

She said Ms Jolie left messages concerning travel arrangements and other plans, which Ms Huthart never received.
Angelina Jolie (3 June 2013) in London Ms Huthart claims News Corp hacked into her phone seeking information about Angelina Jolie

She added that her daughter left messages complaining about bullying in school in Liverpool, which she also never received - rendering her unable to console her daughter. Ms Huthart said her husband had also criticised her for not responding to his messages.

Ms Huthart says her name, telephone number and other private information appeared in the notes of Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator who worked for the News of the World and was jailed in January 2007 for unlawfully intercepting voicemail messages received by royal aides.

Ms Huthart "believes that they were hacking her cellular telephone as a means to obtain information about Ms Jolie", says the court filing.

Phone hacking arrests

According to the suit, The Sun newspaper published several news stories based on information illicitly obtained from Ms Huthart's mobile phone messages.

Revelations about phone hacking in the UK led News Corp boss Rupert Murdoch to close the News of the World newspaper in July 2011.

The investigation into phone hacking claims and payments to public officials for information has led to scores of arrests of journalists, police officers and other public officials.

Among those charged were Rebekah Brooks, a former News International executive, and Andy Coulson, former News of the World editor and ex-communications chief for UK Prime Minister David Cameron.

UK police have identified more than 4,000 possible victims of phone hacking included politicians, celebrities, actors, athletes, relatives of dead UK soldiers, and victims of the 7/7 London bombings.

The suit comes days before News Corp is to be split into two companies, one for its entertainment assets and the other for its publishing business. Mr Murdoch is to be chairman of both firms.

source:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22954505

OMG! Kenya of all Country.. Very soon Somalia will start deporting Nigerians.

Groups like Boko Haram and the al Qaeda-linked Ansaru have become the biggest risk to stability in Nigeria, Africa's top oil producer and second-largest economy.

Sunday's attack will raise fears that, as with past surges, a month-long offensive by government troops has merely pushed militants into hiding or across borders to Niger, Chad and Cameroon, where they can regroup and prepare new attacks.

"Two teachers and two insurgents were killed when Boko Haram terrorists attacked the Government Secondary School ... Also seven innocent students lost their lives," Eli Lazarus, military spokesman in Yobe state, said in a statement.

Boko Haram, which roughly translates as "Western education is sinful", has attacked several schools in the past. It was not clear how two of the attackers were killed.

Vigilante groups armed with machetes and sticks have joined the effort to oust Islamist insurgents in the northeast, prompting concerns by some residents that this will lead to a breakdown in law and order.

The military has cautiously welcomed the support, while warning it must not lead to witch-hunts or the settling of scores.

Lazarus said three soldiers were critically wounded during a separate attack by Boko Haram targeting the military in Damaturu, and three insurgents had been arrested.

Nigerian forces say their offensive has enabled them to wrest back control of the country's remote northeast from Boko Haram. They say they have destroyed key bases and arrested more than 150 suspected insurgents in the states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa -- all covered by a state of emergency declared by President Goodluck Jonathan last month.

Some Nigerians saw the push as long overdue. But rights groups and aid agencies fear the longer it goes on, the more the region's vulnerable local population, which includes some of the poorest people on earth, will suffer.

The offensive has forced more than 6,000 refugees - mostly women, children and the elderly - to flee to neighboring Niger, the U.N. refugee agency said last week.


SOURCE: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/17/us-nigeria-violence-idUSBRE95G0ZG20130617

According to the recent statistics 70% of Nigerians in Italy are from Edo state and about ( 65% ) of them are Edo women

Edo State has the highest number of single mothers in the country? How true?

Rearrage these letters "ersretua" Clue; if you love someone you ll never forget this word...

Types of eating disorders

Anorexia Nervosa: Anorexia nervosa is self-imposed starvation. Anorexia nervosa is a serious, life-threatening disorder, which usually stems from underlying emotional causes. Although people with anorexia nervosa are obsessed with food, they continually deny their hunger. People with anorexia nervosa often also limit or restrict other parts of their lives besides food, including relationships, social activities, or pleasure. Anorexia nervosa can cause severe medical problems and even lead to death. The disorder involves extreme weight loss--at least 15% below the individual's "ideal" weight--and a refusal to maintain body weight that is even minimally normal for their age and height and body frame.

