The political future of the Grand Old Party of America as a very viable national political party depends totally on the current comprehensive immigration bill that the House of Senate just passed. This bill is expected to give about 11 million undocumented immigrants that are presently living in America the paths to legalization and American citizenship respectively. If this bill is turned down by the Tea Party ideologues, the followers of the doctrine of the American nativism, the promoters of the religious rights and the devotees of the birther movement with the primary purpose of pleasing their own electoral constituencies and for their future political survival in the 2014 mid-term elections which do not reflect or represent the majority public opinion in a demographically changing American society of today. Then, these House Republican members will force the Republican Party of America to commit its political suicide that may prevent it as a political organ from seeing the White House again in our lifetime.
The presidential election results of 2012 showed clearly that the Republican Party of America or the GOP is moving gradually toward a regional, a southern and most likely an old white men and women only party. With this political development, the GOP may never win the White House again in our lifetime if the party continues on their current retrogressive political path and the highly divisive political ideologies that are not nationally popular or accepted in America of today and mostly likely in the future America to come.
The current electoral data from the 2012 presidential demographics in America showed clearly that no political party again in America can win the White House with the white-only votes easily. Furthermore, no political party can win the White House again without winning the substantial and significant votes of the Latino-Americans, the young Americans, the young women and the African-Americans. The rapidly growing Latino-American population in the states of Texas, Georgia and Arizona may likely turn those states in the 2016 or 2020 presidential elections from their stable traditional red states for the GOP into the battle ground states. At the moment also in America, about 50,000 to 60,000 Latino-Americans are turning into the voting age of 18 years every month or wabout 3 to 4 millions
Sunday, June 30, 2013
"PRESIDENT OBAMA LAYS DOWN THE AMERICAN VISION FOR THE AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT"
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — President Barack Obama challenged young Africans to rise to the challenge of shoring up progress on the continent that rests on a "fragile foundation," summoning them to fulfill the legacy of South Africa's beloved former leader Nelson Mandela. In his own effort to carve out a piece of that legacy, Obama announced a new U.S.-led initiative to double access to electric power across Africa, vowing to help bring "light where there is currently darkness." "Nelson Mandela showed us that one man's courage can move the world," Obama said during an evening speech Sunday at the University of Cape Town. Obama's remarks capped an emotional day that included a visit to the Robben Island prison where Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in prison. The 94-year-old anti-apartheid hero has been in hospital for most of this month and is said to be in critical condition.
In deeply personal remarks, the U.S. president spoke of standing in Mandela's cramped prison cell with his two young daughters, Malia and Sasha. "Seeing them stand within the walls that once surrounded Nelson Mandela, I knew this was an experience they would never forget," he said. "I knew they now appreciated a little bit more that Madiba and other had made for freedom," Obama added, referring to Mandela by his clan name. Obama address came nearly 50 years after Robert F. Kennedy delivered his famous "Ripple of Hope" speech at the same university, an address that Obama aides said helped inspire the president's remarks. Kennedy's speech, delivered soon after Mandela was sentenced to prison, called on young people to launch a fight against injustice, creating ripples of hope that would "build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."
Laying out his own vision for development on the continent where his father was born, Obama said the U.S. seeks "a partnership that empowers Africans to access greater opportunity in their own lives." He dismissed the notion that the U.S. sought to meddle in Africa's affairs, saying his country would benefit from the continent's ability to manage its own affairs – economically, politically and militarily. "Ultimately I believe Africans should make up their own minds about what serves African interests," he said. "We trust your judgment, the judgment of ordinary people. We believe that when you control your destiny – if you got a handle on your governments – then governments will promote freedom and opportunity, because that will serve you."
The White House says Obama's electricity initiative, dubbed "Power Africa," symbolizes the type of cross-continent ventures the president seeks. Backed by $7 billion in U.S. investment, the power program will focus on expanding access to electricity in six African countries: Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria and Tanzania Private companies – including General Electric and Symbion Power – will make an additional $9 billion in commitments. However, those contributions fall well short of the $300 billion the International Energy Agency says would be required to achieve universal electricity access in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030. The funds are aimed at expanding the reach of power grids and developing geothermal, hydro, wind and solar power - From The Huffington Post.
Saturday, June 29, 2013
"31,000 PEOPLE OR 0.0001% OF ALL AMERICANS FUNDED THE AMERICA'S ELECTIONS OF 2012"
Everyone knows that a relatively small number of wealthy people donate the lion’s share of money to political campaigns. But, you probably never suspected just how small that group actually is. Thanks to the amazing Sunlight Foundation, we now know that just 31,385 people — one tenth of one percent of the overall U.S. population — are responsible for nearly 30 percent of the $6 billion (yes, billion with a “b”) contributed to federal campaigns and committees in the 2012 election. While the numbers are mind-boggling, one of the charts that Sunlight built to visualize them is even more telling.
It shows that the 31,385 people who qualify as the one percent of the one percent of political donors wouldn’t even come close to filling a football stadium. And, their seats would cost a minimum of $12,950, the smallest contribution amount of any of the one-tenth-of-one-percenters. Those numbers are even more remarkable when you consider that while they do include donations to super PACs, they do not include donations to non-profit groups like Americans for Prosperity or Crossroads GPS that are heavily involved in campaigns.
Who are these one percent of the one percenters? Writes Sunlight’s Lee Drutman:
“The nation’s biggest campaign donors have little in common with average Americans. They hail predominantly from big cities, such as New York and Washington. They work for blue-chip corporations, such as Goldman Sachs and Microsoft. One in five works in the finance, insurance and real estate sector. One in 10 works in law or lobbying. The median contribution from this group of elite donors? $26,584. That’s a little more than half the median family income in the United States.”
"PRESIDENT OBAMA TELLS AFRICAN LEADERS TO FOLLOW MANDELA'S EXAMPLES"
JOHANNESBURG — Paying tribute to his personal hero, President Barack Obama met privately Saturday with Nelson Mandela's family as the world anxiously awaited news on the condition of the ailing 94-year-old anti-apartheid leader.
Obama, who has spoken movingly about Mandela throughout his trip to Africa, praised the former South African president's "moral courage" during remarks from the grand Union Buildings where Mandela was inaugurated as his nation's first black president.
The U.S. president also called on the continent's leaders, including in neighboring Zimbabwe, to take stock of Mandela's willingness to put country before self and step down after one term despite his immense popularity.
"We as leaders occupy these spaces temporarily and we don't get so deluded that we think the fate of our country doesn't depend on how long we stay in office," Obama said during a news conference with South African President Jacob Zuma.
Obama's stop in South Africa marked the midway point of a weeklong trip to Africa, his most significant engagement with the continent since taking office in 2009.
His lack of personal attention on the region has frustrated some Africans who had high expectations for the first black American president and son of a Kenyan man.
Even with Mandela's health casting a shadow over his visit, Obama tried to keep focus on an agenda that includes deeper U.S. economic ties with Africa. The president dismissed suggestions that he was only investing personal capital on Africa's economy now as a response to the increased focus on the continent by China, India, Brazil and others.
"I want everybody playing in Africa," he said. "The more, the merrier."
But the president pointedly called on Africans to make sure that countries seeking an economic foothold on the continent are making a "good deal for Africa."
"If somebody says they want to come build something here, are they hiring African workers?" Obama said. "If somebody says that they want to help you develop your natural resources, how much of the money is staying in Africa? If they say that they're very interested in a certain industry, is the manufacturing and value-added done in Africa? "
The president did not specifically single out China, but some African leaders have criticized Beijing for such behaviors.
Obama's focus on trade and business appeared to be well received in Africa, home to six of the world's 10 fastest-growing economies. The majority of the questions he received from the South African press and later at a town hall meeting with young African leaders focused on U.S. economic interests in the region.
