₦airaland Forum

Here is some copy and paste for you:


Their Brand is Collapse
Posted by Joe Klein


John McCain is up with an ad touting his "experience" to deal with the financial crisis. But no specific experience is cited--which is attributable to the fact that McCain has been a happily orthodox Republican when it comes to financial regulation these past 26 years. He's against it. He's against Washington telling you how to run your business. The unseen hand of the market and all that,

This has been the long-standing Republican bait and switch--scaring small businesses with the threat of new regulations if the Democrats win, commiserating with larger businesses about the evils of environmental and plant safety rules, while lifting as many regulations as possible governing the financial titans whose credit should be at the heart of new economic development. But that hasn't been happening: the financial titans have been going for the quick buck rather than the sound one. Money and creativity have been redirected during the Reagan-Bush era away from substantive loans to real businesses into a Ponzi scheme of borrowing by investment bankers, so they could engage in the most irresponsible, if lucrative (for them) speculative lending imaginable, In this sense, the mortgage crisis was a perfect metaphor for Republican financial governance: Investment banks like Lehman--R.I.P.--took loans to invest money in, bad loans. In this case, the loans were bad mortgages. This is called throwing good money after bad.

Actually, John McCain has excellent experience--a ringside seat--in the vagaries of this experiment in greed and anarchy. He was a member of the Keating Five. This was the signature scandal of the Savings and Loan crisis, twenty years ago. It concerned the insider help that five Senators gave Charles Keating and his Lincoln Savings and Loan, in return for contributions and gifts. The deregulation of S&Ls--community banks dedicated to local mortgages (like George Bailey's bank in "It's A Wonderful Life"--enabled slick operators like Keating to make reckless loans in new areas where they had no expertise. The final tab to the taxpayers was $165 billion.

McCain wasn't the worst offender in the scandal. He was included in the Five to make it bipartisan (the other four were Democrats). But he knew Keating, partied with him, made inquiries on his behalf. He once told me that his role in the scandal was harder on him, in some ways, than being a prisoner of war "Because my honor was called into question."

After an experience like that, you might think Senator Honorable would have devoted himself to preventing other such crises--to making sure the Big Wall Street Casino was operating according to rules that wouldn't screw the small investors and, more to the point, the taxpayers. But he walked the anti-regulatory party line, with only occasional exceptions, and tried to lay down a smokescreen of righteousness by campaigning against small potato[e!]s like legislative earmarks--money to study the mating habits of, uh, crabs, in, uh, Alaska (proposed by Governor Honorable).

What we are seeing on Wall Street today is the result of an ideology gone amok. There was call to loosen and change the antiquated regulations governing investment back in 1980. But the Republican era has seen that loosening go to the point of near-cataclysm. Banks are failing, markets dropping. We are in the midst of a slow-motion economic crash. What happens next is an economic contraction: loans aren't available, so businesses can't expand. A crash comes at the beginning of a period of economic trouble.

John McCain, after his political near-death experience, could have made the responsible regulation of markets one of his great causes. He didn't. And today he said, once again, "The fundamentals of our economy are strong." I hope he's right, but it's entirely possible that he knows as much about our economy as Sarah Palin knows about The Bush Doctrine.

[quote author=Tayo-D link=topic=171736.msg2806459#msg2806459 date=1221509832]Lobbying is legal and a necessary evil caused by too much govt regulations. The more regulations we have, the more lobbyists we will see, unless of course it becomes illegal. McCain has no problems with lobbyists but Obama who has is seen getting more money than every other person except 1.[/quote]Was it not McCain who refused to take the route of state-funding? Until voters realise that the Government should be responsible for sponsoring election campaigns, we will never see the end of special interest lobbying. On top of that, Obama ran the most effective fundraising campaign by receiving donations from millions of private individuals. This is more democratic and better reflects the will of the people.

[quote author=Tayo-D link=topic=171736.msg2806459#msg2806459 date=1221509832]Like I said, I have no problems with lobbying, and they do so to both campaigns, but compare their contributions of $126,000 to Obama (in 2 years) and just $16,000 to McCain in a space of 10 years.[/quote]It is called hedging their bets. They obviously thought McCain had little chance of winning. However, they still put some money on him to hedge their risk.

[quote author=Tayo-D link=topic=171736.msg2806459#msg2806459 date=1221509832]Of course it is the Democrats. They are certain that a bail-out will come despite their irresponsible lending practices,[/quote]What irresponsible lending are you talking about? Has George Bush not been in office for the last 8 years?

[quote author=Tayo-D link=topic=171736.msg2806459#msg2806459 date=1221509832]There is nothing wrong with the policy. What is wrong is the fact that they have been under too much regulation and under control of an arm of govt. More govt control and regulations ensured they had to play "fair" by making sure they give loans to minorities who otherwise would not have qualified for a loan. The sub-prime mortgage problem is a creation of not just the govt, but the private sector greed. And their boldness is underscored by the confidence of a govt bail-out.[/quote]What nonsense! Where did you read that? In some Republican website? Blame it on the minorities ehn? Rednecks in the bible belt defaulted on their loans more than minorities. There is no Govt regulation that forces anyone to lend to minorities. If your credit stinks, then no one cares about the colour of your skin.