Bulimia Nervosa: Bulimia nervosa is a serious eating disorder that can be fatal if left untreated. People who have bulimia nervosa routinely "binge," consuming large amounts of food in a very short period of time, and immediately "purge," ridding their bodies of the just-eaten food by self-inducing vomiting, taking enemas, or abusing laxatives or other medications. If left untreated, bulimia nervosa can lead to serious and even life-threatening problems, such as depression, anxiety disorders, heart damage, kidney damage, injury to all parts of the digestive system, and severe dental damage. Those with bulimia nervosa are at risk for dangerous impulsive, self-destructive behaviors, such as kleptomania, self-mutilation, alcohol and/or drug abuse, and sexual promiscuity.

Compulsive eating disorder: Compulsive overeating can affect women or men, though it appears twice as often among women. People with compulsive overeating disorder suffer from episodes of uncontrolled eating or bingeing followed by periods of guilt and depression. Compulsive overeating is marked by the consumption of large amounts of food, sometimes accompanied by a pressured, "frenzied" feeling. Compulsive overeating disorder may cause a person to continue to eat even after they become uncomfortably full.

Binge eating disorder: The essential features of binge-eating disorder are recurrent, out-of-control episodes of consuming abnormally large amounts of food. If you suffer from this disorder you eat whether you are hungry or not and consume food well past being uncomfortably full.
Binge-eaters are usually extremely distressed by their eating behavior and experience feelings of disgust and guilt both during and after bingeing. Most feel ashamed and try to hide their problem. Many are so good at concealing their binge-eating habits from others that even close family members or friends are unaware they suffer from an eating disorder.

Binge-Eating Disorder: Binge-eating episodes not accompanied by purging at least 2 times per week.
Occurs in approximately 30%-50% of subjects in weight control programs (40% are males).

[b]Obesity: [/b]25% or more over ideal body weight: Obesity is one of our nation's most critical health problems; each year, hundreds of thousands of people are affected by serious and sometimes life-threatening mental and physical complications as a direct consequence of their obesity. Appropriate treatment not only improves individuals' quality of life, it can save lives.

The consequences of obesity can be severe. If left untreated, an obese person is at pronounced risk of developing serious mental disorders, such as depression, personality disorders, or anxiety disorders as a direct consequence of their obesity. For many, obesity leads to chronic and often life-threatening eating disorders such as bulimia nervosa or anorexia nervosa. Feelings of shame and a profound sense of isolation often accompany obesity.

What is an eating disorder?

Eating Disorders are serious and complex emotional and physical addictions. Without treatment eating disorders lead to mood swings, physical problems, and potential death. Eating Disorders include a range of conditions that involve an obsession with food, weight and appearance to the degree that a person's heath, relationships and daily activities are adversely affected.

While commonly affecting young women, eating disorders are widespread and can impact people of all ages and sexes. It is estimated that 10 million women and 1 million men in the United States suffer from an eating disorder, and the statistics are growing. The number of men with an eating disorder has more than doubled in the last ten years.

Whether a person restricts food intake, binge eats, binges and purges, abuses laxatives, compulsively overeats, or excessively exercises these behaviors often are symptoms and not the problem. They often develop as a way of coping with emotional pain, conflicts related to separation, low self-esteem, depression, stress or trauma.

Eating disorders are characterized by severe disturbances in eating behavior. The practice of an eating disorder can be viewed as a survival mechanism. Just as an alcoholic uses alcohol to cope, a person with an eating disorder can use eating, purging or restricting to deal with their problems. Some of the underlying issues that are associated with an eating disorder include low self-esteem, depression, feelings of loss of control, feelings of worthlessness, identity concerns, family communication problems and an inability to cope with emotions. The practice of an eating disorder may be an expression of something that the eating disordered individual has found no other way of expressing.

