Saturday, 23 July 2016
Tuesday, 12 July 2016
Monday, 11 July 2016
Sunday, 10 July 2016
Saturday, 9 July 2016
Friday, 8 July 2016
Thursday, 7 July 2016
Germany 0 2 France Full Extended Highlights 7/7/2016
Antoine Griezmann's double strike sees hosts into the Euro 2016 final as world champions are eliminated
Tuesday, 5 July 2016
Horrific cell phone footage shows teen girls 'beating their 16-year-old friend before holding her down to be raped'
A 16-year-old girl was allegedly beaten by other girls before being held down to be raped in a horrifying attack that was filmed on a cellphone, it was revealed today.
Patricia Montes, 15, and 16-year-old Erica Avery are accused of punching, kicking and pepper-spraying the girl before holding her down to be raped by Jayvon Woolfork, 19, police said.
The barbaric attack was filmed on a cell phone by Lanel Singleton, 18, and shows the girl writhing half naked and weeping in the yard of a home in Hollywood, Florida while her attackers leer over her.
Along with 17-year-old Dwight Henry, the alleged rape gang have all been charged in the attack on November 1 last year.
The sickening clips, shown by CBS Miami for the first time today, shows the girls viciously beating the girl while the men watch.
One male voice can be heard saying: 'They don't like this girl.'
One girl responds: 'I told you we were gonna f*** somebody up'.
As the victim begs to be freed, another girl says they should 'let this girl go home' but the attack continues.
WATCH VIDEO BELOW:
Inside the home, the alleged attackers dragged the victim into a room and pinned her down while Woolfork assaulted her.
The victim is later allowed to leave but not before one of her female attackers spits on her. She managed to flag down a car and make it to her home where she fell unconscious and was taken to hospital. She spent several days in hospital with broken bones in her face, swelling and being unable to see.
The victim told police that she was attacked after smoking marijuana and drinking beer with people she believed to be her friends, including one girl who had been her best friend since kindergarten.
Patricia Montes, 15, and Erica Avery, 16, are charged with two counts each of felony armed sexual assault and kidnapping. Both have been charged as adults.
Henry, 17, of Hollywood; Lanel Singleton, 18, of North Miami; and Woolfork, 19, all face charges of capital felony sexual assault and kidnapping.
All have pleaded not guilty and are being held on bond with the exception of Montes.
Singleton, who is believed to have recorded the clips, was expected to appear in court today.
At a bail hearing in November, prosecutor Maria Schneider described the video of the crime, detailing how the victim pleaded with the alleged attackers to stop as she held her arms over her face to protect herself from their unrelenting blows.
‘The cruelty shown on this video . . . this was repeated over and over again . . . The girls are trying to remove her bra. You saw the victim sitting on the toilet crying, her face blown up and swollen from injuries, and then they beat her,’ Ms Schneider said.
During parts of the three-hour bail hearing, Avery grinned and rolled her eyes and had to be admonished by her lawyer to remain composed. Montes, who was the victim’s best friend, appeared stoic for most of the proceeding.
The victim claims that she was kicked, thrown down stairs and had her face smashed on concrete, breaking bones near both her eyes.
The judge said: 'This 16-year-old woman, both of her eyes were closed from being beaten, she had blood coming from one of her ears.'
The videos, consisting of 11 snippets, show the victim being beaten, but they do not depict sexual activity.
Jose Mourinho unveiled...
Any Manchester United supporters out there feeling just a tad exciting this morning?
Today's the day their new manager, the 'Special One' Jose Mourinho, is officially unveiled at Old Trafford.
His arrival has already generated plenty of excitement among United's legions of followers around the world and, when Mourinho sits down in front of the world's media at 11am, his reign will officially begin.
Will Mourinho anoint himself with another nickname as he did upon arriving at Chelsea in 2004, or will we see a more shrunken ego?
We will bring you full coverage of Mourinho's unveiling as it happens and all the build-up and reaction.
