₦airaland Forum

roosebolton: In other to get more eye balls to your story and also increase the chance of getting support from nairalanders I advise you open this as a new thread in the car talk section.

Exactly! Thats a great idea cos this thread is quite old and would have never guessed that anyone else would respond to it. I only stumbled upon it again by accident.

DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES TAKE YOU CAR TO GERMAINE FOR MAINTENANCE OR REPAIR. DO NOT EVEN TAKE IT THERE FOR A QUOTATION!

If i am to choose between a "tyrant" that oversees a secular, relatively peaceful Syria and a bunch of marauding, cold blooded child killing and beheading Jihadists, its no brainer to know whose side I'll be on.

After these jihadists are done with Libya, Iraq and Syria courtesy of their western sponsors, Europe will be their next destination

US to deploy ABM systems in Europe despite P5+1 deal with Iran
Published time: December 17, 2013 11:34
Get short URL
https://cdn.rt.com/files/news/21/88/c0/00/hagel-shoigu-missile-defense.si.jpg
US soldiers stand in front of a Patriot missile battery at an army base in the northern Polish town of Morag. (AFP Photo/Wojtek Radwanski)

The US will deploy its missile defense system in Europe despite progress in Iran nuclear talks, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said. The news came as Russia confirmed the deployment of Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad region, bordering the EU.

The US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has officially informed his Russian counterpart during a video teleconference on Monday that the P5+1 Joint Plan of Action, concluded between Iran and P5+1 member states regarding Tehran’s nuclear program, “does not eliminate the need for US and European allies to continue implementing missile defense plans in Europe,” the Defense Department’s website reported.

Hagel assured his Russian counterpart, Sergey Shoigu, that “NATO missile defense efforts pose no threat to Russia and urged that both sides continue consultations on future missile plans in Europe,” the Pentagon said.

https://rt.com/files/news/21/88/c0/00/hagel_shoigu.jpg
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and senior defense staff meet with Russian Minister of Defense Sergey Shoygu via video (Photo from flickr.com/secdef)

Moscow has been hoping that the US missile system would be withdrawn, since the Iranian deal signed by Tehran and the P5+1 on November 24 in Geneva.

Once the nuclear program deal was signed, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed the hope that the US would no longer have a reason to build the long-touted missile defense shield in Europe – if Iran fulfills its obligations.

“If the Iran deal is put into practice, the stated reason for the construction of the defense shield will no longer apply,” Lavrov told journalists in Rome.

In his annual address to the Federal Assembly on December 12, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that “any international problem can and must be solved through political means”.

“Iran’s nuclear program once served as the key reason for deploying missile shields,” Putin said. “And what do we have now? Iran’s nuclear problem is fading, while the missile shield remains in place. Moreover, it is still developing.”

Caught in Iskander’s crosshairs

Just hours ahead of the Moscow-Washington videoconference between the defense ministers, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed a German media report on the deployment of short-range Iskander missiles in the country’s western enclave of Kaliningrad, which is surrounded by NATO member countries.

Moscow said it does not violate international agreements, but said that US ballistic missile defense deployments in Poland are now within the 500-kilometer range of Iskander missiles, which can be armed with a nuclear warhead.
https://rt.com/files/news/21/88/c0/00/iska-1.jpg
Iskander-E short-range ballistic missile launcher. (RIA Novosti/kbm engineering design bureau)

“The Iskander tactical ballistic missile systems are really in the inventory of the Russia’s Western military district’s missile and artillery forces,” Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov told journalists. Konashenkov said that “specific deployment areas of Iskander missile divisions on the Western Command territory does not contradict any of the international treaties of agreements.”

The reaction from NATO was not long in coming. The US, Poland and three Baltic states: Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, have all expressed strong concern at Iskander being deployed in Kaliningrad.

“We've urged Russia to take no steps to destabilize the region,” AFP reported State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf as saying.

“This is a matter for NATO and we can expect possible consultations and action... at the NATO and EU level," Poland’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Artis Pabriks, Latvia's Defense Minister, said that Russia’s move threatened “several Baltic cities.”

“It is clear that it is alarming news, as it is one of the arguments changing the balance of power in our region,” Baltic News Service reported Pabriks as saying.

‘US real goal is new stage of superiority in Europe’

Russia has always suspected that the US was deploying not just missile defense systems in Europe, but fully-fledged first strike weapons. The first warning of Iskander missile systems being deployed in Kaliningrad in response to the European IBM deployment was voiced by then-President Dmitry Medvedev in 2008.

Putin was much more categorical in his latest assessment of the European ABM.

“We are well aware of the fact that the missile defense system is only defensive in name, whereas in reality it is an essential element of a strategic offensive potential,” Putin said his address to the Federal Assembly, adding that Russia was “closely following the evolution of the so-called ‘disarming nuclear strike’ concept” of the US military. Putin said the US program was designed “to upset what is known as the strategic balance of power.”

“We are well aware of that. And we know what we need to do about it,” Putin warned.

https://rt.com/files/news/21/88/c0/00/p-1.jpg
Russian President Vladimir Putin reads his annual address to the Federal Assembly in the St. George's Hall of the Kremlin. (RIA Novosti/Dmitry Astakhov)

Last week, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin warned that Russia would use nuclear weapons if it came under attack, adding that this possibility serves as the main deterrent to potential provocateurs and aggressors.

“One can experiment as long as one wishes by deploying non-nuclear warheads on strategic missile carriers. But one should keep in mind that if there is an attack against us, we will certainly resort to using nuclear weapons in certain situations to defend our territory and state interests,” Rogozin, the defense industry chief said on Wednesday speaking at the State Duma, the lower house.

Aleksey Pushkov, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Russian State Duma, the lower house of parliament, said in an interview to RT that from the very beginning western argument backing the idea of the European ABM was “deeply flawed” and both North Korean and Iranian arguments used to justify American ABM in Europe “are just fake.”

“The real goal is to create a new stage of American superiority in Europe, to try to neutralize at least partially Russian nuclear potential and to create the new bond between the US and Europe,” Pushkov told RT.

thoth: Besides you should have known that if your post is longer than 8 lines nobody is going to read it...cus it is "JUST TOO LONG"

.

It's sad really. People don't want to read or ask questions or have a deeper insight into matters. They are just content following the life fashioned for them by their masters.
I know exactly what you mean but I believe that little by little people are awakening. Every single person that the message reaches makes a difference

These are the cold blooded killers- animals- that the West is now openly and shamelessly working with......
Not only do thESE foreign jihadists pose a threat to peace in the middle east but to Europe and other western countries as well whenever they return to their countries of origin...
The earlier people realize that the West doesn't carry out so many of it's acts for altruistic reasons but for it's own selfish, callous interests, the better for us all...

THE WAR ON TERROR IS A FRAUD. IT IS FRAUD EXECUTED TO PERPETUATE PROFITABLE WARS, DESTABILIZE COUNTRIES FOR CONTROL AND ECONOMIC GAINS AND LASTLY ENFORCE THE POLICE, BIG BROTHER STATE...



‘Slaughtered like sheep’: Eyewitnesses recount massacre in Adra, Syria

Published time: December 17, 2013 11:28
Edited time: December 17, 2013 20:13

[img]http://www.dailystar.com.lb/dailystar/Pictures/2013/11/06/220444_mainimg.jpg[/img]
Members of jihadist group Al-Nusra Front take part in a parade calling for the establishment of an Islamic state in Syria, at the Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood of Aleppo (AFP Photo)


New details of atrocities carried out by Islamist rebel fighters in the town of Adra, 20 kilometers north of Damascus, continue to pour in from survivors of the massacre there, in which reportedly at least 80 people lost their lives.

"The decapitators" is how the Adra residents, who managed to flee the violence there, now call the people who currently have the town under their control. Adra, a town with a population of 20,000, was captured by Islamist rebels from the Al-Nusra front and the Army of Islam last week, following fierce fighting with the government forces. The town’s seizure was accompanied by mass executions of civilians.

Following alarming reports of the massacre, RT contacted international rights groups including the Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International, as well as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). However, none of them were able to provide any information.

While the HRW told RT that it “cannot comment at this stage as our research is still ongoing and it has been very difficult to get accurate information about what is happening in Adra and who is responsible for the abuses,” the ICRC said they “don’t have access to this area and can neither confirm nor deny any information circulating.”