Now you seem to have a problem with this concept of regulation. The problem of the subprime crisis is simply caused by cowboys who have not been regulated properly. Little loan companies packaging up bad debt without properly checking the credit worthiness of the underlying and selling it on to banks. The problem is further compounded by derivative divisions short selling such debt and banks taking derivatives on top of derivatives and so on and so forth. Everybody took out derivatives on these debts to the point that the market was driven by speculation on futures. It was like a game of hot potato. At the moment the penny dropped, Lehmann Bros, Merril Lynch and such were left holding the potato. Even if 1 million home owners default on their mortgages, it is nowhere near enough to bring the financial system down. The financial system was brought down by complex financial instruments which were not properly regulated by Government. On top of that, these Hedge Funds then proceeded to engage in negative carpet bagging, spreading rumours about companies and calling back their loans to these companies so that their share price could drop and they could make money by short selling these shares. Hedge funds and carpet baggers constitute the greatest moral hazard to the financial sector, sucking confidence out of the markets and injecting fear. If not for moral hazard, Lehmann brothers and co would have survived - but they couldn't raise enough capital to weather the storm because no one would invest in them. On top of that, banks were allowed to hide their losses in their income statements which led to the loss of trust and moral hazard. Up till now, at least $400 billion of subprime losses are still unaccounted for and are still hiding in the cooked up balance sheets of these banks. Until this money is accounted for, the market will not recover. The greatest mistake the Reagan Government ever made was deregulating just when the world was entering into the computer era and needed more effective regulation.

Just like in in 1929, the proponents of Laissez Faire econonomics and deregulation have shown that they are incapable of self-regulation. Greed, Corruption and Ponzi schemes are the ultimate endgame of right-wing Conservatism.

My brother, I am not advocating any war. Like I said before, both sides need to chill before it turns to something else. Taking on the Nigerian Government is a Herculean and fool-hardy task. You think I don't have relatives on ground? I am a Borokiri boy and war is the last thing I want to see.

Mourinho up to his old tricks. . .


Mourinho: Who The Hell Is Lo Monaco?

Jose Mourinho has responded to Pietro Lo Monaco’s astonishing attack on him from earlier today by spitefully stating that he has never heard of the Catania director.

Lo Monaco issued a stunning outburst this morning against Mourinho for the so-called ‘disrespectful’ comments he made after Inter’s 2-1 win against Catania on Saturday night.

“Someone who says these kind of things does not have respect for his adversaries,” roared Lo Monaco.

“He doesn’t respect the host nation [Italy], or the coaches. He should think about his own problems. If he does not win this year, he should pack his suitcase and go back to his own country.

“Mourinho is simply someone who should be smacked in the mouth."

Mourinho has now responded to these comments, during which he belittles Lo Monaco by saying that he has never heard of the person.

"Some time ago I said that there were people who wanted to be on the first page of the newspapers by using my name and talking about me,” said ‘The Special One’.

“I have a sponsor who pays me to advertise him, and I do not give free publicity to anyone.

“As for Lo Monaco I do not know who he is. With the name Monaco I have heard of Bayern Monaco (Munich) and the Monaco GP, the Tibetan Monaco (Monk), and the Principality of Monaco.

“I have never heard of any others.”

This response by Mourinho, as amusing at is, is likely to lead to more accusations of arrogance and disrespect by the Calcio community.

Luca Capofranco

Nigeria population is not more than 120million, so I don't see how 70million are illiterate.

bilymuse:
l beg o , make this people no go kidnap my poor granmother for village. the kind money way them they demand for ransom fear man ooo !!!!!!!!

lol. . . . same here.

Campaign financing has nothing to do with policy. . . . both Republicans and Democrats collect contributions from all the major financials. . . . McCains campaign manager is a lobbyist for Frannie and Freddie so I don't know what you are talking about. . . . Lehmann Brothers also contributed to both campaigns. . . . it is normal for banks to hedge their bets by contributing to both candidates campaigns. . . .the question is, whose fiscal policy represents these special interests?. . . .McCains policies favour less regulation and lower taxes for them whilst Obama's policies favours more regulation and higher taxes for them. . . . . so whose policy is like George Bush's. . . . infact, McCains economic policies are an almost exact replica of Bush's policies.


You can read about lobbyists and contibutions to both the McCain and Obama camps here:

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/07/16/10392/

bawomolo:
mr ibime, why do these freedom fighters only attack oil installation and police stations. are they some scared punks?

Why do women kick mens' bollocks during a fight?  

How can small Ijaw boys fight Nigerian army if not for guerrilla tactics?

Instead of calling them punks, we should hail their bravery for taking on such a Herculean task.