Jose Mourinho will finally make his first public appearance as Manchester United manager, over a month after he was confirmed as Louis van Gaal's successor.
The former Chelsea boss has been out of work since being sacked by the west London club last season, but his return to management begins in earnest on Tuesday.
Mourinho has already brought in three new faces to Old Trafford, most notably Zlatan Ibrahimovic, as he looks to earn United a first Premier League title since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.
Join ADAM SHERGOLD and JACK GAUGHAN for all the action.
Omowunmi shows off her bikini body
Former MBGN winner Omowunmi Akinnifesi showed off her bikini body while on vacation in the US. She seems to be having a good time. More photos after the cut...
Monday, 4 July 2016
Two Nigerians push woman from building for resisting sexual advances
Fani-Kayode, Usman get N500m bail
Usman was former minister of Finance and former director of Finance of the PDP Presidential Campaign in 2015 while Fani-Kayode was former Aviation minister and spokesperson for the campaign organisation.
Also charged alongside the accused by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are Danjuman Yussuf, Olubode Oke and Join Trust Dimensions Nigeria Limited. Yussuf also got the same bail condition from the court. They are facing 17-count charge bordering on unlawful retention, use and payment of about N4.9 billion.
The accused allegedly committed the offences between January and March 2015. Fani-Kayode was named in all 17-count and Usman in only four of the charges. In counts one to seven, they were alleged to have unlawfully retained over N3.8 billion which they reasonably ought to have known formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act of stealing and corruption.
All the accused persons pleaded not guilty. Delivering his ruling on their bail application, the trial Judge, Justice Muslim Sule Hassan held that there was no evidence that the accused would interfere with trial if granted bail.
He fixed October 19, 20, and 21 for trial.
Electricity In Nigeria ( it's time to walk the talk)
Prof Yemi Osiinbajo, Nigeria’s Vice-President revealed that the federal government was planning to generate 7,000 megawatts of electricity for the nation within the next 18 months. Prof Osinbajo who made this disclosure at the presentation of a book entitled: Nigeria: The Challenges of Growth and Development, an In-Depth Analysis by Experts, held at the Trenchard Hall, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, noted that power remained a major challenge confronting the present administration and the federal government was determined to solve it. He lamented the poor electricity supply in the country, which he blamed on gas pipelines vandals who prevent the conveying of gas to the various power plants.
Much as we welcome the desire of the government to find a solution to the lingering problem of electricity supply, nevertheless there is scepticism on the ability of the government to bring this to fruition. What is the guarantee that government will meet the set target of 7,000 megawatts within the next 18 months? Is there a clear roadmap for the power sector, aimed at achieving this goal?
For long, Nigerians have heard so many failed promises by successive governments to improve electricity supply in the country. It all began with the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, under whom late Chief Bola Ige served as Minister of Power and Steel. Chief Ige, who was appointed in July 1999, had promised Nigerians that by December of the same year, “power fluctuation would be a thing of the past,” but this promise was unfulfilled by December 1999. Senator Lyel Imoke who replaced late Chief Ige as Minister of Power and Steel also promised Nigerians that “by 2007 Nigeria would be generating 10,000 megawatts of power.” At the time former President Obasanjo left office in 2007, an estimated $16 billion had been allegedly expended in the power sector with no visible improvement in electricity supply.
During the electioneering in 2007, the then Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), late Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua vowed to declare a state of emergency in the power sector, if he was elected president. Eventually, he was elected but instead of declaring a state of emergency in the power sector as he promised, he gave a target of 6,000 megawatts by December 2009; a promise which the government could not fulfilled.
Former President Goodluck Jonathan, who succeeded Yar’Adua, thereafter appointed Prof. Bath Nnaji as Minister of Power. Prof. Nnaji told Nigerians that he would achieve 5,000 megawatts by December, 2011 and increase the supply in subsequent years. That promise also failed like the ones made previously. At the exit of former President Jonathan from office in 2015, an accumulated N2.74 trillion was allegedly sank into the power sector for 16 years with a mere 5,000 megawatts as evidence of electricity generated during this period.