Between his two events, Obama spent about 30 minutes meeting privately with two of Mandela's daughters and several of his grandchildren at the former leader's foundation offices in Johannesburg. He also spoke by phone with Mandela's wife, Gra�a Machel, who remained by her husband's side at the Pretoria hospital where he has battled a lung infection for three weeks.
In a statement following the call, Machel said she drew strength from the Obama and his "touch of personal warmth."
Obama, who has met Mandela in person only once before, did not visit the former leader in the hospital out of respect for his family's wishes, the White House said. Ahead of his arrival in South Africa, the president had told reporters that he did not need "a photo-op" and didn't want to be obtrusive.
Obama ascent to the White House has drawn inevitable comparisons to Mandela. Both are their nations' first black presidents, symbols of racial barrier breaking and winners of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Zuma said Obama and Mandela "both carry the dreams of millions of people in Africa and in the diaspora who were previously oppressed." Zuma said Mandela's condition remained the same as it had in recent days – critical yet stable – though he expressed hope that Mandela soon would leave the hospital.
Obama, Zuma and other dignitaries held a moment of silence for Mandela during a dinner Saturday night.
Also Saturday, Obama held a town hall with young people in Soweto, an area of Johannesburg that was a center of the youth-driven movement to fight against South Africa's apartheid government. At least 176 young people were killed there 27 years ago this month during a youth protest against the white government's ban against teaching local Bantu languages. The Soweto Uprising catalyzed international support against apartheid, and June is now recognized as Youth Month in South Africa.
Outside the event, protesters under police watch demonstrated outside the university against Obama's record on surveillance and foreign policy. Protesters from a range of trade unions and civil society groups chanted, "Away with intelligence, away," holding posters depicting Obama with an Adolf Hitler moustache.
In Africa, where some governments struggle with corruption, Obama has made it a priority to promote civic activism among young people and invest in their development. He hosted young leaders from more than 40 African countries at the White House in 2010 and announced plans during the event to expand the program.
About 600 youth leaders from South Africa attended the town hall, with other young people participating via video conference from Uganda, Nigeria and Kenya, Obama's ancestral homeland.
Kenya's current political environment made it impossible for Obama to visit the country where many of his relatives live. The International Criminal Court is prosecuting Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta for crimes against humanity, including murder, deportation, rape, persecution and inhumane acts allegedly committed by his supporters in the aftermath of Kenya's 2007 elections.
"The timing was not right for me as the president of the United States to be visiting Kenya when those issues are still being worked on, and hopefully at some point resolved," said Obama, though he added that he planned to make many more trips to the East African nation.
The president planned to stop in Cape Town on Sunday and visit Robben Island, the prison where Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in jail. Obama will close his trip with a visit to Tanzania -From Huffington Post.
"THE MANY LIES OF THE SO CALLED PROSPERITY GOSPEL"
One of the lies that is told today to the Church folks around the world by those charlatans who preach the so called prosperity gospel is to deceptively and manipulatively claim that Jesus Christ was very rich or super-wealthy in his earthly life and ministry on this planet earth about 2,000 years ago in the land of Palestine in order to justify their own personal greed, covetousness, love of money, materialism and to also promote this greed gospel that its primary beneficiaries are its preachers and teachers only. The truth is that the Bible was never silent or quiet once in publicly naming the names of those that were truly rich or wealthy in the Bible days in both the old and the new testaments. Abraham, David, Solomon, Job and many others in both testaments were said to be very rich or super-wealthy by the Bible. Jesus Christ, his 12 apostles and the ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the early Church were never said anywhere by the same Bible to be truly rich or super-wealthy in all truth, honesty and reality.
Another lie of this prosperity gospel is its main attempt to try to reduce the primary purpose of the entire earthly mission and ministry of Jesus Christ through his finished work of eternal redemption for mankind on the cross at the Calvary mountains some 2,000 years ago basically to a life money and materialism. The third lie of this prosperity gospel is a false claim that the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost requires a hefty financial budget and donations from its devotees for this preaching to be physically possible on earth. The fourth lie of this prosperity gospel is to limit the responsibility of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to Church leaders (pastors or bishops) and indirectly excludes the ordinary Church folks from it. The fifth lie of this gospel of deception that is sold cheaply to the biblically ignorant minds and the greedy Church folks who are looking for the so called fast money or the overnight wealth in their own life on earth. This hide and seek game promises you, your own personal unique heaven on earth, but leaves you financially destroyed, miserable and totally broke when this game of deception is finally over in your own life as its main player, follower, giver and devotee.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
"THE 2014 MID-TERM ELECTIONS STARTED TODAY IN AMERICA"
The decision of the Supreme Court of America this afternoon to vote down the historical Voting Rights Act of 1965 in its majority decision is an attempt by the highest court of the land to rewrite the bitter history of racial discrimination against the American minorities during voting and also another attempt to wipe out the entire political gain of the America's civil rights struggles that have made voting the constitutional right of all Americans from all backgrounds. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 has successfully prevented states from changing election registration requirements at state levels and putting barriers that will make it difficult for some Americans from voting by exercising their constitutional rights in all elections. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 requires Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia, Alaska, Arizona, and parts of seven other states to receive “pre-clearance” from either the attorney general or federal judges before making changes to voting laws.
Is Chief Justice Roberts of the United States Supreme Court now officially telling America in 2013 that racism or racial discrimination in voting practices is now official dead? Is America now a 100% color blind society that American minorities should not be protected by the federal law (voting rights act of 1965) any longer from all forms of voting discriminations? America's democracy can only survive in this 21st century human universe in a rapidly changing voting demographics if it is truly all inclusive in all reality. I hope the United States Congress will immediately pass another voting rights bill into law that will overturn the judgement of the United States Supreme Court this afternoon and then restores the constitutional rights of all Americans from all races, ethnicities, languages, national origins and cultures to be part and parcel of this beautiful American representative democracy in all reality.
Chief Justice Roberts of the United States Supreme Court must be leaving in a non-realistic America in his majority ruling this afternoon that declared America for the first time since its founding in 1776 as a nation that is now 100% color blind in 2013 because of the historical presidency of Barack Obama in the White House and the rapidly changing voting demographics in the United States. This man has attempted to rewrite history this afternoon through the Supreme Court by legally killing the Voting Rights Act that the United States Congress passed unanimously into law in 1965 and also attempted to destroy the whole gain of the American civil rights movement. This Voting Rights Act has successfully prevented a number of southern states from discriminating against the people of color in those states in all the local, state and federal elections in America from 1965 to date.
In conclusion, Americans from all the races, ethnic groups, cultures and religious faiths will now mobilize together beginning from today to change the composition of the United States Congress in the 2014 midterm election by putting in members that will protect the legal rights of all Americans to vote freely in all elections at the local, state and federal levels. Today's decision of this apex court is not the end of this issue as time marches forward in America despite all these odds against the free right of all Americans to vote in all elections.
Is Chief Justice Roberts of the United States Supreme Court now officially telling America in 2013 that racism or racial discrimination in voting practices is now official dead? Is America now a 100% color blind society that American minorities should not be protected by the federal law (voting rights act of 1965) any longer from all forms of voting discriminations? America's democracy can only survive in this 21st century human universe in a rapidly changing voting demographics if it is truly all inclusive in all reality. I hope the United States Congress will immediately pass another voting rights bill into law that will overturn the judgement of the United States Supreme Court this afternoon and then restores the constitutional rights of all Americans from all races, ethnicities, languages, national origins and cultures to be part and parcel of this beautiful American representative democracy in all reality.