The kidnappings occured in Owo local government area, not Apoi or Arogbo. . . . it was the Oba of Owo who negotiated the release with the militants

Nah. . . .the debate is about regulatory policy, not about blahdeblah. . . .why are Republicans always quick to advise Obama not to pursue a certain strategy. . . . are they scared or what?. . . . suddenly Frannie and Freddie are the cause of all economic problems just because Obama took money from them. . . . we can look into McCains campaign contributions and cancel out that debate completely. . . . the issue here is that Obama should argue that the Republicans laissez faire attitude to regulation led to the problems we are seeing now. . . . and it is up to him to convince the American public of such. . . . McCain fully subscribes to all of George Bush's economic policies. . . . so he has to make the argument that the same policies which caused these meltdowns will be carried on under McCain. . . . like Bill Clinton said, it's the economy stupid!

Abeg leave Jackal alone for now.

Na. . . . these kidnappers are simply profiteering criminals, just like Area boys in Lagos. . . . nothing to do with MEND. . . .the same way people in Niger Delta saw that kidnapping is a money making exercise. . . . so should we tar all Yorubas with the brush of kidnapping or should we call it what it is?

tpia:
Neither side is prepared to sacrifice themselves for this fight. MEND militants are waging war with covered faces to avoid identification. What should that tell all and sundry? Besides, you're going by the word of ONE Nigerian soldier?

MEND are heavily outgunned and heavily outnumbered. . . . if anyone is prepared to lose their lives, it is them cos only a diehard can fight a losing battle. . . Bonga oilfield was a really risky manouvre. . . .the only people who can carry out that mission are diehards. 

lol. . . . Idupaul done turn to military strategist. . . . as a Nigerian soldier once told me, Nigerian soldiers are not prepared to lose their lives in the Niger Delta, whilst MEND are. . . . the only section of the Nigerian army that could carry out the job properly are soldiers from the Northern axis. . . . cos sure as hell, Igbo and Yoruba soldiers are not ready to lose their lives for no Nigerian army.

I thought kidnapping was a strictly Ijaw phenomenom. . . . or should we call it what it is. . . .a poverty phenomenom.

[center]Ondo: Youths kidnap, release 5 traders [/center]

Five Igbo traders in Owo local government area of Ondo State were kidnapped by unknown youths in the town. The victims were abducted on Saturday September 6 and later regained freedom last Friday. It was gathered that an undisclosed huge amount of money was paid to the youths to secure the release of the victims by the Igbo community. Niger Delta STANDARD Correspondent gathered that their release was made possible because of the intervention of Olowo of Owo, Oba Victor Olateru- Olagbegi and other notable chiefs in the town.

Those abducted were: Mr. Mike, Okechukwu Okafor, Chigozie Nwanekezi, Monday and Agboh. Worried by this development, the Igbo community staged protest to the State Police Commissioner, Charles Dawodu, shortly after their kinsmen were freed. The chairman of the Igbo community in Owo, Mr. Eze Chidozie who led his kinsmen to the state police commissioner said the youths had made life unpleasant for them in the community. He said the suspected militant youths abducted sixteen Igbo people in the last one-year and huge ransoms were paid before they were released to the Igbo community According to Chidozie, "These militant youths just enter our stores at will, carry our goods and ask us to pay certain amount of money before they will release these items.

They will just kidnap that person who argues with them and take such person to their cell. After, they would demand for ransom which start from N100, 000 and above, they would not release the victim until their demand is met." Chodozie said that the abduction was alien to the town as Igbo traders and other ethnic groups had been living in harmony with the people of Owo who he described as 'peace loving'. However, a reliable source close to the Olowo of Owo, Oba Victor Olaretu-Olagbegi, told our correspondent that such case was never reported to the Olowo. But, Chidozie pointed out that the Igbo community had reported severally to the monarch of the town without meaningful solution, threatening that his kinsmen would not open their shops until the issue is addressed by government and other stakeholders.

He appealed to the state police commissioner to beef up security among Igbo traders in Owo town, saying that the youths had turned abduction and looting of Igbo stores as a source of generating income. Chidozie said all Igbo indigenes in the state would join their kinsmen to protest against the injustice meted on them. The state Police Commissioner, Charles Dawodu who confirmed the incident blamed the Igbo traders for not reporting the alleged series of kidnapping in Owo town to him. Dawodu pointed out that he had met with traditional ruler of the ancient city and other prominent traditional chiefs to find a lasting solution to the illegality being perpetrated by the Owo youths.[b][/b]

canalarge:
MEND Says Its Commando Unit Razed Shell Facility To Ground

Last View on Mon 15th September, 2008
Last Modified on Mon 15th September, 2008 6:05:23 am


By Jomo Gbomo
At 0200 Hrs today, September 15, 2008, Hurricane Barbarossa continued  its destructive sweep through Rivers state of Nigeria when the eye of the storm struck a direct hit at the expansive Alakiri flow station complex operated by the Shell Petroleum Development Company.The facility was still burning when we left.

Heavily armed fighters from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta stormed the facility and have razed it to the ground as promised. The foolhardy workers and soldiers who did not heed our warning perished inside the station.

Resistance was non existent as the soldiers fled their dug-in positions leaving behind their colleagues and the workers inside the facility to their fate.