Only recently, President Muhammadu Buhari said his administration has set a target of delivering 10,000 megawatts of electricity generation in the next three years beginning with the addition of 2,000 megawatts to the national grid in 2016.And that pledge has not been realised, yet the first quarter of 2016 has come and gone! Nigerians are certainly tired of unfulfilled promises. We believe what they want at the moment is a concerted action for adequate power generation, transmission and distribution, which would translate into regular electricity supply to their homes, offices and industries.
Perhaps there is need for a sustainable roadmap for the development of the power sector. Indeed, there is no better time than now for a national gas development plan that would ease the supply of gas to the various power plants across the country. Additionally, an articulated security system that would forestall the recurrent vandalism of gas pipelines and power equipment should be put in place.
Considering the various failed promises made by past administrations, we feel the present government should walk the talk on electricity generation and supply instead of engaging on repetitive promises that may not come to pass.
Happy Birthday from Mr President! Besotted (but off-key) Obama serenades Malia on her 18th alongside Kendrick Lamar and Janelle Monae at White House Fourth of July party
Barack Obama serenaded his daughter Malia with an unforgettable rendition of Happy Birthday as they celebrated her 18th at the White House.
With a smiling Kendrick Lamar standing beside him on stage, the US president belted out a heartfelt yet off-key version of the song.
The crowd began to cheer and clap as Malia ascended onto the stage and embraced her father.
But Barack and Michelle Obama then decided to move the party inside, where they were hosting a number of military families.
It was the second consecutive year the White House's Independence Day festivities were shelved because of bad weather.
'Because it's a job of fathers to embarrass their daughters, I've got one last job,' Obama joked as a knowing audience began to applaud.
'It just so happens we celebrate our country's birthday on the same day as my oldest daughter's birthday, so just a quick Happy Birthday for Malia,' a croaky-sounding Obama added before breaking into song.
It emerged this week that Malia, who graduated from high school in June, would follow in her parents' footsteps by attending Harvard University after taking a gap year.
'The president and Mrs Obama announced today that their daughter Malia will attend Harvard University in the fall of 2017 as a member of the Class of 2021,' Michelle Obama's office said in a short issued on Sunday
It added: 'Malia will take a gap year before beginning school.'
The White House confirmed the story after student newspaper The Tab posted a picture of Malia wearing a Harvard t-shirt.
It follows months of speculation on whether she would end up at an Ivy League or pursue film at New York University. She has been spotted at campuses around the country and was even snapped at a party at Brown University.
In his weekly address, Obama said the July 4 picnic had become 'one of my favorite traditions'.
He added: 'We get to celebrate our freedoms while doing what we can to honor all those who serve and sacrifice to make that freedom possible.'
The Obamas, who have hosted military families ever year for a barbecue on the lawn, will entertain the 'military heroes' in the White House's East Room instead.
With a smiling Kendrick Lamar standing beside him on stage, the US president belted out a heartfelt yet off-key version of the song.
The crowd began to cheer and clap as Malia ascended onto the stage and embraced her father.
It was the second consecutive year the White House's Independence Day festivities were shelved because of bad weather.
'Because it's a job of fathers to embarrass their daughters, I've got one last job,' Obama joked as a knowing audience began to applaud.
'It just so happens we celebrate our country's birthday on the same day as my oldest daughter's birthday, so just a quick Happy Birthday for Malia,' a croaky-sounding Obama added before breaking into song.
It emerged this week that Malia, who graduated from high school in June, would follow in her parents' footsteps by attending Harvard University after taking a gap year.
'The president and Mrs Obama announced today that their daughter Malia will attend Harvard University in the fall of 2017 as a member of the Class of 2021,' Michelle Obama's office said in a short issued on Sunday
It added: 'Malia will take a gap year before beginning school.'
The White House confirmed the story after student newspaper The Tab posted a picture of Malia wearing a Harvard t-shirt.