Chief Justice Roberts of the United States Supreme Court must be leaving in a non-realistic America in his majority ruling this afternoon that declared America for the first time since its founding in 1776 as a nation that is now 100% color blind in 2013 because of the historical presidency of Barack Obama in the White House and the rapidly changing voting demographics in the United States. This man has attempted to rewrite history this afternoon through the Supreme Court by legally killing the Voting Rights Act that the United States Congress passed unanimously into law in 1965 and also attempted to destroy the whole gain of the American civil rights movement. This Voting Rights Act has successfully prevented a number of southern states from discriminating against the people of color in those states in all the local, state and federal elections in America from 1965 to date.
In conclusion, Americans from all the races, ethnic groups, cultures and religious faiths will now mobilize together beginning from today to change the composition of the United States Congress in the 2014 midterm election by putting in members that will protect the legal rights of all Americans to vote freely in all elections at the local, state and federal levels. Today's decision of this apex court is not the end of this issue as time marches forward in America despite all these odds against the free right of all Americans to vote in all elections.
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Friday, June 21, 2013
"THE BIGGEST POLITICAL OBSTACLES BETWEEN HILARY CLINTON AND THE WHITE HOUSE IN 2016"
Playing politics or the ability to win any elective position in a working representative democracy is a game of popular choice and majority decision that are reflected in terms of numbers. The biggest political questions in America today as far as the White House is concerned in 2016 are simply these:who will be the next occupant of the White House in 2016? Will the White House return to the GOP or not in 2016? Will the Democratic Party continue its presidency beyond 2016 in the White House? Who will run for the White House in the Democratic Party in 2016? Will Hilary Clinton run or not in 2016? If Hilary Clinton decides to run for the White House:will she win or not in 2016? Can the GOP stop Hilary Clinton or not in 2016? Can any interested Democratic presidential candidates stop Hilary Clinton or not in 2016?
The presidential ambition of Hilary Clinton in 2016 faces five major political hurdles that she has to overcome in order for her to make history by becoming the first female President of the United States (the richest and the only superpower nation on earth today). These political hurdles are as follow:(i). Will Hilary Clinton decide to run or not to run for the White House in 2016? This is a personal decision that is beyond anyone's control outside her immediate family. (ii). Will Hilary Clinton be in an excellent state of physical health to be able to weather the stormy months of those hectic cross-country campaigns, rigorous television debates, probing media interviews and the needed fund raising?
(iii). Will Hilary Clinton survive the Democratic Party presidential primaries and caucuses with the other formidable candidates without terribly damaging her own political brand before 2016 presidential election? (iv). Will Hilary Clinton survive the highly formidable attack machines of the entire GOP from the radical Tea Party ideologues to the religious right to the followers of nativism to the birther movement and to the powerful establishment arm of this political engine? (v). Are American voters ready in this 21st century human universe to elect the first woman to the highest political office in the land and to change the over 200 years plus of the America's political history in 2016? As 2016 draws closer day by day, only time can tell.
The presidential ambition of Hilary Clinton in 2016 faces five major political hurdles that she has to overcome in order for her to make history by becoming the first female President of the United States (the richest and the only superpower nation on earth today). These political hurdles are as follow:(i). Will Hilary Clinton decide to run or not to run for the White House in 2016? This is a personal decision that is beyond anyone's control outside her immediate family. (ii). Will Hilary Clinton be in an excellent state of physical health to be able to weather the stormy months of those hectic cross-country campaigns, rigorous television debates, probing media interviews and the needed fund raising?
(iii). Will Hilary Clinton survive the Democratic Party presidential primaries and caucuses with the other formidable candidates without terribly damaging her own political brand before 2016 presidential election? (iv). Will Hilary Clinton survive the highly formidable attack machines of the entire GOP from the radical Tea Party ideologues to the religious right to the followers of nativism to the birther movement and to the powerful establishment arm of this political engine? (v). Are American voters ready in this 21st century human universe to elect the first woman to the highest political office in the land and to change the over 200 years plus of the America's political history in 2016? As 2016 draws closer day by day, only time can tell.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
"THE AMERICA'S NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY (NSA) WIRETAPPED BARACK OBAMA IN 2004"
Russ Tice, a former intelligence analyst who in 2005 blew the whistle on what he alleged was massive unconstitutional domestic spying across multiple agencies, claimed Wednesday that the NSA had ordered wiretaps on phones connected to then-Senate candidate Barack Obama in 2004.
Speaking on "The Boiling Frogs Show," Tice claimed the intelligence community had ordered surveillance on a wide range of groups and individuals, including high-ranking military officials, lawmakers and diplomats.
"Here's the big one ... this was in summer of 2004, one of the papers that I held in my hand was to wiretap a bunch of numbers associated with a 40-something-year-old wannabe senator for Illinois," he said. "You wouldn't happen to know where that guy lives right now would you? It's a big white house in Washington, D.C. That's who they went after, and that's the president of the United States now."
Host Sibel Edmonds and Tice both raised concerns that such alleged monitoring of subjects, unbeknownst to them, could provide the intelligence agencies with huge power to blackmail their targets.
"I was worried that the intelligence community now has sway over what is going on," Tice said.
After going public with his allegations in 2005, Tice later admitted that he had been a key source in a bombshell New York Times report that blew the lid off the Bush administration's use of warrantless wiretapping of international communications in the U.S. The article forced Bush to admit that the practice was indeed used on a small number of Americans, but Tice maintained that the NSA practice was likely being used the gather records for millions of Americans. The NSA denied Tice's allegations.
In the wake of recent reports detailing the extent of the NSA's data surveillance programs, Tice has again come out as a skeptic of the administration's response. While defenders of the program have insisted that there is nothing to suggest the government has the authority -- or desire -- to listen in on people's phone calls without a warrant, Tice told The Guardian that he believes the NSA has developed the capability "to collect all digital communications word for word." - From The Huffington Post
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL?
Question: "What does the Bible say about the prosperity gospel?"
Answer:In the prosperity gospel, also known as the “Word of Faith,” the believer is told to use God, whereas the truth of biblical Christianity is just the opposite—God uses the believer. Word of Faith or prosperity theology sees the Holy Spirit as a power to be put to use for whatever the believer wills. The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is a Person who enables the believer to do God's will. The prosperity gospel movement closely resembles some of the destructive greed sects that infiltrated the early church. Paul and the other apostles were not accommodating to or conciliatory with the false teachers who propagated such heresy. They identified them as dangerous false teachers and urged Christians to avoid them.
Paul warned Timothy about such men in1 Timothy 6:5,9-11. These men of “corrupt mind” supposed godliness was a means of gain and their desire for riches was a trap that brought them “into ruin and destruction” (v. 9). The pursuit of wealth is a dangerous path for Christians and one which God warns about: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (v. 10). If riches were a reasonable goal for the godly, Jesus would have pursued it. But He did not, preferring instead to have no place to lay His head (Matthew 8:20) and teaching His disciples to do the same. It should also be remembered that the only disciple concerned with wealth was Judas.
Paul said covetousness is idolatry (Ephesians 5:5) and instructed the Ephesians to avoid anyone who brought a message of immorality or covetousness (Ephesians 5:6-7). Prosperity teaching prohibits God from working on His own, meaning that God is not Lord of all because He cannot work until we release Him to do so. Faith, according to the Word of Faith doctrine, is not submissive trust in God; faith is a formula by which we manipulate the spiritual laws that prosperity teachers believe govern the universe. As the name “Word of Faith” implies, this movement teaches that faith is a matter of what we say more than whom we trust or what truths we embrace and affirm in our hearts.
A favorite term in the Word of Faith movement is “positive confession.” This refers to the teaching that words themselves have creative power. What you say, Word of Faith teachers claim, determines everything that happens to you. Your confessions, especially the favors you demand of God, must all be stated positively and without wavering. Then God is required to answer (as though man could require anything of God!). Thus, God's ability to bless us supposedly hangs on our faith.James 4:13-16clearly contradicts this teaching: “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” Far from speaking things into existence in the future, we do not even know what tomorrow will bring or even whether we will be alive.