RT Arabic has managed to speak to some of the eyewitnesses of the atrocities. Most of them have fled the town, leaving their relatives and friends behind, so they asked not to be identified in the report for security reasons.

An Adra resident said he escaped from the town “under a storm of bullets.” He later contacted his colleagues, who described how the executions of civilians were carried out by the militants.

“They had lists of government employees on them,” the man told RT. “This means they had planned for it beforehand and knew who works in the governmental agencies. They went to the addresses they had on their list, forced the people out and subjected them to the so-called “Sharia trials.” I think that’s what they call it. They sentenced them to death by beheading.”

A woman, hiding her face from the camera, told RT of the beheadings she had seen.

“There was slaughter everywhere,” she said. “The eldest was only 20 years old; he was slaughtered. They were all children. I saw them with my own eyes. They killed fourteen people with a machete. I don’t know if these people were Alawites. I don’t know why they were slaughtered. They grabbed them by their heads and slaughtered them like sheep.”
https://rt.com/files/news/21/88/b0/00/syria1.jpg
One of the witnesses of the Adra massacre, who spoke to RT on condition of anonymity. Still from RT video

It’s been reported that 80 civilians were killed in the massacre. The death toll could still grow, as currently the information coming from Adra is scarce. The town has been surrounded and isolated by the Syrian army, who have been trying to force the extremists out.

“Civilians told us that the workers of an Adra bakery were all executed and burned during the first hours of the attack. Whole families were massacred. We do not have an exact estimation of the number because we are unable to get into the town, but the number is high,” Kinda Shimat, Syria’s Social Affairs Minister, told RT.

Details of the executions are trickling out of the town as eyewitnesses tell their stories.

“They killed everyone at the Adra Ummalia police station,” another fugitive from the town told RT. “And they killed everyone at the Adra Ummalia hospital where my sister works. She stayed alive only because she didn’t show up for work that day. There are about 200 people at the police station. They are civilians. The militants are hiding among them, using them as a shield to prevent the Army from bombing the police.”

The events in Adra are a further example of the shift that has taken place within the Syrian rebel forces which has lately been dominated by Islamist extremists, according to Michel Chossudovsky, director of the Centre for Research on Globalization.
https://rt.com/files/news/21/88/b0/00/syria5.jpg
The Syrian army on a mission to force rebels out of the town of Adra. Still from RT video

“The so-called moderate opposition forces are virtually non-existent from the military standpoint,” Chossudovsky told RT. “The only force which has funding and weapons are the Islamists, particularly Al-Nusra. And their rebel brigades are the ones committing atrocities. The divisions are occurring precisely because segments of the opposition realize that these terrorist brigades do not belong to the so-called opposition movement.”

Both the Adra massacre and the latest Aleppo bombing have signaled the escalation of violence in the war-torn country ahead of the UN-mediated continuously postponed peace talks on Syria, now set to take place in Geneva on January 22.

On Monday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for a ceasefire ahead of the talks.

"We must have a cessation of hostilities before we begin political dialogue on Syria in Geneva," he said.

More than 100,000 people have died during the three-year-old civilian war in Syria, according to UN estimates.

Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin are having a summit meeting in Moscow.

During a break, they're bored, and they decide to take a bet to see whose bodyguards are more loyal.

Putin is on the 20th floor and calls on his bodyguard Ivan, opens the window, and says: "Ivan, jump!"

Sobbing, Ivan says: "Mr. President, how can you ask me to do that? I have a wife and child waiting for me at home"

Putin sheds a tear himself, apologises to Ivan, and sends him away.

Next, it's Kim Jong Un's turn. He calls his bodyguard Lee Myung Man and yells: "Lee Myung Man, jump!"

Not hesitating for a split second, Lee Myung Man is just about to jump out the window.

Putin grabs Lee Myung Man to prevent him from jumping and says: "Are you out of your mind? If you jump out this window, you'll die! This is the 20th floor!"

Nevertheless, Lee Myung Man is still struggling, trying to escape Putin's embrace and jump out the window: "Mr. Putin, please let me go! I have a wife and child at home!"

[size=18pt]Deceiving the US Public on Syria[/size]
December 9, 2013

Exclusive: The United States nearly went to war with Syria last summer after a rush to judgment over a mysterious sarin attack. Now, several months later, reporter Seymour Hersh shows how the case was spun, writes Robert Parry.

By Robert Parry

Investigative reporter Seymour Hersh has confirmed that President Barack Obama misled the American people over the Aug. 21 Syrian chemical attack by cherry-picking evidence about the Syrian government’s presumed guilt and excluding suspicions about the rebels’ capability to produce their own sarin gas.

Hersh also reported that he discovered a deep schism within the U.S. intelligence community over how the case was sold to pin the blame on President Bashar al-Assad. Hersh wrote that he encountered “intense concern, and on occasion anger” when he interviewed American intelligence and military experts “over what was repeatedly seen as the deliberate manipulation of intelligence.”
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry delivers remarks on Syria at the Department of State in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 30, 2013. [State Department photo]

https://consortiumnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/kerry-syria-remarks-300x199.jpg
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry delivers remarks on Syria at the Department of State in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 30, 2013. [State Department photo]

According to Hersh, “One high-level intelligence officer, in an email to a colleague, called the administration’s assurances of Assad’s responsibility a ‘ruse’. The attack ‘was not the result of the current regime’, he wrote.

“A former senior intelligence official told me that the Obama administration had altered the available information – in terms of its timing and sequence – to enable the president and his advisers to make intelligence retrieved days after the attack look as if it had been picked up and analysed in real time, as the attack was happening.

“The distortion, he said, reminded him of the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident, when the Johnson administration reversed the sequence of National Security Agency intercepts to justify one of the early bombings of North Vietnam. The same official said there was immense frustration inside the military and intelligence bureaucracy.”

Despite Hersh’s legendary reputation dating back to the My Lai massacre story during the Vietnam War and revelations about CIA abuses in the 1970s, his 5,500-word article appeared in the London Review of Books, a placement that suggests the American media’s “group think” blaming the Assad regime remains hostile to any serious dissent.

Much of the skepticism about the Obama administration’s case on the Syrian sarin attack has been confined to the Internet, including our own Consortiumnews.com. Indeed, Hersh’s article dovetails with much of what we reported in August and September as we questioned the administration’s certainty that Assad’s regime was responsible.

Our skepticism flew in the face of a solid consensus among prominent opinion leaders who joined in the stampede toward war with Syria much as they did in Iraq a decade earlier.

Hostility Toward Dissent

Another parallel with the Iraq War was the hostility that any dissent over the rush to judgment received. In 2003, my articles challenging President George W. Bush’s claims about Iraqi WMD meant that whenever the U.S. invading force stumbled upon a barrel of chemicals – and Fox News touted the discovery as proof that Bush was right – I’d get bombarded with e-mails demanding that I admit I was wrong and apologize to Bush.

There has been a similar tone in some of the criticism of our articles on Syria, when we have noted that the Obama administration’s case against Syria over the Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack was stunningly lacking in any verifiable proof, only a series of assertions framed as “we assess” this and “we assess” that.

Beyond questioning the fragility of the “evidence,” our articles cited a split within the U.S. intelligence community, a division that the administration sought to conceal by avoiding a National Intelligence Estimate, which would have had to include footnotes about why many analysts were skeptical of the Assad-did-it scenario.

Instead of an NIE, the White House issued something called a “Government Assessment,” which dumped all the doubts and pumped up the certainty. Once the “Government Assessment” was posted on Aug. 30 by the White House press office, Secretary of State John Kerry was put forward to present the case for launching a military strike against Syria.

War was only averted because President Obama abruptly decided to seek congressional approval and then reached a diplomatic accord, with the help of the Russian government, in which the Syrian government agreed to dispose of its chemical weapons arsenal (while still denying that it was responsible for the Aug. 21 attack).

Obama’s last-minute reversal spared the United States another war in the Middle East, a conflict that could have easily spread into a regional conflagration. Many thousands of people could have died and the possible disruption of oil supplies could have thrown the world into an economic depression.

The “happy” outcome of a diplomatic solution surely is welcome. But it also has obscured a troubling reality – that Official Washington and the mainstream U.S. news media have learned little from the Iraq War debacle. Timely skepticism on matters of war or peace remains marginalized in small-circulation Web sites with very few financial resources.