It follows months of speculation on whether she would end up at an Ivy League or pursue film at New York University. She has been spotted at campuses around the country and was even snapped at a party at Brown University.
In his weekly address, Obama said the July 4 picnic had become 'one of my favorite traditions'.
He added: 'We get to celebrate our freedoms while doing what we can to honor all those who serve and sacrifice to make that freedom possible.'
The Obamas, who have hosted military families ever year for a barbecue on the lawn, will entertain the 'military heroes' in the White House's East Room instead.
Can Jose really charm Pogba back to Manchester United for £80m?
Jose Mourinho has launched a charm offensive to try to persuade Paul Pogba that his future lies in Manchester rather than Madrid.
Friends of the Juventus and France midfielder have told Sportsmail that he would prefer a switch to Real Madrid over a return to United.
However, Old Trafford officials believe the Spanish giants are undecided on whether to make what would be close to a world-record move for Pogba.
They think they can convince the 23-year-old that a chance to work under Mourinho is a better option than waiting for a Madrid offer that may not come this summer.
United have no issues with spending around £80million on a player Sir Alex Ferguson let go for next to nothing in 2012.
The key players involved in Pogba’s departure are no longer at the club and a scenario in which United pay out vast sums to correct their own error does not present any issues.
‘Pogba is one of the manager’s targets,’ a source said. ‘In that case, as with all players the manager feels can improve the squad, the past is irrelevant.’
When the dynamic playmaker departed Old Trafford, relations with his agent, Mino Raiola, and Ferguson were incredibly strained.
However, since Mourinho’s arrival Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a Raiola client, has arrived on a free transfer with Borussia Dortmund playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryan, another Raiola man, set to complete his move before the end of the week after both clubs agreed a fee.
As part of the charm offensive, United will have to convince Pogba’s mother that a return to Manchester is a wise move after she hit out at his treatment previously, claiming the club had driven him to tears.
Real president Florentino Perez may become an unlikely ally. The Bernabeu supremo, does not want to break the bank for a player he remains unconvinced by.
Perez is not thought to be a big fan of either agent or player. However, if Pogba leads France to glory and becomes the player of the tournament in his home country then it may force the La Liga giants’ hand.
Images captured in the aftermath of Les Bleus 5-2 thumping of Iceland show Pogba shouting ‘vamos’, Spanish for ‘come on’, with some claiming that he picked up the word from international team-mate and Atletico Madrid star Antoine Greizmann, who wants the pair to be reunited in the Spanish capital, albeit with different clubs.
Should that come to pass Real, on Monday fined €18m by the EU for receiving illegal state aid, will look to offload Colombia talisman James Rodriguez, playmaker Isco and possibly even Germany midfield lynchpin Toni Kroos.
Unusually for the Champions League winners, manager Zinedine Zidane will also have a say in things but the Frenchman is thought to be a big admirer of Leicester City’s N’Golo Kante.
Meanwhile, Mourinho started work at the club on Monday.
He arrived at Manchester Piccadilly train station on Monday night and spent the evening at the five-star Lowry Hotel. Looking relaxed and wearing an untucked sky blue shirt, jeans and trainers, he departed in a Mercedes people carrier for United’s training ground at 7.50am.
After completing the 11-mile journey, the Portuguese spent the majority of his time putting the finishing touches to the club’s pre-season plans.
With the players who did not compete at the Copa America and European Championship not due to return until Wednesday, his main focus was on administration, although he did look in on the Under 18s.
The Message Behind Beyonce's 'Pretty Hurts' Video
Singer Beyonce has treated her fans to an exclusive behind the scenes look at the making of her most recent single, Pretty Hurts.
The 32-year-old and the director of the accompanying music video, Melina Matsoukas, talk about the message behind the song, which centres around the pressures on women to have outer beauty.
The video shows the lengths that women have to go to in order to fit in and Beyonce is dolled up as she takes part in a beauty pageant.
In one scene, Beyonce poses with dotted lines on her face as if she is being prepped for surgery.