Instead of stressing the importance of wealth, the Bible warns against pursuing it. Believers, especially leaders in the church (1 Timothy 3:3), are to be free from the love of money (Hebrews 13:5). The love of money leads to all kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:10). Jesus warned, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). In sharp contrast to the Word of Faith emphasis on gaining money and possessions in this life, Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19). The irreconcilable contradictions between prosperity teaching and the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is best summed up in the words of Jesus inMatthew 6:24, “You cannot serve both God and money.” . From:http://www.gotquestions.org/prosperity-gospel.html
Answer:In the prosperity gospel, also known as the “Word of Faith,” the believer is told to use God, whereas the truth of biblical Christianity is just the opposite—God uses the believer. Word of Faith or prosperity theology sees the Holy Spirit as a power to be put to use for whatever the believer wills. The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is a Person who enables the believer to do God's will. The prosperity gospel movement closely resembles some of the destructive greed sects that infiltrated the early church. Paul and the other apostles were not accommodating to or conciliatory with the false teachers who propagated such heresy. They identified them as dangerous false teachers and urged Christians to avoid them.
Paul warned Timothy about such men in1 Timothy 6:5,9-11. These men of “corrupt mind” supposed godliness was a means of gain and their desire for riches was a trap that brought them “into ruin and destruction” (v. 9). The pursuit of wealth is a dangerous path for Christians and one which God warns about: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (v. 10). If riches were a reasonable goal for the godly, Jesus would have pursued it. But He did not, preferring instead to have no place to lay His head (Matthew 8:20) and teaching His disciples to do the same. It should also be remembered that the only disciple concerned with wealth was Judas.
Paul said covetousness is idolatry (Ephesians 5:5) and instructed the Ephesians to avoid anyone who brought a message of immorality or covetousness (Ephesians 5:6-7). Prosperity teaching prohibits God from working on His own, meaning that God is not Lord of all because He cannot work until we release Him to do so. Faith, according to the Word of Faith doctrine, is not submissive trust in God; faith is a formula by which we manipulate the spiritual laws that prosperity teachers believe govern the universe. As the name “Word of Faith” implies, this movement teaches that faith is a matter of what we say more than whom we trust or what truths we embrace and affirm in our hearts.
A favorite term in the Word of Faith movement is “positive confession.” This refers to the teaching that words themselves have creative power. What you say, Word of Faith teachers claim, determines everything that happens to you. Your confessions, especially the favors you demand of God, must all be stated positively and without wavering. Then God is required to answer (as though man could require anything of God!). Thus, God's ability to bless us supposedly hangs on our faith.James 4:13-16clearly contradicts this teaching: “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” Far from speaking things into existence in the future, we do not even know what tomorrow will bring or even whether we will be alive.
Instead of stressing the importance of wealth, the Bible warns against pursuing it. Believers, especially leaders in the church (1 Timothy 3:3), are to be free from the love of money (Hebrews 13:5). The love of money leads to all kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:10). Jesus warned, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). In sharp contrast to the Word of Faith emphasis on gaining money and possessions in this life, Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19). The irreconcilable contradictions between prosperity teaching and the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is best summed up in the words of Jesus inMatthew 6:24, “You cannot serve both God and money.” . From:http://www.gotquestions.org/prosperity-gospel.html
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
"THE U.S. CENSUS SHOWS THAT NIGERIAN IMMIGRANTS ARE THE MOST EDUCATED IN AMERICA"
Nigerian Americans have long been known for their community’s intense cultural emphasis on education, and now an analysis of Census data coupled with several local surveys shows that Nigerians don't just value education, but surpass all other U.S. ethnic groups when it comes to obtaining degrees. "Being Black, you are already at a disadvantage," Oluyinka Olutoye, an associate professor of pediatric surgery at Baylor College of Medicine, told the Houston Chronicle. "You really need to excel far above if you want to be considered for anything in this country."
According to 2006 census data, 37 percent of Nigerians in the U.S. had bachelor's degrees, 17 percent held master's degrees and 4 percent had doctorates. In contrast, the same census data showed only 19 percent of white Americans had bachelor’s degrees, 8 percent held master’s degrees and only 1 percent held doctorates, the paper reports. The census data was bolstered by an independent analysis of 13 annual Houston-area surveys conducted by Rice University and commissioned by the Chronicle.
"These are higher levels of educational attainment than were found in any other...community," Stephen Klineberg, a sociologist at Rice University who conducts the annual Houston Area Survey, told the paper. However, despite the strides in education made by many African immigrants, including Nigerian-Americans, discrimination still colors their prospects for employment. A study of 2010 employment data by the Economic Policy Institute showed that, across nationalities and ethnic groups, Black immigrants carried the highest unemployment rate of all foreign-born workers.
In addition to cultural expectations about obtaining higher education, the paper reports that many African immigrants are more likely to pursue higher education as a means of maintaining their immigrant status in the U.S. "In a way, it's a Catch-22 — because of immigration laws you are forced to remain in school, but then the funny thing is you end up getting your doctorate at the age of 29," Amadu Jacky Kaba, an associate professor at Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ, told the paper. "If you stay in school, immigration will leave you alone." From BET (Black Entertainment Television).
"THE GLOBAL IMPACTS OF ACADEMIC DISHONESTY IN THE NIGERIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM"
The primary purpose of education in life is to develop the mind and the intellectual capacity of any learner as well as to equip the learner with the required skills and the new knowledge that will be needed by this learner either the world of employment or in an individual private enterprise or venture. Education is also the strongest and the most effective weapon against ignorance and poverty in the human universe. The educational system in Nigeria today from the elementary schools to the universities is now heavily infested with all types of academic dishonesties, such as, plagiarism, fabrication, deception, sabotage, cheating, professional misconduct, impersonation, sexual favors and bribery. The academic dishonesty is the worst enemy of any citadel of academic learning in the entire human universe today. The academic dishonesty defeats the whole essence of teaching, learning and testing what a learner knows or does not know before sending the learner out into the larger world with either a diploma, a certificate or an academic degree. This academic or professional award prepares any graduating learner to be able to make positive impacts in life and changes the larger society for good.
The recent revelation of the academic forgery of the Nigeria's aviation minister, Stella Oduah who claimed to have an MBA degree from one of the America's black historical universities that later proved to be totally false has further dented the international image and reputation of Nigeria as a nation of academic forgers. The reported massive academic malpractices in 2013 that happened at the Covenant University in Nigeria and in which the institution's former Vice-Chancellor was the major culprit became the biggest academic stain on this young Christian university and this bad news is circulating on the world wide web. The academic degrees that were already awarded by this university are now questionable and may no longer be recognized again worldwide by employers, professional bodies, immigration agencies and academic institutions around the world if these trends continue unabated. This young university will end up producing half-baked graduates for our Nigeria's labor market and the rest of the world. To save its young name and reputation worldwide from this ongoing academic stain. The young Covenant University should immediately withdraw the university degrees of all the students that benefitted directly from this academic massive fraud and then ask these university graduates to come back to retake those courses they passed through via academic frauds. The university should also make sure that these retaking students pass those courses again before their degrees are now re-awarded or they should be dismissed from those programs for academic fraud or incompetency.
The academic degrees that are awarded by the University of Port Harcourt in Nigeria are no longer accepted by the America's largest foreign credential agency that is known as the World Education Service (WES) that is based in the New York city for their foreign credential evaluation services that allow this agency to be able to determine the US academic equivalencies of those foreign degrees. The WES on their company website singled out the academic degrees from the University of Port Harcourt in Nigeria for their non evaluation services. The information reads as follows":Please Note: WES does not evaluate academic records from the University of Port Harcourt. The massive academic dishonesty that is affecting the academic institutions of learning in Nigeria in 2013 is a replica and a spill-over of the massive culture of the official corruption which has remained the standard way in which any type of business is normally conducted in Nigeria.