Its is not normal to be a lesbian of gay. Its unnatural and anti-God for that matter. Those who indulge in this abnormal practices don't really derive joy or happiness in the real sense. May God have mercy! There is a strong evil demon or spirit behind this...

A new company in Texas is selling a precision rifle with a unique technology that allows even an inexperienced shooter to hit a target 10 football fields away. The price tag is a staggering $27,500.

Tracking Point describes the weapon as a smartgun, with a trigger wired to the scope so that the gun won't fire until it's locked on the target that's been tagged.

"There are a number of people who say the gun shoots itself," said Chief Executive Officer Jason Schauble, a former Marine captain who was wounded in Iraq. "It doesn't. The shooter is always in the loop."

The TrackingPoint rifles, which are Wi-Fi enabled and have a color display so users can post videos of their shots on Facebook or YouTube, started shipping in May. Schauble said his company is on track to sell as many as 500 of them this year, to clients that he describes as "high net worth hunters" who want to kill big game at long range.

TrackingPoint claims that the gun took down a South African wildebeest at 1,103 yards, a company record.

The company also has a deal to sell about 1,000 of the guns to Remington, which is Schauble's former employer. But the Remington model will be less expensive, running about $5,000 each. TrackingPoint's total sales for the year are expected to be about $10 million.

Lifelong hunter and construction executive Bob Ellis is one client who raves about the rifle. "I have not shot anything like it ever," he said in an email to CNNMoney. "The distance and accuracy of the rifle is a big WOW!"

Founder and chairman John McHale is a serial entrepreneur who's started several companies that were ultimately sold to Cisco (CSCO), 3Com and Compaq, which was later bought by HP (HPQ). Early in his career he worked on weapons accuracy systems for tanks. The idea for TrackingPoint came to McHale while he was on African safari and frustrated by his inability to shoot a gazelle at 300 yards.

Schauble is well aware of the damage that guns can do. His right hand is partially paralyzed after he was shot with an AK-47 during combat in Iraq. He wears black "kill bracelets" commemorating dead friends. He admitted that TrackingPoint's technology is "controversial."

Government agencies contacted the company last year for a demonstration of the weapon at a shooting range at the Quantico Marine Corps Base in Virginia. But Schauble says that the Department of Homeland Security didn't express any concerns that TrackingPoint's weapon is more of a threat than existing firearm systems.

The FBI, Homeland Security and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives all declined to comment to CNNMoney.

But the weapon has some "scary implications from a security perspective," said Rommel Dionisio, a gun industry analyst for Wedbush Securities.

"There are a handful of snipers who can hit a target at 1,000 yards. But now, anybody can do it," he said. "You can put some tremendous capability in the hands of just about anybody, even an untrained shooter."

Indeed, novice shooters from CNNMoney tried the gun and did hit targets 1,000 yards away.

What sets the TrackingPoint rifle apart is its high-tech electronic scope that automatically accounts for distance, gravity, wind speed, humidity, the rotation of the Earth and other variables that can influence whether a bullet hits its target.

The TrackingPoint scope allows the shooter to "tag" a target by placing a red dot on it within the crosshairs. Even when the safety is off and the shooter's finger pulls the trigger, the rifle will only fire when the crosshairs are locked on the red dot, making it relatively easy for even an inexperienced shooter to hit a target at long range.

Tracking Point charges from $22,500 to $27,500 for the different versions of its bolt-action rifle, which has a five-round magazine using .300 or .338 caliber ammunition.

Schauble hopes to land a contract with the U.S. military. He said that American soldiers could benefit not only from the long-range accuracy, but also the rifle's Wi-fi communications features.

"From a patriotic standpoint and as a veteran, I would love every soldier to be better armed today, and this technology could get them there," he said

How much for Toyota Avensis Wagon 2.0 1999 model full option...
email georgecso@yahoo.com.. Thanks

Answer: Jesus is not God’s Son in the sense of a human father and a son. God did not get married and have a son. God did not mate with Mary and, together with her, produce a son. Jesus is God’s Son in the sense that He is God made manifest in human form (John 1:1, 14). Jesus is God's Son in that He was conceived in Mary by the Holy Spirit. Luke 1:35 declares, “The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.’”