A word is enough for the wise. MEND reiterates its previous warnings to ALL oil workers in the entire Niger Delta region to evacuate from oil facilities and halt production with immediate effect or they will have themselves to blame.

We call on the wives of soldiers to convince their husbands to abandon this duty of injustice to avoid becoming widows. Families of oil workers should offer the same advice.

International vessels should not come in to load crude oil. Owners of such vessels should be warned that the vessels will suffer the same fate of the Alakiri flow station. Hostages will not be taken. Do not be deceived. The Nigerian military can not protect you.


http://saharareporters.com/www/news/detail/?id=720

These guys are for real oo

Oh ma gawd!!!. . . . both sides need to chill now. Rest assured, the West will retaliate.

This is an obvious reaction the the new Niger Delta ministry. What did Yar'Adua expect, trying to dribble the people like Maradona?

MEND never said they would start World War III. They said they will start an oil war.

lol. . . that is a good one.

Cheya! Treasury Secretary Hanry Paulson has been holding question and answer session with journalists. I feel sorry for the guy. He looks completely shaken.


Here is a summary of some of the points he has made (My points in brackets):


The regulatory system is inefficient and defunct and needs to be updated. (Republicans always favour less regulation)

Market discipline is now non-negotiable and regulation must reflect that (This is what the Democrats have been saying for ages)


Question from Journalist: Did the Bush administration fall asleep at the switch?

Henry Paulson: I will not comment on that because we have a general election going on now. I will leave the election candidates to argue that over the next few weeks.



My comment: A golden egg just landed in Obama's lap. He needs to make political capital out of this.

Stock markets are crashing with the news that Lehmann Bros have finally gone over. Fear is the overriding emotion as one of America's old economic institutions goes into administration. Stock markets are crashing with a vengeance. Merrill Lynch has had to be taken over by Bank of America to avoid bankruptcy. If we were not in a recession before, we are surely in one now. The financial sector has not taken this many blows since the Great Depression of 1929.

Ordinarily, this would lead to a change of Government. How will the American electorate react to this? Will they let the frivolity of a potential woman VP override the need for change? How has Republican attitudes to the free market helped the economy? Has it promoted the lax culture of greed and fiscal irresponsibility? If the Democrats do not win this election, it will prove what I thought when Hillary and Obama were the front runners for the Democratic ticket - that by choosing two minority candidates, they have lost the bestest chance ever of taking over the White House. Rest assured, if they had put forward John Edwards or someone like that for election, they would have walked the election. Can the appointment of Sarah Palin stem the tide of anti-Republican sentiment? Have the Republicans pulled off the greatest escape of all time or does Obama still have a chance of stealing the nomination?

dyabman:
@IBIME where are you dude , your team is falling down at the fantasy, why do u have to buy wack players lol

Its just the 38 point penalty kicking in. . . . I actually did very well last weekend with Defoe and Zaki scoring me loads of points.

tpia:
umhum.

Now where are the Africans for McCain?

Nowhere to be found, because they're all expected to vote for their black brother.

There are many on Nairaland.

I remember this piece written by Gani. . . . Gani is a true friend of the Niger Delta people. . . I remember that he was Saro-Wiwa's lawyer. . . .


[center]The Murder Of Dikibo
Another Lesson For Niger-Delta[/center]

[center]By
Gani Fawehinmi, LLD, SAN[/center]




It appears to me that there is a deliberate but undeclared policy of the Nigerian state, through successive governments, to eliminate prominent leaders and leading lights from the Niger-Delta, be they of the left, right or centre particularly those who have the moral capacity to influence, motivate and to lead their people.

Let no one be deceived that the Nigerian State is scared of the eruption of discontent that may develop from the avalanche  of socio-economic and indeed political deprivation, neglect and exclusion of the Niger-Delta which is the confirmed hewers of wood and drawers of water of the Nigerian economy.

The Nigerian State tolerates leaders from the Niger Delta so long as they support the enslavement of their people. But the moment they show signs of independent thinking and preparation for action or opposition to the negative policies of the Nigerian State, all the coercive apparati of State power and might are brought to bear on them without pity or without human touch.

This is the pivot around which the strange, dastardly and brutal murders of their leaders in recent times can be understood.



ISAAC JASPER ADAKA BORO

Let us start with Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro, a revolutionary of the Niger-Delta.

Jasper Adaka Boro revolted against the suffering of his people.  Jasper was a former Police officer who later became a student leader in University of  Nigeria Nsukka.  He was imbued with rebellious instincts and aversion for poverty.  With an unusual courage and determination, he led a revolt against the socio-economic system that imprisons the Niger-Delta people.

The following facts emerged from his trial in 1966.  In 1966, Isaac Boro from Oloibiri in the Niger Delta area, returned home from Lagos and recruited other young men, forty in number, including Samuel Owonaru and Nottingham Dick into an organisation known as the Delta Volunteer Service (DVS). He had conceived and worked on this liberation plan for 3 years. He established these men in a camp which he set up first at Taylor’s Creek then later at Ton‑Ton‑Bau bush, supplied them with military-style uniforms, and trained then in the use of firearms and dynamite, using explosives which he bought for that purpose.  A red flag bearing a crocodile emblem was hoisted in the camp.  The training continued until the 23rd February when Boro divided the men into three groups, each of which he assigned to carry out certain operations.