Turning to the camera, she says: 'I'm pretending to get a face-lift and Botox. It represents all the things that women go through to keep up with the pressure that society puts on us.
Talking over a video clip of herself getting a spray tan, Beyonce says: 'Some of the things that young women go through, it's just really heartbreaking for me.'
'The concept of the video is really a behind the scenes look into society's take on beauty and how it doesn't bring you happiness and it doesn't move you forward in life,' says Melina.
'It's really finding yourself that brings you happiness.'
Looking naturally pretty, Beyonce talks to the camera while wearing a simple white T-shirt and says: 'I knew I wanted to do Pretty Hurts with Melina. I knew she would understand the message of the song.'
Melina added that the inspiration behind the video came from a photograph of Beyonce as a child, where she is standing in front of a fireplace covered in trophies.
Beyonce asks: When you get this trophy and you're looking at it. Is it worth it?'
Melina adds: 'I wanted to recreate that and have her break them and say that it doesn't really advance you to get these awards that are just based on outer beauty.
Forgiveness ( do we really understand the true concept of forgiveness? )
The famous saying goes “To err is human, to forgive is divine”. What makes the power of forgiveness comparable to God? The very nature of humans is to get angry and feel resentful towards those who have hurt us or did some harm to us in any way.
We tend to remember the undesirable actions of others which impacted us and made us feel bad. Forgiveness is the act of overcoming the feeling of resentment or revenge for the person who has done wrong actions.
We believe that God forgives us our sins; but also that He will not do so unless we forgive other people their sins against us. There is no doubt about the second part of this statement. It is in the Lord's Prayer, it was emphatically stated by our Lord. If you don't forgive you will not be forgiven. No exceptions to it. He doesn't say that we are to forgive other people's sins, provided they are not too frightful, or provided there are extenuating circumstances, or anything of that sort. We are to forgive them all, however spiteful, however mean, however often they are repeated. If we don't we shall be forgiven none of our own.
Now it seems to me that we often make a mistake both about God's forgiveness of our sins and about the forgiveness we are told to offer to other people's sins. Take it first about God's forgiveness, I find that when I think I am asking God to forgive me I am often in reality (unless I watch myself very carefully) asking Him to do something quite different. I am asking him not to forgive me but to excuse me. But there is all the difference in the world between forgiving and excusing. Forgiveness says, "Yes, you have done this thing, but I accept your apology; I will never hold it against you and everything between us two will be exactly as it was before." If one was not really to blame then there is nothing to forgive. In that sense forgiveness and excusing are almost opposites. Of course, in dozens of cases, either between God and man, or between one man and another, there may be a mixture of the two. Part of what at first seemed to be the sins turns out to be really nobody's fault and is excused; the bit that is left over is forgiven. If you had a perfect excuse, you would not need forgiveness; if the whole of your actions needs forgiveness, then there was no excuse for it. But the trouble is that what we call "asking God's forgiveness" very often really consists in asking God to accept our excuses. What leads us into this mistake is the fact that there usually is some amount of excuse, some "extenuating circumstances." We are so very anxious to point these things out to God (and to ourselves) that we are apt to forget the very important thing; that is, the bit left over, the bit which excuses don't cover, the bit which is inexcusable but not, thank God, unforgivable. And if we forget this, we shall go away imagining that we have repented and been forgiven when all that has really happened is that we have satisfied ourselves without own excuses. They may be very bad excuses; we are all too easily satisfied about ourselves.
There are two remedies for this danger. One is to remember that God knows all the real excuses very much better than we do. If there are real "extenuating circumstances" there is no fear that He will overlook them. Often He must know many excuses that we have never even thought of, and therefore humble souls will, after death, have the delightful surprise of discovering that on certain occasions they sinned much less than they thought. All the real excusing He will do. What we have got to take to Him is the inexcusable bit, the sin. We are only wasting our time talking about all the parts which can (we think) be excused. When you go to a Dr. you show him the bit of you that is wrong - say, a broken arm. It would be a mere waste of time to keep on explaining that your legs and throat and eyes are all right. You may be mistaken in thinking so, and anyway, if they are really right, the doctor will know that.