During His trial before the Jewish leaders, the High Priest demanded of Jesus, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God” (Matthew 26:63). “’Yes, it is as you say,’ Jesus replied. ‘But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven’” (Matthew 26:64). The Jewish leaders responded by accusing Jesus of blasphemy (Matthew 26:65-66). Later, before Pontius Pilate, “The Jews insisted, ‘We have a law, and according to that law He must die, because He claimed to be the Son of God’” (John 19:7). Why would His claiming to be the Son of God be considered blasphemy and be worthy of a death sentence? The Jewish leaders understood exactly what Jesus meant by the phrase “Son of God.” To be the Son of God is to be of the same nature as God. The Son of God is “of God.” The claim to be of the same nature as God—to in fact be God—was blasphemy to the Jewish leaders; therefore, they demanded Jesus’ death, in keeping with Leviticus 24:15. Hebrews 1:3 expresses this very clearly, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being.”

Another example can be found in John 17:12 where Judas is described as the “son of perdition.” John 6:71 tells us that Judas was the son of Simon. What does John 17:12 mean by describing Judas as the “son of perdition”? The word perdition means “destruction, ruin, waste.” Judas was not the literal son of “ruin, destruction, and waste,” but those things were the identity of Judas' life. Judas was a manifestation of perdition. In this same way, Jesus is the Son of God. The Son of God is God. Jesus is God made manifest (John 1:1, 14).

Where is the $420 Billion in Tithes & Offerings the Black Church in USA has Received? ----Creflodollar


LiveSteez Reports LiveSteez research shows that Black churches, in aggregate, have collected more than $420 billion in tithes and donations since 1980. With a Senate investigation into the finances of several mega churches underway, the “Prosperity Movement” has been the target of mounting criticism from inside and outside the Black Church. Specifically, the affluent ministries of The Reverend Creflo Dollar, Bishop Eddie Long and others have drawn the attention – and ire – of some clergy and laypeople alike. Researcher Henry E. Felder’s study of Blacks’ donation habits demonstrated per capita spending of $508 per year in 2009 dollars. Another source, Tyler Media Services, estimated that Black Church revenue approached $17 billion in 2006. One church, the Reverend Dollar’s World Changers, reported $69 million in 2006 income, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Mainstream politicians and Black community leaders are demanding a better accounting of the “return on investment” offered by churches to the communities that fund them. Meanwhile, legions of faithful churchgoers defend their pastors and accuse their detractors of applying a double standard that ignores the largesse of wealthy, white televangelists, while underplaying the economic development and social service functions provided by the Black Church. “The church has gotten caught up in materialism and greed, a lifestyle. Many ministers today want to live like celebrities and they want to be treated like celebrities. In other words, instead of the church standing with the community, the church has become self-serving. It has strayed away from its mission” according to Dr.Love Henry Whelchel, professor of church history at The Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta. Few people – not even the ongoing Congressional investigation by Senator Chuck Grassley accuse the mega church pastors of outright larceny, and congregants generally approve of their pastors’ luxurious lifestyles. However, in a blatant recent example, a father-son pastor team, 76-year-old Richard Cunningham of Moreno Valley and his son, 52-year-old Philip Cunningham of Laurinburg, N.C., pleaded guilty to felony grand theft and fraud charges. The younger Cunningham also pleaded guilty to forgery. Over five years, prosecutors say, the Cunninghams stole from Calvary Baptist Yorba Linda Church and School bank accounts and used the money to buy time shares in Hawaii and Palm Springs, golf club memberships and a Cadillac. Prosecutors say the men have paid $3.1 million in restitution to the church. LiveSteez’s investigative series will take a forensic editorial approach to quantifying the return to Black America for the $350 billion in tax-favored donations it has given to the Black Church, examining the arguments on both sides of the pulpit. In this series we will seek answers and advisory to the following questions: How often and how much do church leaders take advantage of the faith of poor black people? We will investigate and indentify the churches they are showing a strong return on investment that goes beyond inspiration. What does the black community have to show for the $350 billion in tax free dollars? Expert analysis on what could potentially be done with such a huge amount of money and how it could improve the state of our communities. Why do some church leaders refuse to participate in the Grassley congressional Investigation, which requested the financial records of several mega-churches.