Two of the groups led by Adaka Boro and Nottingham Dick attacked the police station at Yenagoa. They blew open the armoury and removed a quantity of rifles and ammunition. They also kidnapped the police inspector in charge of the station and two other persons. Later, one of the three groups proceeded by motorboat to Oloibiri, where they blew up the Shell‑B.P. oil pipeline. Their three prisoners were abandoned a few days later and they managed to make their way back to Yenagoa. Apart from the pipeline at Oloibiri, another Shell‑B.P. pipeline was blown up  at Odi.

On the afternoon of the same day that the pipeline in Odi was attacked, eight members of the organisation engaged in a gun battle with units of the police force drafted to the area to restore law and order. After the operation, at which the police expended 450 rounds of ammunition, with no loss of life on either side, the police found erected on the Mbiama side of the river a signboard bearing the words “Welcome to the Niger Delta Peoples Republic”.  They also found copies of typewritten documents titled “THE NIGER DELTA PEOPLES REPUBLIC DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE” and another headed “NIGER DELTA PEOPLES REPUBLIC STATE OF EMERGENCY D.V.S. OPERATION ON INTERNAL SECURITY”

After Boro lost his appeal at the Supreme Court and he was kept in the prison, the Nigerian civil war broke out. He was compelled by circumstances  to join the Nigerian side in the Civil War.  In suspicious circumstances,  which are yet to be officially explained, he met his death. That eclipsed his “revolution”. He fought and died while trying to rescue his people from socio‑economic subjugation.



KENULE BEESON SARO-WIWA

Then came Ken Saro Wiwa.  He saw injustice and fought against it.  The Nigerian  State descended on him and got rid of him by hanging him and eight others to death.

Ken was an intellectual, an administrator, a poet, an orator, an author, a great thinker, and above all he was an organiser of people per excellence.  He had an overwhelming moral authority.  He aimed to redress the political and socio-economic wrongs imposed on the Niger Delta people.  His base was Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People. (MOSOP).

He was tenacious and determined in pursuit of emancipatory ideals.  In all his struggles, Ken applied peaceful, non-violent means reminiscent of the strategy and tactics of Mahatma Ghandi.

The Nigerian State became uncomfortable with the spreading influence of the icon from Niger Delta.  On Friday, November 10, 1995 Ken and 8 other equally prominent activist were hanged.  Acid was poured on the dead body of Ken, perhaps to prevent (in their puerile and morbid thinking) the reincarnation of Ken Saro Wiwa.

In the words of Ken at the Special Tribunal set up by the Late General Sani Abacha:

“My lord, we all stand before history.  I am a man of peace, of ideas.  Appalled by the denigrating poverty of my people who live on a richly-endowed land, distressed by their political marginalization and economic strangulation, angered by the devastation of their land, their ultimate heritage, anxious to preserve their right to life and to a decent living and determined to usher to this country a whole a fair and just democratic system which protects everyone and every ethnic group and gives us all a valid claim to human civilization, I have devoted all my intellectual and material resources, my very life, to a cause in which I have total belief and from which I cannot be blackmailed or intimidated.   I have no doubt at all about the ultimate success of my cause, no matter the trials and tribulations which I and those who believe with me may encounter on our journey.  Nor imprisonment nor death can stop our ultimate victory.

On trial also is the Nigerian nation, its present rulers and all those assisting them.  Any nation which can do to the weak and disadvantaged what the Nigerian nation has done to the Ogoni, loses a claim to independence and to freedom from outside influence. 

I predict that a denouncement of the riddle of the Niger Delta will soon come.  The agenda is being set at this trial.  Whether the peaceful ways favoured will prevail depends on what the oppressor decides, what signals it sends out to the waiting public.


SENATOR OBI WALI AND PA ALFRED REWANE

We cannot but mention the murder of Senator Obi Wali, a prominent Niger Deltan of Rivers State extraction who was gruesomely assisinated in his house and matcheted to pieces. Or how can we forget the organised assassination of Pa Alfred Rewane of Niger Delta and of Warri pedigree.  Pa Rewane was a national philanthropist and a die-hard defender of Niger Delta.

He loathed poverty.  In several advertisements in major Newspapers in  Nigeria before his death, he espoused the philosophy of governance that should cater for the welfare of the country in general and the Niger Delta in particular. His influence impacted effectively on both the Niger Delta and Nigeria as a whole.  The government could not accommodate his criticisms through the written word.  He was assassinated on Friday, October 6, 1995.


CHIEF MARSHAL HARRY

Marshall Harry was murdered on Wednesday, 5th March 2003. He was a former National Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) South-South, Niger Delta.  He later decamped to the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP).  Shortly after he decamped to the (ANPP), he was assassinated in Abuja.