The second remedy is really and truly to believe in the forgiveness of sins. A great deal of our anxiety to make excuses comes from not really believing in it, from thinking that God will not take us to Himself again unless He is satisfied that some sort of case can be made out in our favor. But that is not forgiveness at all. Real forgiveness means looking steadily at the sin, the sin that is left over without any excuse, after all allowances have been made, and seeing it in all its horror, dirt, meanness, and malice, and nevertheless being wholly reconciled to the man who has done it.
When it comes to a question of our forgiving other people, it is partly the same and partly different. It is the same because, here also forgiving does not mean excusing. Many people seem to think it does. They think that if you ask them to forgive someone who has cheated or bullied them you are trying to make out that there was really no cheating or bullying. But if that were so, there would be nothing to forgive. (This doesn't mean that you must necessarily believe his next promise. It does mean that you must make every effort to kill every taste of resentment in your own heart - every wish to humiliate or hurt him or to pay him out.) The difference between this situation and the one in which you are asking God's forgiveness is this. In our own case we accept excuses too easily, in other people's we do not accept them easily enough. As regards my own sins it is a safe bet (though not a certainty) that the excuses are not really so good as I think; as regards other men's sins against me it is a safe bet (though not a certainty) that the excuses are better than I think. One must therefore begin by attending to everything which may show that the other man was not so much to blame as we thought. But even if he is absolutely fully to blame we still have to forgive him; and even if ninety-nine per cent of his apparent guilt can be explained away by really good excuses, the problem of forgiveness begins with the one per cent of guilt that is left over. To excuse, what can really produce good excuses is not Christian charity; it is only fairness. To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.
This is hard. It is perhaps not so hard to forgive a single great injury. But to forgive the incessant provocations of daily life - to keep on forgiving the bossy mother-in-law, the bullying husband, the nagging wife, the selfish daughter, the deceitful son - How can we do it? Only, I think, by remembering where we stand, by meaning our words when we say in our prayers each night "Forgive our trespasses* as we forgive those that trespass against us." We are offered forgiveness on no other terms. To refuse it is to refuse God's mercy for ourselves. There is no hint of exceptions and God means what He says.
Forgiveness is a virtue but the way people perceive it is quite relative. Some people think that certain actions are forgivable while others are not. Some people think that forgiveness encourages the wrongdoer to perform ill deeds repeatedly. Forgiveness is subjective and the act of forgiveness can have many meanings. Acceptance of apology may be forgiveness for some, while helping the other who hurt you to get out of the habit of ill-treatment may be a way for others.
We all make mistakes. So when we learn to forgive others, we can also seek forgiveness when we commit follies. Also if we are able to forgive others, we also learn to forgive ourselves in situations of self-guilt. Thus the virtue of forgiveness helps us come out of the feeling of self blame. If we fail to forgive ourselves in time, we often end up realizing that others had forgiven us long back, but we kept feeling bad about ourselves all this time.
Forgiveness helps us feel light and helps us get rid of hard feelings that occupy our mind and heart and eat away our peace of mind. Forgiveness is a way to self-fulfillment. People who can readily forgive others are much more responsible and satisfied inside than those who keep grudges against others and develop feelings of enmity. The feeling of anguish only results in arguments, fights, mistreatment and war in certain cases. Those who forgive help create positive energy on this planet.
Now, let us take the example of a terrorist who kills hundreds of innocent people in a terrorist attack. Does he deserve forgiveness? Such criminals kill common man in the name of religion and consider it a way to please or reach their God. Heinous Acts of this degree do not deserve mercy and forgiveness. Though there may be people who would still believe that forgiveness is humanity, yet to discourage and prevent any such future acts of terrorism, such people must be severely punished and not forgiven.