The recent revelation of the academic forgery of the Nigeria's aviation minister, Stella Oduah who claimed to have an MBA degree from one of the America's black historical universities that later proved to be totally false has further dented the international image and reputation of Nigeria as a nation of academic forgers. The reported massive academic malpractices in 2013 that happened at the Covenant University in Nigeria and in which the institution's former Vice-Chancellor was the major culprit became the biggest academic stain on this young Christian university and this bad news is circulating on the world wide web. The academic degrees that were already awarded by this university are now questionable and may no longer be recognized again worldwide by employers, professional bodies, immigration agencies and academic institutions around the world if these trends continue unabated. This young university will end up producing half-baked graduates for our Nigeria's labor market and the rest of the world. To save its young name and reputation worldwide from this ongoing academic stain. The young Covenant University should immediately withdraw the university degrees of all the students that benefitted directly from this academic massive fraud and then ask these university graduates to come back to retake those courses they passed through via academic frauds. The university should also make sure that these retaking students pass those courses again before their degrees are now re-awarded or they should be dismissed from those programs for academic fraud or incompetency.
The academic degrees that are awarded by the University of Port Harcourt in Nigeria are no longer accepted by the America's largest foreign credential agency that is known as the World Education Service (WES) that is based in the New York city for their foreign credential evaluation services that allow this agency to be able to determine the US academic equivalencies of those foreign degrees. The WES on their company website singled out the academic degrees from the University of Port Harcourt in Nigeria for their non evaluation services. The information reads as follows":Please Note: WES does not evaluate academic records from the University of Port Harcourt. The massive academic dishonesty that is affecting the academic institutions of learning in Nigeria in 2013 is a replica and a spill-over of the massive culture of the official corruption which has remained the standard way in which any type of business is normally conducted in Nigeria.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
"PRESIDENT JONATHAN GOODLUCK OF NIGERIA HAS A BIG POLITICAL HURDLE TO OVERCOME BEFORE 2015"
The controversies that followed the recent election of Rotimi Amaechi as the popular and the majority choice of the Nigerian governors to be their new Chairman in the Nigerian Governors' Forum (NGF) showed that President Jonathan Goodluck does not have the true loyalty of the entire PDP governors behind him now and most likely in 2015. The questionable suspension of governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and Wamakko of Sokoto State respectively by President Goodluck's controlled PDP executive council will continue to divide and to fracture the PDP toward the year 2015. A house that is divided against itself can never stand. The recent explosive revelation by Lai Mohammed of the opposition ACN/APC that about 13 PDP governors have already indicated their interests to join the APC very soon is another huge political blow to the PDP and its future in 2015 under the presidency of Jonathan Goodluck.
The final outcome of the military action and the ongoing state of emergency in the 3 states of the Northeast Nigeria that were designed to end the menace of Boko Haram in the Northern Nigeria will have a strong political implication against the second term ambition of President Jonathan Goodluck in the 2015 presidential elections especially in the Northern Nigeria. The bitter truth about the whole matter is simply this:President Goodluck can never win another presidential election again in Nigeria if that election will be free, fair, transparent and with the strong support of the entire South-South and the South-East only. If the whole North and the entire South- West will decide politically to go for the opposition APC in 2015, then, President Jonathan Goodluck will be the big loser to watch out for. Politics is simply a game of numbers. About 8 million votes out of the President Jonathan's 22 million votes in 2011 presidential election came mainly from the South-West. General Buhari's 12 million votes came entire from the core North. President Jonathan Goodluck is now in the most difficult and the most challenging phase of his political life. His maths at the moment does not add up very well on the Nigerian political terrain. As the year 2015 draws closer, time only will determine the final outcome of 2015 presidential election in Nigeria" -Sunday Iwalaiye.
The final outcome of the military action and the ongoing state of emergency in the 3 states of the Northeast Nigeria that were designed to end the menace of Boko Haram in the Northern Nigeria will have a strong political implication against the second term ambition of President Jonathan Goodluck in the 2015 presidential elections especially in the Northern Nigeria. The bitter truth about the whole matter is simply this:President Goodluck can never win another presidential election again in Nigeria if that election will be free, fair, transparent and with the strong support of the entire South-South and the South-East only. If the whole North and the entire South- West will decide politically to go for the opposition APC in 2015, then, President Jonathan Goodluck will be the big loser to watch out for. Politics is simply a game of numbers. About 8 million votes out of the President Jonathan's 22 million votes in 2011 presidential election came mainly from the South-West. General Buhari's 12 million votes came entire from the core North. President Jonathan Goodluck is now in the most difficult and the most challenging phase of his political life. His maths at the moment does not add up very well on the Nigerian political terrain. As the year 2015 draws closer, time only will determine the final outcome of 2015 presidential election in Nigeria" -Sunday Iwalaiye.
WHAT IS A GOOD FATHERHOOD ALL ABOUT IN THE REAL LIFE?
Today, most of the nations of the world are celebrating this yearly tradition that is known worldwide as Father's Day to honor the importance and the roles that fathers play in their families first and foremost as well as in the larger society at large. Are all the fathers in the world qualified to be honored and celebrated today? Who is a good father in the real sense of it? Who is a failed father or an irresponsible father in all reality? What are the primary responsibilities of fathers? What are the challenges that fathers face? Are all fathers prepared or ready for these challenges? What can the failed or failing fathers do to get back on track? What are the direct impacts of the failed fatherhood on their families and the societies in which these unsuccessful fathers live?
Every adult male may be able to make another adult female pregnant which will lead to the physical birth of a child or more into this human universe. However, that singular act of natural procreation does not prepare or qualify a man for the basic responsibilities of the traditional roles as a father in the real life. Marriage between a man and a woman that is blessed with a child or more is not an automatic and a direct passport to a good fatherhood in all reality. To have a child or more with a woman, or with many woman by a man without marrying any of them does not guarantee that the man will be a good or responsible father in the true sense of it. Responsible and irresponsible fathers are found in marriages and outside of marriages all over the world and in every culture, race, creed, nationality and religion.
A good fatherhood requires the highest degree of personal commitment, discipline, sacrifice, dedication, and self-control to succeed as a good and responsible father. A good father is a protector, a defender, a provider, a supporter, a guide and a teacher to his family. A good father puts the immediate welfare and the well-being of his own family above his own personal self interests, ambitions, careers or his own life various pursuits. A good father is a true role model for his family primarily and to the society in which he lives generally. A good father makes lifetime positive impacts on his entire family. A good father is a good manager of money, time, opportunities and the available resources on behalf of his family. A good father is primarily accountable to his family over his own personal actions, choices and decisions. A good father is not a perfect man, but a man that makes mistakes in the daily running of his own family, he learns from such mistakes in order to become a better father. A good father strives daily for the improvements and the betterment of his household. A good father is a positive change agent for his own family first and for his community in general.
Every adult male may be able to make another adult female pregnant which will lead to the physical birth of a child or more into this human universe. However, that singular act of natural procreation does not prepare or qualify a man for the basic responsibilities of the traditional roles as a father in the real life. Marriage between a man and a woman that is blessed with a child or more is not an automatic and a direct passport to a good fatherhood in all reality. To have a child or more with a woman, or with many woman by a man without marrying any of them does not guarantee that the man will be a good or responsible father in the true sense of it. Responsible and irresponsible fathers are found in marriages and outside of marriages all over the world and in every culture, race, creed, nationality and religion.