ALFRED AMINASAORI KALA DIKIBO

Alfred Aminasaori Kala Dikibo was murdered on the night of Friday, February 6, 2004.  The world woke up to hear of his death on Saturday, 7th February 2004 which was a weekend.  The President had his media chat on Sunday, 8th February 2004 where he declared that Dikibo was killed by armed robbers.

Obviously no investigations had been carried out to justify General Obasanjo’s unnatural and diversionary conclusion.  Since the President made an affirmative assertion as to the cause of Dikibo’s murder, it would be expected that the police would ask the President some questions.   In fact, the investigation should start from Aso Rock, to PDP and then to Rivers State in that order.



Furthermore, the agenda of the meeting which Dikibo was to attend is important if the police is to get to the root of his death.

The following questions are very pertinent in this regard:

(a)   What was the aim of the meeting?

(b)   What agenda was in place?

(c)   Was the meeting going to oppose some policies of the President?

(d)   Was the meeting going to discuss the plan to amend the Constitution so that there will be another opportunity for the President to re-contest or to oppose the attempts by General Obasanjo to perpetuate himself in power?

(e)   Was the meeting out to create a united front for the South-South people so that they could sponsor a Presidential Candidate in 2007?

(f)    Would the meeting have affected the political calculation of PDP for 2007?
     

Unless the Niger Delta people are united against oppression and they are prepared to put their destiny in their own hands to shake off the yoke of governmental barbarism and subjugation of their future, there may be no end to the murders.

In conclusion, all Nigerians, regardless of ethnic affiliation, religious differences or varying geo-political backgrounds, have a duty to rise up and resist arbitrary deprivation of lives.  Arbitrary killings by the State will continue for as long as such odious criminal and despicable acts do not evoke mass anger and people’s  peaceful uprising.  Only the fear of a volcanic social eruption from below can stop barbaric behaviour by holders of political power.


CHIEF GANI FAWEHINMI, LLD, SAN 
Thursday, 12th February, 2004

Dere I:
The Ijaws, in their usual act of kindness provided transportation to Iginua and his entourage, numbering about seventy people, all men, across the river to the Ijaws homeland of AMATU.

Don't mention it . . . . you know the Ijaws took in a lot of tribes fleeing from the wars and strife in Benin . . . because we were the first people to flee from Benin. . .

Traditional history maintains that at a point in time a common language existed between, not only the Ijos and Urhobos, but also the Benis (Benin Kingdom of the 1st Ogiso period). This language was a proto-Ijo
language, which is now only spoken by the Ijos.

Big deal. . . . there was one white English girl at my uni that could speak Yoruba.

I know another Ethiopian guy that speaks perfect pidgin.

My momsie is English and speaks pidgin perfectly.

So said the Americans in Vietnam.

Alright, I stand corrected. I shall change the title of the thread.

Do we need a federal telecomms provider?


[center][size=14pt]Pressure on FG to cripple Glo, MTN, Zain, others - The ethnic dimension [/size] [/center]


IF the secret plot by some Federal Government officials to exploit NigComSat as a tool for launching a mainstream telecommunications service provision in Nigeria is anything to go by, then the happy days of GSM providers would soon be over in the country.

Sunday Tribune can reveal that some managers of NigComSat had concluded plans to do away with the original motives for which the Federal Government launched its own communication satellite and had thus resolved to launch a broad-based telecommunications network to provide voice and data services meant to cripple the operations of all GSM providers in Nigeria.

If the President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua government eventually endorsed the plan by the NigComSat managers, the implication is that it would have rubbished the initiative by the past government of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo in launching GSM services through which providers like Zain, MTN, Glo, Visafone and now Etisalat came on board one after the other.

Meanwhile, the original motive for launching the communication satellite was to enhance national security network of Nigeria, fast-track the process of information gathering for the government and provide comprehensive transmission and application services via digital or analogue system. It is also to engage in transponder leasing services. NIGCOMSAT shall provide comprehensive,

The GSM providers, which started operating in Nigeria since 2001 had exposed the inefficiency of the government-controlled Nigerian Telecommunications (NITEL) which could not provide more than 412,000 telephone lines to Nigerians, whereas the operators of GSM had provided easy communication services for more than 50 million Nigerians within three years of serious business.

The resolve by the government of former president Obasanjo to deregulate the telecommunications industry in Nigeria has, up till date, been credited as the most successful of all the government initiatives ever in Nigeria, following instant relieves derived by Nigerians in their world of communication.

However, Sunday Tribune scooped in Abuja weekend that even with the knowledge of the NigComSat Managing Director, Alhaji Ahmed Rufai, a proposal for the crippling of GSM services had been placed before President Yar’Adua by some officials who are said to be urging him earnestly to approve the proposal.

However, investigations by Sunday Tribune revealed that the NigComSat officials had gone ahead to forge partnership with a Chinese Company, ZTE, and had proposed to use the company to raise a loan of $500m from an international financial institution, Exim, to implement the project.