The Corolla, Toyota's mainstay compact gets more aggressive and contemporary styling with its redesign, along with a four-inch longer wheelbase for an improved ride and increased interior room.

Toyota says to expect highway fuel economy on the far side of the 40-mpg barrier, thanks to better aerodynamics and mechanical improvements including a new continuously variable transmission (CVT).

Four trim levels will be offered. L, LE, and S models are all powered by a 132-hp, 1.8-liter four cylinder engine matched with the CVT, which uses software to mimic the feel of a conventional transmission with seven separate ratios. A six-speed manual will also be available on base L and sporty S models. A new midlevel LE Eco model gets a 140-hp 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine, low rolling resistance tires, and other mpg boosting tricks to deliver that 40-mpg plus on the highway.

http://autos.yahoo.com/news/redesigned-2014-toyota-corolla-shows-off-aggressive-stying-040019921.html

he governor, married, with children, grabbed his mobile phone and typed out a message. “Maybe you should come kiss me before board meeting tomorrow,” Mr. Sanusi wrote and then squeezed the send button.

At about 9 a.m. the next day, Mrs. Maryam Yaro, a married mother of two, an assistant director and subordinate to the governor at the CBN, arrived Sanusi’s unnamed Abuja hotel, seeking to keep the date and help address her boss’ craving for a kiss. (Insiders say board members, including those who live in Abuja, are usually lodged in hotels ahead of board meetings).

But by the time Mrs. Yaro left the hotel to return to her official desk at the CBN, the duo had also struck out an arrangement to spend the rest of the week together in Lagos.

So, in the evening of Wednesday February 27, Mrs. Yaro flew to Lagos ahead of Mr. Sanusi and checked into a hotel in the city, skipping work, at taxpayers’ expense, on Thursday February 28 and Friday, March 1.

o keep faith with Mrs. Yaro’s date, the CBN governor arrived Lagos, travelling on a chartered flight, on the night of February 28, and checked into the Federal Palace Hotel, passage and boarding all at taxpayers’ expense.

Both Mr. Sanusi and Mrs. Yaro rendezvoused in the hotel till Sunday when both of them returned to Abuja, it was learnt.

“…I had such a wonderful weekend,” Mrs. Yaro confessed to the governor while aboard her Abuja-bound flight. “You have revived in me what I thought I lost long ago. I thought I lost the passion to love again,” she claimed.

“Alhamdulillahi. Love you,” Mr. Sanusi responded in a measured tone.

Insiders say repeated violation of the statutory code of conduct for public office holders such as hiring his girlfriends and mistresses without complying with public service rules, dating married and unmarried women within the bank, and flirting with them during official work hours have become defining characters of Mr. Sanusi’s governorship of the central bank.

An official of the bank spoke of how Mr. Sanusi had enthroned nepotism at the bank, arbitrarily hiring girlfriends and relatives and engaging in extramarital relationships with staff.

“This man (the CBN governor) is the most morally bankrupt governor the CBN has ever had,” the official, who did not want to be named for fear of retribution, said. “Forget all the pretences, he is a shameless man of loose character.”

Investigations by this newspaper revealed that Mr. Lamido hired his latest mistress, Mrs. Yaro, without complying with the CBN recruitment policy that stressed, “all appointments shall be made on the basis of merit, through a fair and open selection process.”

“The principles underlying the recruitment process are those of fairness, credibility, equal employment opportunities, merit and optimization of career prospects for currently employed staff,” the bank said on its website.

But Mrs. Yaro, insiders say, was hired in July 2012 without adherence to these principles. Those who should know say Mrs. Yaro, who was a staff at the National Programme on Food Security, an agency under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, was brought into the bank as assistant director without “advert for the vacancy and after a kangaroo interview.”