A good fatherhood requires the highest degree of personal commitment, discipline, sacrifice, dedication, and self-control to succeed as a good and responsible father. A good father is a protector, a defender, a provider, a supporter, a guide and a teacher to his family. A good father puts the immediate welfare and the well-being of his own family above his own personal self interests, ambitions, careers or his own life various pursuits. A good father is a true role model for his family primarily and to the society in which he lives generally. A good father makes lifetime positive impacts on his entire family. A good father is a good manager of money, time, opportunities and the available resources on behalf of his family. A good father is primarily accountable to his family over his own personal actions, choices and decisions. A good father is not a perfect man, but a man that makes mistakes in the daily running of his own family, he learns from such mistakes in order to become a better father. A good father strives daily for the improvements and the betterment of his household. A good father is a positive change agent for his own family first and for his community in general.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
DOES THE BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY HAVE 100% BRITISH BLOOD IN THEM IN A REALITY?
DNA testing proves that the Duke of Cambridge is of Indian ancestry.
He will become first King of England with genetic link to India.
Prince William's great-great-great-great-great grandmother was half-Indian. William will be first and last monarch with the DNA link as it can only be passed on by a mother. Revelation will prompt calls for prince to make maiden visit to the country.
DNA testing has revealed that Prince William will become the first British monarch of Indian ancestry.
He will become first King of England with genetic link to India.
Prince William's great-great-great-great-great grandmother was half-Indian. William will be first and last monarch with the DNA link as it can only be passed on by a mother. Revelation will prompt calls for prince to make maiden visit to the country.
DNA testing has revealed that Prince William will become the first British monarch of Indian ancestry.
A clear genetic line has been drawn between the Duke of Cambridge and a half-Indian woman, potentially marking him as the first King whose bloodline is descended from the country.
Analysis of saliva samples on relatives of Prince William revealed the link between the second in line to the throne and a distant relative from his mother’s family.
The revelation will prompt calls for the 30-year-old prince to make his maiden visit to India, following in the footsteps of his parents who travelled there in 1992.
The genetic link with India is believed to originate from Williams’s great-great-great-great-great grandmother Eliza Kewark.
Although often described as Armenian, DNA analysis has revealed that she was at least half-Indian and is known to have lived in the country’s western region.
Scottish scientists established the link after discovering that Eliza’s descendants carried a rare strand of DNA - known as mitochondrial DNA - which can only be passed on by a mother.
Only people from the Indian subcontinent have been found to carry the particular strand of DNA. It has been recorded in 14 other people - all Indian, apart from one Nepalese native.
The DNA is thought to have been passed down to Prince William and his brother Harry, as the scientist behind the research described the genetic link as ‘unassailable’.
The tests were carried out by genetics expert Jim Wilson, from the University of Edinburgh and a group called BritainsDNA, who said that the princes would be unable to pass the DNA to their children. From Mail Online United Kingdom.
Analysis of saliva samples on relatives of Prince William revealed the link between the second in line to the throne and a distant relative from his mother’s family.
The revelation will prompt calls for the 30-year-old prince to make his maiden visit to India, following in the footsteps of his parents who travelled there in 1992.
The genetic link with India is believed to originate from Williams’s great-great-great-great-great grandmother Eliza Kewark.
Although often described as Armenian, DNA analysis has revealed that she was at least half-Indian and is known to have lived in the country’s western region.
Scottish scientists established the link after discovering that Eliza’s descendants carried a rare strand of DNA - known as mitochondrial DNA - which can only be passed on by a mother.
Only people from the Indian subcontinent have been found to carry the particular strand of DNA. It has been recorded in 14 other people - all Indian, apart from one Nepalese native.
The DNA is thought to have been passed down to Prince William and his brother Harry, as the scientist behind the research described the genetic link as ‘unassailable’.
The tests were carried out by genetics expert Jim Wilson, from the University of Edinburgh and a group called BritainsDNA, who said that the princes would be unable to pass the DNA to their children. From Mail Online United Kingdom.
WHO IS HASSAN ROUHANI THE NEW PRESIDENT-ELECT OF IRAN?
Profile: Hassan Rouhani
Hassan Rouhani, 64, has been elected new president of Iran.
He was the only cleric contesting the Iranian presidential election. He says he wants to steer the country towards moderation and has the backing of the reformists led by former President Mohammad Khatami. He had the endorsement of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who represents other moderate Islamists and is barred from running for office. He pulled large crowds wherever he was on the campaign trail - speaking of reform, promising to free political prisoners, to guarantee civil rights and promising to return "dignity to the nation".
In televised debates, he raised taboo subjects, such as the nuclear stand-off with world powers, damaging international sanctions, the dire state of the economy and Iran's extreme isolation in the international community. He has also vowed to restore diplomatic ties with Iran's old enemy, the United States, which cut relations with Iran in the aftermath of the 1979 seizure of the US embassy in Tehran by Islamist students. Mr Rouhani urged Iranians to vote, saying that the hardliners "don't want you to vote, they want to win the ballot unchallenged".
Key figure
He is a key figure in Iranian politics, having held several parliamentary posts such as deputy speaker and as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's representative at the Supreme National Security Council. Mr Rouhani was Iran's chief nuclear negotiator under Mr Khatami, and he currently heads the Expediency Council's Strategic Research Centre (the council is a top advisory body to the Supreme Leader).
During student demonstrations against the closure of a reformist newspaper in 1999, Mr Rouhani adopted a tough stance, declaring that those arrested for sabotage and destroying state property would face the death penalty if found guilty. But more recently, he supported the demonstrations that erupted after the 2009 election and criticised the government for opposing what he saw as the people's right to peacefully protest.
And he has openly criticised outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by saying that his "careless, uncalculated and unstudied remarks" have cost the country dearly. Mr Rouhani is said to be fluent in English, German, French, Russian and Arabic, and has a law doctorate from Glasgow Caledonian University. From BBC, London.
"ACLU FILES LAWSUIT CHALLENGING NSA'S PHONE SURVEILLANCE"
In the wake of the past week's revelations about the NSA's unprecedented mass surveillance of phone calls, today the ACLU filed a lawsuit charging that the program violates Americans' constitutional rights of free speech, association, and privacy.
This lawsuit comes a day after we submitted a motion to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) seeking the release of secret court opinions on the Patriot Act's Section 215, which has been interpreted to authorize this warrantless and suspicionless collection of phone records.
Last week, The Guardian released an order issued by the FISC that compelled a Verizon subsidiary—Verizon Business Network Services (VBNS)—to hand over, on an "ongoing, daily basis," details for every phone call placed on its network for a prospective three-month period. Collecting those details—"metadata" that reveals who people talk to, for how long, how often, and possibly from where—allows the government to paint an alarmingly detailed picture of Americans' private lives. The FISC order cited Section 215 as its legal basis, yet the breadth of the authority it granted to the government is simply incompatible with the text of the statute.
As an organization that advocates for and litigates to defend the civil liberties of society's most vulnerable, the staff at the ACLU naturally use the phone—a lot—to talk about sensitive and confidential topics with clients, legislators, whistleblowers, and ACLU members. And since the ACLU is a VBNS customer, we were immediately confronted with the harmful impact that such broad surveillance would have on our legal and advocacy work. So we're acting quickly to get into court to challenge the government's abuse of Section 215.
The ACLU's complaint filed today explains that the dragnet surveillance the government is carrying out under Section 215 infringes upon the ACLU's First Amendment rights, including the twin liberties of free expression and free association. The nature of the ACLU's work—in areas like access to reproductive services, racial discrimination, the rights of immigrants, national security, and more—means that many of the people who call the ACLU wish to keep their contact with the organization confidential. Yet if the government is collecting a vast trove of ACLU phone records—and it has reportedly been doing so for as long as seven years—many people may reasonably think twice before communicating with us.