If the people who are close to you betray or hurt you, you find it most difficult to forgive them. Sometimes the extent to which your trust is breached determines the ease or difficulty in forgiving. But it is true that the more easily we forgive the other person, the less likely we shall suffocate ourselves keeping bad intentions for the wrongdoer. We need to feed it into our system to let go so that we do not stay annoyed and offended for long. Our grudges will only affect the relationship with the person and not hurt the other person in any way. The ability to forgive gives us a sense of freedom and makes us suffer less and feel lesser misery and pain.
We say a great many things in church (and out of church too) without thinking of what we are saying. For instance, we say in the Creed " I believe in the forgiveness of sins." I had been saying it for several years before I asked myself why it was in the Creed. At first sight it seems hardly worth putting in. "If one is a Christian," I thought " of course one believes in the forgiveness of sins. It goes without saying." But the people who compiled the Creed apparently thought that this was a part of our belief which we needed to be reminded of every time we went to church. And I have begun to see that, as far as I am concerned, they were right. To believe in the forgiveness of sins is not so easy as I thought. Real belief in it is the sort of thing that easily slips away if we don't keep on polishing it up.
sexual abuse
Although we’ve been told that today’s men and women are more equal than ever, a closer look at the image of the modern “ideal male” that the media and society has created shows that things are FAR from equal. This macho, sexist, and womanizing persona that has become the pinnacle of manliness is not only terrible for our men, it’s down-right dangerous for our women, and his documentary shows just HOW true that is!
Here is the summary of the doc from the host website to explain in more detail…
Distributed by the Media Education Foundation
Produced by Thomas Keith
“Filmmaker Thomas Keith takes aim at the forces in male culture that condition boys and men to dehumanize and disrespect women. Keith breaks down a range of contemporary media forms, zeroing in on movies and music videos that glamorize womanizing, pornography that trades in the brutalization of women, comedians who make fun of sexual assault, and a groundswell of men’s magazines and cable TV shows that revel in old-school myths of American manhood. Even as epidemic levels of men’s violence against women persist in the real world, the message Keith uncovers in virtually every corner of our entertainment culture is clear: It’s not only normal — but cool — for boys and men to control and humiliate women. Arguing that there’s nothing normal, natural, or inevitable about this mentality, The Bro Code challenges young people, young men and women alike, to step up and fight back against the idea that being a real man means being sexist.”
Featuring interviews with Michael Kimmel, Robert Jensen, Shira Tarrant, J.W. Wiley, Douglas Rushkoff, Eric Anderson, and Neal King.
After watching this video, I was reminded that sexual assault is not just a female problem (duh!) but MALES are the ones that are (99% of the time) committing these acts of violence against women! Its time we re-teach our boys what it REALLY means to be a MAN , to respect women, see them as equals, honor them, want the same things for them that they want for themselves: happiness, safety, freedom, independence… etc.. and change the macho male image that society has created for us.
I HIGHLY encourage you all to watch this documentary in its entirety… then pass the message along!
Thrive on Thrivers!!
xoxo
Emerald
NYSC and the search for relevance
“YOUTH, obey the clarion call. Let us lift our nation high. Under the sun or in the rain. With dedication and selflessness, Nigeria is ours, Nigeria we serve”.
This National Youth Service Corps, (NYSC) anthem is still fresh in my memory, 20 years after completing my service to the nation. It is an anthem which every graduate is spiritually and physically committed to in the process of service to the nation.
The NYSC scheme, a once in a lifetime experience, which every young graduate yearns for, was established on 22nd May, 1973 by Decree 24 to promote unity and develop ethnic ties among youth from the various states of the Federation. The thrills, frills and funfair usually associated with the programme, most especially the orientation part of it, make it enjoyable and inspiring for participating graduates from all parts of the country.
There have been divergent interests for the scheme among young graduates. While some see it as an avenue to explore other people’s culture and tradition outside theirs, others see was it as an opportunity to recreate, catch fun and make some savings for future use. In fact, the desperation of some young graduates concerning NYSC makes one wonder what is actually in it for them. There have been instances where some generate fake call-up letters while some others falsify their age just to be enlisted in the scheme.