The unsettling message from Hersh’s detailed exposé – as it was published in December in the United Kingdom – is that the story could very well have appeared three months after the United States blundered into another war.
[Here is some of our earlier reporting on the Syrian crisis: “A Dodgy Dossier on Syrian War”; “Murky Clues From UN’s Syria Report”; “Obama Still Withholds Syria Evidence”; “How US Pressure Bends UN Agencies”; “Fixing Intel Around the Syria Policy.”]

Investigative reporter Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories for The Associated Press and Newsweek in the 1980s.

Zaandrew, do you guys have sites similar to Nairaland in SA as well?

LRNZH: What beats me are

1. The stench as you disembark... Unbearable

2. Nigerians who have been orderly, following queues in other airports start jumping queue, pushing and shoving once they get into the MMIA. Stark reminder that were back in a disorderly nation.

3.Sirens from convoys everywhere as you leave the airport inside heat and traffic. Make average citizen kuku die.

Nigerians are in denial. The fact is that our airports are a national disgrace and cannot be compared to airports in several countries, even countries that are 3rd world like us. The general disoderliness, unprofessional ism & toxic atmosphere is enough to kill your spirit no matter how much in a good mood you may have been before passing through this dreadful MMIA.

1.Stench....have you walked through the car park recently? The stench of pi*ss and faeces can make you nauseated.
2. Disorderliness: It's like the moment Nigerians step out of the plane, that Nigerian unruly and unlawful mode kicks in. Perhaps it's the recognition that they are back in jungle that triggers this behavior.
3. Sirens and convoys: They do not use the designated car parks.They flout all parking rules there is, etc

The blast of hot air that hits you when you disembark from the plane;
the authorities that shamelessly salute (or harass) you all part of the effort to entice some change out of you;
the airport staff that forgo all decency and focus all their attention on the VIPs amongst the passengers sucking up to them every step of the way;
that escalator just before passport control that never seems to work where disembarking passengers always converge to a dead stop in the midst of the hottest area of the airport
and that horrid voice over the crackling public address system that you refuse to believe is meant to serve you.

Yes, MMIA is the stuff of nightmares and a perfect introduction to what awaits you as you enter Nigeria.

So Konga.com announces its Fall Yakata sales with much fanfare. The highlight of the massive sales is the PS4 going for an unbelievable N60K! I was "camped out" on their site, but rather than enjoy the massive discounts promised, I got gateway timeout errors and the PS4 offer has altogether disappeared from their site!

Now at the end of the day, there is a big pic on the Konga site claiming that the PS4 has been sold out. This sh*t wasn't available in the first place. Just who do they think they are fooling??

Konga is running a scam! Scr*w you Konga!

In hindsight I can see my stupidity to fall for this scam in the first place. Guess I was just desperate to land a PS4 considering that my PS3 is broken for a while now

I have been following this thread way before it made it to FP and I must say I am quite impressed with Username's knowledge of his country and the manner in which he has answered questions. I am a fan of Putin and I follow Russian affairs quite closely.

However by bringing this thread to the front page, Username would be hard pressed to answer the torrent of questions hurled at him and by the very fact that it's now made front page, there is a danger of the thread derailing by attracting trolls that wouldn't be necessarily click on such a thread in the first place

So Konga.com announces its Fall Yakata sales with much fanfare. The highlight of the massive sales is the PS4 going for an unbelievable N60K! I was "camped out" on their site, but rather than enjoy the massive discounts promised, I got gateway timeout errors and the PS4 offer has altogether disappeared from their site!

Now at the end of the day, there is a big pic on the Konga site claiming that the PS4 has been sold out. This sh*t wasn't available in the first place. Just who do they think they are fooling??

Konga is running a scam! Scr*w you Konga!

Hey Zaandrew, how were you able to post so many links and avoid being banned by the Spambot?

WHO has come out to state that this report was made in error.

http://rt.com/news/who-apologize-greece-hiv-331/

So calm down folks

More hate spewing from another racist.

"Nigeria, for example, leads the world in criminal enterprises. Every level of Nigerian society is criminal, with the smart ones running Internet scams, the mid-range ones running car theft rings, and the stupid ones engaging in piracy and kidnapping. At the University of Lagos, you can major in credit card fraud.

There were almost no Nigerians in the United States until the 1970s. Today, there are nearly 250,000 Nigerians in the U.S. (committing the cyber-crime Americans just won't do!). In 2011, we took in more immigrants from Nigeria than from the United Kingdom (9,246 from the U.K. and 9,344 from Nigeria)."

TO SPEAK TO A NIGERIAN PRINCE ABOUT YOUR HEALTH CARE, PRESS '1' NOW
Ann Coulter
By Ann Coulter 19 hours ago

In a weird confluence of the nation's two most pressing issues -- Obamacare and our insane immigration laws -- this week we found out that the tens of thousands of "navigators" hired by the government to enroll people in Obamacare will include convicted felons.

Despite some "navigators" having already been exposed as having arrest warrants against them, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has no plans to screen out the criminals. (But rest assured: If your identity is stolen as a result of trying to sign up for Obamacare, no one will be more upset about it than President Obama.)

Maybe it's a blessing that the Obamacare website has crashed more often than the Soviet Union's commercial air fleet did.

In addition to convicted felons, navigators are drawn from labor unions, community organizers, former ACORN staffers and front-groups for the Democratic National Committee.

Call right up and give all your private financial and medical information to those guys! What could go wrong? (Before Obamacare was even online, Minnesota's health exchange emailed the Social Security numbers and other identifying information for about 2,400 Americans to a man applying to be a "navigator."

If you call today, you can sign up for Obamacare plus learn about a Nigerian prince in exile who's willing to share his vast inheritance with you in exchange for your bank account numbers.

Which reminds me, federal health insurance programs have long been a prime target for scammers and con artists.

To much fanfare, in 2006 Medicare announced that only 7 percent of its payments were a result of fraud. Two years later, The New York Times reported that it was actually 31.5 percent -- and that Medicare had aggressively hidden the fraud from outside auditors.

Do you think a privately run insurance company would take three years to notice that one-third of its payouts had been obtained by fraud? But with federal programs, there's a powerful incentive not to look for fraud. That would merely vindicate critics of big government!

In 2012, Medicare's crack investigators noticed that more than a billion dollars in home health care payments for 2008 had gone to one single county in Florida -- more than all such payments made to the rest of the entire country.

Do you think it would take five years for a private insurer to figure out it had been scammed out of $1 billion by a few health care professionals in one county? Anyone else would notice being stolen from, but not the government. It's not their money.

Wherever there's a government program, there's a gigantic opportunity for criminals. A staggering percentage of the health care workers scamming Medicare and Medicaid are foreign-born -- much higher than their numbers in the medical profession generally.

Thus, in the Department of Justice's most recent press releases about criminal convictions for Medicare and Medicaid fraud against the taxpayer -- solely for the four-day period ending Nov. 7 -- we have:

-- Nov. 7, 2013

Mehran Javidan, owner of Acure, a home health care company in Oak Park, Mich., was paid more than $2.2 million from Medicare based on fraudulent physical therapy files he submitted between December 2008 and November 2010.

-- Nov. 7, 2013

Javed Rehman, Tausif Rahman and Muhammad Ahmad -- no relation to the Tsarneav brothers -- fraudulently obtained Medicare beneficiary information to bill Medicare for home health services, swindling approximately $13.8 million from Medicare.

-- Nov. 7, 2013

Eliza Lozano Lumbreras, San Juanita Gallegos Lozano, Manuel Anthony Puig and Romelia Puig used their operation of the Mission Clinic and La Hacienda Family Clinic to submit false claims to Medicare and Medicaid, stealing approximately half a million dollars from the taxpayers between 2001 and 2006.

-- Nov. 6, 2013:

Karen Kallen-Zury, Daisy Miller and Christian Coloma were convicted for receiving approximately $40 million from Medicare for patients not eligible for psychiatric treatment because they were not severely mentally ill.

-- Nov. 6, 2013:

Jose Rojo, Antonio Macli, Jorge Macli and Sandra Huarte in Miami paid patient recruiters to refer ineligible Medicare beneficiaries to their clinic for services that were never provided. They were paid more than $11 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare.