It was learnt further that the officials are already parleying with the a bank in Nigeria to serve as a guarantor for the proposed loan. Investigations revealed that the proposal before Yar’Adua on the use of NigComSat for telephone business was packaged with the intention of drafting the Federal Government to once again become involved in telecommunications business in Nigeria the way it got involved with NITEL.

It was learnt also that Yar’Adua is being pressurized to approve the proposal on ethnic ground, more so with the general belief that the entire telecommunications business in Nigeria had been hijacked mainly by the South.

It is in that regard that the involvement of the government in the management of mainstream telecommunications provision being proposed is considered imperative, if only to give the North a sense of belonging.

Sunday Tribune findings revealed that even the president would have to approve the proposal with strong endorsement from relevant authorities including the Ministry of Communications, National Communications Commission (NCC), National Galaxy Backbone Project, National Security Adviser, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and others, while the Federal Executive Council (FEC) would be the final approving authority.

The Nigerian Communication Satellite, or NIGCOMSAT-1, which was launched May 13 2007, by the government of President Obasanjo a super hybrid geo-stationary satellite designed to provide communications services for Nigeria and by extension Africa, parts of the Middle East and southern Europe.

China launched the communications satellite for Nigeria having been contracted by Nigeria, the first of its kind for an African country. The initial contract to build the satellite was signed in 2004.

"We've had many Democratic presidents, and we will still have our guns"

-Tony Viessman


When AllHipHop was in Denver we quickly stumbled over a base of support for Senator Barak Obama during the Democratic National Convention. 

Unable to speak to them at the time, we quickly snapped a picture of these two gentlemen, but they left an impression on us. After a couple of weeks and a few seconds of searching, we realize these guys are the real deal.

“We hunt, fish, drink beer and support Barack Obama,” Tony Viessman told the New York Times last month. The 74-year old former Hillary Clinton supporter hails from from Rolla, Mo and has attended several events supporting Obama.

Right now, the movement only consists of two members, Viessman and his friend Les. (seen in the picture below). The pair have adopted the motto "“We Hunt, Fish, Drink Beer and Support Barack Obama.”

Viessman admits most of his hunting/fishing/drinking peers are not Obama supporters (there are some though), but that hasn’t prevented him from supporting the Democratic presidential candidate.

“Rednecks for Obama” formally announced its presence outside the Pepsi Center during the Democratic National Convention coupled wth a hug banner that cause a lot of chatter and questions.

Viessman owns 10 guns, hunts fishes and loves to drink beer, much of which is contrary to Obama’s ideals. Nevertheless, the Rednecks for Obama can see past these differences.

“I don’t care about his beer, I care about his intelligence,” he said.

Although their formal ranks are low, Obama appears to have an understated appeal in rural areas. One reader said, “Here in rural Appalachia, I see Obama stickers on pickup trucks and Obama yard signs on back country roads every single day.”
The last word goes to Tony Viessman.

"He is brilliant.  And he's not an elitist, though he has the education to be"


https://img34.picoodle.com/data/img34/3/9/14/f_rednecksform_e540547.jpg

[center][size=14pt]Meeting the MEND militia[/size][/center]

The first thing that strikes you on meeting members of the MEND militia is the ease with which they travel. They are among people who not only identify with their cause but also go out of their way to offer protection from attacks by Nigerian soldiers.

The second thing you notice is that the militants, at least those elected to respond to questions, are articulate, well-educated, and conversant with the latest political developments at home and abroad.

MEND leaders are constantly on the move, extremely cautious, and do not personally take telephone calls, aware that soldiers hunting for them have electronic devices capable of pinpointing mobile phone signals.

My first meeting with MEND took place in a hotel room in Warri. I had sent word that I'd be arriving that Thursday afternoon, and would like to interview one or two MEND leaders. A local journalist said he would try to arrange the interview, but that getting hold of MEND leaders would depend on the level of Nigerian military presence in Warri that week.

I was in luck. I arrived in Warri when the peace process, initiated by FNDIC leaders, lawyer and environmental activist Oronto Douglas, and other Ijaw leaders, was still plodding on, and the Obasanjo government appeared willing to restrain the soldiers while the negotiations were concluded. A knock sounded on the door of my hotel room: A young man, casually dressed, stood there smiling.

Are you the MEND leader?" I asked, surprised. The media depicts MEND fighters as muscular masked men, clutching Kalashnikovs and adopting belligerent postures, as though ready to fire at the slightest provocation.

There is no such thing as MEND," he countered.

MEND is not an organization in the formal sense of the word, he explained. It is an idea, a principle underlying the slew of communal, civic, and youth movements that began to proliferate in the Niger Delta - particularly in the Ijaw-speaking areas - in the wake of General Babangida's failed 'structural adjustment" policies in the late 1980s.

These organizations pursued such goals as the end to military rule, the return of democratic civilian government, the creation of new states in ethnic minority areas, and an increase in the citizens' share of oil receipts. They used non-violent protest marches, advocacy in the mass media, petitions addressed to the government, and awareness-building seminars to press their case. However, as economic conditions worsened countrywide and Babangida annulled election results in mid-1993, a wave of desperation spread among urban youth.