The kind of personal-data aggregation accomplished through Section 215 also constitutes an unreasonable search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment. Last year, in a case on GPS tracking by police, five members of the Supreme Courtindicated support for the common-sense notion that government collection of individual bits of seemingly innocuous personal information over a long period of time could amount to such a complete invasion of privacy that it would be unconstitutional. The surveillance program that came to light with the release of the FISC order constitutes precisely that kind of unreasonable incursion into Americans' private lives.
Finally, the ACLU's complaint charges that the executive branch's use of Section 215 violates the plain language of the statute itself. The statute requires that records seized under its authority be "relevant" to an authorized foreign-intelligence or terrorism investigation. But while that language imposes a real limitation on when the government can use Section 215, the FISC order covering all VBNS customers demonstrates that this "relevance" restraint is shockingly inadequate. Similarly, the FISC order shows that the government—with the FISC's secret approval—is acquiringfuture records of telephone subscribers based on the same "relevance" requirement, even though the statute uses words that clearly show it was only meant to cover "tangible things" already in existence.
GET INVOLVED
Stop Government Spying on Americans
With today's lawsuit, the ACLU is now attacking Section 215 on three legal fronts: in our ongoingFOIA litigation seeking the government's secret interpretation of the law; in the FISA Court through yesterday's public-access motion; and now, in a constitutional lawsuit in federal court. When the government is claiming such chillingly expansive surveillance powers, it's all hands on deck. Stay tuned. By Brett Max Kaufman, Legal Fellow, ACLU National Security ProjectET
"FACEBOOK GAVE ACCOUNT INFORMATION OF ITS USERS TO THE AMERICA'S SECURITY AGENCY"
SAN FRANCISCO -- Looking to shield itself from a growing public backlash over damaging revelations that it turned over user data to the National Security Agency's clandestine Internet surveillance program Prism, Facebook said late Friday it had reached an agreement to divulge some details about the government requests it receives for information about its users. Ted Ullyot, Facebook's general counsel, said the company had urged authorities "to allow more transparency and flexibility around national security-related orders we are required to comply with." The result, he said, is Facebook's first-ever report on requests from the government for its users' information.
Facebook says that in the second half of 2012, the total number of requests for user data that it received from all local, state and federal authorities was between 9,000 and 10,000. Those requests targeted between 18,000 and 19,000 accounts. Facebook complied with 79% of the requests, it said. The information does not break out national security requests. "The government will only authorize us to communicate about these numbers in aggregate and as a range," Ullyot said. "This is progress, but we're continuing to push for even more transparency." In a statement, a Google spokesman said the deal that Facebook struck with the government was not sufficient.
"We have always believed that it's important to differentiate between different types of government requests. We already publish criminal requests separately from National Security Letters. Lumping the two categories together would be a step back for users," he wrote. "Our request to the government is clear: to be able to publish aggregate numbers of national security requests, including FISA disclosures, separately." Google has gone to greater lengths than any other Web company to disclose the nature and number of government requests for information about its users through its semiannual "transparency report."
Facebook, Google, Microsoft and other technology giants have been pressing the Obama administration to allow them to publicly disclose more information about the national security requests they get under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. The three-decade-old law lets intelligence agencies monitor the communications of non-U.S. citizens who are believed to be outside the United States and involved in terrorist or other criminal activities. FISA bars companies from even acknowledging they have received such requests. That secrecy has created a firestorm of controversy after revelations that technology companies have been turning over foreign users’ data to NSA.
Google published an open letter this week to Atty. Gen. Eric Holder and FBI Director Robert Muellerto give it more freedom to share with users the number and scope of national security requests. "Assertions in the press that our compliance with these requests gives the U.S. government unfettered access to our users' data are simply untrue," Google’s chief legal officer, David Drummond, wrote. Facebook and Microsoft made similar public statements. From Los Angeles Times
Friday, June 14, 2013
"11 BILLION HUMANS WILL BE ON EARTH IN 2100" - LIVESCIENCE
The world's population could reach 11 billion by the year 2100, according to a new statistical analysis. That represents 800 million more people than was forecast in 2011. Most of that increase comes because birth rates in Africa haven't dropped as fast as projected.
"The fertility decline in Africa has slowed down or stalled to a larger extent than we previously predicted, and as a result the African population will go up," said study co-author Adrian Raftery, a statistician at the University of Washington, in a statement. The huge surge in population is expected to cause mega-city populations to swell, which could worsen environmental problems and overcrowding.
Ever Increasing
The United Nations reported that the population hit 7 billionin October 2011. That's an amazing increase from the mere 5 million people who lived on the planet in 8000 B.C. or the 1 billion who were alive in 1805. Right now, Africa's population stands at 1.1 billion, but that is expected to increase four-fold, to 4.2 billion, by 2100.
Rest unchanged
The rest of the world is unlikely to see big changes from the past estimate. Europe may see a slight dip in population, because it continues to have a below-replacement birth rate, meaning more people are dying than being born. The new analysis used a more sophisticated
The model predicts that the population will likely reach between 9 billion and 13 billion by 2100. By contrast, the U.N.'s population estimates assume the average birth rate may vary by up to 0.5 children per woman, which results in a large range for the world's population at the end of the century, between 7 billion and 17 billion. The findings suggest that experts should redouble their efforts to curb population growth in Africa, Raftery said. "These new findings show that we need to renew policies, such as increasing access to family planning and expanding education for girls, to address rapid population growth in Africa," Raftery said in a statement. By Tia Ghose.
"The fertility decline in Africa has slowed down or stalled to a larger extent than we previously predicted, and as a result the African population will go up," said study co-author Adrian Raftery, a statistician at the University of Washington, in a statement. The huge surge in population is expected to cause mega-city populations to swell, which could worsen environmental problems and overcrowding.
Ever Increasing
The United Nations reported that the population hit 7 billionin October 2011. That's an amazing increase from the mere 5 million people who lived on the planet in 8000 B.C. or the 1 billion who were alive in 1805. Right now, Africa's population stands at 1.1 billion, but that is expected to increase four-fold, to 4.2 billion, by 2100.
Rest unchanged
The rest of the world is unlikely to see big changes from the past estimate. Europe may see a slight dip in population, because it continues to have a below-replacement birth rate, meaning more people are dying than being born. The new analysis used a more sophisticated
The model predicts that the population will likely reach between 9 billion and 13 billion by 2100. By contrast, the U.N.'s population estimates assume the average birth rate may vary by up to 0.5 children per woman, which results in a large range for the world's population at the end of the century, between 7 billion and 17 billion. The findings suggest that experts should redouble their efforts to curb population growth in Africa, Raftery said. "These new findings show that we need to renew policies, such as increasing access to family planning and expanding education for girls, to address rapid population growth in Africa," Raftery said in a statement. By Tia Ghose.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
"HUMAN GENES CANNOT BE PATENTED" - UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that companies cannot patent parts of naturally-occurring human genes, a decision with the potential to profoundly affect the emerging and lucrative medical and biotechnology industries. The high court's unanimous judgment reverses three decades of patent awards by government officials. It throws out patents held by Salt Lake City-based Myriad Genetics Inc. on an increasingly popular breast cancer test brought into the public eye recently by actress Angelina Jolie's revelation that she had a double mastectomy because of one of the genes involved in this case.
Justice Clarence Thomas, who wrote the court's decision, said that Myriad's assertion – that the DNA it isolated from the body for its proprietary breast and ovarian cancer tests were patentable – had to be dismissed because it violates patent rules. The court has said that laws of nature, natural phenomena and abstract ideas are not patentable. "We hold that a naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated," Thomas said.
However, the court gave Myriad a partial victory, ruling that while naturally-occurring DNA was not patentable, synthetically-created DNA could be patented. The court said that synthetically created DNA, known as cDNA, can be patented "because it is not naturally occurring," Thomas said. Patents are the legal protection that gives inventors the right to prevent others from making, using or selling a novel device, process or application. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has been awarding patents on human genes for almost 30 years, but opponents of Myriad Genetics Inc.'s patents on the two genes linked to increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer say such protection should not be given to something that can be found inside the human body.