When contacted, Mr. Sanusi said due process was followed in hiring Mrs. Yaro.

He said having worked for years in the ministry of agric, Mrs. Yaro came highly recommended and qualified for the job for which she was hired.

The CBN governor continued, “I have known Dr. Yaro since 1981. She was my student in Yola and she later came to ABU Zaria. We have been very good friends but this is not why NIRSAL took her. You may wish to check her CV against all the other CVs in NIRSAL. And she did go through an interview process with the NIRSAL CEO making the decision not CBN HR.

“As for the personal allegations, this is all strange to me but I have a personal policy of not responding to such allegations since in Nigeria anything can be published on any public officer without proof. I have limited myself to what concerns official allegations and leave you to your God and your conscience on whatever else you want to publish. Thank you for telling me though.”

Mrs. Yaro however declined comments when contacted.

“Be careful what you are saying,” she told one of our reporters on the telephone. “I have nothing to comment to you on anything.”

When asked if she would be willing to respond to specific questions about her trips to Lagos to keep dates with Mr. Sanusi, she simply said, “Whatever it is, I don’t know. Will you just let me be?”

But our investigations revealed that the governor’s claim was far from accurate. Through several interviews and review of records, PREMIUM TIMES was able to determine that Mrs. Yaro and Mr. Sanusi had dated each other for at least six months before she was hired.

Insiders say Mr. Sanusi repeatedly pestered the human resource department of the bank ordering it to bring Mrs. Yaro’s application to him for approval. And once the file reached his table, the governor wasted no time in treating it.

On June 25, 2012, Mr. Sanusi, who was travelling in South Africa at the time, telephoned Mrs. Yaro to break the news to her that he had approved her recruitment in what critics consider a clear conflict of interest and a violation of a provision of Nigeria’s Code of Conduct which stipulates that “a public officer shall not put himself in a position where his interest conflicts with his duties and responsibilities.”

Mrs. Yaro, (whose businessman husband, Ahmed, is largely based in Kaduna but visits Abuja regularly) assumed duties at the CBN in the first week of September 2012 and was deployed to the Development Finance Department.

The department then put her in charge of the bank’s Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System For Agricultural Lending, (NIRSAL), a unit that attempts to fix the agricultural value chain, so that banks can lend with confidence to the sector and, encourages banks to lend to the agricultural value chain by offering them strong incentives and technical assistance.

Sources said Mrs. Yaro married Ahmed (or Shuaib, according to another source) six years ago after her first husband, Waisu Yaro Bodinga (then an executive director at the Nigeria Ports Authority) died in the ill-fated ADC plane crash of 2006.

The romance between Mrs. Yaro and Mr. Sanusi became even hotter after she began work at the bank, with the two lovers regularly exchanging telephone calls and text messages during work hours to profess love for each other.

At times, Mrs. Yaro would remain in her office far beyond close of work to enable her to keep appointments with the CBN governor, records show.

Sometimes, Mrs. Yaro would raise concerns about Mr. Sanusi’s other girlfriends and mistresses (such as Sutura and Rose) and how they were blocking her from getting the governor’s full attention, but the relationship continued nonetheless.

Mrs. Yaro also began to have access to confidential information known only to top management and board of the bank, insiders say.

At a point, one source said, she began to strategise to corner contracts for one Goke Akinboro, the Chief Executive Officer of Lagos-based Cellullant Limited, an information technology company. Mr. Akinboro is also described as “very close” to Mrs. Yaro.

On March 15, 2013, the CBN lovers headed to Lagos again for another weekend of fun. The initial plan was for the duo to fly to the nation’s commercial capital on Saturday, March 16, returning to Abuja on Sunday. But the trip had to be brought forward by a day after the lovers realized that the Area Council election in Abuja was holding that Saturday and that movement might be restricted.

Mrs. Yaro arrived Lagos on the night of March 15, and immediately checked into the Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotel on Victoria Island. Mr. Sanusi flew from Kano to Lagos via chartered jet on the bills of the Nigerian taxpayers. He arrived at about 11 p.m., stopped by his Ikoyi home, before dashing to the hotel where Mrs. Yaro was waiting in a seductive dress in Room 23. The lovers spent that night and the next day together in the hotel.