-- Nov. 4, 2013:

Godwin Umotong, Leslie Omagbemi, Munda Massaquoi, Comfort Gates, Ovsanna Agopian and Boghos Babadjanian were convicted of fraudulently billing Medicare of millions of dollars for office visits and diagnostic tests that were never performed, more than $1.3 million of which Medicare paid.

-- Nov. 4, 2013:

William Dale Sidener was convicted of submitting fraudulent bills to Medicare and receiving $4,677.00 in payments for services not performed.

These are Eric Holder's press releases, not mine.

Do you notice anything that stands out about the list of convicts? Would any of their names have sounded strange to Ben Franklin? Of 22 people convicted of defrauding American taxpayers by fraudulently billing Medicare or Medicaid, at least 17 have almost comically foreign names.

None of the scammers should be foreigners! We can't do anything about our native-born crooks, but why are we importing them?

Enormous, unwieldy corrupt government programs run by arrogant bureaucrats would be bad enough in 1950. But after decades of our Third World-only immigration policies, one can't help noticing that Medicare and Medicaid are beckoning Disneylands for foreign-born thieves.

The problem isn't their complexion, it's their culture. In America, we think only dumb people become criminals. That's not true in the Third World!

Nigeria, for example, leads the world in criminal enterprises. Every level of Nigerian society is criminal, with the smart ones running Internet scams, the mid-range ones running car theft rings, and the stupid ones engaging in piracy and kidnapping. At the University of Lagos, you can major in credit card fraud.

There were almost no Nigerians in the United States until the 1970s. Today, there are nearly 250,000 Nigerians in the U.S. (committing the cyber-crime Americans just won't do!). In 2011, we took in more immigrants from Nigeria than from the United Kingdom (9,246 from the U.K. and 9,344 from Nigeria).

Of course, Obamacare never would have passed without decades of massive immigration from the Third World. Liberals didn't change any minds -- they changed the voters. In order to pass Obamacare, Democrats had to bring in the Third World to vote Democratic.

The downside is that the country is now chock-full of people who come from cultures where criminality and government corruption is a way of life -- at the very moment that the country is expanding a government-run health insurance program already shot through with fraud and abuse.

Only confiscatory tax rates can support such a system.

Gosh, I sure hope our new Somali and Nigerian immigrants have German-style rectitude and are very honest about reporting all their income to the government.

COPYRIGHT 2013 ANN COULTER

UNLEASHED: MMIA is most probably the worst airport in Africa no contest. Nothing at all is right about the airport. From the very poor structural state it is to poor maintenance and mismanagement.
Couple of months ago when I visited Nigeria, I was ashamed to see the arrival lounge running on fan, the fans were even plugged to stabilisers and everywhere was hot, clumsy and smelly.
The officials don't want to do a single thing for you for free. They're rude to the extent you'll want to slap someone, you can't lodge a complaint or ask a polite question without being insulted.
Security officers indirectly beg for stuffs in your bag at Check-in.
Sometimes I wonder if it's the same airport that serves our governors, senators, ministers and president.
No matter how beautiful your house is, the entrance tells a lot.

The blast of hot air that hits you when you disembark from the plane; the authorities that shamelessly salute (or harass) you all part of the effort to entice some change out of you; the airport staff that forgo all decency and focus all their attention on the VIPs amongst the passengers sucking up to them every step of the way; that escalator just before passport control that never seems to work where disembarking passengers always converge to a dead stop in the midst of the hottest area of the airport and that horrid voice over the crackling public address system that you refuse to believe is meant to serve you. Yes, MMIA is the stuff of nightmares and a perfect introduction to what awaits you as you enter Nigeria.

http://consortiumnews.com/2013/11/11/why-france-sank-an-iran-nuke-deal/

Why France Sank an Iran Nuke Deal
November 11, 2013

Exclusive: Saudis and Israelis wanted to sink the negotiated deal on Iran’s nuclear program, so the French launched the diplomatic torpedo to take it down. But behind France’s action were Saudi financial muscle and Israel’s political skill, reports Robert Parry.

By Robert Parry

France’s sabotage of a compromise agreement on Iran’s nuclear program is a textbook case of how the new Saudi-Israeli alliance can disrupt President Barack Obama’s strategy for resolving Middle East disputes through diplomacy, not war.

Over the summer, Saudi officials including intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan visited European capitals dangling financial deals and energy concessions to countries if they would line up behind Saudi and Israeli desires for military intervention in the Syrian civil war and heightened economic warfare against Iran.
https://consortiumnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/fabius-with-kerry-300x198.jpg
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius greets U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Paris, France, on Feb. 27, 2013. [State Department photo]


The carrots were particularly appealing to the French who are struggling with a sluggish economy, high unemployment and a recent credit downgrade. So, the flash of Saudi petro-dollars got the attention of the French government.

Just last month, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian celebrated the signing of a $1.5 billion deal with Saudi Arabia to overhaul six of its navy ships. In July, Saudi Arabia’s ally, United Arab Emirates, signed a $913 million deal with France to buy two high-resolution Helios military satellites.


Other lucrative arms deals are reportedly in the works between France and Saudi Arabia (and its Sunni allies). Saudi Arabia also has deployed its money to bolster France’s sagging agricultural and food sectors, including a Saudi firm buying a major stake in Groupe Doux, Europe’s largest poultry firm based in Brittany.

The Saudis, however, had less success with other countries. In a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Bandar reportedly offered cooperation on oil and natural gas interests as the carrot for getting Putin to abandon the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad.

But it was Bandar’s implicit stick of renewed violence by Chechen and other Saudi-backed Islamic militants that backfired. Putin reacted angrily, according to diplomatic accounts of the meeting, and adopted an even tougher stance against Saudi desires in the Middle East.

Putin also stepped up his cooperation with President Obama in searching for negotiated settlements to longstanding disagreements in the Middle East, including a U.S.-Russia-brokered deal to get the Syrian government to give up its chemical weapons, a joint push for Syrian peace talks in Geneva and a plan to resolve the Iranian nuclear dispute.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Saudi royals favor a more belligerent approach to these conflicts – wanting the United States to bomb Syria and “degrade” its military, demanding the immediate removal of Syrian President Assad, and insisting on a complete capitulation by Iran under threat of crippling economic sanctions or a U.S.-Israeli aerial bombardment.

Last weekend – as an interim agreement with Iran was about to be signed by the five permanent United Nations Security Council members plus Germany – the French rushed to the rescue of the Israeli-Saudi alliance, showing up at the last minute to unravel the deal that had been painstakingly knitted together.

To the apparent surprise of the Obama administration, the Russians and other governments working on a compromise with Iran over its nuclear program, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius joined the talks late, mocked them as ”a fool’s game,” and prevented the accord from being signed by adding language unacceptable to Iran.

Much of the subsequent commentary has focused on why the French were coming to the aid of the Israelis in blocking the interim agreement that Netanyahu has denounced in apocalyptic terms. But France’s interest in undercutting the deal can perhaps best be understood by factoring in the Saudi money.

Indeed, the logic behind the behind-the-scenes Saudi-Israeli alliance has been that the two former adversaries now view their interests as mostly aligning, especially their contempt for Iran’s Shiite government and its influence extending along the Shiite Crescent from Tehran through Baghdad and Damascus to Beirut.

Israel and Saudi Arabia agree that Iran is the greatest threat to their regional interests. Both countries have indicated that they want the Iranian-backed government in Syria to be overthrown even if that means it will be replaced by Saudi-backed Sunni jihadists linked to al-Qaeda. [See Consortiumnews.com’s “Israel Sides with Syrian Jihadists.”]

Israel and Saudi Arabia also took the same side on the Egyptian military coup d’etat which ousted elected President Mohamed Morsi, a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. Though the Muslim Brotherhood is Sunni – like the Saudis – it represents a populist movement that the Saudi monarchy considers a threat to its anti-democratic structure. Israel views the Muslim Brotherhood as sympathetic to Hamas in Gaza.

But what makes the Saudi-Israeli alliance so influential is the complementary strengths of the two countries. Israel has extraordinary skills at lobbying and propaganda, especially in influencing Official Washington and Capitol Hill. Saudi Arabia has vast financial resources that can turn the heads of defense officials in Paris, oil men in Houston or investment bankers on Wall Street. Together these strengths can make the negotiation of any good-faith compromise with Iran or Syria difficult, if not impossible.