The company has used its patent to come up with its BRACAnalysis test, which looks for mutations on the breast cancer predisposition gene, or BRCA. Those mutations are associated with much greater risks of breast and ovarian cancer. Women with a faulty gene have a three to seven times greater risk of developing breast cancer and also have a higher risk of ovarian cancer.
Jolie revealed last month that her mother died of ovarian cancer and that her maternal grandmother also had the disease. She said she carries a defective BRCA1 gene that puts her at high risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers, and her doctor said that the test that turned up the faulty gene link led Jolie to have both of her healthy breasts removed to try to avoid the same fate. The court's ruling on synthetic DNA leaves the door open for future genetic patent work for companies like Myriad, lawyers said.
Thomas noted there are still ways for Myriad to make money off its discovery. "Had Myriad created an innovative method of manipulating genes while searching for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, it could possibly have sought a method patent," he said. And he noted that the case before the court did not include patents on the application of knowledge about the two genes. Most biotech companies have already moved on from trying to patent isolated DNA, instead looking at synthetic options and other ways of protecting their multimillion-dollar investments, said Matthew McFarlane of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P.
"On a day-in and day-out basis, I don't see this changing that part of the industry," McFarlane said. "Isolated DNA itself is not something that companies seek to protect anymore." Myriad's stock price jumped 10 percent after the ruling and was above $36 a share in early afternoon trading. For its part, Myriad focused on what the ruling left intact.
"We believe the court appropriately upheld our claims on cDNA and underscored the patent eligibility of our method claims, ensuring strong intellectual property protection for our BRACAnalysis test moving forward," said Peter D. Meldrum, Myriad's president and CEO. "More than 250,000 patients rely upon our BRACAnalysis test annually, and we remain focused on saving and improving peoples' lives and lowering overall healthcare costs." Myriad sells the only BRCA gene test. Opponents of its patents say the company can use the patents to keep other researchers from working with the BRCA gene to develop other tests.
"Today, the court struck down a major barrier to patient care and medical innovation," said Sandra Park, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union Women's Rights Project. "Myriad did not invent the BRCA genes and should not control them. Because of this ruling, patients will have greater access to genetic testing and scientists can engage in research on these genes without fear of being sued." Companies have billions of dollars of investment and years of research on the line in this case. Their advocates argue that without the ability to recoup their investment through the profits that patents bring, breakthrough scientific discoveries to combat all kinds of medical maladies wouldn't happen.
But "genes and the information they encode area not patent eligible ... simply because they have been isolated from the surrounding genetic material," Thomas said. In a concurring opinion, Justice Antonin Scalia said "the portion of the DNA isolated from its natural state sought to be patented is identical to that portion of the DNA in its natural state." The case is 12-398, Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc - Follow Jesse J. Holland on Twitter at . http://www.twitter.com/jessejholland
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
"THE JUNE 12 AND THE PSEUDO-DEMOCRACY IN NIGERIA IN 2013"
Many of the Nigeria's prominent politicians today have either directly or indirectly used the political struggles of the annulled June 12 presidential election and the mysterious death of the winner of that election in the person of the late Chief MKO Abiola to ascend into political power. The last 14 years of our so called democracy can be simply described as a political sham that is based primarily on the unabated official culture of corruption, the massive mismanagement of the Nigeria's oil wealth, lawlessness, the rule of brutality as well as the institutionalization of the electoral fraud system as a way in which we conduct our democracy and party politics. Nigerians have never enjoyed any truly fair, free and transparent elections since 1999 to date in all truth, honesty and reality.
Our politicians have built their political life on the dirty party politics that is based on the selection of their favorite candidates instead of the actual election of the popular or the majority choice. Mediocrity of the highest order has now replaced the any element of merit in our public life as a nation in 2013. The politics of godfatherism has taken over our existing political parties in and out. The do-or-die politics has fully replaced the spirit of sportsmanship. We now consider the religious faith of our politicians in all elections instead of their past track records or their capacities to deliver the goods. Our public offices have now become the easiest avenues for our public officials to acquire their ill-gotten wealth and to become billionaires overnight. Our religious institutions and their leaders have grown passive, indifferent and mute in the face of our bad and heavily corrupt political leadership in Nigeria. Our democracy has not worked in the last 14 years and it is certainly not going to work in the year 2015 with our present weak and sinking political foundation that holds this democracy in place. In conclusion and in my own personal judgement, a Sovereign National Conference is now inevitable for Nigeria to survive and to weather her very turbulent democracy either now or in the future as a nation in deep crises.
Our politicians have built their political life on the dirty party politics that is based on the selection of their favorite candidates instead of the actual election of the popular or the majority choice. Mediocrity of the highest order has now replaced the any element of merit in our public life as a nation in 2013. The politics of godfatherism has taken over our existing political parties in and out. The do-or-die politics has fully replaced the spirit of sportsmanship. We now consider the religious faith of our politicians in all elections instead of their past track records or their capacities to deliver the goods. Our public offices have now become the easiest avenues for our public officials to acquire their ill-gotten wealth and to become billionaires overnight. Our religious institutions and their leaders have grown passive, indifferent and mute in the face of our bad and heavily corrupt political leadership in Nigeria. Our democracy has not worked in the last 14 years and it is certainly not going to work in the year 2015 with our present weak and sinking political foundation that holds this democracy in place. In conclusion and in my own personal judgement, a Sovereign National Conference is now inevitable for Nigeria to survive and to weather her very turbulent democracy either now or in the future as a nation in deep crises.
IS AMERICA'S UNIVERSITY EDUCATION THE KEY TO THE GLOBAL MARKET TODAY?
How many foreign students have you known? Were they in classes with you as you grew up, or are they in local schools now with your children and your neighbors' kids? Can you think of American movies and TV shows in which international students play prominent (albeit usually comedic) roles? America has a long tradition of hosting students from all over the world, a testament to the flexibility of the nation's culture, economy and academic traditions. After 9/11, many people were concerned that tradition would end, for both political and economic reasons. But it turns out foreign students are still coming to America in record numbers.
Late last year, the Institute of International Education reported an all-time high number of foreign students -- more than 764,000 -- came to study at U.S. colleges and universities during the 2011-12 academic year. Of those exchange students, 70% were funded by sources outside the U.S., and they ended up contributing $22.7 billion to America's economy. The IEE report found "the continued conviction of international students (and parents) that a U.S. degree is a sound investment in their future careers." And that seems true even in European countries with their own hallowed academic traditions.
For example, International Business Times reports that, despite the relatively inexpensive cost of higher education in France, a record number of more than 8,200 French students came to the U.S. last year to advance their studies. And French students studying in the U.S. have climbed by nearly 17% over the past seven years. Economics is a leading reason. Like much of Europe, France is mired in recession, and jobs there are hard to come by, especially for young adults. But the French students interviewed say they're coming to the States to give themselves a competitive advantage in an increasingly globalized job market.
Indeed, foreigners who in the past might have gone to France or the U.K. are choosing to study at American schools. "I had the opportunity to go to Paris instead," Alara Alkin, who studied at a French-language school in her native Turkey, recently told The New York Times. "But French is dying, and America is alive." Alkin said she expects to study chemical and biological engineering at Philadelphia's Drexel University next year.
The U.S is also seen as more open to international students than many other countries. For the first time in a dozen years, the IIE says, "international undergraduates studying in the United States now outnumber international graduate students." At the same time, the U.S. is sending more college students outside of its borders to study. The IIE says nearly 274,000 Americans studied abroad during the 2010-11 academic year -- an all-time high and a 1% increase over t
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