As he flew into Abuja March 17 on a chartered jet, Mr. Sanusi sent a message to Mrs. Yaro saying, “Love. Just landed in Abuja. Thank you for a wonderful weekend.” Mrs. Yaro replied, “Alhamdulillah. I had a wonderful weekend too. I am able to get the 3:15 flight on Arik Air. Love you.”

But in-between those rendezvous in Lagos, Mr. Sanusi and Mrs Yaro also found time to get together elsewhere. They were to meet on March 11, 2013, in Makurdi but somehow Mrs. Yaro could not make it to the Benue State capital. But earlier on February 14, (Valentine’s Day), the lovers had a good time together in Maiduguri. Although, the two of them travelled to the city on different missions, they somehow found a way to get together.

At a point, Mrs. Yaro voiced open frustration when Mr. Lamido delayed in taking her calls as she tried, frantically, to track him down. “I’m thinking that one Shuwa girl has snatched you away from me,” Mrs. Yaro wrote in a message. “I don’t trust them (Maiduguri girls) with you.”

A velvet-ranking figure within Nigeria’s economic and political circles, Mr. Sanusi, is generally perceived as one of the intellectual anchors and moral conscience of this administration. When his five-year term expires next year, he has indicated he would not renew his contract. Mr. Sanusi has a well-advertised ambition to become the future emir of his native Kano, where he is already a top chieftaincy holder (Dan Maje Kano). Dan Majen Kano, a historic title, which means Son of Emir-Maje, is reserved for the royal family members from the Kano Habe dynasty.

A zigzag prospect to run for the Nigerian presidency is also believed to be floating in the horizon for Mr. Sanusi.

Multiple sources at both the CBN and First Bank, where Mr. Sanusi was managing director before his appointment to the central bank, describe the governor as an “incurable womanizer.”

“This guy seems unable to resist anything in skirt, and it is unfortunate that a lot of young people look up to him as an example,” one of Mr. Sanusi’s aides in Abuja said, expressing widely held concerns in banking circles that “It is sad that he wouldn’t even let married women be.”

Mr. Sanusi, 51, appointed CBN Governor on June 3 2009, is a smart economist and award-winning banker with a background in risk management.

He holds a graduate degree in economics from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and a diploma in Sharia and Islamic Studies from the African International University in Khartoum, Sudan. Today, Mr. Sanusi is also commonly regarded as an important voice in Islamic jurisprudence.

The Banker, the UK-based financial magazine honoured him in 2010 as global Central Bank Governor of the Year as well as African Central Bank Governor of the Year. In 2011, the TIME magazine listed Mr. Sanusi in its annual publication of 100 most influential people.

At the African Banker Awards gala dinner held Wednesday in Morocco, Mr. Sanusi also emerged the “2013 Africa Central Bank Governor of the Year.”

“There is no doubt that he is a fairly effective banker,” an official of one of Nigeria’s leading banks, who requested anonymity for fear his bank might be targeted, told PREMIUM TIMES. “But he is a man of zero morality despite his public posturing. It is really sad.”

http://news.naij.com/36041.html

When Karen Kaplan, 53, first walked through the doors of Hill Holliday in 1982, she had no advertising experience, or even the shorthand skills to work as a secretary. The 22-year-old was placed at the front desk of the Interpublic-owned shop as a receptionist — the bottom of the agency ladder.

Her first week on the job, two mean girls who worked hidden behind the closed doors of the switchboard room wanted to make sure Kaplan knew just how low she was.

“They come on my second day, and they stand in front of my desk,” Kaplan recalled. “They’re looming over me with hands on their hips with their little headbands, and I remember they were like, ‘Just so you know, just because you’re out here and everyone can see you, you are still on the bottom of the totem pole. You are below us, you are below the guy in the mail room, you’re below the guy who delivers the packages.’”