Between Netanyahu pulling the strings of his political and media marionettes in Washington and the Saudis manipulating the French government and others with financial inducements, it will take toughness and savvy for the Obama administration to guide the process to a peaceful resolution. And, toughness and savvy are not attributes that the administration is known to have in great supply.
[For more on this topic, see Consortiumnews.com’s “A Showdown for War or Peace.”]

Investigative reporter Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories for The Associated Press and Newsweek in the 1980s. You can buy his new book, America’s Stolen Narrative, either in print here or as an e-book (from Amazon and [url]barnesandnoble.com[/url]). For a limited time, you also can order Robert Parry’s trilogy on the Bush Family and its connections to various right-wing operatives for only $34. The trilogy includes America’s Stolen Narrative. For details on this offer, click here.

And these are the folks that the western countries want to seize power. What is happening in Libya will be child's play compared to what will unfold in Syria and the entire middle east. Saudi Arabia, Israel and all those other countries that support these rebels with arms, logistics and cash will find out the hard way when these Jihadists turn their weapons on their sponsors.

GeneralJ: INDIANS do not want war with US (nigeria)

www.nairaland.com/attachments/1372058_AFW13207_JPG802903195a49ab1d26424dbc44dbb03e

And do you really believe that Nigeria can fight a war with India? A country with hundred of fighter jets including SU-30s/S5s and the incoming 5th generation PAK-FA stealth fighter; a country with several submarines, destroyers and frigates; a country that has "blue water" capability able to project his military power far beyond its shores; a country with several nuclear warheads and a military that far outnumbers ours; a country with several long range inter-country ballistic missiles; a country with a much larger ecomony; etc....

War is not about displaying some small unit of specially trained soldiers decked out in fancy or sophisticated gear. Modern war is about strategy, technological upperhand and the ability to sustain it....

I just had to digress a bit to prove a point which is fighting a war is a silly idea not that I condone the actions of these racist Inidans in anyway. I am appalled by the scenes that are unfolding and strongly believe that the Nigerian government should respond in kind by deporting many Indians cos I understand that there are approximately 40,000 Nigerians in India and about a whooping 1,000,000 Indians in Nigeria owing approximately 100,000 businesses here. Looks to me that they need us more than we need them.
The Nigerian government should immediately and without hesitation deport via cargo vessels, the first batch of 50,000 Indians with the threat to deport more if the hostility towards Nigerians in India doesn't stop.

http://rt.com/news/golinger-documents-venezuela-destabilization-299/

Leak reveals plot to destabilize Venezuelan govt

Fynline: http://www.punchng.com/news/us-spies-on-nigerian-security-agencies/

This is no surprise at all.. What do you think is the next primary duty of embassies besides a diplomatic presence?

Or didn't you read how even executives of Shell and other multinationals in the country had access to state secrets as exposed by Wikileaks a few years back?

The West owns us.

zaandrew: Who that guy at the bottom? Looks like SA camo?

Looks like Spanish forces

Diet Plan
***Advanced Meal Plan***

Meal 1:

4 egg whites or liquid equivalent

5 whole Omega-3 eggs

2 cup of oatmeal

Or:

40-50 grams whey isolate powder

2 tbsp natural peanut butter

2 cup of oatmeal

Or:

2 cup liquid egg whites

2tbsp natural peanut butter

2 cup of oatmeal


When time is a factor first thing in the morning, simply mix in a shaker bottle your 40g of whey, 1tbsp of PB and your oats. Shake and drink. It may sound unappealing but youll find its not that bad.

Many will choose to simply drink their egg whites for convenience. Sounds gross but they have no taste. Use actual egg whites, not egg product.

Another good time saving factor is the 3 rd option. Mix it all together in a protein shaker; add in one packet of Splenda shake and drink.

Option one is best and carries the most fat but healthy fats

KCL: 1000-1040, PT: 49-59, Carb: 113-114, Fat: 25-33

Meal 2:

40-50 grams whey isolate powder mixed in water

2tbsp of natural peanut butter

1cup oatmeal

Or:

7-8oz filet or lean beef

1cup Rice

green vegetables or green salad


Peanut butter mixes easily with your whey. You do not have to do this but doing so is fine.

How you cook your steak makes no difference. Grilled, baked or pan cooked with Pam is great.

Green vegetables should not have added ingredients such as cheese or butter.

KCL: 640-720, PT: 45-48, Carb: 50-65, Fat: 20-25

Meal 3:

8oz chicken breast, turkey or fish

1 cup rice

2oz almonds or cashews

green vegetables

Or:

8oz chicken breast, turkey or fish

2 sweet potatoes

2oz almonds or cashews

green vegetables


Baking, grilling or boiling your chicken is the easiest. Cook enough to last you several days as well as the rice.

Sweet potatoes can be cooked quickly in the microwave. Just poke a few holes in the skin with a knife or fork

Choose Normal size sweet potatoes or one very large one.

Brown rice is healthier but white is fine

KCL: 784-868, PT: 57-60, Carb: 55-65, Fat: 25-28

Meal 4:

Same as meal 1


Mix it up to help with variety

KCL: 1000-1040, PT: 49-59, Carb: 113-114, Fat: 25-33

Meal 5:

Same as meal 3


You should never add sugar to your Oats, Splenda is fine

KCL: 784-868, PT: 57-60, Carb: 55-65, Fat: 25-28

Meal6:

10-12 egg whites or liquid equivalent

2 whole Omega-3 eggs

Or:

7-8oz filet or lean beef

Or:

40 grams whey isolate mixed in water

2tbsp natural peanut butter


Last meal of the day, it should be eaten not too far off before bedtime. Being hungry before you go to bed is never any fun.

There are no carbs in this meal since you dont need them. Youve already trained, youve already had your post workout shake

KCL: KCL: 450-480, PT: 40-45, Carb: 0-10, Fat: 10-20

***Post Workout Shake***

40-50 grams of whey isolate

60-70 grams of a fast acting Waxy Maze


Drink this immediately after training, within 15-20 minutes after you have cooled down.

This meal is not your last meal of the day, which is still meal 6. Place the post workout shake in right after you train, whenever that is.

Have your next meal approximately 45-60 minutes after your shake.

KCL: 320-360, PT: 20, Carb: 60-70, Fat: 0-2

Daily Totals:

Calories (KCL): 4978-5356

Protein (PT): 317-347

Carb: 446-503

Fat: 124-163

*Note: Diet does not take into account carbs from green vegetables. This will take your carb total over the amount listed but dont let this worry you at all.

***VERY IMPORTANT***

Our number one goal is QUALITY, NOT QUANTITY. Because of this, it is imperative that we stay within approximately 15-20lbs of our contest weight; this does not include water loss weight. If you are not a competitor, you should still follow this rule; you will look better and you will feel better.

If at any time you begin moving beyond this point, you need to examine your diet. Use the advice given in this diet guide and examine your cardio schedule

***IF AT ANY TIME YOU NEED TO LOSE BODY FAT AND YOU BEGIN TO STAGNATE, YOU WILL NEED TO BEGIN MOVING YOUR CARB AND FAT SOURCES AROUND.

At this point alternate each meal, in one meal have foods that give you carb sources, but take away the fats, in the next meal take away the carb sources and keep in the fats.

You may need to begin cycling your carb intake. Not in the manner in which you might do if you were dieting hard for competition. You will need to experiment with this.

When we speak of Carb Cycling in this case, simply cut the carbs down one day and then go back to the normal amount the next. At times it may be wise to keep the carbs cut back 2 days in a row, use sound judgment. This is the kind of thing that cannot be written out in detail since it will greatly vary from person to person.

*Your daily caloric intake should be split into 3 sections that are adequately planned for utilizing Proteins, Carbs and Fats to the fullest extent possible. Protein being the bulk of your calories, but this does not mean the other 2 nutrients are not of equal importance. Protein will make up 50% of your daily intake, while carbs will be at approximately 30% and fats will make up approximately the remaining 20%. This only refers to your actual food intake. Fat intake will in actuality be slightly higher than this due to the supplements you take, which will be discussed further into the diet outline.

***Notes on diet***

If you train first thing in the morning, do not do so before eating your first meal of the day

There is a post workout shake in your diet at this point, however if you notice that you are gaining too much fat, this is the first thing that should go. If this happens, drop the post workout shake and simply stick with the 6 meal plan.

If you have had to cut the post workout shake but are still gaining too much fat, start reducing carbs by way of cutting back your oats and rice. Cut back to 1/2cup per serving if needed.