Militant, communal youth organizations emerged in this period, drawing their membership from the Yoruba, Hausa, and Igbo ethnic groups. The youth militias began to arm. Clashes with the Nigerian military, and also among themselves, became a staple of Nigerian public life.

Political developments in the Ijaw territory followed a slightly different trajectory. Skirmishes between Ijaw youth and the oil companies operating in the Western Delta began in the late 1980s, when the youth complained that they had not been offered employment in the industry on their own doorstep, and which, to make matters worse, was destroying their rivers and farmlands.

Ijaw elders and community leaders mediated the dispute, and this process gave rise to new youth-led civic groups. Prominent among these were the Movement for the Survival of Ijaw Ethnic Nationality (MOSSIEND) and the Movement for Reparations to Ogbia (MORETO), an Ijaw clan in the central delta.

The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), founded in 1998, had united youth in a peaceful but powerful opposition to the exploitative activities of the oil companies and the federal government. The Kaiama Declaration, a document that spelled out the grievances of Ijaw youth, was the brainchild of the IYC leadership.

On the morning of February 15, 2006, government helicopter gunships attacked an Ijaw village. Government officials alleged that Okerenkoko and neighboring villages were centers of oil-bunkering activities. The gunships returned on February 17 and 18, killing several innocent people. Enraged youth all over Ijawland vowed revenge, triggering the birth of the MEND militia.

The founding core of MEND's membership is derived from the Gbaramatu Ijaw clan, which bore the brunt of the February 2006 attacks. But as already stated, MEND is not so much an organization as an idea into which many civic, communal; and political groups have bought.

MEND's strength and military successes so far lie in four key factors:

It has successfully tapped into the 50-year-old Ijaw quest for social and environmental justice in the Niger Delta. There is no village in the Niger Delta where MEND sympathizers do not exist. Consequently, the movement operates in friendly and cooperative terrain, able to mount attacks and meld into hamlets undetected.

Secondly, MEND is a loose coalition of armed militants that doesn't constrain the ability of the various units to make their own decisions and mount military attacks independently of the others. The units also co-ordinate with other units in joint expeditions when necessary. They are thus active in all parts of the delta, adopting hit-and-run tactics, making it difficult for Federal troops to box them into a particular area and launch a massive attack.

Thirdly, MEND militants fight in familiar territory, having fished and farmed since childhood in the Niger Delta The Nigerian Army and Navy have superior hardware, but they often lose their way in the unfamiliar terrain, rendering them ineffective and vulnerable.

Finally, MEND is an astute manipulator of the mass media, and has ensured that its case against the government and the oil companies has been clearly and eloquently made in Nigeria and worldwide.

MEND's weapon of choice is foreign oil workers. The Nigerian government is notorious for its cavalier attitude when the lives of its citizens are at stake. But other nations, particularly the US, France, United Kingdom, and Italy, all of which have massive oil installations in the Niger Delta, usually protest loudly when their citizens are taken hostage. MEND's most spectacular hostage-taking was carried out at Shell's Forcados oil terminal in February 2006. Militants grabbed nine expatriate workers employed by Willbros, an oil engineering firm under contract to Shell, and spirited them away in a speedboat. Following several weeks of negotiations between the militants, Ijaw leaders, the Obasanjo government, the oil companies, and the American and British governments, the last of the hostages (several had been released previously) were set free.

Since MEND began to take hostages early in 2006, none have been harmed. (My note - one died since the article was written). Government officials have portrayed this aspect of MEND's activities as racketeering, claiming the militants usually extort ransom from the hostages and their governments before the victims are released. While it is true that some fringe elements in the Niger Delta have embraced kidnapping as a lucrative venture, they are not to be confused with MEND militants. The objective of the latter is fundamentally political: focus the attention of Western governments and the world on the Niger Delta when they grab these hostages, and announce their grievances against the Nigerian government in the blaze of publicity that follows.

The militia has also carefully positioned itself to derive maximum mileage from the activities of other militant groups, which, although not as well-organized or politically coherent, nevertheless shared similar grievances and regularly mounted their own military attacks on oil company facilities and government troops. MEND spokespeople deplore the actions of these groups when they veer away from the explicitly political objective of advancing the cause of self-determination and equitable sharing of oil receipts, but are quick to spring to their defense when soldiers and riot police attack them unjustly.

MEND's military exploits have not dented the offensive capabilities of Nigeria's armed forces. But they have demoralized the troops, and forced local journalists to question the combat-readiness and overall effectiveness of the army and navy. Most importantly, MEND has transformed the image of the Ijaw from hapless and quiescent victims popularized in the press - ever on the receiving end of atrocities deployed by the government and the oil companies - to an increasingly organized and assertive political bloc.


http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/West_Africa/BehindMask_NigerDelta.html

Them never start. . . . if Amaechi is serious, he better lay off. . . . . . .all MEND hostages have been released unharmed except for that one Scottish guy who died when soldiers launched a botched rescue attempt.