Shocked, Kaplan looked up from her square desk phone with four Lucite buttons. “I thought to myself, ‘We’ll see about that.’”

Thirty-one years later, Kaplan was just promoted to become the CEO of that very same ad agency, which made approximately $184 million last year. She sits in an office surrounded by the spoils of the day's 19 congratulatory flower deliveries.

“It looks like a funeral home in here,” she told Business Insider. “An art director came in my office and he said, ‘There are only two times you get this many flowers, and one of them you aren’t there to enjoy it.’”

Kaplan has reached the top of the Hill Holliday totem pole. And the switchboard operators?

[img][/img]


From the traffic department to design to account management and beyond, Kaplan kept every business card she’s ever had. The company even had to borrow them when conducting an internal logo study.

“I had the same 12 jobs that everyone has, I’ve just had them all at Hill Holliday,” Kaplan noted, which is very different from the current revolving door of ad jobs in which employees jump from agency to agency at a startling frequency.

She’s now one of the most powerful women in the advertising world.

Even though Kaplan joined after the “Mad Men” era, when Hill Holliday had female executives, there were still workplace gender divides.

“In 1984, there was a woman who was a senior and a role model of mine, and she said, if you want to get anywhere in this industry you have to go drinking with the boys,” Kaplan said. “But I didn’t do it. I was newly married. I focused on the work.”

She continued, “If I ever felt unwelcome or unappreciated I'd shift over to something else because there are plenty of options. I never felt like there was a disadvantage in any sustained way.”

Kaplan even found a way to turn the “mommy track” to her advantage.

The first Monday back after maternity leave, her son barely weaned — Hill Holliday was one of the first agencies to have its own daycare center — Kaplan was told to pack her bags and fly to a Reebok shoot in LA.

Instead, Kaplan opted to move over to become the director of the design department, figuring “it would be a little bit of a mommy track for a few years. … As it turned out I learned the most from that job because I had my own P&L [profit and loss] and learned operational skills.”

She was then promoted to managing director of the Boston office in 2001, a time in which she successfully led the company through the dot com bubble burst and the loss of a huge client, Fidelity.

Not done yet

Kaplan today. (Photo: Hill Holliday)
Kaplan wasn’t surprised when she was named CEO. After 31 years, her only trajectory was to the very top.

“I don't feel like I now have the title and I'll plant a flag,” Kaplan said. “Among CEOs, there are good CEOs and better CEOs.” She plans on being the latter.

This is hardly surprising considering that she has treated every position as if she were a CEO of that department.

“You can make your mark in every single job,” Kaplan said. “I still run into people today who remember me from when I was a receptionist who say, ‘You were the best damn receptionist in the history of receptionists.’”

[img][/img]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/karen-kaplans-meteoric-rise-receptionist-230000173.html

very sad indeed....

Angelina Jolie's aunt has died of breast cancer, nearly two weeks after the Hollywood star said she had had a double mastectomy to avoid such a fate.

Debbie Martin passed away at the Palomar Medical Centre in Escondido on Sunday, aged 61, the hospital said.

Mrs Martin was the sister of Jolie's mother Marcheline Bertrand, who died of breast cancer in 2007 at the age of 56.

Her husband, Ron Martin, said the sisters had both had the same mutated BRCA1 gene, which Jolie inherited.

"Angelina has been in touch throughout the week and her brother Jamie has been with us, giving his support day by day," he told E! News.

"They both loved Debbie very much and although Angie is not able to come right now she has sent her love and support which was very nice."

Mr Martin also praised the actress for electing to have a double mastectomy, telling the Associated Press: "Had we known, we certainly would have done exactly what Angelina did."

On 14 May, the 37 year old wrote in the New York Times that she had had the operation after doctors estimated she had an 87% risk of breast cancer and a 50% risk of ovarian cancer.

"I decided to be proactive and to minimise the risk as much I could," she explained, adding that her chances of developing breast cancer had now dropped to less than 5%.

The BRCA1 gene is present in everyone but only mutates in one in 1,000 people. Anyone with the mutation has a 50-80% chance of developing breast cancer.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22677972