However, away from the glorious and storied past of the scheme, presently the programme is searching for relevance. It has actually deviated from the original purpose and intention it was meant to serve. It is now almost of little or no relevance to the economic aspirations of the country. Of late, the interests of corps members are not adequately protected, as they were was in the past. Many public/private business enterprises that used to patronize the services of corps members have either closed business or downsized due to insecurity and general state of the nation’s economy.
Whether the large turnout of fresh graduates is overwhelming or not, facilities for orientation are sometimes inadequate for the population this scheme caters for each year. Political and religious insecurity have equally exposed many corps members to needless death. There have been instances where some states had to send rescue team to bring back their indigenes during political or religious crisis. To this end, many parents have resisted posting of their wards to states on red alert.
To say the scheme needs an overhaul or speedy review is like citing the obvious. Like most of our national projects, the scheme is fast declining in value and usefulness. It is no longer shocking that the scheme is broke with funds barely sufficient to cater for the young graduates presented for national youth service. Food/structural facilities, essential for the up-keep of corps members are grossly deficient in some orientation camps.
Against the glorious past of secured primary places of assignment, corps members now struggle with the problem of rejection. In desperate attempt to secure the few available ‘juicy’ placements, many now use personal influence such as letters from well connected ‘powerful’ individuals to secure favourable postings. It is, of course, sad to note that the crop of corps members that are to reconstruct and rebuild the nation’s economy are idle with unutilized potentials.
Massive influence of posting to high density places like Lagos, Ibadan, Port Harcourt and Abuja puts pressure on the already saturated environment with accommodation problem of corps members, at the detriment of the scheme. So bad is the situation now that some people are calling for outright scrapping of the scheme, arguing that it has outlived its purpose and outgrown its usefulness. Must we then throw away the baby with the bathe water?
With 923,768km landmass and over 80% of arable land, with less than 40% of it under cultivation, tropical climate, lots of rainfall and aquatic splendor, nothing stops Nigeria from being the food basket of entire Africa, if serious attention is given to agriculture. In the years of regional government, Nigeria did not only feed herself from her rich and vast agricultural interests, but also generated employment as well as earned enough foreign exchange for development of each region. Then, revenue from agricultural products helped the federating units to develop at their own pace without depending on the centre for any bail out. The discovery of oil, however, has turned things upside down for us as the federating units now wholly depend on the centre for bailouts and handouts. Unsurprisingly, young graduates have equally developed job-seeking mentality. The youth that are supposed to drive agriculture with technology and renewed vigour would rather prefer to go job hunting for years, even when it is obvious that the jobs aren’t just there.
United Nations statistic estimates Nigeria’s population for 2015 to be 178,841,235 with growth rate of 1.94%, making the population182, 307,178 by 2016, all things being equal. Yet, the population, especially of youth, did not reflect on the nation’s agricultural production. We import $4billion worth of rice annually to supplement domestic shortfall, despite the suitability of our land for local rice production. Nigeria tops the list of importing nation, growing other nations’ economies at the detriment of hers. With an annual food bill of N1.3 trillion, you may wonder where the money spent on importation of food comes from, in view of agricultural potentials of the nation. Of course, proceeds, from crude oil settle the bill.
Now that the price of crude oil has dropped in the international market coupled with the instability in the Niger Delta, there is dire need to look inward and diversify our economy. This is the time to move away from a mono-economy. It is high time the government of Nigeria looked at the strength the nation has in her pool of labour, most especially in the manpower being released every year into the National Youth Corps Scheme.
Each state of the federation has comparative advantage in specific areas of agriculture. The capacity of the various states to boost food production can be enhanced by the National Youth Service Corps with adequate structure and remuneration for corps members. The power, vigor, dynamism and adventurism of youth, the strength of the youth could be directed towards boosting the agricultureal sector to address the twin issues of food security and unemployment.
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