Meal order is unimportant, specific meals should be eaten at certain times, as said in bullet points above, however, the specific layout of the meal plan is not set in stonemake it fit your routine as best as possible.

Try your best not to drink shakes back to back. Try to limit it to no more then two shake meals per day. This is not a must but will aid you a great deal. However it will not always be possible due to time constraints, and thats fine.

For the last meal of the day there are 3 meal choices, again mix and match

***Notes on Food Types***

1. Eggs: Eggs are one of the best sources of protein you can consume. With all foods, no matter how much protein the food has, the body can only use and process a limited amount from each food. Eggs, however, rank higher than almost any food we can ingest; almost the entire amount of protein from the egg will be utilized. Omega-3 eggs have even more benefit for the bodybuilder, as well as for general health. Omega-3 eggs have Omega-3 fats in them, a huge building block to a well-tuned physique; as well as an added bonus in helping to control cholesterol. If you cant find Omega-3 eggs, which should be very rare, regular eggs will work fine.

2. Whey Protein: There are a million brands and types of whey proteins on the market today, and it can be a difficult task to know which one is best.

Choose a protein powder that is of isolate form, not concentrate. Isolate protein absorbs more efficiently then concentrate.

Choose a protein powder that is very low in sugar, close to no sugar or even no sugar is what you want.

Choose a protein powder that is not full of saturated fat.

Choose a protein powder that is not high in cholesterol.

Once you have narrowed your search down to meet the above requirements, choose the protein powder that taste the best.

3. Peanut Butter: Use only natural peanut butter. Your peanut butters ingredient list should read, Peanuts and salt thats it. It should have no added sugar. A jar of Smuckers Natural Peanut Butter will have 2 grams of sugar listed on the back label for one serving of 2tbsp naturally.

4. Beef: Your choices of beef should be filet minion, top round sirloin, lean ground beef (4%-*% fat) in that order.

5. Chicken: Make chicken breast your primary source of chicken. Chicken is high in protein, low in unhealthy fats and a perfect bodybuilding food.

6. Green Vegetables: Broccoli, asparagus, spinach and green beans should be your main source of vegetables. Other vegetables can be acceptable and can be good for you, but the before mentioned should be your primary source. Vegetables such as corn, white potatoes, and tomatoes should be held to a very minimal consumptionthere is no benefit for these in your diet at this stage.

7. Fish: Choose fish such as flounder or cod. Salmon is also a great choice in place of beef.

8. Turkey: Choose the white meat.

9. Rice: Brown or white is fine. If you put on body fat easily stick with Brown. Both are very similar, however, brown rice is lower on the glycemic index. (see definition for glycemic index)

10. Sweet Potatoes & Oatmeal: Simply excellent sources for your carbs, and perfect foods for aiding in putting on muscle in your diet.

***Measuring Food***

1. Meats: Measured raw, NOT cooked

2. Rice: Measured cooked, NOT raw

3. Oats: Measured raw, NOT cooked

4. Nuts, Peanut Butter: Simply measured in a cup or tablespoon

***Cheat Meals***

For most, one cheat meal per week is acceptable and recommended

For those that have extremely fast metabolisms, 1 small cheat food or treat is acceptable, but limit the entire meal to once per week. You should already know if you have a very, very fast metabolism. Less the 25% of you will fall into this category.

***Foods to be Avoided***

Milk of any type: All milk contains massive amounts of sugar, regardless if Whole, Skim or in between, it contains the same amount of sugar

Processed foods: Most processed foods contain large amounts of sugar and often lack the nutrients you need

Soda: Any soda that is sugar free, i.e. Diet Coke is fine. If it is not diet or sugar free, then do not drink it.

Fast Food: This should be a no brainer. Fast foods are loaded with sugar and all the bad fats that simply make you fat. Whats worse is they are packed full of calories but many of these calories are the wrong types. Fast food is more often than not made up of so much sugar and saturated fat that the bulk of your calories in those meals come from those two physique building enemies

Excess Cheese: A little cheese here and there is not going to be the end of the world, but there is not a lot of benefit from eating cheese. If youre following a proper diet, proper means gaining lean muscle with as little fat as possible or dropping body fat while preserving lean tissue. Dont go overboard, dont do as some and cover everything you eat in cheese. The less you eat, the better youll do.

Excess Condiments: Condiments cause many bodybuilders to consume more calories per day then they should. Many condiments are riddled with sugar and this is a major downfall to many diets. See list of Acceptable Condiments.

Bread: Bread is often a favorite food for many to eat. For a true hard gainer bread may have a place in a diet. In a real pinch, at times, it may be slightly necessary, but it should be avoided as much as possible. As a part of a regular diet, eating bread is one of the surest fire ways to add excess body fat.

Cereal: This has no place in a bodybuilders diet. Even the healthy cereals are in loaded with empty calories; in fact, the so-called healthy cereals are often packed full of more empty calories and more sugar then the so-called Kiddy cereals.

***Acceptable Condiments***

1. Mustard: calorie free, eat all you want

2. Vinegar: all you want

3. Any spice such as pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, etc.

4. Low carb Ketchup: Ketchup itself has no place in your diet, but a little low carb ketchup which has 1g of sugar per serving will be acceptable.

5. Low Carb Buffalo Sauce: this can be a great addition to your chicken; a low carb buffalo sauce should have no sugar added and only 1 carb per serving.

6. Any condiment made by Walden Farms. Walden Farms makes a line of salad dressings, sauces and other items that are fat free, sugar free and gluten free.

***Condiments or Additives to be Avoided***

1. Regular Ketchup

2. Barbeque Sauce

3. Regular Salad Dressings. See list of approved salad dressings

4. Creamers

5. Any sauce with sugar or abundant carbs. If the sauce has more than 1-2 grams of sugar, avoid it.

***Approved Salad Dressings***

1. Oil & Vinegar

2. Sugar free Italian, Balsamic or Greek

3. Any Salad Dressing by Walden Farms

***Protein Bars***

As a rule, protein bars and other so called bodybuilding snacks or meal replacements should be avoided as much as possible. Most of these items will have more sugar in them then a regular candy bar. True, they may indeed be packed full of protein but the sugar far outweighs the benefit.

If you are bulking, you find yourself in a jam and there is no other option, choose a protein bar that has the least amount of sugar. This should be a very limited occurrence. If you are serious about your diet, you will plan out and make arrangements to ensure youre getting the proper foods.

***Hard Gainers***

-If you are in fact a true hard gainer, some adjustments may need to be made.

The first change would be adding in an extra meal or two. Choose meals that are similar to the ones in the outline.

Your next option would be adding in more carbs per serving, start by adding an extra cup of rice or oats to your meals that have these foods.

The 3 rd and final option, after you have tried both of the other two methods, adding in more meals or adding extra carbs to all your meals, now its time to do both. Less then 5% of you will fall into this category.

If you follow the above outline for 8 weeks and are still not gaining, continue to add in more meals and more carbs. At this stage there is no sample Hard Gainers diet, this diet should make anyone grow, it doesnt matter who you are.

***The Diet Outline itself***

The above diet outline will help you make the progress you desire, however, as this is a guided plan, there are substitutions that are acceptable. When it comes to the meats and protein sources, what you have read above should be followed fairly closely. There are instances when other meats are acceptable, i.e. things like beef tenderloin can be great, but the above listed is your staple.

If you desire other carb sourced foods, and this is the big one where many people want a change, always examine the glycemic index. You should make your choices from foods that are lower on the glycemic index. If you want to sub one carb source food that is in your diet outline with another, gauge the glycemic index to make your choices. See the discussion on Glycemic Index below.

Fats, these will be harder to substitute then carbs. Fats are a very important aspect to the diet, but keep in mind that as great and as important as fats are, most of the best ones have been mentioned in the diet outline already. Foods loaded with saturated fat are not acceptable. Foods that have fats that lack the connecting piece of the puzzle when it comes to healthy fats are not acceptable.

***Glycemic Index***

The glycemic index (GI) measures the effects of carbohydrates on blood glucose levels. The faster the carb breaks down, the faster it will release glucose into the bloodstream. The foods that do this fast are labeled high GI foods. The slower the release of glucose, the lower the food will rank on the GI.

Foods that are lower on the GI will typically have higher health benefits such as keeping insulin levels under control, and preventing type-2 diabetes and coronary heart disease.

Foods low on the GI will have a ranking of 55 or lower on the GI Index.

Foods that are Medium GI foods will have a ranking of 56-69 on the GI Index.

Foods that are High GI foods will have a ranking of 70-99 on the GI Index.

The ranking of 100 on the GI Index is pure sugar.

Below is a chart to show how some foods rank on the GI.

***Supplements***

*Omega-3 Fish Oil: 3000mg every day, split into 3 doses, taken with food

*Coral Calcium: 1000mg-1500mg every day, taken with food

*Potassium: 99mg every day, taken with food

*Juice Plus+ or Related Product: 2 garden blend in the morning, 2 orchard blend at night, both taken with food

Omega-3 Fish Oil: An unsaturated fatty acid essential for good health.

-Benefits:

Reduce risk of coronary heart disease, increase blood circulation, therefore decreasing circulatory problems.
Reduce blood pressure

Reduce blood triglyceride levels therefore reducing heart attack risk

Reduce flair up of arthritis or its onset
Improve cholesterol levels
Stronger immune system
Works as an anti-inflammatory

Coral Calcium: A very important mineral for your overall health.

-Benefits:

Keeps bones strong and healthy
Helps maintain good oral health (teeth)
Aides in muscular contraction

Deficiency can lead to blood clotting, rickets and osteoporosis

Potassium: Important mineral for electrolyte balance in the body. The green vegetables you are eating in your diet provide potassium, as well as the Juice Plus+ that is strongly recommended, however, it is easy to fall below what your body adequately needs due to the hard training. Potassium deficiency coupled with hard training can often lead to some serious muscle cramping.

-Benefits

Maintain electrolyte balance
Decrease risk of hypertension

Juice Plus+: A whole food based nutritional supplement, including juice powder concentrates from 17 different fruits, vegetables and grains. Each ingredient is specially selected to provide a broad range of nutritional benefits. As a physique athlete it is easy to not get as many of the nutrients you need from fruits and vegetables; Juice Plus+ will take care of this completely.

-Benefits:

Juice Plus delivers key phytonutrients that are absorbed by the body

Reduces markers of oxidative stress.

Positively impacts several key indicators of cardiovascular wellness.

Helps support a healthy immune system and protect DNA.

*You can take other supplements if you like, but try to stay away from anything that has added sugar in it. A lot of supplements contain sugar, and as someone looking to build a great body sugar is one of the number one enemies. The supplements above, along with the diet youll be following is all you really need to get the job done. Whats more, youll be keeping your pocket book fuller if you spend less on supplements and rely on food as the bulk of your daily intake.

***When to Advance to a More Advanced Diet***

At this stage things have changed. Most of you will be going back and forth between this diet and a pre-contest or similar diet during different points of the year. Because of that, once your pre-contest or similar diet is over, simply return to this diet again. However, many of you will be better suited to ease back into it with some caution; let your body get used to eating excess calories again. Its healthier this way, will yield more positive gains then negative, and if nothing else.

Fynline: Eemh Henry i ma just thinking of how swiftly the lady behind can disemberk in the even of a fire fight!

Not only am I displeased with suspected clumsiness of this vehicle but I feel there is something fundamentally wrong with the decisions made on finer details such as the weapons issued to these teams that present profound tactically implications on the effectiveness of these teams. For instance, a side arm should be a standard issue for these special units. Also tactical weapons such as MP-5s, MP-7s, UMPs, or even AK74SUs that are smaller but still pack a significant punch should be issued in place of full rifles such as the AK47 which would be clumsy to handle on a bike or ATV or wielded effectively in CQBs.

Where is the rider's weapon? Shouldn't he have a side arm at the very least?

These little details to me, matter quite a lot. I always look in disapproval whenever I see those policemen on their bikes in Lagos clutching their AKs as it sticks out incongruously against the bikes and other kits.

Oblitz: Can someone tell me where to get creatine at lagos, please.

I get my supplements from abroad. Getting the brands and variety that I want is a bit of a challenge in Lagos. Mopheth PHarmacy though I believe sells Muscletech products which I must also warn you are very expensive. Their Celltech creatine is about 25/27k for a tub. If you workout and cosume creatine regularly like I do, you gonna blow through that supply in about 3/4 weeks!

Once again, working out, dieting and supplementing is an expensive lifestyle but totally worth the pay off.

50calibre: Israel is not a country with the interest of anybody at heart, but themselves, not even the US.

Spot on!

Nice contributions from Professor D and 50cal.

I would like to add that the main goal of Creatine contrary to whats someone has mentioned earlier isn't for recovery (some brands may yes indeed have a recovery component) but to build muscle. Here is a very detailed yet succinct article on Creatine I think everyone should read. If you wanna build muscles, you must take Creatine!

The Ultimate Creatine Guide For Maximum Muscle Gains – Written By Sol Orwell

Creatine is a molecule in an energy system (creatine phosphate) that can rapidly produce energy (ATP) to support cellular function, and this underlies performance enhancing and neuroprotective properties of creatine. A remarkably safe and well researched supplement for most people.
https://cdn.simplyshredded.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/15.jpg

What does creatine supplementation do?

Creatine is the most common sports performance supplement, catered mostly towards increasing the rate of muscle growth and increasing power output with somewhat lesser but present benefits on skeletal muscle endurance. Basically, it lets you lift a bit more. Beyond these usages, which are the most common reasons people choose to supplement creatine, creatine supplementation also appears to have neuroprotective properties and may act as a cognitive enhancer (for vegetarians) or antidepressant (currently only shown in females). Although not directly demonstrated in human interventions, the mechanisms of creatine supplementation also suggest it can preserve cellular integrity (reducing apoptosis rates) and promote cellular longevity. Basically, it has a lot of other side-benefits.

In a sense, creatine supplementation will give cells more energy to work with, and allow those cells to function better.

How does it work?

Creatine is involved in a system known as the creatine phosphate system, where creatine and creatine phosphate interchangeably donate or accept a phosphate group[1]. This phosphate group can readily replenish other molecules that lose theirs and need a replacement, and the most notable and relevant example of this is replenishing ATP (adenosine triphosphate) from ADP (adenosine diphosphate). ATP is the main ‘energy currency’ of a cell. Creatine lets you replenish ATP directly without needing to go through a lengthy process of breaking down other molecules into it.

Creatine supplementation merely increases the pool of creatine in a cell, and allows for a greater total phosphate donation to occur, resulting in more ATP replenishment.

Is it safe?

At this point in time, there are no clinically relevant side effects known to be caused by creatine supplementation. ‘Clinically relevant’ in this sense means anything that can cause adverse effects to your health (such as kidney or liver damage, both of which have equivocally refuted), as there are a few ‘side-effects’ associated with creatine supplementation. Taking too much creatine at once, due to a combination of limited intestinal absorption in high doses and drawing water into the intestines, can cause diarrhea. Additionally, the water drawing properties can lead to an upset stomach or nausea.

These can be avoided by taking creatine with ample water, and not taking an excessive amount of creatine at once.

How much should I take?

Creatine, for a nonathletic or slightly athletic person, is only required in a dosage of 2-3g or so daily[2][3]. For those who are athletic and have a higher rate of creatine turnover in muscle tissue (the biggest creatine ‘reservoir’ in the body), a minimum dose of 5g a day might be required (for prudency, the 2-3g range still seems effective).

Loading periods can be useful, particularly in seeing if you are a responder to creatine supplementation (as water weight gain will be more noticeable), but are by no means needed.
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Do I need to cycle creatine?

Creatine does not need to be cycled. The traditional usage of creatine cycles (1 week loading, 3 weeks maintenance, 1-2 weeks off) is fairly redundant anyways as creatine takes much longer to clear the body[4]. Since creatine does not act upon any receptors and there is no known ‘creatine sensitivity’ because of this there is no need to take a break from creatine.

Products are usually cycled because your body developers a tolerance to them – this does not apply to creatine supplementation.

What happens if I go off of creatine?

When creatine supplementation is ceased, it takes anywhere from a few weeks to a month for creatine levels in the body to normalize to pre-supplementation levels. The variance in how long it takes to clear the body depends on how much you exercise (more exercise accelerating the rate of normalization) and how much creatine was initially stored in muscle tissue. Although supplementation of creatine does acutely suppress your body’s production of creatine (suppresses the rate limiting enzyme[5][6]), creatine production is restored within a day or two after stopping creatine. There does not appear to be any noticeable ‘down’ period following cessation of creatine usage, and creatine synthesis being hindered might not actually be bad (some health effects, such as preservation of SAMe for other processes[7].

There will be an associated loss of water. There will be no loss of muscle – any musculature created while on creatine will remain if you cease supplementation.

Does creatine cause baldness?

Creatine has once been implicated in increasing DHT [8], a more potent androgen that is implicated in power output (good) but also hair loss in susceptible men and prostate cancer (bad). While the increase in DHT and hair loss is not a concern if you have a robust head of hair, those with a receding hairline may experience an acceleration of their rate of hairline receding when using any androgenic supplement that can increase DHT. Despite the concerns with creatine supplementation and hair loss, no trials have been conducted on the topic. Although DHT itself is a negative stressor, creatine accumulation in hair cells is protective of them secondary to increasing energy production; the ultimate effect of creatine supplementation in men with a receding hairline has not been investigated.

It makes logical sense that creatine may have a detrimental effect on your hair, but how quickly and how much is completely unknown at this time.

When should I take creatine?

Creatine can be taken at any time, and it will reside in skeletal muscle tissue until it is required (unlike pre-workout supplements like caffeine or citrulline). There is some evidence that suggests (but does not prove) that taking creatine alongside caloric and nutrient intake would be more beneficial than taking it in a fasted state, so it may be prudent to take creatine with meals.

Taking it with meals may also reduce the risk of an upset stomach in those with sensitive stomachs.

Do I need to load creatine?

Creatine does not need to be loaded (‘loading’ referring to taking 15-20g of creatine throughout the day for the first 5-7 days you use creatine supplementation, followed by a more moderate ‘maintenance’ period of 2-5g daily), although loading is not necessarily negative either. A loading protocol will allow you to reach your maximal bodily levels of muscle creatine faster than just straight shooting 5g daily, although taking 5g daily will eventually cause the same degree of saturation.

Over the long period there will be no significant difference, but if your stomach can handle it then the loading protocol may be more beneficial for the first few days of creatine usage.
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Will creatine cause me to bloat?

Although creatine will not make you ‘bloat’ in an adverse sense, it does indeed increase water weight. This water weight is mostly localized to skeletal muscle, as water weight with creatine supplementation is gained wherever creatine is stored on the body. Due to this, it is more likely that creatine will cause a visual ‘inflation’ of the muscles rather than causing one to look softer and fatter.

There is a possibility with intestinal bloating due to taking too much at once and getting stomach cramps, which can be avoided by taking more moderate dosages or drinking more water with the creatine supplementation.

What’s the best form of creatine?

Creatine does not really have a ‘best form’ at this point in time – for all intents and purposes, creatine monohydrate is as effective as any other version. While other newer forms such as creatine HCl or creatine nitrate may be more water soluble, they are not demonstrated to actually be more effective at building muscle.

Creatine monohydrate, usually ‘micronized’ (helps with water solubility), is recommended since it is both effective and cheap when other forms are equally effective but more expensive.

How does creatine affect my fat loss?

Creatine does not have many significant interactions with fat loss, so an accurate assumption would be that creatine will not affect the rate of fat loss at all. Long-term trials on creatine fail to note any alteration in fat mass relative to placebo when exercise is not included.

With the inclusion of exercise, as creatine helps in power output, it would have a slight effect in aiding in fat loss.

How does creatine affect my cognition?

In an overall healthy omnivore with sufficient sleep, creatine is still neuroprotective and beneficial for the brain. However, there are unlikely to be any noticeable effects on cognition[9][10]. In sleep deprived omnivores, creatine supplementation can somewhat attenuate the negative effects of this state on performance.[11][12]. In vegetarians or vegans, creatine supplementation can be referred to as a cognitive enhancer[9].

Only in this population, which are somewhat deficient in creatine due to not eating meat products, and in the elderly [13] does creatine increase memory formation and attention reliably.

Are creatine products on the market vegan?

Although creatine was discovered in meats and the first few years of research had to extract creatine from meat, creatine has since been synthesized in lab settings using cheaper source materials which are usually plant based.

It is wholly possible to get a vegan creatine product, although one may wish to contact the supplement company they want to purchase from to confirm.

When should I take it?

Take creatine whenever it is convenient for you. Creatine is not a stimulant of any kind (you need to time stimulant usage); it works on saturation, so as long as your body is saturated, you’re good.

So if you take it in the morning right after you wake up, before your workout, or right before you sleep – it doesn’t matter. Just take it.
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Does it do anything else?

There’s a lot of research coming out that shows creatine can help in a lot of ways. It could help against depression [14], against neurological disease, exert membrane protective effects, be anti-diabetic [15], and even help cognition.

In fact, being completely deficient is a genetic disorder that results in mental retardation.

Wrap up

Creatine works. It’s not going to make you super strong overnight, but it will allow you to lift heavier. You keep at it, and over time, creatine will make you stronger. Not only that, it has the potential to help in a variety of ways – cell membrane, neuroprotective, and so forth.

Author: Sol Orwell
This article was contributed to Simplyshredded via [url]Examine.com[/url]

References


Wallimann T, Tokarska-Schlattner M, Schlattner U. The creatine kinase system and pleiotropic effects of creatine. Amino Acids. (2011)
Rawson ES, et al. Low-dose creatine supplementation enhances fatigue resistance in the absence of weight gain. Nutrition. (2011)
Terjung RL, et al. American College of Sports Medicine roundtable. The physiological and health effects of oral creatine supplementation. Med Sci Sports Exerc. (2000)
Rawson ES, et al. Effects of repeated creatine supplementation on muscle, plasma, and urine creatine levels. J Strength Cond Res. (2004)
Guthmiller P, et al. Cloning and sequencing of rat kidney L-arginine:glycine amidinotransferase. Studies on the mechanism of regulation by growth hormone and creatine. J Biol Chem. (1994)
McGuire DM, et al. Repression of rat kidney L-arginine:glycine amidinotransferase synthesis by creatine at a pretranslational level. J Biol Chem. (1984)
Brosnan JT, da Silva RP, Brosnan ME. The metabolic burden of creatine synthesis. Amino Acids. (2011)
Van der Merwe J, Brooks NE, Myburgh KH. Three weeks of creatine monohydrate supplementation affects dihydrotestosterone to testosterone ratio in college-aged rugby players. Clin J Sport Med. (2009)
Benton D, Donohoe R. The influence of creatine supplementation on the cognitive functioning of vegetarians and omnivores. Br J Nutr. (2011)
Rawson ES, et al. Creatine supplementation does not improve cognitive function in young adults. Physiol Behav. (2008)
McMorris T, et al. Creatine supplementation, sleep deprivation, cortisol, melatonin and behavior. Physiol Behav. (2007)
McMorris T, et al. Effect of creatine supplementation and sleep deprivation, with mild exercise, on cognitive and psychomotor performance, mood state, and plasma concentrations of catecholamines and cortisol. Psychopharmacology (Berl). (2006)
McMorris T, et al. Creatine supplementation and cognitive performance in elderly individuals. Neuropsychol Dev Cogn B Aging Neuropsychol Cogn. (2007)
Lyoo IK, et al. A randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial of oral creatine monohydrate augmentation for enhanced response to a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor in women with major depressive disorder. Am J Psychiatry. (2012)
Alves CR, et al. Creatine-induced glucose uptake in type 2 diabetes: a role for AMPK-α. Amino Acids. (2012)

fubbyy: i quit pushing weight because my left chest was getting bigger than my right chest,how can i correct this and whats the cause?

That's a weird one. Perhaps you exert more force or push harder with one arm more than the other. You should have an experienced bodybuilder spot you when you lift and try and figure out what the problem could be.

Or it could be that you have always had this anomaly and it took you carrying weights to make it obvious?

sultan003: Variety of food?? You mean hormone induced chicken, beef, veggies and others abi? besides if you are not earning any income trying such experiments is a disaster waiting to happen.

Exactly! And yes,body building isnt for the poor man. Supplements and the sheer amount of food is quite an expensive undertaking

Late might meals is a definite no-no but must you nimble on something, those nuts and a BOWCAP blend mix is helpful (delicious). BOWCAP: banana, orange, watermelon, cucumber, apple and pineapple.